Happy New Year Letter

Well sorry people! Last week all the libraries were closed so I didn't get to email, obviously.

Christmas was awesome and so was New Years! Talking to my family was nice! For dinner we went to a members house and got STUFFED with turkey and potatoes and also, the Mexican traditional dinner on Christmas Eve, TAMALES!!! I love tamales! I was SUPER stuffed though! Holy cow! Then Christmas day we went to a members house and ate ham and tamales and all that jazz.

Thank you everyone for the gifts and pics and Christmas cards!!!! I loved them all! Especially the pics! One of the members in our area gave my companion and I, wood carved nativities! It's one figurine with Mary Joseph and Jesus of course. They are gorgeous! It was sooooo sweet! Love that family! Not this week but hopefully next I'll send more pics for everyone to see some of the families we see and investigators we have. :-)

Speaking of investigators!!!! We are going to have a BAPTISM on the 9th.....Next Sunday! His name is Alvino and he is the nephew of one of the ladies in our ward. He lives in Mexicali with his family, but is up here looking for a job and is just SOOO ready for the gospel!!!! He's AWESOME! He actually reads and was reading about everything we believe in on mormon.org and is so ready! One time we "taught" him and it was perfect because we didn't really teach him, the spirit did! He even had a question and just opened the Book of Mormon right then and was like, " oh look here in Alma 32:28 this is the answer to the question i just had!" ha! He had his Aunt read it and she started crying in the middle of it because she knew that Heavenly Father knows him so well and is already starting to answer his prayers. .....we didn't do anything. It was perfect! That was the ideal situation. To teach the doctrine, simply being the mouthpiece for the Lord....and teaching what they need to hear! You do that by listening to the spirit. That is hard at times because you don't always know their need for sure....but in this case it was all the spirit and Alvino....not us. Actually we weren't really doing that great a job teaching ....haha. Luckily Heavenly Father made up for our faults.

Oh, I had Birria again! You know...the cow head soup......but this time it was actually really good! and we ate the meat part....not fat! Who'd a thunk that I would ever love that! haha. It was way good actually! and....the Second Counselor Hermano Betancourt, fed us some Honduran Baleadas! I LOVE THOSE!!!! It is eggs and spicy sausage with beans and this yummy hot sauce that he makes and yummy cottage cheese and it's basically like a taco....but with soft tortillas. He says you can't NOT run into them in Honduras....they're everywhere! Brenna and Brent....do you remember those?!

I would like to thank everyone for the love and support and prayers and letters and everything that you have done for me! It means a ton! As we were writing in our journals on New Years eve (we had to be in before dark) I sat there and realized how much I've changed in one year! It was incredible. The gospel really does give you a whole new, better, happier, outlook on life and really does help you progress and grow in your life. That's how it was designed by Heavenly Father. He does everything he does and lets everything that happens, happen ....for our good, for our experience, for us to grow and to see how he truly blesses our lives and watches out for us and He knows our full potential. By following that plan of happiness, the gospel, we can reach that full potential! That is, to become like our Heavenly Father and be perfected in him through the atonement of Jesus Christ. Look it up in the Book of Mormon! Moroni 10:32. He never gives us anything that we can't handle! So if you feel your faced with REALLY tough situations, decisions or temptations..... Just remember that you are a Child of God and have power through the gospel, to overcome that challenge. Look it up in the New Testament, 1 Corinthians 10:13...!!!!

I love you all and can't wait to hear from you!!!

Love you!

Hermana Dunn

Feliz Navidad!!!

SURPRISE!!!! I'm writing today and not tomorrow! I forgot that our mission president said he still wanted us to email today instead of on p day tomorrow cause he didn't want a million parents calling him worried where there missionary was and why they hadden't written hahaha. so tomorrow is our p day but only for this week and I'll tell you why!!!

We had MTE....(missionary training exchange) where we meet with our zone and President Donaldson (mish pres) trains us and teaches us more about the gospel and how we can better help others understand it. He teaches us new tools to use in teaching and ways to teach. Then we have a missionary who's been out for a while or whatever, come on exchanges with us in our companionship to observe and help us how to implement what we just learned into our teaching. Like today we learned that an effective way of teaching that we need to get really good at is teaching with stories. And who would of thunk that Jesus Christ is our perfect example of that! and President Monson too! hahah. OF COURSE stories work! we just simply forgot about it and/or don't use them that much. I've quickly found out though that i STINK at telling stories! there's a lot of things about teaching that i'm not good at, at all! but i try my best everyday to improve and just follow the spirit to help these people. It was awesome though!!! the things i learned and continue to learn from my mission pres is AMAZINGLY mind blowing and helps me understand the gospel so much more and only strengthens my testimony that this IS THE WAY! This is the way that heavenly father has provided. His way, His authority, His gospel, His will. Not our gospel our church but His. My appreciation and knowledge for the gospel grows each day! and I only hope to help people gain this same knowledge and appreciation...because it is well!

I have a challenge for you guys. if you want....of course. I would love to hear from you! and answer these questions.

1)What do you truly want in this life? to achieve or whatever!

2)If you could ask Heavenly Father ONE question of your heart, what would it be?

3)What means most to you?

That would be great if you could write me a letter :-)

OH my gosh!!! GUESS WHAT!!!! I will be hitting my 6 month mark on the 23rd of this month!!! in 2 days!!! ahhh! that means I'm 1/3 through my mission. That means I only have 1 year left! oy! I still feel like I know NOTHING, but have learned sooo much at the same time. I love the mish! and I hope I'm helping SOMEONE! I hope I'm helping you...even in the slightest way.

We have this ROCKING member who is an AMAZING missionary.! she's in her 60s and she just LOVES to share the gospel no matter WHAT people think of her because it brings her so much joy! Her name is Eva Salazar and her son is a rocking RM too! still doing the work too! Her nephew we just added last week. We went to the Mormon Batallion and he LOVED it! and we taught him last night for the first time last night and invited him to be baptized and he said YES and he said YES to 3 weeks too! AMAZING what the miracles can be when you follow the spirit. My comp and i were RIGHT on key because everything that i was wanting him to hear SHE said it! it just flowed and we all felt the spirit testify to us so strong and he is just SO ready to do this! WE also added more people and a family that is awesome! So things are working out better and we are just trying our best to put all our talents and selves out there on the line for the Lord and his children so that we can better help them.

Thursday will be our Christmas party where we get our presents and stuff and I'm singing in a trio the first noel. and then Christmas eve and day we have several eating appointments with members. so I'm gonna look like Santa pretty much hahaha. jk.

well love you all! hope to hear from you soon.

love hermana dunn

Dec 14th Letter

so i have noooooo time to write cause we went to the temple today and it took all day....traffic stunk too. but i can feel all of your prayers and they are much appreciated. yesterday we added FIVE new investigators! it was awesome! i don't know how but it happened.

next week my P-day will be on wednesday the 22nd .....cause we have meetings all day on monday and tuesday with the mission pres which will rock. so dec 22nd is my p-day for next week and email day!

and just for a random story on a random events night......the other night we were walking to the car and a firework went off about 100yds from us and scared the poop out of us! my heart stopped cause it almost sounded like a gun shot...haha but no worries we saw the firework. it was random though....then we were driving down the street and a possum slowly slinked it's way across the road ....it was nasty! like and ROUS from Princess Bride (rodents of unusual size) haha. then we were driving home at night and i saw a meteor fall! or a really bright shooting star!.

we have a mission president fireside in La Mesa this sunday which will be fun! it's in spanish and we'll be singing christmas songs. .....sorry but i'll type more next week. and i still haven't gotten time to send pics yet...sorry.

love hermana dunn

Dec 7th Letter

Sorry this is late everyone. We lost the car keys this morning and also had some technical problems with stupid picture developing place where I was printing pics to send home...but they didn't come out. So sorry you wont get all the new ones I wanted to send.

Like every transfer, it was nerve wracking this morning during study time because we were waiting for ''the phone call'' to see if any of us were getting transferred. Well....none of us are! I'm staying with Sister Muir here in Otay River Ward...in Chula basically. woo hoo!!! our roomies are the same too sister Nelson and sister Gines who are awesome! They are in Chula 4th ward. So it'll be another party for the holidays in our apartment. haha.

The work here has still been slow. Some days are awesome some are not and some are a lil hard, but the mission is awesome. I'm really blessed to be here in San Diego. i LOVE IT! I think i was really meant to come here believe it or not! I love the ward I'm in! I feel like I've known all the members for a long time and they feel like family. Love them!

In an attempt to try and help our investigators progress and strengthen their testimonies and get more investigators I thought up the idea a few weeks back to have a mini little fireside for our ward. Music program with testimonies for those of you that don't know what a fireside is. We missionaries sang 4 songs and the youth sang another and we did it as the "spiritual thought" for mutual. We did some pretty arrangements of I'm a child of god, Lead kindly light, O my Father and the youth did I know that my redeemer lives. It was good! but the turn out wasn't. None of us got any of our investigators there and none of the members, except ONE brought friends. There were 2 people there that weren't members. We had our stake counselor speak too! I was pretty bummed. I almost wanted to cry cause I was so frustrated that none of us could get anyone there. BUT!!!! Turns out that it seems that the youth/ and members might have needed it more that investigators. One of the members in our ward really appreciated it and lots of the youth needed to hear it too.

So to much of my dismay there were no investigators and I felt that it was a wasted effort and time, but I'm glad it turned out that SOME people were able to be touched by the music. Makes you really think how investigators aren't the only ones that need to be strengthened in the gospel. All of us as members ALWAYS need to be strengthened in the gospel. We are not perfect, we have everyday challenges and bigger ones at times and we all have our faith tested. We always need to remember though that we need to help lift each other up and edify each other always. NEVER, are we to judge others of how "perfect" or "not perfect" there lives may Seem. We all have challenges. Heavenly father has an amazing perfect plan of happiness for us that we need to share...but the adversary has his plan too that can sometimes dangle in our path and for some even trap them in despair. But it's with the light of the gospel that can give us hope and strengthen us. we can all share that light and all need to. There are people out there searching for it. Now that may have just sounded cheesy or preachy but I'm dead serious. I continue to learn each day just how much the gospel really means to me and to others and to Heavenly Father.

The other night at the Christmas devotional broadcast president Eyring said something like, "you would give Him (heavenly father) Much JOY this Christmas season and always as you come unto him and accept his restored gospel." That's what I hope to do as a missionary and as a human being is to bring my Heavenly Father joy in coming unto Him each and every day and hopefully helping bring others unto him as well as a missionary. That quote though that He said just really hit me. The greatest gift you can give to Him this season and greatest joy you can give Him is to come unto Him and accept and apply His gospel that He has once again restored to the earth through a prophet.....because He LOVES US. The Christmas season is really about the Savior and what he came into the world to do for us. The best way we can honor His life and His sacrifice is accepting and living the gospel. I strive to do that everyday...and I hope we all will. It may not be easy at times...but that's why he's given us families, prophets, leaders, teachers, scriptures, the book of Mormon, prayer, church, wards! That's why Hes' given us commandments, to bring us joy and eternal life. "for behold, this is My work and my glory: to bring about the immortality and eternal life of man" Moses 1:39 "porque, he aqui, esta es mi obra y mi gloria: Llevar a cabo la inmortalidad y la vida eterna del hombre."

It's amazing the things I continue to learn....especially in Spanish at times. I love the mission and can't imagine my life without it and the things i might have never learned....so far. Even though there are really tough days at times, I keep pushing through. without the bad days I wouldn't know the GREAT Days that I have!

Love you all!

Hermana Tawny Dunn

Nov 16th Letter

HOLY COW!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I LOVE MY MISSION! I LOVE SAN DIEGO CALIFORNIA MISSION!!! My mission president is AWESOME! I love him! He's sooooo crazy intelligent and gave a ROCKIN Zone Conference and I just totally got new meaning to the gospel and just HOW ESSENTIAL it is in our lives! I'm so blessed and thankful that I'm here in San Diego otherwise I wouldn't have met these people! and definitely wouldn't have had the privilege of meeting President Donaldson! God works in mysterious ways that's for sure! He taught us a ton of Hebrew though and all that jazz and now I want to take Hebrew Old Testament and New Testament classes when I get home!

Mi corazon es con los mexicanos ahora! Yup....I love Mexico and the people and the food and the culture and the music....when I hear it in the streets that is.....and everything! I'm getting to love the spicy food too! Even though I really am still a wimp when it comes to spicy spicy food. The other night at the Alberto's house (they feed us every Sunday, the place where I've also tried pigs feet) we had some yummy dinner and there were jalapeno peppers that they were biting into and eating. So I decided to try it! I took a tiny bite and my mouth was ON FIRE!!!!!!!!!!!!!! My face turned red and I started to cry it was so hot!!!!! and Hermana Alberto leans over and tastes it and she was like...this isn't that hot Hermana! hahahha. I LOVE Huevos Rancheros now! It's eggs with beans and salsa and tortillas! SO GOOD! oh one downside the other night hahah .....we were eating at someones house and there was a dead cockroach in my companions drink!!!!! EWWW! I had to really try hard not to puke! and looked carefully through my food.....no worries though I didn't have any in my food. Just a fun lil surprise in the food though hahaha....as Rod would say, "it's extra protein!

The work has been extremely slow for us sad to say but we just have been having a hard time finding people. But don't worry things are starting to pick up. We found an investigator the other day that was flirting with me and kept telling me that he just couldn't believe how beautiful my eyes were and that my boyfriend just couldn't say no to those! hahaha I told him I didn't have one...lol But then in the end he HUGGED me!!! I was soooo shocked and just didn't know what to do so I gave him two pats on the back and said thanks haha! Yeah....gotta watch that closer next time. Luckily it wasn't a kiss!

Anyways I gotta go. We are finally going to the Zoo today!!!!

Love you all! ....will write more next time.

Love tawny!

Nov 9th 2010

I can't believe it's p-day all over again! It's going by sooo fast! Yup it's hot! It's been like in the high 80s/90s for us down here next to the mexican border! Feels nice! My watch tan line is getting a lil more defined haha. That's not very cool at all though haha. Just kidding. Well some exciting news! For me and for all!....Last night we were eating at a members house and she asked us if we felt the tremor last thursday! I was like...."what?!!??" Apparently there was an earthquake 5.1 on the scale over outside of El Centro, out in the desert about 2 or 2 1/2 hours east of here. And she said that she felt some of it ....but I definitely didn't feel anything! I've never been in an earthquake but heck I might have felt a tiny tremor and not known it. haha.

So my spanish is getting better I've noticed but is FAR FROM perfect! But it's amazing to me how I've been getting way more insight/revelation through my spanish scripture and preach my gospel study! It's so crazy!!!! Because I'm still learning the language and I've been understanding gospel stuff way more and way better! It's so cool! It makes me just want to only study in spanish....but I like to study in english so I can understand everything better. Just a fun lil note!

Oh I forgot to mention that for Halloween we all had to come in before dark and just chill/work in the apartment. Just as a safety precaution for all the weirdos runnin' around on halloween night. It was fun though! Me and the roomies all made a huge breakfast to eat for dinner! It was so good! and pumpkin and peach pie! hahah. And we played uno. This of course after we were done working and planning and all..don't worry we still worked haha.

Hey can somebody send me some pretty pics of CDA lake and downtown and just of CDA. por favor?! no one believes me when I say it's gorgeous unless they've been there haha. Also some pics of winter time up there too? some people haven't even seen snow! oh and mom could you maybe print out the latest family portrait as a wallet size photo for me? por favor? gracias!

oh and we went and visited the Ruthefords the other day again and I asked him how he got the Ruebens and the Picasso pic. Turns out he REALLY DID meet Picasso! He was going to art school in Nice, France and he met 4 of Picassos apprentices and so they rode over on their bikes one day to his studio and he met Picasso and he gave him this drawing!!!! HOW CRAZY COOL IS THAT!!!!

So the work is going kinda slow here actually. We're having a hard time finding people to teach. and we both are terrible at contacting in the street. I never know how to start or what to say and it just becomes awkward. I feel a little embarrassed but we're trying to just take courage and go talk to them! When we do it's totally worth it.....or totally not hahaha. You either get shot down or they end up talking and it's awesome meeting new people! But does anyone have any advice for me for contacting? It would be much appreciated. Brenna just sent me some music in english and Spanish and I got the idea one day when we were praying for weekly planning that we (the missionaries in my district) should put on a little missionary musical/ fireside thing. We all are good singers and I thought it would be fun to have us all sing different songs / play piano / violin and have little spiritual thoughts in between and invite our investigators and members to bring friends. So everyone likes the idea now I just gotta put some stuff together. We don't know yet for sure when it will be, but I'll keep ya posted. We always do have firesides for the whole mission once a month some in Spanish some in English....but i thought it would be nice to have a small lil private one.

This week is gonna be great! Tomorrow we have Zone Conference again!!! Woo hoo! President Donaldson is AMAZING!!! He knows all! haha he is omniscient! haha so that will be awesome! from 8AM to 4pm!!!! then on Friday I'm going on exchanges with sister Voyles...meaning she will be with me all day while my companion is with another sister in her area. Sister Voyles is an amazing missionary and she's one of the ones that was filmed in the Preach My Gospel DVD's. She was called to that of course and she really gets missionary work and I'm way lucky to have been reassigned here to this mission to work with these people and this mission president! I'm gonna take tons of notes from her. Hey! All of you people go out and buy the Preach My Gospel DVD's and watch them! They are awesome!

Shout out to Brett Calkins!!!! someone please ask him....if your not reading this Brett,.....where he is going on his mission and if he's gone to the tempel yet? all i heard was the Netherlands but I'm excited to find out where exactly!!! Woo hoo! Congrats!

Well I love you all! Hope all of you are taking my invites to read the scriptures and Preach my gospel everyday! The restored gospel really is everything. The worth of every soul is great in the sight of god! That's why we're out here teaching the restored gospel. Teaching to peoples needs and teaching by the spirit. Bwcause that's how it's done!

love you!

Hermana Dunn

Nov 2nd Letter

Yeah yeah! All you lucky north Idahoans and Utah people are all freezing huh! hahah Just kidding, that's mean... It's so nice down here! It's been sunny and high 70s and BEAUTIFUL GORGEOUS California sunsets! The past couple days have been sooooo clear and cloud free I could even see out on the ocean!!! Beautiful SD and Tijuana and Coronado island are all visible! If only I wasn't driving then I would take more pictures in the car.
Well I met someone famous! He's a member in the English ward and we went over to his house to ask about an investigator that was seen in the past, who is his neighbor. I don’t know his first name but his last is Ruthaford....or Rutheford or Rutherford.....I don't know how to spell it but he's a famous sculptor! He has two of his pieces in the Smithsonian and one 8ft angel with stained glass wings somewhere in Minnesota or Michigan or somewhere. Look up on google "The Ruthebird" sculpture. It's one of his most famous signature pieces that I saw. His house was AMAZING!!! Mom you would've been in heaven. Me personally I died and went to heaven cause he HAS AN ORIGINAL PICASSO!!!! He also has an ORIGINAL RUEBENS painting! I don't know how he got the Ruebens, but he said that Picasso personally gave him that original drawing, I think when he was going to art school in Europe! I don't know if that's true or not because I forget what years Picasso was or still is alive. Someone please look that up for me? His house was covered with art work and sculptures and these model Mast Ships in glass cases all over! I loved it! Such an awesome house! Such an awesome Guy! He's super nice and super strong in the church.
So a shout out....Aaron Peet! If he doesn't read this, can someone who does, like Shaunna or Erica please get hold of him and ask for me: What was the name of the island in Panama that he served on? There's a family in my ward from Panama who I LOVE and we were talking about that.... But I can't remember the name of the island.
For those of you that wanna write me here's my address! ALL are welcome to write me, so do it haha.
Hermana Tawny Dunn
7404 Armstrong Pl
San Diego, CA 92111

Funny story.....We have an investigator who is the Mexican version of Rod! haha His eyes are what got me because they look exactly like Rod’s and his little side smile ....just his smile kinda looks like Rod too! I was about to hug him! haha ok not really....but here's an air hug for you Rod! And here's an air hug to everyone!
Heres some funny quotes that I’ve seen on peoples doors...and or signs:
"No Solicitors”, “No Salespersons”, “No Surveys”, “No Nobody”, “No Jehovah's Wittness’s" hahah funny for us Mormon missionaries.. haha. and the other is just for you mom... “I cleaned my house last week, sorry you missed it!'' haha funny huh!

So here's a quote that I read the other day and liked! President Hinckley loved this too. It is from the Deseret News by Jenkins Lloyd Jones June 12, 1973.
"Anyone who imagines that bliss is normal is going to waste a lot of time running around shouting that he's been robbed. Most putts don't drop. Most beef is tough. Most children grow up to be just people. Most successful marriages require a high degree of mutual toleration. Most jobs are more often dull than otherwise. Life is like an old-time rail journey- delays, sidetracks, smoke, dust, cinders, and jolts, interspersed only occasionally by beautiful vistas and thrilling bursts of speed. The trick is to thank the Lord for letting you have the ride."
I think this is true....i also think there can be more of those spurts of beautiful vistas and thrilling bursts of speed with the restored gospel. It truly is the calm in the eye of a hurricane. In the storms in life and the world we often want to find peace....and that’s what the gospel does. Our lives aren't perfect, but through the restored gospel and through the atonement of Jesus Christ we can find light and peace and happiness and strength to get through the storms in life. With the atonement it can help us endure our trials well till they end. We can find strength in the Lord. As Nephi said in 2Nephi 4:33-35 pg 64...."O Lord, wilt thou encircle me around in the robe of thy righteousness! O Lord, wilt thou make a way for mine escape before mine enemies! Wilt thou make my path straight before me! Wilt thou not place a stumbling block in my way- but that thou wouldst clear my way before me, and hedge not up my way, but the ways of mine enemy. O Lord, I have trusted in thee and I will trust in thee forever. I will not put my trust in the arm of flesh; for I know that cursed is he that putteth his trust in the arm of flesh. Yea, cursed is he that putteth his trust in man or maketh flesh his arm. Yea, I know that God will give liberally to him that asketh. Yea, my God will give me, if I ask not amiss; therefore I will lift up my voice unto thee; yea, I will cry unto thee, my God, the rock of my righteousness. Behold, my voice shall forever ascend up unto thee my rock and mine everlasting God. Amen."
Then he says in 1 Nephi 15:11 "Do ye not remember the things which the Lord hath said?-If ye will not harden your hearts, and ask me in faith, believing that ye shall receive, with diligence in keeping my commandments, surely these things shall be made known unto you."

There ya have it! We need to always rely on the Lord in prayer and in being faithful to him and seeking to do good and keeping the commandments. When we ask in faith he will help us, comfort us and everything else.
I love you all! hope yall have a great week!

Love , Hermana Dunn