Hola Familia!
I can't believe how fast this transfer is flying by- it is already practically half over! I am doing really well. This Sunday I am going to have my first baptism- a really sweet nine year old girl from Mexico named Ariadne. Her grandma is a member, and she moved here with her Grandma and Aunt about two months ago so she can go to school here. She is so smart and understands everything we are teaching her, even with all of my mistakes in spanish. We have come up with a lot of fun little object lessons and games to teach her. She loves having us come over and teach her.
We are also teaching two brothers named Ivan and Isaac who are around twenty and twenty two, and at first they didn't seem like they would be that interested, but we have had some really amazing spiritual lessons with them and they have been coming to church with us and going to the young single adult activities. They are still a little confused though about what it means to be a missionary, because they asked us why we didn't come to the young single adult activities with them. We're trying to get that cleared up, and I'm really hoping that they can recognize the importance of the gospel for them in their lives as more than just something interesting or social. They are excited to get baptized, but they still have a way to go to learn and understand the purpose and importance of everything.
Saturday my companion and I got to run the Information center in the afternoon. The Information Center is a room at the Mission Home that looks like a living room where they show the Joseph Smith movie to investigators, so it is kind of like a mini Visitor's Center. It was really neat to watch the Joseph Smith movie again. I got to see it in the MTC, but for some reason this time it was even more powerful for me. I realized that I really do have a testimony of Joseph Smith, and I am so grateful for all of the things he went through to establish the church. I love how in that movie it shows a lot of times where he doesn't really know what he is supposed to do, or what is going to happen, he just knows that he always needs to trust in the Lord. That movie also made me think about how incredible it is that our church is so up to date in modern technology, and it helps you remember that the reason we have new and modern technology is to build the kingdom of God.
We have been blessed with a lot of opportunities to teach people. We had a neat experience the other day where we came back to visit an investigator and at first she didn't want to let us in, but then she did and we taught her and she said that she was really glad because she knows that this is what she needs, and she recognized the spirit, because she had been taught by other sister missionaries a couple of years ago, and she said that she could feel that same way with us as she did with them.
We taught another family that has two handicapped twin daughters that are teenagers, but that are severely handicapped and are like little children. When we came into the house and taught them it was amazing how strong the spirit was. We sang "I am a Child of God" for them. We are really excited to teach them the Plan of Salvation and about the resurrection. I can't imagine how hard it would be to devote your life to helping and taking care of handicapped children. At the same time you can see how blessed and what incredible people they are. I really hope they will let us keep teaching them.
It really is so sad when people just don't feel like they have the time, or have some other excuse to not pay attention to us. Sometimes I feel like it is my fault, and if I were just better and more effective then maybe they would want to learn more and they would realize the gospel is true. The more I think that the more I end up realizing that it isn't really about how good I am at persuading people. The Lord calls the weak and uses simple things to bring to pass his work. As long as I am living obedient and bearing my testimony, those that are ready will be willing to change and recognize that as missionaries we are representatives of Jesus Christ, even though we don't know that much. We get a lot of people that try to prove us wrong, or teach us what the bible really means, or we even had a really intellectual woman tell us that maybe if we had approached it in a different way and learned how to better express and present ourselves she would have been interested. I know that I have a lot to do and improve to keep becoming a more effective missionary, but really I know that it isn't about me- it is about having the spirit work through me.
I love you all and am so grateful for your support, your prayers, and your love.
Tengan una buena semana! Les amo.
Hermana Dansie
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
Maywood: Semana 2 2/17/10
Hola Familia!
My P-day was changed to today for this week so i could go to the temple. We go once every two transfers with our zone. It is so beautiful! I loved it. The only hard thing was having to get up at five this morning to get there in time for the seven thirty session. The traffic here really is ridiculous. Yesterday I went to the mission home for 13 day training, a one time training you do after having been in the mission for 13 days, and it took us almost two hours to get there, and it is probably about the same distance as our house to the Salt lake Temple.
I have been loving LA and especially Maywood. The first couple days here it was freezing cold and raining, but the last few days and today have felt like our summers. I'm even starting to get a tan. It is so sunny and beautiful. We have been riding bikes a lot. We also have a car, but we have a mileage allottment of 600 miles, so we have to balance out our driving and our bike riding. I am so happy i get to ride my bike.
Maywood apparently from what I've heard is a lot like mexico. It really does feel like a different country- all of the signs and billboards are in Spanish, and some of the houses are hot pink or teal or any and every color imaginable. Riding around on our bikes this weekend wasfun, because we rode past so many parties. They really know how to through parties here, just from what we've seen riding past. They blast Latin music, have Christmas lights up, baloons out, bounce houses, and is always smells like the most amazing food ever. I really want to come back some day after my mission just to see what a party would be like. I love how much the latin culture truly loves and enjoys life. The people are so nice, even when they don't want to hear about our message.
I still haven't eaten anything spicy, most of the people are from el salvador and guatemala and don't use all of the chilis. It is really funny to me because I have had a few people ask me if I have Latin roots. Its actually probably about fifty fifty, some people just talk to my companion at first and ask things like "does she know spanish?" or refer to me as a "guerrita" which kind of just means cute white girl. They are very open about referring to people by their appearance- when they are describing someone who is fat they will always say things like "oh, el gordito?" gordo is fat, so gordito is like a nice way of saying fat.
There is so much diversity here in LA and i love it. I went on splits for the day to an area called Vernon, and it is a little bit more urban and diverse, but it was so interesting to meet the different people. There was one place we went though with these really creepy trashy apartments, and we got up to a door and I just felt this really heavy, sick feeling, and we could hear people inside but we just decided to leave a passalong card and leave.
On the other end, i had a really neat experience with the spirit the other day when I was teaching a man who wasn't completely interested, but we could tell that what we were telling him about the nature of God really clicked with him, and I felt prompted to tell him that we have families here because that is how they were patterned before, and that God really is our Heavenly Father and he can feel our pain, and we can feel and comprehend a little bit of his pain, because he really did sacrifice his son for us, and we can imagine to a small degree what that was like because we have the opportunity of having families. Well, it sounded better and made more sense, but it was actually a concept that I hadn't really thought about before either. We have pain sometimes so that we can comprehend the pain the God and Jesus Christ have gone through for us and we can appreciate it more.
I love how much the spirit is teaching me as I serve and learn how to teach. One of the sisters in our zone has this really neat quote by president hinkley where he talks about how more sister missionaries are going out than ever before, and it's not because they just can't get married, it is because the Lord is preparing the future mothers of the next and greatest generation of missionaries, or something to that affect. It was a really neat quote. I know that there are great and powerful reasons that I am here, and this is the best place for me to learn and grow.
Another interesting thing about Maywood is there are street vendors eveywhere- they are always pushing carts or baby strollers around the neighborhood and yelling. There are also so many ice cream trucks everywhere. When I was in Vernon with Hermana Garcia we were out teaching a family in their front yard on their lawn chairs and we got to the really spiritually part of the restoration with the first vision and an icecream truck came right next to the house and just stayed there, blasting its music for over five minutes. It was incessant- but we were still able to keep teaching them. Hermana Salazar has a theory that Satan will always try to stop you from teaching the part about the first vision because it is so powerful.
It is interesting adapting to all of the different types of teaching situations. The hardest ones are when we are knocking doors, because almost every house has a metal screen door in front of it and you can't see in, and some peole won't open it so you can't see them but you have to talk to them and try to teach them through the screen door.
The work is going really well, we have a lot of really great investigators. We usually plan for an average of about six lessons a day, which apparently is a lot compared to the rest of the mission. In the latin areas it is easy to get in the house and teach them, but it is challenging getting them to keep commitments. Do any of you returned missionaries have any advice or suggestions for me? I know that a lot of it has to be learned from experience. It is hard figuring out how to really help motivate people to change their lives, but I know that the Lord is helping me learn.
My companion has been a really great help. She is very dedicated and motivated, and works really hard. She makes me learn the hard way sometimes, but it good for me and keeps me humble. It was a little hard for a little while because we have pretty similar personalities and were clashing just a little bit, but we had a really good talk and figured things out and I know that we are going to continue to grow and make a really good team.
My time is running out,
I love you all! I'll write again Monday.
Hermana Dansie
My P-day was changed to today for this week so i could go to the temple. We go once every two transfers with our zone. It is so beautiful! I loved it. The only hard thing was having to get up at five this morning to get there in time for the seven thirty session. The traffic here really is ridiculous. Yesterday I went to the mission home for 13 day training, a one time training you do after having been in the mission for 13 days, and it took us almost two hours to get there, and it is probably about the same distance as our house to the Salt lake Temple.
I have been loving LA and especially Maywood. The first couple days here it was freezing cold and raining, but the last few days and today have felt like our summers. I'm even starting to get a tan. It is so sunny and beautiful. We have been riding bikes a lot. We also have a car, but we have a mileage allottment of 600 miles, so we have to balance out our driving and our bike riding. I am so happy i get to ride my bike.
Maywood apparently from what I've heard is a lot like mexico. It really does feel like a different country- all of the signs and billboards are in Spanish, and some of the houses are hot pink or teal or any and every color imaginable. Riding around on our bikes this weekend wasfun, because we rode past so many parties. They really know how to through parties here, just from what we've seen riding past. They blast Latin music, have Christmas lights up, baloons out, bounce houses, and is always smells like the most amazing food ever. I really want to come back some day after my mission just to see what a party would be like. I love how much the latin culture truly loves and enjoys life. The people are so nice, even when they don't want to hear about our message.
I still haven't eaten anything spicy, most of the people are from el salvador and guatemala and don't use all of the chilis. It is really funny to me because I have had a few people ask me if I have Latin roots. Its actually probably about fifty fifty, some people just talk to my companion at first and ask things like "does she know spanish?" or refer to me as a "guerrita" which kind of just means cute white girl. They are very open about referring to people by their appearance- when they are describing someone who is fat they will always say things like "oh, el gordito?" gordo is fat, so gordito is like a nice way of saying fat.
There is so much diversity here in LA and i love it. I went on splits for the day to an area called Vernon, and it is a little bit more urban and diverse, but it was so interesting to meet the different people. There was one place we went though with these really creepy trashy apartments, and we got up to a door and I just felt this really heavy, sick feeling, and we could hear people inside but we just decided to leave a passalong card and leave.
On the other end, i had a really neat experience with the spirit the other day when I was teaching a man who wasn't completely interested, but we could tell that what we were telling him about the nature of God really clicked with him, and I felt prompted to tell him that we have families here because that is how they were patterned before, and that God really is our Heavenly Father and he can feel our pain, and we can feel and comprehend a little bit of his pain, because he really did sacrifice his son for us, and we can imagine to a small degree what that was like because we have the opportunity of having families. Well, it sounded better and made more sense, but it was actually a concept that I hadn't really thought about before either. We have pain sometimes so that we can comprehend the pain the God and Jesus Christ have gone through for us and we can appreciate it more.
I love how much the spirit is teaching me as I serve and learn how to teach. One of the sisters in our zone has this really neat quote by president hinkley where he talks about how more sister missionaries are going out than ever before, and it's not because they just can't get married, it is because the Lord is preparing the future mothers of the next and greatest generation of missionaries, or something to that affect. It was a really neat quote. I know that there are great and powerful reasons that I am here, and this is the best place for me to learn and grow.
Another interesting thing about Maywood is there are street vendors eveywhere- they are always pushing carts or baby strollers around the neighborhood and yelling. There are also so many ice cream trucks everywhere. When I was in Vernon with Hermana Garcia we were out teaching a family in their front yard on their lawn chairs and we got to the really spiritually part of the restoration with the first vision and an icecream truck came right next to the house and just stayed there, blasting its music for over five minutes. It was incessant- but we were still able to keep teaching them. Hermana Salazar has a theory that Satan will always try to stop you from teaching the part about the first vision because it is so powerful.
It is interesting adapting to all of the different types of teaching situations. The hardest ones are when we are knocking doors, because almost every house has a metal screen door in front of it and you can't see in, and some peole won't open it so you can't see them but you have to talk to them and try to teach them through the screen door.
The work is going really well, we have a lot of really great investigators. We usually plan for an average of about six lessons a day, which apparently is a lot compared to the rest of the mission. In the latin areas it is easy to get in the house and teach them, but it is challenging getting them to keep commitments. Do any of you returned missionaries have any advice or suggestions for me? I know that a lot of it has to be learned from experience. It is hard figuring out how to really help motivate people to change their lives, but I know that the Lord is helping me learn.
My companion has been a really great help. She is very dedicated and motivated, and works really hard. She makes me learn the hard way sometimes, but it good for me and keeps me humble. It was a little hard for a little while because we have pretty similar personalities and were clashing just a little bit, but we had a really good talk and figured things out and I know that we are going to continue to grow and make a really good team.
My time is running out,
I love you all! I'll write again Monday.
Hermana Dansie
Sunday, February 14, 2010
L.A. - Primera Semana del Campo! Maywood: Feb. 8, 2010
Hola Familia!
I'm in Los Angeles! I made it here safe. :) I got in Wednesday morning. It was a beautiful day. We had some orientation stuff, an interview with the president and then we hit the doors tracting with a temporary training companion while our mission president prayerfully decided who we should be with. I came in with a group of 14 missionaries, three of them sisters. My first tracting experience was really great- I thought I was going to be scared but i wasn't at all. All day i felt like the Lord just carried and supported me- I wasn't nervous or stressed or anything. That night we had dinner at the mission home and found out about our area and companion. I was assigned to an area called Maywood with my companion Hermana Salazar. She has been out for six months and this is her first time training. She is really great- she expects a lot out of me which is good, and pushes me to work hard and be 100% obedient, down to the minute and without any exceptions. Our mission president is extremely focused on obedience.
We have a lot of extra policies, one of them is that the zone leaders only get the mail on Tuesdays from the mission office and only distribute the mail on Fridays, so I haven't received any letters if you have sent them and won't get them til Friday. The mail will always be sent to the mission home, not to our addresses. Its nice that we won't have to worry about it when we transfer areas.
Wednesday night the Zone Leaders were supposed to bring all of my luggage and stuff to our apartment, but they accidently dropped it off at another apartment. At first I thought they were just teasing me. It was ok though because I had an extra outfit and stuff in my backpack thank goodness. They brought me my stuff the next afternoon, so it was fine, just kind of funny.
My bike got here Thursday, but I still have yet to ride it because the last couple of days have been really rainy, and surprisingly extremely cold. I am really glad I brought my coat.
I am in an area called Maywood. It is a little city in South Los Angeles that reminds me a lot of Midvale, except with more Latinos. Our apartment is actually pretty big, for a missionary apartment. We have a lot of muslim neighbors, and it is funny because I feel like we have an understanding because we both dress weird, so they always say hi and are really nice. We also have a rooster for a neighbor that is really noisy in the mornings, but I'm starting to get used to that. That and all of the big city sirens. I really do love our neighborhood though; it has a lot of cute little old houses that are painted in crazy bright colors and have weird statues and stuff.
About 90% of all of our tracting and teaching has been in spanish, which is really great- i'm learning a ton really fast. The people are really sweet and loving, and even when we are tracting people are pretty nice and will talk to you even if they're not really interested. It is funny because even the stores and everything are spanish- a lot of the names are spanish names or a funny mix of spanish and english- like a store called the "Wateria." (Bob- it reminded me of that one time we were riding bikes over the summer.)
Thursday, my first real day in the field, we taught about six lessons. They went really well- amazingly I can understand the spanish even though it is really fast, and I can communicate back, mas o menos. Sometimes I fell like I am really blessed to speak really well and communicate what I need to, and other times it is really hard for me, i think maybe because the Lord wants to keep me humble, and also because sometimes it is more effective when people sympathize with me trying to speak spanish. There really have been some miraculous times though when I have really been able to speak pretty good spanish. Thursday night i extended my first baptismal commitment in spanish (we extend the committment every lesson), and she thinks she doesn't need to get baptized, but I felt really good about having had the courage to do it. There have been a lot of things so out of my comfort zone, but i have decided just to throuw myself in to it and go for it, because I know that the lord will help me.
It has been kind of a hard adjustment, and it has definitely humbled me, but i am definitely being pushed to grow and reach my full potential. It is really hard for me not really knowing all the rules and having to figure it out as I go along and also being told that I am doing things wrong. For the most part though things have been good. i am amazed at how well my companion and I teach together. We really are pretty similar in being motivated and driven, and so we have gotten along really well.
For church on Sunday there is a spanish branch that we go to first and there is also an english ward. I got up and bore my testimony in the spanish ward sacrament meeting yesterday, in spanish. It wasn't the greatest ever, but again I was just glad that I did it and wasn't afraid. I know that this truly is the Lord's work and he has been with me every step of the way.
I never realized how much there is to do and how much hard work it takes to be a missionary. But I know that it is worth the reward of being able to be part of changing peoples' lives and helping them be happier. There is a really sweet older latino man that just got baptized two weeks ago who had an extreme change in his life, he completely quit drinking and smoking and he loves reading and studying the scriptures, and he is so grateful to my companion and to missionaries in general. I am excited to help and be part of that.
I also have loved my personal study time. My companion gave me an article to read called "The Fourth Missionary." It talks about how there are four kinds of missionaries, the first is disobedient and gets sent home or decides to go home, the second is disobedient but makes it all the way through, and I just got finished reading about the third missionary, who is obedient but doesn't ever recieve the benefits, because even though they are obedient it says "you can't be happy if you don't want to do the things that make you happy, even if you do those things." I thought that was interesting, and it made me realize how our attitude really is important. I've had a couple moments where my attitude hasn't been the greatest, because this is hard, but I am excited to keep improving and trying to do my best and give my best to the Lord. I've also learned a lot about the importance of sincere, specific prayer. We pray so much. I know that it definitely is important though.
Anyways, what are your questions for me? I don't really know what else to tell you. All of the food I have had is really good. I love all of the authentic latin american food. I still have yet to eat something really spicy- apparently spicy is only a Mexico thing. There is an incredible restaurant here we just ate at that is a lot like the Red Iguana. It was so good. I'll have to take Angela there after my mission. :) I hope everything is going well at home. I will keep praying for you.
Love,
Hermana Dansie
I'm in Los Angeles! I made it here safe. :) I got in Wednesday morning. It was a beautiful day. We had some orientation stuff, an interview with the president and then we hit the doors tracting with a temporary training companion while our mission president prayerfully decided who we should be with. I came in with a group of 14 missionaries, three of them sisters. My first tracting experience was really great- I thought I was going to be scared but i wasn't at all. All day i felt like the Lord just carried and supported me- I wasn't nervous or stressed or anything. That night we had dinner at the mission home and found out about our area and companion. I was assigned to an area called Maywood with my companion Hermana Salazar. She has been out for six months and this is her first time training. She is really great- she expects a lot out of me which is good, and pushes me to work hard and be 100% obedient, down to the minute and without any exceptions. Our mission president is extremely focused on obedience.
We have a lot of extra policies, one of them is that the zone leaders only get the mail on Tuesdays from the mission office and only distribute the mail on Fridays, so I haven't received any letters if you have sent them and won't get them til Friday. The mail will always be sent to the mission home, not to our addresses. Its nice that we won't have to worry about it when we transfer areas.
Wednesday night the Zone Leaders were supposed to bring all of my luggage and stuff to our apartment, but they accidently dropped it off at another apartment. At first I thought they were just teasing me. It was ok though because I had an extra outfit and stuff in my backpack thank goodness. They brought me my stuff the next afternoon, so it was fine, just kind of funny.
My bike got here Thursday, but I still have yet to ride it because the last couple of days have been really rainy, and surprisingly extremely cold. I am really glad I brought my coat.
I am in an area called Maywood. It is a little city in South Los Angeles that reminds me a lot of Midvale, except with more Latinos. Our apartment is actually pretty big, for a missionary apartment. We have a lot of muslim neighbors, and it is funny because I feel like we have an understanding because we both dress weird, so they always say hi and are really nice. We also have a rooster for a neighbor that is really noisy in the mornings, but I'm starting to get used to that. That and all of the big city sirens. I really do love our neighborhood though; it has a lot of cute little old houses that are painted in crazy bright colors and have weird statues and stuff.
About 90% of all of our tracting and teaching has been in spanish, which is really great- i'm learning a ton really fast. The people are really sweet and loving, and even when we are tracting people are pretty nice and will talk to you even if they're not really interested. It is funny because even the stores and everything are spanish- a lot of the names are spanish names or a funny mix of spanish and english- like a store called the "Wateria." (Bob- it reminded me of that one time we were riding bikes over the summer.)
Thursday, my first real day in the field, we taught about six lessons. They went really well- amazingly I can understand the spanish even though it is really fast, and I can communicate back, mas o menos. Sometimes I fell like I am really blessed to speak really well and communicate what I need to, and other times it is really hard for me, i think maybe because the Lord wants to keep me humble, and also because sometimes it is more effective when people sympathize with me trying to speak spanish. There really have been some miraculous times though when I have really been able to speak pretty good spanish. Thursday night i extended my first baptismal commitment in spanish (we extend the committment every lesson), and she thinks she doesn't need to get baptized, but I felt really good about having had the courage to do it. There have been a lot of things so out of my comfort zone, but i have decided just to throuw myself in to it and go for it, because I know that the lord will help me.
It has been kind of a hard adjustment, and it has definitely humbled me, but i am definitely being pushed to grow and reach my full potential. It is really hard for me not really knowing all the rules and having to figure it out as I go along and also being told that I am doing things wrong. For the most part though things have been good. i am amazed at how well my companion and I teach together. We really are pretty similar in being motivated and driven, and so we have gotten along really well.
For church on Sunday there is a spanish branch that we go to first and there is also an english ward. I got up and bore my testimony in the spanish ward sacrament meeting yesterday, in spanish. It wasn't the greatest ever, but again I was just glad that I did it and wasn't afraid. I know that this truly is the Lord's work and he has been with me every step of the way.
I never realized how much there is to do and how much hard work it takes to be a missionary. But I know that it is worth the reward of being able to be part of changing peoples' lives and helping them be happier. There is a really sweet older latino man that just got baptized two weeks ago who had an extreme change in his life, he completely quit drinking and smoking and he loves reading and studying the scriptures, and he is so grateful to my companion and to missionaries in general. I am excited to help and be part of that.
I also have loved my personal study time. My companion gave me an article to read called "The Fourth Missionary." It talks about how there are four kinds of missionaries, the first is disobedient and gets sent home or decides to go home, the second is disobedient but makes it all the way through, and I just got finished reading about the third missionary, who is obedient but doesn't ever recieve the benefits, because even though they are obedient it says "you can't be happy if you don't want to do the things that make you happy, even if you do those things." I thought that was interesting, and it made me realize how our attitude really is important. I've had a couple moments where my attitude hasn't been the greatest, because this is hard, but I am excited to keep improving and trying to do my best and give my best to the Lord. I've also learned a lot about the importance of sincere, specific prayer. We pray so much. I know that it definitely is important though.
Anyways, what are your questions for me? I don't really know what else to tell you. All of the food I have had is really good. I love all of the authentic latin american food. I still have yet to eat something really spicy- apparently spicy is only a Mexico thing. There is an incredible restaurant here we just ate at that is a lot like the Red Iguana. It was so good. I'll have to take Angela there after my mission. :) I hope everything is going well at home. I will keep praying for you.
Love,
Hermana Dansie
MTC - El Ultimo Semana, Jan. 29, 2010
Hola Familia!
This is my last week at the MTC, so I want to share with you some of the things I have learned from my experience here.
#1 God really does have a specific plan for each of us, and I shouldn't be presumptious by to thinking I know what it is; i just have to trust him.
#2 Heavenly Father humbles us so we can learn that when we are strong we are strong because of him. If we think we can do it on our own we are missiong the point.
#3 We are here to become like God. Part of that is learning how to control the natural man. i have learned so much about self-control here. I have made goals and stuck to them- I've gotten up early every morning for aerobics (except twice when i forgot to set my alarm), I've only had desserts on holidays, and I have eaten really healthy. These things have given me more control over my physical body, and as a result I haven't gotten sick. There is so much more we can do than we realize to make our lives the way we want them to be. It is the same way with strengthening our spirits- we have the control to do what is best for them and if we do we are blessed.
#4 Being obedient is the key to unlocking blessings from God. Even the small thaings that we need to do- if we do them they unlock more blessings. They help us come closer to God and have more power over temptation. Being obedient also brings you respect and the ability to lead, because people will want to follow your example and they can see that you aren't being hypocritical. Another blessing of being obedient is that when someone tells you you should do something you donm't get frustrated at being told what to do, because you have already chosen that you want to do it for yourself.
#5 There were so many things that i didn't realize were commandments- like praying and reading your scriptures every day, and having family home evening. I always thought they were just good things you could choose to do to help you out. These are commandments because they also unlock blessings in our lives and help us. I know that learning to live the commandments and follow all of the mission rules has taught me so much and strengthened me spiritually and also really prepared me to go out into the world and teach the gospel and represent Jesus Christ without feeling hypocritical.
#6 The spirit really does help us and work through us.
#7 There are so many people out there ready and waiting for the gospel- the field truly is white.
#8 I have learned how to apply the scriptures to my life, and I keep learning how I can better help others apply the gospel to the situations they are goind through.
#9 I've learned not to worry so much about whether or not something is a prompting from the spirit- if it is good and it seems like a prompting then do it- at least you are showing the Lord that you are willing to follow his promptings. Don['t wait until you know why you have to do it to do it. A lot of times heavenly Father doesn't tell us why because we don't need to know- we just need to have faith, and then sometimes after our test of faith we will get the confirmation of why. As long as we are striving to do what is right the Lord promises us that we won't be led astray.
#10 We truly are God's children- he understands and loves each of us. Another part of becoming like him on this earth is learning how to love everyone. It is not the easiest thing to do, especially when you are with some of them 24/7. No matter how great they are it is still hard- everyone has weaknesses and frustrating things about them, and Satan wants us to focus on that, whereas God can help us look past that and love them anyway.
#11 i've realized a lot more about what makes people admirable and extraordinary and what I want to strive to become, especially from the examples in the scriptures. i've realized that good people do good things and make good choices, but I think what makes a person extraordinary is when they do what is right no matter how small and insignificant it seems, and no matter how big and significant the excuses that they could potentially use are. We don't ever have to use excuses- we can do what is right and what we know we need to do, and when we don't we can be strong enough to take the responsibility to change it. We can wither act or be acted upon.
#12 Heavenly Father will help us as we take the initiative to change our lives and be better. There is no way I could have come this far on my mission without his support, the comfort from the spirit, the times i have been humbled, the cumulative hours on my knees in prayer, and the testimonies and things I have learned from all of the great teachers and other missionaries here. It is an incredible work to be part of and it blesses us and brings us joy as well.
You can pray to be part of the missionary work as well. i know that as you ask specifically to have missionary experiences the Lord will help and support you, and that really is how you could help me out as well. i hope that when i get to my areas the members will be excited about missionary work and want to help.
Will you pray with real intent to find a way to help with the missionary work? :D
I love you all so much! Thank you for your testimonies and examples. :)
Have a great week!
Love,
Hermana Dansie
This is my last week at the MTC, so I want to share with you some of the things I have learned from my experience here.
#1 God really does have a specific plan for each of us, and I shouldn't be presumptious by to thinking I know what it is; i just have to trust him.
#2 Heavenly Father humbles us so we can learn that when we are strong we are strong because of him. If we think we can do it on our own we are missiong the point.
#3 We are here to become like God. Part of that is learning how to control the natural man. i have learned so much about self-control here. I have made goals and stuck to them- I've gotten up early every morning for aerobics (except twice when i forgot to set my alarm), I've only had desserts on holidays, and I have eaten really healthy. These things have given me more control over my physical body, and as a result I haven't gotten sick. There is so much more we can do than we realize to make our lives the way we want them to be. It is the same way with strengthening our spirits- we have the control to do what is best for them and if we do we are blessed.
#4 Being obedient is the key to unlocking blessings from God. Even the small thaings that we need to do- if we do them they unlock more blessings. They help us come closer to God and have more power over temptation. Being obedient also brings you respect and the ability to lead, because people will want to follow your example and they can see that you aren't being hypocritical. Another blessing of being obedient is that when someone tells you you should do something you donm't get frustrated at being told what to do, because you have already chosen that you want to do it for yourself.
#5 There were so many things that i didn't realize were commandments- like praying and reading your scriptures every day, and having family home evening. I always thought they were just good things you could choose to do to help you out. These are commandments because they also unlock blessings in our lives and help us. I know that learning to live the commandments and follow all of the mission rules has taught me so much and strengthened me spiritually and also really prepared me to go out into the world and teach the gospel and represent Jesus Christ without feeling hypocritical.
#6 The spirit really does help us and work through us.
#7 There are so many people out there ready and waiting for the gospel- the field truly is white.
#8 I have learned how to apply the scriptures to my life, and I keep learning how I can better help others apply the gospel to the situations they are goind through.
#9 I've learned not to worry so much about whether or not something is a prompting from the spirit- if it is good and it seems like a prompting then do it- at least you are showing the Lord that you are willing to follow his promptings. Don['t wait until you know why you have to do it to do it. A lot of times heavenly Father doesn't tell us why because we don't need to know- we just need to have faith, and then sometimes after our test of faith we will get the confirmation of why. As long as we are striving to do what is right the Lord promises us that we won't be led astray.
#10 We truly are God's children- he understands and loves each of us. Another part of becoming like him on this earth is learning how to love everyone. It is not the easiest thing to do, especially when you are with some of them 24/7. No matter how great they are it is still hard- everyone has weaknesses and frustrating things about them, and Satan wants us to focus on that, whereas God can help us look past that and love them anyway.
#11 i've realized a lot more about what makes people admirable and extraordinary and what I want to strive to become, especially from the examples in the scriptures. i've realized that good people do good things and make good choices, but I think what makes a person extraordinary is when they do what is right no matter how small and insignificant it seems, and no matter how big and significant the excuses that they could potentially use are. We don't ever have to use excuses- we can do what is right and what we know we need to do, and when we don't we can be strong enough to take the responsibility to change it. We can wither act or be acted upon.
#12 Heavenly Father will help us as we take the initiative to change our lives and be better. There is no way I could have come this far on my mission without his support, the comfort from the spirit, the times i have been humbled, the cumulative hours on my knees in prayer, and the testimonies and things I have learned from all of the great teachers and other missionaries here. It is an incredible work to be part of and it blesses us and brings us joy as well.
You can pray to be part of the missionary work as well. i know that as you ask specifically to have missionary experiences the Lord will help and support you, and that really is how you could help me out as well. i hope that when i get to my areas the members will be excited about missionary work and want to help.
Will you pray with real intent to find a way to help with the missionary work? :D
I love you all so much! Thank you for your testimonies and examples. :)
Have a great week!
Love,
Hermana Dansie
MTC - Semana Diez, Jan. 26, 2010
Hola Familia!
Mom, you are so amazing! Thank you so much for that package with the party kit, my district loved it. :D That really was so sweet of you.
Angela, you are also amazing and the best sister ever. :) I got your package too. Thanks for the presents. I especially love the christian word magnets, those are going to be really fun to put on my fridge in the field.
Thanks for your e-mail Bob. :) i am glad that you are doing well and having fun in school.
You really are all so great and wonderful, and I am so lucky to have such a supportive family. :D
I can't believe this is my last week! It is pretty crazy. All of my district leaves tomorrow, so it will just be harmana stout and I which is pretty sad. Wednesday we start our Visitor's Center training and our entire schedule is changing, including P-day, which I will have again on Friday. I will be able to write more personal letters and a better e-mail then. Today has just been kind of crazy because I made little presents for all of my district. We really have become so close- it feels like they are family. We've definitely been through a lot together. I am really excited for them though. All of the elders are going to Sacramento and Hermana Hoof is headed to Phoenix.
I have a few things I need to get figured out before I go. First of all, I wanted to make sure you got those DVDs of me singing- you haven't mentioned them at all yet. Also, did you make sure and call the mission office before sending my bike? If you haven't sent it yet can you find my light blue cowl neck shirt in my stuff and send it with it? It think it is express brand- I din't know how else to describe it. I would wear it a lot with my grey pencil skirt and with my glasses. Hopefully Angela will know. I didn't bring it because I thought it would be too form fitting, but I've actually lost a lot of weight so most of my clothes are starting to feel too big. Oh, and also that really bright metallicy purple shirt. They don't have any rules against bright colors- in fact they sell hot pink skirts here. If you can't find them don't worry about it.
I got my travel plans and I leave for LA next Wednesday, February third at 8:30 in the morning. I leave the MTC at 5:00 in the morning. They don't have a policy about calling your family in the airport, which a member of my branch presidency said means that I can call you, it is just up to the missionary and whether they feel it will distract them or motivate them. I really feel like it would be fine, so as long as its ok with you I will probably call around seven in the morning on Wednesday. :) I get in to LA at 9:30 California time, so I will have the whole day ahead of me to work hard.
I am really excited to go to temple square this week to practice my Visitor's Center Training. It is going to be kind of weird going from being here for ten weeks to going out into the real world again. it really has been an incredible one of a kind experience, and I'm not even sure Mom and Dad can fully understand what it is like being here for this long. Not that it is bad by any means, but I definitely think I will be more of a shock and transition getting used to the real world again.
Well, i will write you all again on Friday. I hope everything is going ok with all of James' high school drama.
I love you all so much
- Hermana Dansie
Mom, you are so amazing! Thank you so much for that package with the party kit, my district loved it. :D That really was so sweet of you.
Angela, you are also amazing and the best sister ever. :) I got your package too. Thanks for the presents. I especially love the christian word magnets, those are going to be really fun to put on my fridge in the field.
Thanks for your e-mail Bob. :) i am glad that you are doing well and having fun in school.
You really are all so great and wonderful, and I am so lucky to have such a supportive family. :D
I can't believe this is my last week! It is pretty crazy. All of my district leaves tomorrow, so it will just be harmana stout and I which is pretty sad. Wednesday we start our Visitor's Center training and our entire schedule is changing, including P-day, which I will have again on Friday. I will be able to write more personal letters and a better e-mail then. Today has just been kind of crazy because I made little presents for all of my district. We really have become so close- it feels like they are family. We've definitely been through a lot together. I am really excited for them though. All of the elders are going to Sacramento and Hermana Hoof is headed to Phoenix.
I have a few things I need to get figured out before I go. First of all, I wanted to make sure you got those DVDs of me singing- you haven't mentioned them at all yet. Also, did you make sure and call the mission office before sending my bike? If you haven't sent it yet can you find my light blue cowl neck shirt in my stuff and send it with it? It think it is express brand- I din't know how else to describe it. I would wear it a lot with my grey pencil skirt and with my glasses. Hopefully Angela will know. I didn't bring it because I thought it would be too form fitting, but I've actually lost a lot of weight so most of my clothes are starting to feel too big. Oh, and also that really bright metallicy purple shirt. They don't have any rules against bright colors- in fact they sell hot pink skirts here. If you can't find them don't worry about it.
I got my travel plans and I leave for LA next Wednesday, February third at 8:30 in the morning. I leave the MTC at 5:00 in the morning. They don't have a policy about calling your family in the airport, which a member of my branch presidency said means that I can call you, it is just up to the missionary and whether they feel it will distract them or motivate them. I really feel like it would be fine, so as long as its ok with you I will probably call around seven in the morning on Wednesday. :) I get in to LA at 9:30 California time, so I will have the whole day ahead of me to work hard.
I am really excited to go to temple square this week to practice my Visitor's Center Training. It is going to be kind of weird going from being here for ten weeks to going out into the real world again. it really has been an incredible one of a kind experience, and I'm not even sure Mom and Dad can fully understand what it is like being here for this long. Not that it is bad by any means, but I definitely think I will be more of a shock and transition getting used to the real world again.
Well, i will write you all again on Friday. I hope everything is going ok with all of James' high school drama.
I love you all so much
- Hermana Dansie
MTC - Semana Nueve, Jan. 19, 2010
Hola Familia! ¿Como estan?
Wow, I've already been gone for two months. Crazy, huh? Since today is a holiday and we just had the weekend i haven't gotten any of your mail or e-mails. I wrote mom a letter with some more details in reply to the last e-mail though. How is everyone else doing? I hope you are all having fun, and I know you are all keeping busy.
This week has been pretty intense. I had one of the most incredible spiritual experiences of my life in the RC talking to Charles again. I'm going to write out the experience and send it to you a little bit later, because I don't really have time in this e-mail. Basically it was like the spirit was working through me and it wasn't even me talking. He is so receptive and ready to hear the gospel, but he is still waiting for the missionaries to come. I really think that he will get baptized. We both felt the spirit so strong, and he said that he feels "thirsty to learn more and to find the truth," and i promised him he would be able to find that in the Book of Mormon. The experience was such a blessing and taught me so much about how to follow the spirit, and about how if we trust in God he really will help us. So i'll get you the full story later.
I also found out that I have an extra week here. My departure date isn't until February third. It was kind of hard getting such a shock. They didn't even tell us, we were just expecting to get our travel plans and we didn't, so we went into the travel office and found out. I know there are probably some really good reasons for having to stay here, and its only one extra week, so it will be fine. It will give me another chance to talk to Charles, and more time to study and practice and be even more ready. It is kind of sad because the rest of our district is leaving next tuesday, so hermana stout and i will have a week all alone. I have become really close to everyone in my district; we are all really good friends and we have been through a lot together. There are five elders in my district that are all headed to Sacramento California, and my other companion Hermana hoof is going to phoenix.
I just remembered, when i sang my musical numbers they told me they were going to send you DVDs of the video they took of them. I wanted them to be a surprise so i didn't tell you about them, but did you ever get them? I want to know so i can make sure you do before i leave.
Hmmm, maybe i do I have time to type my experience real fast. I've been writing it out, and I only have ten minutes left of time, but I might be able to type the first part.
This past Wednesday I was practicing for another musical number I wanted to audition with on Thursday, and for some reason I felt like I shouldn't audition. Then I thought, "Well, I really want to audition, and I've been working really hard on this song, and why does it even matter?" I started questioning if I really did know how to follow the spirit and feeling a lot of anxiety. I kept thinking, why does it even matter? And then "if it doesn't matter why don't I just do it. Do i not even have enough faith th do something as small and simple as this?" Then I remembered how someone told me that if you feel like something is a prompting, and it is a good thing, then you should do it because then at least you are showing the Lord that you are willing to follow his promptings. At planning that night i felt really dumb telling my accompanist, an elder in my district, that I didn't want to audition because I felt weird about it. I hated feeling like I had wasted his time practicing for nothing. I was feeling a lot of anxiety still for no reason, and so i felt like i needed to ask the elders for a blessing, which is also extremely difficult for me because I hate appearing weak and vulnerable and asking for help. The blessing was really sweet and simple- it was the elder's first time giving a blessing. It really calmed my anxiety, even though I still felt pretty dumb for making a big deal out of something so small, but i felt better and confident about my decision not to audition.
The next day was Thursday which is when we usually go to the RC, and I ended up having that incredible experience with Charles that I know I couldn't have had if I had been anxious about my audition.
Well, i'm, going to have to continue the story later bacause I don't have enough time, but I love you and i really want to hear from you!
- Hermana Dansie
Wow, I've already been gone for two months. Crazy, huh? Since today is a holiday and we just had the weekend i haven't gotten any of your mail or e-mails. I wrote mom a letter with some more details in reply to the last e-mail though. How is everyone else doing? I hope you are all having fun, and I know you are all keeping busy.
This week has been pretty intense. I had one of the most incredible spiritual experiences of my life in the RC talking to Charles again. I'm going to write out the experience and send it to you a little bit later, because I don't really have time in this e-mail. Basically it was like the spirit was working through me and it wasn't even me talking. He is so receptive and ready to hear the gospel, but he is still waiting for the missionaries to come. I really think that he will get baptized. We both felt the spirit so strong, and he said that he feels "thirsty to learn more and to find the truth," and i promised him he would be able to find that in the Book of Mormon. The experience was such a blessing and taught me so much about how to follow the spirit, and about how if we trust in God he really will help us. So i'll get you the full story later.
I also found out that I have an extra week here. My departure date isn't until February third. It was kind of hard getting such a shock. They didn't even tell us, we were just expecting to get our travel plans and we didn't, so we went into the travel office and found out. I know there are probably some really good reasons for having to stay here, and its only one extra week, so it will be fine. It will give me another chance to talk to Charles, and more time to study and practice and be even more ready. It is kind of sad because the rest of our district is leaving next tuesday, so hermana stout and i will have a week all alone. I have become really close to everyone in my district; we are all really good friends and we have been through a lot together. There are five elders in my district that are all headed to Sacramento California, and my other companion Hermana hoof is going to phoenix.
I just remembered, when i sang my musical numbers they told me they were going to send you DVDs of the video they took of them. I wanted them to be a surprise so i didn't tell you about them, but did you ever get them? I want to know so i can make sure you do before i leave.
Hmmm, maybe i do I have time to type my experience real fast. I've been writing it out, and I only have ten minutes left of time, but I might be able to type the first part.
This past Wednesday I was practicing for another musical number I wanted to audition with on Thursday, and for some reason I felt like I shouldn't audition. Then I thought, "Well, I really want to audition, and I've been working really hard on this song, and why does it even matter?" I started questioning if I really did know how to follow the spirit and feeling a lot of anxiety. I kept thinking, why does it even matter? And then "if it doesn't matter why don't I just do it. Do i not even have enough faith th do something as small and simple as this?" Then I remembered how someone told me that if you feel like something is a prompting, and it is a good thing, then you should do it because then at least you are showing the Lord that you are willing to follow his promptings. At planning that night i felt really dumb telling my accompanist, an elder in my district, that I didn't want to audition because I felt weird about it. I hated feeling like I had wasted his time practicing for nothing. I was feeling a lot of anxiety still for no reason, and so i felt like i needed to ask the elders for a blessing, which is also extremely difficult for me because I hate appearing weak and vulnerable and asking for help. The blessing was really sweet and simple- it was the elder's first time giving a blessing. It really calmed my anxiety, even though I still felt pretty dumb for making a big deal out of something so small, but i felt better and confident about my decision not to audition.
The next day was Thursday which is when we usually go to the RC, and I ended up having that incredible experience with Charles that I know I couldn't have had if I had been anxious about my audition.
Well, i'm, going to have to continue the story later bacause I don't have enough time, but I love you and i really want to hear from you!
- Hermana Dansie
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