Monday, October 26, 2015

Dear family,
Nice to talk to you again. The miracle of the week would have to be Saturday night when the Grandmother of Emanuel decided to let him go to church with us. Emanuel is 11 years old and is reading the Book of Mormon and praying by himself. His grandmother was working on Sunday but said she would accompany him next week because she saw that her grandson is interested and that it is something good for him. We were just walking past the house when she called out to us and at first she was very critical asking why we were sharing with her grandson but by the end she understood and was interested in our message.
I am sad to hear that the hunt was not overly successful but it definetly could have been worse. Here in Chile some people love Halloween and others hate it with a burning passion. We shall see what happens. (the pumpkins here are green, they dont have orange pumpkins)
It is super weird to hear that people at home are getting married. I dont know why but it is just so strange. Congratulations to Cameron and Travis. A family here in our ward wants to watch Mormon Movies and they are looking for the film where two inmates escape and pretend to be missionaries. What is that movie called? Also, I noticed that my debit card expires in January. Do I need to pull out all my money before January or do you think I can replace my card?
This week I was slightly less lost though I still cannot remember names. We managed to work with several members this week in order to visit people. This morning we spent all our time waiting in the PDI just to change our adresses in the Government records... oh well. Things you gotta do. I am doing well, just a little sunburned. I am getting along with my companion, at least for now. We also had interviews with the Mission President this week but I am not going home just yet so that is a good thing.
Referring to the package: I am glad you guys liked your gifts, the cats are technically chinese but you will not find a business here (any business) that does not have at least one of those cats. The cats are supposed to bring in luck and prosperity with their paw. 

Dear Grandparents,
It is weird to think that another hunting season has passed by. I cant remember an Elder Adams but the name sounds familiar. This apartment has some good things but it also has a few doors that are just too short. I have already hit my head 3 times... Thanks for your support. Love you.

Sis, 

My companion is a convert of 3 years. He read the book of Abraham first and knew that Joseph Smith was a prophet and then as a member he started to read the Book of Mormon. I have gotten to know a few people better but most of them I still cant match the names with their faces or their addresses...

 Halloween is Witch´s Night here in chile and the first of November is the day of the dead (I believe it is also All- Saints Day). We shall see how many crazy people there are here in Arica.

Take care Kate. IOU one gift that could not be sent...
Con amor, Elder Hunter

I love you guys.Time in the mission passes ridiculously fast so I will talk to you soon.
Con mucho amor, Elder Brock Hunter

Monday, October 19, 2015

Dear family,
Nice to talk to you again. This weekend Maximiliano and his daughter Nathaly were baptized and confirmed. I was in the font with Nathaly and I was also the one who performed her confirmation. Unfortunately, she unplugged her nose as she went under the water. She thought she was going to drown. Poor girl. She said she liked the confirmation a lot more. They were baptized for Maximiliano´s birthday. Elder Mariscal baptized Maxi.

We have several investigators here but they are not reading or going to church... we also found several new people this week and hopefully they will progress a bit better. I am still lost and I don't know the names of the members...

Hopefully the deer hunt will start being a bit better for you all. It has been a while since I have seen animals other than dogs, cats, turtles, and pigeons.

I dont know how Halloween will be here in Arica. It is the land of eternal spring because it is still warm in winter but in summer it is hot and burning (just like the rest of the mission). 

Today we cleaned up the pension a bit and we found thousands of ties inside the couch (instead of real cushions). We both managed to find a few that we liked. Supposedly there are other pensions here in Arica with even more ties. I will have to see it to believe it.

I feel like there was something else that I needed to say today but I can't remember what... sorry.

Love you guys. Enjoy your week and God bless.
Con amor, Elder Hunter

Dear Grandparents,

Thanks for writing me and supporting me. A lot of missionaries don't have the support that I do. I love you guys and I hope that you can enjoy this deer hunt season. Hunting is not very common here so a lot of people are interested in why we do it in the United States. Some people get offended too but they have no problem having a giant barbaque every soccer game...

I really enjoyed conference too. It was cool to see three new apostles. The next General Conference will be my last one in the mission. Hopefully it will also be a very spiritual experience. 

Love you guys. God bless.
Con amor, Elder Hunter

Monday, October 12, 2015

It is always interesting adjusting to a new sector. Arica is dirt brown and is a big change from green Vallenar. I am next to a hill so my sector is long and curved around the hill. It is an urban area but there is also a section of "haciendas" which are large plots of land. The people there can be very poor but have a lot of land or they can be very rich with huge mansions. Supposedly we have an investigator that lives in one of the mansions. You can see the sea from some parts of my sector but everything here is dry.
I have kinda recovered from the bus ride but I have felt groggy all week. Hopefully that will pass with time. The Mamitas here are inactive members who love the missionaries (again) but we will be working with them. Elder Mariscal was a mechanic with his own shop but then he changed carreers to be an engineer and then he opened a restraunt for his mom to run while he came on his mission. He is a hard worker and he likes to talk with people. There is a lot of work to do here but there are several members who are excited to work with the missionaries. We will have a baptism (maybe 2) this Saturday. We taught Maximiliano 3 times in a week so that he could have the baptismal interview. He wanted to get baptized on the 17th because it is his birthday. He went from not wanting anything to not wanting to wait to be baptized in about a month. His daughter, Natali, also wants to be baptized but we have to teach her a bit more.
I cant believe you guys met the new apostle. I did not really know who he was when they announced his name but I really enjoyed his testimony. The Lord prepares those he calls.

Jake

Of course the Apostle comes when I am on a different continent. That is awesome buddy. And though you lost the football game I know that you played hard and if you did your best then you can't ask anything more. You can get a lot down with those powwows if you work hard and smart. Stay amazing Jake. Love you too. Elder Hunter

Tell Grandpa Mellor and Cooper happy birthday for me. Love you guys. Take care and God bless.
con amor, Elder Hunter

Tuesday, October 6, 2015

Dear family,
My conference weekend was special to say the least. I was uplifted by several talks and recieved some much needed personal revelation. I also puked after Elder Bednar finished his talk.... but hey. Life is full of ups and downs and that is what  I get for eating coconut cookies during the morning session on sunday. We watched the conference in the District Center. I watched each session in english but my companion watched in spanish. We did not have investigators present but we did have a few less actives that showed up. Some of my favorite talks were from Elder Cook, Elder Montoya, and President Monson.Gathered together as missionaries we also shared our opinions of the talks with one another and we also felt that President Monson´s talk shows just how dedicated he is as the Lord´s servant.  I enjoyed Elder Bednar´s talk as well which is why I did not go to the bathroom as soon as I should have...
I did have a transfer this week. I am now in Arica after 22 hours and 30 minutes on a bus (literally the longest bus trip possible in this mission).  My new companion is Elder Mariscal from Trinidad, Bolivia. He is 25 years old and a convert of 3 years. I do not yet have photos and I do not know more about him... My new sector is called Valle Azapa. I know nothing of my sector and I only know the Papito of food who is not a member (his wife is a member but she was not home. She was in the airport saying goodbye to their granddaughter who is going to serve an LDS Mission in Colombia). As soon as I finish writing we will go out to work.
My last week in Vallenar was good but because I did not know if I had cambios (transfers) or not I was not able to say goodbye to everyone that I wanted too. There are several people who might be able to be baptized in this next transfer.
I dont really know what else to say. My bus trip kinda wiped me out. I will write you guys again next Monday. Love you guys. Take care and God bless.
Con amor, Elder Brock Hunter

Kaitlin,


Congrats on being region 12 champs. I hope that you will do as well during the playoffs.
It just keeps getting hotter. I was dying on the bus because they do not turn on air conditioning during the night.
Take care sis and enjoy homecoming.
con amor, Elder Hunter