Lindsay - January 18, 2016

Selfies before going to the Food Bank!

Hello Everyone! I hope you all had a fantastic week! This week flew by, but it has been great! On Wednesday, we went to an amazing zone meeting! The STL's ( Sister Moe-Tufaga and Sister Brown), gave a great training on our area books on our Ipads!! Many missionaries have had technical difficulties and other things come up that complicates the
whole process of inputting information. So it’s a great learning experience! The elders gave an amazing training about the Holy Ghost, and how the Spirit helps others convert to the gospel. They invited us to go into the chapel, and they gave us a few scriptures to look up in Preach My Gospel, and then just let us ponder about the things we learned. It was a very spiritual experience for all of us. 

Then we saw an older lady named Jane who is a less active in one of our wards. She has cancer, and so it has been hard for her to come to church. She reminds me so much of Grandma Dunn. I know that they must have been great friends before this life. Jane has had a lot of health problems, but she has so much faith. When I told her that she reminded of my grandma, she smiled and when I told her that her name was Jane, she smiled even more. I felt the spirit so strongly in that lesson. Those that are older have such a sweet spirit. They are so close to the Lord, and I can always feel the presence of God and His angels around us. 

We also went to see Floyd with the Reynolds again. He was a bit more negative this time. Since he has faced so many challenges in his life, I think he has become more stubborn and bitter. It is really sad. But he tries to make it to church each week, and he enjoys it when we come visit. I hope and pray that his heart will be softened and that he will just
give his burdens to the Lord.

On Thursday we went to visit Frank and Chelsea. We read the Introduction to the Book of Mormon with them. Frank is a recent convert, and Chels is an investigator, and they are both trying to quit smoking. Chelsea has so much potential, and when we ask her questions, she ponders on her answer. But then Frank interrupts her when she is about to say something or when she is saying something. We wish that we could have a lesson just with Chelsea. But they never leave the house, and they both are always there. So it is a
little tricky. The Lord will provide though! Later that night, we went to the Whitmer home. The dad is a less active, and the mom is an investigator. The Reynolds went with us and were really bold about their purpose. They straight up said to the father that they were there to reactivate the prospective elders, and they wanted to eventually help their whole family make it to the temple. Internally, I was kind of in panic mode, just because it was really really bold!! But then I thought, "If we are too scared to offend them, then we won't be able to help them!" I feel like if we are bold in a loving way, they will eventually be reactivated! So that was an amazing
experience!!

On Friday, we weekly planned and taught a recent convert named Thomas. He has so much faith! He doesn't doubt, and he accepts everything that we talk about! Especially when we ask him questions, his answers are so simple and pure! He is truly a wonderful member of the church! Sister Sayer and I think he will be a bishop later on:)

On Saturday, we visited an older lady named Gale who is planning to get a pace maker in a couple of weeks. Her movements are slow because of her heart, and so her health is declining. But she is taking this challenge like a champ! She doesn't let anything get in her way of pressing forward! We also visited John too! His last name is actually
spelled McClean. I made a typo last week:) He didn't look healthy though. He was coughing a lot, and his thoughts were really sporadic.  He usually isn't like that so we are really concerned about him. But the Lord will help him! I know it. Later that day, we met with a boy named Jason. He has ADD, so he gets really distracted. We taught him the gospel of Jesus Christ using a tea bag as an object lesson and he
listened really well. The mother also has a son who is autistic, and so it was really sweet to teach these boys about the gospel. On Sunday we went to church all day, and had chicken and dumplings with the Elmer family. Food is just so good. :) We then met with Sasha who is an exchange student from  Denmark, living with the Dowdeneys. She goes to seminary, and she comes to church every Sunday! She has
made many friends at church and has agreed to take the missionary lessons! She is so sweet, and she speaks English so well!! She also loves soccer, and enjoys being here in America. She is the nicest person! We taught her about Heavenly Father and prayer, and how she can develop a relationship with Him. One of her friends at church came
to the lesson, and she helped Sasha a lot during the lesson.

Afterwards, we went to go teach Devan at the Hargis's. Brother Alder, who works with Devan also came, and he contributed wonderfully to the discussion! We taught him the Plan of Salvation and we had an amazing lesson about it. The spirit was so strong, and I know that we all gained a new perspective and understanding about the Plan of Salvation
from that lesson. I love this gospel, and I know that it is true. I have learned so much more about the gospel, and how I can improve. God is real, and he is close to each of us.

I love you all! Stay warm all of you that are in Idaho!

Sincerely,
Sister Dunn