MISSIONARY WORK WORKS YOU!!!

Dear Family,

Missionaries work hard.  End of story.  Sometimes it feels like I write the same things…but wait, we DO the same things!!  It was another week of preparing for Zone Training, traveling to Zone Training, giving the Zone Training (that actually went very well!), and then driving back and getting to work.  Is it any wonder that I feel exhausted a lot of the time??  However, there really is some amazing stuff that is going on and it’s great to be a part of the Lord’s work and see how He directs it.

Tuesday afternoon we met a woman named Sandra.  She had recently lost a granddaughter, who had ended her life at the age of 25.  I was able to explain to Sandra about my experience with Denzel and she didn’t think it was any coincidence that we met.  It was a cool experience to be able to relate so well to someone because of having been through such a difficult experience. 

On Wednesday we worked in Woodstock all day.  I REALLY like this area.  We walked around downtown and talked to a lot of people.  We crossed paths with a guy named Tim, who “just happened” to decide to sit outside for some reason.  He normally always sits inside.  Funny how different things happen.  We taught Tim about the Restoration, and it went really well.  The spirit was felt so strongly.  We have added him as an investigator, and Tim also has a friend who wants to learn more about the gospel. 

Later in the evening we taught Violet and some of her friends on their porch again.  We had dinner at the Seaboyers, and then held our scripture study class in Woodstock.  This week’s question was “How do I repent?”  and it went great, just like last week.  Doing these scripture studies is one of the highlights of my mission.  After that we met with Troy and taught him the Plan of Salvation.  He’s doing well and progressing.  But I was totally exhausted after all the work we did on Wednesday.

On Thursday we helped the Anderson’s move and stacked two cords of wood.  That took quite a while, but we like stacking wood.  Afterwards, Bro. Anderson took us to lunch and told us all kinds of war stories.  In the evening we held a scripture study class in Houlton.  We had quite a few people at this one and it went so good!  The branch has been so good to me and I don’t want to leave anytime soon!

Had an interesting experience this week with a minister of another denomination.  I was so surprised when he told us that he doesn’t agree with or believe in all the things he teaches, but he teaches it because that’s what he’s told to do.   On Sunday we went to his church service, at his invitation, and felt “nothing” there.  It’s hard to describe.  I couldn’t feel the Spirit there whatsoever, and it was a very different experience for me.  After that we went to our church services.  When we walked into the chapel, I could FEEL the Spirit, and knew that’s what made the difference. 

During Sacrament meeting, I accompanied Addie Carter for a musical number.  We performed “You’re Not Alone” by Michael McClain; she sang and I played the piano.  That went really well, considering I had one day’s notice.

The rest of the day we walked in the rain and contacted people!  All of the colors are changing now and Fall is my favorite time of year…especially out here.  The colors are incredible and line the countryside because there are so many trees.

Such a beautiful place where I get to serve as a missionary.

The computers haven’t been working too hot at the library the past couple of weeks, so hopefully things will improve by Monday.  I sure miss everyone.  It was cool to see the new carpeting you put in the house.  I miss our house, too!!  Jaida looks like such a cool dog!  I can hardly wait to meet her!

Bye for now.

Love,

Elder Hunt

 

Holy Residual Hurricane, Elder Skinner!!

(Sorry about no post last week...we were in the middle of pulling carpet out, all the computers were disconnected, and I just couldn't do ONE MORE THING!!!  [Sorry, Elder Hunt!])

Dear Family,

Like most weeks, there was the good and bad this week.  Some of the good:  We met a 77 year old woman after we had knocked on a lot of doors and been turned away.  She invited us right in and we taught her the restoration.  Turns out she's a cousin to one of the branch members.  

We held a scripture study in Island Falls this week and taught on "Why is the Atonement necessary?"  It went really well and I love teaching with Elder Skinner.  We also held a scripture study in Houlton.  Janice was there and really enjoyed it.  She also received her first church calling...she'll be working in the Primary, and she'll do a great job!

We met a new investigator named who has been really prepared to receive the gospel.  He had met with the Elders a few years ago, but then some things happened and nothing more went on with learning about the church.  We're very excited to be able to teach him.  After we finished teaching him we went outside and saw a BIG storm coming.  Turned out it was an after effect of a hurricane and when it hit Woodstock, it hit hard!!  All of the power went out, every store was closed up, and lightning was striking trees.  We saw a brick building get ripped to pieces and bricks were flying everywhere.  It was pretty insane with the high winds and completely horizontal rain.  And we also found out that a tornado went through just a little north of where we were.  We stopped and picked up a lot of debris from the brick building on Main Street so cars could drive through town.  We also saw a rooftop that had blown off of a house, and was now sitting in the middle of a grocery parking lot.  Pretty crazy stuff. 

 

We did a lot of knocking this week, and a lot of it was in the rain.  A lot of people didn't want to hear our message, and we even had some scheduled lessons fall through.  But the lessons we did teach this week were really good.   It's always amazing to me to see how the Lord's hand is in all that we do.  Sometimes, when things aren't going so well, and it gets a bit discouraging, we then experience some "coincidental" things that we realize were great blessings from the Lord.

One of the coolest things this week was Sunday's church attendance.  It was an incredible day.  The entire church was full with an attendance of 87 people.  It was our Branch Conference, so it was great to have the Stake Presidency there, and Brother Judd from the high council was also there.  (He and I get along great, so it was good to see him again!)

When they announced our scripture study class in church, a couple of branch members stood up and told everyone, "Cancel anything you have on that night!  You NEED to be at this meeting the missionaries put on because of how incredible it is!"  That was pretty cool! It feels good to know the members are getting things out of our work and appreciate it.

And to top Sunday off, a less-active man brought five of his little girls to church, and they were so much fun to be around.  I just can't resist the kids and they kind of stick to me like glue.  We had dinner at their house Sunday night, and it was a great day all the way around.

I guess that about wraps it up.  I hope you all are doing great.  Have a wonderful week!

Love,

Elder Hunt

Elder Skinner
"Man, is Elder Hunt for real?!?!  He wears me out!!
Maybe Captain Moroni can give me some help!!"

Elder Hunt
"C'mon, Elder Skinner!!!  Let's go find
some people to teach!!!"

ELDER HUNT'S WEEK...At a Glance...

  

Tough terrain...but they managed to cut through it.  Taught some great discussions, and appreciate the branch's efforts in helping with the missionary work!

 Girls are still off-limits to the missionaries...but some of the younger ones get away with a lot more than the older ones!!  And Elder Hunt is really rockin' the flower look!!

 Elder Skinner and Elder Hunt work very well together as a companionship!  However, Elder Skinner says he's never been fed to where he's REALLY full, so the members have a new goal...feed the Elders LOTS...and Elder Hunt is paying a high price...he can hardly move after some of the meals they've had!!

TRANSFER WEEK...for Elder Edmond.

Dear Family,

Well, it was Transfer Time this week, so Elder Edmond and I had a lot to get done.  On Monday we were getting some groceries and a car pulled up by us.  It was Donna, the niece of a lady in our branch.  Long story short,  Donna and her husband want us to come over and teach them the Gospel!  It was a pretty cool thing and I’m excited about this.  Too bad Elder Edmond is going to miss out!

We also found out that Ben and Molly are getting married at the end of the year.  They have a ring and everything, which is a great step for them.

After our district meeting via Skype on Tuesday, we went and hauled a bunch of wood for the Sides.  I was up in the trailer stacking the so the others could grab it, which meant I was crouched / bent over for nearly 3 hours.  My back is just “a little” sore.

At least we had a blast doing it!  We were belting out songs the whole time we worked and it was a really neat experience.  

Started out with stuff like Bohemian Rhapsody, and ended up with Primary Songs and hymns.  It was a neat experience to see a bunch of men work so hard, enjoy their work, and bring the Spirit to that work by singing…all at the same time.  Elder Edmond and I enjoyed that last evening of work together.  He’ll do a great job in Newfoundland.

Wednesday was devoted to seeing Elder Edmond off (we drove to Fredericton), then I worked with the Fredericton elders while waiting for Elder Skinner (my new companion) to get in later that evening.  We spent the night there, then headed to Houlton the next day.

Elder Skinner and I went with Bro. Robertson to visit Mike.  It was his 54^th birthday and I had made some chocolate cupcakes as a surprise for him.  We snuck them in without him seeing, then, after a really interesting/fun lesson on the Law of Chastity, I snuck into the kitchen, put a candle in one cupcake, lit it, then walked out singing “Happy Birthday.”   Mike’s face just lit up and he was so happy.   He lives all alone in the middle of nowhere, so I knew we needed to do something special for him.  And we enjoyed eating the cupcakes together.

Oh, and Elder Skinner and I just mesh really well together with our teaching styles.  It is really fun to teach with him.

On Friday we helped the Street family move.  We worked really hard packing up their entire house into a moving truck in four hours.  I was the “packing manager” and directed the placing of everything.  It was like playing a giant game of Tetris, getting everything to fit just right.

Mom, I did the Medicine Wheel with a man in our branch and he really liked it.  He even kept his paper so he could study it and improve.  

Elder Skinner talks much more than Elder Edmond and it’s really fun planning together.  We’ve come up with some ideas for our area, like a sports night that some guys our age are pretty interested in.  We’ll be starting that next week… (I hope Elder Hunt is VERY careful with his knee!!)

Elder Skinner was going to University of Wyoming and is a collegiate high jumper.  He’s jumped 7’1”…that’s crazy!!  We both are really sore from all the service work we’ve been doing, and we both feel out of shape.  We have fun together since we both love sports.   AND Elder Skinner teaches me French as we walk around since he was called out here as a French missionary.  That’s been fun too!

Sunday meetings were so good.  We had four men get up and bear very strong testimonies about missionary work, and the need for all of us to be willing to share the gospel.  It was really good.  This Branch is really getting a fire kindled under it and being involved in the missionary work going on here.  It’s exciting!  We even sat down and created a daily study schedule for the branch members.  I love this Branch and feel like thae work is going to explode (that’s a good thing!) in this area!!

I hope you all are doing good.  I'm getting a few puzzles added to my wall.  It’s been fun to do.  I’ll be sure to send pictures of Elder Skinner next week.  I just couldn't take any in the library like you wanted me to, Mom.  J

Give all my nieces and nephews hugs and kisses for me, and tell them that Uncle Dallin (Elder Hunt) says “hello from Maine!!”  I love you all so much.

Love,

Elder Hunt

A few more pics from Elder Hunt...

 

RAIN, RAIN and MORE RAIN!!!

Dear Family,

First of all, I loved the stuff you sent for my one-year mark.  It was great!!

Well, here goes another week:

Monday we spent most of the day cleaning our apartment because President Leavitt was coming for interviews.  I mean we REALLY cleaned it…got to keep up my reputation, you know!  But when President Leavitt came on Wednesday, he forgot his passport, so we ended up driving over to Woodstock (New Brunswick) and met with him there.  Oh well, we still enjoyed our ultra clean apartment!

And, there was a really cool thing that happened in conjunction with this little change of our plans.  While we were at the small Woodstock church that isn’t really used for anything, the church phone rang.  I answered it.  A lady was calling, wanting to learn more about the church and information about attending.  I don’t think it’s any coincidence that we “happened” to be at the church at that exact time.

During the week we talked to the “big porch of people” again.  They really getting to like us there.  They come running when they see us walk by, and they gave us seven referrals!!  They are pretty fun to work with.

During our district meeting this week (in Caribou), I gave a doctrinal discussion all about the Medicine Wheel, and we all did it as a district.  It provided some really great insights for each of our companionships, and ourselves.

After district meeting I did some splits with E. Gibbs in Presque Isle.  We rode our bikes which kind of pestered my knee a bit.  Then I got a flat tire.  Then it started to downpour for the next 3 hours while we were out contacting…and I didn’t have a jacket or anything because I had left it in Houlton.  Well, I’ll just say I got more wet than I have ever been in my life!  I was soaked all the way through my garments!!  Elder Gibbs couldn’t understand why I was smiling so much in spite of everything going on.  I really wanted to provide a POSITIVE outlook, because that’s what I’ve really been trying to get across to my district…that a positive attitude can change any situation.  So, we enjoyed the rain and everything that happened and just had fun with it!

   

 So Thursday was my one year mark.  The box that came from home had some new white shirts, snackage, pens, a pink “zipper tie,” a big thing of silly putty, and a Canadian flag!  I also got a card from Erika.  It was great to get some things and know that people remembered.  I also got calls from Elder Deem, Elder Evanson, and a text from Assistant Nzojibwami!! 

It’s kind of hard to describe how I feel.  It feels like I’ve been away from home for years because of how much I’ve experienced and learned.  But it also feels like I just came out yesterday because of how much I still have to learn.  It’s quite an odd sensation.  But it does feel a little different now that my time is counting down, instead of up.  My time as a missionary is very limited and I’m so grateful I get to serve a mission.  I’ve seen some of the Lord’s great success throughout my first year, and know that is only gets better and better each and every day.  It’s a great day to be a missionary!

We had dinner with Phil Henderson this week, and he had broken his knee so I definitely had some sympathy pains for him.  I often think about my knee.  It’s frustrating sometimes as I wonder if I’ll ever play rugby competitively again.  But I remind myself what Heavenly Father gave me through that trial…one last night with my brother and hero, Denz.  I wouldn’t trade that for anything in this world.  I get emotional, even just writing about it, so I better stop!  I guess I’m just saying there’s lots of different feelings about a lot of things.

On Saturday we helped a less active lady move out of her apartment.  It was a mess but we got it done.  She couldn’t take more than a couple of suitcases with her, so most of it was taken to the dump.  But what made me feel really badly was that about halfway through everything, her son walked in.  I guess he had been living away from home (kinda run away), and had come back…jus to find his mom leaving.  He was left to stay at a homeless shelter until he can get a job.  I doubt he’s more than 17.  I felt so bad, and it made me so grateful for a loving family who cares about me, and watches out for me.  I love you all so much.  There’s nothing quite like a mission to remind you how much your family means to you!!

Yesterday (Sunday) we received a text from the assistants telling us to check our email for transfer letters.  Turns out my companion is being sent to Newfoundland, and I’m going to be companions with Elder Skinner, a French speaking Elder who was trained by Elder Nzojibwami!!  I have been around Elder Skinner before and I love him to death!!  We’re gonna have a blast together!  I’m excited for that, but also sad to see Elde Edmond leave.  I’m so glad I got to do his birthday breakfast and treasure for him last week!!

Well, that better be all for now.  I sure love you all SO much!!  I love getting the pictures of stuff going on back home…and of the nieces and nephews…they are growing so much.  They’re not going to know me by the time I get home!!  I love hearing from you when you send letters and emails.  Thank you so much!!

Love,

Elder Hunt

P.S.  Did I mention we get a LOT of rain here?!?!  Ha!!  I can't remember a single Friday that it didn't rain!!  Gotta love our Fridays in Houlton and going to the Houlton Farms Dairy for hot fudge sundaes!

Latest Puzzle Therapy

ONE YEAR LEFT TO ACCOMPLISH GREAT THINGS!!!

The Madsen clan came for a visit (in St. George) en route to Hawaii, so we couldn't pass up the opportunity to paint the window a few days early...We sure are proud of our missionary!!!