Dear family,

Manda saludos a mis abuelos y dígales que les quiero mucho.

(Sends greetings to my grandparents and tell them that I love them.)

So turns out that we still can't go to Lago Chungara. If I leave this cambio then I might just leave without visiting it. I hope to stay just one more cambio but that is a selfish desire in the end. The important thing is that I go where the Lord needs me and that I am prepared to do what he needs me to do. We  are also working a lot better with our Mission Leader so now we can just meet with him and then he goes to consejo de barrio. The new elders quorum president is a bit stressed but working hard. Daniela... my comp says she is playing "hard to get" or in this case "hard to baptize".  And tell Dad that quoting a movie is even better if you watch it as a ward activity first (referring to the Princess Bride marriage quote)

So on Monday we went to a Family Home Evening and the members wanted us to make "Gringo postres" so we made s´mores. They were delicious. We also played a flour tower game where if you topple the tower you have to search for the coin with your face. Interesting night to be sure. Then we had a worldwide missionary training this week. It was... interesting. Not what I expected but I did learn some stuff that I want to apply. On Wednesday we had Ward Movie Night. We got a ton of kids involved and several of them were not members. They watched the Minions. We could not watch but we helped serve popcorn and soda. Then on Thursday they had sports night. There was zumba, volleyball, ping-pong, and painting (for the little kids).

Then on Saturday I had an interesting day. A less active member gave us non-alcoholic beer (it was utterly disgusting) and then I went to do two baptismal interviews. They were two young sisters (one was 12 and the other 10) but they really wanted to be baptized. They have been attending for about 6 months already with their parents. For some legal problems the parents can't get baptized just yet but they are working on it. 

Then this Sunday we finally saw Emmanuel again. He will not be coming back to live with his aunt but the Bishop worked out a deal that Emmanuel can come to church with us until we get his new ward involved. I saw Mario bless the sacrament and then Emmanuel passed it. Then in the afternoon they ordained four of the six new ward missionaries. I hope that I can do something more here before I go to a new sector.

I love you guys. Stay well, work hard, and God bless.

Con amor, Elder Hunter

Dear Jake,

¿Por que Jake tiene un burro (the walker)? ¿Él es abuelito ya? Y mas ensima, ¿dónde esta ese lugar para que puedan "ice skate." (I dont know how to say ice skating. Not exactly a common sport here)

That Jake does a donkey (the walker)? Is he abuelito already? And more Ensim, are where this place so they can "ice skate."? (I dont know how to say ice skating. Not exactly a common sport here)

Dear Kate,

Sounds like you are getting into a good program. Just remember, if things get hard, you asked for it :P That is what I always told myself about SUCCESS. It was not the easy way but I feel it was worth it. Keep working hard.

The work was a bit rough this week. Everyone likes to travel for summer and this week we also had caranaval. (Look it up- Carnaval Andino con la Fuerza del Sol  Arica Chile 2016. LOTS of dancing but we did not get to see it...) We do have people that are progessing though. Right now Daniela is the only one coming to church but we managed to help Alberto understand that he needs to read the Book of Mormon and Lorena read all the pamphlets we left her.

It. Is. Hot. Always.

Today we went exploring and I found the place that is officially my favorite from the mission. We visited a Hummingbird Sanctuary and everything was green, lots of flowers, there were streams, there were lots of birds (chickens, peacocks, hummingbirds, pigeons,parakeets, parrots, ect) and we even found sheep and pigs. And of course there were dogs (just like everywhere else in Chile) but THEN MY CAMERA DIED! I still managed to take a lot of pics but I wanted to take more! Then we passed by the mummy museum because my comp and the other missionaries had never been but they blazed through it. They took a few pics but for the most part read nothing about the exhibits. Well, that is their decision but I felt like I wasted 2 mil because I had to stay with my comp. Then we ate at a restraunt called Roly´s which is very good but also expensive. They give you a ton of food. Then we went looking for a fan but we could not find one cheap. And now I am writing you guys. Later, I have to work.

I never got the packages, I dont know about taller but I am about 15 pounds heavier supposedly. My tan really is not that bad because I always rotate between short and long sleeve. And I basically just talk spanglish now. Same for thinking and my personal prayers. We will see what happens when I get home.

In response to Kate's PS- to the best of your ability...please try not to bring fleas home with you!!!!!

I will pray that all goes well in your competition. And I will also do my very best to fulfil your wish of bringing you an authentic chilean flea that can stay in your bed and be your "pet". 

Take care sis. Con amor, Elder Hunter

S'mores

Flour Tower

Hummingbird Sanctuary

Dear family,

It has been a hot week. Lots of sun. And I might have forgotten to put on sunscreen. And my skin might be peeling right now. But that is what happens. Church was a lot better this week and we had a very productive Ward Council. They changed the meeting to be at night and a lot more people showed up. Plus they just called an Elders Quorum President. Now we need to support him so that he doesn't buckle under the pressure. The only investigator at church was Daniela. She enjoys church except for Relief Society because no one really sits by her there. We are working on fixing that situation.

We did not go to Lago Chungara this week because the other elders had to do tramités (legal papers). Next week. We hope. Not sure who all is going at this point.

I have not received any packages nor letters. I don't know what's up. I have a friend in the office now though so I will ask.

As far as the 50th wedding anniversary goes, I think it would be cool trying to recreate one of their favorite memories but doing it with all the new little grandkids that have popped up recently.

This Friday they called to ask me which airport I want to arrive home at. I knew it was coming but I was still surprised. I told them Cedar City or St George. Let me know if I should have said Salt Lake or Las Vegas. I think I can still arrange that. 

I do not think that I will get to meet the new mission president but I also don't know if President Dalton and his wife will be on the same plane home as us. From what I understand, they have to meet the new President and they have about 15 minutes to talk to each other but only about medical needs of missionaries. 

Apparently I look really old and my comp looks really young because last week some kids walked up to us and asked if I was Elder Carter´s Dad... I AIN'T THAT OLD! If they had been members I would have taken it as a joke about my time in the mission but they were just some random kids. Not cool.

Things are going okay here. I am going through a ton of water which is good for my body but bad for the wallet. With my comp, we have found a few things that we don't agree on (mostly sense of humor) but that happens when you put two random people together. We still get along and we are working on strengthening this Ward. There are probably 60 members that we could consider "active" and about 500 people on the list. But a lot of those have moved out of the area as well so I do not know what the real number would be.

Anyway, glad to know that all of you guys are doing fine and are back at the grind. Keep working hard and I will do the same. As they say in the Princess Bride "He is only mostly-dead." 

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

Red Neck

Yum!  Taste of home.

Elder Carter, Elder Hunter

Dear Family,

This was a rough week. Not a lot of lessons and a whole lot of walking in the sun. Elder Carter is feeling better at least. I am doing fine. It turns out that he is a bigger fan of pokemon than me but I have him beat in all the other nerd stuff. We could talk about all the older pokemon games but then he started confusing with the new stuff like mega evolutions. I did not even know what that was.

My comp is a good guy. He actually knows quite a bit about many different sports but he also has a nerdy side. He also really wants to be an obedient missionary which is good. I had gotten lazy on a few things while working with Elder Mariscal. I am still not perfect but thats okay. We believe in repentance and miracles.

 The brother of Elder Carter is an animator named Tyler Carter and he worked on the new Peanuts film as well as Toy Story 3, Epic, Cars 2, Ice Age 4, and a short film called the Dreamgiver. (obviously he has changed company a few times but he does good work) 

This Sunday was better in attendance and we had a suprise investigator show up at church but she was the only one. We need to change tactics. Its like fishing, if one type of bait does not work then you have to try another. Something is sure to attract the fish.

I hope you guys are keeping a list of all the movies and books and things I need to see when I get home. I plan to make an excel page with all the movies, books, games, songs, and shows that I have heard about in order to keep all this organized and check off what things I have already seen. I also think it will be really weird to have all the Young Single Adults at our house... well, easier when the girls come to you right? Haha.  Nah, just kidding. I cant think about that stuff quite yet. But once I get home...

Today we got haircuts and then hiked up to the Morro. On the way up, a member from the South of Chile (dont know where) gave us water and on the way down a different member family from Osorno treated us to icecream. I love meeting members like them. I will have to return the favor once I get home.

Next week we are hoping to go up to Lago Chungara, which is the highest lake with life still in it in the world. It will take 8 hours of driving total but the view is supposed to be fantastic. I plan to write next week but it may be short just because we get back late.

I love you guys. Thanks for everything. I will see you soon. God bless.

Con amor, Elder Brock Hunter

Elder Carter

Spider Man

Pikachu

Elder Carter

Dear family,

Elder Carter showed up at 11:30pm Monday Night. We went to bed around 1am. Me and Elder Scott Robert Carter get along very well. He has 5 months in the mission (newby) and this is his second sector. I am his third comp. He likes tennis, music, and pokémon. He is from Sandy, Utah. He has 3 siblings (all married) and one niece. He is 19. His birthday is Sept 11. We have been working hard but when he showed up he had an upset stomach and on the First of January he puked. A lot. Poor guy. He is feeling better now at least.

I thought we were seeing some good progress with our investigators. We only visited some of them this past week because it was kinda crazy with New Years and my comp being sick. The problem is that by the time we got to church on Sunday, we only had an attendance of 39. Only  2 investigators came and they left early. We were missing a lot of people this week. Not how I wanted to start the year. But the only thing left to do is work. We don't have any baptisms planned right now but there is potential. My last baptism was Emmanuel Calle. Emmanuel and Mario were sustained to recieve the Aaronic Priesthood on Sunday. WOOT! 

I still need to clean up my Christmas stuff and as a whole we have to clean and reorganize the pension. It is always a bit weird to be with a new comp. You have to adapt all over again. But I have lots of experience with adapting at this point. It should be a fun cambio.

I can't believe that Mom is working with the spanish speaking missionaries. That is so cool. Chances are that this Sister Missionary will be gone by the time I get there but I look forward to sharing with that family.

Thanks for the updates and the prayers. A lot of stuff happened in 2015 and there are a lot of things to come now in 2016. May God bless us all and may we be smart enough to accept and recognize those blessings. I love you guys. See ya later.

con amor, Elder Brock Hunter