Week 10

Friends and Family!

Where did this week go? I looked at a calendar today because I didn't believe my companion when she said it was already the 14th. That means that on Thursday I will have been in Phoenix for a month, which is insane. I have learned so much here and I feel like I am finally getting to know the members in my area, which is such a fun feeling. It is hard to balance time between the English ward that we work in and the Spanish branch that we work in, but it is such a blessing to be able to meet all the people in both the ward and the branch because they are all so amazing. It is such a comfort to have members to work with - they become a part of your family while you are working with them and it is so fun. This past week my companion and I focused on building member trust in both the ward and the branch, and it has helped more than I could have ever imagined. They are opening up to us and want to help us as we help the people in the area. So if you are reading this as a member, talk to this missionaries in your area and ask what you can do to help them! Getting dinners are great but having a member come to a lesson is a thousand times better. 

Comp love

This week we had our first zone training meeting where our zone gets together and the zone leaders and sister training leaders give us little lessons on how to help our areas more. It was really cool to hear from them. They had a lot of good insights. The biggest thing that I learned was that everyone is a leader to someone by their example - that could be a companion, a member who is watching what you do, an investigator, anyone. So we all need to try our best to be our best selves, and for me to be the best missionary I possibly can be. 

After Zone Training Meeting we had a district lunch. My district is made up of me and my companion, the ASL missionaries, the YSA missionaries, and a set of English missionaries. We call ourselves the misfits. We are the only sisters in our district. All of the Elders are very nice and hard workers, which is great! Our district leader is the best district leader ever. He is deaf but is really good at reading lips. He gives everyone in his district a name sign after he has met them and mine is Sister Happy. Could you die? I did. 

Homemade ice cream from a member - too cold to touch

This week we had a really cool experience with a less active member. We had been planning to swing by a few different times this week, but always ended up not making it over for one reason or another. This week we had a lesson get canceled so we went over. She was home and let us in right away. Turns out that she has been super sick and that morning had prayed that someone would come and help her. When she finished her prayer she said that she had a feeling like she needed to go back to church. Our coming to her was a confirmation of that feeling. We had the Elders come and give her a blessing of health. We are excited to see her faith grow and to help her come back to church! Things like this happen more than we realize; I have such a strong testimony of the Spirit. God puts us in people’s paths exactly when we need to be there so that we can help them. It was an awesome experience!

This week was Independence Day for Mexico so the branch had a big party to celebrate. Obviously there was amazing tacos and traditional dancing. And, like normal for the branch, it started about 45 minutes late. Before going to the party we stopped by a member’s house to help her making dessert for the party because she just had surgery but wanted to help. We made over 60 cupcakes and a pineapple upside down cake and then she gave us some stuff to wear to the party "to make us look more Mexican." She also had her neighbor come over to braid my hair who only spoke Spanish - so that is what that picture is. Overall the party was awesome and it was fun to get to meet a lot more people in the branch. I kiss all the ladies’ cheeks, which I am still getting used to.

Other than that this week has been pretty normal. We got a new investigator who we are really excited about, and our other investigators are progressing really well. I continue to love my companion - she is so great and fun to be around.

Oh, and we are officially moving this week! So if any of you awesome people were going to send me a letter, send it to the mission office because my address will be wrong. I will send my new address next week when I know what it is. We are sad to be leaving the sister we live with now, but we are moving in with such fun sisters so we are super pumped for the move! And most importantly, we will be about ten minutes closer to our area. Right now we have to drive 15 minutes to get to the closest corner of our mission, which takes up a lot of our miles (we are only given a certain amount of miles to use per month) and time out of teaching. So it’s going to be great!

I love you all and hope you are having a great week! I am safe, having fun, and loving being a missionary!

Hermana Doxey

PS I love the almost nightly lightening storms here - not what I am used to but so cool!