Good week, bad week

Yeah, that happen sometimes. This week was a little difficult.

Jonathan moved. He didn’t even tell us. But to be honest, it’s a good thing for him to move. His land lady told us he went to find work so he can start to support himself and his family. He left Wednesday. The last prayer he said with us was really epic, I’ll just share some of what he said:

"... and thanks for sending the Elders to me. I’m glad they don’t ever give up on me. It’s awesome, that nothing stops them, not even the rain. It’s great." I’m going to miss him, but I’ve got to look on the bright side of things, now he can get work and start turning his life around. We did our part by planting those gospel seeds.

We also went to the hospital to give a blessing to the brother of the Relief Society president. Let’s just say I’m really grateful I was born in America. The hospital was so disorganized and when we walked in you could smell that it wasn’t very sanitary. It was really sad to see the chaos with beds everywhere and so many sad people. We were able to give the man a blessing and it went well. After the blessing we asked the man how he felt and he said . . . "well, now I feel fine!" Priesthood power, it’s real.

I was privileged to give a baptismal interview and attend the baptism of Idolina a 60 year old lady who loves the gospel. Her daughter was baptized in February and she got baptized this week. It was a spiritual experience with the spirit being there so strong!! And guess who came to the baptism with us.... CHONCITA, JAIME, ALEX, and DANIA! They loved it!

Saturday me and my district cleaned a walkway (minus Huixtla. they live forever far away). It went really great. Two hours of sweeping and picking up nasty trash, but it was sure fun!

It was kind of a rough week because the ward is really struggling. I don’t want to talk bad about it so I’m just going to leave it at that and say that if it doesn’t improve anytime soon, there won’t be a Famboyanes ward... it’s sad to say but that’s the situation.

On other thing . . . I’M GETTTING TRANSFERED!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I’m going to Frontera Comalapa! I’m so stoked! It’s in the Comitan zone... the same zone where I started my mission!!!!!!!!!! F. Comalapa is super far from Comitan , my first area, like 2 hours in a combi! It’s a little warmer of an area than Comitan was but not anything like Tapachula! Should be nice for a cool down. Anyway that’s what’s happing. So tomorrow I take the 12 hour bus ride to Comalapa! WOOHOOO!

Love and miss you all tons. Have a fantastic week

AND FELIZ CUMPLEAÑOS LINCOLN! love ya man! Hope it was a blast and write and tell me what you got!

Elder Hunt

Exchanges, The Book of Mormon

So pretty good week. I don’t have a whole ton of time so it’s going to have to be short.

Jonathan is making a lot of progress!!!! seriously he’s so dang awesome! He came to church with us yesterday and he loved it. He wants to be baptized so we set a date for the 1st of August and he accepted! He wants so bad to change his life and he recognizes what he needs to do, but he’s having a really hard time setting aside the drugs and cigarettes. We gave him a blessing yesterday and he wouldn’t stop thanking us. He was so happy and just wouldn’t stop thanking us.

This week, we did a little challenge in the district. We went all week walking around with a Book of Mormon in our hand and used it as we talked with people. I’ll just share one of the miracles. . . . We found a kid on his phone and started talking with him about the Book of Mormon. He was super interested and kept asking us question after question, at the end he told us that he is a Jehovah Witness! We were super surprised because usually all the JWs want to do is attack us. His name is Daniel and he’s a great guy. We’ll be stopping by his house Tuesday to talk with him about the Book of Mormon more.

We went on exchanges this week and I went to Huixtla with Elder Weaver! What a cool guy. It was super fun and I slept with AC!!!!! They were going to have 2 baptisms but I could only clear 1 in the interview. She needs an interview with President, but she’s a great lady so she’ll be fine.

Sadly this week Choncita and her family didn’t come to church but they’re doing fine and learning a lot!

Sorry it’s a short letter. Pray for Daniel ( the JW), Jonathan (so he can stop smoking and stuff) and Choncita, Jaime, Alex, and Dania (so they can get MARRIED!!!!!!)

Love and miss ya all tons, you’re great!

Love,

Elder Hunt

Drunk Guy Quote of the Week -

"Look guys, were not stealing... were just taking pretty things that don’t belong to us so we can feed our families" - Drunk Guy #274

Chingunkuya

I got the chingunkuya this week, well, at least I think so. It’s a nasty little virus that all the mosquitos have here in Chiapas, but don’t worry I’m doing fine.

So this is what happened this week.

Lunes- It was a fantastic birthday. We bought some pirated soccer jerseys and then ate some giant quesadillas! When we got to the restaurant the waiter asked me "are you elder hunt" and I was like "yeah why" and then he said "wait here" he then brought out a little folder and inside was a bunch of paper letters stung together that said "HAPPY BIRTHDAY ELDER HUNT". It was from my district . . . . I’ve got the best district ever!!!!!

Martes- My companion got sick on Tuesday so we just chilled in the house. I read a lot and caught up in my journal but at the end of the day, I had a really bad head ache. . . .

Miércoles- I wasn’t feeling so hot. We went to the doctor and he told me I had Chingunkuya! It’s an awful thing. It starts out with a head ache and then turns to a fever and then you get super exhausted and before you know it, you want to stab all your joints because of the pain (don’t think stabbing would help with the pain but that’s how you feel!) Knowing we had conference with President George the next day, I asked my companion to give me a blessing so I could feel better and go to conference. He did and we went to bed.

Jueves- I woke up and I still felt bad, but nowhere near the way had I felt the day before, so we were able to go to conference! It was great! President George is such a great man! When he speaks, you know he does it with the Spirit. We talked about so many things and I don’t have my notes with me but basically it was awesome! We ended with a testimony meeting and after I shared my testimony, my companion shared his. In his testimony he talked about obedience (something he’s struggled with a lot in the mission. I have some stories about him that’ll have to wait till I get home, but he’s doing great now) and the importance of obedience and living with exactness. Then he thanked me for always pushing him to be more obedient! It was good to hear him say that. I honestly don’t think I’m the most obedient missionary but it felt good to know that someone else was benefitting from my example! We got home and the sickness started to come back but I was thankful that I was able to make it to conference.

Viernes- I was sick all day and it was so boring, but I was able to finish "Divine Signatures" (FANTASTIC BOOK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!) and read like 10 chapters in Alma.

Sábado- We relaxed a bit more but by about 4 I was feeling good enough to go out and work. So we did and we taught Jonathan! Such a great guy. He’s the guy from Nicaragua whose brother is going to be a missionary. We taught him about baptism and the gospel of Jesus Christ and he wants to be baptized!!!!

Domingo- I feel better! We went to church and Choncita and her family came (minus Jaime) and it turned out great. We were kind of bummed that Jonathan couldn’t come. We were sure he was going to come. We were able to visit him again and it was a great lesson. He thanked us for always stopping by to visit him and never giving up on him. His life is so sad. He basically told us, out of all his family and friends, we are the only ones that don’t give up on him.

The gospel is true. It blesses families. I love being a missionary and seeing the change in these people’s lives. Love and miss you all a ton!

Elder Hunt

Tender Mercies

SO MUCH TO SAY. SO LITTLE TIME.

Ok, so much has happened this week and I don’t have a ton of time, but basically this week was filled with tender mercies and I just want to share some of them with you:

Monday. It was a super rainy day and usually when it rains, no one is home, but we were able to have 3 lessons in the 3 hours we had to work on p-day! To top it all off, when we went to teach Choncita and her family, they were babysitting a 3 year old girl who was the one who answered the door. When we came in and sat down, she asked us where our other companion went. My companion and I just looked at each other and then asked the little girl more about this "companion" that was with us. She told us it was a man in white that was walking above us in the air. . . . AWESOME! I know that the Lord is with us and sends angels to watch over us!

Tuesday. Moises accompanied us to one of the lessons with Andryck (I don’t know if you remember him). Andryck is a great kid but he doesn’t really put a whole lot of attention into the lessons. But with Moises with us, he was asking him as well as us questions and was really participative, it was great. I know that when the members and the missionaries work together, there WILL be success.

Wednesday. We found a new investigator named Carlos Antonio, he’s in his 30’s, when we found him we were actually looking for his mom, who we had contacted earlier that week. He answered the door and we explained that were missionaries who share the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the Gospel blesses families. When we said that, he opened the door even wider and said "PLEASE come in!!" Great guy, and we’ll be going back to see him tomorrow! I know that the Lord will lead and guide us to help find those that are ready to receive the gospel.

Thursday. While teaching Choncita and her family, Jaime, her boyfriend said, “Elders, I prayed and I know it’s true, I want to be baptized". I know the Lord will always prepare his children to receive the gospel.

Friday. We had exchanges with the Zone leaders and basically we were walking all day and were super tired by like 7:00, then the Assistants called Elder Luna and told him we had to find a restaurant to cater for a conference with president next week, so we went around telling a bunch of taco vendors we need someone to cater for a missionary meeting and they gave us free tacos. . . . We ate free tacos for an hour!

Sunday. Choncita and her whole family came to church!!!!!!!!!!!!! It was the best Sunday EVER!!!!! They loved it and in Elder’s Quorum, Jaime bore his testimony on the Book of Mormon!!!! I know that this family will eventually be baptized!

Love and miss ya tons! Thanks for the birthday wished and have a great day!

Love,

Elder Hunt

 

Never Assume

I will address the title at the end of the letter.

Super great but weird week. I have a great companion, Elder Contreras. He told me in companionship inventory that he likes how I try to be Mexican . . . . Love it!

This week we gave a lot of blessings. The sisters in my district got really sick this week, especially Sister Grover. She got this weird sickness called Dengue . . . . and she got it really bad. It was at a level just below fatal. So they called us and explained the situation and we headed over to their house to give her a blessing. It’s so humbling to give blessings, you basically just open your mouth and let the Spirit do the talking. Sis. Grover is now doing fine and feels almost perfectly healthy. We also gave blessings to some members and a crazy old guy we started teaching named Jose Padilla! He’s my 3rd favorite Mexican old guy so far! It feels good to not just hold the priesthood, but to experience its power in action.

Friday we had a zone conference and it was awesome!!!! One of my favorite phrases that the zone leaders shared was from President George."Si queremos investigadores do oro, debemos ser misioneros de oro, no do plomo." ”If we want golden investigators, we have to be missionaries of gold, not of lead" Sounds better in Spanish but it’s so true!

I got my package!!!!!!! BEST DAY EVER! Love you guys. Thanks for the letters and the candy and the U of A shirt and the book! It was great.

Now to address the title of this email. Choncita, and Jaime, and Alex and Dania (her family) are amazing. They’re progressing so much and it’s amazing to see the change in their lives, her boyfriend Jaime ALWAYS looked angry to me. It was scary talking to him at first because I always thought he was going to punch me. Now his face is calm, almost smooth. I don’t know how to explain it, but they’re changing. We invited them all to be baptized this week and they all accepted! We haven’t put a date to it yet, because Choncita and Jamie are not married, but were working hard with them and were seeing so much physical and spiritual changes in their lives.

I love being a missionary and I love seeing the change. I know the church is true and the gospel really changes families. Never assume that anyone will reject this message. The gospel is for everyone; druggies, alcoholics, gangsters, rebels, disobedient children, torn families, the list goes on and on. I was assuming when I first got here that Choncitas family would reject us, and look at them now, all excited and preparing themselves for baptism.

Love and miss you all tons. Thanks for the letters and gifts!

Love,

Elder Hunt

Elder Contreras

FAMILIA!!! LES EXTRAÑO MUCHO!

What a week! We’re all settled into our new house and now things are pretty normal over here. First a little about my new companion ELDER CONTRERAS!!! He’s from Monterrey, Mexico and he’s from my generation! Super great guy. Super funny and a hard worker. He speaks like zero English but I speak like 80% Spanish so we get along pretty well. With Elder Gonzales I still don’t know what happened. It was so surprising and all of a sudden.

So Wednesday we had an activity with the other ward. It was for the Young Men so it was really just me, my companion, Moises, the sister missionaries, and the young men from the other ward. It was super fun! The theme was "Una hora en la mision" or One Hour in the Mission! They had name tags, and exercised and did some contacting and taught some lessons and each was assigned a mission. It was really well organized (not how I’m making it sound), and turned out really well. Moises is a total stud! He’s going to be a great missionary. He was teaching so well and it was so cool to watch him. By the time the activity ended, it was getting late so we headed back to our area with Moises and still continued to talk to everyone that passed us and even got a couple street lessons in. It was so cool and fun to do all this with Moises!

This week we’ve been focusing on Choncita in a different way. We’ve been teaching her for about 2 transfers and nothing is happening with her marriage or divorce so we decided we should start teaching the entire family. So this week we taught her, Jaime (her boyfriend), her daughter, son, and his girlfriend. It’s something that I think will bring a lot of success. They were very interested and participated really well. We have also got to teach the family Durante. We’ve been having a lot of success with one the ladies named Erica. She’s a great listener and has so much interest in the message, but can’t read, so she’s been having her kids read to her! All she needs to do is come to church and then I know everything will be ok with them.

Fun week . . . . and a weird one, but I love my mission. My companion is cool and were working hard. Love and miss you all a ton! Thanks for the letters!

Love,

 

Elder Hunt

Elder Contrerasand Elder Hunt

It's the rainy season!

Super and INSANE week

It’s been a super insane week!

OK... I don’t know how I’m going to organize this letter... I’m thinking of just throwing all the info at you guys right now because I’m still thrown off...

We visited the doctor several times this week because my companion is having some serious psychological problems... I don’t know how to explain it but he’ll randomly see stuff bend in half and he feels bugs crawl under his skin and its getting really bad so we talked with the doctor and he said he’ll need to go home. There was some other stuff that happened in the past that we think has been causing the problems, but basically I’m getting a new companion!!!! Today at 2:00 were going to pick him up!

We’ve talked to a lot of the less actives this week and they basically said that they don’t come to church because the members don’t help them with their problems... dumb reason to not obey God, but it’s also dumb that the member’s don’t help them. Seriously they don’t do any of their home teaching or visiting teaching and it’s really hard working with them, but that just gives me more of a reason to love the ward, serve hard and work hard.

We changed houses this week! Today at 6 in the morning! It was crazy! But it feels good to have it done and be out of that garbage house. Now were in a 2 story house and it’s really nice! The only thing it’s lacking is AC... Maybe we can talk the guy into installing it! We’ll see what happens but we spent the morning moving and we still have a ton of organizing and cleaning to do but yeah.. new house!

More spiritual things...

Remember Nicolas? The perfect investigator?! We haven’t been able to visit him at all these past couple of weeks because he’s always working, but recently the sisters contacted him and he said he wanted to hear from us again, so we stopped by his house on Sunday and taught him again about the restoration and the Book of Mormon. At the end of the lesson we told him he can know if it’s true by praying and reading. I told him "for God, there’s no such thing as kind of. For God its either yes and no. Nicolas, this book IS true or it isn’t. We know it is and we want to help you know too" then he said "don’t worry about it... it’s OBVIOUS that this book is true" It was so great to hear that. I know by experience when the spirit is present, it testifies of truth!

We also taught Familia Durrante this week, but only the mom was there. She can’t read but we explained that if she prays, she can know that Joseph Smith was really a prophet. We helped her with the closing prayer and invited her to be baptized and she said yes! So well be working super hard with her and Choncita this week along with Samuel and Nicolas.

I love the gospel. The church is true and it’s amazing to be a part of the work here in Tapachula Chiapas Mexico!!!!!

Love ya all and miss ya all tons!

Love,

Elder Hunt

PS. Just got news that my investigator from Tonala, Josaphat (the one with the serious problems), just got baptized!!! WOOHOO!