Hey hey y'all! Another week has flown by. Time is so different here on
a mission. I feel like I have been a missionary for years and yet the
weeks fly by in the blink of an eye. All of a sudden it is Monday

 again :) good luck to everyone starting school in the next little
while. Make sure to send pictures. I love pictures!

Life has been wonderful here in good ol' Louisville. The weather has
been very odd for an August in Kentucky apparently (according to the
locals). It is still hot and humid but it has been raining more lately
which has been cooling it down :) The bugs are still everywhere
though, and they ALWAYS bite me. My companion thinks I'm crazy because
I put bug spray on every time we leave the house but I will do
whatever it take to keep those little critters off of me! Haha

The last couple days have been very adventurous and I have learned so
much. It is amazing how much you learn and grow on a mission. It is
definitely the hardest thing I have ever done but I am so grateful for
it because the harder things are, the more room you have to grow.

Thursday we had our first Skype lesson! We have a less active who
lives super far away with us so we decided to skype with her for 20
minutes and read scriptures with her. She gets super distracted so it
is sometimes a struggle but we love being able to bring the spirit to
her even if it is only for a short time. Technology seriously is
hastening this work!

Friday was the highlight of my week for sure though. I was asked by
our district leader to give a training on the Christlike attribute of
hope. It was such an amazing experience! I was able to learn and teach
about how essential hope is in our lives. In PMG pg. 117, it states
that hope is an abiding trust that the Lord will fulfill His promises
to you...When you have hope, you work through trials and difficulties
with confidence and assurance that all things will work together for
your good. Hope helps you conquer discouragement. 'Hope is an anchor
for our souls'". How amazing is that?? Hope can bring us peace in this
life. When founded on the Atonement of our Savior and His infinite
love for us, hope can carry us through any trial. I am so grateful for
a Savior that has given each of us the opportunity to hope for eternal
life and joy. It is so good!! :) Then we had interviews with the
mission president and his wife. They are seriously my favorite. They
brought so much joy to my heart and I love spending time with them.
After all of our meetings, we got on a bus and I started talking to
this girl named Juliet about our church and the Book of Mormon. This
guy behind her was like "Dang! How many cups of coffee did you have
this morning??" I just laughed and said, "Actually none! I am just
super happy!" We ended up teaching them about the Book of Mormon and
our church on the bus and now Juliet has appointments with the elders
in her area. It is so amazing how prepared people just soak up this
gospel. People notice something different about what we teach. It is
familiar to them! All you have to do is share what you know and live
what you believe :)

On Saturday, I had the opportunity to do the I Am a Witness challenge.
It was so much fun! Thank you all for sharing it and for all the sweet
comments. Continue sharing it and make your own. Be creative. You
won't believe how many people you can reach through social media. Be a
light for all who come in contact with you, no matter what method that
may be. I know that as we share our testimonies with the world, we
will be able to find our brothers and sisters who are kept from the
truth only because they "know not where to find it". You can do it!
The Lord is hastening His work and He will be with you as you share
your testimony, even if it is just by the example you set for others.

We also got to teach Terry on SaturdayI am seriously amazed by Terry
every single time we teach him. He is so prepared so it is just a
blessing to be able to be a part of his conversion process. He knows
this church is true. He has been listening to the Book of Mormon at
work and he says it brings so much peace to him and he is able to have
that peace with him during the day. Learning the gospel has been
changing his life and he said that he feels like a new man. How cool
is that?? It is such a tender mercy to be able to witness the Spirit
testifying of truth to the hearts of those we teach. That is why it is
so important that we always live worthy for the Spirit. If we have the
Spirit, those we come in contact with will feel it and the Spirit will
bring the truth to their hearts.

Yesterday we had the opportunity to go to church. One of our less
actives, the one we Skype with every day, actually came! She only came
for sacrament but that is a whole lot better than not coming at all!
We are super grateful for the technology that we have so that we could
read with her and help her be a little more comfortable with coming
back to church.

As a mission, we have a goal that we set each week for how many people
we will talk with (TWE). We set 250 this week since that is the normal
number that we have been hitting every week. However, we were about 75
short yesterday because of some things that happened during the week
and the fact that not as many people are outside now that school
started. We were super sad about not being able to hit our weekly goal
because we only on average talk with about 25 people on Sundays. We
prayed about it a lot and asked Heavenly Father to help us hit it,
even though we couldn't see how it was going to happen. Miraculously
though, our appointment that night fell through and the weather was
the best that is has been all month. So many people were outside! We
were able to talk to 76 people on a Sunday! And we got in contact with
some less actives on our roster. It is so cool to see that just a
little bit of faith brings even more blessings than you were hoping to
receive.

Dang! I have so much to write every week. Sorry if these are too long.
I can't promise to make them shorter though ;)

I have learned so much this week. I know that our Heavenly Father and
Savior live. They love each of us so much! Trust in them and the plan
that they have for you. It is so much more rewarding than anything
that you could decide for yourself. Give all of your dreams and wants
and desires over to Him and submit your will to His. As you do so, it
may be difficult and painful, but He will make you into a celestial
being. I am so grateful for the Atonement and the chance I have to do
a little bit better each and every day. I have never been more aware
of my weaknesses and yet more aware of my Saviors ability to make them
strengths of I trust Him and do as He asks. This life is not easy, but
it is oh so worth it.

I love you all! Have a great week. My PDay next week got moved to
Tuesday because of halfway training on Monday so I will talk to you
all then. Love you all. Thank you for all your love and prayers. It
means more than you know.

Hurrah for Israel!

Much love,
Sister Dorian

"Wherefore, ye must press forward with a steadfastness in Christ,
having a perfect brightness of hope, and a love of God and all men.
Wherefore, if ye shall press forward, feasting upon the word of
Christ, and endure to the end, behold, this switch the Father: ye
shall have eternal life" 2 Nephi 31:20