Whole different ballgame!

so to start about how my week is going it has been hard but good. the mission field is a whole different ball game then the MTC and it was kinda hard to get use to and it will take me a while to do so. so as soon as we got of the  plane in michigan we got of the plane and drove to the mission home. there we filled out some paper work then said ok everyone in the van we are going street contacting! i was like what the heck! we have been here an hour! so they took us to michigan state university and dropped us off and said we will pick you up in an hour here are some book of mormons see ya. they just left us a bunch of newbe's not knowing what to do so for the first little while we just walked around and didnt talk to anybody. then one of my companions (who sold for dish network) just started talking to people and we just started teaching people it was awesome! we handed out three Book of Mormons and told people to read them and then to go to mormon.org if they had questions or wanted to missionaries over! so that was cool then we went to the mission home that night and watched meet the mormons that was a pretty cool movie have you seen it yet? so the next day we met or traniors mines name is Elder Elmer he is from richfield he is way cool and is an awesome tranior so far and we actually have a trio companion ship the other elder is elder sumsion he is a visa waiter to taiwan he is from springville! so we got back to our appartment that night dropped our lungauge off and started street contacting. the first house we walked up to me and elder elmer had and impression to go to the house so we did and the guy that was the said that we could meet with him tomorrow. so we were excited we keep knocking til dark but no one else wanted to talk. because everyone out her is some sort of christian reform. Christian reforms are like the mormons in utah they are everywhere!!! o and Catholics too! so the next day we called a member that we have take us places and drive us around come and get us. his name is brother Banner he is awesome! he is 64 and he loves doing missionary work with us! he drives us around almost every day! and he loves it! he is so funny to joke with! he is kinda one of those domesday people and he tells if there are new ebola patients and he tells us that ISIS people are going to kidnap us off the streets its pretty funny! he us to be a doctor but he had to retire early because he had a brain tummor but he was able to get that taken care of and now he is ok! he says that going with us every day helps him so he doesnt get depressed so im glad that we can help him in a way! so he pick us up and we went to that guys house from yesterday that said to come back. we started teaching him and everything was going good then he drop a bomb on us and said he was homosexual and had a partner... i was dumbfounded i had no clue what to say good thing brother banner was there becasue he took the lesson anyway and i dont think i talk the rest of the lesson is was in shock! he said that our church wouldnt work out for him cause you cant be a member if your homosexual. so we left his house and brother banner kept asking if i was ok haha i was in shock for like 2 hours because of that lesson. so that night we went knocking again. it was my turn to talk at the doing and a man answered and i started talking to him about how Heavenly Father is our loving heavenly father and how Christ loves us and how we would love to meet with him again but he said no. as we were walking away from the house i told my companions sorry that i messed that one up they said what are you talking about it was great we loved how you talk about how the Gospel blesses our families and how you tied it in about talking about his dad.i told them there is no way i said that i talked about Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ and they said i did but i also Talked about How the Gospel blesses families.they were not lying when they said on your mission the Holy Ghost will put words in your mouth because it truly did for me! and another christian reform church leader i that agreed to meet with us. so the next day we meet with him and his son. we talked about why we believe in the Book of Mormon and where our church came to be. Elder Elmer barely talked the whole time he had me and Elder Sumsion teach the whole lesson. it went really well and he are meeting with them again on friday their names are both glen. the next person we meet with was Luie he is buddist, but he is awesome he is very smart but you can tell he is not all there but we dont know why. but he has come to church the past 4 weeks it is awesome. after that we tried to meet with some investigators that have been avoiding Elder Elmer and his old companion but we couldnt find them. That night we ate at the Archibalds house we had an amazing dinner that was very nice of them. the next day was sunday and we went to church there are about 160 people in the ward and that is a really full ward for michigan. after church we went to sis hurds house she is a member but her husband is a heavy smoker and drinker and is going to die from it we talked to him and are trying to get him to rehab. i shared a coulpe scriptures with him to teach him to have faith in the Lord and Jesus Christ and that they can help him. ( 1 Cor 10;13 and Ether 12:27) then we gave him a blessing and i had to give it.it was hard but the spirit helped me know exactly what to say! is was an awesome experience.then to a recent convert who can not leave her home. her name is SIS. Braylock she is awesome and that was a good experience. that night we went to the Ferderbers house to eat it is HUGE the pictures i send of of the house the there barn in the barn is the basket ball court and all of those nice cars they are millionaries!!!

 grand rapids is really big it is awesome it is alot different then the MTC and is has been alot different but i am getting use it! i got all of your packages thank you! the appartment is pretty big is has two rooms two bathrooms and a big living room but the rooms are really big. the appartment is right next to a Private Christian High School but the appartment is nice. im glad to hear that you are doing good! my companions are pretty cool

 

i love and miss you all and i hope you are all doing ok! i doing good so i love you guys! i pray for you all everyday

Love Brax

 

 This is what's in the Barn.

NEW AREA

Brother and Sister Dunn,

One of the great experiences for Sister Jacobsen and me is welcoming new missionaries as they arrive. They are anxious to accept their new life in the mission field. They bring with them a special spirit from the Missionary Training Center and are excited about exercising their newly found Gospel teaching skills.

Sister Jacobsen and I met your son, Elder Dunn, at the airport. We then took him and the other missionaries to the Mission Home for dinner, so we could become better acquainted and start our missionary orientation. Elder Dunn's first assignment is in the Grand Rapids 2 area with his companion, Elder



Elmer|Sumsion



. Your letters are to be sent to:

Elder Braxtyn Cord Dunn2516 Normandy Dr SE Apt #304-CGrand Rapids, MI 49506USA

May the Lord bless you and your family for supporting your son in his missionary work. Your love and encouragement are vital to his success. A weekly letter from home is so appreciated and should be positive and uplifting. On the other hand, too frequent communication, phone calls, or personal visits are distracting, and cause the missionary to lose his focus. We ask that phone calls be limited to Christmas and Mother's Day.  We discourage personal visits from family and friends. We know that you will find a special spirit in your home and in your heart as you share this mission together.

We are pleased to serve with your son and know he will be a great blessing to the work of our Heavenly Father.  Thank you for sending him. We will look after, take care of, and love him in every way possible while he serves the Lord. Should you have questions or concerns about your son, please call me.

Sincerely,


Michael V. Jacobsen, PresidentMichigan Lansing Mission

HE MADE IT TO MICHIGAN

ELDER DUNN WITH PRESIDENT AND SISTER JACOBSON

 

WITH HIS NEW TRAINER, ELDER ELMER AND THEIR COMPANION ELDER SUMSION

 

 

 

NEW ARRIVALS WITH THEIR TRAINERS IN THE CULTURAL HALL

Back: Elder Paulson, Elder Elmer, Elder Wheat, Sister Whipple, Sister Jones, Elder Derricott, Elder Green, Sister Chatman, Elder Elwood, Elder Palmer, Elder Foust.  Front: Elder Olsen, Elder Sumsion, Elder Dunn, Elder Johnson, Sister Weeks, Sister Manning, President Jacobsen, Sister Jacobsen, Sister Steele, Elder Rugg, Elder Pace, Elder Webb, Elder Tang.

Last day at the MTC

mom it is so good to hear from you! i am doing pretty good but im just very excited to be out in the field! i couldnt last in the mtc very much longer i would probably go crazy!!! anyway i gave a talk on sunday on the Holy Ghost and it was awesome it really strength my testimony!i pray for you everyday i love you! you will have to send me the link so i can see the blog! and i will try to send more pictures today! i sorry about your noodle soup too... i cant wait til i can see meet the mormons it sounds good we were suppose to be able to see it on sunday but the couldnt get ahold of the film or something so we could not see it so that sucks but hopefully we can see it in the field! i think that you know more about the preach my gospel then i Do! we have just gone over the lessons and how to begin teach and how to teach buy the spririt i will try to pray before i read cause i know that will help me. i dont have a whole lot to talk about today so i will try to send pictures later and email the kids back. I cant wait to talk to you all!!!!!

 

im not sure what time for sure i will call but probably around 7 so have everyone up by maybe 6:30 just incase we leave the mtc and 3:35 and our flight leaves at 8:50 then we have a lay over in minisota the to michigan and we should be there around 4 well i love you i hope you get feeling better and the doctor can help you i love you mom cant wait to hear from you!

 

love Brax

 

 

 

 

Sundays at the MTC

6/15/14
Hello everyone, Dad I'm not sure where all the missionaries go to church I think they said they have 73 different branches in the MTC so that's where they all go.haha Thanks for the advice I will try to be myself and prepare myself for the field. Mom I'm doing good! Everything is doing good & the MTC is awesome., Yes we have gone to the temple on Tuesday it was awesome going to a different temple, it was such a good experience. All my district say hi & elder Johnson and Elder Rugg said to tell you hi and say they specifically did. Probably sent the stuff I need to Michigan I don't think it will make it here soon enough.T ell the kids hi and that ai love them all! and tell Park good job at his concert. Yeah it is crazy how many promises us missionaries get! Mom how are you feeling? I hope you are OK I love you and are praying for you all! Mom I need brown socks too. Thanks I love you all and I hope you are doing well! I love and miss you!
Love, Brax

1st PDAY

Hello everyone how are you all doing: how bud how was your game: lily how is school going sis parker how is school and ffa mom how are you doing are you feeling ok i hope you are i am praying for you! anyway sundays are pretty cool here at the mtc! we have a branch or a ward that consist of a total of 20 people including our branch presidents! haha is is really small and different but it is good! we were able to go to a fireside last night and watch a talk that brother bednar gave a while ago the only place you can see this talk is in the MTC it was amazing it was all about the character of Christ and how he always was serving and never was selfish mom im doing great! im sleeping so good that some times i wake up and i think that im at home so i roll over and im not at home haha that has happened a couple of times! my compaion is kinda weird i hope that is not rude to say but we teach together pretty good but we are just really different people. there is another elder in my district that i really get a long with his name is elder rugg he is from salem. he lives on a dairy farm he use to ride motocross but in 2012 he broke his neck and now he doesnt ride anymore but we have become really good friends so that is good. the food still sucks i swear i am taking a crap every day so ya that sucks! I love you all so much sorry that my letters and emails are so short but i have a lot to do i love you all!!!! o and on oct 22 is when we are leaving the mTC our plane leaves at 8;50 in the moring so i will try to call around 7 in the morning so you all better make sure that you are awake! my whole district is traveling together! so that will be nice and i am so excited for chey and her mission!!! mom thank you so much for watching out for her thanks so much i love you so much!!!!!!!! give her a big hug for me next time you see here!!!!!!!! i love you all hopefully i answered all of your questions for now i will try to send pictures soon i love you!!!. talk to you soon and when you email me do it through dear elder so i get the letter sooner o and email me too do both!!! mom could you please send me some more t shirts, and a llike ally 1 work jacket and a multi tool with like plyers on it thank you so much i love you guys!!!

Brax

 

1st letter

 

10/9/14
Well Hello everyone! I hope you all are doing ok and everyone is good! Mom how are you feeling with health and emotional stuff too? I'm doing pretty good there is a lot gong on all the time. We are almost always learning or teaching. In the morning for a while my roommates and I have to teach ourselves for our district study time, but for most of the rest of the time we are being taught, or we are teaching investigators. In my room there are 6 of us total. We are from Utah except one who is from California. We are all going to Lansing Michigan and we all leave around the 22nd to go to Michigan. We all get along pretty good so car. My companion is Elder Pace he is from Kaysville. We don't have very much in common but we get a long pretty good. so far I like the MTC it is pretty good. Dad the food is not very good so I don't think I'm gong to get very fat here. sorry to disappoint you. So far we have heard from 4 different investigators and tried to teach them, only 1 have my companion and I taught the rest we have done as groups. So has Chey got her call? Does she know where she is going? Mom I hope you are giving her a lot of love and I hope you gave my sweatshirt to her! ha ha Well I got to go I am doing good I'm a little nervous about things but Heavenly Father and the Holy Ghost are helping me out a lot! I know I am ding the right thing! I love you all and I am praying for you! Stay Strong and pray that I will be able to feel of the spirit and know how to be a better missionary.
I Love you! & miss you!
Love, Brax

THE BIG MTC DROP OFF

October 8th We dropped Braxtyn off at the MTC in Provo Utah. We asked him to look back when he was leaving he said he couldn't do it, it would be to hard. Well he did it. We weren't able to capture it in the picture just right but he had the most peaceful happy and content look on his face. It is a testimony to us that He is on the Lord's errand, and that our Heavenly Father will take care of him.

 

 

 

Missionary Farewell

September 14th was wonderful. We listened to Brax speak about how being obedient has strengthed him in his life. We had so much family and friend who came to support him in his mission. We want you all to know that you have been a big support to Braxtyn and great examples. Thank you!
We Love you! Bring on  the next TWO YEARS!