The New York Utica Mission

Honestly I look back at the last 18 months and I'm filled with so much gratitude and love. How do I sum up 18 months of laughs, tears, hard work, the humidity, the cold, the good, the bad, etc. in an email? There's no way to describe the things I've experienced. 

A few years ago I had zero desire to serve a mission and that breaks my heart. I'm so grateful that Heavenly Father humbled my heart and extended a call for me to serve Him with all my heart, might, mind, and strength.

When I got my call to New York, I thought it was perfect for me. When I got here and realized how rural everything was, I wasn't so sure. I had no idea what God had in store for me. But as I continue to trust Him and His plan, He never lets me down. I have come to know in a very real way that God has a personal and individualized plan for each and every one of us.  He has truly turned me into someone I'm proud to be. He took my hand and helped me every step of the way. I know He was beside me through the hard days, days when I didn't think I could make it to the end of the night, days when I was homesick beyond belief, times when people were unnecessarily and flat out rude, doors slammed in my face, watching the people I love struggle through trials and challenges, stress of the unknown, He had a reason for every experience I went through. 

People always think the hardest part of a mission is getting doors slammed in your face or people yelling at you. Honestly sometimes that hurts, but it's nothing compared to the pain of watching someone come to know that the gospel is true and yet not wanting to change. Watching someone use their agency to turn away from God and to choose Satan. But none of that pain compares to the joy of knowing how loving and merciful our Heavenly Father and Savior Jesus Christ are. I have truly come to know them in a way I never thought was possible. I've come to know how prophets in the Book of Mormon felt when they cried over the wickedness of the people. I've come to see all the pain swallowed up in the joy that comes from helping someone you love enter the waters of baptism to make a covenant with God that they'll serve Him, keep His commandments, take His name upon them, and always remember Him. And that's exactly what we got to witness this weekend. 

Brittany. got. baptized. She's a Mormon!!! 

I've never seen so much opposition or so many stumbling blocks placed in someone's way. Yet I've also never seen so much perseverance from someone. Brittany pushed through and overcame everything with the help of our Savior so she could be baptized. I don't remember the last time I felt the Spirit so strong as I did when I watched her enter into the waters of baptism. It was an amazing and powerful experience! There's no denying the truthfulness of this gospel. 

Before I came on the Lord's mission, I didn't know that these things were true, honestly. I believed all of it, but I didn't KNOW that they were true. My first couple weeks in the field, I realized that wasn't going to be enough. I knew I couldn't be out spreading lies and I needed to know if these things were true. That's when I sincerely started to read the Book of Mormon. I took Moroni's challenge and prayed and asked God if it was true. The power I felt when I did that, is indescribable. That experience has carried me through these last couple of months in New York as I've extended that same invitation to as many people as I could. Because I know that it's a promise from our Heavenly Father. That if we want to know if this church really is the same one that Christ brought to the earth 2,000 years ago, we read the Book of Mormon and pray to the source of all truth, God Himself. 

I know that He lives and hears and answers prayers. He loves us so much. Any honest seeker of truth can come to know by the power of the Holy Ghost that these things are true. We can each have our own personal testimonies of these things! Anyone and Everyone! I have felt the love that God has for us over and over again, day in and day out. He loves the people of New York (and Vermont) so much, and so do I. I never imagined how hard it would be to leave this place that I love so much. I've complained many times about how crazy the people are here or how cold or how hard this mission has been. But the truth is, I wouldn't trade a single day from these last 18 months for anything. 

I can't describe how grateful I am that the Gospel of Jesus Christ has been restored to the earth. I know that Jesus is the Christ, this is His church, it's being led by a prophet of God who holds all the priesthood keys, I know the Book of Mormon is the word of God, and I am so grateful that I was called to share these truths with my brothers and sisters. I know that God the Father and Jesus Christ appeared to Joseph Smith HERE in Upstate New York and that event changed history. I know my Savior Jesus Christ lives. I know Him and I love Him. I'm grateful that even though my time in His service is over, it never truly is. I'll be testifying of Him forever. Cliché, but even though the nametag has to come off, it truly never will. It's permanently on my heart forever. I say these things in the precious name of Jesus Christ, Amen. 

Pics: 

Brittany's baptism

 MEAGHAN I'M GOING TO MISS HER SO MUCH

 

We tried to be cute

how we look

Me in my natural habitat (Ricos pizza)

Steve Bushetti (lol I know that's not his name but close enough)

Brittany's baptism!!!

Brittany's baptism!!!

I 💗NY

When you get your car back from the elders and there's a pic of Elder Placencia on your TiWi card...

 Cleaning the font.

EIGHTEEN MONTHS.

What a week!! Honestly I will never get used to how weird the mission is. My life is so weird and literally anything could happen. Like this week! So on Wednesday we got a text from our mission president saying that we needed to be really careful on Friday and Saturday cause it was supposed to be super cold. We weren't allowed to be out for more than 15 minutes, and we were all supposed to be home by 8 both nights (that never happens) so we were like "okay" but then on Thursday night we got another text from President Rogers saying that the weather was supposed to be so cold and LIFE THREATENING that all missionaries had to stay INSIDE our apartments ALL DAY on Friday AND Saturday. We weren't allowed to leave for any reason. Holy macaroni what an adventure. That's the first time I've been bored in 18 months (that's right, ya girl hit her 18 month mark this week!!!) but it was nice cause we were able to get caught up on all our journaling and lots of other stuff around the house. 

We did a couple of phone lessons, weekly planned, alphabetized the area book (it was actually really fun I  area book work lol), cooked really good food, we found a board game in our apartment called "What Would Jesus Do" so we played that, took baths, baked a cake, worked out, did laundry, blew bubbles and watched them freeze outside, etc. etc. Haha it was one of the weirdest weeks of the mission by far. 

But even though we were stuck inside a lot, Heavenly Father still blessed us so much with lots of miracles!! 

Brittany's baptism interview was scheduled for Saturday, but we couldn't leave our apartment, so we had to reschedule it for yesterday and she PASSED!! So we're all set for this Saturday for her baptism!!! We're so excited for her. 

Yesterday was really awesome too, we picked up 4 new investigators!!! This family that we tracted into, let us in and loved the message we shared! The 18 year daughter was like "I see your nametag says Sister. Are you guys sister missionaries?" and I was like "yeah, that's exactly who we are! We're not nuns though..." (everyone gets us confused hahaha) and she was like "yeah okay! I saw a video about Sister Missionaries clothing throughout time so I thought that was about you guys!" So cool!!! That little bit of exposition helped her recognize who we are! She even prayed at the end and said she's excited to learn more, and we're excited to teach her more!!

Oh we also met with this girl Diana who seemed SUPER prepared!!! She had already downloaded the Book of Mormon and read the intro and all the testimonies BEFORE we even met with her and she loves it!! She accepted a baptism date for the end of this month, but things happened and she kinda called it off.... (the boy that introduced her to us is going back to school and leaving and said they're just friends, so we think she just wanted to be baptized for him...) but she still loves the Book of Mormon and wants to keep meeting with us so we're excited for that! It just shows how God really does prepare people for us to teach. 

One thing we've been struggling with this week is opposition and persecution. I have NEVER seen so much persecution from Satan before. He is literally attacking every single person that we're teaching. It is SO hard to see the people we love be tempted and go through trials, but we've been praying and fasting for these people and we know that they're in the hands of the Lord and that He will not allow them to be tempted more than they can handle. But if you could all keep Brittany and Meaghan in your prayers, that would help us out a lot. I have the strongest testimony of prayer, I know it helps a ton. 

The weather is supposed to warm up a bit this week so we're excited about that! It's in the 30's and 40's all week... #blessed. (I hate that the 30's is warm hahah thanks upstate New York, thanks). 

1. Ricos pizza is hands down the best pizza I've ever had. We eat it weekly lol

2. We finally got to leave our apartment to go to church yesterday morning, and this is what the weather was :)))))

3. We made homemade mac from this book Sis Miners dad sent her for Christmas #WifeUsUp

4. On exchange we got to go to dinner with some members in Pennsylvania! (the 5th state I've been to while on the mission haha) 

5. We quoted Hot Rod with Elder Severn for a fat minute and it was the best conversation of my life hahah

our adventures being stuck inside the apartment

Let's Party

Sister Miner is literally my favorite person in the whole world. For NYE last night we got bubble wrap and Martinelli's and partied Hot Rod style. Hahaha it was seriously the funniest thing. 

Honestly yesterday was just such a good day, it was filled with miracles! At church we had three solid member referrals! The first was from a returned missionary who's back home from school for the break. He brought his friend to church, introduced us and she gave us her number so we can set up a time to start teaching her! The member told us that she seems really prepared so we're pumped.

 

The second was from a Recent Convert who brought his daughter to church for the first time. She's 21 and in the middle of gospel principles she asks the golden question: "what do you have to do to get baptized?" so Elder Wright (who's teaching the class) just WHIPS out the Restoration and then hands it on over to me and then Sister Miner carries it over into the first vision and brings it back to Elder Wright who sets her on date for baptism next month! it was seriously incredible. 

The third one was from the best member missionary I've ever met, the one and only brother Kuenzli. A few weeks ago he set up an appointment for us to start teaching one of his co-workers. The lesson ended up falling through and after that this girls boyfriend went off on Bro Kuenzli and got really upset. So that whole situation was super sensitive and messy. Well yesterday he told us that the girl is still super interested and things are working out for us to be able to teach her!!! Bro Kuenzli always refers back to the scripture in Alma 29:9 (which i memorized in his behalf). It's a good one and a great life motto.

 

So when I say yesterday was full of miracles, that's no joke. We have been so blessed here. 

Also Brittany is just on FIRE! Seriously that girl is incredible. Sunday morning she woke up not feeling good and threw up, but did that stop her from coming to church? NOPE! She even stayed for all three hours. In Sunday School they set goals for this coming year and her main goal is to read the scriptures everyday. Seriously this girl could not be more golden. Things are just lining up perfectly for her baptism on the 13th and we're so excited! Yesterday we were talking about it and she just got so excited she squealed and hugged me, haha i love her. 

This past week we've been tracting these apartments and found this Chinese guy who let us in and had so many questions for us about how God has answered our prayers, how Jesus Christ has impacted our lives, and if the Bible can help us in our lives. He told us that 10 years ago he wouldn't have listened to us but that things in his life lined up even when they shouldn't have and he knew it was God playing a role in his life. It honestly strengthened my testimony that God is preparing people for us to find and teach. It was seriously awesome. 

Oh and another cool experience! Seriously God is so good. We were tracting out in Addison and the last house we knock on (we had to walk up these super sketchy steps to the top apartment) was this guy in his early 20's. He invited us in but there wasn't another female home so we couldn't come in. But he was so solid that he stood out in the freezing cold with us to listen to the Restoration. And he actually understood what the Book of Mormon was!! (People usually don't understand it haha) before we taught about Joseph Smith, we asked if he'd ever received an answer to his prayers before and he told us an incredible experience about how his family moved here from the Philippines and he knew that God brought his family here together. It's so cool to see God truly is preparing people to hear the gospel and how every experience He gives us is for our benefit. 

And He truly has a plan for us because He loves us SO MUCH!

I could go on an on but that's probably good for now haha. 

This year don't be afraid to set goals!! seriously when people say "i can't change" that is limited yourself and the Atonement of Jesus Christ! He literally came to the earth for us so that we can change and be anything that we want! With His help we can reach the biggest desires of our hearts. Aim high and let the Savior make of you who you can become with His help. 

xoxo

Sister Rodriguez

P.S. I have so many funny quotes haha:

Meaghan giving Brittany advice for her baptism: "Just don't open your mouth to talk on your way down cause then you'll be baptized on the inside and the out" hahaha

me: 'hey Meaghan, want to teach Brittany about tithing?"

Meaghan: "pay your tithing"

whenever we get the car back from the elders it never has gas in it and it's always dirty, so we got the car back and the elders were in the back seat on exchange so we were taking them to their apartment so i was like 

"wow i love when we get the car back from the elders and there's no gas in it" 

Elder Severn: "wait, hold on. I speak female! I think she's upset. I think something like this might have happened in the past..."

Elder Wright: "I don't know.. I'm wrong 99% of the time" 

hahah it was so funny

Pics: 

1. it got down to 4* after this.... I love not having a car :))))

2. It's sad that when we saw this on someone's front porch while tracting we weren't even surprised... 

3. Sister Miner's dad got her Ryan Gosling earrings for Christmas 

4/5 our fun with bubble wrap, NYE was so lit

LIGHT (of) THE WORLD

Merry Christmas!!! This Christmas season was seriously the BEST because the entire focus was on Jesus Christ and serving others as He would. We tried hard to participate in Light the World but my favorite activities that we did weren't on the list. 

On Christmas Eve we went to a members house and watched the Nativity and read about the Saviors birth in the scriptures. We also baked cookies for our investigators and others in the area and delivered them with cards that day. There's also a family in the branch that told us they were going to cancel Christmas because they didn't have money to provide presents. We made a few phone calls, swiped our cards, and made Christmas for that family happen!! Their home teacher bought them some gifts and let us deliver them. Sister Miner and I also put together cute little stockings for each of the kids so they would have something fun for Christmas. That was such a neat experience for Heavenly Father to allow us to be the means of helping someone this season. The day this family told us they were struggling, we almost didn't go see them. They live pretty far away and I wasn't sure if we would have time to see them. But that day I felt strongly that we should go to their house, so we did. I am so glad that we did! 

It reminded me though that no matter what we have on Christmas, if we have Christ, we have more than enough. 

On Christmas Eve and Christmas we spent time in the nursing homes near us passing out presents and playing games with the seniors there and it was so much fun! 

On Christmas morning Sister Miner and I both studied the Christmas story in Luke 2 and about Christ's birth in Jesus the Christ. It was a really powerful study and helped us keep our focus on Christ. He truly is the Light of the World and I'm grateful to represent Him this Christmas season.

 

Also good news, Brittany has a super weird living situation so we weren't sure if she would be able to be baptized next month, so we called our mission president and explained the living situation and he gave us permission to baptize her!!!! We hung up the phone and danced, and hugged, and jumped around everywhere. Seriously the best Christmas present i got. haha 

Well I hope that you were all able to have a good Christmas remembering the birth of our Savior and everything that means. He truly is the reason for EVERYTHING and I love Him with everything I have. I have truly come to know and love Him more than ever these last couple of months serving His mission. I hope we can all remember Him year round. 

Love you!

xoxo

Sister Rodriguez

1. classic christmas pic

2. lighting the world

3/4. We had our christmas conference this week and these are my fav pics of me and sister Hall   

5. last time i'll see jenkins :( i'm cryin

6. NYUM 

HOI

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!!!

Sister Miner and I literally spent all morning working on our Christmas Card so you should be pretty excited, we definitely are :) haha

This week was a little bit of a struggle but that's okay! I'm back in my area and it feels so good! 

Since we haven't been here for a while we haven't been able to see people consistently so setting up appointments has been a bit of a struggle. 

Also the Aumicks (part member family) dropped us the second day that Sis Miner was here. I literally cried for a solid 15 minutes. Hahaha people's agency sucks sometimes. They were so solid and Emily was preparing for baptism at the end of this month but the parents decided they love the people but they're not going to join and don't want to take lessons anymore. It honestly hurt really bad to read that text, but they'll get baptized one day, I know it! 

And one more struggle: we are now a car share area! So the elders take the car half the week and we take it the other half. So for 3 days we don't have a car. In the middle of winter. In Upstate New York. Yeah... it's been kind of hard to have a positive attitude about that but Sister Miner and I are having so much fun and laughing all day everyday so she is definitely my saving grace! 

But okay okay I have some good things too!!! On Saturday we made Christmas cookies with my FAV family the Torrences!! It was so much fun. Then on Sunday Brittany came to church!!! She is preparing for baptism next week and is progressing so well. I just love her so much. Then she came with her roommate to the branch Christmas party which was great! We also had a snowball fight with the Torrence  fam and with some other branch members while we were helping a member move. Haha it was so much fun!

 

Sunday night we saw Jennifer (who also came to the party) and one of her aides was there, Flo, who loved church when they came last time. We read a chapter from the Book of Mormon and Flo took a copy for herself and said she'd read the chapters we assigned to Jen with her! So awesome. So we were able to pick her up as a new investigator and I'm excited to see where things go with her. 

Okay also I have to end with some funny stories: 

Sister Miner and I CANNOT stop laughing. This week my head has not been on straight and I keep mixing up my words. For example: 

The elders called us and I answered by trying to say "hello" "hi" and "hey" all at the same time, so it came out as "HOI" hahahaha and no one has been able to let me live that one down hahaha

Also I was explaining a Christmas sweater that I saw to Sister Miner and I said "It said 'so tacky I tinkle' I MEAN TWINKLE" Hahahaha we couldn't stop laughing. 

But our favorite funny story from this week happened on Sister Miners first night in Painted Post. We saw an investigator who is always drinking whenever we go over. We were trying to show her the Light the World initiative when her fiancé came in (also drinking) and was like "I have a fun fact for you"

her: "no, we're trying to watch this"

him: "Rudolph was a female" 

her: "no he wasn't, leave us alone."
him: "yes, Rudolph was female!! Only female reindeer have antlers in the winter, look it up"
her: "you're a Jehova's Witness, you don't know anything"
him: "look it up!"

her: "Fine! Sorry ladies, one second...*looks it up*.... he's right..."

him: JUMPS off the couch and ran all over the house yelling "THAT'S RIGHT. RUDOLPH WAS FEMALE" 

Sister Miner and I were literally CRYING it was the funniest thing of my life. So, there ya go. Rudolph was female. MERRY CHRISTMAS!! :) 

xoxo

Sister Rodriguez

1-4 Sneak Peek/Behind the scenes of our Christmas Card

JENKINS and Gavito at transfers.  Such bros

We were walking out of an apartment building when I saw this.  It honestly was placed there for me to see.  It brightened my day so much and was a good little reminder.

leftovers that members give us (I love my life)

The twins Tristan and Christian making cookies, they got flour EVERYWHERE haha I love them.