I am glad that Grandma and Grandpa Hunter enjoyed Thanksgiving. They might be missing my tall but that is why Dad is still there to do it for me. 

I am sorry to hear about Uncle Dale. The nice thing is we know that God has a plan for each one of us and we do not have to wonder what happened to him now that he has left this world.

It has just stayed hot so far and is not getting hotter and hotter (thank goodness). I have to ask, why did I not get a week vacation in Hawaii before my mission? Oh well. Best wishes to Uncle Dennis and Aunt Becky. I love you guys. Stay well.

I will look into buying you a Christmas ornament and a Nativity set but most of it is made in the US and sent here anyway so... I will look but don't expect anything out of this world spectacular. Glad you had a good Thanksgiving. On the day of Thanksgiving I completely forgot it was Thanksgiving. I did use 6 hours to teach 3 lessons though (it was a rough day working with members). 

I used super glue so the shoes should last me a bit longer. Especially with the new mission rule. NO MORE SOCCER OR BASKETBALL.  Too many Elders got injured so now it is completely banned. Today we went shopping in Centro because Elder Riveros still had not been before but I have no idea what we are going to do on the other pdays... but that is life I guess. 

Sometimes when you hear another person's testimony, your own testimony can grow. We were helping Mario prepare for his baptism this Saturday and he ended up sharing some personal stories. He has definitely felt the spirit before in his life but he could not recognize it at the time. Speaking of Mario, he asked me to be the one to baptize him! (okay, so I was technically his second choice but his first choice will be working up in Peru so I get the chance). Maria, Lidia, and Militza all have goals to be baptized on the 20th of December. The cambio is on the 14th of December so I might not be here but that is the life of a missionary.

To be honest, until we had this opportunity to work with him I did not know President Dalton very much.  He was just this guy that talked to us twice every three months and that was it. Now I feel like I actually know him which is a lot better. Rather than being just a man who gives us new rules to follow every month I can picture him as someone that genuinely cares about the missionaries and our investigators. He is a very spiritual man and I learned a lot when I was with him (even if it was only for a few hours). He reminded me of Uncle Dennis a bit though more introverted. 

Elder Riveros has 8 siblings and he is number 5. He is the first to serve a full time mission in his family. The church is still new in Paraguay. He likes soccer and volleyball though he injured his shoulder so he cannot play volleyball now. He has 11 months in the mission and he was the papito to Elder Herd who was in my district in the CCM. I will try to send pictures today.

Cold is all gone. My voice was only bad for about two days. The flea bites have finally stopped itching too. 

I have learned a lot from reading the book for the Gospel Principles Class. If an investigator pays attention in that class they could know more than a seminary student (at least with certain topics). 

I forgot my list of things to write again so that is it for this week. Thanks for everything and expect your Christmas presents to be really late. I still have to buy them and then figure out the mail system here...

Can you find a way to compare the size of Cedar City with Antofagasta? I tell people I come from a small town but I really don't know how it compares.

The investigators are progressing. We need to find some new people to teach because soon all the ones we have will be baptized :P

The lessons now are different, not easier. The spirit is the same though my understanding of their circumstances has changed a bit.

I don't know about funny but I had to try 6 ATM's in order to pull out some money today. I had tried to make one purchase using the mission card and there were issues there too. Wasted a quarter of my Pday just trying to buy eggs for the week.

The next holiday is Christmas. The stores are all ready with decorations. Some of the families are ready too. Most of it is exactly the same as the US. 

 

You were really bad this year Jake and Aunt Greta knew that Santa was not going to bring you presents so she gave you 12. You have one month to be better. You need to practice piano, do your homework, and listen to Mom and Dad. Remember, our Elf on the Shelf is watching...

Glad you had fun with the cousins. You can use that shotgun but I don't remember giving it to you. Can you take a picture of the Bybee's roof with the Grinch? (I want you to be the one to take the picture).Love you bud. Be Good! 

I love all of you, stay well

Love Elder Hunter

So first thing first, there is no Thanksgiving here in Chile. No hay Dia de Gracias aqui. Thanksgiving is specifically an American Holiday. I don't know if I will do anything to celebrate.

This past week was kinda lazy. Except I worked with the President of the Mission on Tuesday. And there was a Talent Show on Friday. But other than that...

President Dalton has a little bit of time every third month or so to go out with the missionaries. He picked two companionships (that I know of) and worked one afternoon with them. It was nice because every lesson counted as a "with member lesson" and we drove around in his Ford Explorer. He knows what we need to do to be successful in this mission so it was a great learning experience to work with him.

 Then on Friday we had a talent show. It started at 9 pm and went until 1 am. We left at 10 but the acts I saw were good. I especially liked the Youth of the ward. They did two sketches. The first was the joke "How many members of this church organization does it take to fix a light bulb?" The second was two musical numbers from the Disney Movie Enchanted. As the Obra Missional we did a sketch about two friends who are in the pre-earth life. One will be born in the gospel and the other will not. The one makes a promise to find and teach his friend the gospel. It was spiritual and funny too. Our Mission Leader is new and he was very nervous to get in front of the crowd. (it was a full house. we had 3 investigators at the Talent Show and the other elders had 2). 

It is usually around 70 to 80 degrees here but the suns rays make it feel hotter. I have not taken a pic with my mammitas yet (sorry, I was lazy) and I cannot send pics today because the Ciber we are in does not have USB ports on their computers. I could use a floppy disc though. Go figure.

My clothes are holding up still. My shoes for sports and service are pretty beat up though. And a few shirts have stains... the one with the huge pizza stain was not my fault though. I was a victim with that one. and apparently I need more ties. Usually the missionaries give ties to their converts and special members of the ward before they leave. I have only given one to Elder Stratford so far but I can definetly see how fast I could go through ties.

The investigators are doing okay. Mario is getting ready for his baptism on the 6th of December and I think Maria Araya will be ready by then too. When Elder Stratford left some of the investigators lost interest too which is sad but it is their choice. We have found some new people and some people that I met during my first Cambio have regained interest. You just never know.

I think that is it for this time. I wish you all good luck with your endeavors. I always pray for you. Love you all. 

Dad, I hope you can get all the horses you need before it really starts to snow. I will not have to worry about snow or shoveling snow for a little while. 

I know the time will pass by quickly. I just wish I could have started my mission with the spanish and knowledge I have now. I feel that by the time I switch sectors I will feel confident with my spanish. Obviously I will have to keep working and studying to improve it but I think I will be confident in my conversations. (especially with Elder Riveros as my companion. LOTS of Spanish practice)

I hope you guys enjoy Thanksgiving. Also, today I learned about a Church project called "He is the Gift". There is supposed to be a lot of effort put into this so I hope you guys can use it too. 

Love you Dad. Thanks for being an example.

Jake, Sounds like you had a good time at the tournament! Congratulations Jake! 

What do you mean it was your last recital? You should continue practicing piano for as long as you are able to. It can be hard, and I know it is not always fun, but when you can play any song you want because you are so good then it will all be worth it.

Moses 1:39 is a good scripture.  Love you bud. Have fun with the cousins.

Kaitlin, I still itch and why did no one else mention that Dennis and Becky are serving a mission in Canada?! I did not even know they had sent in papers.

As far as Spanish jokes, take a joke in English and translate it. It is about as simple as that. There are some jokes that apply specifically in Chile and others that apply specifically for Missionaries but I am not very good at jokes in Spanish (to which my companion can attest).

Love ya sis. 

Mimi, I hope you feel better now. To not be able to speak is killer (I have had a little experience with that recently).

And there have only been like four things that I have not told my mom. I am not THAT stupid (and certainly not that brave). The story of my mission so far is that other people laugh and I still don't understand the joke. A few other things happened but to sum it up in one sentence, its like that. 

Love you Mimi. Enjoy Thanksgiving. 

Elder Hunter

Jake:

If you are going to play with the big dogs you might get a little beat up. That is just the way it goes. In this picture it is steak. I think it was steak... now I am not really sure... hmmm. Well, it was meat so I ate it.

Love you bud, Elder Hunter

Dad:
Sorry you were sick. I have a little cold right now too but its nothing bad. Its just that cold that goes down to your lungs and makes my voice drop an octave. 

You guys have snow? I wish we had snow. It is getting hot and it gets hotter every day. I don't know if I can survive the heat down here.

I am glad my story inspired you for your talk. The apostles often use parables like the Lord did to teach. I think it helps people to comprehend when they can picture something physical.
Tell Grandpa and Grandma that I love them. 

Thanks Dad. I love you. Elder Hunter

\

Kaitlin:

I never read "The Help". You cannot use a quote from something I have never read. How am I supposed to recognize it? Therefore, the statement about bad grammar stands. (at least use quotation marks next time)

It is very hot down here and it is supposed to get hotter. Elder Riveros and I are getting along just fine. The Spanish is coming. I use the dictionary a lot now.
Enjoy the snow. They are kids down here that don't know what rain is let alone snow. 

Love ya sis, Elder Hunter

Mom:
I got the letter that you sent over a month ago. Elder Stratford cut my hair the first time and Elder DeLaMare cut it last Monday. My hair is very short right now but you get what you pay for. (and this haircut was free)

I will try to speak in English or in Spanish and it comes out as Spanglish. So neither one is doing very well at the moment. There was definetly a transition period but Elder Riveros and I get along fine now.

The shopping thing just depends. We never carry very much money on us but we are discouraged from using our card too much as well. The money thing goes like this. 1000 pesos is about 2 dollars (1000 is the smallest bill). So we just double the price more or less. If a box of cereal costs 4000 pesos it costs about 8 US dollars. The bills and coins have the amount written on them so that helps. Budgeting skills are being tested but I do pretty well.

I ended up on the roof because Elder Stratford fell through the roof during a service activity earlier in his mission. When he landed a rusty nail went through his shoe, his pants, and into his leg. So he kind of does not like roofs now... go figure.

Our apartment is higher up on the hill. We are well within the safety zone for a tsunami. We used Raid to kill the fleas but I think there are still a few somewhere in the apartment. Elder DeLaMare, Elder Pineda, and I all got bit. Somehow Elder Riveros has avoided the fleas entirely. The bites still itch... so yeah. For our barbaques we normally grill chorriso which is a type of sausage (i think).

So Matt finished his mission? That is awesome! Send him my regards but I wont be able to see him for awhile.

Mom, I love you, but there are some things I do not believe you would react well to. So yes, in letters to other people sometimes there are other details. This does not happen a lot but it happens. I write in my journal every night so you can read that after my mission if you want to know.  Or you can convince the other people to talk. Either way.

I usually get between an hour to 2 hours to use the computer on Pday. It depends on what else we have to do that day. It can take a little while to read everyone's letters but I love getting messages from everyone so don't stop writing.

This week we had zone conference. That is why I received your letter. (the letter might get to the mission office beforehand but I don't receive it til one of the leaders goes to the office and picks up the "pouch".) We had a meeting with our new mission leader. He is excited to work. Great things should happen if he and the ward continue to have this kind of "animo". We had an activity called "Puertas Abiertas". It was an open house of our chapel. It was not a "Grand Slam" as far as activities go but there was definite success and the ward had fun doing it. I was in the baptismal font with Elder DeLaMare and we demonstrated how to perform a baptism (sin agua).  On Sunday I had an interesting experience. Cambell (not sure if that is how you spell his name) is from Australia. He is here on a service program to teach kids English. He speaks VERY little Spanish. His host family is a part-member family. He leaves Chile in 2 weeks and decided to finally go to church and see what it is like. I acted as an interpreter for him during the lessons. I really hope I did not confuse him more but he said he had a good time. We had a family home evening last night with a recent convert. We taught her daughter the Restoration. Tuvemos cualquier miembro alla. It was good but I felt like we were ganging up on her a little bit.

I think that is it for this week. I forgot my camera cord (sorry) so maybe next week I can send pics. Love you Mom. Tell everyone else I love them too. talk to you next week. Elder Hunter

Okay. Sorry about last week. After we dropped off Elder Stratford at the mission office we went shopping in Centro. But then when we needed to go pick up Elder Riveros we could not find the right bus. We finally got to the Bus Station but we were a little late. Then the member that was going to pick us up had truck problems so we had to call around and find someone else. By the time we got back to the apartment we did not have very much time left for PDAY. We got on to write just a little bit and then we had to shop for the week. Now that I have that explained, this is what happened last week.

We (Elder Stratford and I) met a Columbian couple that just recently opened a bakery (don't know if I wrote about them before). Jose and Blanca are very receptive and Jose had practically memorized the Restoration Pamphlet by the time we saw them again. We can only teach them while they are working, which is rough, but they are eager to learn. We often eat while we teach them too. They have some REALLY good empanadas, pizzas, and chaparitos. They are reading the Book of Mormon together and they read 2 or 3 chapters each night.

Next, we did more service on the roof of Maria Araya's house. I was the only one to actually go up again. I am glad to help but there are some BIG spiders on that roof and I don't know what spiders are dangerous here in Chile. But that is not the great news about Maria. The great news about her is she has gone to a Relief Society Activity and has come to church twice so far. She has a baptismal date set for the 6th of December. She may need a little longer than that to feel prepared and to receive her answer but the goal is the 6th. Mario Guerra also went to a Priesthood activity the same night that Maria went to the Relief Society activity. The ward is doing a good job of welcoming them in.

There were a lot of people who were sad to see Elder Stratford go. He took a lot of pictures and we ate a lot of food the week before he left. Halloween was interesting. It was just like a normal day for us but there were a lot of kids out in the streets. Also, the 31 of October is Evangelical Day here and the Evangelicals HATE Halloween because of that. 

I cant remember if I told you but I climbed that hill again. I did not puke but I was still dead tired at the end. The view was a little clearer the second time and in truth it was easier going up. I am not sure if I was really THAT out of shape the first time or if I just needed to eat a better breakfast.

You may remember that I wrote about an investigator named Paolo. Turns out his name is Pablo. Neither Elder Stratford or I had any idea until he wrote down his facebook account for Elder Stratford. He talks so fast that we could not understand him. 

So my new companion is Elder Riveros from Paraguay. He has 8 siblings and he is the first missionary. He does not speak English. His personality and teaching style are very different from Elder Stratford so it has taken a bit of adjusting to work with him. He is a good Elder though. With his help Maria, Mario, and Lydia (spouse of Jose Riquelme) all have baptismal dates for the 6th of December. I think only Mario is a guaranteed baptism that day but we will be working hard to help prepare the others.

I gave my first blessing of comfort in Spanish to Mario Guerra right before he left for Peru again. I have officially given a blessing of comfort, a blessing of health, and an anointing in Spanish. Well, actually several anointing's and two blessings of health but who is counting?

Our apartment had fleas this week. Elder Stratford left his mission without ever having a problem with fleas. Lucky guy. Flea bites itch. I believe we have it taken care of now but fleas really suck. I understand why dogs and cats scratch themselves so much now.

I hope this week makes up for last week. If I have time I will try to send some photos too. Love you all and you are always in my prayers. Until next week.

Elder Hunter

PS The new names for the week are Elder Hoonter, Hermano Hunter, and Elder Brock.

I am sorry. Crazy day. No time to write. My new companion is Elder Riveros from Paraguay. Picked him up at 3 30 today. 

I will try to write a lot next week because I had a lot to write this week anyway. Gotta go to work now.

Love you guys. I am praying for you. Stay well.

Elder Hunter

This week has been interesting. Nicolas was baptized and confirmed this weekend. We were at the chapel from 8 30 to 11 getting ready. The service started around 11 15. We filled the font and had problems with the water, we printed programs but the printer was running out of ink, and we had to clean a ton because the chapel still had construction stuff everywhere. Oh yeah, we were back in our chapel this week. we got a surprise during sacrament when our Ward Mission Leader became the Elders Quorum President. The old Elders Quorum President is now second counselor in the Bishopric and the old counselor is in the Stake. We find out what exactly his calling is next Sunday.

The picture was DeLaMare and Pineda. One of the members here decided to look up all the missionaries they knew  on Google and Elder Stratford had a few pics, Elder Pineda had none, Elder Delamare had a couple, and I am apparently famous. I will try to get the pics you wanted before Elder Stratford leaves next Monday.

Halloween is new here and not everyone likes it. Some people, members and nonmembers, feel it is a satanic holiday. Others see it as candy, costumes, and commercialism in general. The ward will not do anything to celebrate officially.

It is good to hear that Grandpa is recovering well. Tell Grandpa and Grandma Hunter to be healthier too. Their letter was all about Doctors Appointments. Also congrats on taking the young couple through the temple. Glad Jake won his last game. Glad you got some cleaning done (we had to stuff and fluff today when Elder Garrison came to inspect the apartment). 

So last week the only thing I forgot to mention was the service we did. We helped an investigator with her roof. We cleaned and rearranged tiles (not tiles like we have in the states though. it was a bit different). There was so much dust and so many spiders. Plus I was the only one on the actual roof. Fun mission stories I guess.

I had an intercambio with the District Leader on Wednesday. His name is Elder Antonio and he is from Mexico. He is a member of 3 years. He is 27 years old. He is a bit odd but he has a strong testimony. On Friday we had a Noche de Hogar with the same investigator that we fixed the roof for. Her name is Maria Araya and she has had a rough life. Cant remember if I told you about her before or not. We had the Cisternas Family join us for this lesson and we watched  Finding Faith In Christ. We used a computer screen, a keyboard for speakers, her blind son Francisco kept making comments the whole time and her mentally handicapped daughter kept bothering Elder Stratford. Plus it was spiritual and Maria now has friends in the ward. All in all a memorable evening.

Today the four of us climbed one of the mountains along with two members. I found out just how out of shape I am. I was dying the whole way (could not breathe and my legs hurt. literally shaking from exhaustion) I think I struggled a lot with all the sand too. It just saps your energy. Plus, I even puked once on the way up. I probably should have eaten a better breakfast and drank more water. (Elder Stratford has a video of me puking) The others were very patient and willing to help.  I took pictures at the top and felt a lot better going down.  After I puked I did not know if I could continue to the top or not. The others, especially Elder DeLaMare and Jonathan (one of the members) continued to encourage me and helped me finish the journey. I think Christ does that too. When we feel like we cant go any farther He is there to help and encourage us. (and yes. I just tried to make a story of me being out of shape and puking into a spiritual thought)

When we got back from the hike, Elder Garrison did a surprise inspection of the apartment. Elder Garrison and his wife are the only senior couple in the mission. We replaced Elder Stratford's bed but we still have to put the new one together. He might just stay on the floor tonight.

I think that is it for this week. We are in Centro right now because a store had a sale on suits. $60 USD for a suit, shoes, and tie. None of us bought anything but maybe on a different PDAY. 

Love you all. Wish you all success in your endeavors. I am praying for you.

Elder Hunter

Dad, I read your talk. You have a few spelling and grammatical errors. Good thing you knew what you wanted to say.

Thanks. A talk about fulfilling a calling when you feel insufficient is just what I needed right now. Next week Elder Stratford leaves and I am in charge of the sector. I am sure I will still be Junior Companion but since I know the people and the area I will be in charge for at least 2 weeks. Thank you again for your counsel. I am sure it helped the people in Enoch 5th Ward too.

The picture with the door approach I might not be able to do... the other ones should be possible though. I will try.

The water is more forceful I guess. It shoots straight down not in a circle. So there's that.

Investigators are doing fine. Some are progressing, some had setbacks, and there are two investigators we are nearly positive will be baptized. Nicholas is the 7 year old nephew of the bishop, but technically not the nephew. They found out last year that the dad is not the Bishops brother. Nicholas is all set to get baptized on Saturday. He is a good kid and has a solid support system.  The other one we are sure of is a new investigator named Mario Guerra (translated is Mario War. how cool is that name!?). He is 48 and he has a girlfriend who is a member of the church. The catch is that she lives in Peru. They met online and hit it off. They met for the first time in person a month ago. He works 10 days and then has 10 days off so on his days off he goes up to Peru. She is a strong member and has made sure the relationship sticks to her standards. He wants to learn about the church so he can understand his girlfriend better. He pays attention during the lessons and actually reads the Book of Mormon. He might get baptized in Peru but I am sure he will get baptized.

The family reunions sound fun. I am praying for Grandpa Mellor to recover quickly. Tell Jake I don't know what I want for Christmas... I will have to think about it.

We had to come in to Centro to do visa stuff for Elder Stratford again. Unfortunately I forgot my list of things to talk about so... yeah. Everyone makes a comparison between me and Elder DeLaMare. He really is tall. He is younger than I am too by 5 months. We should be back in our chapel this next Sunday. That will be a nice change because it was hard to get investigators (and even members) all the way to the stake center. 

Pretty sure I will never tan. Ever. Just burn. And stay red. That is the way my skin is. For sacrament I do not know what they use. In Mexico they used bottle water. I only had to speak in sacrament the first day here but Elder Stratford spoke yesterday. He did a talk about charity and the work of salvation. I doubt you will get a pic of me playing soccer. The soccer field maybe. We will see.

4 Months have gone by already. Some days feel really long but the time has truly flown. Elder Stratford always says "You only have 2 years to serve." I know you have said that to me before too. I just did not realize what that really meant until I got out here. 

Sounds like you had a busy day on Sunday. The afternoon schedule has thrown us off but we stay busy on Sunday too. Do you know the regular attendance for our ward? I never really realized how big our ward is. I know that callings are given by revelation from the Lord but sometimes that can be hard on families. The Elders Quorum President here is married to the Relief Society President, the Young Men's President moved here 6 months ago, the Bishop is married to the Primary President, etc The families here have to work hard to keep the ward alive though it has been growing in the last few months. Thanks to you and Mom for being good examples in fulfilling your callings.

I forgot to congratulate Charlie and Jess on the new baby Paityn. CONGRATULATIONS! It will be a little while before I can babysit her but I am sure Kaitlin has it covered.

The language is coming slowly. But it is coming so that is the good thing. 

I do not know what else to write now so that will be it for this week. Love you all. I am praying for you. Keep working hard in school and remember to have fun too. 

Gotta go. Stay safe. Be diligent. Follow Christ and all that good stuff. Love you guys. Elder Hunter

Elder Pineda and Elder DeLaMare

P,S. These elders are sharing a pension with Elder Hunter and Elder Stratford.  It is Elder Pineda from Panama and Elder DeLaMare from West Valley, Utah.  Mom stole this pic off of facebook on the Chile Missionary Mommas Page

Just wish Brock was in the pic too.