Let Freedom Ring

Hola! 

 

First off, hey @kettleyfam sorry I couldn't be there in Tahoe with you guys! My boss wouldn't give me the week off :/ 

Last week we received some super exciting news! We are finally moving from isolation to phase 1!!!!! It's no where near complete freedom but it's a step forward. This means we can now meet with people in their houses but under the rules of 1. Wearing a mask at all times 2. No meals or eating and 3. That they are feeling good and no one they live with is sick. Also we can now meet with other missionaries for approved meetings! So we were able to meet as a district for the first time in person, and today we had a super fun P-day activity at the park :))

Thanks to my new comp, Hermana Romney, I tried Mate!!! Every missionary that served in Argentina is obsessed with it and will NOT stop talking about it, including my comp hehe but I still love her. I'll admit there's a pretty cool cultural significance but I personally don't get the hype. If you could drink a petting zoo, that's what it tastes like, but with a ton of random herbs. 

This week we were able to hear from Elder Cornish of the 70 and his son Reid! Reid has Down Syndrome but is out here living his best life and loves to make people smile! To do this, he puts on shows of him showing off his mad rollerskating skills and doing tricks! Everyone should be like Reid. 

On Sunday, we went to our bishop's house to take the sacrament then on our way out, his wife gave us homemade empanadas and treats from Argentina! That may seem like nothing but here's the best part. To give some background, my whole entire mission we have been fed once and that day we just really wanted a nice home cooked meal that we didn't have to make ourselves. So I prayed that a member would bring us food and Bishop's wife pulled thru!! It's kinda silly but it is so cool so see how involved God is in our lives and how mindful He is of us!! 

Lastly, Jacqueline and José are some really cool people we are teaching. They are really progressing and we were even able to meet Jacqueline in person to give her a Book of Mormon! Being able to see people in person is the best I love it!! 

Ciao ciao, Hermana Dangl 

Family history app really out here bringing my confidence down to a -2.

Culturing our new comp at THE Frank Lake 

 "Pose like a pioneer for pioneer day" 

 Obligatory post rainbow photoshoot

MATEEE!! 

My whole family in Lake Tahoe having an absolutely horrible time without me :)

New member and new comp!

Hola!

You know it's summer in DC when you walk outside and get slapped in the face by the humidity :) We were outside and my companion says "you know, I kinda feel like I'm in a hot tub." I really felt that.

I realized that don't think anytime soon I will get over the surprise of seeing how big people actually are in person because I've only seen most people over the phone. Today at the store we saw 2 different companionships and I was just like wow! People! In real life! I kinda just wanted to sit in the bread aisle for 30 minutes and talk to them. If you couldn't tell already, I miss people.

We were challenged to make a video about service so this week we focused on finding creative ways to serve people despite our circumstance. One of my favorite things we did was give an old lady in our ward a heart attack!! I could've worded that differently but it's funnier this way. We got there with our bag of hearts and we looked for her door and of course it was the one that was cracked open. So we went all ninja mode and gave her the best heart attack ever. We did pretty good if I do say so myself and she didn't hear us, but we couldn't have pulled it off without the help of her rock music (go off sis). She called later to thank us and said it made her day! 

Today we got a third companion!!!! Hermana Romney is from Utah and was serving in Argentina for 4 months prior to Covid. We picked her up from the airport in Virginia so I decided to make a trip out of it, and by trip I mean we stopped in DC for Chick Fil-A on the way home. As we drove past all the monuments it was a little eerie to see pretty much no one out, but it was a fun lil adventure.

And best for last... Jessica got baptized this week and we got to meet her for the first time in person!!! It was definitely my favorite moment of the mission and is something I'll never forget. It was super interesting and different than any other baptism, but there was such a strong spirit there. It was super small with just us, Jessica, the bishop, and his son, then members from the ward watching over Zoom. Jessica looked so happy and bore the most amazing testimony. Seeing people come unto Christ and learn for themselves of their divine potential is one of the most rewarding feelings ever. I love being a missionary. Best day ever :) 

Con amor, Hermana Dangl 

You would not believe your eyes

Hey y'all!

Startin off with some highlights!!

-Saw "10 million fireflies" - if this doesn't bring you back to EFY in 2014 idk what will.

-Got soaked in the rain.

-Got blizzards at DQ because 7/11 was a disappointment.

-We can do SERVICE!!!

-Made a mosiac of Christ for our FB page- kinda looks like it was done by a 4th grader but it took a good 10 hours.

-We made maybe 10 cookies then ate the rest of the cookie dough throughout the week. All I'm gonna say is if I don't get Salmonella then Jesus performed miracles then and he sure is performing them now.  

-Coolest new hiking place with a waterfall called Monkey's Cliff

Zone/mission conference this week! It was super, super good and we heard some cool announcements! We can do service activities in our area up to 10 hours a week with one other companionship. I'm stoked about this because our outside time is a much needed break from our tiny apartment so it will be good to be outside or at least in a different place serving and talking with others. 

Soooo we planned all week to go to church then the morning of we were told we couldn't go. It was hard because my companion was going to play the organ, we were going to get some stuff figured out for the baptism and FINALLY meet Jessica in person but we accepted it. That night we got an email that we CAN go to church, soooo I guess we'll go in another 3 weeks. 

I've been thinking a lot about goals and what lessons and skills I want to take from this quarentine. I am currently learning how to juggle and I have a new found respect for clowns around the world. Clowns really do put in WORK; it is not easy. So if anyone has tips, send them my way! Also I am getting my splits back solely for the purpose to flex on other people and prove that I'm still just as cool as I was when I peaked in high school.

This week in our conference we talked about the things that we can/can't control. There's so much we can't control so stop trying let it frustrate you and just focus on what is in your hands. God's got it all under control. Also send me a letter if you love me and if you don't, still send me one in the mail :) 

Con amor, Hermana Dangl 

198 Halpine Rd. #1236

Rockville, MD 20852

Art masterpiece of Christ

Monkey cliff 

 Matching bracelets with Jessica, our investigator

Nothing like an overpriced salad to remind me of home!

Hey hey!

So yeah, this week we treated ourselves to some good overpriced salads and next week our plan is overpriced acai bowls. Shout out to the members that don't feed us, because we got a slight pay raise! 

Canada Day and the 4th of July = the best week ever!!

For Canada Day, we celebrated with pancakes and maple syrup which was really just an excuse to make pancakes. 4th of July is one of my favorite holidays so it hurt just a bit to have to stay far away from any swimming pools and fireworks but it was definitely a good day. Our bishop invited us to his family BBQ but we aren't allowed to eat at people's houses yet :(( We were able to come by to grab some food and his wife made sure we had enough food to last us until next year. Also, they have the cutest dog but it kept trying to lick my leg so that was weird. I take it that maybe next time I shouldn't put lotion on right before I leave. Got it. The bishop said that when a dog licks you they are trying to heal you, but I'm not really about that, and as a missionary I don't tolerate that behavior  . . .  so I was awkwardly petting the dog so it would stop.  Now I can check weird dog encounter off my mission bucket list.

But, good news!!! We get to go to church next Sunday for just the sacrament! I am so so excited and we will be able to meet Jessica for the first time in person!!! It is so weird to start meeting people in person (like my Mission President 3 weeks ago) and be like wow so you're not actually 4 inches tall. Who knew?!  Anyway, then the next time I see her it will be at her baptism!! With the COVID restrictions we can only have up to 5 people there so that will be interesting, but I'm beyond stoked!!!!!

Quote of the week "Don't even start Sister Dangl!!"- said my zone leader when we met as a zone over Zoom to break our fast. It was because I said, "Wait today was fast Sunday??" 

On Sunday, my companion and I taught a Family History workshop! Before this I knew close to nothing about how to use the Family Search app but I learned SO much and a ton from my companion. We have been encouraged to spend some time on genealogy because they both contribute to the Lord's work and it is so important to know the history of those that came before us. I was looking at my family tree and someone put in the system that my grandma and all her siblings are deceased, soooo I'm gonna have to fix that :/ 

Angel and Isamir. Coolest guys ever! We had a really cool experience with Angel where we brought up baptism. A couple days later we planned to talk about our baptismal covenant with our recent convert, Mayra who is friends with Angel.  He happened to be there, which we didn't expect at all, but we totally knew that there was a reason we felt impressed to talk about baptism.  Isamir is super bold and spunky and loves our message, so we are hoping to commit him to baptism soon. Keep these guys in your prayers!! 

That's it for this week!

Con amor, Hna Dangl 

 

ROY G BIV went off!

Hey y'all!

 

"... and here's the bottom line. Our trio's down to two." Timone and Pumba from Lion King said it better than I ever could. RIP Hermana Barreda. I miss her homemade tortillas and spanish road rage already :(

 

Startin off with some rad people we talked to this week!

-Samantha: She works at Aldi's, where we go for groceries, and apparently my companions had met her and her face lit up when she saw us. She opened up pretty quickly about some struggles she's been going through. She asked for our advice and although we aren't really able to give relationship advice we were able to testify of God's love and that He is looking out for her :)

-Angel: We've been teaching him for a bit and we were talking about the restoration and how the priesthood from the time of Christ has been restored again on the earth. We showed a picture of Jesus ordaining his apostles then Joseph Smith receiving the priesthood and his jaw dropped. You could tell it totally clicked in his head and he knew that this is the real deal.

 

SO, our huge area got split! They combined it a couple months ago when a ton of missionaries were sent home due to the pandemic, but with all the reassigned people they split it again. We now cover DC 1st North and some elders cover the south. And just our luck, guess who we lost in the split. Our girl, Jessica :((( We were so sad because she is soooo close and is getting baptized in a couple weeks. We accepted that it be like that sometimes, but then the next day we got a call from president that he wants us to continue teaching her!!

 

Some of my favorite tender mercies from this week

-One night, right when we were about to go outside, it started pouring but the sun was still out?? Still not sure how that works but anyway, we did some dancing in the rain obviously and saw a FULL DOUBLE RAINBOW. Wow is God looking out for us or WHAT? You gotta get through the rain to see the rainbow!!!!

-We went to Five Guys for Hermana Barreda's last supper and they played "Mr. Blue Skies" which is one of my favorite songs and it made me so happy :) 

 

With our new zone, we are playing a missionary work game of LIFE and they asked what our favorite cars are so I obviously replied "either a hearse or jeep wrangler". Apparently, the reason why they asked was because the car with the most votes would be our game piece. And clearly, the hearse (with neon green rims and flames) won first place by a landslide so attached is our game piece that someone made. 

 

On Sunday, I spoke in Zoom church about faith! I'm reading Saints so I have thought a lot about the faith of Joseph Smith amidst his many trials and especially during his time in Liberty Jail. Like Joseph, sometimes we too cry "O God, where art thou" and feel alone and unheard. We feel forsaken, broken, and unable to see any sign of light. However, he is right there next to us, especially in our darkest times. His hand is always out stretched towards us and we come our of the refiner's fire stronger than ever. I also thought back to my own experience and how faith is what got me here on my mission. It was a big leap of faith that led me to where I am now, which I know is exactly where I need to be. Have faith during the storm and I promise a giant double rainbow will come.  Bye bye love y'all! 

 

Also, send me your address if you want a letter!! 

 

Con amor, Hna Dangl 

 

198 Halpine Rd. #1236 Rockville, MD 20852

 

 

Semana 18 - Dreaming and Finding

Hola! 

I just wanted to start off with a quick birthday shout out to Katelynne, the best big sis ever! And Annie C Roberts, my BFF since the womb!

We had a meeting this week on "Facebook finding" which in my opinion is really "how to be a social media ~influencer~ 101". But seriously, things are always changing and with the pandemic, a lot of doors have closed (LITERALLY) but also so many have opened because of this situation. Some people call us on their lunch breaks, in the car taking their kids to soccer, in the shower, you name it! jk about the shower lol. But seriously, it has been such a blessing to be able to reach so many people. We also filmed a video for our mission's Spanish Facebook page, "Representantes de Jesuscristo en MD y DC" so go check it out for some quality content :) 

On Sunday, we had a devotional with 2 people that are working on the temple! Sadly it's been postponed because they don't want to limit the amount of people that can come. They told really interesting stories about the many miracles in the process, symbolism in the details, and the special spirit that is there even though the site can get messy and loud. 

Here's a random but funny story. So I had a dream that the mission president called and asked to talk to me and told me that I was reassigned to speak CHINESE in the mission. I go "I'm sorry sir you've got the wrong person I barely even speak Spanish". Now whenever we get a call from the mission president I joke about my dream coming true and I'm like "alright guys it's been real I'm gonna go pack my stuff".  Anyway, it hasn't happened. yet. 

This week was great in terms of talking to people! We were able to have some really great lessons and we have been crazy busy since the day I got here. A cool lady said she wanted to be a missionary like us so we told her she needed to be a member first. She said yes to being baptized! But this is only our 3rd time talking to her and she's a little hard to get ahold of so we'll see what happens! 

One night, a sister in our zone taught us basic ballet moves for FHE and it brought me back to the glory days. If I don't somehow find myself in a ballet dance battle and convert everyone with my sick moves, I'm gonna be a little disappointed. Sometimes our apartment seems to get smaller and smaller so getting outside or just moving around is a major key. 

With the transfer coming to a close. We found out that we are losing Hermana Barreda to the Visitor's Center and it will be Hermana Eich and I taking on our whole area. And if life hasn't been crazy enough, we will likely get another companion at some point because we've been getting around 20 new missionaries a week. I reflected about what I have learned this transfer and it really boils down to being happy and appreciating where we are in life. Make the best of the situation and realize it is just for a season. Everyday is a step forward, even if it's slow. It's still progress. You can't control the situation but you can control how you react to it. Thank you 1000x for your constant love and support!!! 

Con amor, Hermana Dangl

I went swimming!

Before this gets out to my mission president, I'll admit that yes the subject line is just clickbait, but now you're here so keep reading! Unfortunately, the only thing I went swimming in this week was the humidity. It's got me missing Grandma Kettley's pool just a bit :/ 

I'll jump right into the highlights of the week! Last p-day, we went to a place called Needwood Lake to go exploring and WOW that place is straight out of a movie. That night we played 2 truths and a lie as a district and they didn't believe it at first and wanted proof that I could do a back flip so I sent a video and now they think I'm kinda cool :)

One day we were at the church studying outside on a blanket on the grass. We moved the blanket a bit and I saw that we had been sitting on a frog. I freaked out for a second then remembered I'm a strong independent woman so I picked it up. I debated kissing it to see if it would turn into a prince but I decided ehh I probably shouldn't. Also before you ask, yes of course I got a picture, I'm Sherrilynne's daughter. I started petting its head in hopes of domesticating it so I could take it home as my new pet. But noooo, this little guy disagreed and belly flopped out of my hands so I picked it up again to put it somewhere safe. Anyway, he was a cool guy but wasn't really interested in our message.

When we were at the church, I saw a picture of the first presidency and had a lightning strike of inspiration. In life I've learned that trios have power that is unmatched so I told them my idea to reenact the picture on the wall. We set up a nice contraption of a chair, table, and picture stand to hold the camera. All I can say is that our photo deserves a spot in the Louvre or something because it's absolutely beautiful. 

Jessica is still a rockstar and we've met with some great new people this week as well as some of our amazing members. One family even brought us cool Honduran food! One day at the Visitors Center we were sitting outside and saw a biker outside the gates taking a picture of the sign and temple. We started talking and he was telling us all about himself and how he wants to start going to church again. He asked a ton of questions but after 45 minutes we had to get going so we told him that he could find all the answers on the church website and encouraged him to get in contact with the missionaries. It made me miss talking to people in person but I've also learned that in this hard time, where people really need the light of the gospel, God's work is moving forward whether we are teaching someone through the gates of the temple, on phones, over text, or in person. I've tried to make it a goal to appreciate where I'm at right now and see the Lord's tender mercies, many of which I've seen because of the situation we are in.

This week we had an amazing mission conference for the sisters!! We also had a 4 hour new missionary training but I wouldn't have traded those 8 hours on zoom for anything! We heard from our amazing leadership then later from THE Emily Belle Freeman and her daughter. We were also able to invite special women in our lives to join the zoom! My favorite piece of wisdom from the day was to "see the worth in others to see the worth in yourself" and to LOVE MUCH. Now more than ever we need to love others and remember our divine worth as children of a loving Heavenly Father. Take care y'all! 

:o), Hna Dangl 

 Model of the DC Temple in the Visitor Center

First Presidency Photo

Zooming with mom, Katelynne (sister) to listen to Emily Belle Freeman 

and her daughter Grace, for a Sisters Conference Zoom.

Mom talking to Pres. and Sis. Neilson after the zoom. 

The moms all stayed on to chat and didn't want to leave.

Emily Belle Freeman - We are big fans of her 

"Don't Miss This" Come Follow Me Podcast 

We have seen her at TOFW for years, so this was a treat.  

Mom and Emily in Feb. 2020