New Yurkin

Notha week my friends!! 

It was not my favorite week if I'm being 100% honest.. but hey, if every week were my favorite week, then I would have no favorite week. So I'm grateful for the not so favorite weeks!! :) 

The weather this week tried to ruin a few of my days.. but it didn't!!! Because I chose to be happy and smile my numb cheeks off. (Literally the wind here is death) haha and as missionaries we just live out in it all day. LOVE it. (But I'm lying I don't love it) haha What I do love is.. NYC. I stinkin love it here. 

Today we went to the natural history museum!! I found my gurl Sacajawea. And some good old dinosaur friends. FUNNEST. (Dad you would have loved it I thought of you the WHOLE time.)  

Some fun Sista Dunford THOUGHTS...

I'm tellin you.... I think One Direction or Taylor swift or Selena Gomez have driven passed me multiple times. It's funny because there are lots of nice black cars with extreme tinted windows and I can just feel that there is someone famous in there.  All the limousines that drive by too... Ugh if only I could just get in contact with tayla swift.. She's pretty awesome I think she would love Mormons. We would be best friends if she just met me :) HAHA. 

The people here are absolutely amazing! So many good people. Good people with good hearts. A lot of people seem to think that "New Yorkers" are rude and hard hearted. Well they are NOT. You just have to talk to them. Once you start talking to people, you find that everyone is REAL and nice. And that is something I LOVE. REAL PEOPLE. The world needs more real people. I like to be real. Like don't be fake! you know!?! There's a scripture that I read this morning and it just went right with my thoughts of being REAL!!! 

1 John 3:18

"My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth."

IN DEED AND IN TRUTH. You guys, what does that mean ?? It means we need to DO good works and love others TRUTHFULLY. It can be hard to truthfully love EVERYONE. To really REALLY REALLY love EVERYONE is something that only Jesus did and does! Jesus is the only perfect person am I right?  But, he is who we are to strive to be like. Christ had unconditional love. He LOVED EVERY SINGLE person. No. Matter. What. No matter what they smelt like, what they wore, what they did, what they looked like, where they lived, how much money they had, etc. Christ loved in DEED and in TRUTH. Now if everyone would just be 100% honest... They would tell you they don't REALLY love EVERYONE. (Because none of us are perfect like christ..) 

AND "..with men this is impossible;".. (to love everyone.)  "..but with God all things are possible." --Matt. 19:26 :) So that is somethin I am striving to do this new year. To LOVE more and to be straight up REAL about it. CHARITY. I love a lot of people.... But I know that with Gods help I will be able to love EVERYONE NO MATTER WHAT. Even the people who reject me as a missionary, even the rude man who stole my umbrella, even the woman who went #2 on the sidewalk!!! (Ahhh haha) :) I pray every night for more charity more loooooove. After all... Love is the essence of the gospel ;) 

The members here in the Manhattan 1st ward are amazing. They are sooo nice to me!!! My favorite thing ever is when the members take us out to dinner! And that is a regular thing that happens every week. It's too FUN. We went to this super yummy nice sushi place with a member and she ordered so much and I was in heaven. Then she took us to magnolias bakery and holy cow. Full to the max. Hahah! I thank the high heavens that my Fitbit tells me I walked about 8 miles every day. Because if it weren't for that (and the gym every morning)... These members would be making me fat. Hahaha. So I have a list of all my favorite restaurants in NYC. So if anyone needs some food ideas.. I've GOT SOME :)

I think that being a missionary has been the best thing in the world for me. (I know you've heard me say that already) but really. Set aside the fact that I am in my favorite place ever.. New York!!!

.. I am surrounded with so many learning experiences. So many uncomfortable situations. And I'm being basically forced to grow. Growth by force. Hahah but it's the best growth I could EVER have. I'm so thankful to have this opportunity to be a missionary. It's literally the best thing I have done for myself.(Funny how I say "for myself" because I'm not doing anything for myself here..) but it's true I AM the one feeling the blessings from serving. My mission is sooooo for me. I know I am supposed to be here. This is just too right to be real. I love love it. 

Sorry for my random thoughts. 

I LOVE YOU ALL. 

Thank you for the prayers and love and support. I honestly can feel your prayers daily. 

Keep being awesome. Keep praying for charity. And CTR. 

Love,

Sister Dunford :)