Bad news......January 26, 2015

Haha bad news for YOU GUYS! No just kidding, it`s great news, it really is. 

So some people know that for the past little while I have been considering extending. I know, i`ve kept you guys in some serious suspense (parents) and i`m sorry! But the verdict is out....

I`m extending! I talked with President this week and it`s really what i feel like i need to do. So, I will officially be leaving the mission on March 30. (sorry i`ll just barely miss your birthdays kenz and gram. it`s close enough). So I`ll be home on the 31. So ya`ll are gonna have to wait just one month more! It`s okay, you can do hard things! :)

We had a rockin week this week, and it all came from working with the members and striving extra hard to follow the new direction we`ve been getting from President Smith and our church leaders. 

So Gabriela has really had a hard time to get over drinking, mostly because she keeps having really negative thoughts that get her down and make her go to it as a sort of therapy. We asked her if she had ever gotten a blessing before and she said no. so on Wednesday, we went with Hno Perez, the Elders Quorum Pres, so that he could give her a blessing. And this blessing, was b e a u t i f u l. And all I can do is testify that the priesthood is real and I am so thankful for worthy men to have this amazing power of God. He didn`t even know that much about Gabriela and yet he said things in the blessing that EXACTLY applied to things she had told us. The blessing just kept going and going, and we just kept listening and listening, and the Spirit was there and we could feel the power of God strengthening Gabriela and His infinite love for her as His daughter. Since then, she`s been doing a lot better. We`ve gone this week with hermana perez as well and she is just a cup of sunshine and took Gabriela in and always makes sure she saves a seat next to her in sacrament for when gabriela walks in late. I love these members! 

We have another investigator named Rene who is an older man who lives with his daughter. He was sort of listening to the missionaries but not fully attentive, but was at least reading the Book of Mormon to "compare" it to the Bible. This week we made it a goal not to visit him unless we had a member with us, and it made all the difference! The members were able to answer questions he had in a way that he could understand. We focused a lot on the Plan of Salvation and he just kept saying "this makes a lot of sense." By the end of the last lesson we had, he agreed to pray about baptism and said "all the members you have brought have talked about how happy they are because of the Gospel. And I figure, who wouldn`t want to be that happy?" He`s right! We felt totally edified by the help we got from the members this week, and they were edified, and the people we taught were edified. Everyone just got a spiritual powerboost! The power of the members is real. It is all in your hands! 

Funny story: last night about ten minutes before bedtime, I walked out to go to the bathroom and there was a TARANTULA in the kitchen, blocking my way as if it just knew i needed to brush my teeth. I screamed and Hna Gruden came and she was like "I`m not killing it!" and I was like "I`m not killing it!" (normally i`ve managed to pressure my companions into killing the big bugs, but it turns out Hna Gruden is just as stubborn as i am in that department). So, what did we do? We called our Uruguayan mom, Maria, who lives a few houses away! We called her and said "Mamà, come kill a HUGE spider or it`s going to kill us!" and she just laughed...and then laughed some more when she got there to kill it and to her it was completely tiny. It was big you guys, I promise. And disgusting and awful. But my point is, you can rest assured knowing that we have peeps willing to come over at almost 11 at night to kill a spider. In other words, we are well taken care of :)

We are currently in Montevideo today because Hna Gruden had to sign papers to be legal here. Perk of being the second companion is this is the third time! Woop! So, we`re going to go find some adventures. Ok? Sweet. I`ll send pictures next week, I promise! 

The people are great, the work rolls on, and the Gospel is true. 

I love you, I love you, I love you! I`ll see you in TWO months! :)

Hermana Dolan 

In the land of Gauchos............January 19, 2015

Gauchos is basically an Uruguayan cowboy....except they`re cooler than the Americans (I know, I`m sorry.)  And they`re ALL in Tacuarembò! 

I am officially one of two of the "oldest" hermanas in the mission.....frightening. 

So, here I am in my new digs in TBO, where I have been wanting to come my whole mission! It is so great! A LOT of campo (field...but that doesnt explain it very well in english.) And a LOT of cows! Haha it`s great. I`m in a ward again, so there`s about 100 people in church normally here. It`s definitely a big jump from a little branch, but I love places with a lot of people! 

So let me tell you guys about my companion because she is amazing....her name is Hermana Gruden and she is from Illinois. She just finished her training. Last week, she completed 2 years as a member! And do you want to know how it all started? Because her best friend invited her to church in the 7th grade. So...invite your friends to church. Anyway, she is incredible! She is so positive and happy all the time and super funny. And I can`t believe how much she knows for having just left her training. She is a great missionary and I am super stoked for her to be my "assassin"! I have seriously been so blessed in the companion department. They are my angels! 

Also....the night before I left Colonia, the ZLs there called to tell me that in TBO I will be the Hermana Leader Trainer. Which is the leader over the hermanas here, so i`m in charge of any issue, i do divisions with them, all that jazz. I don`t really know what President Smith is thinking haha, but I`m excited! 

We`ve had a good week! We`re all still getting used to the new changes in the mission, but it`s going to be awesome once we can really get into things. The ward members are really awesome and willing to help, and we get lunch every day again! Yussssss. The recent converts are so amazing. Let me tell you, one of my biggest pleasures in the mission and some of my dearest friends have been recently baptized when I got to the area. They have such a fire and love for the Gospel. Like this sweet old man named Humberto. He is working towards getting sealed to his wife who passed away once he completes a year as a member in August. And he LOVES the sister missionaries! He has a place for each of them in his "family." So, I am officially his great-great granddaughter. He is adorable. 

Speaking of, BIG NEWS! The familia Valentti from Rivera got SEALED last week! (they`re my Uruguayan parents.) My ward in Rivera made a pit stop in Tacuarembo on the way to the temple so I got to see them! My Mamà y Papà Uruguayos, Belèn, and like half the ward. Oh man, it was so great! And now they are an eternal family! And here attached is a picture of some of my amazing jovenes from that ward in front of the temple that they sent me. Families are forever!!!!

We have this investigator who has been taught by the missionaries for awhile but has a drinking problem. Her name is Gabriela, and she really does have the desire to change, it`s just such a huge addiction for her. But we`re going to fight alongside her to get it out the window, because she is so ready! Please pray for Gabriela! 

I`ve been thinking a lot about the Lord`s promises lately. A lot of times, we 

fail to trust in those promises and their fulfillment according to our obedience. Sometimes, I forget too. We sometimes completely forget about Nephi. We forget that all commandments are possible to fulfill unto the Lord, and many times, like Laman and Lemuel, we forget the promises that can come after completing our part with the Lord. That`s why I really love these verses in Alma 37:

7 For he will fulfill all his promises which he shall make unto you, for he has fulfilled his promises which he has  made unto our fathers.

 18 For he promised unto them that he would preserve these things for a wise purpose in him, that he might show forth hispower unto future generations.

 19 And now behold, one purpose hath he fulfilled, even to therestoration of many thousands of the Lamanites to the knowledgeof the truth; and he hath shown forth his power in them, and hewill also still show forth his power in them unto future generations;therefore they shall be preserved.

SO many promises of the Lord to our fathers are being fulfilled, and generations had to pass to receive them! Maybe it will take centuries, maybe weeks, maybe days, but it`s just as Jeffrey R. Holland says "some blessings come now, some come late, and some don`t come until heaven. But for those who follow the Gospel of Jesus Christ, they come." I believe in that promise. Sometimes I forget it momentarily, but the Lord always kindly reminds me to T R U S T in His guiding hand. So, keep going always and don`t stop, because the good will come, as long as you are faithful, it will A L W A Y S come. It also makes me think about how, just like we are the answered prayers of our fathers, we can be the answers to anyones prayer. May we always look for the heads who need a shoulder to lean on! 

Well, I sure do love all of you. Thank you for all of your support and your prayers. I am already learning so much here in Tacuarembo and a LOT from my companion, and I know I still have more to learn, and I`m excited to do it and to see what promises of the Lord will be fulfilled! 

I love you, I love you, I love you! 

Hermana Dolan 

why i love uruguay.....farms are fun (From January 13, 2015 email)

hna nielson and i....we`re soulmates

My companion is now terminal...............January 13, 2015

Hey guys....so my companion is now terminal. They say she doesn`t have a lot of time left. Her heart rate is going down, she is tired ALL the time, and she can`t even eat on her own anymore. Please pray for her. 

That`s right you guys....Hna Nielson is leaving on THURSDAY to go HOME. SHE`S DYING. We`re going to Montevideo together tomorrow and from there we`ll part ways for me to go to Tacuarembo and her the mission home. She really is tired all the time..like most missionaries... haha we kind of are like old ladies as we talk of our aching feet and backs. 

It was basically the best 10 days of our lives rocking it in El Real here in Colonia together. They will be closing her area too, so we were saying goodbye to everybody and making sure everything is prepared for the Elders who will be coming. 

On Thursday and Friday, we went to this place called San Pedro. It`s about half an hour away from the city and it is a WHOLE lot of.....nothing. Haha farmland farmland farmland. But the people that are there are sooo nice! They invited us in to sit down without us even asking and offered us juice....coming from Colonia, we were pretty amazed. We walked more than i have ever walked in my whole mission. Seriously. And we had some ROCKING adventures and i can`t tell you how much we laughed. It was the perfect way for her to finish off her mission and for the two of us to finish off time in our special Colonia. We are both in the same boat because we both opened our areas in Colonia and were there when they got closed again, so colonia is a special place for both of us. We had a conference with President Smith on Saturday and we both said "President, best week ever, WHY weren`t we companions before?!" And he just laughed and was like "Just be grateful you did get to be for a week! And I honestly think the two of you did more in a week than some companionships get done in 6." Wow! Inspired companionship or what! 

Speaking of, we did have a special conference with President because EVERYTHING IN THE MISSION HAS CHANGED. and not just ours, but in the WHOLE world. Seriously, anything you have ever known......throw that out the window. It`s gone. They`re making new Preach My Gospels. Key indicators have changed. The missionary purpose hasn`t changed, but the FOCUS in that purpose has. It`s a lot for me to try to explain, so, do as Elder Nelson counsels, and if you want to know what those changes are....."Ask the missionaries, they can help you!" But seriously ask the missionaries in your ward because I only have an hour and a half in the cyber. 

One of the people we met in San Pedro was a girl named Luz. She is 16 and has a one month old PRECIOUS little girl. We taught her a watered down first lesson on her front porch, as I almost started crying as I looked at the way she looked at her little girl. It was just the tiniest glimpse of the love the Lord has for us. I could see in that baby the divine potential which resides in every single one of us. Everything became real clear for just a moment and any trials and problems i have or have had suddenly became very small, and in those moments an amazing peace just washes through me, and I know that God loves us and is aware of us. And all you can do is smile and just feel so good :)

These days were the kind where we both came home sunburned (we`re probably the whitest companionship in the mission), backs sore from not sitting down all day, feet sore from walking ACRES of farmland just to find a house.... and we came home with big, tired smiles on our faces, because we were doing the Lord`s work and it`s the most worthwhile tired a person can feel. And I just thought "Man, I`m so happy." 

I love Colonia forever and always. Eternal frienships were made here and here, I found my family. My greatest trials were passed here, but also my most cherished joys. I am SO excited for Tacuarembo and for what the Lord has in store for me there! He`s definitely been running me around everywhere, but in doing so He has taught me how to throw my hands in the air, and give it all to Him. So it`s time to do that this one last time before I complete my purpose here in Uruguay! 

I love you, I love you, I love you! 

Hermana Dolan 

Surprise! Jan 5, 2015

So....... we get a call from the Zone Leaders on Saturday telling us "are you ready for your changes?" Considering changes aren`t until NEXT week, we thought they were joking. Haha seriously, even after they gave us our changes we still called President Smith to make sure it was real. 

Here are our changes: Hna Colwell is going to open an area in Nueva Palmyra (another area in Colonia) with Hna Wiscombe from El Real. And I, just until changes, am going to El Real (which is the neighboring branch here) to "kill" Hna Nielson! And then from there, I`m headed to TACUAREMBO Barrio Torres! 

And so, we`re leaving today a little bit before six. I`ll still be in Colonia until next Wednesday, then it`s off to Tacuarembo! 

Whiiiich means that I really have no time to write haha sorry..... the only thing that I can tell you is that I love Colonia. With my whole heart. It`s been an interesting change, and challenging for various reasons, but as always, I have learned a lot. I have grown here so much closer to my Savior and I have learned so much about Him, and learned even more FROM Him. I love the people here. No matter what and no matter where I am, they will always be in my heart. 

It really is the best time to serve the Lord. I love it so much! 

Talk to you all next week. I love you, i love you, i love you! 

Hermana Dolan 

the Aquinos. love them!

The Ring.........but not the horror movie ;) me and my sweet comp!!

Mah ladies............And Christmas Eve! Nielson and Wiscombe gave me Harry Potter 4 book in Spanish....rock solid. And Colwell gave me a really pretty dolphin ring....don`t get jealous Kenz. ...

       Charla Fogonera! L t R: Hna Wiscome, me, Hna Nielson,                                   Hna Colwell (my companion) 

           

Thanks for the PJ`s Grandma!! Christmas Jammies

Jazmin's Baptism..............freshly sin-free, and us with Marcusen who baptized her, and her mom Veronica

AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR...............December 29, 2014

Hey fam and friends! How was your Christmas? I hope it was awesome, like mine was. Second Christmas in the mish. Man, it was sweet. We spent Christmas Eve at the familia Aquino`s house (same place I spent New Year`s last year), and Hnas Nielson and Wiscombe stayed the night with us because a taxi was going to be too expensive to take back to their area. So, the four of us spent it in the Figares sweet house because they were out of town and wanted someone to be there to watch the house. Don`t mind if we do! The fireworks weren`t as crazy this year because the Figares house is more where all of the stores and restaurants are and those were all closed at midnight. But, we sat on their balcony and played Christmas music and listened to the fireworks going off in the surrounding neighborhoods. It was cool to be in our own little bubble. 

The days before, we contacted a lot and were able to share He is the Gift with a lot of different people. Most didn`t actually accept having the missionaries visit them, but what was important was getting to testify of the love of God for giving us His Son, and the love of Christ for everything He did for us. He really is the gift! 

On Christmas Day, 8 of us missionaries didn`t have any lunch appointments, so we got together in the church and made canelones and invited a couple of jovenes and Brian and Angela. It was pretty great! 

And of course there was Skype with the fam! My family`s kind of the best. People who heard parts of our conversation said "wow, you guys are pretty funny." Yeah, we are ;) 

It was a pretty life changing week, but just in a way that I can`t really describe. Just being filled with the love of God and Jesus Christ, and sharing it with others, even if they didn`t want to accept it. The year 2014 is very quickly coming to an end! It`s been a wild year. 2014 is a year I will always remember with a smile: the only full year I spent in Uruguay. So much growth, so much laughter, so many tears, so many lessons learned....so. much. joy! Last year, I had said that I had chosen a word that was going to be my focus for the year: LIGHT. I have felt that light in my life, i have seen it turn on in others as they listen to the message of hope, and I have felt my own light grow through the examples of these amazing Uruguayos and the experiences the Lord has thrown my way. 

Here`s to 2014, and a great 2015 to follow! 

I love you, I love you, i love you! 

Hermana Dolan 

Merry Christmas 2014! Family Skyping with Megan from Colonia, Uruguay

Have a holly jolly Christmas......................December 22, 2014

HEY HEY HEY fam and friends! How is everyone? Is everyone excited for Christmas? I know I sure am! 

So this week has been SO crazy. Seriously the busiest ever! But with some seriously amazing experiences! 

So let`s start with Tuesday. This weekened, we had some big Christmas firesides in two parts of Colonia, and we had to practice for them. So on Tuesday we had district meeting and practice in Nueva Helvecia (one of the places where we did the fireside). It`s about an hour away by bus from centro. So the ZL`s had given us 10 missionaries that are in those 3 branches a certain time for our bus that was leaving, but it turned out it was actually the wrong time and the next bus didn`t leave for another two hours. Which meant not getting back into our area until like, 6. Which we were all pretty bummed about. But THEN me, my companion, and Hna Wiscombe and Hna Nielson from the area next to us went to the back of the bus, speaking in english. This woman in front of me and my comp asked us a question in english. We responded, and then the 4 of us spent 5 minutes trying to figure out what language it was that she continued to speak in after with the man sitting next to her. Until we decided to ask. Turns out they were both from Sao Paolo Brazil, the  but had never met until that day, both spoke english and were both backpacking through Uruguay. So we had the most AMAZING chat with them about both He is the Gift, and then prayer, because we invited them to watch the video and then to pray about it after, and the guy said "well how do i pray?" Boo ya!First lesson in ENGLISH, taught between the four of us. We talked the entire hour, and then helped them get maps in the terminal. The woman said "I have never been to a Mormon church, but I know where it is where I live and I think I`d like to try it out when I go home." And then the guy said "I never talked to the Mormons because I always just thought they were strange. But now after talking to you guys, I think I will look for the other people with black name tags." SO AMAZING. And totally the hand of God making sure we missed the first bus so that we could meet the two of them and plant that sad. We got their phone numbers too and will be passing the reference to the church. I just love those moments! 

Wednesday and Thursday, we were in MONTEVIDEO!!! We had interviews on Wednesday, and did the temple on Thursday. We also had some really cool lessons on Wednesday from President and his assistants, and mostly I just have to say that A. President Smith is absolutely amazing and B. I have a whole new perspective on fasting and personal covenants. Not just temple covenants, but PERSONAL ones. in the temple on Thursday, we all brought family names and did the four ordinances of baptism, confirmation, initiatory, and endowment for a member of our family. Mine was for my great great great grandma, which was really cool and I felt her close. President Smith baptized all of the Hermanas, and the cool part was that the Elders all went into the font with their companions and one baptized the other and then they switched...kind of like how Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdry first did it. That was really cool to see. It was seriously AMAZING, with so much revelation received and my mind just completely opened. It was two days of a completely spiritual high that went by way too fast! Also, Hermana Smith is literally an angel. The four of us hermanas hung out in their house with her on Wednesday night and she is just incredible. I love them! 

Friday was also traveling to go to rehearsals. Saturday and Sunday were also traveling because the day finally came that we had the firesides! On Saturday in Carmelo and Sunday in Nueva Helvecia. It`s really something I can`t describe, with the power of the music of all of us missionaries as a choir singing praises to our Father for His Son, the uplifting videos, and inspiring messages from recent converts and returning members, It was another indescribable Spirit. All the kind of Spirit that has left us all changed and......tired. Very, very tired. Haha but the good kind! 

I seriously love you all so much and I hope you can have the best Christmas ever, completely focused on the Savior and the amazing gift that He truly is, given to us by a Father who loves us infinitely! Let us focus on them and what we have and knowing that they live, and this Christmas will be the most special of all. I know They live and They love us. I know that baby born so many years ago grew, taught, healed, blessed, forgave, bled, died.....and lived again. And He is the reason. He is the Gift. 

I love you, i love you, I love you! 

Hermana Dolan