Stuck, Stuck, Stuuuuuuccckkkk!!

Hola!

This week was awesome, a little chillier, and pretty funny!

Thursday we had the baptism of Alex, an 8 year old in our ward. This  baptism was a party. There were balloons, party favors, a HUGE cake bigger than any I'd seen at any wedding, and party favors. It was insane! We had basically half the ward show up, which was awesome. Alex is an awesome kid, but he has more sass than any child I've ever met.  Yes, more sass than me and Emmy. Combined. Hard to imagine, I know. Haha. But it was amazing to see the change in him after his baptism. I talked to him on Sunday, and he was a new kid. He told me how excited he was to get the Holy Ghost, and was extremely calm and awesome. It was crazy. Baptism really can change people if they let it. It is an ordinance of a God--a new birth. The chance to start over new. And I was blessed to see that change take place even in an 8 year old.

A baby shower for a ward member

On Friday was the mission Christmas party! It was outstanding! I loved every minute of it! We had all 261 missionaries in the mission there. Everyone made sure to arrive at least 1 1/2 hours early so we could have time to talk to everybody... Haha. But guess who I saw!? Sister Syd Jensen!! She is so cute, and it was awesome to see such a good friend from home. She keeps telling me to get transferred up to her area. Haha. We had a very spiritual musical program (my mission is so talented-- I think half my mission wants to study theater and/or music when they get back, go figure.), and then talks from both President and Sister Morgan. The spirit was strong, and testified of the real reason for the season: our Savior Jesus Christ. I am so thrilled to be able to spend this holiday giving Him the best gift I can think of: devoted service. He has given the greatest of all the gifts of God--eternal life with my family, and I couldn't be more happy to be spending all my time paying Him back.

Sunday we had an awesome lesson in Sunday school about exaltation-our ultimate goal of living with God. I heard a quote earlier in the week from Elder Russell M. Nelson, who said that, "While salvation is an individual matter, exaltation is a FAMILY matter". It was awesome to testify to new converts and investigators that the only way we CAN live with God is by completing the ordinances that He has instigated: baptism, receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost, receiving the Priesthood for men, receiving your endowment in the temple, and being sealed to your family in the temple for eternity. I know that these things are special, and they are truly the only way to return. I feel so blessed to have been able to feel of the importance and receive of these events in my life. Now all I have to do is keep on trudging and making sure that every day I am worthy enough to be comfortable with God. It's like I have received the keys to open the door to the house.  But, I need to make sure I can feel like I belong, or like it is MY house.  I will be able to be with the ones I love there.

On Monday, along with Dad's birthday, it was Elder Gamble's, my super awesome district leader's birthday! To celebrate we threw him a surprise party at a member's house (Susy). Even preparing for the surprise party was eventful, so the night was bound to be a little dramatic. Normally Elder Gamble, Elder Geisel, Sister Lancaster, and I head to Susy's house to eat on Mondays, so we decided we would invite all the elders  and our ward mission leader to her house early to surprise him when he showed up. Two problems arose with this plan: we run on Dominican time, and Elders Gamble and Geisel ended up going on a split with Elders Stephens and Duvall.  (Luckily for us, Elder Gamble was planning on staying in his area, so he was still planning on coming to dinner.) On Sunday Elder Duvall showed Elder Gamble his and Stephen's schedule to prove that they actually had things planned for the day. Included in that plan was an event on Monday at 7 pm, conveniently named "Gamble surprise".  Haha, gotta love those elders... So after that Elder Gamble had a few suspicions.

Elder Gamble's "surprise" birthday party

On Monday, Hermana Lancaster and I were heading to Susy's after an appointment in our area when we get a text from Elders Wilkins and Hurtado telling us that Gamble is now under the impression that we were not going to make it to Susy's tonight and instead they were going to go, and that we should just "play along". Apparently earlier in the afternoon Elders Hurtado, Wilkins, Gamble, and Geisel all found themselves together in their apartment. As is missionary tradition, they decided to pray before they headed out the door. When Elder Wilkins said the prayer, he blessed that they would get to Sister Susy's house safely. This of course confused Elder Gamble, since Elder Wilkins was not supposed to be going to Susy's that night.  So Elder Wilkins threw in a quick cover up, saying that the sisters had called and they were trading places. These boys do not know how to keep a secret.  It ended up that Hermana Lancaster and I were the last ones at Susy's house since Dominican time means we're always running late. So when we walked in the door we yelled a huge "surprise!!", and then watched as Elder Gamble gave us a really lame reaction. Either way, it was still a fun party and we had a delicious dinner.

After the party was over, we all left the apartment at the same time then waited for the elevator to show up--8 missionaries plus one ward mission leader.  Diosfer was the last one to step in the elevator when it arrived, and like the boys that they are, a couple elders hockey shoved him into the door. Next thing I know, we're stuck in a tiny stinky elevator with a trash bag, a fly the size of a ring, eight missionaries, and one ward mission leader.  This elevator was not moving anywhere.  The first thing we do, freak out a little. Do some jumping and yelling, and then quickly push all the buttons as if they were about to diffuse bombs or something. With no luck there, we had Diosfer call Susy.  He calls, but the Spanish he grew up speaking in the DR has left his brain, and instead of saying we're stuck in the elevator, he tells her that the elevator touched us. She must have thought it was a prank call, because she hung up immediately after that. After a few minutes of laughing at the fact that us gringos have to correct a Dominican's Spanish, we decide to take the next step and press the emergency call button. It rings a couple time, them says "Hello, this is the elevator service..." Diosfer yells out, "yeah we're stuck in an elevator!" The response, "we're sorry, please call back during normal business hours, 9-5..." With our few logical ideas busted, we decide to do the thing we should have done in the first place: PRAY.  I know prayers are answered on my own, so with a group of 7 other stellar missionaries and a ward mission leader, our prayer was bound to be pretty loud up in Heaven. Elder Duvall said a really sweet prayer, using the correct Spanish word for stuck. After the prayer, the giant fly came and attacked Sister lancaster and I and the elders pushed the emergency call button again. "Hello this is the elevator service." We were all silent. The voice spoke again. "Hello? This is the elevator device? Hello?" SOMEONE ANSWERED!!!  We told him our location, then he hung up. After that we tried Susy. Guess who answered her phone, and guess who spoke correct Spanish?! Susy told us she would get the super.  PRAYER half-way ANSWERED! BOOYA! So now it was a waiting game.  Usually it takes the fire department about 3 hours to respond to elevator calls, and while Susy is awesome, who knows what her super could actually do. In the process of all of this, we thought we felt the elevator move, but even then, the door never opened.  So after about 10 minutes of taking pictures, and telling Elder Gamble he had the best birthday story ever, someone thought to push the door open button. Next thing we know, the door swings open on the fifth floor! (We started at the basement... Hahaha). We all rushed out, more willing than ever to take the stairs! Sister lancaster passed out against the wall (from laughing too hard) for about 2 minutes, and then we headed home! But I know that prayers are answered! God hears every one and is just waiting for us.

GORGEOUS New York skyline

Love you all tons!! The Church is true, and I am blessed to be a part of this great work!

Love,

Hermana Dodson

For those of you that haven't seen the chalk art mural pictures at reachmygospel.blogspot.com, here are some Sadie took:

A New York Thanksgiving

Hola!

This thanksgiving was definitely an interesting one, but one I am definitely grateful for! Our downstairs neighbors, who are members in the English ward, invited us to dinner Wednesday night. We were so excited to possibly be having an Americans Thanksgiving! To our surprise, when we arrived, we discovered that the family we were eating dinner with was African! The wife came here from Sierra Leon only three years ago. So we had an African Thanksgiving! It was AMAZING! Africans love their food nice and spicy- my favorite.  Surprisingly, in general, we don't eat much spicy food here. Dominican food is not typically spicy, and we only ever eat at one Mexican member's house. We ate turkey, cous cous with shrimp and green beans, really spicy pork ribs, fruit and salad. Hermana Lancaster does not have a high tolerance for heat, so she was dying. When's she tasted the pork ribs I swear tears were coming out of her eyes. I didn't think they were that hot, just a little mild. The members told us that the ribs were actually really mild, because they were worried about what we could handle. The brother actually told us that he usually brings crushed red pepper with him everywhere because nothing is ever spicy enough. I have decided I was meant to be African. Haha. While we were eating the sister started telling us about a soup she makes. Listen to this: it is spicy peanut butter soup,with shrimp and chicken. I about fell off my chair when she said all those words together in one phrase. She said she would make some for me sometime, so fingers crossed!! That is like all my favorite things put together.  I was so grateful to be able to spend time with a family on thanksgiving! It was such a blessing!  They were so loving, kind, and hilarious. They have two girls, one who is

17, and the other is 2.  The two year old was sooo adorable. 

African Thanksgiving 

Dominican Thanksgiving

After our African extravaganza, I could not eat any more food, but we headed over to our ward mission leader's house for a Dominican dinner.  It was also delicious. The turkey had much more of a Latin flare, compared to the spicy African flare. Overall, it was a wonderful thanksgiving. We had opportunities to share the gospel with our neighbors, our friends, and also had the chance to had a relaxing day with friends. I am so grateful that we could celebrate this day.  I am so grateful that we can be grateful to our savior everyday! I am so grateful for you guys- my friends, and especially my family. Thank you so much for your sacrifices so that I can have this opportunity. It's been amazing to actually realize how much I not only need this mission, but also how much I actually want it. I have thought about how I never thought I would serve a mission, yet here I am, trying to follow God's plan for me. The more I try to do His will, the more I realize that I wanted this all along. I wanted to share, to serve, to love, to grow. I couldn't be more grateful for who I am becoming and for my Savior, who is giving me this opportunity!

Happy Thanksgiving!

This week we saw a lot of progress with a less active family, the Reynosas. The wife is sick with cancer and has not been able to come to church for a long time.  They are from the DR, and used to be really active members. We have seen a lot of progress with them! It has been really special to see.  A few weeks ago she was in the hospital for 12 days. I think this time in the hospital really hit her hard.  She is now home but has a hospice helper and has a hospital bed in her living room. When we come over, her face always lights up and she's always excited to see us come. Now that her health has really been waning, we like to call ourselves her spiritual hospice helpers.  It is really sad to see, and say, but we are literally sending her off to her Heavenly Father. This week, the ward made it possible for her to receive the sacrament at home! I think it really helped her feel pure joy. This truly is a gift from our Savior.  This Sunday we went to visit again, but she had a terrible headache. We ended up reading the Book of Mormon with Brother Reynosa. We read Helaman 13, which talks about the coming of the Savior and His purpose here. Bro. Reynosas contributed so much to the lesson. He was making comments about repentance, about Jesus Christ being born, about His Atonement, etc. The Spirit was strong.  At the end of the lesson, he says to us, "Me gustaría dar testimonio." We sat there in a tiny living room with a hospital bed, and listened to a man wearing a wife-beater and a gold chain with a diamond Jesus pendant give a sweet pure testimony. The Spirit bore witness to us, and I'm sure especially to him, that this church is the true church on the earth! It was beautiful.

In the spirit of the season, Sister Lancaster and I have been working on a nativity activity that we are going to do with people we teach! We really want to bring the spirit of Jesus Christ into their homes. I am working on drawing people for the nativity, and Sister Lancaster is working on making challenges for each day. Basically it is a countdown to Christmas, with things to do each day (such as read the story of Christ's birth in the Americas, etc.). Once an activity is completed, then they can put up the corresponding person. For example, Sunday the 15th, the challenge is to go to church, and the character is Mary. So if they go to church they put Mary on their scene! If not, then their nativity is going to be a little skewed... Haha. (Good thing we believe in repentance!) we are going to post pics on Facebook as we do it, and ask that whoever participates does as well. So look for pics on Facebook! Also it will be POSTED ON THE BLOG! So for whoever would like to join with us, print outs and information will be listed later this week. We are going to have a hashtag so people can follow it on Facebook, and then on our blogs, we are post our experiences of how we completed the day's challenge.  I am so excited. It is going to be amazing!!!

We decorated a member's Christmas tree!

We went and visited a less active family on Monday, the Pascuals, which we hadn't seen for a long time. They have four children.  We literally thought of the nativity scene idea on Monday morning, and then felt prompted to go see this family. So that night, we were running late, but still decided to go. We ran to the train, and right when we arrived, the train showed up! And then we got off the train, we ran to the bus stop, and the bus was there! This never happens. It was a miracle!  This bus NEVER ever shows up on time.  Generally we have to wait for 10 or 15 minutes. It was evidence to me that we really needed to get to this family! The bus ride was super fast, and next thing we knew we were crossing the bridge over to Manhattan! Oops... We were on the limited bus, not the regular one.  I leaned over to Sister Lancaster and said that they must not be quite ready for us... So we got off the bus in Washington Heights (this was a mistake I was kind of thrilled that it happened...) and waited for another bus to come back. When we finally arrived at the house, we were invited in. No more than two minutes later, the rest of the family walked in the door! God has perfect timing--that I know is true. Anyway, we spent some time with them, and felt like we NEED to do the Christmas countdown with them.  It was so cool. Truly The Lord works in mysterious ways. We are going back on Saturday to get them started!! It is definitely going to be a Christmas to remember!  I am so excited to help people really understand and FEEL the reason for the season.

Baptism for a for a man in the local English ward

Anyways, a couple other funny things:

My nickname here is "Sister Hipster"! HAHAHAHAHAHA! Everyone here thinks I am hipster. I know I dress really eccentric, but this is too hilarious. At zone meeting this week, I was asked to lead the discussion about online proselyting because I am "hipster". That was pretty funny.

I also made the pumpkin chocolate cookies from my other mother (Lori's recipe :) this week, and they were a big hit at our zone meeting. The comments we got were hilarious. I didn't have much time to cook them, so I made like two cookies for each person. I go to the bathroom, then come back to find out a couple elders had like 6. Every elder was telling me when their birthday was, trying to hint at me to make them more cookies. Another Elder told

Sister Lancaster that if his companion made cookies like that, he wouldn't let them be shared. I was laughing so hard! So thank you, mom (and Lori!)!

I saved you guys Mexican cookies! But our

little friend the mouse got to them.... Ugh.

Also Mom, THANK YOU for the December daily Christmas presents! They are so funny. We love opening one each morning.  The decorations and such help us to feel the spirit of Christmas.

Also this week we talked to Sulenny, a less active young woman. She is AMAZING! We love visiting her. She's super smart, and LOVES the gospel. She wanted to talk to us about the Second Coming, so we read with her the article in this month's New Era by Elder Holland. I was so uplifted. I really felt like I have finally really understood the importance of the Book of Mormon, and the reason for its creation. It was made for these latter days! I knew that before, but that day I felt it. I felt that truth and felt the Holy Ghost testify of that truth as I was praying. I know with my whole entire soul that the Book of Mormon is the word of God. It is true. It is important, and it is necessary. I know without a doubt in my mind that when I read that book, I am going to come closer to God. If the Second Coming is scary, it is because you don't fully understand the Book of Mormon. That book has the power to eliminate all fears, and will enlighten you as to the things that you need to do to prepare yourself for the time when Jesus Christ will reign on the earth. The Book of Mormon is powerful!! I am so grateful that prophets in the past sacrificed their own time with their own people and their own problems to write this book! They wrote it not because it would help their people, they wrote it so that we could have success. They knew their dispensation was eventually going to fail. They knew it. So they did all they could to make sure that our dispensation would not!

I love you all!! Have a wonderful week, and Happy Holidays!! Thank you so much for everything!

Love, Sister Dodson

Stake Conference in the Bronx!

Hola mi familia!

Due to popular demand, I am now writing a weekly family email.  This week was super fast.  It was also pretty crazy.  We had stake conference and it was MIND BLOWINGLY good.  The theme was the temple, which was the perfect kick off for me to post my picture of the temple!  Conference was truly inspiring.  Our stake president talked about ridding yourself of all corrupting influences.  We focused on Moroni 10:32 (my mission scripture!!) and how it says to rid yourself of ALL ungodliness.  It was amazing.  He called everybody to repentance about getting to the temple as often as possible.  Not only is that the place that will lift us up above the world for the rest of our week, but it is also the place where we become partners with the Savior in saving souls.  How amazing is that?!  We are truly fulfilling our purposes as members of the Church and God's children as we make an effort to go to the temple.  

Sadie's newest piece: "The Spirit of God"

He also talked about keeping the sacred things of the temple sacred.  He also told us that modesty goes FAR BEYOND clothing.  It is about being careful and highly upholding the sacredness of the body.  The best quote from conference: "Many of you have heard it said that 'Modest is hottest.' NO.  Modest is Godliness."  I LOVE THAT!  Modesty is how we show that we are godly- that we want to be gods.  Do you think that in the eternities when we have earned the right to become gods and goddesses and our own worlds that we will be sitting there in hot shorts and bikini tops?  The last quote I loved from conference: "It is okay to be sad, depressed, ridiculed, stressed, etc.  But it is NEVER okay to be UNGODLY."  

Sunday night we had a fireside from Elder Nielsen, who was the one at General Conference who spoke about exclamation points.  He talked to us about how important it is to focus on the basics.  he told us about when he was called as a stake president, and had no idea what to do.  He went to the temple and oddly enough instead of feeling inspired to direct his stake members about going to the temple or focusing on missionary work, etc. He felt inspired to learn himself the Articles of Faith, and then to apply them.  He found that during his time as Stake President he was asked sooo many questions and put in so many situations where the Articles of Faith were relevant.  Such as the time President Hinckley was on 60 minutes, etc.  He had a friend grill him about the gospel, and he was able to answer every single accusation with an Article of Faith.  It reminded me of how I was prompted in the MTC to memorize the Articles of Faith in spanish.  I have yet to have huge opportunities to use them, but I am ready for when the happen!  I have felt the power of the Articles of Faith though.  They were inspired by our prophet, Joseph Smith, in a time where people had no idea what the gospel was about.  Even now, people don't know that much about the gospel, and the Articles of Faith still stand pure and true.  I love that.

Anyway conference was awesome. I loved it. It was a huge blessing to hear from a general authority, from a fantastic stake presidency, and also from President and Sister Morgan.

Also we received iPads this week! Currently I am typing on my iPad! It is awesome! We are doing The Lord work so differently now and I love that. It is an incredible blessing.  We are the ninth mission in the world to be receiving them, so we are definitely the guinea pigs. So it will be exciting to see how they progress!

This week we will be doing (hopefully) a chalk finding activity!  The zone leaders asked for us to think of ideas, and then two days ago were like, "oh, Sister Dodson, what are you going to draw for us?" So apparently it is kind of my project. I am sooo excited. We will be doing it on Saturday so expect pictures on Facebook soon.  I am thrilled to be able to use my talent to spread the gospel. I have been learning that that is the real reason I have it.  God gives us talents only for the use of the building up of his kingdom. I am so grateful for my gift, and for the support of people! My temple drawing has gone viral on Facebook. TONS of missionaries shared it, as well as many people from home! It is a blessing from God.  I am just grateful to be an instrument in His hands.

So a couple funny stories from this week: first I have learned that it is always better to stretch at home after working out at the gym... New York is scary. Luckily because we have been wearing big puffy coats and glasses we don't get cat called as much! The other day we were walking past a man with an electric wheelchair. When he drove past he almost ran over Sister Lancaster, and they had an awkward moment of yelling sorry at each other. Afterwords, as he's driving away he says, "Don't worry, I'll give you a ride next time!" I was laughing so hard.

Also this week I may have had a Marilyn Monroe moment! It has been super windy. We wear big coats, jackets, tights, glasses, etc. the glasses are awesome. The wind chill is terrible here and I don't like it when my eyes just water and water, so we got glasses to lock the cold wind! They have helped tons. Also we need them to protect your eyes from the poop, trash, and Dirt that gets blown into your eyes. Anyways we had dinner at a members house with a couple elders. I was wearing my orange skirt, my green coat, boots, but no tights (it was 68 degrees that day. November 18, and 68 degrees,). Anyways right when we walk outside,  a huge gust of wind comes up and blows my skirt up in the air! I am standing right next to an elder, with sister Lancaster and the other elder barely in front of me! Luckily I don't think the elders saw anything! Hahaha.

We have been focusing on members this week, and so far have four dinner appointments lined up this week! That is pretty exciting. Member missionary work is what creates lasting and strong conversions. Members are the key! So I would encourage you to continue looking for people to help convert. Everybody needs a good friend in the Church.

Love you guys so much! Thank you for all!

Love you!!!

Sister Dodson