Hello Everyone!!
Super excited to be writing to you all today! Thanks for all of the
emails - definitely made my day!
So this week . . . Oh my lands it's been crazy
So Sister Colson has been here for about seven weeks and they cut the
area in half about halfway into last transfer so a huge chunk of our
area is now gone, and there wasn't much going on in the upper half. So
right now we are trying to breathe life into Glendale! Neither of us
know the Ward members very well and we are just trying to figure lots
of things out - so it's kind of like pink washing which is fun!
We got this interesting referral this week for a guy named Sergio. He
told us he wants a lot more in his life - we think he's had a pretty
troubled life too - but some Sisters gave him a BofM and when we met
with him he said he had started reading it but he couldn't find the
guide to how to live. That's what he wanted - he wanted like a guide
on how to live. So that was pretty interesting. But we've been
teaching him and he says it's getting more interesting. That's good!
Haha, we taught him about repentance the other day and Sister Colson
likened the feeling we get when we sin to if I had pushed Sergio in
the pool, how I would feel. Sergio said I would probably laugh but we
were like, heck no we'd feel awful! So on Sunday Sergio promised us he
would come to church. Church starts and Sergio texts us he's on his
way - and then he never showed. By the end of church we get a text and
Sergio says - I feel like, how you felt, when you pushed me in the
pool.
Hopefully the Spirit is working on him!
The temple was amazing and all too short! We actually got to do
sealings with the members who brought us afterwards. Thankfully Sister
Colson had participated in a sealing once so she showed me the ropes
:) pretty cool!
The Elders baptized two people on Sunday and I was asked to play the
piano at one of them so that was super cool! It was a really awesome
experience.
Super cool experience happened this week. We were sitting at Starbucks
(haha, yep) using the wifi real quick and there was this lady and her
daughter sitting nearby. As we were about to leave she asked us if we
were from the LDS church and then continued to say that she was a
member starting to come back to church and she wanted her to daughter
(April) to take the lessons and to get baptized. April had turned 8
about two days prior so it was a super neat experience!
We also went by this member who we didn't know and when they didn't
answer we left a note with our card. That night after 10:30 we got a
call from Neil who apparently lives at that address now and said he
would be totally open to having us come by and share a message about
Christ. He told us he was a firm follower of Christ so it was pretty
awesome!
I think that's about it from here in Glendale. I love you all and hope
you have a wonderful week!
Love, Sister Dunn
Tuesday, April 19, 2016
Chelsea - April 18, 2016
This week we taught our investigator, Charmaine! She is doing so great and is super receptive. We were in relief society yesterday and people were just sharing about the blessings in their life and Charmaine just stands up and started saying that she is so grateful for us and how we have been teaching her and have been helping her to realize the truth. Sister Elix and I almost cried! So sweet! Also we were teaching tatay fernando this week and he was saying that he feels so much better ever since he's stopped smoking and as we have kept teaching him and as he's started living the gospel, he said that his thoughts and self are changing. I'm just saying as a missionary, to hear that kind of stuff is probably the best reward. To hear that people are changing for the better.... just great stuff people!! So ya, fernando is getting baptized on april 30th and charmaine on may 7th! Unfortunately, tatay marcelino didnt come to church so we have to move his baptism.... But ya, that's the update for the investigators.
We also had a cool experience this week. We have this Less active in our area and every week we teach him but he's pretty quiet and doesn't open up to us. He got baptized a year ago but because of his really bad health, he can't go to church. He's so skinny and he can't even walk or breathe sometimes. So this week it was my turn to share with him and I was just praying that he would open up to us about how he's feeling with everything and so I prayerfully chose a scripture verse to share and some inspired questions and as I asked my question he just started talking and talking and then started talking about the hard things he's going through. He said that he's so grateful for the missionaries and the men in the ward who visit him, but he wishes so bad to be one of the guys in the ward and actually visit others. But he said that he knows one day God will give him the strength and things that he wants to do. He just started crying and Sister Elix and I were def holding back tears! I was so grateful in that moment that god led me to the verse I needed to share and the question I asked in order for tatay george to open up. it just showed me that God really knows his children and even though I don't know what people are going through and what they are feeling, God does and as long as we are worthy as missionaries, God will give us what we need to say.
That's it for the week! Other than it has been soooo hot. Haha our support money is literally gone buying water like five times a day haha. I don't think I've ever drank so much water in my life. But oh man, probably the hottest weather I've experienced. All of us in the apartment are experiencing like heat rashes and all that fun stuff. Also, our apartment is super hot during the night. Like we just wake up constanttly cause it's so hotttt... but we love it! Anyways, love you all!
Sister Dunn
Taylor - April 18, 2016
Hey! So this week was quite a week and we had a strong start with finding some cool people who seemed like they really wanted to progress and be baptized! There was Brenda who has a smoking problem but she and her daughter want to find a "good" church and be baptized so that was cool. We also contacted a woman that had been a potential named Ericka and she spoke mostly Spanish which kinda makes it an awkward lesson because I'm the only one speaking but it went well! She goes to a Latin christian church that she likes but is curious about the Church of Jesus Christ! Over the week we weren't able to see them very often. We tried to get in contact and had solid return appointments but they never answered the door or phone and they fell off. We are trying to make sure that really doesn't happen. So, we are going to be having a stronger HTBT and also be bold on the commitments which are baptism, church and daily contact. We need to make sure they are willing to take these steps. People cannot come closer to God if they don't have desires to repent and change(PMG).
I gave a talk in sacrament this past week and the ward is excited about doing missionary work as well as rescuing those who have fallen off so that's pretty cool! I got to choose what the subject was and it went along really well with the other talks. It was about service, loving others, and following the example of our Savior Jesus Christ and I think it went pretty well!
Two best conversations for the week was one with Brenda who seemed to really have desires to come to church and be baptized. She liked the restoration lesson a lot and she just really wanted to come closer to God! The other one was pretty cool. We knocked on this one kid's door named David. There's a good amount of YSA around because Florida Gulf Coast University is pretty close. He seemed a little hesitant about the prayer but he invited us in to pray for him and his girlfriend Angela. He had a Presbyterian background and she had a christian background. They both really weren't active in their faith and didn't have desires to go to church or do much. We said a prayer with them, and I don't know if they felt anything but we asked them if they felt that God loved them, Angela said yes right away and then David later said yes. We then testified how going to church is a show of love for your Heavenly Father and how he wants the best for us and as we show our love and learn of Him at church we will be happy. We then just invited them to church. I don't know if it affected them at all but they were a lot more open after that and I felt the spirit!
Oh and this week I did a baptismal interview for Adam who is an investigator for the sisters. He is almost done with school as an anesthesiologist and he's considering moving to Boise with his Mormon girlfriend soon to be wife so that was cool!
I gave a talk in sacrament this past week and the ward is excited about doing missionary work as well as rescuing those who have fallen off so that's pretty cool! I got to choose what the subject was and it went along really well with the other talks. It was about service, loving others, and following the example of our Savior Jesus Christ and I think it went pretty well!
Two best conversations for the week was one with Brenda who seemed to really have desires to come to church and be baptized. She liked the restoration lesson a lot and she just really wanted to come closer to God! The other one was pretty cool. We knocked on this one kid's door named David. There's a good amount of YSA around because Florida Gulf Coast University is pretty close. He seemed a little hesitant about the prayer but he invited us in to pray for him and his girlfriend Angela. He had a Presbyterian background and she had a christian background. They both really weren't active in their faith and didn't have desires to go to church or do much. We said a prayer with them, and I don't know if they felt anything but we asked them if they felt that God loved them, Angela said yes right away and then David later said yes. We then testified how going to church is a show of love for your Heavenly Father and how he wants the best for us and as we show our love and learn of Him at church we will be happy. We then just invited them to church. I don't know if it affected them at all but they were a lot more open after that and I felt the spirit!
Oh and this week I did a baptismal interview for Adam who is an investigator for the sisters. He is almost done with school as an anesthesiologist and he's considering moving to Boise with his Mormon girlfriend soon to be wife so that was cool!
Anyway love you guys, take care, stay safe, have an awesome week!
Elder Dunn
Elder Dunn
Lindsay - April 18, 2016
Hello Everyone! I hope you had an amazing week! For me, it has been a crazy week! On Monday we cleaned our room and bathroom and tried to unclog the shower drain. I used a knife to try to unclog it and I accidentally dropped it down there, and it is impossible to get it out. Haha! Later in the day we went bowling with our whole zone. It was so fun!! It was probably the most relaxing and care free activity to do on a P-day for sure! Mom and Dad you would be so proud of me for the scores that I got! Haha! I usually do terribly in bowling but I got 60 the first game and 96 the second. It was awesome!!
On Tuesday I went on exchanges with Sister Brown from Melba, Idaho!!! I love her so much, and she is an awesome STL! We visited Roxy, and that was a pretty rough lesson, mainly because of her dog, and then Becca ( a less active), came over with her daughter, and her daughter had a lot of energy, and played with the dog a lot. So that was rough, but still good nonetheless! Then we visited Gayle and taught her another of the temple preparation lessons. It talked about some principles that we could apply in our lives to be prepared for the temple. One of the principles was that we need to be humble. We had an awesome discussion about that, and how we need to be humble so that we can learn and be teachable. Then we saw Frank who is one of our recent converts. He was struggling when we came over. He was pretty upset at his daughter, but when we started to teach the Restoration to him, the Spirit slowly began to calm him down. It is amazing what the Spirit can do to help someone who is struggling. After dinner at the Bingham's we prayed about a list of part member families, and decided to go visit 3 families. And guess what? They were all on the same street!!! It was so cool! We couldn't find the Goodman's who we were looking for so we knocked on this one door. There were 2 people living there. One was an older lady and she kept asking us if we could call her son because their phone broke. Her other son was there and he literally shouted at her (cause she is hard of hearing), and said, "Why do you need to call your son?" It was really funny! But the people knew where they lived so they got in their car, and we followed them to the house! They were the sweetest people! We had a great visit with the Goodman's and figured out that they were both members, but less active. And they didn't have home teachers!! So it was a spirit filled experience for sure!
On Tuesday I went on exchanges with Sister Brown from Melba, Idaho!!! I love her so much, and she is an awesome STL! We visited Roxy, and that was a pretty rough lesson, mainly because of her dog, and then Becca ( a less active), came over with her daughter, and her daughter had a lot of energy, and played with the dog a lot. So that was rough, but still good nonetheless! Then we visited Gayle and taught her another of the temple preparation lessons. It talked about some principles that we could apply in our lives to be prepared for the temple. One of the principles was that we need to be humble. We had an awesome discussion about that, and how we need to be humble so that we can learn and be teachable. Then we saw Frank who is one of our recent converts. He was struggling when we came over. He was pretty upset at his daughter, but when we started to teach the Restoration to him, the Spirit slowly began to calm him down. It is amazing what the Spirit can do to help someone who is struggling. After dinner at the Bingham's we prayed about a list of part member families, and decided to go visit 3 families. And guess what? They were all on the same street!!! It was so cool! We couldn't find the Goodman's who we were looking for so we knocked on this one door. There were 2 people living there. One was an older lady and she kept asking us if we could call her son because their phone broke. Her other son was there and he literally shouted at her (cause she is hard of hearing), and said, "Why do you need to call your son?" It was really funny! But the people knew where they lived so they got in their car, and we followed them to the house! They were the sweetest people! We had a great visit with the Goodman's and figured out that they were both members, but less active. And they didn't have home teachers!! So it was a spirit filled experience for sure!
On Wednesday we went to Commodities at 8 in the morning. There were a lot of people that needed food so we were there until district meeting at 11! Wow! Also, I got a sunburn on my head, so that hurt really bad. It brought me back to the memory of Trek, and getting sunburned everywhere! Haha! We had an awesome district meeting on obedience, and teaching obedience to investigators. We did a role play and I taught Sister Steele about obedience, and literally the Spirit was directing it the whole time. Sister Steele pretended to be someone that had a word of wisdom problem. I asked her, "Do you think the "fun" things you have been doing will bring you happiness that is permanent?" I then proceeded to talk about temporary happiness and permanent happiness, and how the gospel can bring us permanent happiness. Later that night we had dinner and a lesson with the Marble family. Jade and Gavin are getting baptized in a few weeks, so we are helping them to be prepared for baptism. We taught them about reading the scriptures and keeping the Sabbath day holy. It was an awesome lesson! Then we started to try some part member families, and knocking on a few doors to see where the people lived. We knocked on this one door and a drunk guy answered. We asked about an individual that we were trying to find, and he told us he was a friend visiting. So he shouts at his friend Phil, and Phil was totally out of it! Haha! It was hilarious! Phil asked us who we were with our badges and we said we were sister missionaries. He thought we said we were singers. But we had to yell that we were sisters. Then he started saying that he wanted to sing. Then he invited us to sing with him! Hahahaha! He asked if we knew the Beatles, and then he asked his friend, "Let's sing the Yellow Submarine!" And then he started singing it! On top of all of that Phil said, "Do you want some pop? I know I am going to drink beer but do you want some pop?" We kindly declined it and then left. Probably the most bizarre experience of the mission!! Haha!
On Thursday we taught a lot of people! We taught Roxy, and Sister John came with us! It was amazing! Then we saw Floyd and read the Book of Mormon with him, and then we tried Heather who is a less active. We drove through their driveway, and there was a barbed wire gate in front of their house. So I told Sister Steele, "Let's just climb through the gate and knock on the door!" So we did! They weren't home which was a bummer. Then the most awkward thing happened. As we walked back, a car comes up the driveway and parks right next to the other trailer. It was the most awkward situation! We told him we weren't trespassing but that the person that we were trying to see knew us. It was great! He didn't mind, which was good.
On Friday, we did a lot of weekly planning. For lunch we went to a Hawaiian grill called Kainoa's. It is really good! Then we went to Dairy Queen and got dilly bars. My childhood!! :) Later that day we had dinner with the Webb's. The father is less active, and their two boys aren't members, and neither is the mom! But the mom is from the Philippines!! We talked about the Philippines pretty much the whole time! I told the mother that my sister ate balut and she told me, "Ahhh she ate balut? I can't even eat it!" It was really funny! Then after dinner we helped with the Pima triathlon signup. There were so many people from around Arizona traveling down to Pima just so they could sign up for the triathlon! It isn't a complete triathlon. Just a mini one that consists of: 3 laps of swimming, 6 miles of biking, and then a mile and a half of running. There were even some little kids that signed up for the race!
So on Saturday we helped with the actual event. We were at the finish line, and we would give them water and a medal! There were definitely pros and cons of being at the finish line! It was amazing to cheer them on, but I will never forget the memory of a boy at the finish line spewing puke everywhere. I wish I could take back that memory.
On Sunday we had an awesome day full of spiritual nourishment! The most amazing thing that we experienced that Sunday was in 7th ward. So you all have been hearing about the Gilbert's in my letters. So Brother Giaque, who comes with us in the lessons told us that Brother Gilbert prayed, and he got an answer. As he told us that, we both just sobbed. We worked so hard to help him have the strength to pray, and he finally prayed. What a blessing from the Lord! I love you all and I hope you have a wonderful week!
Love,
Sister Lindsay Dunn
On Thursday we taught a lot of people! We taught Roxy, and Sister John came with us! It was amazing! Then we saw Floyd and read the Book of Mormon with him, and then we tried Heather who is a less active. We drove through their driveway, and there was a barbed wire gate in front of their house. So I told Sister Steele, "Let's just climb through the gate and knock on the door!" So we did! They weren't home which was a bummer. Then the most awkward thing happened. As we walked back, a car comes up the driveway and parks right next to the other trailer. It was the most awkward situation! We told him we weren't trespassing but that the person that we were trying to see knew us. It was great! He didn't mind, which was good.
On Friday, we did a lot of weekly planning. For lunch we went to a Hawaiian grill called Kainoa's. It is really good! Then we went to Dairy Queen and got dilly bars. My childhood!! :) Later that day we had dinner with the Webb's. The father is less active, and their two boys aren't members, and neither is the mom! But the mom is from the Philippines!! We talked about the Philippines pretty much the whole time! I told the mother that my sister ate balut and she told me, "Ahhh she ate balut? I can't even eat it!" It was really funny! Then after dinner we helped with the Pima triathlon signup. There were so many people from around Arizona traveling down to Pima just so they could sign up for the triathlon! It isn't a complete triathlon. Just a mini one that consists of: 3 laps of swimming, 6 miles of biking, and then a mile and a half of running. There were even some little kids that signed up for the race!
So on Saturday we helped with the actual event. We were at the finish line, and we would give them water and a medal! There were definitely pros and cons of being at the finish line! It was amazing to cheer them on, but I will never forget the memory of a boy at the finish line spewing puke everywhere. I wish I could take back that memory.
On Sunday we had an awesome day full of spiritual nourishment! The most amazing thing that we experienced that Sunday was in 7th ward. So you all have been hearing about the Gilbert's in my letters. So Brother Giaque, who comes with us in the lessons told us that Brother Gilbert prayed, and he got an answer. As he told us that, we both just sobbed. We worked so hard to help him have the strength to pray, and he finally prayed. What a blessing from the Lord! I love you all and I hope you have a wonderful week!
Love,
Sister Lindsay Dunn
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