So this week was super busy!! I got transfered last Monday to my new area, in the Kennedy. This is where the main office is. And all the hospitals and such. It`s super different here. Its more like the US. It`s like a mix of FL and Sandiego CA. And a bit of Hawaii. It`s super cool. 
So this week we got to go to the temple. Presidente Riggins thinks it`s really important for us to attend the temple regularly to recieve inspiration and to move forward with our work. So we get to go every 12 weeks. Instead of 1 time a yr on Christmas. So we`re all pretty stoked for that! But the temple was amazing! It was my first time in Spanish. And so very different. But amazing. It`s interesting how the language can change your outlook on something. Things can be a bit more extraordinary in Spanish. So that was amazing! I learned a bunch!

We also had our 26 new missionaries come in on Tuesday. And they are our first `test group` for our new callings. So far we`ve only had 2 of them sick... but they`re totally fine now. So We haven`t done much of anything with them yet. But it was super fun! I`m also learning how to speak english and then rapidly switch to spanish within the same breath. haha It`s really hard. But we talk in Spanish and then translate it into english for the greenies. But it`s a lot harder than it sounds. 

I was also really sick this past week... so we didn`t get to do a lot of work. But the good news is that I`m finally feeling better! So now we can get back to working normal. Also, the office was super busy this week with all of the new missionaries and changes here... so no one told us where our new area was. haha So we just assumed it was in the area that we were living in. So we had been working all week in that area.... when come to find our on Saturday that we had been working in the wrong sector. THE ENTIRE WEEK. We were freaking out a little. Because we hadn`t done any work in our area. And we didn`t have anything for our area... maps, our carpeta, or a list of members. Actually, we still don´t have those things. We have to swing by the office after this to pick it all up. Anyways, that was interesting. We just new the name of our area. No idea how to get there, how big it was, or where anyone lived. It was like a brand new area. So we just went out and started knocking on doors and inviting people to the church. haha

This area is so different. I`m in the super rich part of Ecuador.  And loving it! The food is amazing! The houses here are huge!! The people here are loaded. So naturally the desafio of our area is humility. They need a lot more of it. haha But I think we`re going to have a blast here. 

My testimoney of paciencia has grown so much this week. I`ve really learned to love all of God`s children. And the language and culter too. But my mission is amazing! I wouldn´t change it for the world! Thank you for all of your prayers and emails. They keep me going. :) I love you all, muchísimo!  

Stay strong in the gospel. I`m glad to hear that you guys are feeling better and attending church and frankly just having better lives. Oh! And thank you for the pics!

Con mi todo amor
-Hermana Dodge

Como se llama: enfermeda. Which just basically means nurse. It´s pretty cool. I start today. I had a meeting this morning at the oficina... so I didn´t think that we would get a call about switching sectors... and I was right... we didn´t get a call. They told us in person at the meeting. haha So we didn´t really get a pday today. We were in a meating all moning ran back to the house to put on pantalones and then ran to the cyber to write you guys really quick. After this we have to run home, throw  all of our stuff in our bags, run to say goodbye to my converts and then fill out some paperwork... run to the oficina, meet the bishop of our new area, move into our new house and then study medicine to prepare for possible questions mañana from all the new missionaries coming in. 
Ugh! Busy day. But I´m super stoked! I still get to work and teach people. Infact not much changes. I do all of the work over the phone right now. Like writing down all of the infermities of missionaries and then call the clinics to set up appts for them. Then call the insurance company (this is my favorite part, because this is the only time I´m permited to speak in english. haha) But ya. Not much changes. I just have a lot more work to do. haha But it´s fun. And I get to study a bit of medicine durring the day. 
Tomorrow we have 26 new missionaries coming. So tomorrow I get to teach them about the importance of health here on the mission. Pretty basic stuff. 
My new sector in closer to the oficina, for the ease of travel and such. Also, I´m going from a huge flat sector, to a small one with tuns of hills! But it´s alright, because guess what... we have the temple in our sector!! What what! So excited! 
So all in all, I´m pretty stoked! But sad to say goodbye to my first and only sector in Samanes 1. But I know that I have a lot more people to help in my new area. Physicaly and spiritualy. 
There´s one quote I want to leave you guys with this week. I´ve been studying the attributes of Christ this past week a lot. Especialy diligence. And how to meet my goals. And there´s one quote that I love for this. ´Become the person worthy of the goal¨. How true is that? We can plan to be better but are we really doing anything with just a plan? No. We have to work for our goals. We have to change and better ourselves to recieve what we want. We have to strive for it. And yes, plan for it. But it´s action that changes things. So learn from this. Pick a goal to work on this week. To study your scriptures or pray more fervently, or to asist church this week. And then work for it. Put up reminders for yourselves. Pray for help. Then do it. I promise you´ll be able to meet your goals. 
I love you all! I hope you´re doing well. Also, I use my awesome ´congrats¨card everytime I have a baptism. haha it makes me happy. So thank you for that too. :) 


Stay strong, be healthy, and share your testimony! 


Love you always and forever

-Hermana Dodge

Here´s a pic of me that I just found on my pendrive... (I´m on the far right... obviously.)

​​Hey you guys! Thank you for your letters this week! It´s keeping me sain. So much has changed this week. 
First off, I love my new companion, Hermana Beecher. She´s pretty rad. She´s like a foot taller than me and from Arizona. (Gringa... girl next door type) Also it´s kinda strange because I´m learning more spanish with her than I did with Hermana Irala. haha Oh the irony! But she´s super chevere! And a fantastic missionary. With mucho animado to mejorar our sector. (Sorry, I forgot how to explain that sentence in English... ) So things are great between us. Also, Hermana Jerónimo recieved her new comp... so there are 4 of us again in the casa. 3 gringas and 1 latina. It´s kin of ironic, Now she knows how I felt for 3 months. haha But her new comp is super cool as well. 

Speaking of time on my mission... I have a lot more than I thought. I have casi 3 months here in Ecuador. I´m on my 12th week here. So I´m finishing my 12 semanas training at the end of this week. And with the CCM, I have 4 1/2 months on my mission. This October I´ll only have 1 more year here in Ecuador. It´s actually going a heck of a lot faster than I thought it would. 

This week we didn´t get to teach much... because it´s bien loco aqui! haha I´ve had a meeting or conference everyday this week. And on top of that, I was sick. That was somewhat kinda fun. Lemme explain,  because of my new calling, I was the person that got to diagnose myself. hehehe Also my medical training was fun! It´s been so long since I´ve used a bp cuff and stethascope! Estoy feliz!

I´m not sure, but it sounds like I´ll be in this new calling for 6 months or more. It´ll be interesting because my comp only has 7 months left of her mission. So it looks like she´ll finish off her mission with me. So tha´s pretty cool. I{m glad she´s the one I´m stuck with for the next 6 months though.  I´m pretty stoked for a new area tambien. Since we have to be closer to the main office, we have to move districts. New church, new people, new Zone. But that´ll be kind of weird... because our new zone is all of the assistantes. But they´re pretty cool as well. 

Oh! I have a photo!!

 This is Guisseppe at his baptizm. He´s on the left. He looks like a little kid on Christmas. haha I love this pic! 

Also, this is Ecuador for you... Siempre. haha

Those are all the pics that I have for today. Also I´m out of time... again. ugh! This week has been great! It´s been wonderful to hear from you guys! I´m glad you´re doing well and living the gospel. To answer a few quick questions: I don't have the bat pics... it was a night and we didn't have it on flash... so it´s just a really dark grey screen (that I look fondly at, remembering the awesome time I had holding that bat.) haha I know, super sad. But I search every night for another bat. haha  I´m doing well. I´m tired and super tan but loving life. Especially now that I get to study a bit more of medicine. The food here is sometimes really good. My favorite food is paticones and 1 other thing I don´t know how to write. haha My comp is awesome! Ok. I´m out of time. Love you all! Keep the faith! And help out the missionaries in your ward! We need it! haha 

Con mi todo amor
-Hermana Dodge

Hey you guys! Sorry I'm a bit late at writing today. But I have a good reason for it. A lot has happened this week. 
Firslty, Guisseppe was baptized this past saturday and confirmed a member of the church on sunday. It was an amazing baptizmal service! Although it was a bit nerve wracking when he asked me to sing for everyone last minute. But I think it went well. haha Guisseppe was a very difficult investigator. We first contacted him through his mom Eva. Who was a menos activo. She didn't want anything to do with the church. Niether did her other son Leugi. Eva and Leugi are members, but were inactive at this time. But. Hermana Irala and I worked hard to get them to go to church again. What a difference now. Before they were rude and just really difficult to be around. But now they're completley different. I wish I could show you guys the difference. Anyways, they've changed a lot. And Eva's other son, Guisseppe wanted nothing to do with us. I remember the first time I saw him. We said hi and he said... I'm not interested. I don't want to hear your message. And Irala and I looked at eachother like... wow. ok. we just said hi. haha 

But one day we had FHE at his house and he happened to be home. It was perfect because he finally heard a bit of the gospel for the first time in his life. And he was taken with the gospel right away. He loved listening to everything we had to say but he didn't want to change his life.But it was just because he was afraid of the change. Everyone told us to give up on him. My comp included. But through fervent prayer and persistence we were able to come up with a specific plan to teach to his needs. And let me tell you, I've never seen someone more willing to except the Gospel of Jesus Christ. He's so brilliant and ready for his future. He's gone through such a great change. It's incredible! Now we're teaching him about the priestood. He recieve the aaronic priestood this sunday. And his temple recomand the week after. I'm so stoked for him! This is why I love this work. Because it helps others to realize their full potiential. To be happy and content and work hard to return to live with our Father in Heaven. 

So yeah. That's Guisseppe's story. And my favorite thus far. 

Today we had cambios. This is when we recieve new companions. Hermana Irala and I thought we were safe from this because I haven't finished my 12 semanas, training, with her yet. But nope. I now have a new comp. 2 new comps actually. I'm in the same sector with Hermana Jeronimo and Hermana Beecher. They're way cool. But it'll be interesting to teach in a trio. We don't know for how long... we're waiting to find out when hna Jeronimo recieve's her new comp. Yep. cool stuff. So really, Hermana Beecher is my new comp. She's from Arizona. And yes, a gringa. haha Also, I recieved her specifically because she has training in sports medicine. This is significant because of my new calling. 

So up until now only Pres. Rigins had assistents. But noow so does Hermana Rigins. And I'm one of them! I know, weird right. Especially because I only have 2 months on my mission. So my new calling starts in 3 days. I'll be in charge of all the calls that come in from missionaries that are sick. Because I'm an EMT, I get to tell them what they need to do. Or if they're really sick, have them come down to the office. This will be interesting... seeing as how its all in spanish... over the phone. So now I have to go search for a medical dictionary in spanish. To learn the terms of the body in spanish. haha 

I'm pretty stoked but a bit nervous. It's a lot of responsibility. But I know that the Lord gives nothing that we can't accomplish. I'll still be preaching the gospel. But now I have the opertunity to help people spiritualy and physically. So I'm really excited! 

I love you all! You're in my prayers. Remember to be active in your missionary work. Also, it's great to hear that you guys are sharing the gospel!! Keep it up! You'll change lives! Love you all!

Con mi todo amor
Hermana Dodge

Hey you guys! So it was awesome to hear from you this week! Things are great here. This week was hard, but we learned a lot! This week has strenghthened our faith and teaching strategies. 


We had splitz this week. My comp was sick... so she stayed home with hna Garcia. And hna. Jeronimo and I worked in both sectors. It was a lot of walking and teaching! So I´m pretty worn out right now. haha 


This week is Guisseppe´s baptizm. This saturday. I´m so stoked!! I´ll tell you more about him next week! Sorry, I don´t have a lot of time this week. But my comp is letting me use her camera today... so you guys get to see some pics!! Yay! 

Hey you guys!! So I feel like a horrible American... I totally forgot about the 4th of July. So HAPPY belated 4TH OF JULY!!! I hope you guys had a blast. :)


This week has been interesting for sure. From fútbol all the way to crossdressers. haha A lot has happened. haha 
So I realized how much I´ve seen and experienced in my life this week. What´s normal for me... is a bit peculiar for others. A veces. Like this week for example, we were walking to a an investigadors casa in la noche para compatir nuestro message about chastidy. When out of nowhere 4 drag-queens walked by us. For me I was just like... huh... it´s nice that they have friends like them. haha I know, prolly not the best thought for a sister missionary to have. But my companion and our member stared them down wide-eyed and slack-jawed... like in the movies, no joke. When I asked them about this later, they were speechless. They had never seen that before. haha Culture shock! For them? haha It was kinda funny. 


There was seriously no one to teach again this week. Because of Fútbol. Ugh! Dang sports!  But I think the world championship ended last night. So we should be able to teach and visit people again. Yay! Because throug out this whole week, we weren´t able to talk to any one of our investigadores... or members.... or inactive members. So we contacted a lot! And we have 3 new investigadores! But they´re a bit tricky. 2 of them live together and don´t want to get married... and the other has terminal cancer and can´t walk... Yep... so that´s been my week. It´s always an adventure here in Ecuador! haha


Oh! One of the members here just got back from a trip to the Galapogos Islands! So cool! I got to see some cool pictures. Oh my gosh you guys!! You have to watch ´the jungle book´in spanish. It´s the best thing ever! No joke. It´s so much better in spanish... but it was kinda awkward because I was the only gringa in the room. And the little kid that we were watching with looks exactly like Mohgly. Oh. It made my day. It was truly splendid. haha 


Dolores is still preping for the temple. But we´re even more excited than usual becuase we got the go ahead to attend the temple with her! Yay! And it´s only for baptizms. We´re so stoked!


Oh! And this week on intercambios (splits) Hermana Garcia and I were paired up together again. It was a lot of fun. And the food in her district is amazing! So good. But what was really cool was when we were leaving the Bishops house, we saw a pure black butterfly. But when we ran over to it to get a better look, we discovered that it was a little bat. About the size of the heel of my hand. It was so cute!! I have a picture of me holding it... but it´s on her camera. (I think I watched too much of Jeff  Corwin before my mission. lol) But it was so legit. It was just chillin on a lamp post in the city. haha Gotta love Ecuador. 


It sounds like you guys are doing awesome! And having a blast! I miss you guys like mad! Stay strong in the gospel. This is the time for you to nourish your faith and help it to grow. Look for opertunities to share it with others. Not only will it bless the lives of others, but it´ll be a blessing for you in return. And then of course introduce them to the missionaries in your area. They need the help. :) You´re in my prayers!


con mi todo amor


-Hermana Dodge

Buenas Dias!
So this week was very interesting. We had like no one to teach. Everyone was either out of town, watching the soccer game, or otherwise occupied. So we only got to teach 2 of our investigadores this week. But they´re doing well. :) 


Dolores, our RC, has an interview with the bishop this week for her temple recommend. I´m so excited for her!! And! We get to go through the temple with her, because we have a rad MP!!!!


Oh ya, by the way. Presidente Amaya is back in Columbia now and we have a new Mission President. Presidente Riggins. He´s the coolest! Everyone loves him! And he´s American. He was a proff at BYU- I. His lectures are the best. We actually learned something! But he´s super leanent... I wonder how long that´s going to last. Since everyone is taking advantage of it. Like later today, we´re going shopping out of our sector for new skirts. Totally pointless.... but my comp and other roommates are pretty stoked. Also, he´s going to be at our district meeting tomorrow. Which is super abnormal. So we´re all a little nervous about this... But stoked none the less. 

This week Hermana Irala and I studied a lot about the atonement. Because what better to learn about when times get tough? My testimoney about what Jesus Christ did for us has grown so much. And I think we all forget about this from time to time. But when we remember this constantly, it changes our outlook on life. So I want you all to read Alma 7: 11-12 and look for what Jesus Christ did for you personally. Then say a prayer and thank your Father in Heaven for this.


The food here is getting better. My favorite soup is potato y pumpkin cream. So good! I love the pataconas. (fried green bananas.) And my fav dish is carne, rice, a fried egg, and salada. Es moy moy moy bueno! 


My spanish is so much better now. Which is a huge relief. I understand almost everything now. I have a hard time understanding the youth though... beacuse they use a lot of slang. haha Oh, and the other day, our Zone leader called... and for some reason I forgot to say my name... and Elder Suarez was like... is this Hermana Dodge? Hermana! Your spanish is amazing! I thought you were a latina! (I´m pretty sure he was just being nice though. haha) 


Oh! And my singing is getting better! Have I mentioned that we don´t have any music here? I´m kind of loosing my mind because of this. We don´t even have music in church. So we get to listen to people singing off pitch and such all the time. We have a piano, but because people are so poor here, no one has one to learn how to play. Anyways, because of this, Hermana Irala and I sing all the time. So I get a lot of practice in. And then we sing for our members and investigadores when we really want them to do something. And our members ask me all the time to sing for them. Because they think my accent when I sing is really cool. haha


This is all I have time for. Sorry. I love you all! You´re in my prayers! Remember to have faith, and persevera hasta el fin! Love you!
-Hermana Dodge 

Hey everyone! So not much happened this week. So I don´t have much to write about. Oh! Before I forget! 
My address for letters is:

Sister LaShae Nicole Dodge

Ecuador Guayaquil North Mission

Casilla de Correo 16160

Guayaqui

lEcuador


Y my address for packages is:


Sister LaShae Nicole Dodge

Ecuador Guayaquil North Mission

Cdla. Kennedy Vieja, Calle G, N* 601

y La 8va. Oeste, Edif. Mallorca 3er Piso

Guayaquil, Guayas

ECUADOR


This week was pretty long and hard. We didn´t get to teach the people we wanted to. Eduardo´s mom is in the hospital on her death bed. So we weren´t able to teach him at all this week. And he didn´t attend church because of this as well. But when we talk to him on the phone he still seems very interested. We teach him tonight at 5. So that´s exciting! 
We have 2 new investigadors. They´re so sweet... but have a lot of problems. But they want to hear more. And they came to church with their famalies. It´s becoming difficult to figure out who to sit with at church now. We have different members sit with our investigadors, because we have so many. haha We´re working with 6 different famalies. 
This week was really hard. We had to use a lot of fe, caridad, amor, y esperanza. But we made it through with the Lord´s help. My comp is amazing! I couldn´t ask for a better one! 
I´m so sorry, I didn´t have a lot of time this week! I love you all! Pray fervently with all your heart might mind and strength. I know the Lord will help you with everything! You´re in my prayers! 
-Hermana Dodge!

Buenas Tardes mí corazones!

Como le va? Como fue sus semanas? Entusiasmado cosas? Mí gusta sus cartas y fotos! 


Estoy feliz! Este semana fue moy bueno! Por nuestros números, nosotros no tenemos zuros. Nada! Moy bueno, no? ;) 


Ok, now in english. haha


This week we finally recieved referencias! Yay! Estoy feliz! His name is Eduardo. He was a priest for the Evangelica church, but despues our visit, he quit his job. haha He has 3 beautiful children quien moy moy moy amoroso! El familia es moy precioso! They´re the sweetest things. Truly. But hold on, I´m getting ahead of myself. Ok. So when we went to go contact him on Friday night, his whole family was there. We sat down and talked for a minute, and brought up a few points about the Plan of Salvation. And he asked us which church we attended. We responded ¨La Iglesia De Jesucristo De Los Santos De Los Últimos Días.¨ El fue como...  hmm. Donde? So we told him. And he didn´t know where it was. before we could say anything else, he asked if we could go right now to show him. And we were like... uhh heck yes we can! So we drove over with him and his kids and gave him a tour of the church. And while we were sitting in the chapel. He started to tear up. And he said that he wanted his whole family there. Siempre. And then he asked what time church started. So really, we haven´t invited him to do anything... he´s asked for all of it so far. haha 
He then showed up on sunday morning in full dress with his kids. So awesome! He attended all the classes. And participated in all of them! And said he really enjoyed chruch. And before we could say anything else, he asked us to come over to talk to his sisters on Monday. (So tonight) to share our testimonys and the gospel with them. So needless to say, we´re pretty stoked!! And His kids loved primary! Ugh I love them!! I´m pretty sure we´re going to have 3 baptism´s coming up fairly quickly. We´re going to challenge his whole family tonight!
Que mass? My spanish is a bit better this week. Talking on the phone is the hardest. Because people pass the phone around to hear my accent... or because they don´t understand me. And it´s moy defecil para mí entender que ellos dejo. Porque ellos hablar moy rapido. Siempre! Ugh! But it´s kind of getting easier. 
Talking on the phone is the hardest because people pass the phone all the time because they all want to hear my accent or because they don´t understand what I´m saying. haha And it´s way hard because they talk moy moy rapido. Siempre. 
It´s still super hot here. We´re all so excited when we get a breeze.  It´s like FL in July. You know those days where none of us move from the air conditioner? Yeah. It´s like that here. Every day. 
My address here is... Shoot! I forgot it. It´s in mí casa. Sorry you guys! Next week. To answer your questions, Yes, I´m doing well. My comp and I are always having way too much fun. Sometimes she gets my jokes. Other times it´s just me who thinks something is funny. Kinda Awkard. That´s the word we use the most here to describe our mission together. Awkward. It applies to everything here. haha Oh! We had a random little photo shoot at a miember´s casa. That was fun! Yep. That´s it. Love you guys like mad! Keep praying and following your Savior in all ways possible. I love you guys! You´re in my prayers individually! Con mi todo corazon.-Hermana Dodge 

Hey you guys! I have to keep it short because the internet is super slow today. :( This week has been pretty legit. Yesterday was my 1 month mark out in the field. So my spanish is finally a little bit better. I haven´t really noticed a difference, but members on sunday were like... Wow hermana Dodge... you speak spanish! haha And then they all started laughing. No sey. lol 
My investigador Dolores was baptized on saturday and recived the Holy Ghost on Sunday. She cried like mad crazy. No one was expecting it because she´s super loud and out going... to hide her feelings. But when she lets here feelings out. oh man. They´re powerful. She had everyone in the room crying. She has an amazing testimony. I´m so proud! So that was flipping amazing! And a bunch of our members showed up and welcomed her into the family with open arms. They even bought her a cake to celebrate. How special right?!  Now we just have to teach and baptize the rest of her family... that´s the tricky part. lol 
Sunday was Día de Padre! Or should I say this whole last week. It´s crazy festive here. Everyone gets way into it. Dancing, cake all around, and hearts and ties everywhere! We even had cake at church on sunday. Not only do they celebrate Fathers here, but it´s kind of like a huge family celebration. Everyone gets together and parties all night long... we didn´t get much sleep this week because of it. lol Also, this week was also football. Alllllll week. So there weren´t people to talk to. Litterally. No one. The streets were empty and we´re not allowed to knock on doors. Not that we could anyways... since there are like 3 fences infront of everyone´s doors here. haha 
Luckily, at one of the ward parties that we attended, there was this guy who walked up to the church gate and asked if he could come in. We were kind of stoked. He´s way cool! His name is Jorge Alejandro.We asked him how he heard about the church, and he said that while he was walking home from work, he saw the church. It was big and white and beautiful. He wanted to go in and learn more about it. Apparently he liked what we had to say about it, because he´s getting baptized in like 2 weeks!! Yay! Talk about a golden investigador!! 
I can´t send you guys any pictures. Because Ecuadors technology is a bit behind. And none of the computers here except my camera. So I´m just creating an albulm on my camera to show you guys when I get back. haha Sorry about that. I loved your emails this week. They made my heart happy! I hope you´re all doing amazing. You´re all in my prayers. I know that the Lord is with you all each step of the way. Pray to him. Go to church, keep allll of his commandments. He´s given everything to us. The very least we could do is give a little back. 
Oh! This week in the city, there was a huge iguana just chillin on the sidewalk. And Hermana Irala was talking with the member we were teaching with.. she didn´t see it. I didn´t say anything.. I didn´t want to be rude and interupt their conversation... well this was a huge mistake on my behalf. I forgot that she´s terrified of anything that moves that´s not a human. Anyways, when she saw it she freaked out! And by freaked out, I mean to say, she screamed bloody murder and fell in a whole. (Here in the city there´s construction everywhere. And lot´s of very deep wholes to fall into. Hence you have to pay attention at every step.) It took 3 people to get her out of the whole. Luckily she didn´t break anything. We had a lot to laugh about that night though. haha
Que mass? Hmm. I´m loving the fruit here. It keeps getting better and better. I haven´t even heard of these things. Did you know that there are spiky red and white fruit? I didn´t! And it´s amazing!!
Well, I think that´s it for this week. Stay in touch! Pray always! And invite your friends to talk to the missionaries! We need it. It changes their lives for the better. And you recieve incredible enjoyment and love in return. 
Keep on keeping on.-Hermana Dodge