Week 38

Hello to all!

This week has been my first week with my new companion. Her name is Sister Jackson and she is so sweet. She has such a strong desire to improve and try new things. It has been such a blessing to me and to our area. It has been a bit of an adjustment period, not gonna lie. It was a little hard to have a companion who went home and then get a companion who just came out. I think it left me with unrealistic expectations. But it has also been a really good opportunity to grow and learn and stretch myself. 

As a zone we have been making a huge push to be bold with people so we can know who is truly interested in the gospel. Holy cow - I have a testimony of being bold! After having a meeting with the zone, we had the opportunity to put what we learned into practice that night. We went to a Spanish lesson with a mom and daughter who we are teaching. They are investigators but we really couldn't tell how interested they were. Going into the lesson it was one of those “they have to commit to something or we can’t teach them anymore” situations. So we decided that the best way to go would be to start at the beginning. We retaught the restoration, this time focusing on what we need to do if the message was true. By the end of the lesson the daughter accepted a date to be baptized and the mom said that she supported that, and that if she knew the church was true she would be baptized and set a date. It was SO cool. We had a member with us and she was a huge help, not only with the Spanish but also with helping the investigators feel comfortable. The member had also converted from Catholicism so she related to the investigators so well. Now the member is really excited to help us teach the family. I just left the lesson smiling and so happy. 

We also have two new investigators with baptismal dates, but sadly they are being passed to other missionaries before those dates. That’s the problem with downtown Phoenix Spanish speaking - most of the people we find either move in the middle of teaching them, or we have to pass to the English Sisters. 

Speaking of Spanish, my Spanish has magically improved like X100 in the last week. That quote, "God doesn't call the qualified, he qualifies the called," umm...yeah. So that’s true. I haven't ever learned so much Spanish so quickly. I think it is because I HAVE to be able to speak it. I don't have a companion who can help me out in that aspect anymore so I just have to buck up and figure it out. I can really feel the spirit when I speak Spanish because I know that I couldn't do it on my own. I think it has also helped going back to the basics with my companion. Teaching her a language that I don't even know fully has helped push me to learn faster. 

Me and my ladies

Happy Easter

We got to go the Mesa Easter Pageant one last time with our investigator and a member. She is seriously so cute and I love her so much. She LOVED the pageant. We also had an investigator come to church for the first time. We met him last week - he was a referral from the Mesa Easter Pageant. He went to the pageant almost ever night. After we taught him the restoration he just said, "well yeah after I watched the pageant I knew the church had to be true so I read the Book of Mormon and prayed about. It's true." So he accepted the invitation to be baptized and is super excited to have a fresh start at life. On Sunday he went to church, and he taught me what true dedication to what you believe is. He lives about 15 minutes in a car away from our church building and said he would take the bus to church (normally when people say that it means they are not really intending to go). But he left his house TWO HOURS early just so he could take the bus and walk to church. He also got there really early... but the point is that he knew it was true so he put in the effort to do what he felt was right. It was so cool, and he loved church. It made me feel bad for the excuses I have made in the past to avoid doing what I knew was right. There really aren't any excuses for standing up for what we believe in, whatever that may be. 

I am super excited for this next week - it is going to be hectic, but I know that I will grow and learn a lot. Thanks for your prayers - I can feel them!

Love you all! Have a great week!

Hermana Doxey

Week 37

Hola, familia!

This week we had a ton of meetings, so I don't have a lot to write about. We had sister Ferre's exit interview, district meeting, a Spanish fireside, service, and we got to go to the Mesa Easter Pageant twice. Plus a lot of packing and cleaning. We got to go to the Easter pageant once in English and once in Spanish, and we will probably go one more time in English next week. It was a lot different than what I was expecting, but I really enjoyed it. It is basically a play/musical about the last week of Christ's life. It was a huge production. I got to see a few people I haven't seen in a while, one sister who was my companion for a day in the MTC after her companion left to the field (remember a million years ago when I was in a trio in the MTC so I was the shuffle girl?). It was so fun to get to see her and talk for a few seconds! I also got to see some people from my last area and a lot of missionaries I have served with in the past. It was fun to be outside and enjoy the spirit that is always present when people are testifying of Christ. 

Sister Martinez, me, and Sister Ferre

As for transfer news, Sister Ferre is now home, along with my first companion Sister Martinez (shout out to Chloe and Paula), which is super weird. I got to drop off sister Ferre at the mission home, so I also got to say goodbye to Sister Martinez, which was super sweet. I am staying in my area, but my companion doesn't get here until tomorrow so I’m in a companionship with Sister Villalta (who I live with - her companion also doesn't get here until Tuesday). The house is super empty and it just feels like a really long exchange. 

The best part of my week by far was that one of our investigators who had never come to church came this week (probs just to hear Sister Ferre's talk…but, hey, she came)! She cried the entire sacrament, and I got to hold her hand the whole meeting. It was a little presh, not even going to lie. 

Sister Ferre's last district lunch at our favorite taco shop

We also had a really cool experience the other night. We were on our way to an appointment and we all the sudden got a really bad feeling like we shouldn't go there. We pulled over and prayed about it and another name popped into our head so we started to go there. Then that felt wrong so we took a detour to another house but he ended up not being home. Throughout this whole process I just felt so sick. I hate not following our plans, I felt unsafe not having somewhere to go. It was dark in downtown Phoenix and I was getting all jumpy. It was the first time I have ever not wanted to be in Phoenix; I was almost on the verge of crying. After that man wasn't home, we decided to go to the house we had originally thought of when we prayed. Because of our detour we ended up going a different route, coming to the house from east instead of the west side entrance. We turned onto the street and I saw a man sitting on a wall wearing an A's baseball cap. We kept driving, and I just felt like we needed to talk to that man. We pulled over and walked back to him. He immediately hung up his phone call and started to talk to us. We got to share the Because of Him video and talk to him. He said that that was exactly what he needed, and that he had been really struggling that day. We shared our testimonies and he said he really wanted to go to church. He lives outside of our area, so we don’t get to teach him, but when we got back to the car I just started bawling. I just felt at peace that we had found the person we were being guided to that whole night. It made me realize how much God is aware of every person. That man needed to be told that God loves him and that everything was going to be okay. God loves him and sent people to him to make sure he knew that. I felt so overwhelmingly grateful that I got to be an answer to a prayer and was able to help someone in need. I was in physical pain, and so stressed leading up to finding him, and then I felt so extremely happy that I got to help that man. It made me understand the Atonement more personally. Christ had to go through so much pain - infinitely more that what I have ever gone through - just because he wanted us to be able to be happy eternally. 

I heard someone quote a blog quote one time and the Sister had said something along the lines of, "Thank you, black missionary tag, for giving me the opportunity to have extremely intimate experiences with complete strangers." I could never describe my mission better than that. I feel so blessed to be able to have these experiences with people that I never would have had otherwise. I feel so humble to have God work through me to help others. I love what I am doing and that motivates me to work harder.

Saying goodbye to Sister Ferre

I think that is really all I have to report on this week! As sad as it was to leave Sister Ferre, I know I will be ok and that she is going to have so much fun at home with her family. It's hard to be making so many friends on the mission and then constantly having to say goodbye to them, but I know we will all stay in contact and all will be well. 

Have a wonderful week,

Hermana Doxey

Week 36

Hello all!

This week we had our last full-day exchange of the transfer (I am a little relieved) and it was so cool to see all the miracles of the day. A Sister from Paradise Valley came into my area with me, and she was SO needed that day. We got a referral on our iPads and we went to contact them, and it ended up being the Ecuadorian (if that is how you say that) consulate. And guess where that sister is from? ECUADOR. They were basically BFFs right off the bat. Sadly he lives in Chandler, so we had to pass the referral on, but he wants his whole family to be taught. It was super cool to be in the building and have all the Ecuadorian flags and stuff. We also found two new investigators! One was a part member family that we were finally able to teach. And the last miracle was when we went to go see an investigator just to drop by, her whole family ended up being there! We knocked on the door and no one was home, and when we turned to walk away the whole family walked up the stairs! Only two of them live there but we have been talking to all of them off and on so it was just amazing that all of them where home. So basically it was a successful exchange. 

This Saturday we got to go to the temple visitors center with our investigator Trudy and she is just the sweetest person ever. It was crazy because we saw so many people at the visitor’s center. We say Keny, who was a member of our branch who got his call to serve in the Tempe mission. He went out to lessons with us all the time so it was so fun to see him as a missionary! We also saw some elders I used to serve with which was fun. I also got to see a sister who was in the MTC with me - she is working in the Visitor’s Center now. 

Made it to the top!

Don't mind my red face and braids

We had a few funny contacts this week. To explain how awesome the first one was, I have to give a little background info about my companion Sister Ferre. She LOVES basketball. Like so much so that I dream about basketball sometimes. Her dream on her mission was to contact someone playing basketball and say "hey if I beat you will you take the missionary lessons" so because her time is limited on the mission we realized if we saw the opportunity we had to take it. So we went to the park and saw a teenager playing basketball by himself, so we were like "its now or never". So we asked if Sister Ferre beat him at horse if he would let the missionaries come over and he said ok. (ok honest moment we started out with PIG but she lost so we played horse after) and halfway through the game he said he would take the lessons anyway. Best part is he is in our area so we get to teach him! We have a lesson on Tuesday and we are pumped. 

We also had a funny contact when we were pumping gas this week (yes, I have finally learned how to pump gas all by myself). There was a man pumping his gas next to us (like 80 years old - I didn’t think he could speak English) and he just says, "I like your hair" so we started talking to him and invited him to the Easter pageant. Turns out he is from Israel and owned a restaurant and invited us to get the best lemonade in Arizona. Not sure if talking to him will lead anywhere, but it was funny in the moment. 

We had a dinner this week at a member’s house with our whole district which is four Elders and us. So normally when we have Spanish dinners it is a team effort to eat all the food because there is always SO MUCH FOOD. But one of the Elders, the Samoan who normally pulls more than his weight, was sick and couldn't even finish his first plate so Sister Ferre and I had to eat his food when the member wasn't looking. One Elder ate 6 empanadas. We were all dying coming out of that dinner. 

Temple trip with Trudy

We had stake conference this weekend and it was so good. The second councilor in the mission presidency gave a talk and it was so good. He talked about Peter and why he went back to fishing instead of continuing to preach the gospel. It was all about how he was convinced that Jesus was the Christ, but not converted. He said that the only way to be converted is if we live the "thou shalt" commandments and not just the "thou shalt not" commandments. He also talked about the paradox of charity, how the only way to have charity is to give it away. But my favorite part by far was when he said, "I love my wife, I love my son, but I love them best when I love God first." So...yeah, that is my new favorite quote. I also got to see the branch president’s wife from the branch I served in last and it was adorable. She got so excited to see me and was telling me how she wants to visit me in Oregon, oh man I just love her so much and was so happy to be able to see her again. 

So those were some of the very random things that happened this week. It was such a great week and Sister Ferre and I are just trying to soak up the last bit of time we have together. Transfers are this Friday, so by next Monday I will be able to tell you where and who I am with, but we wont know for sure until Thursday. 

I love you all - I am so grateful for all of you! I hope you have the best week of your lives this week!

Hermana Doxey

Week 35

Hello all!

This week was super hectic but really fun. I just feel like I could pass out from being so tired, but that’s okay. 

We had two exchanges this week, one in South Scottsdale and one in North Scottsdale. In both of the exchanges I got to be with a sister who came in with me, so it was a blast to catch up and see how much we have all grown. It was cool to see the kind of work they do in the different places in the mission. As much fun as I had in Scottsdale, I am very grateful to be in Phoenix. I think that the biggest difference was that there are just so many more people walking around outside in Phoenix. We have a lot more opportunities to talk to people and it made me realize I shouldn't take that for granted by not taking every opportunity I can to talk to the people around us. One cool thing that happened on one of my exchanges was that we got to do some Spanish contacting, and my companion for the day is the French speaker in their trilingual English-French-Spanish companionship. So I got to do all the speaking. It was kind of fun to test out my Spanish without the option of looking to my companion to take over. I apparently understood enough because we got two return appointments and both seemed pretty interested in learning more. I have so much fun on exchanges, I love all the sisters we work with, but I am always very happy to see Sister Ferre at the end of the day. We have our last exchange starting tonight and I will not lie - I am going to be pretty happy when they are over. They are very tiring! 

Me and Sister Ferre

We also had MLC this week where we meet together for FIVE HOURS to get trainings form the Mission President, his wife, and the assistants. I learned so much and I really loved everything we talked about it, but there really isn't a way to get over the fact that it was a five-hour meeting and that is pushing my attention span A LOT. We learned about digital safety, how we can use our iPads in more effective ways, helping others become converted to the gospel, and family history. My favorite training was the family history one because I learned SO MUCH. I have never been a huge family history fan, as in I just never do it. But now I want to do it all the time. In our mission we get up to two hours a week to do family history work. This past week Sister Ferre and I were looking for names to bring to the temple on Thursday, and it was such a cool experience. Sister Ferre found her 6th great grandma. I found an entire family to add to our tree (and by I, I mean the really nice member who was helping me). It made me realize that If we just put in a little bit of time to learn how to do family history work, it isn't that hard and it is so important. It is cool to see where our family comes from and all the names of the people who have paved the path for me to be where I am today. 

Along with our renewed efforts on contacting people comes two things: 1) Funny stories (got to love Phoenix), and 2) Miracles. 

I don't have a ton of funny stories that I can explain, but we did have one man sing to us all about Jesus. He said he normally charges people for that kind of entertainment, but because we are friends he let us go, no charge. 

The foot of a lady we teach :)

As for miracles, off the top of my head (I really should keep a list of the things that happen- that will be my goal for this week) I can think of one. We were contacting this lady (another crazy story, lets just say her bunnies were legit giving birth left and right) because her neighbor, who was who we were trying to contact, wasn't home and on the way back to our car a car pulls up to us and apologizes for not being home. They lived in the house that we had originally gone to and invited us to stop by another day. Turns out they weren't even who we were trying to contact. God had just put us in the right place at the right time. It’s the little things like that that make me LOVE being a missionary. God is so aware of everyone and their situations, and I know that if we reach out for help, he will help us- even if it takes some time or doesn't come in the way that we expect it to. 

We have two weeks left in the transfer and I am a little bit freaking out about Sister Ferre leaving me, but I know that I will be okay. I really love the area I am in right now. The people are amazing and I love them so much. 

I love you all SO much, thank you for all of your support. Have a fantastic week!

Hermana Doxey