Another week in the mission field!!

Hello Everyone,

Well this week was somewhat uneventful and frustrating. Our car was crashed, before we got into our area, and so we had to take it into the shop. So we're out of a car for about 2 weeks. We've been car sharing with a couple other Elders, but it's really just hard to get around to our area and do much effective work because our area is very spread out, and takes about 2 hours on public transportation, just to get to a part of our area that normally is a 20 minute drive...So it's been interesting, but we're learning to adapt.

On Friday, we went out to the Hampson's (Sue and Bruce) and helped them put in some rocks for rock walls. The work isn't finished, but it's coming along! In the process of lifting and placing some big boulders, I dislocated my pinky...since it's happened before, I just snapped it back in and kept going...No need to make a big deal of it and go to the hospital...so yeah, that was fun, especially since I had to perform a musical number two days after that.

The musical number in church went very well. I played the violin, and Amelia Bruce played the Flute. Her aunt accompanied us on the piano, and we played "I Know That My Redeemer Lives." I thought it went really good and it was great to be able to play again! The dislocated pinky didn't bother me too much either (: (I'm trying to find a way to link the audio file I have from their duet.  It was nice, and Amelia Bruce's mom, their accompanist, did a good job, too!!)

Earlier this week we had the opportunity to go over to a member's home, and cast out evil spirits. Although I don't want to talk too much about it, it was an amazing thing as you could feel the Spirit come right back into the home following a priesthood blessing, and dedicating the house. Definitely an interesting and different experience though.

We were able to travel up to Kentville for zone training...It's beautiful up there! We stopped at a graveyard that looks like it's straight out of a movie...It was amazing and again the colors you see on the pictures are not doing justice to the actual colors we are seeing out here.

Other than that, not too much else going on right now...Stephanie is progressing and working towards her baptism date coming up in November! She is amazing and is already a missionary, spreading the Gospel to all of her co-workers, family, friends, and everyone she meets. I love seeing the spirit work in her and her desire to become better.

I love you all!

Love Elder Hunt

Autumn in Nova Scotia

Hello Family and Friends!

Where does Elder Hunt find these signs???

This week was a busy one for sure. But I love being out here!

The weather has been beautiful, but is really starting to cool off. The colors are amazing! We definitely don't get this back home in Utah.  

I finished the Book of Mormon this week! Took two months, but would be done faster if I had more time to study! I love reading the Book of Mormon.

This week was Erika's birthday, so my companion and I decided to give her a little shout-out on Lawrencetown Beach. Hope you had a great birthday Erika!

Elder Layton (with the heart hands), Elder Amaya w/
Elders Hunt and Layton...and others

This week, we also had a leadership conference, so I was able to be reunited with Elder Layton! I love that guy so much and it was so good to see him, and a few other Elders. Unfortunately, Elder Nzojibwami wasn't there.

Well, we have a new investigator, and she committed to Baptism on our second lesson. She is 22, and works at a beauty salon, and is a really strong person. She is so strong in her beliefs, which are pretty much exactly our beliefs as Mormons, so it's amazing to see her transformation take place and have the spirit in her life! Something great to look forward to with her upcoming baptism.

Well, this week was Stake Conference out here. Our stake covers all of Nova Scotia, So it was a pretty cool experience. It was also really cool because nearly every single talk was about Temples, and their importance, so I'm going to go over a few of the things which I learned, insights I received, and my own personal feelings. The temple is important. Though we can't discuss many of the details of what goes on inside the temple, we can know of the power that comes from attending, through experience. No, not just anyone can enter the temple. We must be worthy, and doing those things which we should in order to be able to attend. As we do this, we must lead by example. We need to teach our families and friends by our example about what we need to be doing with our lives, and what is truly important. We need to show God we are willing to come unto Him, and repent. Only then will He be able to help us, as we choose to follow Him. Always remember:    Stop. Think. Life is Eternal.

The temple is the House of the Lord, in which we can be married for Time and all eternity. It DOES matter where you are married, and it DOES matter by what authority it is done. Only in the temple can we do this in a manner that is pleasing to Heavenly Father. The Temple is a sacred place where Heaven and Earth meet. Marriage is ordained of God, and we know that families are essential. That being said, there is no greater place on Earth than the Temple. The veil is very thin as we attend the temple, and we can learn and grow in ways we could never imagine.

If it was so easy to live worthily enough to attend the temple, then what would we learn? As we strive to be worthy to attend, this worthiness gives us strength. We gain this strength by gaining a testimony and by being truly converted to the Gospel. The only thing that makes living the Gospel hard, is giving into temptation. It is ALWAYS our choice. Though we cannot choose the consequences or results of a specific decision, we ALWAYS have the ability to choose whether to give into temptation or not. It's just like a campfire. When we have the fire burning and there is plenty of wood on, it will burn well and continue to burn if we continue to add wood to it. But as soon as we stop adding wood, the fire may burn for a short time, but then quickly diminishes into coals, and soon, into nothing. This is like our lives in the Gospel. Our testimony can be burning very strong, but unless we continue to add wood (church attendance, scripture reading, prayers, temple attendance) our testimony will diminish and eventually fade into no testimony at all. We must always, constantly fuel our testimony, so that we don't lose it.

So as we continue to strengthen our testimonies, and attend the temple, I want you to remember one thing. Almost everyone knows the acronym of CTR. It normally stands for Choose The Right. However, it has taken on a new meaning for me. Now, it means: Come to the Temple Regularly. This is a great constant reminder that we need to not just attend the temple, but do it REGULARLY! If we don't, our campfire can begin to diminish. But as we attend, each time will fuel our testimonies and will enable us to receive the power, strength, and blessings of the temple.

Elder M. Russell Ballard said:  "I am so thoroughly convinced that if we don't set goals in our life and learn how to master the techniques of living to reach our goals, we can reach a ripe old age and look back on our life only to see that we reached but a small part of our full potential. When one learns to master the principles of setting a goal, he will then be able to make a great difference in the results he attains in this life".  Let us all strive to have the Temple be our goal!

I love you all so much!

Take care,

Elder Hunt

Side notes from Elder Hunt's audio recordings:  The colors on the trees are BEAUTIFUL and the pictures just don't do the real thing any justice!  He's been writing in his journal everyday, and hasn't missed a day.  "Wow!  I think I understand why it's important to write in your journal.  Amazing what you learn on your mission!!"

Their new investigator Stephanie's mom is strong Catholic, but doesn't mind her having the missionaries.  

Lawrence Town Beach was pretty fun.  Lots of sand.  Since it was Erika's birthday when we were there, we drew all the stuff on the sand.  It was fun!

I wonder who THIS pic is for...Papa K?!?!?!

Hello family and friends!  

 

So here are a few fun experiences I've had this week:

 

The weather is really starting to change...we were out dooring one night and it began to pour. Well, we had a 45 minute discussion in the pouring rain in just our suits...yeah, we were soaked. (what about the lady they were talking to???)

 

A bunch of the other Elders and I decided to have a Lobster Lunch. We bought the lobsters from the market, and brought them home to fry them up. Well, I thought I'd be exotic and try the lobster...yeah, I almost puked after my first bite. Never again.  (He sent a video of one of the elders killing the lobster before throwing it in the boiling pot of water.  UGH!)

 

So remember how I cut my own hair...? well, I did this week again, but ended up slipping with the buzzer....So i had a big bald patch in the back of my head, and had to have my companion cut my neckline really high to get rid of it...awesome...

 

We have a recent Convert we've been having a lot of lessons with. Her name is Griselda. She moves back to El Salvador after being here for 5 years, and we're going to miss her so much! She's such an amazing, strong person!

 

We had a fireside at the mission home on Sunday! It was really fun to get together with a bunch of Elders again. I've made some amazing friends, but some of my favorite are actually the senior couple! Elder and Sister Tiffany have become like my grandparents out here and I love them so much!

 

 

 

It's amazing to see the effects of the Gospel and the spirit in peoples lives. Linda Thompson, the lady we baptized a couple weeks ago, who has MS and is in a wheelchair, can't do anything for herself. She hasn't been able to move her arms, hands, fingers, or hardly talk. We've had to read her lips most of the time. She even wasn't able to scratch her own face if she had an itch. However, this past week, Linda was able to attend the temple and be apart of Baptisms and confirmations for the first time. It was a great experience and she really loved it. Well, the next day we received a call...Linda was able to use her arms, hands, and fingers to actually do something. She was able to hand some things to other people and was able to talk to us over the phone, to where we could actually understand her! Then at church, i sat across from her in Gospel principles class, and watched as she was able to lift her arm and hand to scratch her own face....I was overcome with joy from the work of the Lord. The effects of the spirit and the temple are an amazing thing, and I have truly been witnessing a miracle from the Lord this week!

 

After we did baptisms for the dead, we went back to the Stuarts (the ward mission leader) house and Griselda made us Papusas ( I think that's how you spell it). A really good tortilla and beans real Mexican dish. Yum!

 

(L-R) Elder Deem, Elder Jensen, Elder Wolsey, Elder Sloan, 

Elder Hardy, Elder Thompson, Elder Fisher (Elder Hunt on the floor!)

While planning one morning, we prayed about where to go that day. I really felt we needed to focus on a certain street. So we decided to go, and happened to door into a former investigator. We asked how she was doing, and she proceeded to tell us how crazy life is. So many things were going on, and on top of it all, her best friend had committed suicide the day before...We told her it was not a coincidence that we were there, and she invited us in. We taught her the plan of salvation, and I was able to relate my very personal experience dealing with that same thing with Denzel. The Lord works in mysterious ways, but I know that, had I not gone through that trial in my life, I wouldn't have been able to help Joanne with that same trial. I'm grateful for our trials and how they can bless us in our lives, even though we may not see the blessing come until far after the actual trial. Trust in the Lord and know that He will provide.

 

I love this missionary work, and I love all of you back home. This is where I need to be at this time in my life, and I'm so grateful for the opportunity to serve. I know this is the true Gospel. I'm able to experience its truth and works every single day out here. If there is one thing I can tell you, it's to trust in the Lord and HIS will. Never let our own wants and desires push God's will out of the way...we can never go wrong with Him on our side.

Love you all! Take care! And write me... I love letters. (:

 

Love Elder Hunt

MTC INFO. . .

I didn't write anything about the MTC...I guess I was waiting for all the REAL missionary stuff to happen.  But I was a bit remiss.

Elder Hunt LOVED his MTC companion, Elder Nzojibwami...(and I didn't even have to look up how to spell his name!!)  They are both serving in the Canada Halifax Mission.  I received a letter from "your other son who's name you can't pronounce" yesterday!  It was great and VERY sweet.  I can hardly wait to write him back.  (AND I not only know how to SPELL his name, I know how to say it!!)

Anyway, here are some pictures that might talk a whole lot more than words!




And Erika's aunt happened to be at the airport for a flight out, right when Elder Hunt was ready to leave for Halifax.  She recognized him and went over to say hi!  Fun times!!

October 9th, 2012

Hello Family!

Monday was Canadian Thanksgiving and we ate over at the Hatton's.  They're a really great family and it was fun being there.  

 So this week was pretty great. We were able to visit Peggy's Cove, a very big tourist attraction, but a very beautiful and amazing place. 

Also, there are quite a few motorcycles out here...I've had the pleasure of sitting on a bunch...(since we're not allowed to ride them...darn). 

Other than that though, the only exciting things happening pertain to General Conference this past weekend!  We are blessed to have been able to hear the words of an inspired Prophet, Thomas S. Monson, and from divine Apostles. I really enjoyed General Conference. However, I managed to get some sort of food poisoning or something because I was vomiting literally every 25 minutes throughout conference Saturday.  I hate throwing up!  But I'm alive now and all is well.  (In an audio file, Elder Hunt said he makes sausage, eggs and toast every morning to serve his companion.  Yeah, I’d say that’s service!!  But it also might be where he got the food poisoning…*_*)

We were shocked as missionaries to hear the ages for young men being able to serve missions is now 18, and young women is now 19. It is such an exciting thing and really makes me so happy every time I think or talk about it! Much good will come of it and there will be many more young people serving.  (He also said, “A ton more girls will be serving now that they can come out at 19 years old.  Everybody should serve a mission.  It works wonders!!”  Love that he has discovered this fact already!!)

The picture book my mom gave to Sue Hampson when
serving her mission here 35 years ago!  Yes,
this is definitely a "ripple effect!"

 Well, first off, I'm a Mormon. I know it, I live it, I love it. I enjoyed many talks throughout conference, but will choose to focus on missionary work. Russel M. Nelson talked about how serving a mission will effect many generations down the line of your family. It will have ripple effects that we can't even imagine. Do we want our family to be rippled into the Gospel? I vote yes. He also talked about how our desire to serve a mission is based on how converted we truly are. If we don't desire to serve others...well, we need to try a little harder. J  Each person/missionary has unique gifts that allow only that specific person to help specific people in a way that no other person ever could. So, if you ever have any question pertaining to the Gospel, or really anything at all....

ASK THE MISSIONARIES!

David A. Bednar related one thing that I really liked. A testimony is essential, but conversion is what truly brings us to the point where we will never turn our back again on our Heavenly Father. We need to "go and do the things which the Lord hath commanded."  And that includes serving a mission!

I love you all, and hope to see more missionaries out in the field, as well as missionaries in your individual wards and lives.

Love,

Elder Hunt

Sheila's Baptism

Well today, I'm emailing later than usual because President Leavitt just took us to go TV shopping for the new smart TV he needs in the mission home. So we did that for a while, helped him set it up at the house, and then he took us out to Montana's, a nice restaurant where we had some big 12 oz steaks and mashed potatoes...I was right at home. So it's been a really good day, other than now I don't get hardly any time to email home. But oh well, it's a mission.

 

This week, we had Sheila Jordan's baptism! She is such an amazing lady and I am so happy that I was able to teach and work with her. Her baptism was so spiritual, as well as her confirmation at church the next day. She became emotional during her confirmation, and it was hard for the rest of us to hold it in, but we were all just completely overjoyed with her and the decisions that she is making.

Thanks Mom, Dad, and Papa K and momma Trish. The digital photo frame is the best thing ever to have. Now I don't have to pull out my picture book! They can just cycle through all on their own, and I really love it. So thank you!!

Other than that, i'm just loving it out here. Not too much time to write this week, but know that I love each and every one of you. Even you random people that are checking and reading this from who knows where...love you all!

Remember to stay strong in the faith, and always trust in our Heavenly Father. Someday we will thank Him for cutting us down, so that we can grow even bigger.

Take care!

Elder Hunt