One

Hola mi familia!

Can you believe there is only one week left?!  It is hard to imagine that a year and a half has already passed by... Heavenly Father has been blessing us so much these last couple weeks and I feel so grateful to still be fully engaged in His work.

Yesterday we had an awesome follow-up lesson on the Restoration with our investigator Alejandrina.  She had some doubts about following the prophet, but those doubts dissipated when we introduced the Book of Mormon.  Alejandrina told us that for years and years she has been asking people if Jesus Christ came to the Americas and nobody has been able to give her a satisfying answer.  Everyone just told her that America didn't "exist" yet when Christ was on the Earth.  However, she felt that Christ must have visited God's other children on the earth, besides those in Jerusalem.  She was so excited to read the Book of Mormon and to finally find an answer to her question.  The Book of Mormon is true and is evidence that Jesus Christ loves everybody and will manifest Himself to all those who ask.

"I’M GOING TO MISS NEW YORK!"

We finished the day visiting our investigator Milagros, who is Guarina's neighbor.  We decided to have a crack-down Word of Wisdom lesson, since Milagros struggles with coffee, tea, smoking, and drinking.  To be honest, Sister Hall and I were really nervous as to how the lesson would go.  Because if it didn't go well, she might not let us come back.  But God blessed us to find an AWESOME member to teach with us, Taty.  Taty helped explain the blessings of the Word of Wisdom and we discussed a lot about how to leave behind vices.  Milagros has wanted to quit smoking.  In fact, on Tuesday, the day we taught her, she had only smoked one cigarette without knowing that we were going to speak about the WOW that night.  She took it as a sign that it was time to stop.  We are praying for her and really putting our faith in the Lord to help her overcome her addiction! Everything is possible in the Savior.

Last Friday was Guarina's birthday, and we celebrated on Saturday at her house.  She is adorable and loved feeding us her special birthday dinner... she loves to feed us... We ate Bandera with lamb and it was delicious.  Funny story- one of our investigators, Filgia, a friend of Guarina, came to the party.  Filgia is interesting!  She told us that here in the United States, any time they say at the store that the meat is lamb, it is actually deer.  She thinks that there is no such thing as lamb in America... Deer, lamb, whatever. Same thing ; ) We ate it and it was delicious!  We gave Guarina a picture from her baptism for her birthday.  She was so excited that she brought it to church the next day to show it off to everyone.  She is progressing so much and we love her more and more every day.  We are taking her to the temple on Saturday to be baptized for her mom!!  We are so EXCITED.

Want to hear a funny story??  So on Saturday, after leaving Guarina's, we went to the church to use the bathroom.  The elders had two donuts and gave them to me and Sister Hall.  I didn't want mine and so I told Sister Hall she could eat my donut.  She was halfway done with my donut when I remembered that she is supposed to be eating healthier and I can't let her have sugar.  So I decided to tell her that I wanted my donut back in an attempt to get it away from her.  She didn't want to give it back, but I convinced her to hand  over the other half of my donut.  As soon as she put it in my hand, I booked it towards the bathroom to throw it in the trashcan. I made it clear to the bathroom doorway when she grabbed my backpack, tackled me to the ground, and stole the donut out of my hand!  She shoved the whole rest of it in her mouth before even getting off of me.  I was laughing so hard that I couldn't move off the ground for a good five minutes.  Hahaha.  Lesson learned: never mess with a donut-crazed-former-rugby-playing-Sister-Shelby-Hall.  Mmmmm.... donuts.

We have had a really crazy, but exciting, week.  I am grateful to still have one last week to serve the Lord and preach His gospel to those who He has prepared to receive it.  I know that this Church is true, and that though the principles and doctrines taught within, we can receive the fullness of joy and peace that Heavenly Father has provided for us. 

Love you all!

Hermana Dodson

Almost done!

Hola mi familia!

This week was awesome! No bunker-up mega snow storms, or crazy less actives, but we did have a lot of snow and an egg drop contest at Mission Leadership Conference. 

We built a Snowman (actually an Hermana Missionary) in Central Park!

Chillin (literally) in Central Park

Remember being in high school physics and being given the assignment to create something made out of straws and duct tape that could catch an egg? This week at MLC was a reenactment of those days.  We had to create something to catch an egg falling from 10 feet in 15 minutes with the elders that we work with.  Good news: we won!  Not only were we one of the first and only to create a successful catcher the first round, but we also had aim and were able to get the egg in our contraption on the first try! (Credit for that goes to Elder Brandon Miller, future University of Utah basketball star.  True story.)  It was a really random activity, but super fun. At the end, President asked us to think about this point: while working, did any of us think of home? Of our moms, or our boyfriends/girlfriends? Did we think about any movies we wanted to see at home? The answer across the board was “No". He tied it into how focusing on the work allows us to have success and completely lose ourselves. I'm loving this theme of focus! It is the kick in the pants I need to keep me finishing strong. 

We also built Marshmallow Towers at our Zone!  Into construction lately…

Victorious Egg Drop Team!!

On Saturday, one of the cutest 8-year-olds ever, Yaya, was baptized! We teach her and her family every week, so it was awesome to see her take the first step to returning to our Heavenly Father. 

Other than that, not much happened this week... Normal teaching, normal crazy New York, etc. I am loving every moment of my mission and am so happy to be here. The Church is true and is the only way to the Celestial Kingdom and ever lasting happiness. 

Love you all,

Sister Dodson

The Famous “George’s Diner”: Pancakes, French Toast, Bacon, Sausage, Eggs and Fries in one meal!

My future self (post mission)….Artist!

Sister's Conference

Hola mi familia!

We have had another incredible week.  I feel so grateful that Heavenly Father keeps giving me so many miracles and wonderful experiences clear through to the end.

On Friday we had Sister's Conference!! I LOVE this meeting.  All the sisters in the mission get together for a day to listen to President Morgan and other special speakers.  The elders always complain that they don't get an Elder's Conference, but none of us really have pity on them... Haha.  The theme of this year's conference was Ruth from the Bible and dedication.  I felt so inspired and LOVED the talks given.  I love being a missionary, but sometimes you need some extra motivation to help you give all that you can.  We also had a question and answer session with President where a question was asked about how sisters can have complete access to the Priesthood power.  After the question was asked, I leaned over to Sister Hall and said, "He's going to go to D&C 121:45."  Immediately after, President says, "Let's all go to D&C 121, verse 45."  Sister Hall just looked at me like I was crazy.  President loves that scripture and brings it up often.  We talked about how to access the complete power of the Priesthood, we simply need to be virtuous and valiant in all that we do.  It does not matter if we are male or female, we all have the ability to receive exaltation and peace in this life through the power of the Priesthood. I am so grateful for that knowledge and for the work of Priesthood holders in my life and in the mission.  I have felt the positive influence of a worthy Priesthood holder in almost all settings.  I definitely left Sister's Conference feeling ready to work to the end!

The 911 Memorial & Museum was inspiring!

The next day, we had a cool experience in following the Spirit.  After an appointment ended, we decided to go visit a less-active family.  We showed up to their door, and were welcomed in by Hermana Gutierrez, and then saw Hermano Gutierrez sitting on the couch in tears.  Apparently only 30 minutes earlier he had learned that his sister had passed away.  Only five minutes later, the elders showed up (the family had called them about 20 minutes before we showed up.). It was incredible to see how the Spirit had brought us all to a single place to bring peace to the home in a distressing time.  When Sister Hall and I were in route to their house, we decided to teach about temples and eternal families and to encourage them to get to the House of the Lord.  While at their house, the elders started teaching about the power of the eternal family and covenants.  We were all in sync to help this family progress! I was able to testify of the power of the temple and the peace I felt after Dorivee's passing knowing that she had made covenants in the Holy Temple.  It was an incredible experience for me to remember the peace of the gospel in my life.  The family is being bums right now and still won't come to church, but we have high hopes for them!

I made our family out of Legos!

Later that night, after a dinner appointment, we went to go see a part-member family.  When we reached their door on the third story, we received a text saying they weren't home... perfect timing!  We headed to go down the first flight of stairs and Sister Hall slipped from the snow and slid down three or four steps! The leftover food she was holding went flying into the air and slammed into the wall! She almost couldn't get back up because we were laughing so hard.  I seriously almost peed myself, I was laughing so hard.  After we composed ourselves, I grabbed the food and we headed down the next flight of stairs.  Next thing you know, I slip and fall on my butt down the second flight of stairs!! I definitely may have peed a little that time... We laughed even harder and decided that the food must be bad luck.  The last flight was twice the length as the other two.  I geared up and took the food and headed down first.  I was three steps shy of the bottom when I look up to see Sister Hall a few steps above me slip back onto her bum! She was so scared of running into me and causing a bowling effect that she turned onto her side and screamed trying to stop herself!  Luckily she paused one step before she hit me.  I don't think I've laughed that hard since Sister Smart left.  We were dying.  Hahahaha.  Don't worry, no injuries, just a big bruise for Sister Hall.

Monday we were warned of the snow storm of the century from our mission President.  We were told to be inside by 6 o'clock and to be prepared to be inside for the next three days! We were instructed to make sure that we had enough food, bottled water, and flashlights.  There was supposed to be 30" of snow and 60mph winds, so we had to be prepared for anything!  This morning we had to have a good laugh since we only got a whopping 7"... We still had to stay inside though for most of the day.  It was so nice to have some time to draw and get some things done.  And we wore our Bronx pants all day, so we were pretty happy about that.  It is hard to get out and work in the cold, but definitely worth the effort.  We had an awesome lesson with Gloria and Fernanda about the Plan of Salvation and testified of the power of the eternal family.  I love being a missionary and am grateful for every minute I get to share the Savior's gospel.

Love you all!

Hermana Dodson

Guarina's Baptism

Hola mi familia!

We have had another fantastic week here in Inwood! Guarina was baptized on Saturday and then received the Holy Ghost on Sunday, which was one of the main reasons why this week was so great.  

Guarina's baptism was beautiful!  Just like I thought, she looked so good in white! We had a huge turnout from the ward and the Spirit was so strong.  She was so prepared to be baptized.  I was in shock that we had only found her six weeks ago, and already she had fully understood and accepted the gospel of Jesus Christ.  When she went up to the front of the chapel to be confirmed on Sunday, we saw her slip a tithing envelop to the first counselor.  She is an incredible example.  

I love how peaceful Guarina looks!  Pedro, her husband is in the jeans.  He’ll look good in white too!

Before the baptism, we kind of had a crazy day.  We ran to pick up one of our investigators, Filgia, for the baptism.  We were rushing to get to the baptism early enough and arrived at the chapel about 15 minutes before it was about to start.  We rushed into the Relief Society room and didn't see Guarina anywhere! Cue freak out mode. We started running around the chapel asking people if they had seen her, but nobody had.  Elders Freebairn and Salceda said they had opened the door to two dominican women that were missing, and so we assumed they were Guarina and her neighbor Milagros.  Sister Hall and I couldn't find them anywhere.  We decided to go upstairs and check all the bathrooms, hallways, etc.  Sister Hall suggested we should say a prayer to find our missing baptizee, and so we stopped to do so.  

To be honest, I could not stop giggling during the prayer! What a funny situation we were in!  The baptism was supposed to start in 10 minutes and the present to be baptized was MIA, and probably MIA somewhere inside the building!  A few minutes later we found Milagros chilling on a couch upstairs. THEY WERE THERE!!! She said Guarina had just barely gone to the RS room. We flew down the stairs and found her! I felt so relieved and so grateful! Heavenly Father answers prayers.  

She changed and already began to get teary-eyed as the Spirit overwhelmed her. Sister Hall and I actually ended up missing the actual baptism because we were behind the scenes holding Guarina's  towel.  But when she came out, she looked  beautiful.  The best way to describe how she looked was that she emitted  humility.  She was  teary-eyed and silent, and was so reverent as she put on her flip-flops  and went in to go change.  The Spirit testified to me of the power of ordinances performed by the Priesthood of God. Sister Hall and I walked back out as people began to bear testimony. Pedro, Guarina's husband (and our new investigator!!) walked up to bear his testimony.  He didn't know how to do it, or really what to say, but he testified of the gratitude he had for the ward and for His Savior.  He spoke about how happy he  was that his wife was so happy and that she was in the true church, and he began to cry. The Spirit was really strong throughout the whole service, and we are excited to teach Pedro and get them on their way to the temple.  Filgia, the investigator we had picked up and brought to the baptism, was really moved by the Spirit and on Sunday, we were able to set a baptismal date for her for March 28!! 

Look how pretty Bryant Park is!! It looks so different than when I came 15 months ago in the fall!

I love being a missionary and am so grateful for the time that I have here.  The Church is true, and it is the only way through which we can receive all the ordinances necessary to enter into the kingdom of our Heavenly Father.

Love you all!

Hermana Dodson

17 Months Down!

Hola mi familia!

Things are still going great here in the Heights.  I still can't get over how happy I am to be here.  The work is booming here--we are always busy and always finding new people who are so ready to hear the gospel. Sister Hall and I have missed Sister Smart this week, but we are still having tons of fun.  

Funny story from the week:

Every single time we go visit Guarina, she feeds us.  I have decided to name one of the fat roles on my stomach "Guarina", in honor of the amount of food I have eaten at her house.  It is all tasty, but when you go over every single day of the week, your insides start to feel like they are made of platanos.  Haha. 

Many of the people we visit offer us soda.  Sister Hall and I have been trying to drink less soda (especially the sugary stuff), but we don't have the heart to tell these kind people that we don't want any of their soda, so in addition to giant-sized portions of delicious Dominican food, we often also have to gulp down a huge glass of Dominican soda, which is really more like syrup with bubbles.  Last week, one person gave us large glasses of red soda, and Sister Hall and I felt like we were going to puke.  In the middle of our lesson, someone rang the doorbell and they got up to answer the door.  When they left, I grabbed Sister Hall's full glass of soda sprinted to the only plant in the room and dumped it in.  Much to my surprise, the soil started fizzing almost to the point where it overflowed. I grabbed a napkin and tried to soak up some before they retuned then shoved the napkin in my pocket... Gross. Anyway, problem solved. So this week when we went back, I noticed the plant... The leaves turned RED. And it may be wilting a little bit... We were on a split with another sister and she called me Plant Killer for the rest of the night. Hahaha. This is why we are quitting soda...

Some great news:

So a new Elder in my district just came from serving in the Bronx Ward where I started my mission. He showed me a picture of one of my investigators that Sister Ramirez and I started teaching a year ago. He asked me if I know him, I say YES, and then the Elder says that Salvador is getting baptized on Saturday!!!!!! AHHHHHHH!!! I almost peed myself. And then he shows me a picture of a family that Sister Ramirez and I worked our butts off to re-activate. My last Sunday they came, but that was it. The Elder told me that they reactivated with him!!  AHHHHH!! I love being a missionary!! It is so cool to see how these people progress and how the right missionaries can change the situation completely.  Every missionary has such a strong impact and can make such a different difference. I am so grateful for the people who I have helped, and for those whom Heavenly Father has sent me to. The mission is so personal, and I love it. 

Guarina is progressing great! She is so ready to be baptized. On Saturday she passed her interview with flying colors. We are also super excited for her husband to come tomorrow! We are definitely going to jump right on teaching him the gospel. Guarina is already a missionary, so this is going to be SO AWESOME with her husband. On Sunday Guarina brought her neighbor to church with her!! We actually have been teaching her neighbor Milagros for a while now. We found Guarina cause we arrived early to our appointment with Milagros and decided to knock a couple doors first. BOOM, there was somebody so prepared to accept the gospel. Milagros has been progressing at a slower rate (she had never been to church before), so it was incredible to see how Guarina is pushing her to accept the gospel as well. 

I love seeing people change their lives through our doctrine. It is such a blessing to be here in New York. I'm trying to live every single moment until they shove me on a plane. Haha. 

I love you all!

Hermana Dodson 

Last Cycle!

Hola mi familia!

Once again, another transfers has passed by WAY too quickly! It is hard to believe that I only have six weeks left! Sister Hall and I are staying (!!!) but we are losing Sister Smart to South Manhattan : ( I love that girl and am going to miss her! We had way too many laughs together and she is an incredible teacher and friend.

We had an awesome busy week! Guarina is progressing really well. We taught her about tithing last week and she said that she already tried to pay the bishop but he said she had to wait until next week.  She already had an envelope with money in it before we even taught her! She is so prepared, it is insane.

At church on Sunday we had a really powerful testimony meeting. It is incredible to feel the Spirit that Fast and Testimony Sunday's bring. I think I look forward to it the most. A testimony is a source of power and is just a verbal expression of how we live. I love seeing people gain their own. I know that as people keep strengthening their testimony, that any problem, whether in or out of a church setting, can be resolved and overcome because of faith in Christ.

Christmas breakfast

I worked on setting New Year's resolutions this week! We are focusing on this topic as a mission and it is fabulous. It is such a great way to apply the Atonement in our lives. Truly through the Aonement and through Christ we can change and become better people. He allows us to let go of the past and move on. I know that He makes us better than we could ever become on our own. I am so grateful for repentance and for my Savior.

Here are a couple funny stories from the week! The first is actually from Christmas, but I forgot to send it home last week. For Christmas I got these awesome printed socks with bacon and eggs on them.  After I'd been wearing them all day inside my boots, Sister Hall and I convinced Sister Smart that they were scratch and sniff socks. She was hesitant at first, but then came over, scratched my foot, and smelled it!  Hahahaha. Definitely smelly, just not like bacon and eggs! Hahaha. (I am going to miss her!) 

He is the Gift street contacting

The other happened when I was on a split with the english Sisters. Sister Hall and Smart met up with a member who was asking who I was and where I went. Her husband couldn't remember my name or who I was, and so the member says, "it's the one who always does her hair in a bun!”  And then she asked my companions if I don't like to do my hair… Hahahahaha. I guess I should pick a new hairstyle... Knot on top is not winning the crowds!

Birthday burgers

I love being a missionary and cannot believe it is coming to an end! Things are going to get crazy here as we push harder and harder and find more and more people the Lord has prepared.

Love you all,

Hermana Dodson

Weekly!

Hola mi familia!!

We had yet another crazy week! This week all of our crazy running around teaching people finally caught up with us and we were dead tired... Haha. But after a good nap, we’re hopefully ready for next week's adventures.

Friday was the mission CHRISTmas Devotional and it was INCREDIBLE! Our mission is full of so many talented people. I wish I would have recorded it because the music was so fabulous. Also, the Christmas party is the only time during the year that the whole mission is together.  I loved seeing all my friends! It was a little sad though, since I had to say a lot of goodbyes to many of my favorite missionaries who are going home in a couple weeks! Yikes!

On Sunday Juarina came to church! The Ward ate her up—it was so awesome. We didn't even get to sit by her because she had members on all sides. We are super excited to see her keep progressing.

 Yesterday I went on a member split with our awesome gospel principles teacher, Ruth. She taught a kick-butt lesson and I felt like I was her sidekick. I am so impressed at the knowledge and strength of testimony from our members. They live in such a loud environment in NYC, but they know the truth, and they cling to it.  I know that the gospel gives us a different perspective on life and is a protection from the world.

 I am just seriously so happy here! Tired, crazy, and stressed, but overall, happy! I love doing the Lord's work, and I love that He sent me here to the Heights.

Love you all,

Merry Christmas!

Hermana Dodson

Fun times at the Mission Christmas Party!

Christmas in the City

Hola mi familia!

Once again, we have had one of the craziest weeks I've ever seen in my whole mission.  We had miracles, big laughs, and Saturday kind of felt like the twilight zone. 

Last Wednesday we had a few lessons planned, but on our way out from the church at 7:30 to a lesson, we got a text from our zone leaders saying we needed to be in casa right away because of some riots going on downtown.  Boo for riots and protestors.  So we cancelled our lesson and headed directly for the train.  With Trader Joe's bags in tow, Sister Hall stepped onto the A train.  Right as her back foot stepped onto the train, the doors slid shut.  Sister Smart and I just looked at each other in shock.  Sister Hall was on the train, and we were still on the platform! We pressed our foreheads against the glass of the windows to see Sister Hall casually walking to a bench and taking a seat.  She turned around, saw us knocking and waving at her, and her jaw dropped.  The train started to move and Sister Hall's expression of anxiety turned into laughter. Did we really just get separated on the subway the same day that we were told it was dangerous to be walking around outside? At least we were underground.  As the train drove away, Sister Smart says, "Bye Buddy! Hope you find your dad!"  We just started busting up laughing and laughed about the situation for a straight 5 minutes.  We were convinced we were going to meet Sister Hall with a wet pair of pants and boots, because we were all laughing so hard. Hahhaaaa. We hopped on the next train and found our long last “dad", and headed home.

Friday was my first Mission Leadership Council meeting! We had some really incredible special guests join us, including Elder Perkins from the 70, and the head honcho of the mission department, Elder Allen, who brought along with him the creative design team for "He is the Gift". We had an incredible discussion about how the work is moving along. "He is the Gift" is all about action, and so Elder Allen talked to us about following through. We set a goal with the South Mission to have 100,000 views of the video through December. It's a HUGE feat, but I know we can accomplish it with the help of God.  It will really help us find the people who are elect.  Elder Perkins shared other exciting news about the “Meet the Mormons” movie.  The Church has been blessed in being able to acquire contracts with stores such as Walmart, Best Buy and Costco to sell the movie beginning in May.  Also, Netflix and Red Box are going to make the movie available to viewers!

In the City, you see some ironic signage….

Saturday, since we have the most talented stake in the whole world, we went to the Stake CHRISTmas concert in the temple. There I ran into tons of missionary friends, cousin Ashley, a friend from home-Shawnie Peterson, who is serving in the South mission, Nani and Papa, and Bishop Crawley and James. It was the weirdest day.  The music was incredible!!

Yesterday was a day of TONS of miracles. We started out the morning headed to go see Juarina. The rain was pouring, and we were soaked! When we were about halfway to the train station, Sister Hall realized she forgot her metro card at home... Ha. So we ran to grab it, then headed back. As we waited at the platform, a man walked up to us said, "Oh my goodness! You look like a couple of DIVAS!  Who did your makeovers this morning?" We laughed and said thank you, and then he looked down at our tags. "You are from the Church of a Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints!?! I want to be baptized!"  Cue jaw drop... Wayde then explained to us how he had received all the lessons in Connecticut and was going to get baptized, but had to emergency move here a few days ago.  We exchanged information, and hopefully we will see Wayde baptized by the english elders soon!! It was definitely a miracle of perfect timing. 

Later, we got Juked by Juarina and so decided we would go tract a building. We went upstairs to floor 2, and Sister Smart started joking about "2B, or not 2B?" So we decided to knock. A young man named Junior, about our age, opened the door and invited us in. We showed him the "He is the Gift" video, and he loved it. He was so grateful that we stopped by and asked us a lot of questions about how to choose the right in a world where there is so much bad. We set up a return appointment, and are excited to see him progress! We will probably have the elders teach him, but how exciting is that?!  We had two huge miracles before 1:00 pm! 

I know this is the work of the Lord, and I am so grateful to be a part of it. 

Love you all,

Sister Dodson

The NYC lights and decorations this time of year are magical!  On the other hand, our missionary Christmas Tree is humble, yet beautiful!

Thanksgiving + He is the Gift

Hola mi familia!

This week has been INSANE! We have had so much fun and had so much work to do.  We are combining two areas into one because we are currently short on Spanish sisters, but that also means that we are teaching double the amount of lessons.  It is a good thing we are a trio! It has been crazy!  We have been trying to get out on member splits as much as possible because we keep ending up being double booked.. whoops! There have been TONS of miracles, and this place is just as magical as I imagined it. Here has been my week:

Thursday: THANKSGIVING!!

2:00-We started out our feasting with the new Senior sisters who live in our building.  They wanted all their "family" to come to dinner with them, and so we went and had a delicious traditional "Grandma Thanksgiving", with turkey, stuffing from a box, and pumpkin pie. Yum.

4:00- Sister Smart's less active brother lives down in Manhattan and President gave us permission to go have dinner with him!  A.K.A. we had a hipster young-and-single-in-the-city Thanksgiving dinner.  I can't even describe to you how incredible the food was. Everything was typical Thanksgiving food, but tweaked just a little.  For example we had sweet potatoes, but they were crusted with a pecan glaze; and an argula salad with sauteed onions, carrots, and parsnips (what even is that??).  Also included was organic turkey (I'm pretty sure it's the same as a regular one... Haha.)  We shoved our faces full at dinner number 2 because it was so incredible.

7:00- We finished up at our recent convert, Ylaura's house, with a typical Dominican Thanksgiving.  Basically it's Dominican food but in a bigger quantity... (our stomachs were not exactly happy about that. Haha.) 

At the end of the day I was so full I wobbled home.

Hipster Thanksgiving

Friday: 

We woke up with stomachs just as full as we went to bed with... Ewwww. We also woke up with a new determination to hit up the gym! 

That night as we were getting on the train, we passed a guy selling churros.  Sister Smart told us that she had never bought food from a street vendor, so we flipped around to go buy some churros. We ended up teaching the man selling churros an awesome lesson! He isn't quite ready to receive the missionaries yet, but we will definitely stop by and talk to him frequently when he's working. And stop by to get some churros. Mmm... Churros. 

Hermana Hall, Hermana Smart, Hermana Dodson enjoying their time on the Bus

Saturday: 

We had an INCREDIBLE Ward activity thrown by the missionaries. We had an MTC for the members to help them understand how to be member missionaries. President Morgan joined us, and luckily the activity was a big hit. We gave the members mission calls, name tags, and had break out sessions. Everyone looked so good in their missionary tags! 

Awesome Ward MTC Activity

Tuesday:

This was probably one of the craziest days of my mission. We had a meeting at the temple at 10 so Sister Smart could get Facebook set-up, then had lunch, then had a finding activity to try and get the word spread about He is the Gift. We started out handing out candy canes, but when that ran out we just tried to get people to watch the video. Even in the city that never sleeps, we had tons of people who were willing to take two minutes and feel the Spirit. It was AWESOME! We found new investigators and also the Mother of a less active who we have been trying to contact! (She was more than willing to help.)  God is blessing us so much with miracles. The video He is the Gift is changing lives. We have found so many people and are loving work. Today we are going to Times Square to see the billboard, so I will send pics soon. 

Amidst all the glitz and glamour of Manhattan, we are reminded HE IS THE GIFT!

The first gift of Christmas…was a gift of Love…and peace because…God so loved the world that He gave His only Begotten Son.

After our lesson, we took out Eliza, a visiting member who is on medical release from her mission in Mexico. We went to one lesson together and then split! This is a benefit of having a trio!  Especially when you are slammed with work and are double booked multiple days in a week... Uh... In total, we ended up teaching 12 lesson in one day! In addition, Sister Hall and I found a GOLDEN INVESTIGATOR. 

We arrived a little early to our appointment so we decided to knock a couple doors before heading in. We found a JDubb and a gay man with fabulous hair, and then found Juarina. She opened the door and before we could finish saying that we were missionaries from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, her eyes got huge and she motioned us to come in.  She told us that years ago when she was living in the Dominican Republic she had a dream that Jesus came to her and carried her up. She then fell and landed in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which was a sign to her that it was His church.  She started attending and really loved it, but was never able to keep going or be baptized. She was freaking out when we told her there was a church a few subway stops away from her home. We are SOOO EXCITED to teach Juarina. She is so ready to accept the gospel. She is going to look so good in white. 

I am LOVING my area and loving the Ward. I am loving my companions as well! I haven't laughed so much or so hard in a long time.  Every day is a new adventure. God is so good and so loving to spoil me like this. 

Love you all,

Hermana Dodson 

P.s. Being here in “The Heights”, my Dominican accent come back in full force... Haha. 

Final Transfer (we think...)!

Hola mi familia!

This has been probably one of the most eventful weeks I've had in a long time! We had a ton of awesome lessons and moments.  Also today is transfers! BIG NEWS. I’M GOING TO WASHINGTON HEIGHTS!!! Heavenly Father is so good to me. He definitely knows my heart. I will come home singing like a Dominican. 

In other news, goodbyes are the worst, and I love the White Plains Branch. 

Along with being transferred to the Heights, I have been called as Sister training leader!  I am excited, and have had a ton of good example to look to as leaders. But here is other big news that comes with my area. So usually STLs come in pairs, as in both sisters on a companionship are STLs. In my case, I am being put down in a solo STL area.  This means that I will be the only sister training leader, which means that instead of having a companion to teach me the STL ropes, I am doing it completely on my own. It is a little nerve wracking, but exciting.  Also I am being put in a trio, I am super excited for that. My companions will be sister Hall, who was my roommate in white plains.. I love her!!! That will be AWESOME! My other companion has been out 2 cycles and her name is Sister Smart.  I’m excited to work with them : )

We had a couple big miracles happen this past week. The first has to do with our investigator M. I think I mentioned last week how we had an awesome lesson about prayer with her. On Thursday we went to go teach her and follow up.  We asked her if she had been praying, and she said she had!  When we asked how they were going, she told us that in those three days everything had been better. Usually in the mornings she has no desire to get up, much less to get her kids off to school or anything. Since she has started praying, she wakes up excited and happy to see her kids. In addition, she has been having struggles with her husband, but she had the urge to get up and make him coffee! I know prayer changes hearts and spirits. How incredible is that?!

It was sad to say Goodbye to the people I love from the White Plains Branch! 

On Friday, the Church is going to blow up with the new CHRISTmas initiative, He Is the Gift.  This is an incredible new video that exemplified Jesus Christ as the sacred gift of CHRISTmas, whom our Father gave out of love. Social media is going to go huge, billboards will be put up in Times Square (I live in the best mission ever!!!), and on Dec. 7, the YouTube home page will feature a 30 second long clip of this new incredible video. In addition, everybody who receives the December Ensign will be given a booklet containing pass along cards with the He is the Gift initiative. This video is AMAZING and I know this project came by inspiration. Watch it! Love it! Share it! I feel the Spirit so strongly as I view it. Jesus Christ is love, and this is the time to celebrate the marvelous gift that He is. For more information, check out CHRISTmas.mormon.org. 

Love you all,

Hermana Dodson

Zone Conference

Hola mi familia!

This past week was awesome! We had a ton of awesome miracles, super good lessons, and some really fun experiences. 

Last Thursday we had zone conference in the Bronx with President Morgan. He decided to mix things up a bit, (some missionaries complained about never having fun...??) So we had a movie making competition! We had tons of fun getting into groups and then making a video on our iPads about Why We Believe in Christ. My group decided to go out to the Bronx and ask people why they believed in Christ. Their answers were amazing! I will send home a couple : ) I love seeing why people believe in a Savior. Especially in a place like the Bronx, it is incredible to hear how He lifts them up, and they can't deny His existence because of that. Zone conference was really inspiring and definitely fun. We talked a lot about how if we want to receive inspiration like adults, we have to act like adults. We're trying to take that to heart and make better decisions.

Westchester Zone

On Friday, we planned to go see a potential investigator that was found about 5 months ago originally.  We had stopped by to try to see her on various occasions, but she has always been busy.  She told us to come back Friday in the morning, so of course we went! We knocked twice, no answer.  But the door was slightly open, which was evidence that someone was most likely inside.  We decided to knock one more time, and Maria came to the door! She let us in, brought in her adorable one-month-old baby and we began to talk.  Maria is awesome.  She is from Mexico, says she is catholic, but is not really practicing.  We had a good discussion about our purpose as missionaries and the hope that our message can bring into her life.  At the end, Sister Brower beautifully and powerfully invited her to be baptized. BUT, literally immediately after Sister Brower finished saying, "Seguiria el ejemplo de Jesucristo a ser bautizado?" BOOM BOOM BOOM.  There was a knock at the door.  Maria excused herself from the table to go answer the door.  Sister Brower and I waited anxiously to see what would happen, and to see what her answer would be to the million dollar question, while Maria attended to the visitors at the door (who had such impeccable timing).  We couldn't see them, but my first impression was a business person, since they asked for her husband, then started asking questions about if she was his wife, their address.  Next thing we know, we see two hands shoving a Bible through the door- JDUBBS. Dang those Jehovahs's Witnesses!  Our perfect Spirit guided baptismal invitation was interrupted by stinking JDubbs.  They taught her a whole lesson at the door, unbeknownst that we were waiting on the other side.  A few minutes later, when Maria returned to the table, she said, "It's been pretty cold outside, right?" Right, Maria.  It's been pretty cold outside... With our bap invite down the drain, we decided to pull out the big guns and show her Gracias A El.  The Spirit once again flooded the room, and we testified of the power to seal families for all eternity.  The good news is that we scheduled a return appointment! The bad news is, so did the JDubbs.   But in this battle, truth  will always prevail. We are pumped to see Maria progress and choose the fulness of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Monday night we were almost killed by a bulldog. Probably not really, but it kind of seemed like it a little bit. We went to go see a new investigator, Rosa, and had an awesome lesson about the Restoration and the Book of Mormon with her.  She took us into a back sitting room in her house and shut the door so that we could have a more reverent environment. As Rosa is saying the closing prayer, we hear her 10 year old son screaming behind the door, "Brewster! Brewster! Brewster's oooouttt!" Rosa keeps praying through the screams, which were then closely followed by the most terrifying bark I've ever heard. Forget your cute little "Griffi-hi-lets-be-friends-bark", this was more of a hi-I'm-hungry-and-I-like-to-eat-people-bark. After saying amen, Rosa got up and opened the door a peak to see what was going on. Next thing you know, she was fighting against the door trying to keep it closed while Brewster the bulldog is lunging at it trying to get into the room.  It kind of felt like a movie scene where a monster is trying to break through the door (couldn't tell you which one, the veil is too thick...) Rosa looked at us and with a smile said, "Un momento", then with one last kick, she sneaked through the door to take care of the Brewster problem. Right after the door closed, Sister Brower and I just started laughing. Five minutes later, Rosa returned to let us out. We must have looked pretty tasty to the bulldog. 

We also had a huge miracle with a less active family. The three youngest boys of this family are AWESOME and come to church even though their mom wanted nothing to do with it. Last week, the  youngest, who is 12, asked his mom why she expects them to do good things if she doesn't even do them herself. (Go Pedro!) That snarky comment changed her whole point of view, and Hermana Marian had her heart softened. She came to church on Sunday and plans on coming back in full force. She wants all her boys to serve missions and is going to do everything in her power to get them there! I love Hermana Marian and am so excited for her to make this change! She has been so prepared by the Lord.

One of our investigators, Modesta, is progressing so much!! Last week we went and after teaching the Restoration, she kindly told us she was Catholic, but still wanted us to come teach her. Upon visiting her yesterday, she told us that she feels something so different when we pray. She had a hard moment during the week, and tried to look online to find our prayers (Catholic tradition is memorized prayers for certain situations, so Modesta looked to find "Mormon prayers").  She said she was so happy to see us so that we could pray for her and bring her the peace she needed. We taught her how to pray and that it comes from the heart, and also about the power of the Holy Ghost. We then invited her to pray to know if our message was true. She responded saying that, of course, it was true. We were definitely freaking out a little inside. After asking her why she thought that, she said that she feels it when we teach and when we're there. THE SPIRIT IS WORKING IN HER!!! Modesta is definitely going to look good in white! : )

I know that this is the Church that contains all the truth. The truths I teach come from a loving Heavenly Father and Savior, Jesus Christ.  They have the power to make us into people that we could not naturally be on our own. 

Love you all,

Hermana Dodson

P.s. Transfers is next week! No idea what is going to happen...haha.