Chelsea - December 5, 2016

Paying the water bill at the municipio! It rained hard this week!

Favorite fam! Alma, Darwin and Angel! 

Tin tin and Benjimer! Tin tin is getting baptized dec 24!

Hi po!

Man, this week has been a week of a lot of mixed emotions! I would definitely say bittersweet. I'm so excited to see all of you and to be home but man, it's gonna be hard to leave the people here and this beautiful land!! 

So on Tuesday, we were able to work all day! We taught Bro. Rodward and he is doing awesome! We asked him about church and what he thought, and he said that when he walked in and when we were all singing, he said it sounded like angels. He's so astig!! We are definitely excited for his baptism on december 24!

On Wednesday, we went on splits with the STL's in Tugue. Sister atutubo and I were with sister martinez and sister fielding was with sister songcuan haha so it wasn't even like a split! But it was still good! We found a new investigator just because I was american. He totally let us in because he saw me and we were able to teach him about the restoration and he definitely has some potential!

On Thursday, we went to Sister Esther's house out in Roma and helped make her a floor for her kid's house! We just got some bamboo and tied it really fancy and there you have it! After that we had to go to Tugue for our zone meeting. 

On Friday and Saturday, we were able to go and teach and also we had practice for the choir. I was playing the piano and so we went to the practice on Friday and then performed on Saturday night. It was definitely interesting. Haha I'm going to miss these filipino choirs!

On Sunday, we were able to go teach Brother Darwin as well as sister tin tin, Joanna and Raviyah. Man, saying goodbye to sister alma and darwin and angel was sooo hard. Haha we were both about to cry and so we were like ok we're heading out love you all! Definitely soo sad but I'm so grateful for the chance I got to be assigned in enrile and have gotten to know these wonderful people!  I definitely will not forget them.

It turns out that both me and sister atutubo are getting transferred. Sister atutubo has been here way long and so he just pulled us out, but he will put 2 more sisters in because our area is really progressing and they will have at least 4 baptisms this cycle. So it's kinda sweet that we get to leave together! Definitely been pretty emotional.

Tomorrow, I head to Cauayan and then on Wednesday I head to Manila and then on Thursday I head out to America. Haha I really don't know what to think.  It hasn't quite hit me yet. But I have just been overwhelmed with gratitude for the opportunity I have had to serve the Lord out here and to spread His gospel. It has been an amazing 18 months of hard work, tears, blood, sweat, sickness, as well as tears of joy, blessings, and miracles. Every single second has been so worth it and has been so fulfilling as I've been an instrument in God's hands to help his children feel of his love and know of His plan. I know that the church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is the true church upon the face of this earth and through Joseph Smith, it was restored for our day. I know the Book of Mormon is true and that as we continue to feast on its words every day, we will receive answers to our questions and our faith will continue to grow. I know that God lives and I have seen and felt that every day here in the mission. I know that He loves his children and that as we come unto Him and Jesus Christ, they will help us in ways that we can never imagine. I know that Jesus Christ is my savior. I have come to know him so much more here in the mission as I have spread his word and gospel and as I have felt the power of the Atonement in my life. I know that through His Atonement, all things are possible. We can change, and our weaknesses can become strengths. I love this work and I know it's the most important thing we can be doing to help prepare God's children for the second coming. I have loved being a missionary for this church and it has changed me in so many ways. #fullofgratitude! I love you all so much and I'll see you this week :) 

Sister Dunn

Holli - December 5, 2016

Sister Gasperelli - first time at church in like a few months - Whoo!

Maria, Jose, Bro. Carter and us at the visitor's center

Sister Olsen and I in Claremont!

Hello Everyone!!

We had a pretty epic week this week though we do need your prayers for

Maria and her family!! Maria did not come to church yesterday so we

had to push her date back a little bit. She just needs a lot of

support and doesn't have much so lots of prayers for Maria!

Maria didn't come to church but Steven did! He just randomly showed up

and was able to come to most of church. He had met with missionaries

for a bit in Santa Monica and had been to the Temple Visitor's Center

and loved it. He is pretty hesitant when we bring up baptism but he is

really curious about the church and wants to learn more. It was kind

of a miracle to meet Steven, although we don't think he lives in our

mission. But he wants to attend our ward .   . Kind of strange :) but

we'll take it!

We went to the LA Temple visitor's center with Maria and her younger

brother Jose on Saturday. It was a beautiful morning and they really

enjoyed the tour. The Carters took us up and were great members to

have there. Super special visit.

Oh my gosh so best thing ever. We did exchanges this week with the

Claremont sisters (claremont was my first area) so I got to go back

and serve there for a day with Sister Olsen. It was so cool! And I

don't know if any of you remember Brandy but she was our little

miracle in Claremont. She got baptized in October and is still going

strong. Anyway, we got to see her and that was so much fun!

We also had the opportunity to volunteer at the annual Covina

Christmas Parade. That was so much fun as well! We got to put on

bright orange vests and keep the crowds under control and hand out

programs and try to share the gospel :) It was a blast and it didn't

get super cold luckily. The last float was Santa so that was fun. So

much fun to see the entire community out celebrating the Christmas

season. Haha, only one church made a float but it was pretty sweet -

on the side of the float it said "He is the reason for the season!"

:)

So we had a mini exchange with Glendora this week so I got to serve in

Glendora for a few hours. Last time I was in Glendora we had contacted

this guy named Ulysses late one night, after we had just been bashed

pretty bad by this one guy, and so we shared a bit of what we believed

and asked if we could come back because he told us he wasn't feeling

too good. Ulysses said yes and I guess the sisters kept going back and

his baptismal date is for December 17th so prayers for Ulysses!! He's

looking pretty solid.

That's about it for the week here in Azusa! This will be the last letter

I send home. I just want to bear my testimony that I know this church

is the church of Jesus Christ. I am so grateful for the opportunity I

have had to serve Him in this part of his vineyard. I am so grateful

for the restored gospel, and for a prophet who directs us away from

things that could harm us in the last days. I am so grateful to be a

part of this work. I am so excited to see you all next week and hope

you all have a wonderful week to come!

Love, Sister Dunn

Lindsay - December 5, 2016

Best District Photo Ever!!!

This week was literally crazy!! Oh my goodness so many things happened! 

On Tuesday, I went on an exchange with Sister Packer. We had such a great day together! We contacted a former investigator and she was really nice! She let us right in. We began to talk to her about our purpose, and how we help them to strengthen their faith. As we spoke with her, she explained that she doesn't have a strong religious background, but she has a faith in God and Jesus Christ. The next time we come and teach her, we will be discussing prayer. She hasn't prayed much in her life, so we are going to work on that! We are really excited to teach her! 

That night we visited the Wrights again. Sister Crockett from the ward came with us, and we taught them the Restoration. We were teaching the first two points and we didn't get too far. They had some concerns about their own families, and we were trying so hard to address those concerns. And then the wife got a phone call from her son who was in a bad situation, and so it turned into "Not a good time" situation. So we left. It was really sad, but I know how much the gospel can bless our families, even if they aren't perfect!! 

On Wednesday we had an amazing district choice meeting. Elder Hansen chose a topic to give a training on. We had a training about light the world, and how we can share that message with others. Then he brought up a topic that the St. David sisters were struggling with. We talked about the Holy Ghost, and how we can help others to identify it, and to act on the feelings that they receive. It was a really good district meeting. In the evening we visited the Sparkman's and finally oh my goodness finally set a day to go to the temple with them! 

On Thursday, I went with Sister Steele for exchanges in St. David. It was the first of December, and the first day of service. We literally served all day! In the morning after studies, the relief society of San Pedro ward were making General Conference countdown quotes for each day of the month until conference in April. It was a lot of tedious work, and they definitely needed a lot of help. So it felt good to lift their burdens at least a little bit. Another lady in the ward called us and said that the priests in the ward made christmas cookies for all the widows in the ward. They couldn't deliver them all on Mutual night, so we dropped by to get the cookies and deliver them! 8 plates of cookies!! Wow! Then we tried some less actives before dinner. We had dinner, and then headed off to help a family from the St. David ward move into the Patton ward!! And we helped her unpack boxes filled with dishes, containers etc. We helped them until the end of our exchange!! It felt so good to serve others all day! And we were able to share the light of the world video to a lot of individuals that day. 

On Friday we headed up to Tucson for my last Mission Leadership Council. Wow, what a meeting! We talked about having effective practices when we prepare for our lessons throughout the day. We had such a great time! President and Sister Passey got emotional as they thanked all the leaders who are going home in a week or two. I held it together! Whew!! It hasn't hit me yet that I am going home! Anyways, after MLC we met with our investigators Teresa and Angel. We read the Book of Mormon with them, and I know that they felt the Spirit. It was really good for us to have that discussion. 

On Saturday we met with Teresa and Angel again and we taught the Law of Tithing and Fasting. Sister Fry came with us which was a great help! Later in the day we headed up to the Gila Valley to go with the Johnsons to the temple. Unfortunately, we thought it would only take an hour to get to the temple. We were wrong, and were 6 minutes late to the session. We were so disappointed, but Sister Beach helped me realize, the past is in the past and we need to make the best of the situation. So we did some initiatories and went into the celestial room. The Johnsons saw us and were so relieved to see us. We apologized about a thousand times, but they were so understanding. I am so grateful for the peace that the temple brings. I can't even explain it! I was overwhelmed by the peace and comfort of the Spirit. Especially when I was praying. It was such a wonderful experience. 

On Sunday, Teresa and Angel had their baptismal interviews and they passed! Everyone, please pray for them because their baptism is this Saturday!! I love you all, and I am so grateful to be a missionary!! I love you Chels! I hope you adjust well back at home!! 

Sincerely,

Sister Dunn

Holli - November 28, 2016

Exchanges with Hermana Beur!

Love my birthday brownie in a mug Mom!

Hello Everyone!!

Sounds like you all had a wonderful thanksgiving week :) We had a

pretty awesome week as well!

On Thanksgiving we had our district meeting and our District leader

gave us each a penny, told us to look on the penny for the year it was

made, and then tell the district something we were grateful for that

year. I got back in 2010 and I have troubles remembering what happened

yesterday, but we all shared experiences and things we were

grateful for and it was a very spiritual meeting!

We were also able to find a place to do service - we just walked into

this convalescent home and asked if we could do service and they let

us play the piano and sing for a few of the residents. It was way fun!

We had dinner at the Boices' home (she is the ward missionary who sent

you the pic.) and they are like the coolest family ever. We had soo

much fun and learned a new game which I'll have to teach you when I

get back.

That morning the ward had a field day where they played ultimate

frisbee and stuff and one of our investigators came so that was pretty

awesome! That same day the hermanas had found this really sweet lady

named Gina and had asked if she would like to meet with us and so we

had an appointment with her at starbucks but she never showed up! So

we bought some hot chocolate and while we were waiting were able to

talk to Manny who knows a little bit about the church but is going

through a rough patch. It was really cool to talk to him.

Haha so yesterday morning as we were preparing for church, Hermana

Shaw (one of the spanish hermanas we live with) had cut her hand on a

razor the night before and it wouldn't stop bleeding so she had stuck

a cotton ball in there to staunch the flow of blood, wrapped it in

gauze and then it was time for bed. She wakes up and takes the gauze

off only to find that the cotton ball is stuck in the wound and won't

come out. Their ward started at 9 and we had our ward council soon so

we made an emergency decision and I went with Sister Coulsen to the

spanish ward while Sister Barney and Sister Shaw made a trip to urgent

care to get her wound fixed. So I spent the morning in spanish work

which was a blast and then we had to teach gospel principles so we did

that and near the end of church Sister Barney and Sister Shaw show up

with her hand all wrapped up and doing well.

So hectic! And like everyone was sick this week so not many people

were at church unfortunately! Super sad :( But we are working hard and

loving the work!

I went on two exchanges this week, both to spanish speaking areas so

that was fun! I was with Hermana Wilde one day and they had a gas leak

in their oven that caused them both to get pretty sick so while we

were on exchanges some elders came in to fix that problem. The second

exchange was with Hermana Beur and we were on bikes which was super

fun. The not so fun part was that it started pouring super hard and

Hermana Beur did not have a jacket! 

So we got soaked but had a fun day altogether! We saw lots of

miracles. We tried to find a potential but she wasn't home and her

next door neighbor invites us in out of the rain and we were able to

teach the Restoration to him and his step daughters. Cool thing was

that he remembers being taught by missionaries in Mexico a long time

ago. 

That's about it from here in Azusa!  Love you all so much! Have

a great week :)

Love, Sister Dunn

Lindsay - November 28, 2016

Hello everyone and Happy Thanksgiving! 

My heart melted when I saw the Thanksgiving pictures Mom! Thank you for sending them to me! I am so grateful that my family is happy, and that I am happy serving the Lord on a mission! Oh my goodness McCauley family, your new puppy Finn is adorable! I can't wait to meet him! 

So this week was amazing! On Monday we had dinner with the Trejo's and they are amazing missionaries! They referred us to go see some less active members in the ward, so that was definitely helpful!

On Wednesday we helped at the Food Bank, and I felt so good to serve those individuals! Every 20th car that came in to get food got a turkey. So that was awesome! We also had a lesson with Teresa and Mina. We taught them the Law of Chastity. We weren't sure about where to go with it, mainly because Mina is 10. But it worked out, and a member came with us that was able to help Mina understand the principle more simply. We emphasized a lot about keeping our thoughts, words and actions clean. It was a good lesson.

On Thursday we had a really busy day which was good! We actually had district meeting on Thanksgiving which was really fun. Our district leader Elder Hansen, talked about the Christmas initiative, and we were able to have a discussion on how we can help our members to know about it and share it! Oh my goodness if you haven't done it already, please watch the Light the World video! It is on lds.org and I absolutely LOVE it! I love light, and I love sharing my light so please share your light by serving others!!

For Thanksgiving we made cookies and cards for our investigators and less actives and we went and visited them! We had a Thanksgiving meal at 2, and the mashed potatoes and gravy that they provided tasted just like yours mother! A piece of heaven in my Thanksgiving meal! I definitely missed your crescent rolls and making stuffing with you!!! :) We had another Thanksgiving meal at 3:30, so the Lord definitely expanded our stomachs! Sister Beach and I shared this huge piece of cheesecake, and we thought we weren't going to make it! But we were able to finish it! :D We also visited a less active member in the Patton ward who was caregiving for another less active member, so we shared a message with her and brought her cookies. It was such a wonderful and blessed Thanksgiving! It was a blessing to be able to be a missionary on that day!

On Friday we taught 2 kids named Bailey and Jasper who are taking the missionary lessons. We read the Book of Mormon with them because they haven't been consistent in their prayers and scripture study. We read 1st Nephi 4, and showed them the pictures so they could understand the story. We also visited Brother Fenn. Sister Spann came with us again, and it was so good to have her there. We talked about baptism and confirmation, and the importance of the ordinances. We had a really good discussion about it, and invited him to read a chapter in the Book of Mormon in preparation for the next lesson. His stories are amazing, and he always talks about his dad and how he was the first missionary from Pomerene, Arizona to go and serve the Lord.

On Saturday, we had another lesson with Teresa and Mina. We went over the baptismal interview questions just to make sure everything was ok. In our lessons lately Mina has had a hard time expressing her thoughts and feelings. Every time we ask her a question she will say, "I don't know!" So it has been really hard to help her open up to us! But Teresa helps a lot, and the Bishop from Patton ward came with us, so he definitely helped Mina also. After Teresa and Mina's lesson we went and saw a less active family in Patton ward. They are amazing despite the fact that they won't come to church! The husband literally said to us, "I am spiritually lazy!" The wife just likes where she is at. She has a lot of questions, and sometimes they turn into doubts. She is afraid that if she reads the Book of Mormon that she will become doubtful. She also has a lot of health problems, so that makes it tough. But they do have faith! And a seed of faith is enough to get moving!! Faith always leads us to act! As long as we choose to act!

On Sunday, Sister Beach and I had a wonderful day! In the morning, I went to Pomerene ward sacrament, and Sister Beach went to Patton ward council. Oh my goondess the sacrament meeting in Pomerene was amazing! Bishop Thomas' son Lofton gave his farewell talk. He is leaving for his mission to Mexico City. How awesome is that!! Bishop Thomas is a very blunt and serious person. But he cried the whole time during Lofton's talk. Lofton talked about what makes a good leader, and he explained the whole story of Ammon. Then he said that a good leader is someone who reaches out to the lost sheep and brings them back. He told us a story of a church leader who would call the individual and his parents, if he didn't show up to church. The leader would specifically plan activities especially for that less active, and invite him. Then he said something that was pretty blunt and amazing! He said, "Teachers and Leaders, quit slacking. The kids that you teach can tell when you have skimmed through the lesson on Sunday morning. Be an example to those you teach." Wow, I definitely felt a wave of  spiritual chastening. The chapel was pretty silent when he stated that! I just wanted to jump up and say "Amen!" It was amazing!

Also, a miracle happened later on Sunday night. We met again with Teresa and Mina.  Teresa is adopting Mina who has had a very rough upbringing.  So when we met with them, Mina participated so much!! Oh my goodness! She answered our questions, and asked questions! We were so surprised!!! And then after the lesson, Teresa hugged her daughter, and Mina said, "I know I haven't told you this, but I love you." It was such a sweet and tender moment! Teresa started crying, and we almost started crying, it was great! The Spirit has truly softened them. Earlier in the day, we were stressing out because we thought that Mina wasn't ready for baptism because she didn't respond a lot in lessons. But now we have a better understanding of how the Spirit can change others hearts! What a blessing! I love you all and I am so grateful for this opportunity to be a missionary!

Sincerely,

Sister Dunn 

Chelsea - November 28, 2016

So this week has been pretty interesting! I'll start with the positive! haha. So we've had this investigator ever since august and he's been kind of progressing but has never gone to church yet. This week we taught him and he had read Alma 40-43 and he was like sister, when I was reading this, the words just popped out at me and I just felt something different! He loved reading about the resurrection! We then taught him about resurrection, judgement and the three kingdoms. After we were done teaching he said that he finally realized our purpose as missionaries is to help all God's children know the gospel so they can all return back to Him as a family. We were so amazed! Never has any investigator said that before! And guess what, he came to church yesterday for the first time and he's so excited for his baptism on December 24!! 

Bro Ventura finally committed to a date people! It's a miracle! We were just straight up bold with him and he finally accepted and now he will be baptized on Dec 17! 

On Saturday we got to see Raviyah's baptism! Man it took a lot of work to get her to this point but we were so happy to see her make this covenant with the Lord and we hope she will continue learning and growing in the gospel!! Tatay Johnny baptized her and confirmed her and he did a great job!! It was his first time confirming someone! :)

Haha funniest thing ever. We were walking down the street in our area one day and this guy comes out like four doors down with this huge knife and is screaming his head off and points it at a bunch of these kids. Obviously he was drunk so I was like ok, let's slowly turn around so we don't get killed and walk the other way, and then sister atutubo just books it and runs for her life and I was like way to make it obvious!! haha so the guy totally turns around and looks at us and I thought oh my gosh we're gonna get killed!! Luckily someone came out and controlled him! Funniest thing ever! 

A sad thing happened, a girl in our district, Sister Golong, had to go to manila yesterday. She spilled boiling water over her lower abdomen and it was a third degree burn... she was in my batch going home so her mission is now over. We went and visited her and man!! it's a blessing though that she only had about 2 weeks left in her mission though. The other thing that happened this week...we were walking in our area on a Thursday night and we were on this really dark street and we hear this motorcycle coming and I look back and he didn't have a headlight and so I take the flashlight and shine it around me and sister atutubo so he knows we are there. I had a feeling I should move over, so I got to the edge of the street and Sister Atutubo started to do the same but it was too late because the motorcycle totally hit her. Yes, I freaked out. The guy totally crashed his motor too and I thought he was dead and I was like oh my gosh!! Sister atutubo was ok, her arm, back, and leg got hit pretty bad though. The guy totally got up right after, got on his motor, and rode away! He probably didn't have a license or something and didn't want to get caught. So I took sister Atutubo to the hospital, thank goodness she didn't have a broken bone! But she was bruised up so bad and she could barely walk. We weren't able to work on Friday or Saturday at all. :( but she's doing better! 

As for me haha so monday through friday I was having a ton of diarrhea, high fever, didn't want to eat at all, sore body, etc. and so I texted sister hiatt and she just said it was the flu and so I just tried to work it off but man it got bad. Then Sister fielding got it on Tuesday and Sister caduada on Wednesday. Haha we would literally fight over the bathroom in the morning because we were all dying. The nights were literally the worst and we all wanted to die. So finally on friday, the hiatts come to our apartment to check on sister atutubo and we were like sister hiatt, this is not the flu. So me, sis fielding and sis caduada all go to the hospital and have to take a blood and poop test! hahaha there are definitely some funny stories there. Definitely bonded with those girls! They found out that we have amoeba!!! We were like... great. The doctor gave us an option if we wanted to be confined in the hospital or just take all this medicine and we chose the medicine. We were just so dehydrated. So after a day of taking the medicine, sister fielding throws up. And then the next night I throw up. And then at church sister caduada threw up, but it was worse for her because literally she couldn't stop throwing up and so they rushed her to the hospital yesterday and it turns out she has a stomach infection! sister fielding and I are slowly recovering. Still experiencing some stomach issues and I can barely eat anything without getting full. haha but we are doing better! Anyways that's the story! Love you all! So excited for this next week of serving the Lord and doing my best to share his gospel! Hopefully no sicknesses! 

Love,

Sister Dunn

Holli - November 21, 2016

Hello Everyone!

We had a great week here in Azusa!

One day we had stopped by to visit a less active but she was not home

and as we were leaving we met Jericha. She and her daughter Jacey had

moved from Florida last year to just get a new start and we introduced

them to the Book of Mormon. As we talked about the Savior Jericha

started to open up a bit. She had grown up baptist but hadn't been for

a while and was grateful for the Book of Mormon. She had never

researched our religion so she was excited to start. It was a mini

miracle for sure.

One night we went over to our investigator Nichole's home. She and her

family have been under a lot of stress and we asked her husband Craig

if he would like a priesthood blessing. He has been undergoing a lot

of back problems. He agreed so two members of our ward came over and

gave Craig, Nichole, and their little baby Roslyn a blessing. There

were like five kids in that small apartment at the same time and they

were pretty rambunctious but despite the distractions the Spirit was

very strong.

I had a wonderful birthday! Our zone did a blitz in the morning in one

of the elders' areas and we had lunch after. The ward bought pizza and

then the zone surprised me by having a beautiful sign, balloons and

about fifty cupcakes. They sang happy birthday twice - I did get a few

pics. - and it was way fun. We were on exchanges that day as well so

Sister Briscoe and I rocked it here in Azusa. It was a really fun day

:) Thank you all for your sweet birthday wishes!! So appreciated.

We had an exchange earlier in the week with another set of sisters

which was fun. We had a couple of amazing lessons and great miracles

happened! Haha, we were trying to search for a former investigator but

it ended up being a members home that we stumbled into and it was

ginormous and they were redoing their floors - to tile! So they gave

us a bit of a tour and we started to talk to the daughter and asked if

she knew anyone who would like to learn from the missionaries. She

told us about her friend, whose dad was a member but the mom was not

and she had wanted to give her friend a Book of Mormon. So we pulled

one out and slapped it on the counter and challenged her to give it to

her friend... when her phone rings. She looks and it's her friend, face

timing her! Haha so she answers and is like, "Guess who I'm with right

now? And I have a present for you!" So cute! Her friend answered "I've

been wondering when I was going to get one of those. I've been waiting

for ever!" So cool!

On Wednesday we volunteered at the library and before we go in we meet

Richard, who we found out was baptized a while back, had moved, and

had fallen away from the church. Luckily he is still in our area so we

get to keep tabs on him! And then we stumbled into Charles, who I

taught back in Glendale. He is the father of a less active member

(Jocelyn) and was trying to find some extra help for Jocelyn in her

schooling. So it was great to see him again. And then we were stopped

by an inactive member who gave us a referral for this man that had

cancer and was going through a really hard time. So cool!!!

We had this beautiful Christmas fireside last night. It was way fun!

About half the ward showed up and one of our investigators. I got the

chance to play for the Young Women and a sister in the ward who sang

songs about the Savior. It was so fun working with the YW again.

Love you all so much for all of the sweet birthday notes. Mom, thank

you so much for my package! Haha, I just got it today but it is

amazing! Especially the mug - Sister Barney and I were going google -

eyed over it - it is sooooo cool!! And thank you for the sweet note,

the ensign, and all of the little sweets. Love you mom! Don't think

there is a way I could ever repay you and dad for the many gifts you

given me over the years.

Hope you all have a wonderful week!!

Love, Sister Dunn

Lindsay - November 21, 2016

Happy Thanksgiving!!! 

This week was amazing! Sister Beach and I had some amazing experiences!! On Tuesday we had a great lesson with the Wrights! We talked about a testimony, what it is, and how we can develop it. We tried to ask inspired questions, and it really helped us to discern their needs. For weeks, whenever we would plan for them, our minds were blank! We had no idea what to teach them. So before their lesson, we were thinking about what we could teach them. And then a thought popped into my head, to ask God what he wants us to teach them and I got the impression to teach them about testimonies. And now we know that they want to strengthen them, but they just need to make the choice to do so! 

On Wednesday, we had an amazing lesson with Theresa and Mina. They are doing so well! We taught them about the gospel of Jesus Christ, and the member that came with us, really helped Mina to understand the gospel simply. It was awesome! 

On Thursday, we were going over to see Sister Judd who is preparing to go to the temple. When we got there, some of her family was there, and they were setting up a nativity. Every year for the past 18 years, the Barney family have brought life size mannequins and dressed them up for a nativity. I will have to send you a picture it is amazing! So we ironed some clothes for them, and carried the mannequins outside to set them up. It was an unexpected opportunity to serve, but they told us they were so grateful for our help. 

We had interviews with President Passey right after. Now in the mission, President will be having interviews every transfer, and zone conferences every transfer (every 6 weeks). So that is really fun! 

On Friday we went to see Brother Fenn again. Sister Spann came with us, and she thoroughly enjoyed coming with us! Ok funny story. So I had been talking for most of the lesson, and I thought to myself, "Sister Beach, can you say something please?" Then Brother Fenn looked at Sister Beach and said, "Are you ok?" I looked at Sister Beach, and her eyes were closing, oh my goodness I laughed so hard! She had pretty much fallen asleep during the lesson! hahaha! She was so embarrassed, but I laugh because we all make mistakes! 

On Saturday (my birthday), we went on exchanges! We had a good day! We visited a returning member in the morning, and then we drove around and followed to Spirit to where we would knock on some doors. We drove by this lady doing yard work, and we stopped and said a prayer and asked if she needed help. She was such a sweet lady! She had met with missionaries before, and so many of her neighbors and friends were encouraging her to join their church, so I think she feels a lot of pressure. So we are definitely going to help her! We offered to help her with the yard work, and so we gave her our number, and she gave us her number. Heck yeah! The Spirit is amazing! 

Later in the day, we taught Theresa and Mina about the Word of Wisdom. Theresa hasn't quit smoking yet, but she wants to so badly! We also talked about prayer, scripture study, and the Sacrament, and how those things can help us to overcome anything. Sister Fry from the ward also came, and she gave a great analogy about the sacrament. She said our lives are like a swimming pool, and when we partake of the sacrament each week, we are cleaning our pools. But when we don't do those things, our pools become swampy and murky. It was so cool! And Mina definitely liked it! I am so grateful for the members of the Church! Their testimonies are simple, and powerful and I love them! 

We also helped the Wrights make tamales. Every year before Thanksgiving they make dozens and dozens of tamales! So they definitely appreciated our help. On Sunday, we had an amazing day! Sister Beach and I look forward to partaking of the Sacrament each week! It makes me feel so comforted and at peace. Later that night, one of our investigators dropped us. It was really sad. She is 13, and her parents aren't supportive about it, so she isn't super strong because of that lack of support. Definitely send prayers her way, and also for Theresa to quit smoking! 

I love you all, and hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving! I am so grateful for you and your love and support! I am so grateful to be a representative of Jesus Christ this holiday season! And I am thankful to be a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints!

Sincerely,

Sister Dunn

Chelsea - November 21, 2016

Birthday lunch! Job, Ako, Tatay Johnny and Raviyah! 

Isn't this gorgeous! Sister Atutubo and I were walking by this the other day
and this girl got proposed to on the top. It was so cute!

Hi po!

This week has been such an amazing one filled with so many miracles!! I think I talked about Lunabelle in my last letter. Well we ended up teaching her and her husband this week and it went really well. We asked them to pray to know if our message is true and so they prayed together and both felt like this was the truth and brother was way more interested in joining the church! And they came to church yesterday! Wooh!! People were so shocked cause its so rare to see a family come to church! We are so excited for their upcoming baptism on December 17th!

 Bro. Darwin is also doing great. So we taught him on Tuesday and he was smoking 4 cigarettes and we were like, try to get down to fewer this week. We came back on Thursday and he had only smoked 1 that day! We then challenged him to completely stop on Sunday so his baptism will continue. And he totally did and is doing great! What a miracle! He's also way more involved in the classes at church and really listens and we are just loving watching his progress! We are also teaching the sister of ricson, he just left for his mission. His sister and mom aren't yet mormon and so we are starting to teach them! The other sisters are teaching his mom and we are teaching tin tin, his sister. She is really awesome and she told us that God answered her prayer and she feels really good about this church! So her baptism will be on Dec 24! We also had 7 investigators come to church this week! It's so sad that I'll be leaving in 2 weeks and I won't be able to witness their baptisms but I'm so grateful to have been part of their journey coming closer unto Christ and the chance I got to get to know them and help them to accept the gospel :) 

We had 2 community service projects this week. One we washed dishes in the pouring rain haha and the other we cleaned up this members yard and it was also pouring rain and so we were basically just scooping up mud and leaves and putting it in a pile. haha fun! On that saturday, we had my birthday lunch at tatay Johnny's! He made me adobo which is pork and soy sauce, and pinakbet which is squash, egglplant, okra, and green beans! After that, Raviyah had her baptismal interview and she passed and so we are looking forward to her baptism this Saturday! 

Other moments of the week, I ate eel for the first time and it was actually pretty good! I mean it was kinda slimy but the taste was awesome! Also, our neighbors in front of us killed their dog and ate it this week. And what was unfortunate is that our study room is right in front of their house and so I had to watch them burn the dog! It was a horrifying moment.... anyways, that was my week! Love you all and I hope you all have an amazing Thanksgiving! 

Sister Dunn

Note from Chris.....Sorry for her sometimes raw and disturbing details.  I always think about editing some of it out.  I asked her if that family ate their dog because they had no other food.  She said, "No they just like dog." Hmmm....that didn't make me feel better :(

Holli - November 14, 2016

Sister Barney and I with roommates Sister Shaw and Sister Coulson

Marathon Service!

Hello Everyone!

We had a pretty cool week this week :)

We were walking to this dinner appointment and met Ariana who is super

cool. She is a young mom and her little baby's name is Noah :) haha

and it's a girl! We thought that was pretty unique. But she wants to

learn more so we're excited to start teaching her.

We did a lot of service this week! There was a big marathon here in

Azusa and we got to volunteer there for a bit. It was so fun to see

members from all over the US come to participate in the race as well

as everybody else. Haha, we got a lot of mixed emotions when we asked

how it went. Needless to say, many people were a little sore

yesterday!

We also were able to help this member (Kevin) clear out some things

for his parents who are not members. That was pretty exciting! And

super dusty - but we made it through!

We had a few of our investigators come to church today! It was so

great to see them come :) Maria and her mom Veronica came with Maria's

little daughter Mia :) and had a great time. We extended a date to

Veronica to get baptized and she accepted. They are both excited to

come next week as well. Such a great family :) Your prayers were

definitely felt this week, thank you!

We cover the Claremont sisters so I got to go back to my old area this

week and help them with a blitz! They are really struggling to find

but they have one person on date and are keeping positive!

That's about it from here in Azusa! Love you all so much - thank you

for your support (and birthday wishes haha)

Love, Sister Dunn

Chelsea - November 14, 2016

One of our members house totally was destroyed by the typhoon and this is the new house they are building. They are living in a tent meanwhile.

Joanna's Baptism

Alma, Alwina, Angel, and Darwin!! favorite fam :) 

Hi everyone :) 

So this week was great! We are back in Tugue and on Monday we spent the whole day cleaning our house because it was so gross! But it's back to normal and we are doing good! We are actually also in the process of finding another house in our main area so it's closer to the other sisters area! 

On Wednesday we had just gotten out of the hospital and into our area when the other sisters called. Sister Caduada had some kind of heart problem and the Hiatts were going to take her and Sister Kjar to Cauayan and they were going to leave Sister Fielding with us. And so we got to train her for a couple days! I was pumped because I had always wanted to train in english! haha it was great though. Sister Fielding is an awesome missionary and it was so fun to train her. I've definitely realized how much I've grown as a missionary! We talked about the spirit and teaching people according to their needs. 

On Friday, we had a return appointment with one of our investigators Lunabel and right when we started the lesson I felt like we should extend a baptism date and so we did! She totally accepted and it was so funny because she was like where do I go to get baptized? We feel like she is really going to start progressing! The only thing is, is that she's not married to her boyfriend and they have a child.... and her boyfriend is living somewhere else working, but we'll get there when we get there! 

Haha definitely had some funny moments with Sister Fielding. This is her first cycle in the Philippines and she studied spanish for 3 years like me in high school and so we were teaching the Temporal family about missionary work and she was the one to share the scripture verse and she was trying to say "work hard" in tagalog even though there's like no exact translation and she was like kailangan natin na trabaho mucho" haha me and sister atutubo looked at each other and were like mucho??? what is that??? hahaha turns out it was spanish! Also she was saying the prayer when we were going to Joanna's baptism and she said nagpapasalamat po kami sa oportunidad na ito na punta kami sa pagbabayad sala ni joana. hahaha which means we're grateful for the opportunity that we have to go to joanna's atonement hahahahaha. We were laughing so hard. She kept getting baptism and atonement mixed up and man we've laughed so hard! But she's great and will always just keep going despite the mistakes. 

Anyways, we had Joanna's baptism this week and that was just super fun to witness :) We asked her what she felt like when she was baptized and she said that she just feels like a new person. We are so happy for her and her family because all they need is the dad to get baptized and then they can be sealed! 

Also had an amazing lesson yesterday grabe!!! One of best moments of my mission seriously. So basically there's this family, the mom is Alma and the daughter is Angel and they are both recent converts. Her husband was supposed to get baptized but he couldn't stop smoking and basically he doesn't care about the church anymore. Whenever we taught him, he didn't really listen or care...so these past couple of weeks, I've just felt like we need to go back and teach brother darwin even though we know he's not that interested. When we went to church on sunday, he was there with his daughter! Sister Alma was gone because she just had a baby. The bishop then told us that he even came to church last week before we got here! We were so surprised! So after church, we went to visit Alma and her new baby Alwina and then we taught brother darwin. It was so cute because we were all sitting on the bed with the mosquito net over us and they were all together as a family and we reviewed the restoration and brother darwin remembered everything! We then extended the baptismal date of Dec 17 and he accepted and he said he was excited! We were just so shocked. The spirit was sooo strong in that lesson, and it was like brother darwin had totally changed and that the Lord was softening his heart! This has definitely been the effect of never ending prayers from alma and angel and the ward and I really think the Lord is pushing bro darwin and helping him. He's been chewing gum and eating candy so he won't have the urge to smoke so he can get baptized on Dec 17! Man, what a miracle! I know that God lives and that he's so aware of us and those we love and if we come to him with a willing heart, He will help us be the people we need to be! I know this church is true and I know that god loves us. Sorry  my grammar is so bad.... Love you all!  

Sister Dunn

Lindsay - November 14, 2016

This week was so fun and busy!! I LOVE being a missionary! 

On Tuesday, we had Zone Conferences. President and Sister Passey were there and so were the Assistants. Sister Beach and I gave a training on helping our investigators receive revelation through prayer. We were so nervous before the training, but all went well! The Zone Leaders gave a training on asking inspired questions, and it was definitely needed! This week has been so great, because we have been able to apply what we have learned in zone conferences! That very night, we had a lesson with a less active family, and they were watching the elections. They refused to turn off the television, and so it was really hard for us to share our message. But the Spirit directed us, and we were able to ask them inspired questions that helped us understand their struggles. We talked about consistently living the gospel, and how important it is to have family prayer and scripture study. This Sunday, they came to church! :) 

Later that night we had a lesson with the Sparkman's! Brother Sparkman finally talked to bishop, and he is getting his temple recommend renewed!! I am so excited for him! We talked about grace, mercy and the Atonement. It was such a powerful lesson, and we asked A LOT of inspired questions! Wow, I felt the Spirit so strongly in that lesson! My testimony of asking inspired questions has increased especially this week! When we ask inspired questions, we are striving to understand our investigators and what they are struggling with. When we listen, and then when we ask inspired questions, the Spirit can bear witness to them of the truth! 

On Wednesday we had an amazing day! We met with our investigator Vikki. Our ward mission leader came with us, and he was so awesome in the lesson. We talked about the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We taught faith and repentance, and then Brother Reynolds talked about baptism. It was such a great lesson because we got straight to the point, instead of beating around the bush. (which we do sometimes as missionaries:) But we figured out that she is afraid of being baptized because she doesn't want to cause a wedge between her, and her husband. But I am so grateful for the Spirit, that led us to discover what was keeping her from being baptized. 

After Vikki's lesson, we had a discussion with our investigator James. Well, technically he isn't our investigator, because he lives in Tucson. But he was in Pomerene for a few weeks, helping his Mom recover from surgery. But now he is in Tucson, so it is hard to meet with him! He is used to us teaching him, and he also suffers from anxiety, so it has been really hard to transition him over to the Tucson sisters. But it's ok! I know that Heavenly Father has a plan, and that if we work hard, He will bless us. The lesson we had with James lasted longer than we expected, and we were 15 minutes late to dinner. On top of that, we couldn't find the house! We kept turning around and going a different direction, but then we figured out that we were going the wrong way. Sister Beach got so frustrated that she just parked the car, and we started walking. We literally ended up walking a good mile to get to their home. It was really funny because it was dark outside, and Sister Beach was frustrated, but I started laughing because it was really funny. Then Sister Beach and I started running because we couldn't find the house, and it was sketchy outside in the dark, and then finally we reached their home, practically an hour late for dinner!! Ughhhhhh!!!! We apologized about a hundred times, but we got to share a message, and then Sister Mudge packed up some food for us. I LOVE that family! They were so understanding, and they drove us back to our car:) They were so nice! 

After that adventure, we met up for exchanges with the Wilcox sisters. Hermana Flores came with me, and Sister Beach went with Hermana Farias. I had an awesome exchange with Hermana Flores! She gave me some great advice about a less active that we were working with and I learned a lot from her. We did some service in the morning, and then saw a less active during the day. We had a good discussion with her about the gospel of Jesus Christ. Hermana Flores definitely has a strength of asking inspired questions.

We also met with our new investigators Theresa and Mina! Last Sunday, Theresa asked Bishop Dahl if he could give her a blessing to quit smoking! We hadn't even taught her the Word of Wisdom, and here she was asking for a blessing to quit smoking! Oh my goodness the Spirit is truly softening her heart and I know that Theresa will be blessed for her desires. At the end of the lesson, we invited them to be baptized on December 10th! They said yes!! Theresa got so excited that she jumped up and hugged us! She told us, "I feel really good about this!"  I am so grateful to be here, and to teach these wonderful people! 

On Friday, we met with Kairi, another of our investigators. She is 11, and she is scared to pray in front of people, but at the end of the lesson, she said a prayer! I was so happy!! We also met with a less active that is struggling with her faith. We talked about the importance of the Sacrament, and how it can help us to strengthen our faith in Jesus Christ. She came to church on Sunday, so I was very grateful that she made that commitment! On Sunday, we met with another investigator named Brittany. She is 13, and she loves the gospel! She isn't sure whether or not she wants to be baptized. Her parents aren't supportive, and so she is always unsure. But she has an amazing ward family, and I know that when she gets older, that she will be more confident in the decision to be baptized. We are going to keep teaching her though!  We had such a great week, and I am so grateful for the trainings that we received at zone conferences! When we go back to the basics, it really makes a difference to be simple and powerful in our teaching. I love you all, I love the gospel! I LOVE being a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints!! I hope you have a wonderful week everyone! 

Sincerely,

Sister Dunn

Chelsea - November 7, 2016

Zone Conference!

This is what happens when we go to the barbeque stand and we can't stop ourselves because it's so delicious! I got the recipe people so I will be making it when I get home! 

Beautiful Philippines!

Hello po sa lahat :) 

This week was another crazy one! But good news, we just got home! It feels sooo good to be back in Tugue!!! We are so excited to get started where we left off with our investigators and are so excited to work in the area! 

On Wednesday we had the opportunity to attend our zone conference with Elder and Sister Schmutz! Man, i received so much revelation during that meeting! The spirit was soo strong and I definitely feel the whole mission was uplifted. One of the major themes was repentance. President and Sister Hiatt spoke first and man, it was harsh but I really felt like the mission needed to hear it. They just pretty much called everyone to repentance and they were super blunt about it but it was great! I think all of us as missionaries all received revelation of the little things that we are doing that we need to stop or the things we can improve on. It was just a really great conference. I also really liked what Elder Schmutz said about striving. He said that usually when he asks missionaries how their obedience is, that they would always say, I'm striving president! Basically, he talked about how striving can really be used in a negative way, it pretty much means, I'm not really obedient, but I'm trying! He said, you made the covenant when you were baptized to be obedient to the commandments, when you became a missionary to follow the mission rules and when you entered the temple and covenanted to be obedient. We willingly made these covenants with God and we should follow them with exactness! Never say I'm striving, but always say yes, I'm exactly obedient! "Just do it!" I really loved that! He also talked a lot about the doctrine of Christ and what are the things that are important for an investigator to understand before they are baptized. Learned  a lot and ready to apply!

Sunday was really great! Last day in Diffun! It was fast and testimony meeting and Jessa my recent convert got up for the first time and it was like the sweetest thing! It's been so fun to have been able to see her growth, especially as she was able to bear her testimony. She's such a strong one. All of her sisters were baptized during the time of sister balaoing, but they never come with her. So she still goes by herself but she is strong! I just love that girl!

So ya that was the week! Haha have to leave with a funny story. So we were in relief society and I was sitting by this old lady named nanay namnama haha she's so cute. And the topic was about prayer and how we shouldn't keep saying father over and over again, and also the word sana, which means hopefully. She turned to me and was like, I can't stand when people do that! It drives me crazy! The funniest thing was that a certain sister was called to give the closing prayer and she kept saying ama (father) even though we just had the lesson hahahaa. Every time she said it, nanay namnam kept tapping her leg against mine haha. After the prayer she just looked at me and held up four fingers and was like she said it 4 times!! hahaha man I love the filipino people! 

That's about it for the week everyone. I love you all and I love the gospel! Mahal ko po kayo 

Sister Dunn