December 20, 2010

Christmas Card from Elder Hunter

Mom,

So this might be a little shorter than usual Iwrote emails to everyone then to you because you didn't email me. (Note from mom: On Cruise. But how was your cruise? How did Bryson do in Florida? What are your plans for Christmas? Did you get my Christmas cards? Pretty cool huh? I thought of the idea and take all the credit :) ha just playing.

This week was so great we had a baptism on Saturday his name was Anatoly he is Russian and he is so funny. I think I already wrote about him in previous emails. Now he is baptized though we are empty on people to teach :( Lately we just street contact all day and it actually is really fun. I am learning that faith is confidence. As I have confidence to talk with everyone that I see and enjoy it then it is a lot of fun and a lot of success.

Success doesn't come from amount of baptisms. Lately I have been trying to be perfectly obedient and that by doing that I see that is howI am successful. By having fun and a good attitude while I give it my all is how I have success. It doesnt' matter if I am the best missionary but that I am the best missionary that I can be. If I rely on the lord and seek him and his will before me and my will I will see success and be happy with what I have done with my time here. I feel like I need to grow more spiritually. I am trying to indulge myself more into the scriptures and serve my companions more. I realize that I make so many mistakes every single day and I have to repent.

The more that we seek the lord the more we will have happiness it is great. I am starting to find out what true happiness is. As I see people that are interested in the church and everybody is lost in some way and as we receive more we learn more and have more questions and we can receive more answers. Our testimonies grow as we share them and it is cool because isn't that how Christianity works as we give and consecrate ourselves we grow. And testimonies come in a growth so we don't recognize it all at once. It is way cool to know.

Mostly we are working hard and having fun. It is so cool to be able to serve in Boston it is the perfect place for me. Well I love you all so much and let me know how your trip and everything went. Well actually I will call around 7 oclock Boston time on Christmas day. So like 5 oclock Utah time. Also Tennison can invite Mackenzie too, so I can tell them congrats. I hope you had a great time on your cruise and I can't wait to talk to you. Love you all so much.

Elder Hunter :)

December 13, 2010

Mommy,

I'm glad that you got the letter and pictures. Sorry if the card was late we have been super super busy. And the pictures you should buy like a album book and put them all in it so I can have when I get back. :)

I got your Christmas package it was so good! Perfect. I love the PJs and all the things it is super cool and I loved it so much. We are printing christmas cards as a companionship and sending them to different people so I will send some to you to give to others if you want, like Brother Hess. I will tell you in the letter that it comes with. Also I would love a handwritten letter from the family like Bryson and Mckay and Tyla sometime when they are not busy I know how hard it is because I was terrible with Tenn so when they have time that would be great.

This week has been fun and very interesting. A lot of things are changing for the good but I need prayers that things will stay strong and we can keep getting people to teach. The Student wards will be slow for the holidays because everyone is going home but we are teaching two international students that will be here which will be good.

One is named Anatoly who is from Russia and is going to be baptized on Saturday he is super cool and a very nice guy. He is applying to grad school and I told him about BYU and he was super interested so he is going to look that up. Also it was funny so we have been super busy and working super hard lately and so yesterday at church I was just beat and I was falling asleep in sacrament meeting and Anatoly was seating next to me and he started asking me if I slept well the night before and stuff. I thought it was funny my investigator caught me falling asleep.

The other international student we are teaching is named Jiang Li he is from China and super cool. And it is sweet Elder Yim takes a hour of language study everyday so he teaches me Chinese for 30 minutes and I teach him English for 30 minutes. I am working towards sharing my testimony in Chinese. So I can share it with him. Even though Jiang Li speaks perfect English and we teach him in English.

Also it was super cool last night there was a sweet Relief Society Christmas concert where everyone brought their friends and stuff and we met a guy that has taken the lessons before and we are going to play basketball with him and some guys from the ward on Tuesday night and then teach him soon probably. He was super cool.

Then I don't know if I told you but I met a guy on the bus last week that had played against Hartnell in college he played at a Junior college in Cal and we are going to try to get him to start to come and play. Once we get these guys in the church our ward is so great that they will be invited to everything so that is what I am trying to do.

Also we have been teaching some guys that are crazy and just want a sign of the Book of Mormon being true. And I tell them that they should just read it and then they won't be able to deny it. It is so frustrating. They are MIT students and when missionaries gave them a Book of Mormon they researched the probablility of it being true and they say it is highly improbable IT is so FRUSTRATING!! Cause I can't bash with them I just am their friends.

We have been fed by members all the time and last night we went to a dinner with a guy that was a track runner on the BYU team. He is an avid BYU fan and so I asked him about Brandon and Kyle and he told me all about their seasons so far it was so good to talk sports (maybe a little apostate) . It was cool though to hear that they are doing good and working hard and that their team is good as well.

It is pretty crazy all the stuff we have going on here the transfer is going to fly by we don't have much free time and a lot of dinner and lunch appointments. It warmed up again and is like 40 degrees and raining all the time. Hopefully everything doesn't freeze or else the crazy drivers will be even more crazy and it will be a big mess. It is supposed to get way cold at the end of the week. I want it to snow soon. It is sweet the holiday spirit out here is strong with the real New Englanders and everyone else doesn't believe they just want stuff for themselves.

We are doing a cool Christmas thing with all of our members and I thought I would challenge you to do the same. We are asking them to think about the restoration and what it means to you. Then as you realize how important the message is to get a Book of Mormon write your testimony of its importance in your life then to give it to someone that needs it.

I know that by me having the restoration in my life that it has influenced nearly every decision that I have made in my life and that it is the key to coming to Christ and learning how to better use the Atonement to be a better person and one day becoming perfect. As we share the gospel we will only grow in our testimony and feel of the peace that living and sharing the gospel brings which is better than anything else in this world. Thanks mom for sharing your testimony and the gospel with me. Have a great time on your cruise you will really enjoy it and you deserve it same with dad.

Tell Bryson not to worry, just to work harder, sports are nothing. Just to have fun and make the best of what he can with his agency to choose. Elder Hiatt was at the Payson game. . he just went home a couple weeks ago and he called and talked to me and said that Provo sucked this year. He said he was going to talk to you guys but didn't know who you were. but he said he wants to come visit you sometime so I will give him your phone number . As for calling on Christmas we just call with our cell phones and I will tell you a time on next Monday we probably are going to have a baptism to attend that day so I will let you know.

Love you guys and have a great holiday season.

December 6, 2010

Happy Birthday Mom!!

So first I want to wish you a happy birthday you are the best mom ever! I hope that you have a wonderful day tomorrow. Also I have something I am sending for you today I am a slacker I made it last preparation day and am now sending it to you today. It isn't anything big though but just to let you know i was thinking about you and your birthday. (Note from mom, best birthday present ever. . pictures of Beau).

Most Legit Apartment
Elder Sorel, Elder Hunter, Elder Hiatt, Elder Koerper

Elder Stay and Daniel (Convert)

Elder Sorel and I

At the Boston Temple

That is so sweet that Bryson and Mckay are tearing it up in basketball. What are their records? They are both way awesome. Tell them to keep working hard and having fun that is what it is about.

We had transfers and I am now in a trio companionship. I am serving with Elder Yim from Hong Kong China and Elder Black from Mesa Arizona. It is so fun being in a trio companionship it is like just hanging out all the time. And when we go contact on a busy street we can talk to so many different people. It is way cool. We cover the LP1 and LP2 wards so it is sweet all the grad students pretty much in Boston. Some very smart people. Our wards are awesome they are always taking us to eat and feeding us. And now that we are in a trio companionship it will be very easy for us to do splits we will only need one member to do splits with us.

Since I last emailed you we have been super busy we have been teaching a lot of lessons and trying to get organized as to how to be most effective with both of the wards that we cover. It is really cool and a lot of fun trying to get a hang of things, but stressful at the same time. I don't know exactly or at all what I am doing. Elder Black has been out for 13 months and is a great guy but this is his first time in the city so he is still warming up to that he is kinda quiet but a very good teacher.

Right now we have 3 investigators that I have taught. First one is Anatoly from Russia he has a baptismal date for this Saturday, but we are going to have to move it back a week to better prepare him. Then we have Max who is a bum he mostly just wants to learn about deep doctrine he is a religious major about to go to grad school. We probably will drop him soon. Then we have Jiang Li who is from China and getting a Phd at BU in Physics. He is super nice and likes us a lot I think. He doesn't have any religious backround at all so we have to teach him very slow.

Last night we watched the Christmas Devotional and all the people that were in the Charles River Ward were there and they are mad that I left them. I missed them. Jim and Jessica were both there and I talked to them for a little. They both should be members but just have to develop that faith in our Savior to have the courage to commit to baptism. It is cool to see them and talk with them. I really am learning how to love people and care about people so much it is crazy. Every person that we teach it instantly builds a good friendship with them, and they learn to trust missionaries so fast.

I cannot think of any specific experiences that I have that I am anxious to share with you right now, but I do know that Heavenly Father loves us all and that he answers our prayers. I have been trying to be able to define blessings better lately and I looked it up in the dictionary and to bless is to show divine care for. That is exactly what Heavenly Father does when we are obedient to his words we are cared for and we see how he cares for us. I think that there are many people that are blessed but because they don't have the gospel they don't realize that love he has and divine care he shows for us.

One thing that was said at a fireside that I thought was very cool was about Celestial Service. First it was said that telestial service is when you serve someone but do it because you have to and then you tell people that you are serving others or brag about it. Terestial service is when you serve someone out of love and kindness and do it in secret. And Celestial Service is where you ask the lord what you can do in service and then follow the spirit in whatever thing that he asks you to do. I was thinking that it is way cool that we need to rely on the Lord even when we are doing good to do everything the best that we can according to his will for us.

Keep working hard and relying on our Savior and increase your testimony all the time. It either is growing or shrinking it never is at a standby or stays the same. Learn to apply it in everyday life and share it with others and that is where we find true happiness. I love you guys and thank you very much for everything. Hope you have the best Christmas ever through following our savior and showing love towards others.

Love Elder Hunter

November 22, 2010 and December 1, 2010

December 1, 2010

Hi Mother,

I am glad you guys made it safe to Fresno and back (Note from Mom: Sam's 100 year old grandmother passed away and we drove to Fresno for the funeral). I was worried about you guys, but dad is amazing and could stay awake for a month and has before so I wasn't too worried. And don't you just love basketball season? All the games, how did Mckay do in his games? I am glad that Bryson played and did well. He just needs to work hard. I think that Drury will spend the preseason trying to figure things out. I have no doubt that they will have a good year. That is crazy you did Thanksgiving on Wednesday, but that is cool that you made time for it still. Being busy is a good thing but recently I have been reading the conference talks and Elder Uchtdorf's talk is about slowing down when life gets crazy and focusing on the things that are really important. I know you and dad already focus on things that are most important.

Well it was transfer week so it was a long 10 day week with no p-day. The hardest week by Tuesday you can barely open your eyes. Not too much exciting things happened, but I have learned and continued to grow.

For Thanksgiving we went to Bishop Neilson's house and it was so much fun. We had Jim there and he is the funniest guy ever. He knows a lot of information about everything and is very opinionated and doesn't ever hide his real thoughts. He got along just well. Then the rest of the week went by pretty good. Elder Sorel had a sore in his mouth so he stayed home one day and then we went to Mass. General Hospital the next. The hospital is super cool. It was hard for me one day I cleaned the apartment super clean and cooked meals for our roommates because I didn't have anything to do. It was funny they kept making fun of me for it.

We taught one lesson to Jessica and another to Jim. We are trying to make the best progress that we possible can but it is hard to get them to progress it seems like we are stuck. Both come to church every week and fit in well. Jim has a little bit of drug problems and stuff but he is getting a ton better every time I meet with him. I have been searching the scriptures trying to find an answer to how I can better help them and I haven't found the right answer yet. I think by just always being there for them and making sure they are reading and praying and going to church the rest should fall into place.

We just found out about transfers and Elder Sorel is getting transferred and I am staying. I love the city. It is a challenge everyday to go out and talk to everybody, there are so many people everywhere. It is funny I am always looking around for people to talk to and if I am not talking to anyone I feel bad. I am going to come home and be so weird:) that is a good thing. So as for transfers I think that Elder Yim will be my Companion and we will be over LP1 and LP2 wards which are the wards that have the singles under 31 years old that are in Grad school or just working. It will be pretty fun because people are pretty smart and Ii can help them. That is my prediction and I will find out tomorrow for sure who my companion is and stuff so that will be fun. I think that Ii am finally getting the hang of things here. Well hopefully as soon as I say that is when I realize I don't know anything.

Also the weather here is still way good. Like the 40s which is a lot better than a bunch of snow. Having a lot of snow would be hard here in Boston. People already don't want to stop and talk with us so with snow it will make it even worse. Anyways this one is a little shorter than normal I apologize I will be sending some pictures home within the week and letters. I Love you and thank you for everything you and dad have done for me. I will email on Monday next.

Pictures of Beau and Boston in the Fall Beautiful!

Sunset by Cambridge

Love,
Elder Hunter

November 22, 2010

Dear Mother,

The weather here has been really good so far. I am surprised. The last couple of days have been freezing though like 32 it isn't the temperature that is so cold but more it is the wind. It is so ridiculously cold. Brrrr... We are focusing more on contacting on the T and buses so I don't feel bad stopping people in the streets. Up to this point though the weather has been terrific like 40s all we have to wear is a suit and not our scarf or big coat yet. That is cool that you are going to Fresno to great grandmas funeral. It will be a great experience to see all of our relatives and hear of our heritage. Make sure to travel safely.

As for Bryson and Mckay I am so excited to hear about their basketball seasons. They both will be better than I was they are such studs. Except Bryson because I never hear of him. He better email or write me soon! Mckay emails me every week he is so awesome and growing up a ton I can tell.

I can't believe that Willie is back time is going buy so fast. I have been out for 3 months and 6 is right around the corner of winter. For Thanksgiving Bishop Neilson is having us over and some other members of our ward it should be really fun. As for our work and investigators we are still working with the same people and trying to find some new ones it is really hard finding people that even have the slightest interest in religion here, and if they do have a religion or interest they just want to bash or tell us why it is all made up and fake. People here are all so prideful it is sad. There are some people that are very nice though.

This week has been hard nobody wanted to talk with us i think i had one real conversation all week while contacting on the street. It is tough especially since last week was so fun. But we keep on pushing we are trying to get the ward more involved with splits and different things but it will be hard with the holidays, i think once we get the ward more involved then they will see how hard it is and want to bring friends to church.

I learned a couple of lessons this week though that I think were very good for me and I would love to share them with you and my family. The first one was we were walking in Allston and there was this guy that was in a wheelchair balancing on the hind wheels forever with the biggest smile on his face. He had long hair and looked kinda crazy. I went up to him and started complimenting him on his ability to do a wheelie for so long in his wheelchair and he looked up at me and started telling me how he was a pro. Anyways we got to talking and he explained to me that he was hit as a pedestrian by a drunk driver 20 years ago and was paralyzed from the waist down as well as his right arm didn't work only his left. After he had told me those things he immediately told me how he is learning the piano and the guitar and how he writes songs. It was so cool to see someone that was that optimistic under those circumstances. Everything that he told me he had the biggest smile on his face and it was so awesome! It made me so grateful for everything that I have been given and that I have a body that works fine. I thought that was the coolest attitude that I had ever seen.

The second thing that I learned was about not judging people by their looks. So Ralph, who I have a picture with that I sent home he is so awesome. He grew up in the ghetto of Boston and in the streets. He has been diagnosed with schizophrenia and HIV. We are pretty sure that his parents abandoned him when he was young. Well we teach him every week and he always has something new to show us. He usually has 3 or 4 layers of clothing on and 4-5 watches on his arm. He just is so funny.

Well I always just thought that he was just crazy and what not and that he probably didn't know much about other people or care too much. this week was different. When we taught him this week he walked in he still looked the same, but he brought his little brother with him. His brother was just like any normal guy. He told us about his 5 kids and how he loved them and his wife.

Then as he was explaining to us about how he grew up he told us that Ralph always protected him and helped him many times and saved his life. As I thought about where they grew up and what their circumstances were it made sense why Ralph has a big fro and wears a bunch of layers of clothes. It is probably because people won't mess with him if he looks that way. People will stay away from him. As we talked with his brother, Ralph interupted us and politely told us "what was the lesson that you have for me and Chris today." We then taught about the Book of Mormon and Ralph told us about Joseph Smith and Angel Moroni which he usually doesn't remember anything about. We gave his brother a Book of Mormon and Ralph was so excited that his brother was going to read it.

I don't know if I have ever seen or felt so much love one brother has for the other. Ralph's brother loves Ralph and thanks him for everything. I developed a love and appreciation for the type of brother Ralph was for always protecting his brother and keeping him out of trouble.

Beau and Ralph

Well this morning we went to the food pantry and moved a bunch of turkeys and helped out for like 3 hours it was a lot of fun. They are giving out like 600 this week which is cool. Also last night there was a musical fireside put on by the missionaries for investigators and members to bring their friends it was so awesome. It helped free my mind and think of what I really need to improve on. I love hearing from everyone and how everyone is doing.

I have been blessed with so much in my life I don't think I could ever be thankful for everything or show my gratitude to you and dad. You have always done so much for me. By the way it is the last week of the transfer so I will email you Wednesday. I don't think I am being transferred but maybe a new comp. Elder Sorel has been here for 7 and a half months. It is a long time in one area but time goes by fast if you take it one day at a time and don't think about tomorrow because tomorrow always comes. It is about making the best out of the position and place you are in now.

I love you very much and I love getting letters from dad they are my favorite. I will write him back. Also I love getting letters from Grandma and Grandpa they always tell me things I need to know and grandpa sends poems that are always applicable to what I am dealing with. Tell the family I love them. and good luck on their games they are all so awesome.

Love Elder Hunter