One Month Has Flown

IT'S BEEN ONE MONTH ON FRIDAY. The time has flown by faster than The Flash.
(I hope Freestone appreciates that reference)
The MTC has been great. Honestly, I cannot even express how much it has
taught me and humbled me. First off, prayers would be appreciated for
Friday because our district is doing an English fast and can ONLY speak
Cantonese. I was also made the Sister Training LEader this week, so pray
that I will be able to fulfill my calling well and that our district won't
feel homesick.
-We had a devotional on Sunday for Pioneer day by the Nashville Tribute
Band. *look them up! Especially the 'mission song' -you will cry. We were
able to sing a few songs with them, and it was one of those moments that
you try to capture so you can look back on it the rest of your life. Just
imagine sitting in a room with over 2,000 missionaries singing uplifting
songs about missionary work and pioneers. A member of the band asked how
many of us how pioneer blood and at least 3/4 raised their hands. Their
sacrifice was worth it.
-Our lessons and meetings on Sunday were about Faith in Jesus Christ's
Atonement. Our district meeting was so powerful. I don't think the spirit
has ever testified so strongly to me of the power and reality of the
Atonement. I could literally feel the presence of angels in the room. "The
Spirit cannot be restrained when pure testimony is shared." Our Branch
President said, "He saw you in the garden, and under excruciating agony,
said "For her I will." and he shed blood for you." The Atonement is so
personal. "For Golda I will."
I know Christ died for us. He did everything for us. He is the center of
this church, and desires to be the center of our lives. "All other
principles of the gospel are appendages of the Atonement of Jesus Christ."
-Joseph Smith
-A speaker last night told a story of preaching in France. His young son
said "If you want to know the truth about Joseph Smith, pray to God, He was
there!" hahahaha
Joseph Smith did see the Father and the Son in the flesh. I know he did. We
can all know for ourselves the truth of the restored gospel-what a
blessing. Personal revelation is vital to this church and to our
testimonies.
-"Perfect love casteth off all fear." Even though Cantonese is
intimidating, and I cannot teach a perfect lesson, or really explain well
what grace is in Chinese, I am striving to have love. CHARITY NEVER
FAILETH! Believe that Christ's grace is sufficient for YOU. Because it is.
-The gospel is simple. It really really is. If it wasn't, teenagers would
not be baptizing people in a language they have learned for only a few
weeks. The Spirit is the ultimate teacher and testifier of truth.
I love you all and want you to know that I know this is true. The Church of
Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is true. Jesus Christ was not perfect
because he converted everyone around him, in fact those surrounding him
rejected and killed him. He was perfect because he consistently chose
charity. His character became charitable. He loved everyone,
unconditionally. I know as we strive to follow his example (through reading
his words, remembering our covenants, and praying sincerely) the conditions
we set as sinners and mortals for not loving EVERYONE, will diminish. They
will disappear as we come to understand our divine potential and are
blessed by Heavenly Father to see his children as they really are. They are
our brothers and sisters. Charity is a spiritual gift Jesus Christ is eager
to bestow upon us if we ask. Thank you mom and dad for teaching me that,
and thank you everyone for the prayers and love! Ngoh ngoi leihdeih!!!!

-- 
*Sister Dopp

Week 3 and Elder Bednar

Ok, here's the third try of posting this email: 
3rd week of the MTC life!!!!! 

So funny story first. I was in a lesson with Bik Ji Muih and we were inviting our investigator (our teacher) to church. I said "Church is the opportunity..." then stopped because he looked confused. He repeated it back to me and I confirmed yes. We kept going and the lesson ended. Later, in CLASS, I said a word that I thought meant "where". It actually meant fish market because I did one tone wrong. hahah if that wasn't funny enough, he was also like "And by the way, "gaiwui" means chicken conference. And then it dawned on me. I had said "Church is a chicken conference." 

I am now terrified to use the word "geiwui" (gay woe ee) because it sounds very close to "gaiwui" (guy woe ee) which means chicken conference. hahahahahahahahahahahaha we were laughing SO hard. I know that church is not a chicken conference.

 The Cantonese is coming, now the hardest part is keeping up the progress as fast as in the first and second week. (Also not saying wrong tones) We just have to be diligent in studying and not be afraid to make mistakes. It takes a lot of time and is very difficult, but so worth it and usually very fun!

So the highlights of the week were....

Amazing district lesson on being a consecrated missionary. Seriously so good, Elder Mccusker taught and did so well.

ELDER BEDNAR CAME AND SPOKE ON SUNDAY!

So there is this amazing video they only show in the MTC by Elder Ballard called Character of Christ. Instead of having a live speaker come for the devotional, we watched the video of Character of Christ (which changes lives) as an MTC, since we had so many new missionaries and they allow the new missionaries to watch it anyway. (We all watch a movie after the devotional. The options are Character of Christ, the Joseph Smith movie, The Testaments, and a few other church ones) After the video, Elder Bednar himself walked in, alongside his wife. Everyone was shocked and immediately stood up. I thought we were standing to sing a hymn, then I looked up and saw Elder Bednar! I was like 30 feet from an apostle! I seriously couldn't even breathe for a second. He said he sometimes likes to surprise everyone and come to the MTC because he knows they show Character of Christ on Sunday nights. He did a Q and A session with the hundreds of missionaries and I learned SO much.

Just a few things I loved about it...

A) The Spirit is the real teacher. I didn't ask my specific question, but it was still answered through the Spirit

B) "Our yearning is to be more like the Savior, not because we're a missionary, but because we are a baptized member of the church. You took upon yourself his name long before you got a badge." Our responsibility as baptized church members are equal to that of missionaries, and we should all be anxious and engaged to follow Christ and remember that we took his name upon ourselves. As missionaries, we are also his representatives and invite others to come unto him.

C) A personal revelation I had was that I always wanted my investigators to have "a working testimony." I realized that a working testimony is a testimony working toward conversion.

D) "Charity can become spiritually instinctive." 

E) "A girl does ten things and nine of the perfectly. Then she obsesses over the one she did mediocre. A boy does ten things and does one mediocre and is like yeah!" haha I could not believe that came out of an apostle's mouth! When one sister asked how to be the best missionary she could all the time, he said simply "Be a good girl." Basically, do what you know is right, do your best, and don't worry about perfection. Be worthy, not perfect.

Elder Keeron (the one who gave the AMAZING talk on refugees was also there.) He said "Thank you for who you are becoming. You won't become it in one day, but thank you. The Lord will bless you and you will love the work."

It was a powerful Sunday!!!!!

Yesterday our devotional was so good too. My favorite quote was "Diligence is more important than intelligence." Which is very comforting for us learning Cantonese!

I also accidentally called dabbing, "dalloping". Can you all imagine how behind I am going to be in pop culture after being on a mission for 18 months??? hahahaha I think Nana Ruby is more uptodate than me. :) 

This week really was a week of so much growth and continuing conversion. My testimony of the church grows every day, and I know of a surety that Christ lives and Heavenly Father loves us. I love teaching people about their Savior every day. You don't really realize how miraculous the gospel really is until you teach it. I hope we never take it for granted. 

I have been reading the New Testament this week, and I invite you all to read it as well! I often ask myself now "What would the Savior do?" and learning about his earthly ministry is so important to knowing who he is and understanding his character. Christ taught us to look outward, to strengthen others and help them in any way we can. I KNOW that serving others brings the most happiness. My companion LOVES the song "Come Unto Christ." I love the words too...Come unto Christ. Come unto him, and by his grace be made holy again. He's calling your name, he's waiting for you...with arms open wide. Come unto Christ." I know that our Redeemer, our brother, Jesus Christ, wants us to be close to him. To use the Atonement and be sanctified through it. The Atonement and Plan of Salvation has never felt so real and miraculous to me. It is wonderful, wonderful to me. I hope it still is for all of you. If you simply ponder and pray about it, I know Heavenly Father would love to strengthen your testimony of a gospel truth, and I know it will help you recognize and feel the Spirit. 

Love you all!

-- Sister Dopp

A Privilege to Know Him; Week 2

Woah what a week! Time seems to fly by, but I also feel like I've been here
for two months!
Well, the highlight of the week was a devotional we had last night. After a
horrible lesson with our "investigator", really our teacher, who apparently
graduated from Julliard for acting, I was feeling a bit overwhelmed. Okay
our teacher didn't go to Julliard, he was just really good at acting like
an uninterested Asian man. How was I going to ever understand mumbled
Cantonese? How could I get my testimony across and teach with my tiny
vocabulary? How would I ever feel confident and prepared?
But I had to take a step back and remind myself A) I have been here for not
even TWO weeks. It's okay. B) Heavenly Father is going to make up the
difference C) I still have seven weeks to progress, and D) Charity never
faileth.
**Okay side note. Another companionship from my distrcit taught "Chris"
right before us. He asked what they did today and all Gu Ji Muih could
remember how to say was "we learned and ate." And we starting laughing so
hard because I said "That is literally what we do!" Maybe you had to be
there. But it was funny. Yep we basically learn, study, and eat. And it's
awesome.**
Even after all of those comforting thoughts, I still felt a little
overwhelmed. Then we had the most amazing devotional I have ever attended.
Try to find it, if they publish it online...it was given by Bruce C. Hafen
and was exactly what I needed. Exactly.
He shared a quote from a survivor of the Martin Willy Handcart
Company..."We came to know Him in our extremities, and the price we paid to
know him was a privilege to pay." Elder Hafen spoke of extremities;
experiences that challenge us and almost break us. But they also bring us
closest to Christ. Not only in a literal sense; we come to experience a
tiny piece of what he did in his mortal life, we are obliged to turn to him
and use and rely on the Atonement. It is a privilege to pay. We were
reading the Book of Mormon as a district, and I think it was in Alma 32,
but I am not sure, we were reading about Christ and faith and the
Atonement. I realized that Christ and Heavenly Father ask us to sacrifice.
(Really the only thing that is really ours to sacrifice is our agency, so
obedience is the biggest sacrifice we can offer Them) But Heavenly Father
and Jesus Christ never ask us to do something They haven't or would not do.
And They only ask us to sacrifice so that in turn, we can receive *something
greater*. Christ sacrificed everything. He was a god, and the only thing he
could sacrifice to be of worth to us and mortals, was pure understanding
and love. His *something greater*, was the ability to succor us, his
brothers and sisters. He created the earth and the heavens, yet he
sacrificed and felt all our ALL experiences, so that we could experience
what he had-eternal life and charity.
In Ether 12, two verses have the phrase "prepared a more excellent way."
Heavenly Father has prepared a more excellent way for us to come unto Him
and progress. Sometimes, often times, that means trials. Bruce C. Hafen
said, in response to Joseph Smith's experience in Liberty Jail as well as
the trials of the Handcart Company, that "Castles arose from weeds." Better
things come out of hardships.
I am sure I am not explaining this as well as I would like, but I cannot
put into words exactly how I feel. I know that I am slowly coming to
understand how necessary trials are, and how Heavenly Father blesses His
children. I still have much to work on, and these personal revelations
about the gospel were mostly from the amazing missionaries I am surrounded
by, but I am just thankful for the truth of the gospel and that I get to
share it!
Sacrificing 18 months of my life and learning Cantonese are a privilege to
pay to get to know my Savior.
-- 
*Sister Dopp

Pictures from the First Week in the MTC

4th of July Stadium of Fire at BYU

First Week in the MTC

Wow first week!!!!!! This week has flown by but I also feel like I've been
here for months. I feel very at home here and just love being a missionary.
My tuhngbuhn (companion) is Bik Ji Muih (Sister Briggs). She is from Midway
and is gorgeous. She cheered in High School and is so kind. I love her! We
get along really well. My district has NO Elders, just 6 Sisters. It's kind
of nice. We all know each other really well and I love them all. We are the
only people in the MTC learning Cantonese, and our zone calls us "the
Cantos". Our zone (5 districts going Asian speaking) is all learning
Mandarin and has been here awhile. They are the nicest humans! Bik Ji Muih
tuhnmaaih ngoh (and I) share a room with 4 sisters, going to Texas and
Ohio.
The food is good, there are salads and personalized wraps and fresh fruit
every meal and even almond milk and Life cereal.
Cantonese is extremely difficult, but Heavenly Father has already helped us
so much It is truly amazing how He has helped me remember, understand, and
get by.
We taught our first lesson in Gwong-dong Wa (Cantonese) on Friday. Yes
after TWO days. It went pretty well, even though we mostly just bore our
testimonies and read from our little brown book. I prayed in Cantonese on
Sunday and we've had 2 lessons since Friday. Tonight we're teaching our
investigator Katie about the Restoration and Joseph Smith.
Our teacher is amazing, he served in Hong Kong, and is so patient.
Yesterday our district had a laugh attack (like it was the weirdest
experience of my life. We could.not.stop.laughing) and he was so nice and
patient. I think we had just been studying for hours on end all week and we
just snapped. It was pretty hilarious, but it will not happen again! At
least in class!
The devotionals here are amazing and I have never felt closer to Christ.
The doctrine of Christ is everything we do here, and the Spirit is so
present wherever you go. It is incredibly hard. So incredibly hard. But it
is worth it. More than worth it!! Sometimes I feel like my heart is going
to burst from so much love and understanding. Yesterday after our laughing
attack, we had the most powerful lesson I have ever had. We talked about
how the doctrine of Christ should influence our teaching, planning, and
living. Everything we talked about was centered on Christ and I feel like
my testimony of the Savior has never been so strong. There is something
special and unique about teaching and bearing testimony as a representative
of Jesus Christ.
Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ are so generous and kind to allow
teenagers and young adults to be Their representatives. Even with all our
weaknesses, fears, and shortcomings, They are still able to use us as
instruments in Their hands. They know that we are able to help our brothers
and sisters if we just rely on Them, and I am eternally grateful for Their
trust.
I will try to send pictures later today.
My address is
Sister Golda Cristine Dopp
AUG 30 CHN-HK
2005 N 900 E Unit 12
Provo, UT 84602
-- Love you all SO SO much.
"It is not an event of learning the language, it is a journey of loving the
people."
*Sister Dopp Douh Ji Muih*