December 23, 2013

Merry Christmas!!

Well, this week didn't go exactly as planned. Nevertheless! It was a
very good week!

Zone Conference was amazing and inspired. The Assistants training
really struck a chord with me. I needed to change the way I worked
with members. I had been feeling that for a long time but I didn't
know how to proceed or what to do. I was making things so much more
complicated than they actually were. The Elder's training was so
simple and I was called to repentance for making working with members
so complicated and hard. I'm working in a YSA! This ward should be
having a lot more success than it is! I'm changing my ways now. After
Zone Conference Sister Sparhawk and I talked for a while about what we
learned and what we could do differently. I have never felt such a
drive to go and work with the members and help them have success in
helping others come to Christ. From that moment on we always
considered who we could take with us when we tried to contact
potential investigators or meet with less actives. Although we weren't
always successful, we tried. I have a feeling that the ward is going
to change if we can involve them more. Also, at the beginning of the
meeting President Jenkins said that this meeting was to comfort the
afflicted or afflict the comfortable. Well, I as definitely afflicted
and got my act put together. I wasn't disobedient or anything like
that but I was getting comfortable with what I was doing (once I get
comfortable with something that is where I get lazy). I was not going
to let myself get that way. I took a good look at my life with a
microscope and saw potential areas that could lead to problems.
Something that I needed to change was my attitude towards things like
planning or studies, etc.. Even though it wasn't bad it could be
better. Right now I feel like I have a good life, but I want a better
one. I hope to keep improving every week. I know it will be hard, but
in the end it will be so worth it.

Well, the first half of the week rocked then came Thursday....... Up
until then I had been feeling fine. That ended as soon as we had
dinner. After dinner I felt like I needed to throw up but I pushed
those feelings away because I thought that was just my mind speaking
because we had eaten something really nasty that should never be made
ever again. So we worked until we got to the late shift at Christmas
Lights. About 20 minutes into it I got this feeling we needed to go
home. I wasn't feeling quite terrible yet but I knew we needed to go
home. We told our shift leaders and went home. Well, to keep this
short I ended up throwing up every 15 minutes for 7 hours. It really
sucked. I didn't have the strength to do anything and I could hardly
keep anything down. But we have some really amazing members. Some came
and stayed with me so Sister Sparhawk could go and teach a lesson or
go to a meeting. Looking back, if we hadn't reached out to the members
earlier in the week I don't think we would have gotten the same kind
of help. What goes around comes around, right? I also got a blessing
from Abe and I swear it made all the difference. I'm still amazing by
the Priesthood and the amazing power it has. A couple hours after he
gave me the blessing I sent him a quick text saying thank you and for
always being worthy of his priesthood. This was his response: "Sister
Dunn, I'm glad I could help. I can tell by the inspiration that I
received the Lord has a careful watch over you. The revelation come
quickly and through it I can feel the love that God has over you. I
think it's because you're so obedient and submissive to him. I hope
you feel better!" This response made my day and made me feel a
thousand times better about myself. For a while I was wondering how
much The Lord trusted me and the ward. This simple text reassured me
that I'm doing ok. This is by no means an excuse to not work hard or
be complacent with where I'm at, but it made me feel better and gave
me a little more confidence.

Kyle got baptized! It really was a miracle! We were able to see him
almost everyday this week <----- MIRACLE! His interview went very
well; he said he even got emotional and he's not a very emotional
person. It's been a wonderful blessing to have taught him and to see
the Lord change him. That power to change that we always talk about is
real. Seeing it in yourself is one thing but to see it in another
person is.... a privilege. His baptism day was an adventure though! I
still wasn't feeling all that well and I was wondering if I could even
go because I was so weak, but the Lord let a miracle happen and I
managed the strength to go. I may have looked like the walking dead
but I made it! This is only part of the adventure though..... So
Sister Sparhawk and I got there 30 minutes early to make sure
everything was in order and that the font was filled. Well, when we
got there the font was not filled and the building was basically
empty. We immediately called Abe and let him know and many phone calls
and miracles happened where we got a key and filled the font. We did
have to start the baptism 20 minutes late because of the set back, but
we got it done and Kyle was baptized. His dad even came, and his dad
is still very against Kyle joining the church but recognizes that this
is something that he loves so he's going to support him. Another
miracle!

Well, that pretty much was my week! Half of it was spent in bed but it
was really good. I've learned a lot and hope to never, ever, ever get
sick on my mission EVER again. Merry Christmas!!!
-Sister Dunn