Week 22

Well all I can say is what a week last week was haha. To start things off my companion and I spent 4 days in the hospital. We were there from Monday afternoon till Thursday afternoon. I had two infections.One in my stomach, and one in my kidney. In my stomach there was a bacteria that normally we have a level of 5% but I had a level of 95%.  In my kidney my creatine levels were really high also. The normal for a person my age is 1.0 and for a lot older people 1.3 but I had a level of 1.3. 

They took really good care of me and even though it was probably the most boring days of my life (because we couldn't watch any TV, not even the world cup) I was glad I was in good hands. Apparently the hospital that I was in is the best hospital in Ecuador. I was slightly hoping to actually get some good food, maybe even American food. I got my hopes up ;) 

I believe it was on Wednesday that my companion and I found out that the TV we had in the room was a smart TV so (with permission) we got onto LDS.ORG and watch every single movie/mormon message we could find. In all it turned out to be not too bad! I’m pretty sure Elder Monrroy thinks it was the worst time in his life because in four days he ate a total of 3 times because the food there was super expensive. 

So after I was released from the hospital on Thursday Sister Ghent gave us money for a taxi and money for food. We went and ate lunch and got on the trolley and that's when the fun began. When I left the hospital I felt great and even better after I had eaten but as we left the city to go back to our sector I just about passed out on the trolley. My companion and I had to get off and wait until I could go again. I don't know what happened but I think it was just from resting in a nice cool place for four days. Nothing bad happened and we were able to get back to our sector and work. 

Considering we only worked 3 days this week it turned out good as we had 2 investigators at church and a decent amount of lessons. This week I also finally received my birthday package and was able to listen to the general conference talks. They have helped me sooo much in this past week and I want to challenge you to listen to one everyday and try to apply what you heard throughout the day or to choose one and study it throughout the week and work more on that aspect in your life. We need not only read the scriptures or listen to conference talk, but we need to live them and apply them in our lives to get everything out of them we can! 

It might be hard sometimes but I know that it works and that it helps us build our testimonies and the relationships we have with our Father in Heaven and our families. I love you all and thank you all for the support and prayers that I receive from you all! 
I hope you have a great week. 
Con mucho amor, 
Elder Hunt :)

The amazing view of Quito from my hospital room

My hospital room

My Companion and I bought about
3 pounds of fish to eat and we got to clean it:)
He's from the coast (Honduras) so he LOVES fish!! haha

Elder Monnroy with the fish we bought

Me with the fish we bought

 Me and all the stuff I got for my birthday :) I love it all!!!

  

Me after blowing up all of those balloons ;)

I loved all of your Birthday messages!!

HAPPY

BIRTHDAY

ELDER HUNT!!!!!!

Week 21

Well all I can say is what a week it has been!! Its was a good week, just a really long one. This past Saturday we had 3 baptisms and it was sooo great! We’ve been working with this family for almost 4 months and they are such a great family! In total my district had 8 baptisms on Saturday and we only need 2 more to complete our goal of 14 this month.  I was able to confirm the son on Sunday and man was that crazy! It was soo cool but at the same time so nerve racking :P

The down side to this week was on Friday. We had a Conference with President Ghent and his wife since they are leaving soon but all throughout the night I had such a bad fever and couldn't sleep. I could finally get out of bed at 2:00 in the afternoon only to lay on the floor and go back to sleep. I honestly have never had so much pain in all of my body in my entire life! My head, stomach, and legs hurt so bad! On Saturday we went to a clinic to have tests done on my urine and blood, which didn't bother me none since I love giving blood ;) I found out that I have 2 infections. One in my stomach (salmonella) and another in my kidney. It definitely isn't good but hey I’m still alive and truckin :)

We didn't work on Friday or Saturday because I simply couldn't but we were able to work a little yesterday which was nice. Don't worry about me though. All I ask is that you keep me in your prayers and we'll let God do the rest. I have an appointment today so that will help out a lot! Other than that fun part of the week it was a good one. The weather here has been pretty nice and now its summer which means NO MORE RAIN!!!!!!!!! Makes things a lot easier haha. I hope you all have a great week and that everything is good in your families! 

Con Amor, 
Elder Hunt

My Companion and I with the family we baptized, Familia Macao

HUGE Catholic Church and me :)

Picture with President Ghent and Sis Ghent
(They will be going home in July)

Week 20

Well I’m glad to say that this week was a lot better than last! We had quite a bit of success this week other than we found out that a few of our investigators aren’t married :P The thing I love about serving a mission is that you get to help out so many people and you get to see all the many ways the Lord blesses us and teaches us.

This week I completed Doctrine and Covenants and wow can I say the Prophet Joseph Smith was so amazing and thanks to him we have so much! Like it says towards the end of  D&C Joseph Smith has done more for mankind than anyone else save it Jesus Christ. It is so great to be able to share the Restoration of the Church of Jesus Christ and to help the people receive all of the blessings that are promised in the scriptures. Often times we think that we don't have time to do everything that we should, and we often times settle into our own routines, but in order to become the people we have the potential to become we have to always be progressing. 

To be honest before my mission I didn't really like reading the scriptures, I didn't always like going to church or fulfilling my calling and I never seemed to have time for prayers. I can now proudly say that I LOVE the scriptures and I only wish that I had more time to study them everyday!  I want to be at church all day on Sunday to increase my knowledge of these amazing things and I can see and feel an immense difference when I don't pray! I know that all of these things are true and I know that without them we are nothing. God asks such simple things from us. The least we can do is do them no matter what. There will always be a way to fulfill the will of the Lord like it says in 1 Nephi 3:7.  

This church is so great and like I said last week no matter how hard it gets we have to stay true! We are walking with the best life this world has ever known, the only pure and perfect life ever lived! What more do we need? We have everything we need at our fingertips and we need to show our faith through our works for without them our faith is nothing. Remember doubt your doubts before you doubt your faith. I love you all and hope all of the fathers had a great Fathers Day! I hope you all have a great week! 

Con mucho amor, Elder Hunt :)

Heres a picture of me in Quicentro (mall) representing the US :)

Week 19

First week down with my new companion Elder Monrroy (from Honduras). This week was easily one of the hardest weeks in my mission so far! It was very hard since I was basically senior companion and my new companion doesn't know anything about our sector yet. We didn't have very many lessons this week and a lot fell through. The good thing was that the lessons we did have were really good ones! It's so crazy how different everyone's styles of teaching are and I’m really excited to learn from Elder Monrroy because he teaches with so much love and with such clarity.

I honestly don't know why this past week was so hard but I’m pretty sure it's because I didn't have the right attitude and wasn't as obedient as I could have been. I’ve realized that even just the smallest things that we don't think even matter have such a huge effect on our lives. This week when I was down or really missing home I couldn't help  but think of the saying ¨When the going gets tough, the tough get going.¨ I also thought a lot about the conference talk or mormon message from President Hinkley when he was having such a hard time in his mission and his dad told him to forget about himself and get to work.

Not gonna lie I was being selfish this week and I need to stop worrying about myself and focus on what's more important, the people of Ecuador. How could I want to give up when I have so many amazing people here and so much support from all the people I love back at home. We often times feel like were alone, but we are never alone! We are walking with the best life this world has to offer, the only pure and perfect life ever lived. Although we have hard days/weeks it will only be but a moment. 

This week I’m really going to focus a lot on charity and service! When we lose ourselves in the service of others we can obtain everything we need and put our focus outward instead of inward. I want to invite you all to look and find opportunities to serve someone this week, whether it be big or small. This week wasn't completely rough and horrible because we finally baptized the Alajo Family who are relatives of the Salazars that we baptized a little over 2 months ago. It's so great to be able to help families receive all the blessings that come with keeping the commandments! Thank you all for all of the support you've given me and for all of your love. This is the true church and our Heavenly Father love us more than we can imagine! Along with a hard long week I have never prayed more to receive strength and when we can't stand we have to kneel and if we need it, we will be carried through our tough times. 

Elder Hunt

Elder Monrroy

Me and my companion made tacos and
 seriously the best I think I've ever had :)

Me, Elder Monrroy, and Familia Alajo  at their baptism

Me, Elder Monrroy,and Familia Alajo during our little party at their house :)

Beautiful Rainbow :)

Week 18

Last week of changes. Its so crazy that Elder Brough and I have spent the last 3 months together and also how crazy fast it has gone by! We had changes today and I will be staying here another change. My new companions name is Elder Monrroy and he's from Honduras. He seems really cool and I cant wait to get to know him a lot better! 

This last week was a pretty good one and not to mention it was my 19th Birthday haha! Crazy how fast the time has gone by. We had a pretty good day on Saturday and although we didn't do too much different or have cake and ice cream, we did get a ton of food and had some really great lessons with investigators! This week we found 8 new people and 2 new families who are honestly so great! Familia Garcia is one of them. The wife on Saturday told us that ever since we have been coming, they have seen so much more happiness in their home. She also told us that a few weeks ago she prayed to receive more help and guidance in her life and then the week after that we showed up. She believes that we are the answer to her prayers! 

On Friday we were walking to one of our appointments and we saw a huge group of gringos so we went to talk them and it turns out they were a Southern Baptist church from Alabama and Tennessee. It was honestly so great to have some southern hospitality and to hear their accents. I love being down here in Ecuador in the service of my Heavenly Father and the people here! Thanks for all the birthday wishes and I hope you all have a great week. 

Con mucho amor, Elder Hunt :)

Q & A's

Q- Who is the Rainbow Door guy that you talked about in your last e-mail? We are clueless:)
A- Haha oh sorry its the guy that tried to have his daughter dance for us and tried to get us to marry her. Thats our nickname for him because he has a rainbow door.

Q- How did your apartment inspection go?
A- We haven't had it yet but our house is really clean now :)

Q- What kind of things do you do on your p-day?
A- We buy food, clean, take our clothes to a member to get washed and write basically. Just whatever we feel like doing haha.

Q- Do you do a lot of hiking to get to investigators?
A- Yeah some of them live really far up the mountain but it depends plus we can take a bus so its not too bad.

Q- Do you play much with the kids there? The kids here miss your teasing - haha!
A- We actually have a rule here that we can't hold or really play with them. Its because the laws here are really strict with children and they just want us to be safe rather than sorry.

Me and my District during district study in the chapel

Me and Elder Whitaker (Companion from the Mexico CCM)

Me and Elder Whitaker being cool ;)

Me and Elder Loza from Argentina (One of the coolest Elders down here)

Me, Whitaker and Elder Hall from my group at Quitumbre (bus station)

Me and my crazy tall (6ft 6in) Zone Leader Elder Christensen from Boston

Us at a members house with Hermana Sellan