AYE ESE!

This week was just TERRIFIC. Seriously one of the best thus far!! 

I wish I could just gather this week of memories and feelings together and throw them in Dumbledore's bowl of memories so I could go back and relive it whenever but I guess I'll just mention a couple of the highlights for y'all: 

First things first, Thanksgiving ROCKED my world. We had district brunch then headed over to Bishops for lunch which was chill! After Bishops, we went over to the Bustos (family that got baptized last week) to help them put up Christmas and OH MY HEAVENS I LOVE CHRISTMAS!

We listened to Christmas music and it took THREE HOURS to put up their tree because hecka ornaments but wow I know what my plan B can be for a career. Best looking Christmas tree south of Santa's lair, for sure. And then we had Thanksgiving dinner over there with all their family. AHH I LOVE THEM SO MUCH. I seriously feel like they are family. Dinner was fabulous. Their family aren't members so they asked some questions and we had some great conversations with them. They are Columbian so I pulled some Spanish like, "voy a engordarme!!!!" and told a couple jokes in Spanish and they all laughed it was a good time. Nights like this make everything worth it. 

Putting up the Bustos Tree 2015

Also, my homegirl GINA!!! Holy smokes I love this woman. Recent convert of about 1 1/2 years. Her daughter OD-ed about 2 years ago and she has just been a mess. When I got here she was super less active--the missionaries before didn't even know what she looked like. But we lucked out my first week and snuck a lesson with her. We just clicked and we have had weekly meetings with her and she has come to church every week since. But listen here, this week SHE GOT HER TEMPLE RECOMMEND!!!!!

She wants me to escort her when she gets her endowments and wants to do her daughter's work soon as well. Ugh so much happiness!

There's no other way I can explain it, but that my heart physically hurts. It hurts a good hurt.

I don't know why God has blessed me with so much but I am sincerely soo grateful. 

Thank you all for all you have done for me and continue to do. I really don't feel worthy of all of this love. 

Have the greatest week ever everyone! And check out the new Christmas video!!

 

christmas.mormon.org #ASaviorIsBorn

In the words of Usher: "Peace out A down" (S/O to Tayva)

---Sis Chelsea Donner

PS my b-day is December 18th,  cough cough 

Hey there!

So this week was superrrrr good! 

Transfers were Tuesday so I got my new comp, Sister M, and I love her so much! Wowie, we are the dream team. She's from Kentucky and has been out a little over a year.

Transfer meeting is always a good time seeing my people. Afterward we had to run all the way back to the apartment in the other valley and grab something for a departing missionary and bring it to the mission home. Which was dope because we got to spend the night dining with Pres and living high lives-- because we are his favorites :)  

The work is actually picking up! A less active that I love so much (she is pretty much reactivated because she has come every week since I've been here) introduced us to one of her non-member friends and we are going to teach him and baptize him and he's going to make us ribs in the meantime so, win-win. But seriously he's super solid. He is a former investigator actually but said he'd love to sit in on the lessons again and we clicked because we both love BBQ and snowboarding, so wahoo, cross your fingers.

 

We also found a new investigator family that is so prepared I could scream. They are former investigators as well and the dad is like 7ft tall so that's cool in itself. We stopped by and shared a little nugget of how families can be together forever and he was like whoa okay ya come teach us; so that was neat. 

Oh and another person I love so much is this homeless guy named Bill. He always chills on this bench and we're homies, so we go and teach him when we have extra time and man, he is a miserable human. It makes my heart hurt so bad but I want to continue to teach him and bring hope back into his life. 

Yesterday was the Bustos baptism!! They are a family in our ward that the elders have been teaching and we love so much. The service yesterday was superb and the spirit was so strong. They are incredible and we're going over for Thanksgiving dinner so hollabackgirl-- they rock and they're from Columbia :)

Pretty much I love these people so much and God is so good. Missionary work is a funny thing because it is the most joy I have ever felt and the most pain I have ever experienced. It is pretty much an emotional roller coaster but it's the greatest work I could ever be enlisted in for the greatest cause in the world.

 

"Trust in the Lord with all thine heart and lean not unto thine own understanding, in all thy ways acknowledge him and He shall direct thy paths." 

I love you all more than boba.

 

--Sis. C Dohns

 

 

Aye homie G Wagons! 

This week was a PILL, let me tell you bout it.

 So much nutso craziness went down, quite literally every day this past week. Funny crazy to scary crazy... it was one for the books for sure. I'll just share one of the funny stories though, in a minute.

First things first, Transfers are tomorrow! I am staying in Northridge ... HALLELUJAH PRAISE THE LORD! I love this area so much! Even though it's so dead and people are difficult, haha I love it. I hear my new companion is dope so I'm pumped for this next transfer :) It starts tomorrow!

I got some treats!

Ha funny, totally not spiritual, story. Tuesday night:

So I was in the shower. And I was shaving my legs and cut my ankle pretty bad, and if you know me you know how bad I do with blood. It was just white at first but when I had to peel the skin out of the razor I knew it was pretty bad.

I had just conditioned my hair so I was trying to keep water on my cut (so it wouldnt bleed everywhere) and continue to wash out my hair and give myself some mad pep talks about how it's fine and I'm tough and it's all good...

Well ya no, I straight up passed out. 

I didn't hit my head or anything so it's fine but when I got my vision back and felt decently stable I tried to quickly turn off the shower, kind of, and I wrapped myself in my towel real speed-like and put a little bit of toilet paper on my ankle in just enough time to make it out of the bathroom onto the bedroom floor. Hahaha. and ya pretty much the story ends by me calling in my comp saying,

"Uh hey this is real awkward cuz i'm definitely just wrapped in a towel,  but I'm passing out and I need you to come fix me"

Ha so she did and it was good times.

Spiritual thought:

There's lots of heavy stuff to be said about this week but I just want to keep it at this:

"And in that day shall be heard of wars and rumors of wars, and the whole earth shall be in commotion, and men's hearts shall fail them, and they shall say that Christ delayeth his coming until the end of the earth"

Hold fast to what you know. It's only going to get crazier. We cannot afford to loosen our grips on the rod that will unfailingly lead us to the love of God and eternal life. Look up these talks:

1. Safety For the Soul by Holland and 2. Living a Christ-Centered Life by Maynes are gold.

San Fernando Mission!

I love you all. Stay strong in the gospel and Do not lean on your own understanding. Lean on God.

Much love,

Sister C Dohner

Hey what's good my people?

It feels like this week almost didn't happen it went by so fast, but it was sooo good!!!

We aren't teaching mass loads of people right now so that's a little rocky but we have two super solid gals getting ready to be baptized pretty soon! But other than that, we're pretty much taking the town by storm and just tryna give people Jesus! 

A few days ago we were in Knockout (knocking door to door from  4-6 PM 'eryday) and we ran into this old man that was trying to bash us but really didn't know what he was talking about. Usually I get out of bashes pretty quick but there was something about this guy that made me want to stay. So we stayed. And just listened. He went on for a while and I paused him and just told him to listen to me and I bore my testimony. I kind of felt like I was casting pearls before swine because he really didn't listen, so we started walking backwards trying to leave. He looked at me deeply in the eyes and just said, "I am a miserable man" and started sobbing. And he told us that his wife died 6 years ago and how he cries everyday because of it. Holy smokes guys my heart broke into 3043534 pieces because I could seriously feel the misery of this man. I had the knowledge of the only thing that could heal him, and he would not soften his heart to listen.

The next day we ran into a woman the same time of day that cried to us too due to her sorrows in life. We had a nice conversation with her and I truly felt like we had been long time friends. Sis S and I both bore our hearts to her and I seriously started tearing up when I was talking to her because the spirit was so strong. But yet, her heart was too raw from her hardships to let herself be healed. 

 

These two people really made my heart hurt but caused me to ponder...

Why is it so hard for us to let ourselves be happy? To let the pride of our hearts hold us back from moving forward? To let the Atoning blood of Christ heal us?

Why is having faith in someone that can literally wash away our pain so hard for us? 

 

It helped me see the significance of understanding and living according to the will of the Father. It helped me reflect on the immense amount of blessings I have received with the knowledge of the gospel and the fruits of that knowledge. It helped me feel an ounce of what Alma and the Sons of Mosiah felt when their hearts broke for their brethren. I got a taste of why they gave up everything to go and to preach to the sorrowed hearts of the people that dwindled in disbelief because they knew the souls of the Lamanites were precious.

Missionary work breaks my heart in half but it's also the greatest joy in the world.

Jesus is good people. He is the only way. 

I love you all almost as much as Joe Banditos chips and salsa!

Love, Sis CZ Dohner