Email from Feb 17

This week, we received cell phones! I told y'all early that I had a phone, but when I changed áreas, I didn't take it with me. Because only that zone had fones. Now, all the missionaries in Guatemala Central Mission have fones! The only misión in all of Central America that has them!! It's super crazy to be walking around with a fone in my pocket. I hope that I can get used to it and use it well.

This weekend, I got sick. Apparently, I ate something super bad on Sunday. But, I worked normally and felt normal. When I went to bed, I went to bed normal. But that didn't last long. I woke up at 12:30, 1:30,2:15, 4, and 5 to run to the bathroom and throw up. At 12:30, it wasn't that bad because everything just left like normal. 1:30 was a Little rough because there wasn't much leftover. The rest of the times, I would just go and dry heave and dry heave some more. Throughout the day too. Luckily, it was P-Day so I was able to try to sleep and get some rest to get my body to recover. The whole time, I was just sweating buckets-even with a fan blowing directly on me. I was super weak because I had no food in my body. I called the misión nurse to see what I could do. Nothing was helping me. not 7 up or gatorade or pure wáter would stay in my stomach. She send me on a wild goose hunt to find a medicine, but there are no farmacies in my área so we didn't find it. Luckily, like all missionaries have, I have a mom in this Ward. Here, I actually have two. I went to one and told her my story. She knew the cure. She bought my a mineral wáter and alka seltzer. It was the worst combination. Mineral Water is like carbonated wáter but with an awful taste and then added the alka seltzer .I have no idea how, but it cured me! I still don't have desires to eat. But, I'm not throwing up, or sweating, or with a fever, and have regained my strength. The misión nurse told me to call Hermana Brough (wife of the misión president) to ask permission to stay in and rest. But that's what Satan would want. Instead, we left and went to work- this is the Lord's time, not mine. If I can walk, I can work. So we did. This is the most sick I've been on my misión and the most sick I can ever remember being. Monday was absolutely horrible.

Through all of this, I learned something exciting. In my apartment, there are spiders the size of my hand! They don't come out during the day, just at the hours of 2 or 3 in the morning. EW!

Interviews with President Brough were fantastic! We had a Little bit of a chat over a couple things. Then I was able to ask him what I have been wondering for a while. Where did Alma the Younger get his authority to baptize? He gave me the answer the Bruce R. McConkie gave. Elder McConkie said that Alma, most likely, was an inactive member. So, he had already received the priesthood. But, he fell away, became inactive, and was unable to use the power of the priesthood. With the help of Abinadi, Alma went through the repentance process. Afterwards, he was able to use the priesthood and baptize. Nothing is certain, but if that's what Elder McConkie says, that's what I say too!!

I love y'all. Now, I'm healthy.

This is the Lord's work. I can't believe that I've been out here 9 months and Ben for a year. Time just flies by, I can't even handle it. I've changed in so many ways. You guys should make the post life easier for me and learn Spanish so we can just speak Spanish. I can't even talk English. In District Meeting, I had to pray in English. I was thinking in Spanish and translating to English to say it. The exact opposite of how I started. I couldn't think of some words in English, so I just said them in Spanish. Oops. I've got 15 months to forgot English all together. I can do it!

--Elder Hunt