A year of miracles

 

I'm not sure what's more impressive. The fact that I just hit a year on the mission this week or that I'm still writing these things. 

But seriously, what a year?!?!

I've gotten a little nostalgic thinking about the day I left for my mission and all that's happened since then. Deciding to go on a mission was a wrestle. For months, I felt confused, stuck, and unable to identify a clear answer about what I should do. However, through it all, the thought that everything would be okay never left my mind. Days before leaving, I was still asking myself what I was getting myself into, but I told myself that I just needed to be brave and trust. I said goodbye and got on a plane to Mexico. Finally upon stepping onto the grounds of the MTC, I got that much longed for confirmation that this was exactly where I needed to be. Here I am, one year later, and I am really glad I made that decision to be brave and just trust :) 

We celebrated my 1 year by going outside and eating Ben & Jerry's while it was snowing. People gave us WEIRD looks but the ice cream didn't melt and it was delicious, so I'd call that a win in my book.  Sister Patterson made me breakfast and we were busy with lessons for the rest of the day 😁😁

Some big tender mercies from this week

- I was like "man it's been a while since I've seen a GOOD sunrise/sunset" then the next day we woke up and the sky was on fire, so we raced over to the water to go watch it.

- Lots of English classes with the most amazing people.

- Got to translate while we were serving at a food pantry.

- Found premade pupusas at Safeway!!!! They are 10x better fresh but I'll take what I can get.

- We were gifted Mountain Dew and fudge from our district for Valentine's Day.

- Service at the Bishop's Storehouse!!!!!! 

- Got to go to church in person for the first time this month and some of our less active friends came! 

- Taught the youth about why missionary work is the BEST.

Next time I write one of these I'll be an old lady 😮😮 so until next time!! 

Ciao, Hermana Dangl 

Miracle Sunrise 

Got em

My breakfast feast and a peasant meal

Icons being icons

Bishop's Storehouse

 

I'm cold!

Just another crazy, awesome week down and to top it off, Sister Patterson just got news that she's going to Chile next month!!

This week our FB page posted an ad for English classes and a ton of people responded. We've been working a lot to contact these people and organize the lessons. WOW, these are some of the coolest people I've ever met. They have amazing stories are so dedicated and willing to learn. A good amount of them have said that they remember meeting the missionaries back in their home countries and would love to continue learning about the church :)))

Other highlights

- Church was canceled again because of the ice :/ so we got permission to go to a member's house for the sacrament. First time going into someone's house in a million years!! 

- We got to help out at a food drive with the youth in our branch! It was pouring icy rain and super freezing but really really fun!!  

- We got to go on splits with the sister training leaders in our area then the next day they heart-attacked us for Valentine's Day 🥰🥰

- Made a new friend at the Pupusa truck 

- We made a super awesome video for our FB page so go hype it up!!  

https://www.facebook.com/spanish.misionerosMD/posts/156336089349297

Copy the link above and paste it into your browser.

Tell us in 5 words or less what Jesus Christ is to you? 

That's it for this week! 

Ciao, Hermana Dangl 

Mona Lisa looks so good in this pic.

Service!! 

Splits! 

Shoutout to our secret admirer. 

Yonce absolutely encapsulated in thicc ice. 

Don't go to the East Coast, it's a trap!

Happy February, Christmas music still slaps

Hey y'all welcome back to my channel!

So this week we had a million meetings, but it was such a goooood week!

My favorite part of this week's zone conference was Sister Neilson's Mom Pep Talk. A phrase that has been recently said among a lot of missionaries everywhere is "what did I sign up for?" or "this is not what I signed up for." I reflected on what I signed up for and concluded that I signed up to be a witness of God at all times, in all things, and in all places. Also, to continue accepting the call to go where the Lord wants me to go and to trust him without conditions like "if, but, or unless". Even if it looks different than what I expected, it's exactly what I signed up for. 

Thursday was our amazing, unforgettable miracle day!! Because of the storm we had to run and get some stuff from the store and the cute woman in line in front of us recognized us as missionaries and paid for our groceries! Then we were able to have a great English class with a new friend and he wants his wife to join our lessons too. Then our friend Joel accepted an invitation to be baptized!!! He is so elect and amazing even though he roasted me for saying a word in Spanish wrong🙃 Just wait it gets better!! Then we had a pass off lesson with some Elders in the DC south mission, a new friend named Eliezer, and his crazy little grandkid who kept things interesting as he kept trying to pick Eliezer's nose during the lesson. He is really interested in coming to church and bringing his teenage step-daughters! 

 

Also I learned how to embroider! #feelingdomestic!! And we did a chocolate dipping activity as a mission so I'm a pro.

Also, during the storm, we couldn't drive anywhere and walking around the complex got old super quickly so we'd go stand by Yonce and admire her beauty and build snowmen on her hood.

Go have the best week ever and keep looking for those tender mercies everyday :))) 

Much love, Hermana Dangl 

Yonce and her fans.

Chocolate dipping queens.

This is it chief.

I still get excited every time it snows.

Maryland humor  -lol-

Zone Conference 

RIP Linda

On Tuesday we finally got our windshield fixed after a month. Wooo adulting!! The next day we got an email from the mission office that we were "winners." The prize was a brand new car!! We had to trade in Linda but now we be cruising around town in a 2021 Chevy Equinox💯💯 After a lengthy and extensive process, we have named her "Yonce" in honor of Queen Bey.

It's been dumping snow for the past couple days and honestly I have super mixed feelings about the snow. It is beautiful and amazing and a straight up winter wonderland, but here it freezes and makes everything super icy. I'm ready for some sun.

 

This week we started talking to someone that we were teaching when I first got to this area but stopped teaching him a little after. He already knows a good amount about the church and is a cool guy so hopefully we can make some good progress with him.  2nd times a charm!! 

We had Stake Conference this week and it was so good!! They talked a lot about enduring to the end and speaking BOLDLY of Christ. "If the world is going to speak less of Christ, who is going to speak more?" I know for me that I want to be someone that speaks more of Christ in a world that is becoming less believing and more secular. 

To the people that made it this far: you've got homework! Read "An High Priest of Good Things to Come" by Jeffrey R Holland from October 1999 General Conference. You won't regret it :) 

Read the talk here: 

https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/1999/10/an-high-priest-of-good-things-to-come?lang=eng

Or watch a 5 min. video of the story: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8nczw6xHJ0I

Ciao, Hermana Dangl 

Someone made us snowmen on Yonce.

The most iconic trio you've ever seen.

Hellooooo Yonce

Ciao Linda :(

"Get our of my swamp"

Our First Snow

Just a California Girl cheezin big time like it's the first time she's seen snow.

Melted Brains and Happy Hearts

 

"And now we will hear from Sister J-Lo" - President Neilson

We weren't able to go anywhere near the mall because of the Inauguration but our Mission President kept us updated and let us watch the best part: the musical numbers.

That day we did our Book of Mormon in a day challenge!! It was definitely an experience! Probably won't do it again because it kinda melted my brain but just WOW. The Book of Mormon truly is the word of God and I don't know where I'd be without it. I suggest everyone go melt your brains like I did and try to read it in one day!! Or even just a little bit. I promise it will change your life.   

We were having a lesson with Joel and a pamphlet are the words to "I am a Child of God." We explained that it is a song that the children sing and he asked us to sing it and we were like uhhh okay! So we did but then he said HE sings too. He sang for us and he's so good!! He's making really good progress so please pray for him! 

This week I said goodbye to my child and sent her off :,( They grow up so fast. But Sister Patterson and I are hitting the ground running here and I'm so excited to see what happens this transfer!! 

Much love, Hermana Dangl <3

Food Bank with the girls and Emily 

B of M Challenge p. 1

p. 2 

p. 3 

The new WDCNM AP's

The ZL's lost their truck

 

At approximately 10:18am last Wednesday, our Mission President announced that DC would be off limits due to possible violence at the Capitol and that the Maryland State Capitol, Annapolis, would be closed to missionaries too. I'm sorry, what??? The first thought that came to my head was "President. You're smart. Like real smart. But Annapolis is not the capitol of Maryland, it's Baltimore." We were in complete denial that we have been living in the capitol of Maryland for over 4 months and didn't even know. Please be nice to me right now, my ego is really bruised. I don't deserve to stay here for another 6 weeks.

Which leads me into our transfer news!!! I've kinda been preparing myself to leave for the past couple days because I am coming up on 4.5 months in this area but nope!! I guess there's still some work for me to do here. On Thursday I'll be getting Sister Patterson who is assigned Spanish, but has spent her only 2 transfers in the mission in an English area. Wooooo more training!!! It's gonna be great.

Starting tomorrow in the afternoon, we will be on lockdown until Thursday for safety. Soooo as a mission we are doing a Book of Mormon read-a-thon. Hahah did I hear sleep-a-thon?? Jkkkk. Our Mission President is challenging us to read it all in one day, so we'll see how this goes!! Also if anyone wants to pledge some money for every chapter I read or sponsor me, that'd be pretty cool. 

This week we went and got pupusas and we found out that Monica stopped working there :((( But our new friends Lili and Jaqueline are so fun. We were waiting for our food and this guy comes up trying to sell something and they have absolutely no idea what he is saying because they don't speak English. The ladies yelled for us to come over so we translated. It was pretty cool, and now we are going to teach Lili and Jaqueline English!! 

Then we had a super amazing lesson with one of our friends who just lost her son on Christmas. We were able to have a sister in our branch join who has gone through the same exact thing. I was so amazed at the faith and strength of these amazing women. Pain, anger, and frustration are all part of the healing process but Jesus Christ gives us that much needed hope that only comes through Him. His sacrifice covers all that is unfair about life. 

Well, I am so stoked to be staying in Naptown for another 6 weeks and have some high hopes for this transfer. I'll leave yall with this quote by Hank Smith "Our hands can't throw stones, if they are too busy washing feet." Let that sink in. 

Love, Hermana Dangl 

I look like I'm going to the beach right?

We love Viriginia.

We love Lili, we are just waiting for her to give us free pupusas for life.

Celebrating 11/7 in the same place I celebrated 7/11.

We took pics with a ton of people because we thought I was leaving. Hahaha!

Me when President takes my trainee out and keeps me in                             Naptown for another 6 weeks. 

Thiccneck district.

Happy 2017!

 

Recently I've been reflecting on 2020 and here's the tea. For almost 11 months of this past year, I have had the opportunity to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ as a missionary and serve His children. I've learned to not just wait for the rain to go away, but dance in it, literally, and to know that a rainbow will always follow the storm. I've learned to take control of what's in my hands and leave the rest to God. I've learned to let go of expectations and adapt when things don't go my way.  It's probably been one of the best years of my life and even though it has been ~difficult~ to say the least, I have absolutely no intent of just moving on and trying to forget it or complain about everything that went wrong. In reality, none of it actually went wrong. It just didn't go the way we expected it to (but when does life ever??) It went exactly according to God's plan and we might not be able to see the evidence of that right now. But hey, that's why faith is pretty cool! We can trust that an all-knowing God has it all figured out and won't let us fall. I won't deny that it has been HARD, challenging, and lonely at times, but I promise if you look for the blessings, you will find them. Okay I'm done, I'll get off my soapbox.

 So this week we were able to have splits with some sisters in our area. I got to hang out in Pasadena (not CA 😓) with the sisters up there! 

 This week at service at the thrift shop they were throwing out a George Foreman grill, so we snatched that thing so fast and now we are officially grilling dads. I made burgers a couple nights ago, but my look just wasn't complete without my white New Balances. I grill some mean burgers tho. 

On New Year's Eve we had a little mission party over zoom! We played kahoot and made some New Year's resolutions. This year I want to appreciate every second of life, love more, and focus on what matters most. We rang in the year 2017 at 10pm then went to sleep right after and THAT is the way to do New Years.

If you made it this far, send me your goals for 2021 :)

Love, Hermana Dangl  

Our new designer Gucci pants.

Happy 2017!!!!! Thank you Hermana Colon!!!!

Look at that BEAUTIFUL grill am I right? 

Exchanges with the sistas!