Cincinnati, fall, social media and I'm an aunt! (: September 15, 2014

Hello Family!

Wow, what a week! Where to start?! The beginning! MONDAY! RED'S GAME!

So we went down to Cincinnati, and went to the Red's game and oh my goodness fun! We took a big mission picture then walked to the stadium and we were on our own. Haha! A night with lots of missionaries! It was great (: Sister Sofele and I hung out for the majority of it. We watched some baseball, looked at souvenirs, hate a hotdog, drank some soda, preached the gospel to some people. It was fantastic! (: I had a blast. It was amazing to see a bunch of the missionaries from the mission. I've made so many friendships. It's great! So that was fantastic. We spent the night with a set of sisters just outside of Cincinnati, and then drove home the next morning. I was beat. Not a lot of sleep. Went to bed late and slept on the ground, but it was worth it! (:

It's been chilly here! Like low 60's! I love it! I've pulled out my tights! Woohoo! I need to buy a pair of boots. And I've pulled out scarves as well. I'm excited for fall and all the holidays. It's going to be fun! (:

So I talked to President at the Red's game, and he told me that not often does he talk to the Mission Department is Salt Lake about missionaries, but he does about me, a lot. hah! So I guess he had recently talked to them and they advised that I stop work on my visa because I don't have a lot of time left (a little over 4 months), and if I got my visa I'd have to do 2 weeks in the Brasil MTC and then wouldn't have enough time in the field to learn the language and be effective. However, they said that it is still my decision and I have been praying hard about it. And on Saturday, I knelt down and talked to my Father in Heaven, and I felt so much peace with continuing to wait. Although I know I may never go to Brasil while on my mission, I knew it was right to keep waiting. I then got permission to call my parents! So last night, I called dad, and he and mom were super confused! Haha (: But we talked it out, and I feel good. It's so reassuring to talk to parents, you two are incredible. So that was exciting (:

We had another Social Media Split, so there are pictures of me out there on facebook of doing missionary work! (:
#socialmediasplit
#Mormon
#andersontwo

Also, I hear Instagram is more popular than Facebook. Whoa, what?! The world is changing! (;

Transfers are tomorrow. I am staying in the area. So I have the same address. I am, however, receiving a new companion. Sister Armstrong is leaving. My mission has had a pattern with companions. I'm with them for one transfer, then two, then one, then two, then one, then two, and now one. So the next is two! (: Hahah! Exciting.

Thank you for sending pictures of baby Parker (: He is adorable! So cute. I love him (: Congratulations Cooper and Kylie! I'm glad all went well.

I love you all! Thank you so much for your support and love, it truly makes a difference.

Love,
Sister Dunn.

We went and did service on Saturday, and I got to chop wood! First time doing that! Haha. Brother McKenzie got some funny photos. So here you go!

Cincinnati!

Sister Hefner! She's the one who's family also moved to Hawaii! I love her (:

Sister Parker! So much happy (: She was my STL in my last area.

She's incredible! She's changed my mission.

Elder Smith (ZL in last area) and Elder Klodnicki (last DL).

SISTER SOFELE! Best friends.

Cool. Ha!

President Porter and I! I love this picture. It was so nice to talk to him (:

Hooray! I'm at a Red's game!

Best night. I've missed her.

In the stadium!

I love this picture! So classic. Eating my hotdog and a baseball game (:

Sister Porter! Love her! (: She told me to keep in touch because my mission has been crazy and she wants to see what happens in my life to know why I'm going through what I am. Ha!

WOOHOO!

The stadium.

Bridge (:

Cute burger place we were going to eat at, and I got a picture and everything, then it was too packed so we went to Pizza Hut instead. Ha! I thought of Lucy though, so I had to get a picture.

This was on exchanges, this was a girl named Lucy (: She was adorable. And so happy and giggly. I loved her. We were having fun.

I think that's it! LOTS of pictures!

LOVE YOU ALL!

Again, same address. So feel free to mail me stuffs!

And congrats Cooper and Kylie! (:

Sorry! It's short. September 8, 2014

I have 4 minutes! GO!

Not a lot has happened between the Wednesday I emailed and today.. We're going to the Red's game tonight! I'm super excited! That should be fun!

Dad, thanks for your letter, it was perfect and just what I needed (:

Working hard and having fun. Loving the ward and the people we're teaching!

Thanks for all the love and support and prayers. They're much needed.

Love you!
Sister Dunn.

Got attacked by mosquitos! I have a total of 26 bites on my 2 legs! It's ridiculous and they look somewhat diseased! They itched like crazy! It was bed time, so I don't look too pretty either. Ha!

Had a farmers market outside our apartment, and one of the tents broke at 10:20pm, and there was vintage furniture under it and so we went out and covered what we could before the giant storm came! We got caught in it, but it was nice to help someone who couldn't help themselves.

A missionary's farewell party (: This made me laugh.

Called to serve! Hooray!

Wednesday email! (: September 3, 2014

It has been a crazy week! Holy smokes! But I made it! Woohoo! (:

Teaching lessons, finding people, working with the members, it's been crazy. We haven't seen much of the fruit of our labors, but I know that seeds are being planted!

We are teaching this 19 year old, Ava. She has a 7 month baby girl, Melody, seriously cutest baby ever, she has the best cheesey corn ball smile! Well she has been progressing great! We extended baptism for September 20 and she accepted! Happy! Well we went and visited her last night and she informed us that she's moving.. so that was sad to hear. But we'll connect her with the missionaries there and she can continue progressing! (:

We volunteer every Wednesday at a Woman's shelter called Dove Harbor, and we sort through donations. We usually end up going through bags and bags of clothing and sorting out what to keep and what to not keep. Well here I was going through a bag when I see an awesome Red's jersey! (which is even more exciting cause we're going to a game this Monday!). Well I see that there's a name on the back and I saw "DU" and I thought to myself how amazingly great it would be if it said my name, and I flipped it over AND low and behold it said "DUNN!" WHAT?! I was freaking out! I could not believe it! So I asked the lady we work for if I could keep it and she said I could! SWEET! So I have an awesome Cincinnati Red's jersey with my name on it. Best souvenir ever! (:

On Monday we went and did some more chalk drawing of the Plan of Salvation. We did it in the morning/afternoon in Anderson and then in the evening in Pendleton. It was a lot of fun to be out talking to people and being artistic, it felt good to just draw. So that was exciting.

So that's about it! I miss you all so much. I miss you a lot. I'm secretly struggling, so it's nice to hear from you! Thank you so much for that. (: You're all the best, and you're always in my prayers!

Love,
Sister Clara Kay Dunn.


Also. I calculated (but awhile ago, so I hope it's still right).

If everyone starts tomorrow and reads 4 pages in the Book of Mormon you can finish before I come home.

So challenge out there. You should do it.

That's all!

Love you (:

Language study at the church! Watching church movies in Portuguese!

Hunter and I made a motorcycle with a man riding it and his son in a car seat on the back! It was AWESOME! Hahha.

That's Helena, she's 4, I did her hair and then we took selfies (:

And the jersey.

Love you all!

Here's your email for the week! (: August 25, 2014

Another Monday, another P-day! Hooray! The weeks are going by quickly! It's insane.

The weeks go by so quickly, that it's hard to remember what to write about in my letter.

A cool thing was that we went on exchanges and I got to be with my Sister Training Leader, Sister Penrod, and it was so neat, we were going to try some people and she saw a lady walk out to get her mail and she felt we needed to go talk to her. So we went up and she was in her garage and we started talking to her, telling her about the Restoration and the blessings that come from it, and she started to cry. She then told us that her sister had died a couple of months previously and she was just looking at pictures of her in the garage, and she said that she has been doing a lot of soul searching and that she had been trying things on her own and that nothing was working, and so it was a miracle that we came up to her and started talking to her. She said she needed the help of someone else and that it was a blessing we showed up. WOW! MIRACLE! Moments like that strengthen my testimony that we are doing good work and that the Lord has prepared people for us to teach. Every day I write down what happened that day that I was grateful for and what of God's grace we saw. I know that He is in every day. We just have to look for Him and recognize all that He does for us. It's miraculous! That was in the area that Sister Penrod is in, so I'll have to hear how that goes when she goes back to teach her more.

Also on exchanges! I was able to talk to a lady from Brasil! She was from Sao Paulo and we were able to talk. She said that she was so impressed that I had learned Portuguese in 6 weeks and that that was a year ago! I couldn't believe it either! It was a challenge, I had to concentrate real hard, but I got it, and we were able to talk. It was really neat (:

It's been real stormy here! Like really intense. Rain pouring down, constant lightning, and really loud thunder. Like really down. Cracking thunder. It's so intense! Storms are crazy over here! It's exciting, I love rain storms. The only down fall is that as a missionary you're required to be out in it. Then it's not so fun being rained on and soaking wet. haha! But it's exciting (: We went running one morning and it just poured down, it was fun to run in the rain.

We had dinner with the bishop and his family last night. It's neat being the missionary. Because I remember the missionaries coming over to our house when Dad was bishop, and now I'm on the other side. It's cool (: The bishop and his family are hilarious! We were cracking up and having a good time. It's always enjoyable when you can be with a family and feel comfortable and happy.

That's about it. Oh wait! Just kidding. We found out that the mission is going to a Cincinnati Red's Game in 2 weeks! Woo hoo! That is going to be fun! (: We're going on September 8. I can't wait! I'm excited to see all the missionaries! Especially Sister Sofele! AH! Miss her SO much. It's weird being in a zone without her. She sent me a letter last week saying I better be going because she wants to see me. Haha. It's gonna be great!

Mom! I got your package today. Oh my gosh! Hilarious! I unfolded the shirt and just started cracking up! Bahahah! I love it! You're too funny (: Thank you so much. It's a great 1 year mark gift.

I'm glad that you got my boxes! I always worry that they get lost or don't make it.

Hope everything is going well. I love you a lot! You're my favorite!

Love you,
Sister Clara Kay Dunn.

Supporting Brasil on my Zone Fun Day last week (:

Love this! I love our Heavenly Father.

I've been messing with the camera, and it's so pretty out here. So lots of landscapes of Indiana!

The car we drive! We lucked out and have a jeep!

Taking pictures in the corn. hahah! 

I was SO afraid of bugs. There are crazy big spiders in there. And I somehow got myself to go into the corn. I was freaking out, and this picture shows it. Haha!

Sister Armstrong and I.

Soy Beans

More Soy Beans

Driving along.

Mr. Robot on our dashboard. Haha (:

Me, Sister Armstrong, Sister Porter (President Porter's niece, crazy I know), and Sister Penrod (my STL).

Exchanges! Haha. Finding things to sleep on. I got to sleep on the couch. Yep, the ones from the church building. Hooray for missionary furniture! Haha.

Saw this at the library and got excited. Hah! I miss recycling.

My new shirt! Hahaha! I LOVE it! You're hilarious (:

I just love you. I hope you know! August 18, 2014

FAMILY! (:

Oh boy. I missed you guys. My email last week was so lame! I've been waiting to make up for it! Last week was terrible! When I tried emailing you last week, I was so weak that it took all my energy to lift my arms to the keyboard, and then took all the more effort to push the darn keys down! It wore me out.. How sad! I actually had to take a break, and I went and laid on the ground. HA! It was no good! So I emailed what little bit I could and then we went back to our apartment. I texted Sister Porter (she's the mission mom/nurse), and she was shocked that I've still felt sick. I was sick for the last like 2 weeks.. And I just couldn't kick it. So she told me to call the mission doctor! Doctor Dunn (yepp! That's our name!). Well he said to regulate my temperature and see how it goes. Well Monday night was miserable, I didn't get like any sleep, I was super nauseous and achy and my temperature got up to 101.6! So in the morning I called Doctor Dunn and told him that I was NOT getting better! And he suggested that I go to a doctor. So I went to urgent care and saw a doctor. He thought it might have been strep! So he tested for that, but I was negative. So thank goodness! He thinks it was just some back virus that I caught and must have just caught it again.. So he prescribed me some antibiotics, told me to rest and to drink lots. I was in bed for like 2 days straight... yuck. I was so ready to get out of the house! But I'm feeling better now! HOORAY! (: I was going crazy being stuck in my bed. And what a great way to start Sister Armstrong and I's companionship.. it was hard for her. She didn't understand or know what to do with herself. But we're out and working now and it's great!

And you know what?! Here I was, feeling all sick and tired and not having the greatest week, when I get TWO packages! One from Lucy! Hooray! I was SO excited! That was so unexpected and perfect timing! And it fits! So now I'm all ready for Shayla's wedding as a Distant Bridesmaid (: I'm actually wearing the dress now! And I most definitely found me some Peener hairs. Probably the happiest thing right there! For once, knowing what cat the hair came from and loving the cat that it doesn't bother me. Hah! (: And then a happy surprise of a package from momma! And it was a brand new camera! I was freaking out a bit, because I didn't need a new one, but then I read the letter. I like the plan. It's dad's camera on loan to me. So I'm taking VERY good care of it! It came with a fancy case, so that's good. And I am extra a lot making sure that I don't ever set it down anywhere but in my bag! Haha. Thank you SO much mom and dad (: Good choice on camera. This is the updated version that the member in my last ward let me borrow. It's super nice. I'm excited!

We had Zone Conference on Wednesday! I love Zone Conferences! I love hearing from President Porter. My gosh, he's a genius and I learn so much from him! I was asked to give a talk that I didn't know I was suppose to prepare! Whoops! But thank goodness it was on the Doctrine of Christ (which is Faith in Jesus Christ, repentance, baptism, gift of the Holy Ghost and enduring to the end), so I was good on talking about that! That's all we do! I think I did okay. My testimony has truly grown with these principles. I love them and have learned so much about them for my personal life. And elder said it was a powerful talk, so that was kind of him (:

We're meeting a lot of people and teaching and it's so much fun! I love it. I'm so grateful for the gift of the Holy Ghost. That we get to feel of Him whenever we are worthy. It's a great feeling. And teaching with him present! AH! Best thing ever (:

So the week started out rough.. But it's a whole lot better now! Hooray!

Yes, living in Pendleton, Indiana, serving in the Anderson Ward. My Zone Leaders are serving in the same ward with us. Sister Armstrong is from Utah, this is her first and only area, been out 6 months. It's always an overload to learn a new area, but it's stretching my mind and my memory, so that's good! It's really pretty out here. I like Indiana. Everyone has a porch with chairs that you go sit on (lessons on the porch are a fantastic thing), there are corn fields every where and they're so tall now! It's beautiful! And soy bean fields! I like those a lot. Especially when it's over cast and kind of foggy, it's a pretty sight. All the buildings look super old, there are tons of brick buildings. I'm constantly thinking about how I just want to come back and take pictures of EVERY thing! It's neat over here.

Well that's about it! Things have been going well (: And now that I have a camera, more pictures coming at you! I wasn't able to take a lot this week, so next week will be good. Today is our Zone Fun Day, so I'll try to take some pictures there.

Know that I love you all to pieces. I couldn't do this without the help of my Father in Heaven, Jesus Christ and you, my family. Thank you. Thank you for all the love you give to me. It means a lot.

But! Before I go! Lucy! HAPPY BIRTHDAY! (: HOORAY! I hope you have a great day! Full of fun and happiness. I'll be sending you my birthday wishes through prayer! And also, I bought this awesome card but I can't find it.. I bought it in my last area, and must have lost it through the move of transfers.. SO.. it may be late. And I have yet to buy you a birthday gift.. So know that I send my love, and eventually my present. Haha!

And Shayla, happy marriage day! I'm there in Spirit! (: Hope it's fun. I'm sure it will be!

Love you all so very much!

With all the love of my heart,
Sister Dunn.
Sister Missionary serving in Indiana!

Distant Bridesmaid! (: This is the back way to our apartment. It's so fun! We live in tiny downtown Pendleton and we have a back way up the stairs to our apartment! Fun!

Selfie for good measure. Testing out the new camera (;

Sister Armstrong and I right before we came into the library.

That's all for this week! Love you all so very much!

area #5 and companion #7. August 11, 2014

hey.

so the shift key on this keyboard is super sticky and annoying.. so i'm avoiding it at all costs. so i apologize for not capitalizing!

also, i'm feeling reallyy sick.. i woke up all nauseous and dizzy and super weak. it's taking all my energy to push the buttons on this darn keyboard. blah. so this email is going to be short. cause i'm going to go back home to rest.

so i am now serving in the Anderson Ward! i live in Pendleton, Indiana above a cupcake shop (: our apartment is small and pretty basic. haha. it's been fun! my companion is Sister Armstrong. she's been out for 6 months and this is her first and only area. and get this! Sister White was serving here before she got to Milford with me! so i'm sleeping in the same bed, and meeting the people she's taught. it's crazy!

my new address is:

101 1/2 State St. #3
Pendleton, IN 46064

i am now accepting all letters and packages (; hahah.

still getting over my sickness.. obviously. so it's been a struggle cause we've been working lots, which is great! it's always an adjustment coming to a new ward and a new area. still adjusting!

i'm sorry this email is so lame. i don't have lots of time or energy. but it's okay! i'm getting better. i just need to lay down and eat some protein (:

know that i love you a whole heck of a lot!

you're the best family. i receive so much strength from you. thank you for everything.

love,
sister clara kay dunn.