"soo...big gulps huh?....well, see ya!" December 31, 2013

this week`s subject is due to my growing need for my Dr. Pepper. Somebody please call the President of Uruguay right now, because this is such a travesty. 

Buuuuuut other than that kids, guess where homegirl is at? 

COOOOLOOOOOOONNNNNIIIIIAAAAAAAAAAA. 

Buuuut I`m going to start from last week, because there is so much to say! 

1. Christmas Eve: so great! We spent it at the house of the 1st counselor in my Bishopric. All of his kids live in Brasil, so they were all speaking Portugese while yours truly, my comp, and the Elders sat and ate our Christmas dinner like a bunch of jolly fat little elves. Christmas dinner, mind you, which included TURKEY. Like, real Christmas turkey. Made properly. Not like Katherine in Christmas Vacation. For real. TURKEY. And it was sitting in a gravy just like my mother`s (although nobody thought to eat the turkey with it...so I just did some sneak-dips while no one was looking.) We were allowed to stay out until 10:30. WE`RE BIG KIDS NOW. Then, sleep just didn`t happen. Why? Because in Uruguay, Christmas involves FIREWORKS at midnight on Christmas Eve. This was perhaps one of my favorite parts of Christmas...(warning: sentimental part ahead): while the other Hermanas were laying in bed waiting for midnight, the firworks started early. I stood and looked out the window, and so fireworks from literally every side. There was color, there was smoke, there was noise. And you know what I thought of? In the book "Our Search for Happiness", Elder Ballard talks about his experience on his mission where he was walking by a river and he suddenly got the very real knowledge of the love His Father in Heaven has for Him and that he`s aware of him. He said he always believed, and always thought he knew, but it wasn`t until that moment that he realized it was a REAL knowledge. Guess what, kids? Standing alone looking out the window, THAT WAS MY MOMENT. And it was so amazing, unlike anything I`ve ever felt before. After many, many, many fireworks (like, the big kind that are illegal in the states), the other hermanas and i exchanged our gifts (because we did a secret santa.) Then went to bed and absolutely did not sleep haha. Because Uruguay did not sleep on Christmas Eve. It was the coolest Christmas Eve ever, and the first for me with fireworks. And guess what, lucky me, I will get to have another next year! 

2. Christmas! Christmas morning, I woke up the Hermanas five minutes early and we walked out to our little finger puppet nativity, which I had put on the table. Silent Night was playing in the background. I explained that what my family does before anything else on Christmas morning is say a prayer in front of the nativity, and sometimes even bare our testimonies of Christ. So the four of us did that. It was great to do one of my family traditions, and this year was super special for the four of us because we all had a totally different perspective of Christmas and knowledge of Christ. Right after, we made french toast. What a glorious sight to behold. We then did our gift exchange with the 4 elders across the street (because we also did a Secret Santa with them.) Except, haha funny story, Elder Lufi had drawn my name, and he made me this really great little football looking thing which has the Brasil flag painted on one side, and the Uruguay stripes painted on the other, with my name, the mission, Rivera, and the date. Except when he wrote the date....he accidentally screwed up and wrote the 24th of December instead of 25th. Hahaha so the whole week before Christmas he was trying to convince all of us to give our gifts the 24th instead. We kept saying no, so he just showed up at our house the morning of the 24th with my gift. Hahaha. Special. (I don`t even know if these stories are funny anymore if I`ve just turned missionary.) 

But anywho! Us Hermanas did good with our gifts. I got Elder Carvalho silly string, Elder Lufi recieved water shooter thingies and silly putty, Elder Sanderson got water guns, and Elder Rodriguez got a mini pool table. Sooooo....they had fun in their house that day hahaha. After that, we ate muchìsimo asado with the Bishop and his family. And after that? Guess guess guess! I TALKED TO MY FAMILY. And I cried. They cried. We all cried. I told the Bishop how you guys kept saying it looked like I was drinking beer when I was drinking Guarana, and he went telling everyone at church "I gave the hermana her first beer!" hahaha. But it was seriously the best Christmas present ever ever EVER to talk to you guys. EVERYONE. I HAVE THE BEST FAMILY ON EARTH. Okay that`s all. 

We visited Dorila with popcorn and chocolate and the Joseph Smith movie to watch with her that day, talked to the cute little old man who lives by himself and has not the best memory but is very lonely, and of course went by the Araujo family. It was such a special Christmas to be thinking of Jesus Christ and others, before thinking about gifts and decorations and food. (although the food was still fantastic.) All the hermanas were sad to think that it was their only Christmas, but lucky me, I get two! You guys. Christmas is so special. Christ is so special. The mission is so special! 

3. The day after Christmas, you want to know how hot it was? 115 DEGREES PEOPLE. I died. Almost. But really, guess who got sick? YO GURL. I had actually started to get sick Christmas Eve day and got a blessing from the Elders, mostly to not be sick during Christmas, and it apparently worked perfect for Christmas, because it wasn`t until Thursday that the real goods set in! I guess homegirl from Utah where there`s snow right now and it usually doesn`t go above 90 in the summer...just can`t hack the heat. Haha it`s coo`. I`m mostly better now, except my voice is still a little bit gone. So people in Colonia probably just think I always sound like a high pitched little girl. No biggie. 

4. Speaking of heat and Colonia, CHANGES! 

Kids, I DIDN`T STAY IN RIVERA. 

We were all shocked, seriously. We were all certain that Hermana Goode would be leaving. But nope, she gets one more change, and I am here, in Colonia Centro, to open an area with Hermana Zumeta de Guatemala! 

My goodbyes to Rivera were soooo hard. People tell you how sad you are when you leave the actual mission, but the thing is too that every time you leave an area there is a good chance you won`t go back and see those people again. That`s how it felt. Carlos, Dorila, Yeny, Karen, Carol, the Araujos! So sad. Saying goodbye to the bishop and his wife was like saying goodbye to my parents. That`s what they were like to me. Just like I know every area will, Rivera will always hold a piece of my heart. It is so special to me. 

So I got to Colonia yesterday, and all we did was pick up our furniture. So there`s not much to say yet haha. Except a few things:

There`s a  B E A C H. There`s a river right there, but it`s so huge it looks like an ocean. Magnificent. 

The perk about opening an area, is we got all new furniture in our apartment. H O L L A. 

It is still hot here, and more humid, but more like 85 or 90 degrees rather than over 100! I think President Smith and the Lord both knew I would die in January in Rivera. So. Thank you. Thank you SO. MUCH.  

My companion and the 4 Elders who live nearby are all Latino. So guess who is learning Spanish reaaaaally fast? And guess who is also teaching them true American phrases? Yo gurl. 

Another sad thing about leaving Rivera is I am leaving cheap town. Already this day has pained me with how much more expensive things are. Cry. 

Hermana Zumeta is A W E S O M E. (to anyone who speaks Spanish, everyone here jokes with her and says "cual es su meta?") hahaha. She actually speaks and understands English really well--she was studying to be an interpreter before--so she helps me when I don`t know a word, but other than that we speak Spanish to each other. Already i can tell my Spanish is getting better! But she is SO cute! I am so excited! Opening and area is going to be a TON of work, because we are starting from scratch, but that`s what`s going to be so exciting! And the Elders in our branch told us that all of the members are so excited to have hermanas again! I am so nervous and excited and happy and stoked out of my mind! 

Ok so I`ve taken way to long on this email. I again commend you all who have read all the way until this point. And who are still even reading my emails haha. Just know that i am happy and safe and in a new place near a beach, and surely going to see great things, and more than anything else I am so thankful to the Lord and to the Gospel and to all of you for all the support! 

Oh yeah...If any of you have little ones who like to color and paint, or have posters of temples, San Diego, or the beach, all of the walls in our apartment need some color! So, SEND ÈM OVER. Thank you all again for everything! KNow that I feel your prayers! 

 HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!!!! May 2014 bring even more happiness, joy, laughter, and even trials to make you stronger! How lucky am I to spend ALL of 2014 in my favorite little corner of the universe. I love you, I love you, I love you! 

Hermana Dolan 

Christmas Day December 25, 2013

                                              Skyping with Megan in Rivera, Uruguay        

               


            Below is picture of Mackenzie and Megan chatting.  They won't physically see each other for almost 3 years.  Mackenzie arrived home from her mission in October 2013 from Japan Tokyo/Tokyo South Mission.            

"the lights aren`t twinkling, Clark" Dec. 23, 2013

that one`s for my poulsens. Just so ya`ll know that I haven`t forgotten. 

It`s also kind of true: there really aren`t any twinkling lights in Uruguay. Probably because it makes more sense when there`s snow rather than blistering heat. hmmm. hahaaaa just a thought. 

This week was rough investigator wise. Everyone and their dog is gone for the holidays so we haven`t seen much of them lately....including Carol. Plus side, we FINALLY found Andryws, who we haven`t seen in weeks. Woot! So we`re gonna start to come in hot with him because he is so ready. He`s 15 and he`s been in school by day and at the gym by night "getting strong for the ladies." Haha what a charmer. But now he`s done with school, so we can see him more. 

ALTHOUGH, we did see one of our investigators, Karen. She is absolutely incredible and will get baptized as soon as her "husband" will marry her. We`ve given her the goal of March 22 to work towards. He`s really not at all interested in the church, so our focus is just helping her help him to have the desire to at least marry her. This week we watched the movie Finding Faith in Christ with her. I pretty much have that thing memorized now. But it`s incredible. We talked about all of the things Christ did for us. It was the first time I`ve seen Karen cry, and she started talking about how she knows He did all of those things for her, and because of her faith in Him, she has faith that her husband will come around and one day she will have an eternal family. Karen is INCREDIBLE. I absolutely love her. She teaches me so much about faith and patience and trust in the Lord. She also has two of the cutest little boys, who are 4 and 2. I tell her they`re the Uruguayan versions of my nephews. Little crazies, but little cuties. 

Last night, we went caroling with some people in the ward, and Hna Goode and I decided to go to Dorila`s. Dorila is this amazing old lady. She is semi activo, but only because of her health. She`d be there every week if it weren`t for that. Her husband passed away and she lives alone. She has been through SO much in her life, but has unwavering faith in the Lord. I want to cry every time we visit her because of how strong her faith is. Anyway, so we went to sing to her. And she came out and saw all of us, and just started crying. It was so beautiful. THAT was the moment of "Christmas in the mission....worth it." That was when the Lord confirmed to me what I`ve been asking for awhile, which is whether I`m doing enough. But folks, all that is asked of us is that we mourn with those that mourn, and comfort those that stand in need of comforit. We do that, and we`re doing enough. Love the Lord, love others, and love yourselves. Simple as that! It`s so incredible to be in the mission around Christmas. When you don`t care the slightest bit about presents. Just the Savior, and people. People here,and people back home. Trying your best to serve all of them, BECAUSE and THANKS TO the Savior. Wow. No words. 

Never in my life did I know it was possible to love so much. The love I have for the people here, and the love I have for my Savior, is the kind of love that can`t even fit inside my heart. It`s the kind of love that I wouldn`t know if I weren`t here, and if I weren`t here during Christmas time. It`s an incredible kind of love. There are so many miracles every day, big and small, and so many blessings that I have, that are all because He was born. With His very first breath, He saved me. He saved us all. This time of year is so special. Another year...crazy. I can`t believe how much I´ve learned. The relationship I am gaining with my Savior here, as well as with the people here, is something I wouldn`t trade for the world. I love Him. I love the Lord. I love all of you! I am so thankful for the support I have back home. I am so. beyond. thankful. for my family. I`m thankful I have them forever. I`m thankful I get to be in Uruguay and share the gift of the Gospel with others. Uruguay is just one little corner of the universe--unnoticed and perhaps unimportant to the rest of the world--but it is VERY important to me. This special little corner of the vineyard. And the Lord trusts and loves imperfect me enough to have sent me here. Wow. I stand all amazed. 

FAMILY--I CAN`T WAIT TO TALK TO YOU GUYS ON CHRISTMAS. AHHHH. Best present ever. 

Remember, everybody.....THAT THERE`S AN RV. 

I love you, I love you, I love you! May your days be merry and bright, and may all your Christmases be white! 

Hermana Dolan

so we`re walking home from lunch with a member on a sunday afternoon, and this baby horse just walks right up to us! I love this country. 

this is from forever ago haha. not quite as easy as the baby horse. it tried to run away, but i said "not today lamb!" and caught it. victory. 

"I want to see mountains, Gandalf, MOUNTAINS!" December 16, 2013

Mountains with snow, more specifically. 

Why? Because snow means cold, and never in mi vida did I think I would say this, but....I really miss cold weather. Mostly because I have never experienced weather this HOT. And it`s not even technically Summer until Saturday. Everyone says January is worse. Hahaaaaaa cool. But hey, you gain weight in Rivera then sweat it off, eh? Probably not, let`s face it. But we`ve eaten lots of asado and we`ve been drinking a lot of juice and water, so that`s good. 

Okay so anywho, that is for sure enough about the weather. How was everybody`s week? Good I hope. Can we believe next week is ALREADY Christmas? How did that happen? So ready to talk to the fam, not gonna lie. Although I just want everyone to remember that you give away your beauty when you decide to serve a mission. Soooo...don`t judge. 

Aight so this week wasn`t super eventful, it really wasn`t. Maybe that`s because we were only in our area for, like, four days, and one of them was Sunday. Buuuut it was still good! 

On Wednesday, we went back to Montevideo. (I know, total of 24 hours of bus travel when combined with our trip to Deo on Monday. I am so blessed with the ability to sleep on long road trips! :)) We went to Montevideo to hear from a member of the Quorum of the Seventy, Elder Gonzalez. He`s in charge of Uruguay, and he and his wife are actually both from Uruguay! Pretty cool. We met with four other zones. That was pretty cool! (shout out to mah home girl Hermana Sorenson. It was good to see you. We`ll be comps someday.) Elder Gonzalez and is wife are INCREDIBLE. His wife talked about the story of Christ`s birth. She talked about how we are like the angels, bearing tidings to the shepherds in the field. She told us that there are people waiting, lingering, just as the shepherds are, and it is our blessing and responsibility to appear to them and make them know of Jesus Christ! Elder Gonzalez answered a lot of questions about common problems we run into in uruguay. My favorite part was when he bore his testimony. It wasn´t a long testimony. All he said was "all I need to say is this: I know that Jesus Christ lives." and finished. But when he said that one simple sentence, with tears in his eyes, you could hear a pin drop in that room! And that`s the most important testimony to bear. I know that Jesus Christ lives. If you know that, you can work miracles. 

Carol was literally MIA all last week. Sol and Erika both finished school last week (their summer vacation is now), and so they were gone all the time at the gazillion parties that the schools have here. Literally, every night is a party. Music is rumbling ALL through the night. But she was at church on Sunday, and we`re going to keep working with her as best we can! With Carol, you just can`t push too hard or she`ll back away. So we`re just trying to be there for her and encourage her and pray for her. She already knows what she needs to do. It`s just a matter of when, and I have full faith in her! 

We taught the Sunday school lesson along with the Elders yesterday. We want more references and help from the members, and we especially want them to have the desire to take up Elder Ballard`s invitation to invite someone to church before Christmas. The lesson. was. AWESOME! The Elders talked about the 3 Nephites and how their desire was to share the Gospel, and that`s an even greater desire than wanting eternal life. Then Hermana Goode and I came in and talked about how we know sometimes there is fear of sharing the Gospel, but we shouldn`t have fear. Then, I told the watered down version of my Grandma`s conversion story. I cried, and naturally, all the women in the room cried. That`s why Elders and Hermanas work well together, folks. The Elders bring in the doctrine and drop cane, and then BAM, sisters bring in the tears. But seriously, I have no clue how I managed to tell that story in understandable Spanish...well, actually I do have a clue. It was Heavenly Father, and His amazing gift of tongues! i am experiencing it every day. His hand is in literally e v e r y t h i n g. 

One point I want to tell you guys about the lesson and my grandma`s story: SO much of who I am, of my family is, of what we know about this Gospel, is thanks to one family who took in my grandma and her four children. Who showed them kindness and Christlike love. Thanks to them, and their courage, and love, I am serving as a missionary in Uruguay. Thanks to them, generations of lives have been changed. You never know where you have influence! Have faith in the Lord, and share the Gospel. You can change lives! I`ve seen it! 

We have a lot of big plans for this week, and some fun service projects planned for Christmas, which I`ll write about next week once we`ve already done them! 

I am so thankful for this time of year. The words "I`m dreaming of a white Christmas" have never applied in my life before until now,  but it doesn`t matter. The Savior is what matters. Being on the mission this time of year is truly incredible, and I feel lucky to know that I get not one but TWO Christmas here. 

I love you, I love you, I love you! 

Hermana Dolan 

Deeeeeo. De-e-e-o. Dec. 9, 2013

...daylight come and we wanna go home. 

That`s honestly the song that I think of when I think of Montevideo, or Deo. 

OH yeah, and that`s where I am right now! 

How the heck ar ya? How is it only two and a half weeks until Christmas?! Time is going waaaay too fast. 

I got the call on Saturday that the time had come for me to come to Deo and sign my papers for residency. Which literally took five minutes, but then they give you the rest of the day in Montevideo, which is pretty sweet. So that`s where I am right now, in a cyber in Deeeeeo. 

You know what else that meant? That meant I got to see my CCM Elders! I pretty much screamed when I saw Elder Dye. Then almost cried when I saw ELDER TELOMA....then almost cried again when I realized that for the strangest reason, Elder White was the only one who didn`t come. Fooey. 

But, it was so good to see my brothers! Just the boost we all needed. 

Anyway, so this last week was pretty dull, but good! We FINALLY were able to talk to Carol. We didn`t have much time to really get into anything, but we do know that she`s praying and reading. She also told us that she`s been looking for a new school for Sol to go to for forever because she`s been bullied at her current one, but she hasn`t been able to find one. She finally realized she needed to pray and ask for help, and BOOM. Next day, she finds a school for Sol. And she told us "Heavenly Father really does help us." Heck yeah, Carol! But it was in front of your house and the Spirit wasn`t right to talk about a date, so we`re still praying really hard for her and that we`ll get that right opportunity. 

We also had a ward activity on Friday. It was the end of the year/fellowshipping activity, and it was an awesome turn out! And we ate Churipan, which is basically reaaaally great sausage on a bun. So kind of like a braut. I know, fam. Megan Gayle Dolan is going to have come home liking brauts and hot dogs (by the way, I ate two panchos wrapped in bacon in Deo today. I love Uruguay.) But really, so many people came, including a bunch of our investigators! 

Also, so with Yeny (our recent convert`s) daughter, Kati. So Richard, Kati`s boyfriend who`s a member, pulled us aside and told us "I don`t know what happened, but Kati told me today that she feels like she needs to pay her tithing. She`s going to go to church next Sunday." UMMMMM what?! Holy holy holy cow! We`ll see if she`s there next Sunday, but STILL! Kati has only had one of the actual lessons, and she`s decided she wants to pay her tithing?! So Richard told us "her heart is open. Teach her." So we`ve got a lesson with her next week! What a crazy miracle. We`re also going to start teaching her son Alex, who`s 12, and he brought his friend to the activity, so we`ll start teaching him, too. The very day that during weekly planning we were saying "we need more investigators." And BOOM BOOM BOOM! Wow, the Lord is seriously amazing. 

We also ate asado with the bishop of Pueblo Nuevo yesterday. Basically, fantastic barbecued lamb. I think Utah needs to adopt Uruguay. Then my world would be complete. 

In Moroni 7, we are told AND promised:

47 But ^acharity is the pure ^blove of Christ, and it endureth^cforever; and whoso is found possessed of it at the last day, it shall be well with him.

 48 Wherefore, my beloved brethren, ^apray unto the Father with all the energy of heart, that ye may be filled with this love, which he hath bestowed upon all who are true ^bfollowers of his Son, Jesus Christ; that ye may become the sons of God; that when he shall appear we shall ^cbe like him, for we shall see him as he is; that we may have this hope; that we may be ^dpurified even as he is pure. Amen.

obviously, as a missionary, you can`t be anything if you don`t have charity. A pure, Christlike charity takes a lot of work. It`s the biggest thing I`m working on. We forget that we are PROMISED help from the Lord to be filled with the pure love of His Son, if we will ask. He is answering my prayers and filling me with such a love. I have also found an unfailing formula for charity: before you go to judge a person when you look at them, imagine them embracing Jesus Christ. It`s impossible not to look at someone with a lense of love when you picture them in the loving embrace of their Redeemer, tears streaming down their face as their burden is lifted in His love. Impossible! 

I`m thankful for the pure love of the Savior. I`m thankful He loves such a goofy, crazy, emotional, imperfect person as I, and I`m thankful that my Lord has trusted me with the delicate task of telling others of such a love He has for them. I`m thankful for the faith and selflessness of the people of Uruguay, despite all of their afflictions. I`m thankful to be a missionary! I wouldn`t be anywhere else! 

Anybody invited someone to church yet? Get on it! Only two weeks until Christmas! 

Thank you all for all the support! The Church is true and I love you! I love you, I love you! 

Hermana Dolan 

haaaaaapy thanksgiving Dec. 2, 2013

Hey hey hey little turkeys! 

I sure hope everybody`s Thanksgiving was swell and that you all ate enough mashed potatoes and gravy for me! And before you say yes, remember, I eat a lot. Of course, that`s in the States. Here, there are members who literally every time I`m in their house say how little I eat. Even if we`re not even there for lunch, we`re just talking, they say I don`t eat much! I promise, nothing`s changed. except for the standards of eating in Uruguay. 

Sooo anywho, onto this week. 

I won`t lie, this week was definitely one of the rougher weeks in the mish. 

Mostly it didn`t feel super productive. Lots of visits to menos activos, but very very VERY little with investigators. We still haven`t had another lesson with Natalia. We still haven`t been able to see Carol (although we do have a lesson with her tonight. Fingers crossed.) But there was another thing that made it hard. We were at the house of the first counselor in our Bishopric on Thursday, when his neighbor came by to borrow something. While they were talking, the wife of the first counselor told us that they are a really awesome family and we should teach them. Then they introduced us to him, and we found out that he is actually a member but just completely inactive. He even said he lived in Utah for awhile! He said he`s not sure he`s interested in coming back, but if his wife is then we can teach them. Then we figured out who is wife is; she`s this woman who actually came up to us a few weeks ago and siad "oh you`re the Mormons!" And was super nice and great and said we could come back, but we hadn`t yet. So immediately after being at their house on Thursday, we went to their house. She was there, she remembered us, and we set up an appointment for Friday. We were so excited because they were both SO great and she especially was SO receptive! 

Then we go back on Friday, and she immediately comes out and says "I don`t know what I said to mislead you, but I`m not interested." So in less than 24 hours, she went from completely receptive to not at all. So just on top of everything else, that was really hard. 

BUT there`s always good in every week, even the rough ones! 

Monday we FINALLLLLLY were able to do a family home evening with the familia Franco. They`re members, and the husband and wife were even sealed, but the wife is completely inactive now. No one knows why. The husband is SUPER great nad has been wanting us to be able to teach them for forever, but his wife has never let us. We were finally able to! He told us his conversion story (so powerful, and he even named one of his sons after a missionary.) We watched the movie called The Testaments, which we didn`t get the chance to finish, but we`ve got another time set up for next week. Hopefully it goes through, because that last moment in that movie is one of the most powerful movie moments I think I`ve ever seen! 

On Wednesday, we went over to Yeny`s house. She fell earlier in the week and her leg was really bad. She was walking with a limp, poor lady. So we went to her house with two men in the ward so that they could give her a blessing. While they were there, Yeni suggested that they give her daughter Kati a blessing. Kati is in her thirties and we`ve taught her a little bit. Her boyfriend is a member and he is really great about being bold and talking to her about the church all the time. He`s basically doing our job for us, he`s awesome! But she is pretty stubborn and always has some sort of doubt. She`s also had one health problem after another, so the men gave her a blessing. And she started crying. Kati, tough Kati (who still intimidates me quite a bit but is super great), started to cry. Wooo Spirit power! Way to go Heavenly Father! Richard bore a really powerful testimony after and talked about his time after his mission when he fell away from the church because he was angry about things that happened in his life, like not being able to find someone he wants to marry. And now he`s found one, and realizes all he wants is for the two of them to have a family in the Gospel. Holy amazing! The Spirit is amazing. We went back on Saturday and managed to catch Richard and Kati alone, and were able to teach them a really great lesson. It`s going to take a lot of time with Kati, but she`s finally moving forward! 

Soooo Thanksgiving! Pretty much the same as every other day. Lunch was vianda from the Bishop (that`s where you just go pick up lunch and eat it at home), and it was fish milanesa and rice. Not quite turkey, but I always love my milanesa! Thursday is also always the activity us missionaries do for the youth, so since me and my comp were in charge, we had the activity be making little paper turkeys and writing what you`re thankful for. Then there`s a ping pong table in the building, so we played ping pong. All of the little turkeys the kids made were so precious! They gave me a couple of them, and I`ve got them in my journal. The one Sol made was so sweet. One of the things she wrote on her turkey was "I`m thankful that there is always food on the table." She`s 9! What theeee. So special. 

Another funny thing is this girl named Yesica. She`s...well, she is so so so so so so SO hyper. And very much in personal space, which is fine....except for with the Elders. Hahaha the Elders are so scared of her because she always tries to jump on them. Poor Elder Lufi always goes "awww, freak man" which is his favorite English expression. Probably not as funny for ya`ll as it is for me, but just trust me when I say it`s pretty dang funny. 

Also, time for my derp moment for the week. Which we should just start calling my "Hermana Dolan" moment. Okay, so remember Carlos, my favorite menos activo who always wants to hear a joke in English? Hahahaha okay, so....gosh I`m laughing just typing this....so I said the opening prayer at a lesson with him on Saturday. And I says "we`re thankful we get to be here with Hermano RUBEN" and then immediately realized my mistake and said "I mean Carlos!" All three of us started laughing, and I just laughed my way through the rest of the prayer. Hahaha Ruben? What the....? So now when he`s seen me he just points to himself and said "Hermano Ruben." Hahaha so funny. I haven`t had a prayer that laughy since I was in the CCM with my goofy comps. But mostly it just reminded me what family prayers in the Dolan household are like. HERMANA DOLAN LADIES AND GENTS. 

Despite how hard this week was, I had a really special moment while I was praying on Saturday night. I felt like I was failing people in Rivera, Hermana Goode, and my Heavenly Father. I kept thinking "when am I going to feel like I`m doing enough?" So that night, I said the most fervent prayer I have ever prayed. I plead to my Heavenly Father to tell me if I was doing enough. I begged to feel his love, because I felt so small and I needed more than ever the power of his embrace. 

Immediately, the words to the song "I Feel My Savior`s Love" came to mind, a song I hadn`t thought of since before I left. One line in particular stuck out to me:

He knows I will follow Him

Give all my life for Him

I feel my Savior`s love

The love He freely gives me. 

As I heard the words "He knows I will follow Him, give all my life for Him", they were accompanied with other words "You ARE giving Me everything. I know. It`s enough." And immediately I was consumed with the love my Savior freely gives to all of His brothers and sisters. We are asked only to give everything we have. And the beautiful part? Even when you fall short, His love is still there to be freely given to those who accept it. How thankful I am for that love! 

So kids, there`s my week. Hopefully hopefully hopefully, we actually have a date for Carol next week. We`re nervous that she`s been gone and we haven`t been able to see her, but we`ve got a lot of faith in her, and we know she`s ready. Don`t you worry about me! I`m still a goof, still freaking funny (in my so VERY humble opinion), still clumsy, and still in love with Wendy`s, even though it doesn`t exist here. Still very much the same, but changing in all of the best ways as well, thanks to my Father in Heaven and the people here! And still, I`m happy! 

Thank you all for all of your support! I hope you have a great week! Keep your chin up and your knees dirty, and remember, His love is FREEEEEEEE! 

I love you, I love you, I love you! 

Hermana Dolan! 

The Arajuo Family

Happy turkey day! November 25, 2013

Hola hola hola kiddos! 

I sure hope everybody`s week was swell, because mine was! 

So after last P Day, which was Tuesday, was Wednesday. Obviously. I`m starting to sound like Rebecca Black. Anywho, so Wednesday we did Divisions. But like for real for real divisions this time, not just the mini divisions we did the week before. Hermana Olson and Hermana Goode went together in our area, and me and Hermana Ramirez went together in our area as well. So you know what that meant? Yep, that meant I had to lead our area for a day. To someone who speaks next to no English. Gah scary! 

But guess what? It was AWEEEEEEESOME. 

So we had a few lessons with menos activos, (which I had to lead). It was the first time I`ve been the one to make all the small talk and ask about people`s families and start the lesson and everything. And I understood e v e r y t h i n g. En serio. And Hermana Ramirez and I were able to communicate pretty well too, while we were walking in the street and everything. So on that end of things, it was an amazing day! It gave me the confidence that I will actually survive when I get a Latina companion (which I pray I get right after I`m done training. You pick up Spanish in a heartbeat with a Latino companion.) Also, we did a lot of contacting, and we came to this house with this AWESOME awesome awesome woman named Natalia. We actually found her talking to her son, who is friends with Nicolas. He and Nicolas were out on the street and we asked if his parents were home. So anywho, he said yes and that we could go chat with her. We taught the first lesson to her, and she was SO receptive! One part of the first lesson (which in our mission is centered only on prayer), is we invite them to pray right then. She was really timid to, so we told her we could all kneel and she could say a silent prayer and when she aid "en el nombre de Jesucristo, Amen", we knew she`d be finished. She actually said a really long prayer and teared up a little bit, and then told us she felt so much peace! She is a capa and I`m so excited to teach her more! 

Hermana Ramirez is s e n s a t i o n a l. She dies in March, so she`s got a lot of experience. And when she`s not her perky, princess, high-pitched voice self, she has this voice that can bring a Spirit like no other! 

The Lord definitely gave me a lot of confidence on Wednesday through those divisions! 

We met the new peeps in our zone on Thursday, and this change it`s a BUNCH of Americans! Our District now only has 3 Latinos. It`s gonna be SAWEET. We also got a new kid in the mish in Rivera. He lives across the street from us, and his dad is Elder Rodriguez. Not gonna lie, it is so nice knowing more than at least one person instead of being the one that`s totally lost haha. I know, sad, but don`t worry, I`m helping him out as much as I can! He`s still got that bambi look on his face, which is embarrassing because I looked at him and though "yep. I must have looked like that." 

I know, look at me, I`m all growed up (almost.) 

The best part of the week was Saturday. B A P T I S M! 

I don`t know if I`ve written yet about the Araujo family. If not, that`s ridiculous, because they`re one of our favorite families. They`re a less active family. The mom, Ana, is 32. She got married when she was only 15, and had two kids with her first husband: Cristian (16) and Niki (14). Then she got divorced, remarried again, and had Cecilia (8). Then got married again, and had Vitoria (2.) Her and her last husband Pedro got baptized together, a little while after Niki and Cristian got baptized. But right now they`re separated (although a prob in Uruguay is that everyone lives right next store to their family. So Pedro is living with his mom, who is just three houses down. I know, awk.) Anywho, they`re having a lot of challenges, so we visit them a LOT. Ana is the sassiest Uruguayan I have ever met. Ceci is the one who got baptized. So technically it wasn`t a missionary baptism, but we still count her as ours because the family was almost inactive before we started teaching her. Cristian baptized her, and it was so sweet how nervous he looked and how she started crying. Poor girl`s been waiting for months, but because of a lot of logistical stuff just barely got to. So she was SO excited! It was the sweetest thing, and reminded me of when my brother baptized me. Great memory. I love the Araujo family. Cristian and Niki are super sassy like their mom (and make fun of my gringa accent, but in a super funny way.) Ceci is the SWEETEST 8 year old in this whole darn world, and Vitoria is just a cute albeit crazy wild child who is most definitely the epitome of the terrible twos. Love them. 

Anywho, just a really great week! Carol`s been out of town, but we have a lesson with her tonight. Hopefully it all goes well! 

Just a couple quick facts right before I go a spiritual on you guys. 

I think the thing I miss most about when I speak Spanish is the English slang. Like the word "swell." I forget that even the Latinos who know English, don`t know a word like swell. The other day, I told Elder Torres, the ZL who is from Ecuador, that he`s really swell. And he got a super confused look on his face and started looking around to see what part of his body had swollen. Hahaha bless his heart. 

I really really miss the following things: 

peanut butter

syrup 

spicy food 

zip up hoodies (they sell American brands here for literally $90-$100

wearing sweats on rainy days

and then, naturally, every single one of you. 

Also, my least favorite question en el mundo right now: 

"do you have a boyfriend?" 

Double worse that they always ask Hermana Goode first, and her answer is yes. So then they give me a look of pity when I say now. 

But then I remember I have a line of suitors at home, and I feel way better. (hang in there guys. just 15 months.) 

Okay, spirit time:

I was reading in Alma the other day, and I read one of my favorite scriptures, Alma 26:12, which says:

 12 Yea, I know that I am ^anothing; as to my strength I am weak; therefore I will ^bnot boast of myself, but I will ^cboast of my God, for in his ^dstrength I can do all ^ethings; yea, behold, many mighty miracles we have wrought in this land, for which we will praise his name forever.

ometimes, in life, and most DEFINITELY as a missionary, I wonder if I`m capable of doing great things. As a missionary, if I will really learn Spanish. If I will really bring somebody to the waters of baptism. But I love this scripture for two reasons: 

1. It reminds us that MANY MIGHTY m i r a c l e s CAN be worked, through the Lord. In His strength, we can do all things. 

2. It`s not about us! It is all about HIM. We are simply instruments in His hands. His timing. His methods. He will work miracles through us, if we put our trust in HIm. He`s already given us that promise, as with Alma. 

Ask the Lord, and He will strenghten you. Then, praise His name forever. 

Remember, WE CAN DO HARD THINGS! 

That`s all in this week in Uruguay. It`s Thanksgiving this week, which they don`t celebrate here obviously. But I just want to take a minute as time is short to say I am so thankful for this Gospel. I am thankful for my Savior, Jesus Christ, and for a loving Father in Heaven. I`m thankful for the strength i have in Them. I`m thankful families are forever. I`m thankful for Uruguay, and I`m thankful I get to be a missionary. I`m thankful for all of the examples in my life and for who I am because of them. And I`m just so thankful for the hope of this Gospel. And of course, I`m thankful for every single one of you, and your support and kindness.

I LOVE YOU, I LOVE YOU, I LOVE YOU! 

H A P P Y T H A N K S G I V I N G. 

Hermana Dolan 

Rivera Zone November 19, 2013

   me and Erico, a cortoplaza who goes home today to Montevideo. (cortoplazas serve in a   different part of the country for a few months before they leave on their own missions.)    he leaves for Chile in March. He`s kind of adorbs, but then again so are all the Latinos when they try to speak English. 

           also, the t shirts are our zone t shirts we just got today. HOLLA. Rivera es siòn! 

  me and Elder Childers and Nelson. Childers is dying. Cry.

Dying means he is going home...... 

                                            Like I said, SO MANY BEAUTIFUL PEOPLE. 

                                            Representin`the lord ladies and gents! 

  

                                         

22! 22! We Love You, 22! November 19, 2013

Hey hey hey my loyal readers! 

How was everyone's week? I hope it all went well for all of you. Beeteedubs, if you don`t know what that subject line means, please go and watch A League of Their Own. Right. Now. Honestly the subject has no significance to the week, other than in the Free Shops here they make you put your stuff in a locker before you go shop so that you don't steal anything. My locker number was 22, and it was kind of sad that I had no one to laugh at my fantastic quote. So, please go watch it. (shout out to my Poulsen peeps. I love you guys!) 

Alrighty so this week had a lot of special little moments as always, and then one really big one! 

First of all, remember Nicolas, the adorable ten year old who last week stopped us? Whose little friend Luis told us "God bless you?" Well, we were walking past his house again last week, and saw him, so we went up to go talk to him. And he goes "I`m sorry I didn`t go to church on Sunday, but it was raining way too hard." And we`re both sitting there thinking "first of all, he was going to go to church?" (no one invited him, he was just going to go.) And second of all, "what ten year old apologizes for not going?" Gaaah why is he so perfect? We met his little brother Juan last week who is 9 and we`ll be going to meet his mom hopefully tonight. Fingers crossed (people work super weird hours here.) Gah he is perfect. I want to adopt him and take him home with me. 

On Wednesday, we did mini divisions with Hermana Olson and Hermana Ramirez. I went with Hna Olson to their area for a few hours and Hna Ramirez went with Hna Goode to ours. It was awesome! Hermana Olson is a complete rockstar! We contacted quite a bit and it was so empowering! We talked to one guy who was standing outside his house with tattoos and a cigarette, who only spoke Portugese. But we actually understood quite a bit of what he was saying, and he told us his parents both died when he was little and for that he doesn't believe in a God. But you know what? He believes. You could see it in his eyes. He`s just angry. We stood there and told him about how we are all children of a God who loves us and we can be with our families again. He talked to us for quite awhile, and you could tell he was starting to feel something. Unfortunately, right when you could tell he was, that's when he just got scared and told us he had to go. But what was amazing to see the change in his countenance. The Spirit really is sensational. And, it just gets more and more special to see the way my heart breaks for people who feel that sort of sorrow and anger. I challenge all of you to pray for charity and the pure love of Christ, because I know firsthand that the Lord will answer. That`s what he`s been doing for me. 

On Thursdays we have our activities with the youth. Nicolas came, and a ten year old girl named Yesica that we`re teaching too! I love love LOVE the youth activities, because they talk to me a lot in spite of my limited Spanish knowledge. Plus, they think I`m funny. Proof that the youth know what`s up, because let`s face it, I`m HILARIOUS. They also like watching me tell stories to Elder Lufi in English, because I get really excited and animated. I LOVE THE YOUTH. 

ATTENTION TO EVERYONE EVERYONE EVERYONE. You know how they say that when it comes to the gospel, you should never give up on people? We have FIRSTHAND PROOF OF THIS, which is the absolute best thing that happened this week. Remember Sol, the little girl who got baptized a few weeks ago? Remember her mom, who has been an eternal investigator for, like, five years? Well, we`ve been talking to her more about baptism, and she`s been saying that she wants to be more sure, more excited like Sol was, before she gets baptized. Hna Ramirez and Hna Goode went and talked to her on Wednesday about Moroni`s promise at the end of the book of Mormon, and challenged her to really pray, because they knew she`d get the answer. And then she started crying, and said "I know I need to be baptized. I want to be a part of what my daughters have." Now I speak to anyone serving a mission, is going to serve, or has served and isn't sure they were successful. Carol has been meeting with the missionaries for FIVE YEARS. I bet at least some of those missionaries thought they failed with her, but now she is getting baptized! (we`re still figuring out which day in the next couple weeks.) NEVER GIVE UP ON ANYBODY. Every single one of those missionaries was a part of Carol`s conversion process, and now she is just steps away from the waters of baptism! I am so thankful for the Lord and the miracles he works in the hearts of the children of men. Some may take a day, some may take a lifetime, but those who he has prepared, will come in their own time unto their Savior Jesus Christ. 

Just a couple fun facts:

In Sunday School this last Sunday, I was trying to talk about the story of Peter and Jesus Christ and "do you love me? Feed my ship." Well I was talking about fishing, but I made the most derp obvious mistake you can make in Spanish. So there is "pescar", which is to fish, and "pecar", which is to sin. Well, I said Peter was "pecando" and then everyone looked at me really confused until Hermana Goode tapped me and was like "pescando, pescando!" Hahaha pray for me. 

One of our semi activos, Carlos, a couple weeks ago started to tell a joke every time we visited him, because we started to ask if he had one. Well, a little over a week ago, he asked me if I had any, to which I replied "I have a bunch in English, but none in Spanish." And he said "tell one in English. I understand everything." (he understands nada in English, we just always jokingly tell him he does.) So now, every time we visit him, he asks for a joke in English. He just waits until I give the cue of going "HA!" And then, this fifty something year old man does the funniest laugh attach I have every seen en mi video. He stomps his feet, rubs his hands together, and has the general appearance of a laughing chimp. Hahaha it`s the best parts of my week when we go and teach Carlos. By the time I`m done in Rivera, I am going to try and have all those jokes translated so he can understand them. Because honestly, they really are funny. 

Speaking of staying in Rivera, I`m staying in Rivera! Haha I think I confused some of you. Training lasts 12 weeks, so I`ll be here at least until January 1, but most likely Hermana Goode will be the one to leave. Which means I`ll probably be here until February. But changes are today, which means we had to say goodbye to the Elders that are dying tomorrow and to the other missionaries that are getting transferred. But luckily, Elder Rodriguez, who lives across the street from us, will be training a North American! Which means there`s going to be someone across the street who knows even less Spanish than I do! Boy oh boy, I am SO OLD you guys. 

I FINISHED THE BOOK OF MORMON THIS WEEK! That was the first time I have ever paid so much attention to what I`ve been reading, the WHOLE time I`ve been reading it. I cried when I finished, which hasn`t happened before. I know the book is true. It has ALL the answers. It soothes the soul. It contains words directly from our Father in Heaven, and He preserved it for OUR time because He knew the kind of world we would live in and the hope we can only get through it. Read it! Read it now! Don`t even finish reading this, just go pick up a Book of Mormon and read it! 

We went to Coisa Nossa today, which is basically Tucano`s but for half the price. Yeah, I know, I`m in the best place in the world. 

Guys. Another miracle happened this week. MEGAN. GAYLE. DOLAN. Ate a pancho. No, that`s not something that guards you from the rain. It`s a Uruguayan hot dog. And I ate one, and LOVED it. And then ate another a couple days later. They have powdered cheese on them and papafritas and hot sauce. Mmmmmmm. (the hot sauce is just an option, but the pancho man always gives us a weird look when we ask for it. haha they don`t do spicy here.) Miracles happen, folks! 

Anywho, that`s all for this week, folks. Tune in next week for another exciting edition of the day in the life of Hermana Dolan! I hope you all have the best week ever, and I hope it includes starting to read the Book of Mormon, and watching A League of Their Own! Seriously, I can`t watch it, so it`s your obligation to watch and enjoy on my behalf. 

Remember, the sun insists on rising, so make yourself stand! I love you, I love you, I love you! 

Hermana Dolan