Hi Everyone!
Oh my goodness what a week it has been!! I love training soooooo much!
My new sister missionary is Sister Brinkerhoff. She is from Missouri.
She is the sweetest thing! She is very quiet, and doesn't say
much. But when she does speak, it is powerful. I love training her!
She is definitely obedient which I am so grateful for! On the first
day, she was very very shy. She also looked pretty nervous. I say that
because half the people we saw the first day asked if Sister
Brinkerhoff was ok. I think they could tell that she looked nervous,
haha! I remember those few moments of anxiety the first day! It brings
back fond memories:)
So on Tuesday we had a trainer, trainee meeting.
Then we all went to lunch. So Sister Sayer, Sister Condie, and Hermana
Kerr are training! It was such a relief knowing that I knew some
sisters that were training with me! It brings me a lot of comfort. We
drove 3 hours just to get there from Silver City! We are really on the
outskirts of our mission!! So, rewind to a couple days ago when
I was preparing to train. Our dinner canceled on the day that the new
sister would come into the area. So I called a bunch of families in
the ward and asked them if they could provide a meal for us.
Thankfully, a family offered to feed us! And then I set 2 appointments
after that! The first day went great! I was totally not expecting
that, because the last time I trained, the day didn't go as planned:)
So it surprised me! We had dinner with the Jenkins family, and
then we went to the Porter's (Stake President), and taught the
Restoration. It was a great experience! The Spirit was so strong! Then
we visited a returning member, Sister Post. She was so sweet to Sister
Brinkerhoff. Sister Brinkerhoff is 4'11" and so Sister Post just
treated her like she was her own child. It was so sweet:)
On Wednesday, we had an awesome district meeting! We talked about
adjusting to missionary life, and setting goals as a companionship to
help each other transition. It was really good! Then we had a great
lesson with Avery. We were talking about service, and teaching and
learning, and Avery made a comment about something that he learned in
primary. He talked about how testimonies are like pieces of string. If
you have only one string, you can break it easily, and that represents
a weak testimony. But if you have a lot of pieces of string tied
together, it's harder to break. That is a strong testimony. It was so
cool to see his face light up about something that he learned in
primary. It was a great lesson! For dinner we went to Bishop Roth's
home. We helped them grease the horse stall railings. It was a fun
job! Then we had waffles for dinner! It was so good!
On Thursday we had a lesson with Asia. Oh my goodness, I have never
seen someone that happy! Literally, by the end of the lesson, my cheeks
hurt from smiling so much! She brings so much joy into the world, it is amazing!
We talked to her about family history, and told her about the family
history center. She was so excited to find out that she could find
family names and take them to the temple!
We also had a lesson with David. We talked about the Atonement, and
asked him questions about it, and how it has helped him in his life.
It was a powerful lesson. Sister Brinkerhoff, in the middle of the
discussion talked about the scripture in John 15:13. It says, "Greater
love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his
friends." David made a comment about that scripture, and how in the
military they would always refer to that scripture. He told us that he
never thought of the scripture as a verse that applied to the
Atonement. So it was really cool to see, that he learned something new
that made an impact on him. For dinner that night we went to the
Meija's for dinner. Oh my goodness I love that family! Brother Mejia
is a goofball! He went to the Philippines on his mission, and I asked
him all about it! He said that during his mission, his mom sent
him some crocs. This was the first time that they had come out with
crocs, and so when he got the package that had only one shoe in it, he
said, "What the heck?" Then a month and a half later he got the other
shoe. So apparently in the Philippines, if you send a pair of shoes
in the mail, the people will steal them, no matter the size. He also
told us that hot dogs in the Phiippines are nasty, and that he would
rather eat balut or bat than eat that. Haha! Oh my word, I was
hysterically laughing!!! :)
On Saturday we went and saw Sister Scott. She wasn't doing so well,
so we called the elders before the appointment to have them come over
and give her a blessing. Wow, was that experience draining. She felt better
after the blessing, but she was very anxious. I talked to her, and encouraged
her and tried to be as positive as I could. It is hard to teach someone that has
a mental illness. But, there is a joy that comes from helping them and
encouraging them. In a way I felt like I could relate a little bit to
how Sister Scott was feeling. She would say something that was
negative about herself, and I would immediately tell her that that
thought wasn't from God, and that she should choose to be happy. It
was definitely an interesting experience.
On Sunday, we had a wonderful Sabbath! There were so many great people
from 3rd Ward that bore their testimony. The Spirit was definitely there. After church,
we did some studies, and then met with a member of the YSA to go see
an investigator. When we went to his home, he was there, so we decided
to see a less active that we had met briefly only once. He was home!
We had a great discussion with him! He was very honest and
straightforward about what he was struggling with. He told us that he
has a hard time obeying the Word of Wisdom. He also talked about how
he hasn't come to church in a while. It was weird, because during the
lesson he told us that he wasn't ready to make the change. But then
towards the end, he asked, "So what do I need to do to be able to go
to the temple?" Yay!!! There is hope for this man!
I am so grateful to be a missionary and share my testimony with
everyone! I know that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints
is true! I hope you all have a Happy 4th of July! I love you all!! :)
Sincerely,
Sister Dunn
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