Trio!

This week has been crazy but also the best! Last Monday we got a third companion named sister Tillemnn-Dick who is waiting for her visa to go to Mongolia and let me tell you she is the greatest! Heavenly Father keeps giving me awesome companions I am so spoiled. We have been having so much fun being in a trio and learning how to adjust to it. Our apartment is pretty tiny so it's been interesting fitting all three of us in here but we manage haha. No one knows when her visa is supposed to come so we have no idea how temporary/permanent this will be. So that's  been the main thing going on this week it's been a blur but a pretty fantastic one.  

There are times when I feel like a chicken running around with my head cut off just trying to stay afloat and other times when I feel like I actually have myself together. The former is what's usually going on but it's kind of fun. It's funny how people think missionaries know everything and are perfect because they get all offended when we make the slightest mistake and I'm just like wait, since when are we not allowed to be humans and make mistakes? I'm not going to be perfect anytime soon so have fun being disappointed and offended that's your choice. Idk. Sometimes it's hard for me when people are so judgmental and rude over a situation that I have no control over but nonetheless rant over. 

We have given so many talks these last couple weeks and you'd think I'd be a pro by now. Wrong. I'm still as bad as I've always been but it's cool I keep learning and I feel the spirit when I speak hopefully I'm not the only one haha. 

Other than that things are going good! The work in Nephi is on fire and we are just trying to keep it up and not let it burn out. The members are noticing and it's cool to see them step up and want to be apart of the work since it's progressing. 

"I have never witnessed the removal of an actual mountain. But because of faith I have seen a mountain of doubt and despair removed and replaced with hope and optimism. Because of faith I have personally witnessed a mountain of sin replaced with repentance and forgiveness. And because of faith I have personally witnessed a mountain of pain replaced with peace, hope, and gratitude. Yes, I have seen mountains removed." Gordon B Hinckley 

Love from Nephi, 

Sister Dunkley 

Tender mercies of the Lord/8 months!

Hey everyone!

The highlight of this week was that we got to go to the temple! I

realized that we forgot to take any pictures but nonetheless it was

still awesome. We went with the Delta and Wellington sisters and it

was so fun to see Sister Gold! She was my sister training leader in

Vernal and is from Glendora and one of my favorite people ever it was

so great to see her! We all got little ceasars pizza afterwards but

there were no tables or chairs to eat at so we parked in the church

parking lot and ate pizza like the mature adults we are it was

hilarious but we had fun and that's all that matters haha.

Can I just say sometimes I'm so glad I'm serving in utah because I

learn SO much about how I want to be as well as how I don't want to be

when I'm an old returned missionary. Y'all there are some great people

here that we work with and it teaches us what it looks like to fulfill

your calling and I'm just so grateful for how much they teach me and

help me be better. It's so humbling being a missionary especially when

you're asked to speak in multiple sacrament meetings and have zero

time to prepare (yesterday) and you feel like you did horribly but

someone tells you it wasn't that bad and you thank the Lord you didn't

mess up the entire sacrament meeting. Man the blessings are real! I

have grown to not like speaking on my mission which is bad because we

do it all the time. I just don't like not being able to prepare and

give more of my attention to my talk but the spirit makes up for the

difference it's such a blessing. I was asked to speak on the Book of

Mormon and tender mercies and both were suck powerful things for me to

study and prepare more.

I thought of when I was flying to the MTC from Saint George back in

July I had to say goodbye to my mom and I was officially alone and

super sad. Well I get through security and sit down and am holding

myself together and trying not to cry in front of a bunch of strangers

when I see Rachel's cousin Simone walk up and sit next to me it was

the coolest thing! We get talking and she asks me what seat I'm

assigned to on the plane and low and behold it's the one right next to

her. Immediately starting my mission the Lord is pouring down tender

mercies on me it was so overwhelming to feel His love for me through

that experience.

So I want y'all to be more attentive this week to tender mercies and

how the Lord blesses you everyday! I know as you do that you'll feel

the spirit and Heavenly fathers love for you so strongly and you'll

have a greater sense of gratitude for the tender mercies of the Lord.

Also today I hit 8 months since I entered the MTC🎉

So cool!

Sorry this was a longer one I hope y'all have a great week!

Love from Nephi,

Sister Dunkley

Is it spring? ☀️

Hey everyone! This week has been pretty great! It's had some hard
parts to it but something great is the fact that it's been warm all
week long!! It snowed last Sunday night but since then it's been above
40 degrees so that makes me super happy! The sun is fantastic and I'm
so happy to see it.

Oh, also I survived transfers and am staying in Nephi for another 6
weeks! Yay! Which brings me to 4.5 months in Vernal and 4.5 months in
Nephi at the end of this transfer so I'm super happy about that! So
many good people to help and work with I wasn't quite ready to leave
them 😊 One of those special people is Erin who got baptized
Saturday!! Such a special day. A little crazy but special and she was
so cute it was awesome. She was so prepared and excited to be baptized
it was so great to be apart of it!

Not going to lie the rest of the week was a blur of craziness and we
have a lot coming up so it's hard for me to remember what happened in
the past when I have a million things coming up but it's all good
staying busy keeps me out of trouble.

I just want to say how grateful I am for the atonement of Jesus Christ
and the opportunity I have to get better and progress. I am grateful
for the comfort and peace the gospel brings and that I am able to
share it with others. I meet so many people struggling with different
things but the atonement is the universal cure for all of our trials
and different things we deal with in life. I know that as we come to
know our Savior and His love for us we become happier and filled with
hope and His love and light. I've seen it in my life and I've seen it
in the lives of others as well. Never forget the Savior and His role
in your life.

Y'all are awesome and have a great week!

Love from Nephi,
Sister Dunkley

Transfer #6 plus baptisms!!

This week was pretty good! We had a lot to do to prepare for the
baptisms we had this weekend but it was more than worth it because
they all went smoothly and the spirit was so strong! Baptismal
services are so special and I was so grateful to be apart of 3 this
week. One of the best parts about someone getting baptized is when
they receive the Holy Ghost in sacrament meeting and the whole ward is
able to feel the spirit and be apart of that ordinance it is so
special.

I got sick the other day so my mind is pretty foggy and I can't really
collect my thoughts so I'm sorry if this email sucks. But yeah we had
some crazy snow storms, them 55 degree weather and then more snow last
night. Needless to say Utah is a bit crazy and can't make up its mind
what season it wants to be in so that's fun!..... not.

Oh well. Being a missionary is just the greatest and I love it! I got
asked in our zone meeting why I stayed on my mission and it really
made me think. First off it's a little embarrassing cause it's a super
personal question to be asked in front of a bunch of missionaries and
second off I don't like talking in meetings in the first place but it
ended up being a good experience for me. It helped remind me why I'm
here and why I have no desire to leave my mission. I get a front row
seat everyday to witness the miracle of the gospel of Jesus Christ and
how it can change people's lives. I get to help bring the spirit into
people's homes and lives and Heavenly Father trusts me to help bring
his children closer to him it's amazing! I just know that this work is
so special and rewarding. The things I'm learning are going to help me
for the rest of my life there's nothing more I could ever ask for.

I feel like this week all I've been learning about is the atonement
and the wonderful blessing it is in our lives. I am so grateful for
our savior Jesus Christ who suffered for our sins so that we could
repent and be clean, and suffered for our pains, sicknesses,
afflictions, and temptations so that he could be able to perfectly
comfort and heal us. I love the scripture in 3rd Nephi 9:13 that says
"13 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?" Christ truly is the master healer if
we will come to Him and let Him heal us :)

Have a great week sorry this email is a little lame! Also haven't
heard about transfer so we will see what happens later today 😬

Love from Nephi,
Sister Dunkley

Obedience is key

This week was pretty fun and full of driving in snow which was grand
cause it means I'm getting better at it! I had to drive to delta which
is an hour south for a meeting Wednesday and then the next day up to
Provo for another meeting for the trainers and trainees it was so
good! I learned a lot and enjoyed seeing some friends.

The work here in Nephi is picking up like crazy!! Our teaching pool is
expanding and we are finding so many prepared people that are willing
to listen to our message and accept the invitation to be baptized it's
amazing. The hard part is with so much good happening you also get
thrown major curveballs and problems to solve but eventually things
get sorted out especially when we ask for the Lords guidance through
it all. This week I've been super grateful for my loving and
understanding companion. As a trainer I've been trying my hardest to
not let my imperfections and weaknesses show through which I've found
is impossible but she has been so understanding and patient with me as
I learn from my mistakes and do my best to improve.

Also so many people came to church yesterday!!!!! #blessings

Spiritual thought for today: be obedient it brings blessings!
“Truth is knowledge of things as they are, and as they were, and as
they are to come. …
“And no man receiveth a fulness unless he keepeth [God’s] commandments.
“He that keepeth his commandments receiveth truth and light, until he
is glorified in truth and knoweth all things” (D&C 93:24, 27–28;)

Love from Nephi,
Sister Dunkley

Rylee and Riley back together again ❤

7 month mark🎉 and Car troubles

I left home 7 months ago today crazy stuff! That seriously flew by
like crazy. This week was pretty great! It had some hard parts but the
good outweighed the bad. Gavin and Heavenah got baptized!!! They have
been taught for about a year now I think and finally were able to be
baptized on Saturday it was so special! They were so excited and so
many people came to support them it was awesome. I loved seeing their
huge smiles and how happy they were it was so great. To be completely
honest it feels like nothing else that happened this week is worth
talking about it was good just nothing crazy interesting haha.

Oh, our tires are our of alignment on the car and is it an easy fix?
Nah. It's about a $400 fix because parts have to be ordered and the
whole 9 yards so that's fun. The good news is I can still drive it
until the parts come in and it can get fixed so at least I didn't get
it taken away so that's nice. Fun stuff about having a car you still
have to deal with all the crap that comes with it I'm just glad it was
a natural thing that happened and I didn't cause it to tell the truth.
Other than that life's good and being a missionary is great!

I really do love it. I feel so much love for the people here and my
desire to serve them is growing the more people I meet and experiences
I have. I had a new investigator we found tell the fellow shipper
after we left that she felt like within the first 15 minutes of
meeting me that we were best friends and it made me so happy to see
that they realize it to and it's not just me. That's what the gospel
does though, it brings us closer to Christ and each other and helps us
make lasting relationships that we will never forget and I'm so
grateful for that.

I hope y'all have a great week!

Love from Nephi,
Sister Dunkley

"Peyton manning is like Thomas S. Monson in a football jersey"

This week was a week. So much happened and yet it feels like nothing happened at the same time. Welcome to the life of an especially stressed out missionary.  

A lot of good stuff happened, found some new investigators and had some good lessons with the people we have on date for baptism for march. A lot of people came to church again yesterday that haven't come in a while which was awesome to see! We have a baptism this weekend and I'm so excited!! They've been taught for a little over a year now I think so lots of missionaries are excited to see them baptized it will be a super special day! 

We got lectured in one sacrament meeting about marriage for what felt like a year and then we had to speak last minute in the other one because the speakers had the flu and as president Nelson says when you have a problem "ask the missionaries!" I'm starting to not like that talk as much.... haha. It was good though I spoke on Elder Utchdorfs talk about the plan of salvation and just bore my testimony for about 10 minutes and sat down I can't really remember what I said but apparently it was good so I'll take it haha. Sister Dalley did a great job though she spoke about Joseph Smith and it was solid. Most of the time I wonder who the trainer is in this companionship cause we all know it's not me lol. 

We had exchanges the other day and it was fun! The Spanish sisters are hilarious and they make my day. I didn't understand 75% of the words said that day but it's all good I had fun and felt the spirit. We also had a Zone meeting this week and it was good we all learned a lot and our leaders had a lot of good things to train us on I liked it. I felt like all the trainings were geared towards me and what I need to improve on but I think a lot of people feel that way in those kind of meetings. Something funny that we've discovered in the zone is that about half of the elders are taller then me on their knees so they were having fun getting on their knees and seeing who was taller or shorter than me. Elders get entertained by the most random things I swear but as president Hodgman says " don't you remember elders are guys? And guys are dumb?" Best quote I've ever heard haha. 

"Fortunately, Latter-day Saints never have to look very far to know what to do. With your knowledge of a loving Heavenly Father and the great plan of happiness, you have rudders deep in the water. Now, put your oars in deeply as well and pull hard and even." With all thy getting get understanding Ensign January 2017 

I really liked this talk because it helps us learn more about how to get real understanding and how it will help us in our conversion to the gospel. 

Have a great week and do something nice for the missionaries around you! 

Love from Nephi, 

Sister Dunkley