Hi Family!!!
I am good!! And i am happy! and Healthy! and painting my house.... just a beige color,... boring,
but i wasn’t the one to pick the paint. haha!!! No the two sisters didn’t get baptized.... They got burned by their pastor.... so they didn’t even want us to go in their house... oh man that was rough... the night before we had taught them about the book of mormon and they were super happy and stuff... like super happy "oh ill read it right now! etc. I guess the pastor must have found out and burned them.... so that was rough. but that same bay we found brenderson and robson. they are cousins. and they are going to be baptized this sunday!! A cool story about brenderson he had prayed the night before for God to change his life. the next day i talked to him on the road. He said he already knew everything was true. He went to church and loved it!! so that is super great!! Miracles!!! And his cousin is super cool too. but he was sleeping sunday so i went there and woke him up!!! so he went! and liked it!!1 that was fun, my first real experience like that!! but I’ll keep doing that!!! Also, another guy that’s going to be baptized is carlos. He went to church with us too!! and he is pretty cool!! super ready for anything!! He liked church a lot!!
the ward is super good, we didn’t even sit with them because they were surrounded by members. so that’s fun!!! So you can put these three in your prayers!!!! Brenderson, Robson, and carlos. Ok??
Haha air conditioning would be good!!! i usually take a cold shower at night because it is so hot. i don’t even put the heat on.... so that’s different.... cold too!! our fan is broken.... so nope!!! but i am using bug repellant. because they are good at night!!!
Oh geez clara driving..... that is crazy!!! I am glad i am soooo far away now because no one is safe there!!! get off the road!!!! haha!!! but geez oldy moldy!!! that’s pretty nuts....
And band camp!!! the last one for maren!!!! yikes!! that is so weird.... Maren you are old too!
But this week was a lot better!! we are finally getting the hang of things.... of course there is a lot to improve, there always will be.... but.... Hey we are imperfect!!!! Oh last pday was super cool.... they cut the water because the missionaries before us didn’t pay the bills and they weren’t even in the house.... so we were without water for like 3 days.... taking showers at the neighbors house!!! hahaha!!!! good thing they are members! yeah.... so that was fun.....
Oh every friday i am doing a english class!! so that was fun this week!! we learned about verbs and like i, you, he, she, it, we, etc. it was fun. and then at the end we played big booty! haha!! to count. But it was super super slow......................... oh yeah and you are probably thinking.... I did change the name.... to big daddy! haha! the only thing i could think of! so yeah that’s what i am up to!! today i read a really cool scripture.... 1 john 3:3 it says they perfected themselves when they had a hope in christ. cool huh???? look to perfect yourselves!!! repent, and do something different!! it is us that decides our future!!! (of course only because of christ that we can do that but we have to accept him and do good works and obey the commandments! Next week i will send pictures(i hope) this computer is too slow to send them.... i even brought my camera with me!! sorry.;.. I love you guys! have a great week!!!! play hard!!! The church is true!
Elder Dunlop
Monday, January 2, 2012
Brenna's email - 8/17/11
HELLO! Well... to answer your questions... I am trying to
keep cool - but it is VERY hot here - and just gonna get hotter - but our fan
is working now - so that has made sleeping a LOT easier! And yes I am using my
bug spray - so my hand is no longer getting attacked! Our next transfer will be
in 2 weeks! I´m kinda nervous - we´ll be getting 3 new sisters - one is from
Portugal - and apparently the Portuguese they speak there is very different -
so who knows if I´ll be able to understand her... and with my luck - I´ll be
training her... lol... In our ward we have about 5-7 young women who are
actually going to church (we added 3 when we baptised Greicielle, Greicienne,
and Cleidianne) and that is about average for the wards I´ve been in. I am just
working in one ward right now - and actually - we have 2 sets of missionaries
in our ward! Me and Sister Corbin and then a set of elders - an American and a
Brazilian (the Brazilian reminds me a TON of Jason Hadley - it is really creepy
- seriously - if Jason were Brazilian - he would be this guy...) But that has
been way nice - having 2 sets of missionaries in one ward! Though... our area
where we work is still HUGE! A few years ago - there were a TON more
missionaries in our mission - so they had like 8 sets of missionaries here...
so imagine us now with only 2.... yeah... That sounds so fun about high
adventure! I always loved high adventure!!! Yes though - you´d better get in
shape for next summer - because I expect to go on a lot of hikes! And I´m
getting a lot of practice - cuz I´m ´´backpackin it´´ everyday - and there are
a TON of hills here! Belo Horizonte - and Minas Gerais are known for the
hills... By the way.... HAPPY FATHER´S DAY DAD!!!!! Here Father´s Day is in
August - so it was last Sunday - and it was WAY OBNOXIOUS!!!! Here everyone
said they couldn´t go to church because they had to travel to see their dad or
prepare lunch for their dad... etc, etc - what about their Heavenly Dad?!!!
Seriously.... Mother´s Day was like this too - but at least we could call home
- so that made it a little better... We did end up bringing one guy to church -
turns out he was drunk though... We are trying to help him out with that - he´s
had about a month where his life has gone down the toilet because of drinks -
it is really sad - he really wants to get out of this mess - and get back to
working, etc - it´s pretty cool though because he is a composer and musician!
That is pretty rare here! We didn´t have any baptisms this Sunday - but
Terezinha recieved the Gift of the Holy Ghost - it is so neat to see her at
church because she fits in so well with everyone! We had an integration night -
which was like a big family home evening with everyone in the ward and we had a
lesson and played games there -and it seriously is like she has been a member
for years! Maybe it is because she´s been going to church for over a year...
Lol... It amazes me everyday how the Lord guides us to His children! I am
always surprised everyday how many people we find that said they were praying
for answers and then we showed up there - but unfortunately - a lot of times
these people still don´t accept that that was an answer - we were teaching this
lady, Marisa, that said she has been praying to know which church was true and
then we showed up there - she said that she was tired of searching in all the
churches so she was praying that the Lord would bring the answer to her door -
well we taught her and she didn´t go to church with us on Sunday because she
was ´´tired...´´ So we went back there yesterday and she said that she wouldn´t
get baptized because she wasn´t prepared and she wanted the Lord to bring her
to the right church - she didn´t just want to go search it out anymore - I
really don´t know any other way that the Lord would answer her prayer other
than sending us there to knock on her door Sunday morning to walk with her to
church... But apparently that wasn´t the answer she wanted... It is sad - cuz
she knows that Joseph Smith was a prophet - she just doesn´t want to believe
everything else... But I guess that is free-agency for ya... I´m learning more
and more about faith too - I like to think of it this way - let´s pretend I
want a car - I can say that I have faith that I will get this car and I can
pray every single day for a car - but will I wake up one day and have a car
sitting there on my driveway? No! I have to get up and WORK for that car! That
is real faith! I see that a lot - people say they have faith - but what are
they doing to show for that? Nothing... BUT - we are working our tails off this
week (as always) so I know that we will see the fruits of it these last two
weeks in this transfer!!! I love you all LOTS and LOTS and I hope you all have
a FABULOUS week! Until next week!!!
Love,
Sister Dunlop
keep cool - but it is VERY hot here - and just gonna get hotter - but our fan
is working now - so that has made sleeping a LOT easier! And yes I am using my
bug spray - so my hand is no longer getting attacked! Our next transfer will be
in 2 weeks! I´m kinda nervous - we´ll be getting 3 new sisters - one is from
Portugal - and apparently the Portuguese they speak there is very different -
so who knows if I´ll be able to understand her... and with my luck - I´ll be
training her... lol... In our ward we have about 5-7 young women who are
actually going to church (we added 3 when we baptised Greicielle, Greicienne,
and Cleidianne) and that is about average for the wards I´ve been in. I am just
working in one ward right now - and actually - we have 2 sets of missionaries
in our ward! Me and Sister Corbin and then a set of elders - an American and a
Brazilian (the Brazilian reminds me a TON of Jason Hadley - it is really creepy
- seriously - if Jason were Brazilian - he would be this guy...) But that has
been way nice - having 2 sets of missionaries in one ward! Though... our area
where we work is still HUGE! A few years ago - there were a TON more
missionaries in our mission - so they had like 8 sets of missionaries here...
so imagine us now with only 2.... yeah... That sounds so fun about high
adventure! I always loved high adventure!!! Yes though - you´d better get in
shape for next summer - because I expect to go on a lot of hikes! And I´m
getting a lot of practice - cuz I´m ´´backpackin it´´ everyday - and there are
a TON of hills here! Belo Horizonte - and Minas Gerais are known for the
hills... By the way.... HAPPY FATHER´S DAY DAD!!!!! Here Father´s Day is in
August - so it was last Sunday - and it was WAY OBNOXIOUS!!!! Here everyone
said they couldn´t go to church because they had to travel to see their dad or
prepare lunch for their dad... etc, etc - what about their Heavenly Dad?!!!
Seriously.... Mother´s Day was like this too - but at least we could call home
- so that made it a little better... We did end up bringing one guy to church -
turns out he was drunk though... We are trying to help him out with that - he´s
had about a month where his life has gone down the toilet because of drinks -
it is really sad - he really wants to get out of this mess - and get back to
working, etc - it´s pretty cool though because he is a composer and musician!
That is pretty rare here! We didn´t have any baptisms this Sunday - but
Terezinha recieved the Gift of the Holy Ghost - it is so neat to see her at
church because she fits in so well with everyone! We had an integration night -
which was like a big family home evening with everyone in the ward and we had a
lesson and played games there -and it seriously is like she has been a member
for years! Maybe it is because she´s been going to church for over a year...
Lol... It amazes me everyday how the Lord guides us to His children! I am
always surprised everyday how many people we find that said they were praying
for answers and then we showed up there - but unfortunately - a lot of times
these people still don´t accept that that was an answer - we were teaching this
lady, Marisa, that said she has been praying to know which church was true and
then we showed up there - she said that she was tired of searching in all the
churches so she was praying that the Lord would bring the answer to her door -
well we taught her and she didn´t go to church with us on Sunday because she
was ´´tired...´´ So we went back there yesterday and she said that she wouldn´t
get baptized because she wasn´t prepared and she wanted the Lord to bring her
to the right church - she didn´t just want to go search it out anymore - I
really don´t know any other way that the Lord would answer her prayer other
than sending us there to knock on her door Sunday morning to walk with her to
church... But apparently that wasn´t the answer she wanted... It is sad - cuz
she knows that Joseph Smith was a prophet - she just doesn´t want to believe
everything else... But I guess that is free-agency for ya... I´m learning more
and more about faith too - I like to think of it this way - let´s pretend I
want a car - I can say that I have faith that I will get this car and I can
pray every single day for a car - but will I wake up one day and have a car
sitting there on my driveway? No! I have to get up and WORK for that car! That
is real faith! I see that a lot - people say they have faith - but what are
they doing to show for that? Nothing... BUT - we are working our tails off this
week (as always) so I know that we will see the fruits of it these last two
weeks in this transfer!!! I love you all LOTS and LOTS and I hope you all have
a FABULOUS week! Until next week!!!
Love,
Sister Dunlop
Spencer's email - 8/15/11
You guys would not believe how busy we have been here... it has been ridiculous. We haven’t had a good old p-day in a long time. not even today. we painted the house today. so we were painting until 3 o’clock!!!! crazy!! so we had to run to the back (which is 30 mins walking very fast by the
way) to get our money and then come back and yeah.... so the week is starting good!! haha!! well this week was actually really good! we did a lot better than we have been, i talked about urgency in my last letter because it seemed like we weren’t being as urgent as we could, so we stepped up our game this week!! a lot better!! Last week we had 2 sisters come talk to us, and they said they
were needing a message, they had been fasting and praying to receive the gift of the holy ghost -- by the way here people are a little crazy. but they think that people receive the holy ghost when they randomly starting people a strange language, i guess it happens though.... people have seen it.... so they were wanting that.... but it wasn’t coming. so we went and talked to them about the correct way to receive the holy ghost and about authority. and they went to church! and are going to be baptized this week. so that was really cool! they actually stopped us!
also, we had another miracle, we had 7 people at church! that was super cool! i actually had never
had that happen before so that was really cool, and we are teaching a family, and i told them about your story about mom and dad. cool huh we talked a lot about temples!
So being a senior.... super hard. This transfer had definitely been the hardest yet. but i am earning a lot, super good! even how to talk and understand people on the phone... and let me tell you... it isn’t easy. haha! but its good!!! and so things are good. the president is changing rules around.... so we don’t have to report every day.... just sunday. and we don’t even have to call if we are arriving late.... he says just follow the spirit.... so it’s interesting.... and weird! but I’ll get used to it! and as you know p-day is monday. so that’s another thing that is different. my companion has 7 months out on the mission and just one transfer less, he is super good. he knows a lot and he always remembers the scriptures!! so that’s good! i still am not good with that!!! but I’ll get better!!
So now i am going to be working on really doing everything that i say i will. with goals or things i say to people, really be a man of my word! that is who i want to be, after the mission too, so that is now what i am working on. Really applying the scripture alma 52:20. I dont know it in english. e todos eram jovens valorosos e em à coragem, e também em vigor e energia. mas, eis que isto não é tudo eram homens fieis em tudo que lhes eram confiados. haha you guys can look it up!!
(Note from Teri…here it is in English. And it came to pass they sent embassies to the army of the Lamanites, which protected the city of Mulek, to their leader, whose name was Jacob, desiring him that he would come out with his armies to meet them upon the plains between the two cities. But behold, Jacob, who was a Zoramite, would not come out with his army to meet them upon the plains.) well i gotta go!! but i love you guys!!! it is super hot here!!!! like......... wayyyyyyyy hot!! but its good!! haha! have a great end of the summer. i hope to send letters next week--if i have time.
Love,
Elder Dunlop
way) to get our money and then come back and yeah.... so the week is starting good!! haha!! well this week was actually really good! we did a lot better than we have been, i talked about urgency in my last letter because it seemed like we weren’t being as urgent as we could, so we stepped up our game this week!! a lot better!! Last week we had 2 sisters come talk to us, and they said they
were needing a message, they had been fasting and praying to receive the gift of the holy ghost -- by the way here people are a little crazy. but they think that people receive the holy ghost when they randomly starting people a strange language, i guess it happens though.... people have seen it.... so they were wanting that.... but it wasn’t coming. so we went and talked to them about the correct way to receive the holy ghost and about authority. and they went to church! and are going to be baptized this week. so that was really cool! they actually stopped us!
also, we had another miracle, we had 7 people at church! that was super cool! i actually had never
had that happen before so that was really cool, and we are teaching a family, and i told them about your story about mom and dad. cool huh we talked a lot about temples!
So being a senior.... super hard. This transfer had definitely been the hardest yet. but i am earning a lot, super good! even how to talk and understand people on the phone... and let me tell you... it isn’t easy. haha! but its good!!! and so things are good. the president is changing rules around.... so we don’t have to report every day.... just sunday. and we don’t even have to call if we are arriving late.... he says just follow the spirit.... so it’s interesting.... and weird! but I’ll get used to it! and as you know p-day is monday. so that’s another thing that is different. my companion has 7 months out on the mission and just one transfer less, he is super good. he knows a lot and he always remembers the scriptures!! so that’s good! i still am not good with that!!! but I’ll get better!!
So now i am going to be working on really doing everything that i say i will. with goals or things i say to people, really be a man of my word! that is who i want to be, after the mission too, so that is now what i am working on. Really applying the scripture alma 52:20. I dont know it in english. e todos eram jovens valorosos e em à coragem, e também em vigor e energia. mas, eis que isto não é tudo eram homens fieis em tudo que lhes eram confiados. haha you guys can look it up!!
(Note from Teri…here it is in English. And it came to pass they sent embassies to the army of the Lamanites, which protected the city of Mulek, to their leader, whose name was Jacob, desiring him that he would come out with his armies to meet them upon the plains between the two cities. But behold, Jacob, who was a Zoramite, would not come out with his army to meet them upon the plains.) well i gotta go!! but i love you guys!!! it is super hot here!!!! like......... wayyyyyyyy hot!! but its good!! haha! have a great end of the summer. i hope to send letters next week--if i have time.
Love,
Elder Dunlop
Brenna's email - 8/10/11
Hello!!!! Yes - that address is correct! I guess the mail
people just don´t know what they are doing... But I am glad that it didn´t get
stolen! I´m not really sure why the outside of the package said, ´´não
procurando...´´ it means not looking... weird. ANYWAYS! That is so great that
the family vacation went well! I was wondering if you guys would put in a
camping trip this summer! Whoo hoo! Exciting! Crater Lake is really beautiful!
We stopped there on the way back from a High Adventure one year - it is SUPER
COLD though! Sounds like mosquitoes are worse there than they are here... I
guess I should stop complaining - but it is REALLY annoying when they wake you
up in the middle of the night buzzing in your ear and you can´t go back to
sleep because you are afraid they are going to eat you alive so you want to
hide under your covers - but it is WAY TOO HOT to stay hidden under your
covers! It has been WAY hot here this week! Upper 90s lower 100s! Wow! And it
is still winter! What´s up with that?! Sounds like you guys haven´t even had
this kind of weather - and it is SUMMER there! But - this week has been great!
Remember that lady that we found that one day when we were lost? Well... SHE
GOT BAPTIZED!!! Whoo hoo! She is awesome! It was definitely her time! She
didn´t get baptized before because she was living with her boyfriend - but he
was never the best boyfriend - drinking, etc, etc - so they separated. Well
wouldn´t you know it - but on Saturday - the night before the baptism - he
showed up at her house crying - saying he wanted her back and you know what she
said?... NO! She said that she´d only get back together with him unless he
cleaned up his act - and she definitely wouldn´t live with him unless they got
married first cuz she was getting baptized!! Yes! Take that Satan! He didn´t
win this time! But man he is tricky!!! Why do things always happen the night
before the baptism?... (Her name is Terezinha). Enrique also got baptized - he
is Marisa´s nephew and he is 13 and he was SUPER excited to get baptized - he
is a really neat guy! So Sunday 2 people received the priesthood (Junior and
Leonardo) two people received the Gift of the Holy Ghost (the other Junior and
Marisa) and two people got baptized (Enrique and Terezinha). That was pretty
amazing! I´d be happy if that happened every week! That´d be ideal! Well see
about this week... We have yet to find the elects that´ll go to church with us
this Sunday to get baptized in 2 Sundays - but we will find them! For sure! On
Monday, we had our zone conference - and it was really amazing! I love
conferences! President Parrella always teaches so many amazing things - I
always learn so much! We did a lot of practiced to improve our teaching and we
have been really trying to put into practice these things - which has been
great! The goal is that if they really really understand the church that Christ
established when he was here - why they need this church - and if they really
understand apostasy - they will understand why they need to be members!
Downfall: people still have free agency and lots of people STILL don´t want to
change even if they KNOW! But - I´ll keep doing my part... Hmm... Other big
news?... Well - this week our blender broke - it is a really fun word in
portuguese (liquidificador) and so we got a new one today! Whoo hoo! I´ve been
using it a lot in the mornings! (but for the record it wasn´t me that broke
it)... This week we also have an activity in the church - and we can actually
go!! Whoo hoo! I´m pretty excited about that! I don´t know what is going to
happen in this activity - but it should be fun! Also - we just found out that
we´ll be getting 3 new sisters this transfer and one is finishing her mission -
what does that mean? It means that 3 junior sisters will become senior sisters
and 3 sisters will train and 1 area will open... I´m kinda nervous about
that... Alright mom, I guess you convinced me - I should read the Bible huh? -
I decided to read Preach my Gospel again - cover to cover and then after I
guess I´ll get started on that - there is just so much to study and so little
time! This week we are teaching some awesome people that are actually reading
the book of mormon and praying for answers - that´s awesome cuz usually we have
to beg people to do these kinds of things! But - WE MUST FIND MORE!!! I am
predicting some good nights of sleep ahead of me... Lol - anyways - I love you
guys! Thank you for everything you are doing for me! Keep writing and keep
praying for us cuz we couldn´t do it without you!
Love,
Sister Dunlop
people just don´t know what they are doing... But I am glad that it didn´t get
stolen! I´m not really sure why the outside of the package said, ´´não
procurando...´´ it means not looking... weird. ANYWAYS! That is so great that
the family vacation went well! I was wondering if you guys would put in a
camping trip this summer! Whoo hoo! Exciting! Crater Lake is really beautiful!
We stopped there on the way back from a High Adventure one year - it is SUPER
COLD though! Sounds like mosquitoes are worse there than they are here... I
guess I should stop complaining - but it is REALLY annoying when they wake you
up in the middle of the night buzzing in your ear and you can´t go back to
sleep because you are afraid they are going to eat you alive so you want to
hide under your covers - but it is WAY TOO HOT to stay hidden under your
covers! It has been WAY hot here this week! Upper 90s lower 100s! Wow! And it
is still winter! What´s up with that?! Sounds like you guys haven´t even had
this kind of weather - and it is SUMMER there! But - this week has been great!
Remember that lady that we found that one day when we were lost? Well... SHE
GOT BAPTIZED!!! Whoo hoo! She is awesome! It was definitely her time! She
didn´t get baptized before because she was living with her boyfriend - but he
was never the best boyfriend - drinking, etc, etc - so they separated. Well
wouldn´t you know it - but on Saturday - the night before the baptism - he
showed up at her house crying - saying he wanted her back and you know what she
said?... NO! She said that she´d only get back together with him unless he
cleaned up his act - and she definitely wouldn´t live with him unless they got
married first cuz she was getting baptized!! Yes! Take that Satan! He didn´t
win this time! But man he is tricky!!! Why do things always happen the night
before the baptism?... (Her name is Terezinha). Enrique also got baptized - he
is Marisa´s nephew and he is 13 and he was SUPER excited to get baptized - he
is a really neat guy! So Sunday 2 people received the priesthood (Junior and
Leonardo) two people received the Gift of the Holy Ghost (the other Junior and
Marisa) and two people got baptized (Enrique and Terezinha). That was pretty
amazing! I´d be happy if that happened every week! That´d be ideal! Well see
about this week... We have yet to find the elects that´ll go to church with us
this Sunday to get baptized in 2 Sundays - but we will find them! For sure! On
Monday, we had our zone conference - and it was really amazing! I love
conferences! President Parrella always teaches so many amazing things - I
always learn so much! We did a lot of practiced to improve our teaching and we
have been really trying to put into practice these things - which has been
great! The goal is that if they really really understand the church that Christ
established when he was here - why they need this church - and if they really
understand apostasy - they will understand why they need to be members!
Downfall: people still have free agency and lots of people STILL don´t want to
change even if they KNOW! But - I´ll keep doing my part... Hmm... Other big
news?... Well - this week our blender broke - it is a really fun word in
portuguese (liquidificador) and so we got a new one today! Whoo hoo! I´ve been
using it a lot in the mornings! (but for the record it wasn´t me that broke
it)... This week we also have an activity in the church - and we can actually
go!! Whoo hoo! I´m pretty excited about that! I don´t know what is going to
happen in this activity - but it should be fun! Also - we just found out that
we´ll be getting 3 new sisters this transfer and one is finishing her mission -
what does that mean? It means that 3 junior sisters will become senior sisters
and 3 sisters will train and 1 area will open... I´m kinda nervous about
that... Alright mom, I guess you convinced me - I should read the Bible huh? -
I decided to read Preach my Gospel again - cover to cover and then after I
guess I´ll get started on that - there is just so much to study and so little
time! This week we are teaching some awesome people that are actually reading
the book of mormon and praying for answers - that´s awesome cuz usually we have
to beg people to do these kinds of things! But - WE MUST FIND MORE!!! I am
predicting some good nights of sleep ahead of me... Lol - anyways - I love you
guys! Thank you for everything you are doing for me! Keep writing and keep
praying for us cuz we couldn´t do it without you!
Love,
Sister Dunlop
Tuesday, August 9, 2011
Spencer's email - 8/8/11
Hey family!!!
Yep pdays got moved. so now pdays are on monday. so sorry about that i didn’t find out until yesterday night. so looks like i will have to go a week without an email! but that’s ok. things here in recanto are good. we didn’t have too much success this week, but happily we did have a baptism. Helton. He is the husband of a recent convert. and he finally decided to get baptized. it was really special. there was soooo many people at his baptism, and juice and pop and little snacks and stuff, really good!! that was basically the exciting thing of the week. we have been trying to work with the ward more to get more references. so that has been interesting. i haven’t ever don’t this before because all the other wards that i have been through have been pretty dead in this aspect so this is something new. this week was really rushed with lots to do and little time. But i have been learning so much. about the importance of urgency in the work because if not, nothing will happen. We also need faith and hope! I did however get letters last week so that was super good!! Well, I don’t really know what else to say. this week wasn’t too special. but this week that is coming will be a lot better. Plus i didn’t have any questions to answer. but it is getting really really hot here. so that is rough. But i have little time and i still have to get a hair cut!! sorry for the bad emails!! but i know the church is true and it changes lives. because i have seen it. I love you guys and i miss you!! (i promise next weeks letter will be a lot better!)
Elder Dunlop
Yep pdays got moved. so now pdays are on monday. so sorry about that i didn’t find out until yesterday night. so looks like i will have to go a week without an email! but that’s ok. things here in recanto are good. we didn’t have too much success this week, but happily we did have a baptism. Helton. He is the husband of a recent convert. and he finally decided to get baptized. it was really special. there was soooo many people at his baptism, and juice and pop and little snacks and stuff, really good!! that was basically the exciting thing of the week. we have been trying to work with the ward more to get more references. so that has been interesting. i haven’t ever don’t this before because all the other wards that i have been through have been pretty dead in this aspect so this is something new. this week was really rushed with lots to do and little time. But i have been learning so much. about the importance of urgency in the work because if not, nothing will happen. We also need faith and hope! I did however get letters last week so that was super good!! Well, I don’t really know what else to say. this week wasn’t too special. but this week that is coming will be a lot better. Plus i didn’t have any questions to answer. but it is getting really really hot here. so that is rough. But i have little time and i still have to get a hair cut!! sorry for the bad emails!! but i know the church is true and it changes lives. because i have seen it. I love you guys and i miss you!! (i promise next weeks letter will be a lot better!)
Elder Dunlop
Brenna's email - 8/3/11
Hello! Well - I am very glad that this package didn´t get lost or
stolen - I have no idea why this package couldn´t get delivered
because everyone else´s packages are getting delivered (my companion
has gotten 3 in the time that I´ve been waiting for this one...) So I
guess the mail system was just being dumb... But I have faith that it
will get to me! Before Christmas! And yes I still want those sandals!
The shoes I bought are not to be used until after the mission - cuz
they will get trashed here! You should see some of my shoes already...
Wow... lol Anyways... I am doing GREAT! As always! My 9 month
celebration was great - at least the P-day part - we made canjica!
Lots and lots of canjica... We were eating it until yesterday night!
It was A LOT! But the rest of the day wasn´t the greatest... both of
our baptisms fell through that day - Adriano was only talking about
Spice Girls when we were talking about baptism - it was seriously
probably the weirdest lesson I have ever taught on the mission! Really
weird! I wish someone had been recording that one! And it turns out
that Marisa´s daughter - Ludmila - will be going back to her grandma´s
house - and there isn´t a church close to her grandma´s house - so
that wouldn´t work out either! She was really sad - but she is excited
to get baptised in December when she comes back to live with her mom!
Also - this perfect family that we found - wasn´t so perfect after
all... turns out that the mom prayed and her answer was that she
needed to finish up with her ´´projects´´ in the Catholic church - I´m
pretty sure that God didn´t say that to her... but whatever - her mind
was made up - her daughter still wanted to get baptised - but her mom
said that her dad was really Catholic - and he wouldn´t allow it - so
I´m pretty sure that was the real reason... bummer...! We still ended
up pulling through a baptism this week! Whoo hoo! It was kinda funny
actually - there are recent converts and they have a 10 year old
grandson, Junior, who always comes to church with them - who wasn´t a
member - so we showed up at their house and invited him to be baptised
this Friday - and - he accepted!!! Whoo hoo! Fast preparation - but it
turned out well! In the bible it shows that we really don´t even need
time to prepare - there were apostles teaching people and they were
baptised then and there! Speaking of the scriptures... I finished the
Book of Mormon and the Doctrine and Covenants! Whoo hoo! I love those
books! I am debating whether or not I want to read the Bible now...
but I´m kinda scared... I don´t know... This last week we had
interviews with President Parrella - and it was AWESOME! I always
learn so much from him! And time goes by WAY too fast - 10 minutes is
NOT enough! I asked how I could better myself as a missionary - and he
said that improving my teaching everyday - and everyday trying to
increase my faith - which is something that not only missionaries
should do - but everyone!!! So funny story... yesterday we taught this
guy - and he was home alone - so we couldn´t enter his house - no
woman - mission rules - and he was kinda taken back by that - and
kinda offended - he kept saying ´´it´s okay - you can enter - I go to
church... blah blah blah´´ - but he just didn´t get it - and we didn´t
get why he didn´t get it! But we taught him outside his house and then
afterwards he asked us if we wanted something to drink - or if that
wasn´t allowed either - and we said of course it was allowed - but
then guess what he pulled out of his fridge? Coca-cola!! The one pop
that we aren´t allowed to have in our mission! Of course... Oh the
irony... Imagine explaining that one to him... Ugh... Oh! One more
great news!!! So Cleidiane´s parents - especially her mom - want to
get baptised - but they can´t cuz they aren´t married because she is
recieving money from her other husband who died to pay for her kid´s
school - and she thought she would lose the money if she got married -
but it turns out SHE WON´T!! Whoo hoo!! So we will be helping with a
marriage!! Awesome huh? Man I love that family! They are AWESOME!!!!
Oh - also this week it was 91 degrees!!! In the WINTER!!! Weird huh???
Anyways, I love you all!! As always, thank you for everything you
do!!! Oh - and I wanna know the marriage date for Shereen - since she
won´t tell me herself... and the temple and everything... Anywho -
until next week!
Love,
Sister Dunlop
Oh! I almost forgot! We had a really cool thing happen this week - it
really shows how the Lord leads us to His children that are ready hear
the gospel! This week we got way lost - we were looking for this one
street and no one knew where it was - finally we asked this man - and
he said - oh it is way easy - and he told us where to go - well when
we got there - that street WASN´T there - and no one had even heard of
this street - we didn´t know what to do! We were kinda frustrated
because we were wasting time and this street wasn´t on our map and no
one knew where it was! So we just started walking down a street -and
there were 3 women there and we decided to ask them... and turned out
that one of the women knew where it was and she invited us into her
house! Turns out that this women had been going to church on and off
for more than a year - she hadn´t gotten baptised before because she
was living with her boyfriend - but they broke up and so we invited
her to be baptised and she accepted - she is preparing for this
Sunday! Cool huh?! The Lord really leads us to where we need to go! We
really are just instruments in His hands! His servants! We just have
to follow!
stolen - I have no idea why this package couldn´t get delivered
because everyone else´s packages are getting delivered (my companion
has gotten 3 in the time that I´ve been waiting for this one...) So I
guess the mail system was just being dumb... But I have faith that it
will get to me! Before Christmas! And yes I still want those sandals!
The shoes I bought are not to be used until after the mission - cuz
they will get trashed here! You should see some of my shoes already...
Wow... lol Anyways... I am doing GREAT! As always! My 9 month
celebration was great - at least the P-day part - we made canjica!
Lots and lots of canjica... We were eating it until yesterday night!
It was A LOT! But the rest of the day wasn´t the greatest... both of
our baptisms fell through that day - Adriano was only talking about
Spice Girls when we were talking about baptism - it was seriously
probably the weirdest lesson I have ever taught on the mission! Really
weird! I wish someone had been recording that one! And it turns out
that Marisa´s daughter - Ludmila - will be going back to her grandma´s
house - and there isn´t a church close to her grandma´s house - so
that wouldn´t work out either! She was really sad - but she is excited
to get baptised in December when she comes back to live with her mom!
Also - this perfect family that we found - wasn´t so perfect after
all... turns out that the mom prayed and her answer was that she
needed to finish up with her ´´projects´´ in the Catholic church - I´m
pretty sure that God didn´t say that to her... but whatever - her mind
was made up - her daughter still wanted to get baptised - but her mom
said that her dad was really Catholic - and he wouldn´t allow it - so
I´m pretty sure that was the real reason... bummer...! We still ended
up pulling through a baptism this week! Whoo hoo! It was kinda funny
actually - there are recent converts and they have a 10 year old
grandson, Junior, who always comes to church with them - who wasn´t a
member - so we showed up at their house and invited him to be baptised
this Friday - and - he accepted!!! Whoo hoo! Fast preparation - but it
turned out well! In the bible it shows that we really don´t even need
time to prepare - there were apostles teaching people and they were
baptised then and there! Speaking of the scriptures... I finished the
Book of Mormon and the Doctrine and Covenants! Whoo hoo! I love those
books! I am debating whether or not I want to read the Bible now...
but I´m kinda scared... I don´t know... This last week we had
interviews with President Parrella - and it was AWESOME! I always
learn so much from him! And time goes by WAY too fast - 10 minutes is
NOT enough! I asked how I could better myself as a missionary - and he
said that improving my teaching everyday - and everyday trying to
increase my faith - which is something that not only missionaries
should do - but everyone!!! So funny story... yesterday we taught this
guy - and he was home alone - so we couldn´t enter his house - no
woman - mission rules - and he was kinda taken back by that - and
kinda offended - he kept saying ´´it´s okay - you can enter - I go to
church... blah blah blah´´ - but he just didn´t get it - and we didn´t
get why he didn´t get it! But we taught him outside his house and then
afterwards he asked us if we wanted something to drink - or if that
wasn´t allowed either - and we said of course it was allowed - but
then guess what he pulled out of his fridge? Coca-cola!! The one pop
that we aren´t allowed to have in our mission! Of course... Oh the
irony... Imagine explaining that one to him... Ugh... Oh! One more
great news!!! So Cleidiane´s parents - especially her mom - want to
get baptised - but they can´t cuz they aren´t married because she is
recieving money from her other husband who died to pay for her kid´s
school - and she thought she would lose the money if she got married -
but it turns out SHE WON´T!! Whoo hoo!! So we will be helping with a
marriage!! Awesome huh? Man I love that family! They are AWESOME!!!!
Oh - also this week it was 91 degrees!!! In the WINTER!!! Weird huh???
Anyways, I love you all!! As always, thank you for everything you
do!!! Oh - and I wanna know the marriage date for Shereen - since she
won´t tell me herself... and the temple and everything... Anywho -
until next week!
Love,
Sister Dunlop
Oh! I almost forgot! We had a really cool thing happen this week - it
really shows how the Lord leads us to His children that are ready hear
the gospel! This week we got way lost - we were looking for this one
street and no one knew where it was - finally we asked this man - and
he said - oh it is way easy - and he told us where to go - well when
we got there - that street WASN´T there - and no one had even heard of
this street - we didn´t know what to do! We were kinda frustrated
because we were wasting time and this street wasn´t on our map and no
one knew where it was! So we just started walking down a street -and
there were 3 women there and we decided to ask them... and turned out
that one of the women knew where it was and she invited us into her
house! Turns out that this women had been going to church on and off
for more than a year - she hadn´t gotten baptised before because she
was living with her boyfriend - but they broke up and so we invited
her to be baptised and she accepted - she is preparing for this
Sunday! Cool huh?! The Lord really leads us to where we need to go! We
really are just instruments in His hands! His servants! We just have
to follow!
Spencer's email - 8/2/11
Hi Family!!
How are you doing?? I am doing great! I am feeling a lot better, i just didn’t eat for 2 days so i got sick. but then i went and bought some food and got a lot better!! haha its amazing what food can do for you huh??? um we walk a lot here. like a lot... the area is super big and unfortunately we have investigators in both sides of the area. But it’s good. I am liking being senior. its stressful at times. but also super good. we had a rough start but i am finally getting the hang of it. so it’s getting going.
so this week, eduardo didn’t get baptized.... we had the interview all set up and everything and the district leader came (1.5 hour trip) and he ran from us (i know what you are thinking.... how can a man in a wheel chair run from 2 teenagers....) well he actually got in a car and drove away (no he wasn’t driving) and so we waiting and then he came back so we went to talk to him.... and then left again.... and then again.... so that was frustrating. so didn’t happen. also we found that family and they didn’t go.... just the 9 year old son.... the mom didn’t want to go... she had some business to take care of. Buuuut.... God is so merciful. there is a man in the ward that has been going for about a year and hasn’t wanted to get baptized. But a member decided to go there and talk to him. and just said what do you think about baptism, and he responded saying you can mark a date. so he will be baptized this week! so cool!!! so that was really really good!!
the house... actually the president is going to come by tomorrow and see how it is. pretty sure we will be moving soon... but i dont really think it is too bad. I’ll take pictures for you guys!
This week was a battle but that’s how it should be, i really am learning a lot!! and i am loving it!!! i don’t have too much time this week!! but i love you guys so much. and maren and clara i sent letters. I hope you (mom and dad) had an awesome vacation!!! super cool!!! you´ll have to tell me more about that!! and keep on going fam!!! love you all!!! the church is true!
Elder Dunlop
How are you doing?? I am doing great! I am feeling a lot better, i just didn’t eat for 2 days so i got sick. but then i went and bought some food and got a lot better!! haha its amazing what food can do for you huh??? um we walk a lot here. like a lot... the area is super big and unfortunately we have investigators in both sides of the area. But it’s good. I am liking being senior. its stressful at times. but also super good. we had a rough start but i am finally getting the hang of it. so it’s getting going.
so this week, eduardo didn’t get baptized.... we had the interview all set up and everything and the district leader came (1.5 hour trip) and he ran from us (i know what you are thinking.... how can a man in a wheel chair run from 2 teenagers....) well he actually got in a car and drove away (no he wasn’t driving) and so we waiting and then he came back so we went to talk to him.... and then left again.... and then again.... so that was frustrating. so didn’t happen. also we found that family and they didn’t go.... just the 9 year old son.... the mom didn’t want to go... she had some business to take care of. Buuuut.... God is so merciful. there is a man in the ward that has been going for about a year and hasn’t wanted to get baptized. But a member decided to go there and talk to him. and just said what do you think about baptism, and he responded saying you can mark a date. so he will be baptized this week! so cool!!! so that was really really good!!
the house... actually the president is going to come by tomorrow and see how it is. pretty sure we will be moving soon... but i dont really think it is too bad. I’ll take pictures for you guys!
This week was a battle but that’s how it should be, i really am learning a lot!! and i am loving it!!! i don’t have too much time this week!! but i love you guys so much. and maren and clara i sent letters. I hope you (mom and dad) had an awesome vacation!!! super cool!!! you´ll have to tell me more about that!! and keep on going fam!!! love you all!!! the church is true!
Elder Dunlop
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