Week 9 - spreading the Gospel

What? It`s been 2 MONTHS?? I`ll be home before you know it!

This week was a little more difficult. We are having a hard time finding more people to teach. And the people that we thought were doing really well and progressing, suddenly aren`t very interested anymore, and their baptism dates fell through ALL of them for the next two weeks! Uh that`s probably the hardest part. I know with all my heart that this gospel is true and I want everyone to know what I know! And it`s really hard for me to see people reject it. But the right people are being prepared and maybe everyone else just needs a little bit more time.

But being here on a different continent really has proved to me that this gospel is universal. I had a step-back moment where I really thought about how this gospel is exactly the same here as it is in the United States.. and Sweden and Bulgaria and Argentina and EVERYWHERE else! 

 

I love spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ. My testimony is strengthened every single day!

 

I love you all!!!

P.s. there are some people out there, you know who you are! (Hannah, Ryan, Noelle, Brandon, Eric... and more) that need to write me!!!! I`ll be waiting.

P.S.S. the cable to my camera is not working so I can't get pictures uploaded yet, will get that worked out and then send pictures with these updates.

Week 8 - 12 Days in Ecuador

12 days already?? That´s almost 2 weeks!! WOW! 

 

By the way, Gangnam Style is HUGE here right now!!!

Okay so I love being North American here! I haven´t seen another white person.. people literally shout from rooftops and hang out of their car when I walk by. No one has colored eyes here so they are all amazed! It´s pretty fun:)

What´s not so fun is this food! Around 1:30 every day, I feel like I´m going to die! They feed us soo much and we have to eat it all! Oh man it´s a real struggle. Oh my word.. so it´s a rule for missionaries here that we can´t eat pig.. and we were eating at someone´s house and we had no idea what they were feeding us. But I was seriously trying not to throw up! Like seriously. I had to take deep breathes and shove it down. After forcing myself to eat the whole thing, we found out that it was PIG FEET AND INTESTINES! So so far I have eaten that, and FURRY cow intestines (please picture that I pray that I don´t die), and rice with ants in it. 

 

Oh I am being humbled every day here. The houses are either tree houses or houses that are lucky to have 4 walls and a roof. Most houses only have 3 walls and the rooms are divided by sheets. It really made me appreciate everything that I have back home. The people here are so humble.

Ah Satan has been working hard on me here. The first week I got really sick with an infection that spread throughout my body. I´m feeling a lot better now! They put me on SEVEN different medicines! Then once I started getting better, I got an allergic reaction to the bugs here! My eye was completely swollen shut and all my bug bites turned purple! I´m beter now from that too! Prayers really are answered! 

 

I love it here!!! Well this is all the time I have. I love you all!!

I plan on getting pictures on these blogs soon, but the cable for my phone isn't working so just waiting for my parents to send a new one.

Hermana Hunt!

Side note to my familia:

I just had to share this funny thing with you all really quick..

So the people here all ride around on motorcycles. Dirt bikes. With their whole family!! on ONE bike!!! Seriously just imagine our entire family hopping on dad´s motorcycle and riding around!!! I´m laughing so hard thinking about it!! And men ride together too! All the time! Now imagine dad and steve! AHAHAH! Oh my word.

Week 7 - Bienvenidos to the jungle!!

Hola!! 

 

Leaving the MTC in Peru. Here is a picture of my group, GRUPO 14

 

 

 

Well I made it to Ecuador!!! 

 

The first day was spent at the President's home with President and Sister Amaya. 

Here is what they wrote my parents:

After her experience in the Perú MTC we had the wonderful opportunity to receive Sister Hunt at the airport along with other missionaries in her group, we shared together a welcome lunch, and special moments starting her mission. She received instruction on the rules of the mission and the correct manner to work, she met her first companion, Sister Gomez from Guatemala and was trained in the "Plan of First Twelve Weeks, "according to the direction we received from the First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve. With great pleasure I am pleased to report that the development of the Plan of Twelve Weeks has been so far a great experience with excellent results.

 

Here is a picture with my trainer, companion: Sister Gomez and Sister Hunt.

 

 

 

And I am literally in a little civilized town in the middle of the jungle! Seriously part of my ward is tree houses!!

So this past Friday we had a baptism! A 19 year old girl named Daniela. She amazes me! She lives with her aunt and uncle and none of her family supports her decision to be baptized. On the night of her baptism, none of her family came! She is doing this all on her own! So I was asked to give the talk at her baptism!! On my SECOND DAY! Oh wait.. that´s not all! They asked me to sing too! I sang and gave a talk at my first baptism. Wow they don´t kid around here.

Sorry I don´t have any time this week to write much! But I love you all!

Hermana Hunt xoxox

Week 5 - Last week in Peru CCM

This week has been really great!

But, I am most definitely ready to leave the CCM and get to Ecuador!!

So I thought that you would appreciate this.. we took our group picture and we had to get in order from tallest to shortest and I am the VERY shortest person! ..in the entire CCM!!! I honestly didn´t know I was that short!!

Sorry for the short email this week. Computers are having problems here at the CCM.

Well until next time when I get to update everyone from Ecuador!

Con amor, Hermana Hunt!

Week 4 - Earthquakes and other things!

So this week was a pretty big week! First off! Thank you sooo much to the Simi Stake Presidency! They sent me a journal with a note from all of them! I loved it soo much and everyone was way jealous that I got a package:)

 

Well, I survived my first Peruvian earthquake!! It wasn´t too bad but it lasted for forevvverrr! 

 

Okay on to probably the most amazing thing ever! This last Saturday we had the opportunity to go out into the actual streets of Peru and teach people! Like we were literally dropped off in a neighborhood and we had to knock on doors and find people to teach. Everyone had a teacher except me and my companion. We were pretty nervous on our way out there, but we knew that we could do it. So we go up to our first house and knock on the door and a girl named Stefany answers. We told her who we were and said that we had a message to share with her. She invited us into her house and we taught a FULL lesson! All in Spanish of course! We taught her about the Book of Mormon and prayer. She said that she wanted to go to church! Then Hermana Ocon and I got the feeling that we should ask her to be baptized. So.. I asked. I asked her if she would follow to example of Jesus Christ and be baptized into the church.. she said YES!! First house, first time teaching a real person, and we committed her to baptism! It was the best, craziest feeling of my life! 

 

Then we left, and we taught 6 other people and gave them each copies of the Book of Mormon. Then we were walking down the street and we saw a lady walking with her little child. Her name is Luz. We asked if we could talk to her about the church! She said yes so we taught her about the Book of Mormon, prayer, and the plan of salvation. We asked her to read the Book of Mormon and pray about it and she said yes! Then I got that same feeling again so I asked her to be baptized too! She said YES!! THAT¨S TWO! No one could believe it! 

 

This week when all the leaders of the CCM had a meeting, they said that they talked about us for most of the time! It was crazy! We thought that it was AMAZING, but we didn´t think that it was THAT uncommon. We were just following the promptings of the Spirit. Those couple hours made me SO excited to go out into the field! I can´t wait to serve the people of Ecuador and actually be able to see what happens. That was the really sad part about this. All I can do is hope that the missionaries go back and teach Stefany and Luz. We gave the missionaries in that area all of their information so that they could teach them more. I have so much love for these people! I can´t imagine what I will feel when I teach people for a longer period of time.

 

Anyway, this email was pretty long. I hope you all read through it;)

 

I love you all! I want to hear from you all!!

 

Con amor,

Hermana Hunt

Week 3 - July 11, 2013

Okay just to begin.. I am at that awkward stage where I am starting to forget English, but I am not too great at Spanish yet.. so I basically can´t speak any language at the moment. So if this doesn´t make sense, I´m sorry!

 

News this week.. So I don´t know if I have told you all about our "investigator" Jacky. But we are teaching a lady named Jacky and the lessons have been going so well!! We committed her and 3 of her children to baptism this week!! She has been so receptive and Hermana Ocon and I have really been trying to teach to her needs. We still have a bunch to learn, but I think that teaching in full Spanish every day is a pretty good start. 

 

We went to the Peru temple today again!! Our teachers came with us this time! It was so great! I´m pretty sure that is my favorite time of the whole week! (Except emailing of course;)

This week we have been learning a TON about the Book of Mormon! I never knew how amazing it was! I mean.. I knew, but I can´t even explain what I have learned this week! Just reading the Introduction. It´s amazing! To all of my lovely fans out there who haven´t read the Book of Mormon, I challege you to do it! It is amazing! At least just the introduction if nothing else. 

 

 

 

 

Yo sé que el Libro de Mormón is verdadero. Yo sé que la iglesia de Jesucristo de los Santos de los Últimos Días is verdadera. Sé que tenemos un profeta en este dia que es verdadera. Yo amo este iglesia! Yo sé que esto es verdad al sentir el Espíritu Santo. Este concimiento me ayuda cuando necesito consuelo. Estoy muy agradecida por el Evangelio. Yo sé que usteded pueden ser feliz mediante este Evangelio.

 

Con amor,

Hermana Hunt

Week 2

Hello everybody!! Or should I say Hola..

 

This week went by so crazy fast! Sorry if this email is pretty short.

Exciting things of the week..

 

1. ELDER CHRISTOFFERSON came to the CCM!! And there are only like 80 of us so we were all able to meet him! And if that wasn´t great enough.. After he talked to us, we had class and my campanion and I were walking with our teacher and who do we run into?? Elder Christofferson!!! And he talked to us for awhile!! Seriously one of the coolest experiences ever! I could feel the Spirit radiating off of him!

2. We were watching a devotional from a couple months ago of Elder Ballard and who do I see in the choir?? The one and only Eric Pinkston!!

3. We got a new group of missionaries today!! So we are no longer the newest ones here!

 

Oh quick shout out to Sister Nicholas! Whenever I am teaching and I need a scripture, I usually find myself singing the scripture mastery songs that we learned in seminary! Way helpful!

 

So we have been teaching our fake investigator, Gonzalo, and it has been going great!! We committed him to BAPTISM in our last lesson! It was soo amazing! I can´t wait until I get to do it for real!! Next week we get to walk to streets of Peru and teach ACTUAL people!! It is going to be way scary but I´m so excited!

 

Sorry this is all the time I have! Email me!

 

Con amor,

Hermana Hunt

The Journey Has Begun

Hola!! 

 

 

 

I have officially been in the Peru CCM (MTC) for a full week now! I´m not going to lie, it has been harder than I thought! But I am doing the work of the Lord and I know that I am supposed to be here. Oh and take it easy on me because I am typing on a Spanish keyboard:) 

 

 

 

So basically all I do is study and learn Spanish! It is coming along really well though! I love my teachers and I LOVE my district! When I got here, everyone already knew who I was! I am now known as "Younce´s Girl" I love it!! I guess Morgann made a huge impression and apprently told everyone about me because I seriously do not even have to introduce myself.. everyone already knows. Seriously EVERYONE though. Want to know how many people are in the ENTIRE CCM?? Lessss than 100!!! I think it is like 80 or something! So basically everyone is friends with everyone! It is so great! So basically we are split into 2 groups.. the latinos and the north americans. That is seriously what they call us!! So when I call people Latinos and North Americans.. that´s normal. Anyway, so I try to eat with the Latinos everyday so that they can help me with my Spanish. I love it!! They are so funny. They always ask about Justin Bieber and Nsync.. which is very strange. If they are trying to describe JB they all just start screaming "babyy babyy babyy OHH!" I enjoy them :) So everyday we get physical activity time and I always play soccer with the latinos! It is so much fun! And I score!! They aren´t even going easy! Basically one of the highlights of my day.

Oh shoutout to the Batemans for the Spanish hymn book they gave me for my birthday!! I use it like a million times a day! Thank you so much! 

 

My Spanish teachers are so amazing!! I am in the district that Morgann was in so I have all the same teachers that she had. Oh and let me mention.. they DON¨T SPEAK ENGLISH! So.. I have been forced to learn Spanish pretty quickly. They know a few words here and there but if I need to communicate with them, it´s all Spanish baby. So far I have taught 3 lessons in complete Spanish! We are teaching a fake "investigator" named Gonzalo and we have already commited him to come to church with us and pray to know whethers or not the prophets are true and called of God! I love how real it is!

 

A couple funny or embarrassing stories,

1. It is a rule that your feet always have to touch the ground while you are sitting in a chair.. well my legs aren´t long enough to touch the ground so.. I have to break that rule. 

 

2. It was the FIRST day and we were given a couple bags with a ton of books in them so I went to pick up the books with my left arm and they weighed more than I did! And I just completely tipped over!! Totally ate it in front of everyone.. what a great way to start! Let´s just say that my ankle was swollen and turned different colors. It´s okay though! I´m better!

 

Well it looks like that is all the time I have. I miss you all! Send letters!!! but no packages to the CCM por favor. As much as I would love to show off all of my new Spanish skills, I´m being kicked off the computer. LOVE YOU ALL! I can´t wait to hear from you!

 

Love,

Hermana Hunt!