Quadruple the Fun Plus One: Chelsea

Ward FHE

Hello everyone!! Hope you all had a good Thanksgiving! Well, on Tuesday we were in the hospital for about 5 hours!! Oh my gulay, we had to wait forever... I got a chest x ray and blood tests and a urinalysis. They also checked me for dengue, malaria, etc. I sent the results to our doctor and I haven't heard back yet, so Im not sure! But this week I haven’t had any stomach problems! But unfortunately, I got the worst cold. So bad I was having migraines, coughing, sore throat, stuffy nose, you name it! Haha but I was able to work every day so that was a miracle!

So funniest thing. We were in district meeting and doing role plays. So my companion was Elder Iglesky and he is way newer to the mission than me. And our investigator was this filipino elder. The goal was for us to discern the deeper need and not the excuse for not keeping his commitments. But the filipino elder was speaking in pure Tagalog super fast so Elder Iglesky and I were both trying to figure out what he was saying. I thought we did a pretty good job not gonna lie! But at the end, he was like, you guys weren’t even close to my need. And I was like, no we got it! Your wife was a member of the baptist church and that’s why you didn’t go to our church! And Elder Iglesky was like, I thought it was his dad. And then Elder Busilac was like it was my boss! HAHA oh man the language barrier. Literally, I was laughing so hard.

Oh my goodness, so on Sunday, nanay and tatay belon came to church! Ever since they were handed over to the other sisters, they haven’t come to church. And I haven’t seen Rodel in forever! And so when I saw them I was like nay!!!! tay!!!! I almost cried, oh man I miss them. Tatay told me before I leave, I have to leave him a souvenir. And fortunately, since Sister Hamblin is leaving, I will be able to go over to the other area and see them!!

So this week I ate bat. It tasted like dirt. It was nasty. haha. I asked bishop how he gets them and he says he goes into the caves at night and kills them. I was like oh my goodness!! Haha crazy.

So basically, Sunday was the best day ever. We had 10 less actives come to church! 10 people!! Also, Josefina came to church for the first time in like 3 years! She is one of our investigators and we teach her every week but she is so commited to another church, iglesia ni christo, that she will never come. But she came to church this week!! Literally during the sacrament, I was just crying because the Lord is truly blessing our area. It’s amazing! And what’s amazing, is that a couple days before, we were teaching Josefina about baptism and confirmation. And I could tell she was getting pretty offended in the lesson. We were talking about authority and all that and she was like my pastor has the authority! So Sister Balaoing explained again, and I could tell she was just kinda mad. So I was prompted to tell her that we are here because we love you! We’re not just trying to drag you in our church and get you baptized! We know that this is the true church with all our hearts and we also want you to know the truth! And I was like... Josefina, I promise you that if you just try to come to church, you will gain such a better understanding of this gospel and this church. And you will feel better about your decision to be baptized and the more you read, pray, and go to church, you will feel happier in your life. And so we committed her to church, and she was like, yes sister. And then she came and I cried! Such a miracle!

So our Thanksgiving meal was kinda pathetic not gonna lie! We bought one day old chicken (pretty nasty), old bread, I was able to make mashed potatoes, and we made gravy that was the consistensy of water! Also for dessert we had steamed squash on graham cracker crust! hahahah that was our thanksgiving dinner! It wasn’t that bad but definitely not like home. But it was great because we all went around the table and said three things we are grateful for. I’m so grateful for all my family, who writes to me, prays for me, and supports me being out here. I’m grateful for the gospel in my life, and through the Atonement of Jesus Christ, I can become better each day, and also I’m grateful for the opportunity to be on this mission. I am grateful to be able to show my thanks for God and everything he's blessed me with. Love you all. Have a good week.

Sister Dunn