Dec 29th

So much to write, so little time!

So for the mission Christmas party we had to come up with a skit. We had some ideas in the open, and Sis Smith and I were in charge, but since we had three musical numbers, exchanges and Christmas shopping to prep for, we were booked and couldn't get it together in time. So, seeing we have a Samoan from Australia with us.... we learned the Haka! It was simple, impressive, unique, and loads of fun! Out of the 13 zones in the mission, we were called to be first, so we scrambled to get everything ready (the elders found a smoke machine in their apartment, so we let out some nice fog for the second round of the haka) and it went really well! Due to the rush, none of us got a recording of it, but there were plenty in the audience who did, so I'll have to get it from them sometime.

The mission party consisted of a White Elephant Gift party where I acquired a glow stick, and Sis Smith an awesome N'Sync poster (still haven't hung it up though), singing as a whole mission (over 220 voices all at the top of their young lungs so it filled the gym really well), skits, Christmas dinner, and more skits! A lot of them were renditions of a missionary Christmas Carol, or spoofs off people who work in the mission - President Blatter had a representative in almost every skit, although he has a really good sense of humor (you need that as a mission president)! It went from9am-6pm, which was longer than they'd planned, but it was lots of fun to see everyone in the whole mission.

Christmas Eve we had district mtg, had dinner with some members, and went caroling with our district before we ran to the Olympia stake center where we got to play volleyball! It was weird playing on a day other than p-day, but President gave the elders in Lacey permission, so we sisters were allowed to do the same which we did with the other zone sisters as well.

Christmas was very packed with both food and company! We started off at a young family who let us Skype there before running to a Christmas dinner at our member friends' house. We stuffed ourselves there before running to a Samoan Christmas party where, naturally we had to eat some more and were given leftovers on the way out. Other than skyping with my family, that was one of the most special moments of the day as we watched the "He is the Gift" video with them and their 20 other family members that aren't Mormon, and Sis Smith and I sang a duet of Silent Night where the Samoans joined and sang the second verse in Samoan. You just have to love the Samoan culture of love, song, and family! It was amazing.

We then ran to our next dinner appointment which was less casual at a senior missionary couple's house. We had no idea, but the APs were there, so we just had a random dinner with the APs, the elders in the area who are in our district, and the AP's investigator. That was fun! We ran by another house on our way home that night where thankfully we weren't given any food but treats as our car was full of leftovers from every house we'd visited!

This Friday I went on an exchange to Olympia with none other than my favorite, long separated companion Sister Walker!! We were so excited, had a blast, and loved every minute of it. She's doing well in her new area, and it was hard to leave again, but who knows what will happen the next two transfers!

Apparently I'd been texted during the exchange, but the message didn't get to me that I was to give a talk in church Sunday, so as we walked into some meetings Sis Smith mentioned that I would be talking about Jesus Christ. After our meeting I had about 20 minutes to prepare, but fortunately it was only a 5 minute talk, so basically me baring my testimony. It went well and we finally got our investigator to church that kept saying she'd come and never did. She made it in time for my talk, and loved church, so she'll be coming back next week! :D

Love everyone, hope you have a great New Years, and I'll catch you next week with pictures!!

Sister Dunster 

Dec 22nd

The week of caroling! We won't be able to do it every night, but for the majority of this week we'll get to go caroling around as a zone or district which I'm excited for! We also have a lot of Christmas plans coming up; tomorrow's our mission-wide Christmas party where we'll be together from 9am-4pm. Seems really long, but with a lot of people to visit with and activities planned, it'll be good. AND that's where I'll get all my mail, so that will be Christmas for me right there! :)

We've been teaching the most adorable family I've ever seen. Both parents are members but less-active, and they have a daughter and son who are both just old enough to take the discussions, so we get to go over at least once a week and teach these kids who are so smart and remember everything they've learned from church! I don't have a picture of them yet, so I'll have to get a picture with them next time we're together so you can understand how loveable these kids are!

My camera batteries ran out so I didn't get to send any pictures from my camera (thank goodness for companions who also take pictures) but I went on an exchange with Sister Jones from Missouri! Her parents just moved into my ward not too long ago, and she went to BYU-I the same year I was there and know the same people! So we spent a lot of our time reminiscing about ballroom dance and the people we knew in between missionary work.

We had another baptism this weekend!: Ian Furey. He's that guy I told you about earlier who has an energetic puppy and who is very philosophical. He'd make a very good psychologist except he said he likes being able to give advice for free, so it's probably a good thing it's not something he's planning on getting a degree in.

It was a joint baptism with one of the elders' investigators, a 9 yr old boy named Riley who's afraid of water. When he stepped into the font he told his dad he couldn't do it. They stood there for five minutes while the father talked to him (and every person there saying prayer in their hearts!), but he just kept saying he couldn't do it. A missionary who baptized Ian just before the Riley's turn, stood watching from the side and someone suggested he go into the water to stand next to Riley as reassurance, since he'd taught him before . It worked! And made for a very touching baptism.

We're making way on the work here as it's exploding, and I'm excited for the coming year!

Merry Christmas!

Sister Dunster

                                                                     1. Ian's baptism!

2. The Lacey 6th District Christmas photo (Me and Sis. Smith, L to R: Elders Olmstead, Carder, Piel, and Allred, Front: Elders Pierce and Brinkerhoff)

                                            3. Exchanges: Sisters Smith, Kramer, me and Jones!

              4. Our other Christmas tree (a paper one Sis Smith's parents sent up and we strung with lights.)

Dec 15th

I'm at that point in my mission where I can look around during a missionary meeting and realize I'm one of the oldest missionaries in the room and it's the weirdest sensation ever - so whenever anyone asks how much time I have left I just say "less than six months" and that works.

This past week we had an exchange (although it's a weekly occurrence nowadays) and I stayed in the area this time. I'd been fighting a cold recently and even though I was beyond the worst of it, I had to talk the most so it wiped out my voice. I expected it to come back the next day, but it wasn't until four days later I told Sis. Smith I diagnosed myself with a paralyzed vocal chord that it started making improvements. I sound normal now, except for when I try to hit a C, so it still has room for improvement, but it's comforting to know I'm no expert in self-diagnosis. :)

This week we had a crazy wind storm! The night of its peak a ward member told us people were advised to stay indoors, but we never got a text from President saying we shouldn't go out for 5-7s (our tracting hours), so we went out anyway. Everyone told us to be careful, and we felt a few stinging pine needles and a random pine cone, but otherwise it wasn't too bad. Our power went out that night so we propped our flashlights up to plan and a recent convert who lives downstairs from us came up with a lantern to me sure we were ok - she's a sweetheart! The next day it looked like a hurricane went through with so many branches across the grass and roads, but our power was back on by morning, so life was back to normal.

Saturday I got to go back up to Tacoma for the baptism of an older woman we've been teaching for a year!! I was SO excited, and probably because I got to see Sister Walker, Loy and Humphreys for the first time in three weeks! (Doesn't sound that long, but it feels like ages in companionship time!) It was a little different than I anticipated because a sister from the mission had to go home for medical problems, so Sister Walker got emergency transferred to an English area and came up with an English companion for the baptism as well. We caught up as much as possible as we could in that short span of time, I realized how much I miss hearing Cambodian, but most of all it soothed my worries about how well Sisters Loy and Humphreys would do in Cambodian work alone, and how well Sister Walker would adjust to English work! She's loving it already, said it would be a healthy challenge for the other sisters, and as it so happens she got transferred in an area Sis. Smith and I are STLs for, so we can go on exchanges with each other!!! Ha! I don't think President even knew that when he gave her the call, so God is good! :) It was an awesome baptism, and I'm so excited to hear about the progress they're making over there. There's no guarantee on anything, but I'm hoping to go back Cambodian for my last transfer, in less than six months or so. :) But I'm thoroughly enjoying the work where I am right now, so that'll come when it's time!

So for a spiritual thought in light of the wind storm, I would like to share a scripture, popularly quoted in General Conference; Helaman 5:12;

"And now, my sons, remember, remember, that it is upon the rock of our Redeemer, who is Christ, the Song of God, that ye must build your foundation; that when the devil shall send forth his mighty winds, yea, his shafts in the whirlwind, yea, when all his hail and his mighty storm shall beat upon you, it shall have no power over you to drag you down to the gulf of misery and endless woe, because of the rock upon which ye are built, which is a sure foundation, a foundation whereon if men build they cannot fall."

As we drove through the fallen branches strewn across the roads, I realized the wind just took out the weak or dead branches from the trees, so the trees are now clean, and stronger than they were before. I noted my thought process out loud to Sister Smith and how that's what happens to us in times of adversity; we are being put through a refiner's fire, and it's only through those experiences we are better able to put our priorities in line and focus on what truly matters in life in order to become stronger, and firmer in our foundation for life. In the words of the Twelve Apostles, "God be thanked for the matchless gift of His Divine Son"!

Love you!

Sister Dunster

                                            My first exchange with Sisters Graves and Geraldino!

                                                                    Hannah's baptism!

                                                              Yiay Rut Maorl's baptism!!

                                            Me and Sis Walker, marking our one year with Yiay!

                                                                        Larry's baptism!

                                                        Gingerbread house decorating at dinner :)

                                                                    Planning in the dark

                               

                                                       Our backyard during the blackout

                                       Second exchange: Sisters Harbough, Smith, Wilson and me

                              This is what happens when we run in the morning and it starts to rain...

Dec 8th

We were in such a rush to get to the library after shopping I left my planner in the car, so I'll just have to go by memory and hope that I get everything in! We had two baptisms this week; Larry, a 14 yr old boy, and Hannah, a 16 yr old girl. It's weird baptizing people I've only taught once or twice, but they were really good and Hannah's grandparents came and are interested in learning more about the church, so that's awesome! They'll only be in town for a short little while, but we can at least get them started.

Oh, I have to tell you about the other investigators we have right now. Ian's is such an interesting lesson - every time! He has this puppy (or furry ball of energy) called Princess that bounces around her cage as soon as we get there and has to stay on a leash the entire time else she WILL climb all over you! It's kind of hard to concentrate during the lesson when you have to keep her entertained else she'll bite you, chew on your shoe, or climb into your lap, but fortunately Sister Smith has a red laser in her flashlight that helps the puppy focus her energy elsewhere. Not only that, but in spite of everything Ian's been through, he's really intelligent, and the first time the elders came with us to team teach him, Elder Pierce commented "I feel like you're teaching us as much as we're teaching you, I've learned so much!" and I completely agreed! It seems our job is simply to ask an inspired question and he'll just talk himself through the lessons. His thought process is very logical, and he comes to the same conclusions that we're going for, so we just give him the gospel and he teaches us it seems.

Bob is an older guy that repeats himself a lot because of the drugs he's been on in the past, but he's so happy to be in remission an is proud of the fact that he's able to resist temptation with which we share his joy. He's such a character and loves to talk, so it takes a bit of effort to make sure whatever we teach him is simple enough we can get it in between long spouts of conversation, but he's come a long ways.

This past week I've learned a lot from my scriptures study, especially when it comes to the Atonement. I never fully understood how central the Atonement was until I came on my mission, and everything leads back to it. I was reading in 3 Nephi 9 where just before, Christ is crucified and many people die in the upheavals and natural disasters that occur. Then, in the next chapter the voice of Jesus Christ is heard saying:

 "O all ye that are spared because ye were more righteous than they, will ye not now return unto me, and repent of your sins, and be converted, that I may heal you?

Yea, verily I say unto you, if ye will come unto me ye shall have eternal life. Behold, mine arm of mercy is extended towards you, and whosoever will come, him will I receive; and blessed are those who come unto me." (verses 13-14)

 

At first glance the invitation seems like so broad, and repentance can seem so demanding and harsh until you look into it more and understand where it's coming from and what it truly means. Imagine someone you admire and look up to, who you don't want to disappoint. This is like Jesus Christ, who is our older brother, and who loves us more than we can love him back. He gave his life not just for everyone, but for you personally so he's felt everything you have; the good times and the bad times. He knows what it takes to succeed and have happiness, so he's with you at all times, waiting to help if you let him. Elder Pierce (one of the elders we share a ward with) described the Atonement during one of Ian's lessons this way; "it's not like the light at the end of the tunnel, but the light all around us". It's there to give us strength, as well as peace during times of trial. It's not just there to lift you up when you fall, but to run even harder when you're on your feet. And so my challenge is to look for ways you can better use the Atonement in your life, which can be as simple as recognizing something you need to change for the better, looking beyond your own problems far enough to recognize the needs of others and helping them, or giving up a small habit that is holding you back. From an all knowing, all loving God who is the essence of love and happiness, all He asks is that we give up what we think we want, for what we need. I love this gospel, and the power it's given me to be happy. I'm not perfectly happy all the time, and that's now what life means, but discovering how to be grateful in all circumstances. Because like I said last week, no matter what we do or don't have in life; everyone has power to access the Atonement.

Love you, and hope you had a great week!

Sister Dunster

Dec1

As I said last week, it's like the tornado swept me from my home in Kansas to the land of Oz! I honestly feel like I just got a new mission call: I'm in a new area, working with a new ward, teaching in a different language, and with a companion I'd never imagined working with - it's very different, but I love it! I still take note of Asians, pray in Cambodian, and do language study, but I'm adjusting to the fact that we teach every white person we talk to, these English investigators we have are now mine, and it's bizarre to be the missionary that ward members come up to and say "So you're the new one!"  

Lacey was actually one of my first choice of places to go, and it's definitely proved to be the best place! Comparing Tacoma to Lacey is like comparing apples to oranges - it just doesn't happen, so I'll just tell you my experience with Lacey so far. The work goes fast; we have member with lessons almost every single lesson, we have two baptisms coming up this week and two on the horizon, the members feed us nearly every day, and if not there are members in surrounding wards that we meet at WinCo and they pay for our groceries!! (This just happened an hour ago and apparently it's never happened to Sis. Smith before either, so that's kind of an exception) The dogs are more tame, there are more trees (yes!), and there are still Cambodians in the area I can scout out and... send over the Cambodians. Obviously it's a mental hurdle I have yet to overcome in realizing I teach English people for now, but that doesn't mean I still can't help out the others. :)

For Thanksgiving we went to three different meals. Not a smart idea! We ate as little as possible, but the middle meal was Samoan, so of course we had to have chopped suey, raw fish salad, taro, and rolls in coconut syrup (really good), in addition to the classic American meal they had out. So by the time the third rolled around I could barely manage of few more mouthfuls before I stopped. But I got to meet quite a few key members, and I love them! The ward, and the investigators we're working with! We've taught with both a member and with the elders now which is very different, but can actually work, and we have some good elders in the ward with us that have never served with sisters before (one's a greenie) so they're conscious not to step on our toes and are great in helping out.

The weather's taken a dive as it snowed on Saturday! It stuck in areas with shade, and the temperature never recuperated, so we're stuck in the 20-30s, but we randomly got a text from a returned missionary from another ward who wanted to go tracting with us! He just got back from Ohio, so he's plenty adjusted to the cold, but I still had to give him kudos for volunteering in this weather!

We'll be going on my first exchange this coming week which will be fun and exciting. I'm told it's exhausting work, but worth it! I've learned a lot just from my first week here, one of them being gratitude. The reasoning's a little obvious, but as I pondered what it means to have an attitude of gratitude in your daily life and not just for little things, I realized literally everyone has something to be grateful for. No matter where you are in life, whether on cloud nine, or rock hard bottom, everyone has access to the Atonement. That's why, as much as some people don't like it, we missionaries are out spreading the message of the gospel to others; because there is miraculous power and life through the Atonement, and no one should be exempt from access to it! It's real, I've experienced it, and I've seen it in the lives of those around me. We have everything to be grateful for, and I'm so excited for the opportunity to really focus on it during the Christmas season, as it is the greatest manifestation of God's love for us.

Love you!

Sister Dunster

Nov 24th

Holy moly, transfer calls!! 

First of all, I was totally wrong when I guessed how many companions I would have by the end of my mission, but that juts goes to show how narrow our point of view is compared to God's plan for us! President Blatter didn't give us any clues as to what our transfer call was going to be, except during a phone call he asked if I'd ever served English before. He already knew the answer because we'd discussed this in interviews before,  and he also knew I wasn't particularly interested in serving English, but that I would pray about it if that's something he wanted me to consider.

Last week Sis. Walker mentioned how she'd like to go English speaking just to gain a different experience outside the ward we've been in for over a year now, and to gain a different set of skills. It wasn't until then that I realized it's something I should pray about and see if it really was something I should look into. So this past week with transfers looming up, I contemplated the option of going English, and strongly felt, I would be going English speaking this coming transfer. 

The closer it got, the more sure I felt, and the more I looked forward to it, as I never realized it until I got back from an exchange, that it's so easy to get stuck in a rut when you're in the same place for too long; things become too routine and less inspired, and I just really needed a change. Saturday was the day of the calls, and here's the verdict: I am now going to Lacey with Sister Smith, English speaking!! It's exactly what I needed, and although I'm going to have separation anxiety as Sister Walker and I haven't been away from each other longer than 24 hours for the past 14 months, it'll be good.

And, as it so happened, I'm also going to be a Sister Training Leader which means I'll be going on exchanges with lots of fellow sisters every week. I laughed when President said that because it wasn't at all within my radar of options, and it's always been a joke between us that I would get called as an STL. Then it happened. But in my heart I'll always be Cambodian, so as I get to travel in the areas surrounding Lacey, I will forever keep my eyes out for Cambodians so I can scout out the work down there for the others who are now going to be in a trio.

In the midst of it all I feel like Dorothy whose house got swept up by a tornado and she suddenly found herself in the land of Oz. But she made friends and conquered the Wicked Witch, so we never know what will happen in Lacey. :)

The other sisters had a baptism which they asked me to give a talk on the Holy Ghost for. I'd given a talk in Khmer before, but this time the words really flowed quicker and I was able to say a little more than I have the past. It'll be the last time I speak that much Khmer for a few transfers which I'm really bummed about, but for sure I'll go back for at least my last transfer. This will be my fourth to last, so who knows what will happen those last three!

That took the cake for this week, so anything else I had planned to write is no pretty insignificant to me now. Although the work will be very different and I'll miss the people of Tacoma, I'm excited for a chance to work in a new area, and gain a new experience. After all, the church is true, no matter where you go. :)

Love you all!

Sister Dunster

Nov 19th

Four out of the five times I've been on an exchange with the Sister Training Leaders I've stayed in the area, so I was pretty bummed when this fourth call came until I learned I'd at least have Sister Kaivalvatana!! She's a sister from Thailand that is leaving this upcoming transfer, so she only had 2 weeks left, and while she tried to focus, we definitely talked a lot about what it's like having so little time left. It made me reflect on the next 4.5 months I have left and what I'd like to accomplish in that time. One of the reasons I love Sister K is how absolutely loving and guileless she is: you leave her feeling more loving towards everyone around you, and one of those people you just love to be around! Unfortunately not very many people opened their doors for us, but that just means we talked everywhere we went and with everyone we met with. :)

Saturday we had breakfast at Bishop's house. It was our first meeting with the bishop so it was kind of a get-to-know-you, and where he established the vision he had for the missionary work in the ward and asked if there was anything we needed from the ward. It was honestly one of the most revolutionary meetings I've had in this ward which was spent over pumpkin waffles, scrambled eggs and bacon (Sister Oaks does so much and is simple amazing!). I'm sad to see our old bishop finish, but I'm also excited to see the change take place in the new presidency. I left feeling so pumped to get out and work, which also carried into Sunday where in Relief Society we talked about missionary work and all I wanted to do was just go out and talk to people. Granted I've always wanted to work, but I'd never felt so restless during church before.

Monday was a little more fun in the fact that we got permission to play volleyball with our district! I hadn't played in 8 months, but I didn't exactly have a good running stretch of practice before that either, so it was just fun to spend time with our district and do something fun and active. (Sorry, no pictures this week.) 

And, good news; this week after picking up a former investigator we got so excited to finally have an investigator and an actual sit-down lesson that for a second we weren't exactly sure what to teach him, especially when the last we talked to him he professed to being a Buddhist. But he really liked the Restoration and we're just praying that he'll take time to really pray this week to know the Book of Mormon's true! I love this work, and I know, no matter what your background or circumstances, it's meant for everyone!

Sister Dunster