One of the things he told me over the phone, but didn't put in the last letter he wrote from the MTC (see below) had to do with all the letters I wrote to his MTC district. He said, "Mom, it was SO cool. I got all the letters, and when I walked into my district I said, 'EVERYONE got mail today!!' There were shouts of 'No way!' and 'Let me see!' and sure enough, everyone in my district got a letter from you! They were amazed. And then they thought maybe the letters all said the same thing, so they started comparing. Every letter was different and they LOVED them! Thanks Mom!"Okay, I feel REALLY good about myself right about now. But even better, yesterday I got a letter from one of those elders (second one to respond), who wrote the following:
Dear Sister Hunt,
Wow, I have never heard of someone sending every member of a missionary's district a letter. you are awesome!
Yes, we have had an awesome time in the MTC together. There are lots of fun people to meet and work with. All of us are super-excited to get to the field to start preaching the Gospel to the Lord's children.
I want you to know what an awesome son you have in Elder Hunt! He is a great missionary and definitely possesses a Christ-like attribute of charity (as well as others, but more so charity) :)
The first week I was here I was VERY homesick and could not control myself. Your son and his companion did an excellent job in making me feel welcome. I was especially happy when Elder Nzojibwahmi offered to give me a blessing. It was hard to choose between the two of them as to who I should have bless me, but in the end Elder Hunt was chosen. I want you to know Sister Hunt that your son gave a powerful blessing. He is truly filled with the spirit and will be an excellent tool in the Lord's hands in bringing others unto Christ.
Thank you again for all your kindness and consideration in writing to us. We do love it!
Love,
Elder Dubyk
Now THAT was a really nice thank you letter!! *_*
Part of an earlier letter included the following:
I'm so grateful for the time I've had here at the MTC. I've learned so much, and couldn't be happier. But now I'm heading off to Canada and couldn't be more excited. I can't wait to talk to people and bring them the same joy that I have through the Gospel. Gonna be some good stuff!
OK, but the past week I've been sick. And every time I lay in my bed, I cough so much that I can't sleep. So I grab my scriptures, water bottle, blanket, and pillow and head out into the hallway so that I don't keep my companion and roommates up with my loud hacking. I sit against the hard brick corner in the hallway, read my scriptures, and magically sleep through the night. Whether it is the Lord blessing me with sleep because of reading the scriptures, or not, it seems to be working! So my bed for the past week has been the brick wall and concrete floor of the hallway. Woohoo for awesome mission experiences!
But seriously, I love it! I love this work, and love seeing the Lord's influence in each of our lives!
So, we enjoyed talking to Elder Hunt, but we enjoyed reading his last MTC letter, that arrived after our talks, even more!
9/3/12
Dear Family,
Dear Family,
Just one more quick note before I head ut to
Canada tomorrow
morning. I don’t know if
you got a
chance to watch President Monson’s 85th birthday
celebration
broadcast, but we watched it in the auditorium here last night,
and the entire
program was amazing. Something
that
stood out though was when the lead actor from Les Miserables on
Broadway sang “Bring Him
Home.” The same song sung
at the
Cemetery shortly after Denzel’s passing.
While he sang I couldn't hold it in.
I was in an auditorium of 2,000 people, and probably the
only one with
tears running down my face. Listening
to
that brought back so many emotions, especially since I had borne
my
testimony earlier in the day about regret and how I regret every
day not
sharing the Gospel more with Denzel, and that I focus now to do
everything on
my mission so I’ll never come back with regret.
As I sat there and listened to that amazing
song, those
emotions and memories of Denzel were there, but were quickly
comforted as my
thought turned to the Savior. As
I
listened to the words of the song, I realized more than ever how
hard it must
have been for Jesus Christ and suffering through the Atonement. Not only was it hard for Him;
it was also
hard for our Heavenly Father. No
father
wants to see his son go through something like that, or die. I know that Heavenly Father
truly loves us
enough, that He did go through sorrow and hurt for HIS son, Jesus
Christ, as He
died on the cross at Calvary.
They both suffered in different ways, but I’m
so grateful
for both of them and their love for me, and all of you as well. I know Christ truly did die
for us, and felt
each of our sorrows, pains, and joys as well.
He is the only one that can completely relate to anything
we’re going
through. He is the perfect
counselor,
brother, and friend.
As I serve the Lord for these two years, I am
striving to be
more like Him, and hope every day to be able to do so. I hope that if anyone has
felt offended by me
in any way, they might be willing to forgive me. My heart is really changing
out here, and I
love the way it’s impacting my life as I try to live and implement
Christlike
attributes in my life. I love each of you so much and
only want the best for everyone. Always find time to put the Lord first. There won't be spare time, but we must MAKE time. It's a small thing to ask to read the scriptures and pray daily, considering what Christ has done for us.
I love you all! It's my favorite thing to write home and bear my testimony because I get to understand more of what I have learned! Next time you hear from me, I'll be in Canada! (or maybe not!) Pretty cool, eh?
Take Care!
Love,
Elder Hunt
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