Quadruple the Fun Plus One: Chelsea

Our zone activity at Dariok Hills

The zone! Minus two elders, and Elder Higgins

My fam!! So the one in the middle is Elder Franzuela, our District Leader. He goes home tomorrow.

Hello everyone! Wow, what a week!

So... I didn't try balut yet, thank goodness... Haha I am literally so scared. Since transfers are on Wednesday, Sister Mariano is buying me some that day to celebrate the end of my first cycle! So I am trying it in about two days. The other Americans in my zone haven't tried it yet and they've been here for about a year. Haha they are too scared. So, I ate sheep this week. Not a fan... And like the skin was all attached to it and there were intestines in there too. Ya it was gross!

Haha so funny story. We were just contacting and we got invited to this house. After we were done with the lesson, nagbigay siya ng merienda sa amin [Chris here…I looked this up and it means “she gave us snacks” I think Chelsea forgets what language she is using!] and it looked like tea. Haha but we weren't sure but we were both freaking out. So she set it in front of us and we both looked at each other, and then she looked at us. And since we didn't want to offend her we both just closed our eyes and took a sip. Ya.... it was tea. Haha after we walked out of the lesson, we were laughing so hard. Don't worry, we already repented! Haha omg so funny.

Haha literally every time Sister Mariano and I do CLS (language study) we are both just laughing. So she had to pronounce meager to me and she pronounced it meeajer. Hahaha I was laughing so hard. But then right after I pronounced a tagalog word so wrong that she was laughing at me for like five minutes. Oh the joys of language study!

So it's pretty much been raining all week. So we were in the middle of Guribang on Wednesday and it's in the middle of nowhere. And so we were walking and these huge thunderclouds come up and we were like, oh no... haha so it started pouring and the wind was so strong that we couldn't use our umbrellas because they would start to break. So we got soaked! It literally looked like we stepped out of the shower, haha!

So I pretty much received the best compliment of my life this week. Every once in a while, we teach Tatay Belon. He is about 74 and he had a stroke so its hard to understand him, but he is the cutest thing! I will get a picture with him later hopefully. So I was teaching part of the lesson in Tagalog, and after, he told me that I had better tagalog then Sister Mariano's last companion. And get this, Sister Mariano's companion's LAST area was Diffun so she ended her mission there. HAHA oh man, that sure made me feel good!

So I got about 80 mosquito bites on my legs this week, yes I counted.. haha We even had to stop proselyting because I could barely walk. My shoes were rubbing against them on my feet and they were bleeding and so now I am on a steroid and antibiotic! Super fun!

Transfers are on Wednesday. Sister Mariano and I are still staying in Diffun! But we need another pair of missionaries oh my guli. We have 33 villages we have to get to and we only get to 10! Ahhh its driving me insane. Literally our planners are jam packed. I will send you a pic!

So we had some really amazing lessons this week. One was with the Carillo family. They are less active and Tatay is addicted to alcohol. But they are really a good family. They just don't go to church, etc. So we were teaching about temples and families. Right as I started testifying, I started BAWLING. like bawling! It was so embarrassing, let me tell you. Haha so in between cries, I was trying to choke out what I wanted to say in such broken Tagalog, but the spirit was so strong. Nanay started crying and tatay was super touched. Right after the lesson, Tatay was talking to us super comfortably which he has never done before. So we really felt like we were able to connect with them! Pero, hinda sila nagsimba...

Another amazing lesson we taught was last night! A lesson to remember! So there is a family in the ward, the Martinez family. They have a maid who has two kids, Alvin and Rennabeth who are both 14. And then there is another kid always at the house, Elcid, who is also 14. So they came to church yesterday randomly! They also stayed all three hours! And then yesterday, we taught them about the book of mormon and praying to know if it is true. And then Sister Mariano extended the baptism invite and all three said yes super fast. And then I was crying, and Sister Mariano was crying, and everybody was crying. I am just so amazed at these three kids. Three 14 year olds, going to 3 hours of church, starting to pray and loving it and wanting to get baptized. Really, watching them go through this experience has shown me how much everyone needs the gospel in their lives. When our investigators begin to hear about the Restoration and the plan of salvation, etc. its like it fills up a missing piece in their life. So ya... such a strong lesson. And all are super excited to get baptized September 26th!

So that's what happened this week! Sister Mariano and I are doing great! The church is so true and each day I realize more and more my purpose here as a missionary. I love you all!

Love, Sister Dunn