HAPPY HOLIDAYS BEAUTS!

Wowie I hope all of your Christmases were stellar because mine sure was!

We woke up early Christmas morning (aka normal missionary time) squealed a little bit and jumped on our beds and then went over to some of our fellow homie missionary's apartment to open presents!!

THANK YOU EVERYONE THAT SENT ME STUFF-- UGH SO MUCH LOVE!

And so much love for Skype; my heart is just so happy. 

Family Christmas 2015

This has been the best Christmas of my life thus far, no question. It was a wee bit weird not having a white Christmas but wow, I am so content with being out here serving the very man that we celebrate this time of year. 

I hope you all have a raging wild New Years Eve festivities :))))

Stay cute and I hope you all rededicate yourselves to following the Savior this next year and go to the gym more than just the first two weeks of January lololol

LOVE YOU CUTE PEOPLE~

xo, sis. chels zosia

HELLO BEAUTS!

Sweet Moses, I AM TWENTY!!! Thanks to everyone who made it so sweet! Love you all :)

The BIG 2-0

This week was so splendid wow. On Saturday we got to take my homegirl Gina to the LA
Temple!!!! She is someone that I have been working with since I got to Northridge. She was completely beaming the entire session and then after her endowments she got to be baptized for her daughter that died two years ago!

 I cried. She cried. It was out of this world neat.She will go back after the holidays to do her daughters endowments.

At the Los Angeles Temple with Gina

I can't really put into words how divine all of this is. During my studies this morning I just stopped and was really thinking about how this all just makes sense to me:

That we lived with God before this life. That He proposed the plan to us and we all chose to follow Him. That we are sent to earth to gain a body and to learn, grow, and progress in the gospel. That we have the opportunity on the earth to perform saving ordinances for ourselves and for those on the other side who are wanting to accept them so we can make promises with God and become more like Him. That this life isn't the end. It is only a small sliver of the plan, and if we endure it well, how we will be exalted on high and live an eternity of happiness. What's sealed on earth is sealed in Heaven and God always keeps His promises. I have such a firm faith that the Lord truly does walk beside us and that everything will work out as long as we follow him. The sting of death truly is swallowed up in Christ and his Spirit mends the broken heart.

This Christmas season out on the mission has been the greatest one of all. To really understand more fully the fall of Adam and Eve and because of that how we NEEDED Christ. How much his birth and earthy ministry and Atonement really did save us all from eternal sorrow and damnation. The reason for this season to me is to remember how much God loved us to send His son. How much Christ loved us to suffer the penalty for our sins. And how much that love illuminates in the reality of forever families through the ordinances in our sacred temples.

I hope more than anything else that you all know how much I love our Savior. How close He truly is to us all and I hope you all feel his love as you celebrate his birth.

HAPPY CHRISTMAS LOVELIES! :) Get krunk, pop some Martinelli's, and be nice to your family.

Peace and Blessings,

Sis D xoxox

Hello to All!

This week was full of tender mercies, sacred moments and spiritual insights. Some are too personal, but I do want to share these three:
* The other night we had a little time before curfew and our Homeless friend Bill is always at the bus stop around 8:30-9:30 PM, so we stopped by and he hadn't had dinner yet. We got him two hamburgers from McDonalds and dropped them by. We talked to him for a minute but had to get going so we said, "Okay, bye Bill....We Love You!" He looked down at his burger and just started crying. he said, "You're really good people. No one ever tells me they love me."
UGH SO MUCH HAPPINESS AND SADNESS IN MY HEART!

* So I woke up super glum friday for no apparent reason. I randomly got down in the dumps and my comp felt it too. I do this thing where I am in denial whenever I'm sad so my head pushes away reasons why I'm sad but my subconscience is the pits and makes me feel things. So I knew I was sad but I couldn't figure out why. After trying to write it out and pray... nothing.

After talking with Sis M... nothing.

I hate asking for blessings because.. I'm sometimes prideful, but I thought maybe God could tell me what's up more than I can figure out for myself. So we called over the Elders.

They tried to figure me out but too numb, so they laid their hands on my head and gave me a blessing.

WOW y'all, the priesthood is SO REAL.

I wish I could have locked all those words in a box in my brain to remember them forever. The Elders that came over know me pretty well. We're really good friends. 

My companion knows me pretty well. We are besties.

But none of them knew anything about Josh.

In my blessing it told me that my family is okay. Wherever they may be, even in the SPIRIT WORLD. It told me that sometimes people are physically taken away from us so they can spiritually be with us always. It told me specific things about HIM and I just couldn't hold back the tears.

I've never felt so close to heaven in a blessing before. I wish I could accurately describe it. I seriously felt like God was speaking straight to me and Josh was right there. 

I could see it. The priesthood is the most real and most powerful thing ever wow.

After that,  I told all of them what happened with Josh and we all cried and it was a good time.

God is so so so so so good my heart can hardly handle it.

* Our temple trip was Thursday and rocked my world.

The assistants and a few of us rode up in Bertha (the stylish mission van that smells like a barn) because we

couldn't get a ride (or we may have all not really tried so we could ride up together lol). It was so fun hahaha.

 The temple is so amazing. I love it so much. Typically we go in with a question to seek inspiration or what not but I really couldn't formulate an adequate question so I just tried to soak it all up.

My heart was so full throughout the whole session and we finally got to the Celestial room. I took a corner of the room away from all the missionaries and just talked to God. I told him I didn't really know what I was asking for but I needed something. I just sat there and tried to feel, something.

Ahhhh the spirit is so awesome. A flood of memories and tender times in my life flashed through my mind and my heart felt like it soaked up a truck load of love. That force is nothing I can convince myself to feel,

I know it was from God.

 Soon after one of my good friends, Sister A, waved me over and we had a little chat. I knew something was up. She told me about how she just didn't feel worthy to be in the temple. Not because she had done 

anything but because she felt inadequate. She said she felt that all throughout the session and then when she went through, the worker looked her in the eyes and smiled and said, "You're fine."

I told her that's how I think the end of our life will be. We will feel so inadequate to be in the presence of God but he will grab us by the hand and with a smile He will say, "You're fine."

After those words left my mouth,  I felt like I got punched in the heart.

Seriously, a physical burning in the bosom. Sister A just started sobbing and  I teared up.

It was REALLY neat. I LOVE THE TEMPLE SO MUCH.

 

Los Angeles Temple---I Love It!!

I love you All! Happy Holidays!

Love,

Sister Dohner

Thanks for the Christmas Cheer!

Hi lovelies!

One more week down = One week closer to CHRISTMAS!! :)

Man, I love December. I am so excited for Christmas out here on the mission!

Classic California Studebaker

So Sister Morris and I are spoiled and a member owns a few tree lots and so

they took us out Christmas tree shopping! We got lights from another member 

and S/O to Mom for the ADORABLE Countdown to Christmas Garland so WEEEEEE,

it actually kind of feels like Christmas even with sunshine and palm trees and short

sleeve shirts :))

We went out and took some prettttty adorable pix so let me or mi madre know if you

want a Christmas card! 

I love you all and spread some Christmas Cheer!! :)

Disgusting amounts of love,

Sister D :)