Lindsay - March 21, 2016

Feeding baby goats at the Russels

I went on exchanges with Sister Mary Mccombie!!!!!!!

Hello Everyone! I hope you all have had a great week! Our week was so good! And it was Spring Break, so we had our doubts that a lot of people would be gone! But they weren't! It was truly a tender mercy of the Lord:)

On Tuesday, I went on exchanges with Sister Mccombie. She is the sweetest sister I have ever met! She is happy ALL the time, and she is so kind and loves everyone. She is also really bold in lessons, and will ask them directly if they will come to church (even if they have health problems:) So usually our days have consisted of canceled appointments. But we saw people non-stop! We went and saw Roxy, and that was a really good lesson. Becca (a less active), came with us, and she made some inspired comments in the lesson. After lunch, we met with an older women who the ward council referred us to go and see. She told us that she never has visitors except for their home teachers. She was really touched by our message, (the Restoration), and we could tell that she has a strong testimony. Oh I forgot to tell you about her dog. Oh my gosh, when Sister Mccombie and I came to the house, the dog started barking non stop! He was a chiwawa, but his eyes literally bulged out of his head! It was the funniest thing! Of course I didn't want to pet it cause he looked like he wanted to bite my hand off!! haha! Later that day, we decided to go over and see Becca's aunt. We came into her home, and her grandson comes in and we start talking to him. He apparently had been baptized when he was 10, but his mom was in jail, and so he had had a rough life. But he told us that he wants to change, and so we taught him the Restoration! It was an amazing lesson! And Becca and her sister Rachel came and joined in with the lesson too. It was awesome!

On Thursday we saw Roxy again, and we went through the baptismal questions. It was really good to go through those, so we could cover any other concerns she had. She did really well, and she believes whole heartedly in being honest. So that is good! We then went into town so we could get an oil change and tire rotation for our car. So we took a lunch break and had Dairy Queen! We both got butterscotch dipped ice cream cones. It took me back to my childhood! After we got our car fixed, we went over to Frank's house to have a lesson. Frank had gotten really mad at Chelsea, and her daughter, and so he was pretty frustrated. He was also fixing a car, so we just asked if we could say a prayer with him. Sister Steele said the prayer, and by the end of it, he was crying. he told us, "Thank you." and then went over to the car to start working on it again. It was so sad. But he texted us later saying that when we said that prayer, that a wave of anger left him, and he felt more confident. The Lord is truly mindful of his children. Even in a small prayer, the spirit can uplift and strengthen those that are struggling. It was such a sweet experience. 

After that we saw Ida and Jim (Ida is a non member, and Jim is a less active). They are an older couple and we stated our purpose frankly and boldly. But apparently it went over their heads. We told them that they weren't doing their part by reading the scriptures and going to church, and so we thought they would get the hint. wrong.... they totally missed it. So we are just going let the ward know that they need home and visiting teachers:) Later that night, we met with a referral given by our bishop, and he had been taught the missionary lessons before. But he showed interest in taking them again! We got to know his religious background, and how God has strengthened his life. His testimony was so simple and so full of faith. We were truly led by the spirit in that lesson! The bishop's daughter also was present in that lesson, and she helped our new investigator as well. When we invited him to be baptized he said, "Someday, I will." We asked him what made him hesitant. He didn't necessarily specify what was holding him back, but Sister Steele was so inspired as she went on to talk about how he doesn't have to be afraid to be baptized. It was a really good discussion. We truly felt that his heart was softened during that lesson. We are so excited to teach him, and help him to make the necessary steps to prepare for baptism!

On Friday we did a lot of weekly planning! I would have to say that it was the most effective weekly planning. Every time we talked about an investigator, we would pray for that specific investigator before we planned for them. We did a lot of praying that day! But it was so worth it! We went to the John's for dinner, and her cooking reminded me so much of your cooking Mom!! She made southern fried chicken (like the breaded chicken you make Mom), with mashed potatoes, milk gravy, salad (with avocado, bell peppers and onions:), toasted bread and German chocolate cake for dessert! Oh my lanta it was good! I am so sorry everyone that I am detailed in explaining meals! haha! Later that night we taught the Marble kids (Jade and Gavin). We taught them about the gospel of Jesus Christ and the steps of repentance by going through head, shoulders, knees and toes. First you acknowledge, or know you did something wrong, then you feel sad and guilty, and it weighs you down on your shoulders. Then before we go to our knees, we go to our pockets and repay what we have done wrong. Then we fall on our knees and pray to be forgiven, then we go to our toes, and we kick that sin right out the door! They were such good listeners, and we reviewed it a couple of times so they could remember it:)

On Sunday, we had a wonderful day! We had stake conference, and someone from the seventy came and spoke to us. At the end of the talk he said something like, "To all those who are non-members and are investigating the church, stop wasting time and get baptized!" Wowzers! It was great to hear him say that! After that comment, he shared with everyone that he was a convert. Then he proceeded to tell his conversion story. It was amazing! I loved every minute of stake conference! We visited a few people before we headed off to dinner with the Russels. They are the sweetest couple, and they have baby goats, so we bottle fed them:) Sooooo cute!! Then we went to the Hargis home because we hadn't seen our bishop in a few weeks (he is a doctor). So we talked to him about our investigators and the ward. After that meeting, there was a stake meeting for the youth at his house. Sister Hargis made some scones and had a bunch of different toppings. Then 60 youth came!!!  Wow! And bishop asked us to speak at it!! Plus there were a few non members there so it was awesome! We talked about missions, and how we decided to go on a mission. We asked the youth who were planning to go, those that were unsure, and those that weren't planning to go. We talked a little bit about how we can be missionaries even without a name tag. I felt the spirit so strongly during that lesson! And we got to know the youth a little bit better. So that was our week! Best Spring Break ever for sure!! I love you all! I hope everyone who is on spring break will have an amazing time!

Sincerely,

Sister Dunn

Taylor - March 21, 2016

Hey! Sounds like the week was good. Good upsets in March Madness. That sounds awesome! Sounds like the trip to Utah will be fun. Aww man the spaghetti factory sooo good! Spence is a champ! I don't know if I want to play tennis with him when I get back. He'll kill me! ;)  Nice scriptures Dad. Ya I need to work on my memorization of scriptures in Spanish to be able to share those, but even then people with hard hearts won't accept it or will find a way to refute it. But asi es la vida de un misionero! 

This week was a good but tough week! It was definitely a battle to find people at the end of the week. We started off good and found some awesome people but they eventually chose not to continue which was sad, but we can't force people to accept the gospel. We are working on being personable with people and truly finding their individual needs and desires better. We were really bold in inviting everyone to come closer to Christ and follow his example but we truly need to find their desires and take an interest in them. We know for sure that the gospel can help everyone no matter the situation. When we tie in the gospel to their needs and desires and also personalize it to our own lives, I think we have a lot better of a chance to bring the gospel unto the hearts of the people and help them realize how the gospel can bless them. Haha I do feel like I've gotten quite awkward on the mission and all I know how to talk about is the gospel, and soooo that makes being personable a little difficult but hey we're going to give it a shot. It's pretty easy to do it with latins. Just find a joke according to where they are from and they are instantly your best friend. For example if you ask a Nicaraguan if they eat iguanas and where do you purchase them they will bust up laughing. It's great!

Anyway we are working with Cira who is progressing towards her baptism on the 31st. We're super excited for that! We gave her a chapel tour this last week and she liked it a lot so that was great! We have a lot of finding coming up but we are excited and just hope to be successful tools in the hands of the Lord! Well that's about it. I need to take more pictures I know. I'm just soo terrible at it! I'll work on it this week!

Love you guys, stay safe and have fun!

Elder Dunn

Lindsay - March 14, 2016

Hola todos las personas (I think the espanol is correct??) :) 

I hope you all had a great week! This week was a little rough, mainly because a lot of our investigators got sick with strep throat and bronchitis, so that was really sad:( But on Monday, we had a huge Stake Family Home Evening, and so we invited our investigator Roxy to attend. A less active (Becca) in the ward picked her up and gave her a ride to the activity! They connected really well because they both have faced similar trials in their lives. So that was amazing! 

On Tuesday we went to the Trainer, trainee meeting in Tucson! It was amazing! We drove down with Sister Brown (the STL), and Sister Mccombie. It was such a fun road trip! We listened to Mormon messages instrumentals, and the famous Josh Groban's, "You Raise Me Up". I cry every time! We had a short visit with Roxy before heading off to dinner! She is doing so well! Her faith has grown, and she looks so happy! Sister Steele and I are so excited to teach her about temples, because she loves her family, and she wants to raise her children well. 

Later that night after dinner, we went to the Relief Society activity for a few minutes because Mary Ann our investigator was going to it. So we saw her a talked to her! It was awesome. Then as we were leaving and we started trying to find people to visit, we got a text from Mary Ann saying that she didn't think the LDS church was for her. We were so shocked! And Sister Steele started crying:( It was really sad. We called Mary Ann first, but she was crying and talking to one of her friends on the phone, so we decided to go over to her home and see her. We waited a little bit and then went in to see her. Apparently, after the Relief Society activity she saw a man in the parking lot and got a bad feeling and so she left and said she would never return. I think she just freaked herself out. Plus, we think it is something deeper than that. Her dad is a devoted Baptist, and he is against what she is doing. So that has been a struggle. We talked to her, and encouraged her, and through the grace of God, her heart was softened, and she agreed to start taking the lessons again. So that was a whirlwind experience! Wow! 

On Wednesday, we saw Floyd again! haha! We asked him to read 1st Nephi Chapter 1 last time, and we asked what he thought of it. He said that he didn't understand it so we talked about it with him. We have decided that we are going to teach him the missionary lessons because we believe he got baptized for the wrong reasons. So, it will be an adventure, but I know that as we continually work with him, his bitterness of the life he has had will slowly go away. 

On Thursday we had another lesson with Roxy, and we talked about the 10 commandment and keeping the Sabbath day holy. It was a great lesson! And she said the prayer at the end of the lesson again! She still struggles with saying the prayer with us. She has told us before that she is embarrassed, and I was prompted to say, "Roxy, I know that sometimes we feel embarrassed to pray. I don't know about you, but in my life sometimes I haven't felt worthy to pray because of past mistakes in my life. But the Lord wants us to pray. He accepts us the way we are. He accepts you the way you are Roxy, and don't you ever forget that." (I am kind of paraphrasing what I said, but something to that effect!) Roxy told us that she felt that way, and so she expressed that she felt better. It will still be a struggle, but I know that as Roxy continues to pray she will be able to naturally speak to our Father in Heaven. 

Later that day we were trying to see a less active and she wasn't home. So we decided to just walk around the street and knock on a couple of doors. There was a lady (named Patsy) outside planting some flowers in some pots, and so we decided to talk to her.   The first thing she said was, "I didn't know that they sent out girls for missions!" So we explained that to her, and then started talking about God. She told us that she was happy in her own church, but asked a few questions about the Book of Mormon. She told us that she had a lot of LDS friends, and that she knew a little bit about the church. During that conversation we started testifying of the Restoration, and the importance and purpose of the Book of Mormon. Whenever we would bear our testimonies and speak about the gospel she would say, "Interesting." We could tell that she was able to learn more about the Mormon faith and what we truly believe in. It was a great discussion, and we felt the Spirit as we spoke to her about the gospel. 

On Friday we did a lot of weekly planning. Then we went to the Boer's for dinner. They are the best! We had taco bowls, and it was amazing! 

On Saturday we saw Frank and read the scriptures, and talked about the Word of Wisdom with him. Then at 2 we saw John:) We made his gratitude wall by writing down what he was grateful for and then putting the heart sticky notes on a white poster board. He was so happy to see it, and he was grinning from ear to ear. He was also sick this past week, so I think he was happy to have visitors! 

We also visited Gayle and taught her more of the temple preparation lessons. She is the sweetest lady! Then we taught Jason later that night. We talked about church and the purpose of it, and we also covered keeping the Sabbath day holy. Sister Vallejos said that they will probably attend church on Easter Sunday, so we are praying that that will happen! Later that night we got a prompting to go see a member from 7th ward (Sister Gilbert). Her husband told us that he wanted to start taking the missionary lessons again so that he can receive the priesthood and go to the temple with his wife! It was such a tender mercy from the Lord! Then the next day at Ward council, Bishop Richardson brought up Sister Gilbert and asked if we met with her and her husband! We told them that we did, and that he wants to receive the  priesthood! Bishop told us that that was their goal from the beginning! Wow! So inspired! 

I have realized that there are so many small miracles that happen each week, even though some days are rough! I love missionary work even though it is hard, but I am grateful for this opportunity to learn. I love you all!

Sincerely,

Sister Lindsay Dunn

Chelsea - March 14, 2016

Sister Elix, Sister Clarin, and me at Trainer’s Training

Alinguigan Ward

Hello everyone!! 

This week was kinda a crazy week! So on Wednesday, we had new trainers and their trainees meeting! It was super fun!! There was just three pairs of us. Us three, two elders in our zone, and Sister labis and her anak! Super fun!!! President Rahlf talked to us about training like Jesus trained and the characteristics that we need to have to be a good trainer. Definitely a good reminder for me as I am in the middle of training Sister Elix. Also, Elder and Sister Jones had just come from Manila and guess what they brought with them... Krispy kreme donuts!!! Me and the other americans almost cried. It was the most delicious thing I have ever tasted in my life!! Also, the American elders were making fun of my english so bad because I am literally the most awkward person when I had to answer questions in english. haha

So... this week while we were sleeping, Sister Clarin got bitten by a rat on her face! There were like four teeth marks on her face, and she said it stung really bad.  So… we told President and Sister Rahlf and now we are probably moving apartments!! Sister rahlf was super mad, she was like, that is not acceptable, you are all moving! I would cover my face at night while I sleep, but it’s too hot so I just risk it! haha. We went upstairs one night, and turned on the light, and there were 6 huge rats in the kitchen and they all scattered and we were all screaming our heads off! So we’ve been doing some apartment finding this week and we found this great house. Unfortunately it’s not quite done yet… but the Jones are thinking about it! 

Super random: my anak right now, sister elix, well today I found out that my mtc teacher’s dad baptized her family! What a small world right!!! Anyways, this week was good. We have found so many potential investigators this week... the only problem is getting them to church! We have been working with Josie, daughter in law of tatay fernando. She has so many problems in her life and she told us this week that she might move to manila soon because her husband is physically abusing her. But our goal is to get her and her daughter baptized before they leave. So on Saturday, after we taught about Joseph Smith, I felt prompted to invite her to be baptized and it was the first time someone ever said no to an invite!! But it was good, she said no, I’m not ready and I really want to learn about your church before I get baptized. So actually I’m glad she said that because it shows that she wants to be committed to this and actually understand the gospel and why she needs to be baptized. Unfortunately, they didn’t come to church yesterday and it was so disappointing! But that’s ok, we'll just try again. Tatay fernando didn’t come either!! We visited him last night and he said that he didn’t have any clean clothes and he didn’t want to smell bad haha. But we brought two members with us and they taught the whole plan of salvation to fernando in ibanag! Haha they were struggling. They said ibanag is so hard and it’s super hard to teach, but they did awesome. And I was smiling the whole time cause tatay was understanding and speaking more than I’ve ever heard him speak, and asking questions and it was just so amazing!!! His faith is definitely growing and I love watching his progress! That’s about it for the week! I hope you all are doing well! 

Sister Dunn