Week 15 MERRY CHRISTMAS🎄🎄🎄🎄 (and lots of pictures)

Today in front of a manger scene in Sierra Madre! Those glasses holder strings are meant for everyone, not just the ones with walkers. 

Holy smokes. Is it really Christmas already?? So crazy. Time flies when you're spreading the love of Christ. 

This week has been completely crazy. We've been trying to figure out how to cover two wards and such but that's not what I want to talk about. I want to talk about miracles. The miracle in my week this week is Juliana and Juan. Juliana and Juan are a young couple with a little girl that is about to turn 2. They were found by the Spanish speaking sisters, and they are amazing. Our lesson was on Saturday and I'm still pumped about it. 

Let me give you some back story, my whole mission so far has been pretty much only teaching people that don't want to be baptized or want to get baptized but not for a really long time and it's interesting because that's not what I thought missions would be like and it's a really surprising dynamic. BUT. We met these people and they are so golden. The Spanish sisters put them on date for baptism and they are so prepared because we teach them the lessons and such and they really just want to know. We aren't even doing anything pretty much, the Holy Ghost is just working through us to answer these amazing people's questions. I was seriously so pumped leaving that house and I'm still loving it. 

I don't have a lot of time, but I just want to make sure that you guys all know that the church is true, and that Jesus Christ is our savior. Today is the day to celebrate Jesus Christ and I hope you can all take a minute to think about it! Here's a little piece of my dad's talk from this Christmas eve about Christmas traditions. Change up your Christmas a little if you want!

1: Buy  Presents -  Be Present

2: Wrap Gifts – Wrap someone in a hug

3: Send Gifts – Send Love

4: Shop for Food – Donate Food

5: Make Cookies – Make Memories

6: See the lights – Be the light

Remember Jesus Christ on this wonderful Holiday! Merry Merry Christmas! 

Also, don't forget to read your scriptures.

Love, Sister Dorrance 

Picture Dump:

Someone in Sierra Madre goes up to the top of the mountain and brings down snow to make a snowman every year. Looks like a sorta white Christmas after all! feat the boy that saw me taking a picture out of our car window. 

These are from the ward Christmas party! Side note: the cat ears were a 10 year old's that I forgot I was wearing

Myself and Yazmin. She's an amazing member and sassier than I am.

Yazmin and the coolest kids on the block 

Sister Allen, Sister Olsen, myself. Sister Olsen is one of our investigators that we love oh so dearly. 

                                   Here are some pictures from a hike we took a couple weeks ago,

Emperor pad crew from last transfer. Yours Truly, Sister Gillman, Sister Allen, and Sister Luke

Sister Allen and myself

This is the emperor pad crew sitting at a bus stop after district meeting last week. I think I'm funny...

Sister Luke took the picture of all of us biking a couple weeks ago after cleaning the mission office. Bet you can't tell which one is me? #fuzzhead 

Week 14 - Biking and transfers

Sister Gillman, Sister Luke, mission grandma aka Sister Lund, yours truly, and Sister Allen Saturday night doing a service project for grandma/eating popcorn and drinking root beer. 

Crazy. This week was the last week of the transfer. We got our car sold so we were biking and busing and walking. Holy smokes. But transfers are today! Sister Allen and I are staying in East Pasadena and we are pink washing the Pasadena ward as well! They had elders for years so we are their first sisters in a while! We are just really pumped to get a car because biking has been a bit stressful and sorta sketchy after it gets dark but no worries, God has our back.

We did meet this lady named Lina on the bus, she's super amazing, she's Armenian and in a wheelchair but she was talking about how much she loves God and all that cool stuff so it was great!

We volunteered to help with the daughters of the Utah pioneer luncheon on Tuesday! We just served the food and stuff and got to chat with these ladies that were basically all from Utah. My people. It was great. 

This week and this day has been completely insane so I think that's all I'll write, but I'm so happy to be a missionary during the Christmas season!

The church is true and Jesus Christ is your savior!

Don't forget to read your scriptures!

Love, Sister Dorrance 

Week 13 - Biking, hiking and Christmas parties!

Pretty much all of the interesting things I can remember happened at the end of the week so we'll start there and see what comes to mind!

We have been doing light the world! Holy smokes I love Christmas time, it's seriously the greatest. If you aren't participating then you should definitely hop on that bandwagon because it's stellar. We just talk to strangers all of the time which I guess it's only okay when you have divine protection. Pretty sweet. We went and visited a lady in our ward that is homebound and she's a sweetheart, she calls everyone cute names like an old diner waitress. It was pretty cool except her house smelled really bad so we didn't stay long. 

Oh yeah, on Tuesday we went to and old folks home and played scrabble with some elderly ladies, I swear I found my tribe or something because it was that great. We're going back next week because we're supposed to do service once a week and we haven't been. I'm stoked. 

On Saturday we had our ward Christmas party! They strung fresh garland up in the gym and put twinkle lights everywhere. It was pretty, but there ain't nothin like an 11th ward Christmas party. The primary did the nativity which was so adorable, and we had a few nonmembers there which was wonderful! After the ward party we had a Christmas concert that was put on by the stake. They invited the southern California Mormon choir to sing with our stake choir and they had an 18 piece orchestra. They had 100 people and and orchestra on the stand in our chapel but holy moly. It was the most beautilf concert in the whole world. Plus we have two or three opera singers in our ward and a master pianist. Church on Christmas eve is going to be awesome. If I'm still here. Transfers are next Monday. Nervous. 

On Sunday we got a call from our friend Mary she was going to get baptized on the 23 of December but decided that she didn't want to. It's pretty sad, but her time will come. I can feel it. 

Today had been the busiest p-day of my mission so far. We had a zone activity this morning and we went hiking! It was up to this really pretty waterfall and it was great because it's December so it didn't get hotter than 80 degrees! Very very nice. I'll send pictures next week. When we got back down we had a text that told us that we needed to wash and deep clean our car because they were selling it (I'm glad I've had practice with that! Thanks dad!). Your home girl is biking now. I'm not sure how I feel about it but it's going to happen either way! Also, I recently popped my bike tube beyond repair so we had to pick up a new one of those. 

Anyhoo, that's all I can remember. The work is great, the people are awesome. If you're worried about the fires, it's all good. If they get too close I'll get moved to another apartment but as of right now we are totally safe so no worries. 

Don't forget to read your scriptures. Have a great week!

- Sister Dorrance 

Ps. Thank you for all of the letters and packages from the ward! They made my week!

Week 12 -Holly Jolly it's December!

I think I got one pin down this turn. I've gotten worse at bowling. 

Holy smokes, I feel like we just emailed yesterday. Missionary work is so great and so so busy. 

This week was a lot of visiting and finding and service. So your average missionary week. 

We had interviews with President on Wednesday! It was pretty cool because we learned about Facebook, which we were supposed to get on Thursday, but we'll get it this week instead. All is well. 

We started Light the World on Friday, I don't remember the scriptures attached to the days but on Friday we made so many cookies for people. Our kitchen was a mess but it was so fun to doorbell ditch people and leave cookies! 

On Thursday the scripture was "I was thirsty and ye gave me drink" so we bought water bottles and gave them to homeless people with light the world cards attached. It was pretty sweet. 

Yesterday's scripture talked about doing good on the Sabbath. We tried to call some people to go over and do good, but no one wanted us to do good I guess. We'll try again next Sunday probably. 

On Saturday we had another meeting with the people at the Church of Christ. They had invited probably 40 or 50 people to this thing which was TERRIFYING. it ended up being alright though because the ministers sermon/talk was super long so they apologized but said we couldn't give our schpeel (is that how you spell that?). His entire lesson/talk/sermon thing was talking about how believing in any other scripture outside of the bible was blasphemous and meant you were turning away from God. We'll probably meet with them all one more time and then call it quits. But nicely. It'll be fine. 

Today was the coolest p-day ever. It's Sister Luke's birthday today so sister Allen and I stayed up past 11 pm last night making a pumpkin pie for her birthday because we didn't want her to see it. It was great though! Sister Luke wanted to go bowling so we did! We were talking to Sister Wells, our mission presidents wife, and she said she was a really good bowler so we invited her and she came too! Sister wells beat everyone at bowling I think. She's a crazy good bowler. It got even funnier when the entire East LA zone was having their zone activity and the bowling alley they were going to go to was closed so they showed up too! It was so fun! I lost because I'm terrible at bowling, but it was fantastic! We're going out to dinner with our mission grandma and Sister Luke chose Mongolian Barbecue. It'll be a great birthday for all of us. 

Alrighty, I think that's it! I hope you all will look at the Light the World videos on mormon.org, they're great!

Have A fantastic week, don't forget to read your scriptures.

Love, Sister Dorrance 

riley.dorrance@myldsmail.net 

614 foothill Blvd

Arcadia CA

91006

 Sister Allen and myself in the car because we were talking about how we don't send many pictures home.

Basic shoe picture because we don't get out in the real world very much anymore. Plus, I was wearing my scooter socks.