Dear Family and friends,

This week we found several receptive people but we were mostly going around so that Elder Acosta, my new comp, could get to know people. Elder Acosta is from Lima, Peru. He actually lives like 2 blocks from the temple there. He is a convert of 5 years and he is an only child. His parents got baptized at the same time as him. He is a HUGE futbol fan and he was actually working to go pro before the mission. His coach called him crazy to put off his training to come out on a mission but he felt good about his decision and now he has 10 months in the field. The miracle for the week is the fact that we were able to enter several houses for the first time. Elder Holloway and I had passed by before but never been able to enter but now with Elder Acosta we could get in. I guess God was just waiting for Elder Acosta to get here.

The fleas continue to eat me alive so I think I would do very poorly as a fumigator. We also have not been able to find a new pension. No one wants to rent. It is weird to think that you guys are back in school. Just saying. For now my clothes are holding up. I actually have more than I need (another reason why there is so little room in my bags). The only thing that has gotten REALLY worn out are my tennis shoes. I only use them once a week and they are still the most beat up. I will keep using them for now and if I need to buy new ones later then I will but for now I am fine.

This friday we had a Dessert and Karaoke night and we had 55 people show up. I thought that was pretty good but you guys beat us with 75 youth. Well, maybe if more people were willing to sing we would have seen better attendance. And though there were several delicious treats, I did not get one recipe. I was kinda upset about that. I made brownies to take to the activity but they lacked sugar... and I might have broken the Mamitas mixer... but Elder Acosta decided to put condensed milk and cream on top of the brownies and with the addition of sprinkles and crushed up chocolate chip cookies it ended up tasting pretty good.

I am glad that you guys are doing well, even if you are a bit stressed at times. Remember that God tests his saints and that all things will work for our good if we are obedient. I dont know what else to say for today so I will just tell you that I love you, I appreciate your prayers, and I will be working hard to fulfil the Lords purposes here.

WAIT! I did think of something else to write. I recently found out that several investigators that I worked with in my other sectors have since been baptized. Lidia and Juan Manuel from Bolivar in Antofagasta have a baptismal date for this upcoming saturday and José Riquelme (the dad and husband) is going to baptize them. Also an investigator that I had in Copiapo has an appointment to get married so he can get baptized. I was pretty excited to hear about these things. I may not be there with them but I could help them get there.

Okay. Now that should be all. Have a great week everyone!

Take care and God bless. Con amor, Elder Brock Hunter

This week was busy. I was getting to know my companion. It is always interesting getting to know the person that you have to live with 24 hours a day. I cant think of anything awesome right off the bat. The investigators are doing well though one lady said she does not like Peruvians... we will have to see what happens with that. Pray for Joel, Jackeline, Danisa, and Cristobal. Pray that they will actually read and have the spirit touch their hearts.

As missionaries, sometimes we show people how to hold a Noche de Hogar, or Family Home Evening. We also ask that members will allow us to take investigators to their houses so that they can see how we do it and so that the investigators can meet more people. We do not have FHE with just missionaries. In my last ward they were doing a Ward FHE but here they are not doing that. A lot of times we get invited to share the spiritual part of the FHE with absolutely no heads up. They just ask us to do it. So we have to have several scriptures handy to use in such emergency situations. (Scripture Masteries as well as others that we find through our personal study). Here we have one large Branch Activity each month and we try to fit smaller things in throughout the month.

Work hard, pray hard, help others. Love ya sis. Elder Hunter

Dear Grandma and Grandpa Hunter,
Congratulations on 65 years of marriage! That is rather impressive. It gives a good example in a world where people dont even want to be married anymore. When I get home I will be eating peaches and tomatoes so be sure to save some for me. Thank you for your prayers. I pray for you guys every day too. Take care and stay safe. I love you.

Elder Hunter

We had a really good week this week. We had more lessons with investigators and we also found a few new ones. We have seen more progress in working with the Branch Council as well. The miracle of the week would have to be the fact that we got into several houses of less active members for the first time this week. I do not know what it is that changed but a lot more people became more receptive.

According to Elder Holloway, I was with him to learn patience. I think he has learned to love the people more (it also helps that he speaks spanish a lot better now than when I first met him). Elder Holloway actually went to Antofagasta on cambios this morning. I will have a latin comp but I still dont know him.  So far my companions have been Dad, Elder Hinton, Elder Stratford, Elder Riveros, Elder Ortega, Elder Plowman, Elder Holloway, and now Elder Acosta as my companions. Mostly good experiences, a few bad ones, and even a few "stress emergencies" but hey.

A few more flea bites but I think I got them (of course I said that last time). I have seen them before but mostly I just see the bites. I fumigated. Still looking for a new house.

Good luck with this school year. I imagine that everyone has a lot of homework but just stay on top of it. It is much easier to stay on top than it is to scramble up from the bottom. Tell Dad to delegate to and trust in the leaders of the Auxilary Organizations. He is in charge of a Young Adult Ward,so things are a bit different, but the Lord called him to serve there because he is needed and he is able.

The weather here has been bi-polar and we had a small earthquake last night but we are fine.

I have less time to write today because of Cambios but I wanted to let you guys know that I love you and I pray for you always. Take care and God bless.

Con amor, Elder Hunter

The problem with changing missionary apartments is that the Mission Office has to approve everything. They need to have photos, contact information, and house dimensions. We have found one house so far that might be an option as well as five other rental fliers that were outdated (the houses were rented weeks or even months ago). The missionaries have wanted to change houses for a while now but with the flooding in our kitchen we finally recieved official permission to change. The office wants at least 3 options before they make a decision. The flea situation is varying. I thought I had killed all the fleas but then I got bit 3 times last night. I bought some Raid at the store today. I plan to fumigate the house. I hate fleas. I think that I hate them even more than mosquitoes.

The splits we did with the members on Wednesday actually worked very well. The four of us were able to visit families with a member of the ward. I visited two less active families, Elder Holloway visited an investigator who is married to a less active member, Elder Malan visited an investigator, and Elder Spanbauer visited a new investigator family in their sector. We did have interviews with President Dalton but he did not bring any packages or mail with him. He came down here earlier than planned because they found fossils on the premise of a church building in Huasco. Kinda complicated. Plus at that same time he was trying to organize church efforts to go help people in Tocapilla after they got flooded. I will let you know when I recieve mail.

It kinda freaks me out that you guys are starting a SECOND school year while I am in Chile. Hopefully you can get everything ready in time but I am sure that you will be able to handle it. Did you get a new calling yet or just get released as the Young Womens President? And HOW IN THE WORLD DID BLAKE LOSE 40 POUNDS? I did not think he had 40 pounds to lose! I think I have gained 10 or 15 pounds and that is because they eat a lot of bread here. At least he is happy.

We did manage to teach a new family this week and they are very interested in learning more. The only thing is that they are only able to share on Saturdays... but slow progress is still progress. In other news, our landlord´s dog was poisoned yesterday. Someone has been putting out poison to kill the cats and dogs in the streets and the poor pup got into it.  I do not know what else to write... so I think I will call it a day.

I forgot to mention an activity that we went to on Friday. The ward in Centro hosted an activity called "La Dulce Historia de la Iglesia en Chile. They had three categories: old things, old things from the church, and desserts. They also had a local sculptor/artist come and show off some of his work. He is not a member of the church but he liked the idea of showing off his work. He actually lives in our sector so we will be passing by to share with him later. He made paintings showing off some of the local legends from the North of Chile. The best "cosa antigua" was a collection of small taxis from around the world; the best "cosa antigua de la Iglesia" were old tapes that were used for Family Home Evening; and the best "postre" was a dessert with coconut, chocolate, and strawberry. 

I love you guys and I want you to know that you are all in my prayers everyday. God bless.

Con mucho amor, Elder Brock Hunter

Sis,

Senior year will just fly by. Be prepared. Dont waste it.

There is Basico (elementary and middle school) and Medio (Highschool). Sometimes they call it Collegio or Liceo as well. They normally get a summer break and winter break with other holidays off, just like us, but recently the teachers were boycotting for a month and a half and now they have to make up all their lost time. Some schools are staying in class for longer hours and some are even going to class on Saturday. Normally in Chile the students get 1 hour to go home and eat lunch and get back to class.

There are about 60 active people in our Branch but we have an average attendance of about 40. That means that 20 people come every week, 20 people come weeks 1 and 3, and 20 people come weeks 2 and 4. There are probably 12 kids that are primary age that are active.

We try to mix up the things we do on Pday. Sometimes we just shop, sometimes we explore, sometimes we play, sometimes we cut our hair, sometimes we have to clean the house, it just depends. I have done a lot of service cleaning up places, painting, small building projects, and during the rain we made care packages.

There are a lot of wild dogs in all of Chile but yes we also have wild cats here. I do not know what other weird things I might have eaten. There are some different types of food here and some of it I love and some of it I have to swallow down and try not to puke. It all depends. Anyway, take care and good luck.

Love ya sis, Elder Hunter

Dear Grandpa and Grandma Hunter,

The District here in Vallenar has a goal to read the Book of Mormon two times this year. They finished once already and recently started again. It can be hard but the important thing is to be consistent.

I hope that the garden will start doing better. Some plants here have bloomed early and then got killed by the cold. The climate here changed after the big earthquake here in Chile in 2010.

I love you guys and I appreciate all of your prayers and support. Take care and know that I pray for you every day too.

Con amor, Elder Hunter

Well, the good news is that they are not sending me home just yet. The interview this time was actually very spiritually enlightening for me. Now I just have to apply the things that I learned so that we can see more baptisms here.

We did get rained on here but it was not nearly as devastating as it was up north. We just could not work very much because of the rain. This time it was a city called Tocapilla that got hit badly.  Can you check if the Atacama Desert is still the most arid in the world because it rained again. And it rained a lot. At least for this year I do not believe it will be the most arid because you guys are lacking water up there in Utah. I hope that everything will work out as far as that goes.

This week we really did talk to a lot of people and we found some new people to visit but we have not had the chance to teach them yet. This week we are planning to do splits with a few of the local members and visit a lot of families all at once. We want to motivate the less active members to come back and invite the investigators to come experience what it is like in the Church of Jesus Christ. 

I am glad that Grandpa Mellor is doing better and I am a bit jealous that you guys were able to see the Cunninghams. Hopefully they will come up to visit again when I get home. I am also jealous that you guys have gone to the temple so often, though I am weirded out that Brennen is getting married. I still can't wrap my head around the fact that people I graduated with are getting married.

Here in Chile they were boycotting the schools because the teachers did not want their wages lowered and now that they are starting to go back to school it rained hard and the schools got flooded. Yesterday they did not have classes but today they should be going back. It is so weird that you guys are starting your school year again. And I understand how Jake feels. Sorry Mom, he probably gets that from me (although Dad is not too crazy about shopping for school stuff either).

Thanks for the souvenier. (rock from the Cedar City Temple Site). Try to take pics as they start building please. I know they won't finish before I get home but I would love to see how it progresses. Soon enough we will have a temple right there in Cedar City so it won't be so hard to attend several times a week. Jake will be a Deacon by the time it is completed so we can go in as a family. Mom did send pics, so did Kaitlin, and it is on the Church News. I could not be there to see it but I know that the spirit there must have been strong because I felt the spirit just looking at the photos! Plus I just found out that they announced the Groundbreaking for the second temple here in Chile too! Temples all around!!!

Two weeks ago I saw a video that was fantastic. It is called "The Atonement and Missionary Work". It has President Eyering and Elder Holland talking. It is powerful and though it mostly involves Missionaries, I believe you could get something out of it as well.

I recently inherited a lot of ties among other things because several missionaries have been ending their missions here. Which means I once again have very little space in my bags... which means I may need to send another package home sooner than I thought. I already have Jake and Kate´s second gifts bought but I do not know what to buy you and Dad... we shall see if I can find anything today.

Some randoms facts for the week; last week I ate grilled cow heart and last night I ate barbaque chicken. It has been a good week for "asados". The fleas must think so too because they started biting me after I got sunburned. Hopefully I have already killed them all but only after they chewed up my leg. During the rainstorm we were fine but our kitchen did get flooded. We are starting to look for a new house to live in (which means I get to move again!).

I can't think of anything else so I just hope that you all manage to enjoy what little remains of your summer vacation and that God will help you in all your righteous efforts. Take care and know that I love you all.

Con amor, Elder Brock Hunter

Kaitlin, 

Soccer Captain huh. Dang girl. Chilenismos! (Dude, great, fantastic)The Chileans are always impressed when I say my sister likes to play soccer. I wonder what they will say when I tell them that you are a captain for your team! Be sure to take a picture of the sport poster.

The week was very interesting. We talked to people in the street for over half an hour and they are happy to talk with us but then when we ask for their address to pass by later they say they are not interested. If you are not interested then why have we been talking for over half an hour?! Oh well, people are funny like that. We have found a few new people to teach recently but then we can't seem to find them for the second lesson. We gotta work on that. The investigators that we had are still there just chugging along but we hope to see more progress soon. We plan to work a lot more with the Branch Leaders.

So far no one in Vallenar has cut my hair. I borrowed one of those buzzer things and cut my own. I put my hair over to the side now because it looks more "proffessional" but I do like it when everything is short and I do not have to worry about it.

Mom should have a link to see the pics I have so ask her. Take care sis. I sent you a letter today so now we will see how long it takes for you to get it. Love ya.

Elder Brock Hunter

Hey Family,

I am doing fine though I could not sleep last night because it was too hot. I do not understand but right when we enter August, which is supposed to be the coldest month in Chile, we have hotter weather. Go figure. My companion is also doing well although some bloody chicken he ate is not agreeing with his stomach. The investigators are doing better. We actually had two investigators in church this Sunday. Jackeline Vega showed up before we did and Luis showed up out of NOWHERE. Unfortunately the attendance was not as good as it could have been but it was great to see investigators and even some less active families in attendance.

I am playing the piano in Sacrament Meeting but the members here are not very used to it. Many still sing at a different speed than I am playing but the son of our Ward Mission Leader is learning to play simplified Hymns so he should be able to take over when I leave. I do not get to pick the songs but so far I have been able to play everything even if it is only the top notes of the right hand :P

I look forward to attending the Temple more. I know that the Cedar City Temple will not be ready for a few years but I am so excited that the Groundbreaking Ceremony is this Saturday. I wish I could be there too but I guess I will just have to go attend the Open House.

Everyone seems to be getting injured or sick recently. I dont know if it happened this often when I was back home and I just did not notice or if this has just been a very accidental year. Either way, take care and be safe.

This week we focused on talking to everyone and always asking for references. We actually were able to get quite a few references but we have not been able to contact many of them. This next week we are hoping to have many new investigators.

. 

I found a random Pendrive in the street the other day. It is only 4 gig but since there is very little hope of finding the original owner, it is now my music drive. Can't complain. Now I can't really think of much else to say so I will just offer a few ideas for videos you can go look up (the missionaries who will read this email are not able to look up these videos at this time. sorry guys). Pollito Pio-Official Video and Have I Done Any Good by Alex Boye.

and before I forget, I will not be writing next Monday. We have interviews so I will write you all on Tuesday. Or if I get sent home I will see you all on Wednesday. Either way.

Take care. Love you all, Elder Hunter

Kaitlin,

You are staying busy but be sure to prioritize. Some things are good, others are better, and still others are best. Decide which is most important.

The last 3 days have actually been hot. I am pretty sure that I got sunburned. Gosh dang Chilean weather is almost as bi-polar as Cedar City weather. I do not know if the weather change will wig me out when I get home. I just hope all my winter clothes still fit.

The language is doing fine at this point. There are still words, and even a few conversations, that I do not understand but for the most part I can talk with anyone about anything basic.

And if you thought I was dorky before then just wait. I am sure my awkwardness level will be off the charts by the time I get home.

Love you sis. God bless. Elder Hunter

The activity went fairly well. Everyone said they enjoyed it, though for some reason I became the target of several paper airplanes. It started slow, but by the end we had about 40 people in attendance. Then of course it was the missionaries who stayed behind to clean up but hey. I am just glad to help. I do wish though that more of the people who came to the activity had also gone to church on sunday.

Happy Birthday Old Man...er... I mean Dad! I know it will be pretty busy but I hope you can enjoy it. I am rather impressed that you have 4 sports going at once but the next time Jake fights you about practicing, hit him over the head for me and say "Elder Hunter says you need to practice so you dont mess up the Hymns like he does." Also, very few people in Chile use walkers but I have seen many people who use 2 canes. I dont know if that would help you be more mobile or not :P

Thanks for you support and love Dad. It is appreciated

Grandma & Grandpa,

Thank you for the update and the article by President Uchtdorf. We have not recieved the Liahona for August yet so I do not know if that article is in there or not. I hope you can enjoy your warm weather and I hope the garden does better than expected. Love you, Elder Hunter

First the 1 year in-mission goals:

1 Be better about exercise

2 Eat Healthier

3 Learn to stay positive

4 Read all the scriptures in English

5 Read all the scriptures in Spanish

6 Write more spiritual experiences in letters home

7 Stay consistent in Journal writing (every day so far!)

8 Be an obedient missionary

9 Endure to the End

10 Save more souls

Now the after-mission goals:

1 Find eternal companion/ marry her/ never let her go

2 Work hard and honestly

3 Finish formal schooling

4 Continue learning always

5 Create personal library

6 Create a budget and stick to it

7 Stay in contact with people from mission

8 Teach by example

9 Go on a temple tour (first utah, then the west or historical sites, then the rest of the US, ect)

10 Endure to the End

So that is what I am working on. Do you have any goals you are currently working on? If yes, then just be sure to write them down and work to reach them. If no, then make some. Love y´all. Take care now. (sorry, I am with a Texan)