Email from Aug 26

Wow, what a fast week this was!!

Last Tuesday, we went to Pizza Hut for lunch as a District. It just opened, so we're all really excited and so was the rest of the town. It was packed! American music blaring! SportsCenter on the TV! (I sure do miss SportsCenter!) It felt like I was back in America for a little bit. Pretty cool how that can happen when you step off the streets into a normal American restaurant.

On Wednesday, I got pretty sick. Fever, head hurt, achey, congested. I was scared I was about to come down with something bad. So i took some medicine ever so often to try to fight it before it hit me. I worked through the day- I had to, I'm on the Lord's errand, not mine. Then, that night, we realized we had Interviews with Presidente Brough on Thursday. So we had to wake up at 3:55! Of course I get sick the day I will only have 5 or so hours of sleep. Love it!

But we woke up at 3:55, left at 5 in a taxi (the public buses don't start til 5:15 and we had a little ways to go). Got to the stake center at 5:30. Waited around for our interview at 11:30. So for 6 hours, we just kind of hung out and talked with all the other missionaries. It was really cool and relaxing. You might be wondering what happened during the interview with Presidente? Well, let me tell ya!

For our interview, we had to memorize 3 Nefi 5:13. Me encanta la frase 'soy discipulo de Cristo, el Hijo de Dios.' Love it!! Anyway, after that, and he explained me the story of Mormon. He asked if there was anything he could help me with. I couldn't think of anything. He was like, I think there's something I can help you with. He went on to tell me of a missionary that just finished his two years. Presidente knows we've been struggling with people attending church and baptisms and what not. This missionary had 9 baptisms at the end of his first year (low for this mission). He went home with 70. that's 61 baptisms in one year! That's pretty fantastic for any mission! So he went on to say be obedient, diligent, and most importantly, pacient. Then I asked him what to do about Bairon (an investigator I told you about last email). He said just bare testimony like the disciple of Jesus Christ that I am. This was all good and spiritual. It really was. Then we got to some really interesting stuff. Elder Aragon was with Presidente before me. So Presidente Brough said 'I asked Elder Aragon if you're ready for a companion that's not exactly obedient. He (Elder Aragon) said yes. I think you're ready too.' WHAT?!?! You know what this sounds like? Sounds like I might be moved to senior companion the change after my training. This is what everybody thinks. I mean, hey, if the Lord and Presidente think I'm ready, then I'm ready. It has been really good motivation to work harder on my Spanish and learning everything I can about the Gospel. Another story about interviews with Presidente. During Elder Aragon's interview with Presidente, Presidente said that Elder Aragon was about to train a very special missionary, so this training is vital. Elder Aragon is convinced I'll be an Assistant to the Presidente one day. I got him to write it in my journal with his signature (22 Agosto 2013). I guess we'll see. It'd be cool. ¡Vamos a ver! My favorite phrase in Spanish. (We'll see!)

On Saturday, we had an activity as a District to give out Morcaff (Coffee for Mormons, no caffeine or anything bad). The bus to get to the place, was FULL. So, what did we do? Oh, hopped on top of the bus! These are American school buses, with ladders on the back, and a rack on the top. And so we just climbed up there and rode to the place. We were tossing candy to people on the street and everything. So fun and so funny!! The people loved it, and so did we. At this activity, I fulfilled my calling as a missionary. I declared repentance to all that could hear my voice. I fulfilled Alma 29:1,2,9. I stood on the street and started to holler ''¡Arrepentirse! ¡Arrepentirse!'' It was quite funny! Not too effective though. Oh well.

We have an investigator that's on bed rest right now. Why? Oh nothing. He was just shot 3 times. No big deal. LOVE GUATEMALA!!!

Well, as always, my petition for letters! Handwritten! Can you please tell people through my facebook to email me? Katie Coleman, Allison Marshall, Caitlin Huber, Tecie Sams, Alisha Tuli. I'll tell them to write me, that's not a problem. Thanks!

I love yall so much! I'm so thankful for this blessing, opportunity, and privilege I have to serve the Lord for two years. I'm always so happy. Always.

Challenge to all, especially my family. Finish the Book of Mormon before I get home. Start today and finish before these next 19 months finish! Yall can do it!!!

¡Se Cuidan!
--Elder Hunt

Email from Aug 20

That's so great that Chris graduated! Mom, your kids are pretty awesome, you and dad did a good job. 1 kid has served missions, 2 kids are serving right now, 2 kids are married in the temple, 1 kid has a little family centered around Christ. One day, you'll have 4 kids with temple marriages and little families centered around Christ. Not many people can say that!

So we've found this family with a potential like 13 baptisms. So many people live in this house, but they still have yet to attend church even though they seem SO positive.

Speaking of a crazy storm out in Utah. We had a good storm here. It all went down on Friday night. We were out working and it was about 5. It started to rain pretty good. Aw yea, life of a missionary! Then it started to get pretty windy. Windy enough to break my umbrella! Aw yea, life of a missionary. So we're out working, soaked to the bone. We're contacting people at doors, but afraid to enter because we're soaked! Then at 7, the lights blow out. ALL the lights. In the whole city, in the neighboring city, in the capital. All lights! So here we are. Pouring rain, howling wind, no lights, and nowhere to go-can't return home until 9, can't teach people without lights! So we go to our cook's house and try to wait it out. We thought it'd be 30 minutes without lights (the thing stopping us from working). It turned out to be until 10 without lights. That night, we returned home at 9 with no lights. We did planning that night by the light of our camera screens. Aw yea, life of a missionary! So, moral of the story, umbrella broke, soaking wet, no lights, lost with nowhere to go! I loved it. Reminded me a little of Hurricane Katrina! Except Katrina was way more destructive. This storm did knock over a wall though! haha, it was fantastic!

This past Sunday, I had to talk!! This was the 3rd talk of my mission. 2 in the CCM, 1 in the field! Crazy! When the Bishop came up to me, he was like 'somebody fell through, can you talk for us?' of course i tried to deny it, but finally, i accepted. I had like 2 minutes to prepare. I related DyC 103:9, DyC 115:5, and Mateo 5:14-16. It was a pretty sweet talk. 100% Spanish! At the end of Sacrament meeting, a lot of people came up to me and told me how awesome it was. My cook was like 'wow, i had no idea your Spanish was that good!' (Sweet!) Then some recent return missionaries came up to me. They were like, how much time do you have in the mission. When I said only 8 weeks in the streets of Guatemala, they were like 'WOW. You're Spanish is Fantastic!' It made me feel really good. I'm smiling inside just thinking about it!

We met one of my favorite investigators to this point. His name is Bairon. He let us in and we sat down to talk. He had heard the missionaries before, but it had been a while. At the very beginning, he asks for our opinions on the resurreccion (don't know how to spell that in English) (resurrection). But just opinions, not with scriptures. We explained that's impossible. He wanted to know what we thought about specific details. All I know about the resurreccion is based off the scriptures, so that's what we explained. He went on to tell us his beliefs. He's not Evangelic, Catholic, Jewish, Muslim, or Mormon. He doesn't believe in the Bible, it was written by the hand of man. He doesn't believe Christ is the Son of God. He believes in God. And he believes in Evolution. You might be wondering, 'how do you believe in God and Evolution?' My question exactly. That's not possible!! But at the end of the lesson, he turned to my companion, 'you won't understand this, you're from here in Guatemala'. Then he turned to me and asked me about the RLDS and FLDS churches and stuff. I was able to answer his questions and explain the story simply and briefly. This guy, what a hoot!

I got some pouch on Sunday. 2 of dad's letters (the 21st and 28th of July). The picture that I sent like my first day in the field with me and my comp, is the comp I have now. That's Elder Aragon. I'll send it again though, even though i don't know if you'll get it in time for the activity. But also, in pouch, I got a letter thing from family out in Utah! Yea! It was awesome and makes me smile. I'll attach a picture. And I got a letter from a friend serving in Honduras. The joy that comes to a missionary when they receive a handwritten letter! I need more of those! (Can you contact Allision Marshall and Katie Coleman through my facebook and tell them to write me! And give them my address. Or give them my email and I'll tell them to write me!) Writing letters is way more fun than just emailing!

So i've been out here for a little while. I'm about to finish my first journal!! wow! Good thing I have 2 more! I'll finish this one this week, i presume. It's more exciting than it should be.

This past week, I read Alma 5. Talk about pondering some questions! Like what it says in verses 26 and 27. If you have felt this joy once in your life that this is the truth and what not, Can you feel so now? And in 27, if your time came to die right now, would you be ready? Whoa!! I can say yes to the first question, no doubt. Personally, I think I'm ready to say yes to the second. One, because I'm a missionary. And a worthy missionary will go straight to the Celestial Kingdom! And two, I want to follow the example of Abinadi, and if appropriate, seal my testimony with my blood. But hopefully that day will be when I'm like 95 and lived a full life! I know the church is true. I know it. I don't feel, think, or believe. I know it.

 I love you guys and think of you often and pray for you always! Don't worry about me. I'm safe. I'm happy. I'm a missionary! The mission is hard, but it's so worth it.

Se cuida!!

--Elder Hunt

More Pictures

Elder Santiago and his companion, Elder Aragon 

Zona 1

Some of what Elder Santiago sees

More of his area

Elder Santiago loves handwritten letters from home!

Something from home

Email from Aug 11

So, this week, I'll complete 3 months! Wow! Already 3 months. It really is crazy how fast this has been.

Also, it's crazy how fast i'm learning Spanish. I'm getting pretty good at understanding what people are saying to me. I'm even better at reading. But my speaking isn't the best, and I need a lot of work with writing also. But i'm making such great progress, it's amazing!

This past week was crazy!! Aragon was so sick. Anything that could go wrong with him, went wrong. He was congested, throat hurt, body ached, bones hurt, headache, vometing, fever, and diarrhea. Crazy! But we worked through it. I had one day that I was quite sick, but it was just one day. (don't be excited to read that page in my journal, even though it makes me laugh). But we didn't have time to rest, we have souls to save. And we have to prove to the Lord that we're committed 100 percent!!

We had a crazy experience with dogs one day. We were just walking, minding our own business. Next thing you know, 7 dogs came charging after us! 7! wild dogs! So we started grabbing anything we could off the ground and throwing them at the dogs. It was crazy! We were throwing rocks the size of softballs. I felt like being a part of the Nephites fighting the Amlicites and Lamanites in Alma 2 and 3. Fantastic!

We confronted a couple Jehovah's Witnesses the other day. It was awesome. They have lines in their Bible where verses should be. Important verses! like Marcos 11:26 (Mark 11:26) and Hechos 8:38 (Acts 8:38). We asked why they had lines. One thought he had the answer, but it wasn't fulfilling. The other was so confused, he had no idea. I feel like we raised doubts in his mind... Awesome. There wasn't contention, we just know the Scriptures better than they do. Yea!

On Sunday, we had 2 dinners. It was hard. We went and visited one family, so Elder Aragon could use their bathroom and ask for medicine. They offered us food, so of course we accepted, we're missionaries. They gave us black beans, rice, eggs, and bread. It was good. I'm a fan of black beans (what a blessing!). Then we went to visit another family. They fed us tamales (not a fan...). These tamales were made with plants that they went out and cut from a field by their house. I was full after the first dinner so it was hard to force these tamales that I didn't enjoy. But we're so blessed by these awesome members!

I'm going to come home a different person. If I came home now, yall would be surprised how different I already am. If the mission teaches me one thing, it's going to be how to be the best roommate and spouse. Before the mission, I NEVER made my bed. Now I do it EVERY day, i have to, i feel like. And the other day, I washed about 95 percent of all our dishes. BY HAND! Also, at the store, i didn't buy any cereal. Just OATMEAL. Yea, I bought oatmeal. I never expected to say that. It's just more economical and it's healthier. I even enjoy it...wow.

I had a little bit of an embarrassing slip up with my Spanish. The word for bones is huesos. The word for eggs is huevos. I was trying to ask the guy at the store for 5 eggs. But instead, i kept repeating ¡cinco huesos, cinco huesos! instead of cinco huevos. How embarrassing.

I've started to read Elder Aragon's copy of Our Search for Happiness (Nuestra Busqueda de la Felicidad) by M. Russell Ballard. It's in Spanish. I understand it. The book is amazing! Written to non members so it's full of simple words and testimony. Really powerful and awesome.

I've been thinking a lot lately of Alma 32:14-16. About being humble. Be humble not because you're compelled to be humble by your poverty, but be humble because you love the Lord and you know why you have everything you have-by the grace of God. I've never felt so humble in my life, the most amazing feeling.

Also, i've read Mormon 9 again. Mormon 9 has always been my favorite chapter in all of the scriptures. It's so direct. So powerful. So clear. LOVE IT!

Anyway, I love yall so much! I feel the strength of your prayers. I've never been happier in my life. I pray for yall often.

Yo se que la Iglesia es verdadera. Jose Smith fue un profeta y por medio de Jose Smith, la iglesia de Jesucristo es restaurada. Yo se que el Libro de Mormon es un otro testamento de Jesucristo. Yo se Jesucristo vive. Yo lo se.

¡Se Cuida!

--Elder Hunt

Email from August 4

Encourage every single Youth, especially Laurels and Priests to go out with the missionaries! They need the help of members! Also, tell the missionaries that you could be open to hosting a FHE if there is a family that lives close, as long as you guys have a big heads up. Members plus Missionaries equals converts for life! I definitely know the problem with being a 'cute missionary' ;) hahaha. Just kidding, kind of. Since I'm a Gringo (Norte Americano), people just like to talk to me. Especially the young women when we contact doors and stuff. It's really hard to focus on the Spirit when they're focused on something else. But oh well, that's why we focus on families!

So, I've been reading all of the Conference talks (in Spanish). They are fantastic!!! Elder Cardon's 'El Salvador Desea Perdonar', Elder Clayton's 'Marriage: Watch and Learn' (for all people, especially my siblings and parents! ;)), for the Young Women, the talk by Sister Dalton, and the talk by Elder Bednar 'We Believe in Being Chaste'. Yea, I love these conference talks.

So, we found these two ladies, Gladys and Claudia. They live in these apartment type of buildings. We taught lesson 1, about the Restoration. At the end, we invited them to church. Claudia was like yea, i'm going to come, for sure. then gladys said that she wasn't sure because she had her own church. Claudia turned to Gladys and said, i'm going to this church, and you're coming with me! and i'm bring my husband. we're all going to go to this church, ok? Then Claudia turned back to us like we couldn't hear anything and said, calmly and collected, we're coming. It was so funny! So I felt they had a lot of promise to coming to church. We visited them Sunday morning before church, and they said they were coming. When church came around, nothing. They didn't even show. Awesome.

We have church at 2 in the afternoon. This past Sunday, there was a Stake Priesthood Meeting at the Stake Center at 4. So we only had one hour of church! Then we went out and worked, because we're not allowed to go to those meetings unless we're specifically invited.

One day, we went tracting in the rain. It literally ran steady for straight hours. And, of course, I left my umbrella at home. So Aragon and I were out knocking doors, having no success, being soaked!! We were both so cold. When we got home, I was soaked to the bone, literally. It was crazy.

So, I don't remember if I told you about Marina Carvajal. She lives in Boston but was down here visiting family that is a less active family. We taught her lesson 1 and what not. Then the second time we went and visited her, she basically said that when she gets back to the states, she will find the church, attend, and that she has a desire to be baptized. Of course, someone that doesn't live in our area says this. But that's ok!

People here love to wear shirts from America. Like one day, I saw a little girl, 2 or 3, wearing a shirt that said 'The Chicks Dig Me'. Uhh, I don't think you know what that means.

One day, we taught 20 lessons!! 20! That's the new record for this District. The old record was 16. 20 is crazy!

I've been teaching Aragon some slang English. He really likes the word 'Dude' and the frase 'dude, that's sick!' It's so funny.

On Sunday, the guys on the bus didn't ask us for bus fare! Yea! we tried to pay but they denied since it was Sunday and we're missionaries. I love it!

Yesterday morning, we found out about transfers. WE'RE NOT BEING CHANGED! We have 6 more weeks together here in Caminero. Which is good, I want to baptize in every area on my mission, so we're going to work hard.

Luis Pablo, an investigator, is amazing. He has had a really hard life. He's only 25, his wife has passed away, he has a little kid, and he has done some bad things in his life, made a lot of mistakes, and has a lot of guilt. We went to teach the Gospel of Jesus Christ (faith, repentance, baptism, gift of the Holy Ghost, and Enduring to the End). We ended up teaching this, and the Plan of Salvation. Luis was crying during the lesson, and the Spirit was so strong. We really explained that this is a Gospel of Hope. I love that, because it really is.

I ate liver last night! And it was so good! Super tender and everything.

I know Joseph Smith was a prophet, without a doubt. I read DyC 78, and DyC 130. So beautiful. He was a prophet that received real revelation. I have never really had a doubt, especially since the trip to Palmyra. DyC is beautiful!

I love you guys so much!

I am so thankful for everything yall do. I pray for you often, and I feel the strength of your prayers!

Love yall!!
--Elder Hunt