Things have been fun here. Last week, we had conferences with Elder Ochoa. He's an Area 70, the first counselor in the Area Presidency. It was fantastic. He taught so much good stuff and I think lifted the spirits of a lot of missionaries. One of the privileges that I have as an office elder is to get to spend more time with him and be around him more. I talked to him all three days. It kinda bit me in the butt though. On the second day, I covered up my nametag when I went up to him and asked if he remembered my name. He said no, but then gave me a hug. He didn't hug anybody else, haha. But since I did that, he remembered my name. In one of his discourses, he called me up to be an example. It was just fine, I don't mind. As the office, we sang a special musical number. We sang Come Thou Fount. We had been practicing it the week before with Sister Markham on the piano. It turned out really nice. At the end of all the conferences, Elder Ochoa came up to me and gave me a hug. He smiled and said, 'Keep going strong.' It was really cool to have him around these days.
On Sunday, we had a baptism! A few weeks ago, a family moved in to live with a member family. Out of nowhere, they came to church. On this Sunday, the son of the new family was baptized. The parents attend church every Sunday but can't get baptized because they can't get married. But this kid is named Eddy. He is so awesome, I love him. At the beginning, he was super shy, but as we kept visiting, he kept warming up to us. He's got a lot of support from the ward and he loves Primary. At the baptism, three girls from the Primary sang and it was super nice. It was a really good baptismal service, everything went smoothly. And it's a good thing too.
After the service, a lady walks up to me and my companion. She presents herself and her kids. We then present ourselves. She's like, I'm a less active but, starting today, I will be active. My kids are 8 and 9, I want y'all to baptize them. Can you come over tonight and start teaching them and preparing for baptism? Of course we smiled and said yes! They are preparing for baptism on the 28th of this month. God has blessed us with that miracle. I'm not a fan of baptizing children, but I like to think of their potential. And depending on how much support they have from their families and the ward. These wards here are awesome, so I'm not worried about it.
I feel like my rash is getting better. It still itches. It looks worse, but I think it's getting better... I have no idea what's different from this month. I think it might be the same type of thing from before. It might come from my shoes getting soaking wet and fungus/bacteria growing in them. I took a new picture last night. (The picture is at the very bottom. It's also very gross)
This week, I completed 16 months. I'm just about at 7 months left. So, as the time is winding down, I've starting planning my first day back. Directly from Airport to Stake President's house to be released. On the way back home, stopping by the gym to get a membership. Then either homemade dinner or Outback. Then hanging out at home, being stunned about what's going on. Does that sound like a good day? I think so. On the second day, I want it to be normal. But I probably will need to go shopping seeing as how I won't have any clothes-much less clothes in style. But I tell you this, just so you can plan how it's all going to go down. Just ask for one day off of work, not two. Because I'll be home for about 6 weeks before heading out to start BYU in the summer semester.
We've had some great teaching experiences lately. There was a guy I taught about 4 months ago. Just one time. I saw him and his wife on the street the other night, i walked up to them, and remembered their names! As I called them by name, they were suprised (and so was I). We visited them the next day. The husband and his son were home. They committed to attending church this Sunday because they need to find Jesus and they realize that we are His representatives and that He sent us to them. Their names are Juan Carlos, Rose Mary, and Manuel.
We have another great family (Camey Family). One day, the mom was returning home from work. In the whole trip, she thought in her head, 'which is the true church? where should i raise my family? I need a sign from God.' Thirty minutes after she arrives home, who shows up? The missionaries. They are one of my favorite families to teach. Seeing as how they are new, they have just started reading the Book of Mormon. They are now preparing for baptism. They just need to have the determination to attend church on Sundays and to pray to know that it's true.
During a normal rainstorm here in Guatemala, we were out knocking doors- waiting until lunch time. We were on an unpaved road and around the corner comes a sweet old lady pushing a teenager in a wheelchair. We ran over and offered or help. The lady was super happy to see us. We got to her house and asked to share our message with her. She joyfully accepted. We've gone back once since then. She loves what we teach her, she knows it's true. Her obstacle between baptism is that she lives with someone that she's not married to. But this second time we went to visit her, she said, 'don't be surprised if we no longer live together by the time of your next visit.' She said it with tears in her eyes. Her name is Maria Elvira.
We taught a family the other day (Lemus Family). We really helped them understand that we are representatives of Jesus Christ and that they need to get baptized. The mom said, 'the other day, out of nowhere, I said to my daughter how i wanted to attend the mormon church to get to know it.' The next day, we show up at her doorstep. We almost didn't stop to talk to her. We were on our way to another appointment. We walked passed the door, she was on her patio. I said hi but kept walking. The Spirit told me to go back and talk to her- even though she had rejected me more than 10 times before. We went back, she let us in, called her son, daughter in law, and granddaughter. They didn't come to church on Sunday because they did things to celebrate Guatemalan Independence. They felt so guilty. They promised to come this Sunday to have a clear conscious.
This weekend, Guatemala celebrated their independence. how? Running. On the 14th, people all got together at like 6 PM and just ran until 1AM. Running up and down all the streets. It seems like a weird celebration, but it's fine. It's not dangerous, it's good for your health. And it's way better than everybody going and getting drunk and stuff to celebrate. So yea, on the 15th of September, we celebrated Guatemala's independence. Good times!
Work with the missionaries from your ward! They are representatives of Jesus Christ. Help them. Leave and work with them! I know I will when I get back!
Well, I've written a lot this week. Love y'all!
--Elder Hunt
