Week #5 continued...

Dear Family, December 8, 2011

Sorry again for screwing up the email for this week. I started out right, and my journal closed, and I ended up writing about what happened last week! So, I deleted the whole thing and didn’t get to write much. So, this letter will be my “email” for the week!

December 2- Friday
Like I said, I saw Elder Guthrie! It’s always good seeing a familiar face. I have seen him a few times since then, and it’s always good to see him.

December 3- Saturday
Saturday was boring. It was one of those days that just passed by without anything.

December 4- Sunday
First Fast Sunday! The day went by fairly quickly and I really didn’t feel hungry at all! Fasting feels a whole lot different in the MTC. On Saturday, Elder Simmons, who is District Leader, forgot to assign the lesson for our District meeting for Sunday, and so him and I had to teach. It really ticked me off that he did that, but I just put it behind me, and started to prepare. We taught our lesson and it actually went pretty well! For our devotional, we just watched the First Presidency Christmas Devotional. It was really good. After the devotional, we watched a movie about Joseph Smith. Watching that movie strengthened my testimony even more so than it already was.

December 5- Monday
I think I told you in my email that I got punched in the mouth. Well, today is that day it happened. I pretty much told you all that happened, so there isn’t much else to say. Elder Simmons and I taught Pedro about baptism again. This was about the third time we taught him about baptism. He said he wants to be baptized, but he wants to know why it’s necessary. That’s what we are teaching him tonight!

December 6- Tuesday
The devotional on Tuesday was by Elder Steven E Snow of the Presidency of the Seventy. He was a superb speaker.

December 7- Wednesday
Wednesdays are Awesome! We have our service assignment “Behind the Scenes” in the cafeteria. It’s pretty awesome. We get to load/unload things in the cafeteria.

And today is Thursday! We haven’t done anything really today. We went to the temple in the morning at 7:00, which was awesome.

Thanks for the package of doughnuts! They are super good! And thanks for the pictures! Speaking of my friends…none of them write me, except Zack. You should post on my Facebook and tell everyone to write me!

I chose pictures to print off today and they should be ready by Monday, so I will send them then.

Gordon told me he was going to propose when I saw him before Thanksgiving, so I’m glad to hear he is engaged now! I haven’t seen him since then though. When is he getting married? Does Tom still work at the MTC? I haven’t seen him and I always forget to ask Gordon when I see him (which hasn’t been for a while).

Thanks for the BYU update! Do you know who they will play in the Bowl Game? Also, could you update me on BYU basketball too! :-) I know that it is harder to update, but I would very much appreciate it. :-) Also, how are the NBA negotiations?

Also, ask Grandpa when & where he served his mission. My Branch President might have served with him.

Anyways, I don’t have much else to say. Hope everyone is doing excellent! I love learning Spanish. Most of my teachers went to Cali, and they are pretty fluent and I can’t wait to speak like they do!

Love, Elder Hunt

ES EL COMEINZO DE SEMANA NUMERO CINCO. ME GUSTA ESPANOL Y MIS CLASES. YO NO PUEDO ESPERANZA A ESTOY EN EL CAMPO. YOU SE QUE LA OBRA DE LOS MISIONEROS ES BIEN. EL SENOR PUEDE BENDICER NUESTRAS FAMILIAS MEDIANTE LAS OBRA DE LOS MISIONEROS. ¿PUEDEN ENTENDER MY ESPANOL? ¡ADIOS!

I think this is the beginning of Week #4

Beginning of Week #4!  Thanksgiving was last week, and Elder Russell M. Nelson and his wife came to speak to us.  We had TWO Apostoles in one week! How AWESOME is that?!  We also built injury kits to send to Sudan which was awesome too.  Then we watched 17 Miracles and it is SUCH A GOOD MOVIE. I got the package!  Thanks so much!  All the Elders in my district were super jealous.

I need to start bringing my journal to email time so I can actually remember what I did!  The days all mesh together and so it is difficult to remember what I did and when. 

We got a new "investigator".  His name is Pedro.  The teacher who is playing Pedro is Hermano Hardy.  He lives in Saratoga Springs!  But, he lives in the big development, so he isn't in our stake.  :(

My district is so awesome.  Elder Harrison (going to Sacramento, Cali) has got to be one of the most funny people I have ever met in my life.  He always has such a good outlook on life on everything.  Elder Nealy (Carlsbad) is super awesome.  He is a convert of about a year and two months.  He is from Oklahoma and his family has basically disowned him for joining the Church.  He has such a strong testimony and I am super excited he is coming to Carlsbad.  Elder Call (Fort Lauderdale, Florida) is awesome too.  He studied a whole bunch of Spanish before coming and he knows a lot.  He doesn't know a lot of vocab though.  If he and I could combine our language knowledge into one, we could probably be out in the field right now!  Elder Simmons (Carlsbad), my companion, is awesome.  He is a funny guy and always knows how to make someone laugh.  I don't really know the Hermanas in my district as well, but I know they are all AWESOME.  There are two Hermanas going to Nashville, Tennesse (where Elder Dalton is!), one going to Carlsbad and another going to Sacramento. 

We did TRC (Teaching Resource Center, I think) yesterday and last Wednesday.  It's a lot like Home Teaching.  Doing TRC is a GREAT refresher from having to do Progressing Investigators. 

My Spanish is coming along fairly well.  I am SO glad I took a few years during school.  Those few years really helped me lay a strong foundation. 

I see Gordon a lot more often now (I know where he teaches!).  But, no matter how many times I see him, it is always good to see a familiar face.  I have seen a few friends from high school here too, but they are all going English speaking :(  Elder Guthrie should have come yesterday, but I haven't found him yet. Hopefully I will soon! 

I can't think of anything else to write, and I have about ten seconds left.  If I do remember, I will write you a letter! :) 

Love, Elder Hunt

P.S.  Thanks for the BYU scores :)  It's really difficult to know what is going on in the outside world in the MTC haha

Week #whatever week this is

I don't even know how long I have been in the MTC.  I think it has been... This is the start of my 3rd week? The MTC distorts time so much!  But, time has flown by.  I mean, it's already Thanksgiving!  Next time I blink, it will be Christmas!  This week has probably been on of the best weeks of my life.  On Monday, I was feeling kind of down and not well.  I don't know what it was; probably just being away from home and not being able to do a whole lot.  But, then, during our class at night, our regular teacher, Hermano Hardy, wasn't able to show up to teach us, so guess who did? GORDON!  When I saw him, I jumped up out of my seat and gave him a hug.  It was so good to see a familiar face that day.  I know the Lord knew I was feeling down and that he knew what to do.  After Gordon showed up, I was feeling so much better.  He taught our class, and then at the end, he became our "investigator", like Ramiro.  It was so strange teaching him, because I actually knew who he was.  But, I feel the lesson went pretty well.  And OMJ, guess what?! I don't remember if I told you this or not (because time is distorted and I can't even remember what day it is most of the time), but "Ramiro", the guy were teaching, BECAME OUR TEACHER.  I still have a hard time not calling him Ramiro in class.  (His name is Hermano McKinney.) 

 

Tuesday was super awesome.  I love gym time.  We get to play four square!  I love four square.  I love gym!  But, on Tuesday nights, we have a devotional, and guess who showed up?! Elder D. Todd Christofferson!  It was super awesome and he gave such a great talk.  He talked about being missionaries.  He served in Argentina.  His mission president was Richard G. Scott!  How crazy is that?!  Elder Cristofferson said that we missionaries are companions with the Apostles in spreading the Gospel, and a bunch of other stuff.  If you want, I can send you the notes I took. 

 

Wednesday wasn't as awesome, but still awesome.  Every day in the MTC is awesome.  I found some guys (Elders now) that I went on Heritage Tours with!  Elder Wood and Elder Arrington.  They are both going Spanish speaking; Elder Wood to Fort Worth, Texas and Elder Arrington to Argentina.  Elder Wood was in my district on Heritage Tours. 

 

And today is Thursday: Thanksgiving!  Happy Thanksgiving!  I wish I was with you for Thanksgiving, but I know I am supposed to be out here, serving my mission.  Today was supposed to be our P-Day, but Thanksgiving takes priority.  Trying to do laundry this morning was a MAD HOUSE.  Everyone who had their P-Day today, and some who didn't, we are trying to do laundry.  It was absolutely crazy! 

 

Well, that's all I have to say for now. I am just about out of time. A half hour just isn't enough! 

 

Love, Elder Hunt :)

First week in the MTC!

Yesterday marked my first week in the MTC!  It's only been a week, but it feels like a month.  The time in the MTC feels so distorted.  If I hadn't been writing in my journal, I would have forgotten what day it is by now! 

Once last Sunday was over, the days have just flown by.  Like Grandpa said, the days are long, but the weeks are short. 

Elder Simmons and I have been teaching an "investigator", Ramiro, and it's gotten a whole lot easier.  Our first lesson was absolutely horrible (we forgot to commit him to anything!).  Our lessons after that have been 1000 times better.  Just yesterday we had a lesson about eternal families.  At the end of the lesson, we asked if he would follow the example of Jesus Christ and be baptized.  He told us he had already been baptized (he is Catholic).  Elder Simmons and I had gone over this in the lesson before, but I guess he didn't understand what we had meant then.  So, I tried explaining it to him, and I used words that I didn't even know I knew!  I could feel the Spirit coming into the room, and I could explain some things that I could not do the day before.  It was an awesome feeling.  We then asked him if he would read El Libro De Mormon and he said he would, so that's good!  We don't teach him again until sometime next week, so it will be a while before we can find out what he did.  

Our District is bonding pretty well.  We had one Elder that had to leave on Tuesday because of some personal problems, so now we only have cinco Elders in our District.  It was really sad when he had to leave, but he promised all of us going to Carlsbad (four of us, including me) that he would see us in the mission field as soon as he could get out there. 

My Spanish is coming along pretty well!  It has really helped that I took a few years in school to give me a basic understanding.  I only wish that I had studied Gospel principles in Spanish before coming, because then I would be a lot farther along in class.  We have LOTS of class time haha.

Well, my time almost up!  I hope to see more letters within the next week ;)

Love, Elder Hunt

P.S. Mom, thanks so much for packing my SD cards; I don't know what I would do without you :) <3

First Email!

Today is sort of like a half P-Day, so I get the chance to do email now.  It feels so weird to be on a computer!  I haven't used any sort of technology for the past 4 days (which really feels like weeks).  They say here in the MTC that the first three days feel like eight weeks and the last eight weeks feel like three days.  So far, it's been true haha. 

My companion's name is Elder Simmons.  He is from North Carolina.  He's a pretty awesome person, and we get along pretty well.  There are ten people in our district: seis Elders y cuatro Hermanas.  They are all pretty cool people and I am glad to have them in my District.  The first two days I was here, the teacher spoke nothing but Spanish.  I understood some of it, but it got pretty frustrating to understand him.  And yesterday, we had to teach an "investigator" and that was extremely difficult! All in Spanish too!  I knew some Spanish before coming into the MTC, but none of it was Gospel related at all.  I wish I would have studied that before coming in here. 

We had our first gym time yesterday and it was AWESOME.  After just learning and speaking after the first few days, gym time was a HUGE relief.  I played basketball with a few other Elders in my zone.  I am not that good, but it was a lot of fun just to do something different.  I also know why some people gain a lot of weight here in the MTC.  The food is delicious (most of the time). 

I really like it here at the MTC.  The Spirit is really strong and the MTC is just a wonderful place.  The people are super nice.  I am having a hard time calling people Elder (last name here) though.  I found someone from school here and I always want to call him by his first name when I see him!  It takes some getting used to.  Also, being called Elder Hunt is very strange... It makes me feel so... Old!  I have talked to a lot of people here, and the past few days I have said "Elder Hunt", "Saratoga Springs, Utah" and "Carlsbad California" more times than I have ever said in my life! (Because everyone is always asking me my name, where and from and where I am going, in case you didn't get that. 

That's all I have to say for now. My P-Day will be on Thursdays from now on, so look for my emails then. :)

Love, Elder Hunt

This is not goodbye, it's see you soon

Today was the day I went to the MTC to begin my 2 year mission to California

Last night my friends came over to say goodbye- Brittney, Adam and Brock

The day started out with a haircut from Mom. My hair wasn't really long to begin with so it didn't take long. We finished packing & loaded up the car. Grandpa & Grandma Davis met us at IHOP in Orem for brunch. IHOP gives a free meal to missionaries on Wednesday before entering the MTC. After eating we still had about one hour before going to the MTC so we went to the Provo Temple and took some family pictures. 

Curbside at the MTC are about 25 parking stations. You follow the missionary guides until you get to the number assigned to you. Ours was #23

As we pulled up to the curb a young missionary met us there, he greeted us and then helped me get my bags out of the car.

Mission farewell talk

How I prepared for my mission

Good afternoon Brothers and Sisters.  I have been asked to give a talk on how I prepared on serving a mission.  Last week, when Bishop Dye told me I was supposed to talk for a half hour, and I was freaking out, because there was no way I could ever speak for thirty minutes!  Then Bishop told me he was only joking, and that I only had to speak for fifteen minutes.  So, thank you Bishop!

I have wanted to serve a mission my entire life.  People have asked me why I want to serve a mission.  My answer to them is that I want to serve so I can teach and serve the people who don’t quite understand the Gospel yet.  Because the Gospel is a big part of my life, it makes me happy and I want to share that happiness with as many people as I can.  The world can be a dark place, and it could use much more happy people.

When I first got my mission call back in July, I was a little bummed that I didn’t get to go to a foreign mission.  I wanted to experience a new culture outside of the United States and see new things.  After all, California is only two states away!   But, as time passed on, California was growing on me.  My preferences were all met.  I was going somewhere warm, I was speaking Spanish (most of my other friends on missions are on Spanish speaking missions, and so we can have secret conversations and nobody will know what we are talking about!) and I was going on a mission (and that was the most important one). 

In the April 2003 General Conference talk by Daryl H. Garn, he compares missionary work to a game of basketball.  He was a basketball player at Utah State University for two years before going on a mission.  He says, “I believe it is appropriate to compare the game of basketball to missionary work. The game of basketball includes not only the time you compete with another team on the court but also the hours of proper training and practice. The great work of saving souls is not limited to the two years that you serve a mission but, rather, requires years of righteous living and preparation in order to meet the standard for full-time missionary service.”  I’m a sports fan; so comparing things to sports helps me understand the subject more easily.  How I interpreted this quote is that you have to “practice the Gospel” by reading scriptures, praying, going to church and the other Primary answers.  Because that’s what the Gospel is based upon: the fundamentals.  I hear coaches all the time on the radio or TV talking about how their team needs to get back to the fundamentals of their sport.  That’s what I think serving a mission is about; teaching people the fundamentals of the Gospel.  Also, when you practice a sport, you can practice all you want, but if you never compete against other teams, it is difficult to get better.  Like, if you were practicing a shot for a basketball game, there is not going to be as much defense in your face when you practice with your team, as there would be in a real game.  Comparing that concept to missionary work, if you read and learn about the Gospel, but then never put that knowledge to use, how does that help people come closer to the Gospel?  You have to compete, or in a missionary’s perspective, teach, in order to grow. 

In a talk given by Robert K. Wagstaff in the March 2011 Ensign magazine, he talks about how to prepare emotionally for a mission.  He gives a few points that I would like to share.

One of the points is living away from home for a period of time before leaving for the mission field.

               This past semester, while I was attending Utah Valley University, I moved away from home for six months.  I lived with a couple of my friends and I feel that it was a great experience that helped me prepare for my mission.  While living away from home, I didn’t have a Mom, and so I had to pick up the slack from all the things she did.  It’s amazing how many things our mothers do for us!  I guess I did a pretty good job at filling the mother-less void because my friends started to call me Mom!  I learned how to clean, cook, do laundry and a whole bunch of other stuff that I know will help me on my mission.  Another point Brother Wagstaff brings up in his talk is interacting with others.  I have had two jobs recently that have allowed me to interact with other people.  Naturally, I am a shy person and have troubles speaking with people whom I don’t know.  

            Another thing that I know that has helped me prepare for my mission is earning my Eagle Scout award.  Earning that award has helped me gain leadership skills and other sorts of skills that will help me on my mission. 

            In a seminar for new mission presidents, Elder Dallin H. Oaks gives a talk about why we do missionary work.  He says, “We do not preach and teach in order to “bring people into the Church” or to increase the membership of the Church. We do not preach and teach just to persuade people to live better lives. We honor and appreciate the many ministers and others who are involved in the kind of ministry that makes bad men good and good men better. That is important, but we offer something more. One can qualify for the terrestrial kingdom instead of the telestial kingdom without the aid of this Church. We are concerned with a higher destination.

The purpose of our missionary work is to help the children of God fulfill a condition prescribed by our Savior and Redeemer. We preach and teach in order to baptize the children of God so that they can be saved in the celestial kingdom instead of being limited to a lesser kingdom. We do missionary work in order to baptize and confirm. That is the doctrinal basis of missionary work.”

            Going through four years of seminary is another thing that has helped me to prepare for a mission.  The scripture masteries learned in seminary cover just about every topic.  One scripture comes to mind when thinking of missionary work: Jeremiah 16:16.   (Read scripture).  One thing that reminds me of this is a bracelet that I wear.  It is composed of a bunch of fishing swivels hooked together to form a bracelet.  My Young Men’s leader, John Festin, gave this bracelet to me.  He said to remember that our Young Men’s group was fishers of men.  That’s what missionaries are.  Sometimes they get bites and are able to reel in the big fish.  Other times they get bites and then lose the fish.  And sometimes the fish doesn’t bite at all.  In those cases, you just have to wait for that particular fish to bite.  You may have to change the way you approach the fish, because the same approach doesn’t work for everyone.