Monday, August 25, 2014


August 25, 2014
They can say Hunter usually but they dont understand the meaning. Chile is great. The Mission President and his wife are from Idaho. I have a mommita for food and we dont see her much. She makes food and leaves it on the table. We have a key to her house and we go for lunch and heat it up in the microwave. She is nice though. The mammita for laundry we know a bit better. She talks to us and we have recieved a reference from her. The food is off and on. Sometimes I love it and other times... it is all tomato. I have eaten chicken, pizza, completos (chilean hot dog. much better than american hot dogs), and even fried pig fat. (seriously, not the meat. just the fat)
Time has actually been really slow here. Every day drags and it feels like it was a month since the last P-Day, not a week. We have struggled a little with appointments falling through. We have three progressing investigators right now though the missionaries before us had been reporting eight baptismal dates. We never could find those eight people. We had one of our investigators with us at church yesterday. He said "That is what I always thought the church of Christ should look like." We have high hopes for him and we teach him again tonight. He should have lots of questions from church yesterday. The other two are currently "con-vive" meaning they live together but are not married. They already have a daughter who is four but appartently that is a big problem here in Chile. Marriage just is not important.
The food is mostly good here. Not a lot of fish but there is a lot of tomatoes... I try to eat it but it is a struggle. I am eating well though. If my body ever gets adjusted to all the walking we do then I will probably get fat. We eat a lot. It is usually a regular breakfast (made by us), a huge lunch from the Mammita or by a member family on Sundays, and then whatever we can find for dinner. Sometimes we eat with a member family but usually not. My companion has a "get sexy" plan for when he goes home. He has a diet and exercise schedule that he tries to follow which usually involves skipping dinner. Unfortuanately for him (and fortunately for me) Elder Cardozo, the argentine, is a good cook and he likes to cook at night. We even had a barbaque on Thursday night.
The language here is not what they taught in the CCM. I use a phrase that I worked so hard to learn and find out I dont make sense here. In Mexico I would be correct. But not in Chile. Chileans have their own vocabularly and I get a headache trying to keep it all straight sometimes. My vocabulary is mainly limited to gospel principles but I can not share in lessons because I am unable to understand their questions. I always share what I can and my companion is good about giving me an opportunity to share a scripture and bear my testimony though. I am slowly understanding more and speaking more but for now I remain silent for a good portion of the lesson. I can usually understand the main concept or theme of the conversation but I miss the details and those are important. I will keep working on it though. We have also had the chance to meet people from Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador, and Argentina and they all speak spanish a little differently and it is easier for me to understand some of them.
I am always tired, I sometimes get headaches, and they do not believe in public restrooms here in Chile so we have had a few close calls getting back to the pension in time (for both me and my companion) but I am glad I chose to come out here. It has been good for me already. We even had rain! (it was barely a drizzle but it counts)
I am glad school is going well. Sounds like you and kate have your hands full and it sounds like Jake and Dad are having some good football games. I am impressed by the blog and the smartphone. You guys might be more techy than me when I get home.
I never had Coder but I knew him. Kate, use flashcards. It helps to study them in your spare time. Even the process of just making them and writing everything down can help.
How were Brycens and Dads talks? I actually met some people going to Brycens mission in the CCM but they are obviously spanish speaking so maybe they wont meet each other. I dont know how it works in areas with both spanish and english missionaries.
Quick message to the rest of the family: To Grandma and Grandpa Mellor, Dont worry. I cant see the blog either. Love you guys. To Grandma and Grandpa Hunter, Thanks for always going to my sports games and I know that Jake and Kate appreciate it too. Sorry the Duck Creek trip did not work out. Love you guys. To all my awesome Aunts and Uncles, sorry I dont have time to write everyone individually but thanks for the advice you guys gave me before I left. Thanks for being good examples and for helping my parents raise me right. Love you all. To all my cousins, you guys rock. I cant always reply to everyone everyweek but write me if you get a chance. Love you all.
I am getting kicked off but I love you all and I pray for every one of you.
Elder Hunter

Wednesday, August 20, 2014

August 18, 2014
I arrived in Chile and spent the night in a Hotel. The next day I met my trainer and I was shipped out. His name is Elder Stratford. Training me will be the last thing he does in a mission. Then he heads home. There are four elders in our Pension and 3 of us are gringos. The fourth is from Argentina. He speaks very little english so even though my trainer is from California I always get to practice spanish. I do in fact have mammitas who cook and do laundry for me. Yeah, I know, you are jealous.

I am in Antofagasta, the main city for my mission. We are opening this area so everything is new for all four of us. The ward is good and I had the opportunity to share my testimony in Sacrament Meeting on Sunday. I have been told that my pronunciation is very good. I just need to know more words... and conjugations... and those phrases that apply only in Chile. But other than that. I had my first real invitation to baptism last night. It was nerve wracking to say the least. My papito is good at getting me out of my comfort zone. (in the mission field Elder Stratford is my papito and I am his hijo). It kinda reminded me of my first deer. You (Dad) were more excited than I was. Likewise, Elder Stratford was way more excited than me. I guess I was just focused on what has to happen next. The man I invited to be baptized was a street contact. Now he is a new investigator. I hope everything goes well with him.
My Pday is Monday. I will certainly try to email each week but we use public computers so I cant always use one when I want to. (you should have seen us trying to print out a map of our area).
Hope school is going well and that everyone can adjust to their new schedules. I was told that regular mail takes between 2-5 weeks and that packages take 4-7 weeks. So yeah... 
I can listen to LDS music. Tabernacle choir, hymns, EFY songs, ect.We were going to buy stuff today but our plans changed so I dont know when I will buy most of my stuff... But I should be fine. Thank you so much for worrying about me.
I love you guys. I think I answered a lot of these in my email to dad so I will just answer a few specifics. In Antofagasta at this time of the year the temperature is really cold in the morning and at night but the afternoons are great. It has been really cloudy. No rain though. Weirdest feeling ever after rain everyday in Mexico. Trying to understand people is rough. Chileans really do speak very quickly but I have also taught people from Bolivia, Ecuador, and Peru. Supposedly I will be able to recognize where they are from just by their accents eventually but right now I just always struggle. I can usually follow the main idea of a conversation but I miss the details. It is better during the actual lessons when we discuss the doctrine vocabularly I learned in the CCM. I was told I needed to pay for my second piece of luggage but when I showed up at the airport they just took my bags and I made it through to Chile so... yeah. First night was a hotel. Very nice. The pension... is different than I expected. I am told this is one of the nicest pensions in the Mission so this will be a fun two years. I am technically on a split bunkbed now. I just could not escape the bunk bed from the CCM it seems. 

I dont know what else to ask you to send. It seems like I already have, or I can buy the things I need here for the most part. The cord, a USB, family pics, if you send music then maybe find a cheap MP3 player and a speaker (i cant have headphones). Other than that... I should be good I think. I will let you know if that changes but by then you will have already sent the package so... yeah. I will pray that I dont need anything else.
Jake, I am glad that football is going well. The new safety rules are not very fun but they will do what they think they need to. I hope you win your first game. You are a better athlete than I ever was. I could barely catch a football. I could never have been a quarterback. You are awesome buddy. Good luck.
Dad, you got the other email. I am good for now. Thank you.
Kate, SOCCER SUCKS. I tried playing a game with some members and other Elders today. Some native, some not. I was terrible. Truly horrendous. It was about half the size of a normal field so ball control was very important. I am sure I will play a lot more soccer here and I am glad you made starting varsity but soccer is terrible for me. We are opening this sector, which means both of us are new here. We know no one. We have spent the past week getting to know members, less actives, and old investigators. Most of our lessons have been with less actives. We get ready in the morning, study for an hour, try to go out and make contacts and recieve references in the morning, go back for companion study, go to the mammitas house for lunch, go back to the pension for language study, then we have (or try to have) appointments for the rest of the day. We try to be home between 9 30 and 10. Lights out at 11. Get up at 7.
Good luck with school. You are smart. You can handle a few hard classes.

keep praying for me because I will be praying for you.
Love all of you guys. Talk to you in a week.
Elder Hunter (or according to a few members here Elder Hamster)

1st Assignment

My trainer Elder Stratford



Sunday, August 17, 2014


August 12, 2014

¡¡Saludos de Chile!!

We are pleased to inform you of the safe arrival of Elder Brock Chad Hunter in the Chile Antofagasta Mission. We are thrilled to have Elder Hunter serving here with us.  It was a pleasure to greet him at the airport today and spend some time getting to know him.

Thank you for the sacrifices you are making and the support you are giving him while he serves. We know he will appreciate the support he receives from home and you will be blessed for having a missionary in the field. We have attached photos of Elder Hunter taken in front of our signature Antofagasta landmark, La Portada, with the city in the background.

The Lord is hastening the Work of Salvation and this is an amazing time to be a missionary.  Your son is needed here and we are so grateful he has chosen to serve a mission.  We will care for him as if he were our own.

With much love,
President & Sister Dalton


Incoming Missionaries
Elder Hunter with President & Sister Dalton


CCM Branch

with Hermano Ortiz

Before Haircut

After Haircut

Guest Speaker


Mural Outside Auditorium


Last Meeting



CCM President

Roommates




Goals

To Do List

Footprints in the wet grass

Nephite Warrior

Ancient Tree of Life Picture

Selfie

Wildlife

More Wildlife

More Murals

Aug 11, 2014
I am mostly packed but I have one last load of laundry in the dryer. After that I can finish packing.
I need the dufflebag for weight purposes. My main bag is about 50lbs and the duffle bag is 30. Lots of books for language. Plus my carry-on has a weight limit for this next flight. Only 22lbs. makes it a bit harder to pack.

 We have 43 Missionaries on the flight to Santiago. Then we split to the various other missions. Yes, everyone in my district is going to Antofagasta. Apparently this is rare because everyone we tell this to seems surprised.

The haircut was a bit rough. Not like if Mimi, Karen, or Bonnie was doing it. They have one haircut that they give all the guys and they were going for speed, not accuracy. I got before and after pictures (but the after pic is after I fixed my hair with the trimmer on my razor) that I will send to you.

They used a buzzer for most of it. I actually thought "This is what it would be like to have Dad cut my hair." But then I thought "Ouch! Nope Dad would be nicer about it."

The woman who cut my hair was nice enough but she was shorter than Aunt Brenda and I had to slouch a lot. Plus, like I said, she was rough. She had a list of missionaries to get through that day and she was NOT going to slow down for anything.

I miss Kaitlin cooking me cookies and watching Clone Wars with Jake.

We didn’t fight anyone but it got close... some Elders get serious about their games of Cutthroat. Elder Childs, an elder in my district who is a huge softy, got scared during our first week. His companion, Elder Herd, jumped out from behind a closet and Elder Childs said "I will knock you out son!"  That is as close as our district has gotten to being pulled off people.

 I got my favorite meal at the CCM for lunch today. CHEESEBURGERS. I like it because on those days I get fry sauce. I have to make it and a few people give me odd looks but the ones from Utah and Idaho understand.

Advice for Brycen is, try to read through Preach My Gospel before the MTC. There is actually some cool stuff in there. Who knew!
Be sure to bring pictures of family with you (since i kinda forgot...)

Pray. A lot. About everything.

I got to go. Thanks for talking to me. I do not know if I get to call when I reach the Mission Home or not. I don’t know if I even get to email from there. I do not know when my first PDay will be in the field. Just keep me updated and I will talk to you guys as soon as I can.

Love you all,

Elder Hunter

Thursday, August 7, 2014

I am glad to hear dad's horse gather was successful, glad to hear Kate made the Soccer team, glad to hear Jake is staying busy with sports, and glad to hear Mom is almost ready for school. 23 kids in a class would be your smallest yet right? (I have to disagree with Dad and Jake. Mrs. Hunter just makes me run things out to her school. Tonya makes me clean, cook, and take pictures.)

People in my district are VERY talented at playing piano. I tried playing a few hymns but when you don't practice you lose it. Tell Jake I hated practicing too but when you can play that REALLY cool song on the piano its worth it.
I have been in 3 choirs since I came to the CCM. Does that count as making me do things? I usually just lead the music. 

Its cool that we have new neighbors. I hope the girls stay active. And I wish I could hear their accents. And I wish I could hear them speak Spanish with an Australian accent... Tell Kate to just be there friend. It is easier to convince people to come to mutual when they have friends there. That is why missionaries try to teach with a member present.

Glad that dad had a good birthday. I must say I miss grilling... though in Chile they supposedly have BBQ's for Christmas because they have nice weather in December. We shall see how it goes.
Speaking of Chile, I leave for Chile on Monday. I don't know all the details yet but I leave Monday night. They even made me get a haircut today so I will be ready for the mission field. We should be able to email later this weekend (or maybe Monday) when we know more.

My spanish has improved a lot since I got here but I know it is not anywhere close to where it needs to be. I will keep working on it. Though I fear my english gets worse at a faster rate than my spanish is getting better...

I am learning a lot about compromise being with a companion 24/7. We get along most of the time though.
I don't think I will have time to send pictures today and you guys did not give me any requests so you just get what you get. 

Amo ustedes y bueno suerte. Gracias por la cancion.
(Love you and good luck. Thank you for the song.)
Elder Hunter


Before you ask: yes, we are all wearing glasses. yes, the hermanas have matching dresses. yes, we attempted to make a rainbow with our ties only to have it be broken up.

Sunday, August 3, 2014





Narnia


Playground in our backyard

Mexico City Temple Visitors Center





Mexico City Temple


Western Hemisphere Missions


Chile Antofagasta Mission

Proof that Brock shared his package.

More proof.
White board at the house.

Oreos

New scripture case.



A Monument to the Sewers? Well that isn't as exciting as Quidditch goals or Lego arms but okay...  I don't know if anyone is on Missionary Mommas. The last names of everyone in my district though are Beltran, Shill, Herd, Childs, Barrington, Anderson, Maki, Andersen, Hermana Weber, Hermana Leonhardt, Hinton, and Cazador (spanish for Hunter. My Branch President calls me Elder Cazador). 

 The food here is hit and miss but they have this one cake that tastes just like Key Lime Pie.  You would enjoy it. My favorite meal here is hamburguesa con queso. Those are the days I get fry sauce. Talk about a piece of home. 

You should stay busy once school starts. I think its interesting that you go back to school right before I leave for Chile. My spanish has greatly improved since I got here but the Native Mexican speakers are saying that its hard for even them to understand Chilean Spanish. Plus they say "po"after everything for some reason. I'll keep working and trust in the Lord but I may have more than one "silent sunday"once I get there.

A quick overview of the last week: so I was in the Girls bathroom at the cafeteria (comedor) , no really, it was a service project. We do a service project every week on Friday. Once the bathrooms were clean we got to help in the actual kitchen. You get some perks if you can become friends with the kitchen staff. Then I actually did speak on Sunday. Our subject was the Apostasy and the Restoration. I feel like I did okay but I was reading directly from the page :P There were three of us from District 4D that had to talk last sunday. Also my companion Elder Hinton was given a calling as the Music Coordinator of our Branch until we leave. Then we found an area we have named Narnia. It's a group of trees on the edge of the CCM that has a Lamp Post in the middle. There is an old Amphitheater out there left over from when this was a High School. Its pretty cool. I was preparing for my talk last week and I used the Bible Dictionary quite a bit so that's what some of my studies have been based on. I can't understand all the conjugation changes in the Spanish scriptures yet so my language and gospel study has been separate. Yesterday we were "Hosts"to the new missionaries. They don't have enough workers to help everyone so we got to guide them to their rooms and give a brief tour. It was in English (which was good for them and us). I think that is most of the important points from my week so I will talk to you guys later. 

Yo siento amor para ustedes, mi amigos, los misioneros, los lideres de la Iglesia, Dios, Jesucristo, y la pueblo de Chile. Por favor ore para mi.

I feel love for you, my friends, missionaries, the leaders of the Church, God, Jesus Christ, and the people of Chile. Please pray for my.
Elder Hunter