MTC: Last week (eek!) O.o

Next time y'all hear from my I will be in another country. How weird is that? But I'm ready to be there. I don't know how people are in the MTC for 9 or 12 weeks... It sounds absolutely terrible. And I don't have the ability to do something like that. I was called to Cebu for a reason. Although I don't know the reason yet, we'll see.

So I guess I will start with what happened last week right after I wrote. I swear the coolest most exciting stuff happens Friday night right after P-Day, no fair is all I can say. I had to wait a whole week to tell everyone this. So I got my travel information last Friday night, and it is not ideal. There is no coastal layover like I was hoping (I don't get to see Seattle again D:). It is a straight 14 hour flight from Salt Lake City to Tokyo, and then a 4 hour flight from Tokyo to Manila. We leave on the morning of the 19th, and get to the Manila MTC around 11:00 PM on the 20th. Shoot me. Silly time differences, jet lag is going to be terrible.

On Saturday we helped Sister Williams and Sister Landvatter pack, because they left on Monday :( but I'll get to that in a second. Our room looked like a hurricane ripped through it. It was so bad.

Sunday was really bad, one of the Sisters in the zone woke up in extreme pain and had to go the hospital because she had a kidney stone... ouch. It was a very stressful morning. I curled Sister Ferguson's and Sister William's hair for them and they looked super fab. I also got a terrible nose bleed on Sunday, which has never happened to me before, it was awful. I am so mad, the air here is awful. It is ruining my skin, and my hair, and my face. My hair feels like straw now...

I heard some good quotes on Sunday though, I'll just share a few of them with you. "One only progresses as fast as he gains knowledge," and then something more inspirational "Do not hide your light, be a candle on a candlestick, astonish the world!" and a funny one "Satan steals, Jesus heals"

We watched the Joseph Smith Restoration movie, and it was really good. Basically every movie I have watched here is really good! So watch all of them. But the spirit was so strong in the room by the end of it I was just like "AHH THE CHURCH IS TRUE!" it's intense.

On Monday the Danes left and it was a day of mourning. We still miss them so much. I cried, because we got so close with them. One of the teachers showed us pictures of her mission and it got us even more excited to get out to the field.

Oh and I got three packages on Monday I was so thankful!! Jaimie sent me homemade cookies that all the girls in my hallway love! And Sawyer colored me a picture, and the Roger's sent me a really awesome card, I loved it! Oh and Debbie sent me tuna, which was awesome. So I smuggled bread out of the cafeteria and then on the second can of tuna the can opener broke and I was so sad. And everyone sent me Kit Kats although I think they were for Sister Soleta so I gave them to her. She loves them. All of it was a wonderful cornucopia and I am so grateful.

And Felicia sent me a really nice card with pictures of Taylor in it, I put them in my journal so I can always see her face.

Mom I loved your quote "It's good to know Sarah Harding is off the island and serving a mission." I laughed soooo hard when I read that! Word smith you are.

We totally ended up cleaning the room though, because it was just the two of us in there. And I took Sister Ferguson's bed because it is the best in the room.

One of the Elders sat on smeared chocolate this week and it looked like he pooped his pants, we were laughing soo hard! And then the next morning his tie dipped in the melted chocolate chip he had put in his oatmeal. He just couldn't catch a break.

Oh I found a Sister during service on Tuesday with the same last name as me! Although she's going to Albania so she is Motra Dunn, and she is FROM SEATTLE!!! How crazy is that? Her first name is Russian like mine too, it was crazy.

Great moment on Tuesday, Vono walked into our room and says "Come home with honor, not bana." and we all died laughing because bana means husband, it was just a beautiful quote that I will hold dear.

Mom I have found the stain remover gold. Sister Williams gave me a fells knaptha bar and it is the best thing in the world. I suggest you buy some and use them for stains. they come right out.

It also rained really hard on Tuesday, I was in love. I just watched it out the window and felt sad and a little bit homesick, but that's just cause it is SOOO DRY HERE! I can't survive any longer. I don't know how all these Mormon's do it.

Oh and I saw an Elder I met at EFY like 5 years ago here at the MTC, it was awkward, because i don't think he remembered who I was.. whoops...

During Tuesday night devotional review Brother Metcalfe said something that really hit me hard "The adversary is having a hey day with you. You are on the brink of helping so many people and receiving so many blessings. Satan knows you are weak and is exploiting it." Thought it was awesome, and so I wrote it down in my journal so I would remember that I am stronger than Satan. I'm not and never will be smarter than God, but I am stronger than Satan.

We have a stupid 15 pound weight limit for our carry on bags, and I hate it so much. Because my carry on was 30 pounds on my way to the MTC.... i don't think I can manage it.

On Wednesday I found out some crazy stuff! So I was on FamilySearch going through family history and OH MY GOODNESS!!! I could trace our family line back to 5 BC on Dad's side of the family and we are related to a long line of kings from Finland, Norway, Denmark, etc... and I don't think y'all know this family, but we are related to Constantine the Great and Marcus Aurelius. Yea! Get excited about Genealogy. I have developed such a strong testimony of it this week, it is so important. It is soo coool!!!!!

We got 3 new roommates on Wednesday too. They are going to Thailand sooo Thai roommates! They seem pretty cool, and I made Sister Magbanua a tuna fish sandwich and after lights out we are all laying there trying to fall asleep and i just see her sitting up in bed so i asked her if she was okay and she was just like "yea, just eating my sandwich." I was laughing so hard, it was amazing. Tuna addict over here! Apparently in the night I sleep yelled, two of the new sisters heard me. I said "AMEN!" really loudly, i'm not sure what i was dreaming about. She said I sounded like a baptist preacher. when i apologized i said "sorry about that, i don't even know what i was dreaming about." and Sister Hayes just said "At least it was a righteous dream".

Yesterday was In-Field Orientation. Not as bad as everyone makes it out to be, but still not great. One of the elders from the show the District was our instructor in one of the segments, a bunch of the missionaries were weirdly star struck, and asked really stupid questions. At one point they used my companionship in a demonstration where I died of Ebola and went straight to the celestial kingdom. sweet right? That's the goal.

Sister Schultz's mom sent her a box of chocolate frogs for Valentines day and they were so good! She attached the quote "someday you'll find your prince charming." we died of the cute. She says she gets them every year. all the cuter. I wore my Ron Weasley sweatshirt while I ate them. I felt magnificent. Especially because I'm about to go on an excellent adventure, although I'm not going to Hogwarts.

This morning we did Sealings at the temple, which were soo cool, We did it as a district. UNITY! It was nice to be there together. I've started my packing today, I've discovered I do not have a talent for it.

When I was reading in Alma 48 this week I found something really interesting. in verse 23 it talks about "...they were sorry to be the means of sending so many of their brethren out of this world into an eternal world, unprepared to meet their God" and I was just thinking as I read that, they didn't want to go to war because they wanted a chance to teach them/ prepare them to meet God, but they couldn't let their families be killed.

I just thought it was cool, that even though they were being attacked by these people, they still felt sorrowful for them, and loved them, and wanted to help them come unto Christ by teaching them. And that's our job as members of the church. Remember that.

And remember the Lord's work will ALWAYS come through.

Love you guys, miss you all, let me know if anything earth shattering happens!

Lots of love,



Sister Dunn