Spencer - March 13, 2017

Pics:
1. This is Thor!
2. I made an omelet for breakfast hahahah thanks Mom!!!

Hello everyone!!!

It's been a really fast week!! Even though there hasn't been really anything going on!! Lots of walking and biking and no success haha, it's okay though we'll get somewhere eventually! Anywayy so we helped this guy put his trash out and he's a baptist but he's been pretty open about other religions because he doesn't really go to that church much anymore so we've taught him once and we're going to try to teach him again tonight!

We've been trying to talk to people but no one wants to listen to us, but it's okay haha the people are really nice here so we just like to go out and talk to people about random things and just like get people to realize that mormon missionaries are normal people too because something I've noticed is that whenever people are like out of their house doing yard work and they see us, they run inside because they think we are going around and trying to convert them. That's so dumb because all we want to do is talk with them and ask them about their faith and help people strengthen their faith in Christ! It's not about the numbers at all!

Oh and I've been settling in the mission life really well actually!! It really only took me this week and last week to get used to it!! It's been really fun! Oh and to tell you a little bit more about Elder Evans, he's almost exactly like me which is so crazy!! He's funny and super chill, he loves the people and the gospel, and he's been an amazing trainer! He works so hard!

Anyway, our ward is the best!! It's been really awesome getting to know everyone and yes the Holloways are sooo awesome!! We've been over there I think around 6 times. They treat us really well!!! They have made me feel so welcome and I'm so thankful for them and their love for the missionaries. Oh and Mom the lady that texted you yesterday was sister Pierson! They fed us lunch! They are an awesome family! They love the missionaries as well!

That's good to hear about all of the awesome things that have been happening!! Oh yeah and very sad about the Griggs moving! I'm glad it's been good weather for a few days! It got up to like 85 this last week and then it got down to like 40! Quite the weather change!! Sorry again for the short email! Things have been slow so not much has been going on! It'll for sure get better though!! I know it!! Love you guys! Y'all are awesome!! Say hi to all of my friends when you see them mom and dad!! I miss those guys like crazy!!!

Love,

Elder Dunn

Spencer - March 6, 2017

Pics...My trainer Elder Evans and me, and the Holloways gave us a Welcome to Amarillo basket!



Howdy Everyone!!!

I can officially say that now!! Hahahaha anywayyyy It's been a great first week in the field!! I love my Companion Elder Evans!! I got lucky!!! He's been an amazing trainer!! He's from Ogden Utah and he's been out for 7 months!! He's so great though! I've learned sooo much!! I've loved it!! So as a few of you might know, I got put into the Amarillo 3rd ward, which is a great ward by the way! So yeah since it's my first week, it's been kinda slow because first of all, Amarillo is one of the hardest places to find investigators and stuff so everyone is just super rich and they all have great lives and they think "Why would we want to change when we already have amazing lives" so yeahhh that's like everyone's mind set.

We're mostly just working on less actives and part members, so we've been teaching those people and it's been pretty fun! I've enjoyed it! We're in a biking area so I didn't get my bike till a couple days ago so we've been walking like 6 to 7 miles a day because everything is spread out pretty far haha but it's okay, we keep pushing through! So it's all good! So yeah I kinda forgot my camera at the apartment so I can't send pictures but I'll send them next week haha but I have one I can send that's on Elder Evan's camera!

So yeah mom I guess you've talked to sister Holloway. That family is so great! They've fed us three times this week!! They love the missionaries!! The whole ward is so great!! I got so lucky to be placed in that ward!!! I've met some amazing people!! So we got an investigator last night which was cool! His name is Terry and he's been visiting on and off with the missionaries for two years!! Isn't that crazy?!? Anyway so we're going to see what we can do with him! 

We met this guy Roger and he loves Jesus and like agrees with everything we say and he's really knowledgeable about the bible and stuff but whenever we visit him, he's smoking weed hahahaha. I just thought that was funny! We've been trying to go back to his place but he's never there when we do, so we'll see. He told us he'd be at church this last sunday but he didn't show up. We thought it was because he was high and he probably forgot that he said that, but it's whatever... we'll keep trying haha!

Anyway!! I'm glad Taylor is feeling better! That's cool he got accepted into BYU!! That's so crazy about what happened to Drew!!!! I hope he's doing better!!! I'll keep him in my prayers!! Thanks for the letters!! I love reading them! Oh and dad that's so cool to hear about Sonous!! Looks like a great group!!! Oh and mom I loved the experience you shared about mission prep! That was awesome!! Sorry about the shorter letter!!! Not much happened this week!! We've been getting doors slammed on us, yelled at, and just straight up rejected! So it's really sad but we'll keep persevering!! Love you guys!!

Elder Dunn

Spencer - February 21, 2017

Hello all!!!!

How's it going!! I've had such an amazing week this week and I can't wait to tell y'all about it! But first wow mom and dad! Sounds like you guys had a pretty crazy week this week!! I'm glad y'all got to have fun on Valentines day together, and that's really cool about the refugee activity!!! Looks like everyone had a blast!! That's such a good service project!! That's awesome that you had a fun time with meg and emily, and ahhh that's such a bummer for the Eagle girls basketball team!! They are so good! I thought they'd win! They had a good season though!!

So can I just say how quick these weeks have flown by!! I'm leaving for Texas in 6 days!! That's so crazy!!! I cannot wait to go!! I'm also sad to leave though, but i'm excited to get out in the field with real investigators!! So like I said before, this week has been absolutely crazy and I've loved it and I love being here! I've had so many experiences I don't really know where to start! Okay well let's start with last Tuesday! M. Russell Ballard came and spoke to us in one of our devotionals!! It was so cool to watch!! He talked about setting and achieving smart goals! It was a really good talk!

Okay this next one is for you mom haha! So a normal day for me is I wake up around 5:40 and go and take a shower and get ready for the day! So then we go get breakfast around 7:15ish and then class starts at 8:30 and goes till 12:30. My MTC teachers are so awesome! I love them! They teach us everything we need to know about investigators and how to correspond the lessons with their needs and things like that. And then lunch is at 12:45 and then we have work out time from 1:30 to 2:30 and I gained three pounds but I just lost them back so I'm the same weight going in the MTC hahaha, so yayyy I'm not that fat haha!! Anyway, after we work out, we usually have a TRC (Teaching Resource Center) visit which is basically like talking with a real investigator. So that goes from 3:30 till 4:15 and then after that we study some more in our class room and then we go to dinner at 5:45 and then class starts back up again from 6:30 till around 9ish, and then we head back and get ready for bed, and we usually don't go to bed till around 11:30 because we like to talk haha, but yeah that's a normal day for me!

So back to the spiritual experiences, so we had a P.I. (Progressing Investigator) which is just like a fake investigator and stuff and she was the Catholic I was asking all y'all about! Anyway, our first lesson was really hard because she wasn't receptive to anything we were saying because she was devoted to her church. But the next visit I was missing all y'all and I was emotional, but on top of that, she had a really sad experience that made me like bawl in front of everyone and then she was sad too because of her bad experience so we just gave her comfort and shared some scriptures. But the spirit was so strong and so I think that was the main reason I was crying haha but I'm good now!

Okay so you know how I've been sick?! Well I'm still kinda sick haha. It's just about gone. All I have is a little sore throat so it's not bad now but anyway, it got so bad that I asked Elder Shin and Elder Batty for a blessing. They of course gladly gave it to me which I thought was so great because they are always there for me. So I started feeling better, and I'm really glad they were able to give me that blessing. Elder Bean and Elder Herring were able to stand in the circle as well so our District Elders all joined in which made it wayy more cool!!

Oh and I got my flight plans and my plane takes off for Denver Colorado at 6:53 in the morning so I might have to call you guys either really early in the morning or when I'm in the Denver airport so you might have to be ready for both haha because I'm not sure yet! Oh and I had to get the flu shot, so I got that last Tuesday soooo yeahhhh...

Oh and for the pictures, one is with my two companions Elder Batty is in the middle and Elder Bean is the taller one and the other pictures are just of my district!

So yeah! That's basically all that has happened this week!! Next time I write you, I'll probably be in Texas! That's so crazy to think about!! Anyway, I love you guys! I hope y'all have a good week!!

Love,

Elder Dunn

Spencer - February 14, 2017

Howdy alllll!!!

Sorry for the long wait for the letter haha. Today is our pday and I forgot to mention that to you real quickly when I emailed last Wednesday! Anywayyy this week has been absolutely amazing!!! I have learned sooo much and it's just been incredible and I'm loving it here! Although I've been really sick for the past four days but that's ok! I'm tough haha;) So I've had a lot of amazing experiences, but first let me tell you about my companions and district! So I actually am in a trio companionship so I have two companions and it's super awesome! They are both going to Lubbock Texas with me so I'll be with them for a while! So there's Elder Batty and Elder Bean and they are both super awesome and spiritual so I'm blessed to have them as my companions!

Elder Batty is from Vernal Utah and he is a spiritual boss and he relates to lots of things so it helps when we teach investigators. Then there's Elder Bean and he's from Alpine Utah and the spirit really hits him hard a lot too. But at first he had a really hard time feeling the spirit and he had anxiety troubles so it was really hard for him but then one night he got super stressed out and was freaking out and we had to have our Zone leaders talk to him. They gave him an amazing blessing and when he came back into our room he was like overcome by the spirit and you could tell that something special happened and the spirit was in the room and it was just an amazing experience. Anyway, it's just been a wild week!

So let me tell you about our district! We have two other guys and four girls total in our district! So the other Elders in our district are Elder Shin who's from West Jordan but was born in Hawaii and his parents are from Korea. He is also our district leader and just an amazing guy. And then there's Elder Herring who is from Missouri who is also very cool and he knows his stuff! Haha, but anyway I will tell you about the girls next week because I don't have too much time left but I have the best district ever!! We work really well together!! Oh and don't worry! I lost a pound instead of gaining pounds so yeah ya don't need to worry bout that haha! Overall I've had such an awesome week and I cannot wait for what's ahead of me in the future!! I'm sooo excited! I've changed so much spiritually and now I know that I have a purpose being out here!

ALSO!! THANKS SOOO MUCH FOR ALL WHO SENT ME STUFF!! Like letters packages etc. I've gotten mail everyday and I love getting mail!!!!!! So keep it a comin;) hahahahahahahaha but seriously thank you guys so much!! I loved everything!! And for everyone who sent me food and candy, my district loves ya too hahaha! Oh and thanks mom for sending me a quote from the book Cam gave me! If you can send me like a couple quotes each week, that would be really awesome!! I'm glad everything is going alright!! Missing home of course but I'm trying not to think about it too much, but it really is awesome here and I'm loving every second! Well I must be off! Love all of you guys so much!!! Talk to ya next week!


Love,


Elder Dunn