Hey Family!
How are you guys?  I'm loving life her in Mexico!  I am in the Lord's hands.  We had a baptism last week, she was baptized by her boyfriend.  We are now searching for another conversion.  The people here change fast when they read, pray, and show their faith by assisting the church.  When the Lord sees their acts of faith, he puts people in their life that will help them.  I get to go to the temple this Thursday and I am really excited!  The retention in newly baptized members is not good and we are working with the members to fix that.  There is a clear difference between those with the gospel under these harsh circumstances and those who don't have the gospel.  They don't know there purpose.  It is a humbling experience for sure and I know I was sent here to help the lives of many people as I serve diligently.

Send me a picture of the family every so often, that way when we write I can see you guys.  I'll be honest I wish I could see Luke and have air conditioning.  It is so hot here!  It hasn't rained a ton this week.  We just went to town and bought food because we were starving this past week.
I have taught more lessons than I can even count.  My Spanish is not great but I am working on it!  We are the only Americans in town.  My companion got over his kidney issues and he can really speak Spanish great!  He is amazing!  I am in the humblest part of the mission and I love it!


The church is the nicest building in the city of Frontera, hands down!  I love the bathrooms in the church they are awesome.  We do our laundry at the Bishops house.  We have hot showers in our apartment, supposedly we are the only ones in the whole mission.  We listen to music every morning!  It is really fantastic to listen to music but I haven't found a ukulele yet!  I really want one!
Tell everyone I love them and if they love me they will send skittles, air heads and american candy. Here the only candy we can get is hot chili pepper flavor.  It is like a hot chili on a stick.
Love you!  Talk to you next week! KCYA!
Love,
Elder DeVries

2nd week from frontera

Mom hello from Mexico!   I am doing fine mom, I did tons of things this week.(Obviously doing his laundry with his comp is one!) We have a baptism tomorrow! Margerita she is 16 and very shy but called today and said she was ready to be baptized. My companion has been sick with a inflamed kidney but we are still working. I really have gotten over being home sick, I finished Our Search for Happiness! It was awesome! The spainsh is coming but we just do so much crazy that I don´t get as much study time as I´d like but whatever, it´s the Lord's work.

The following is a something I want you to put on the blog. I emailed this to a buddy but I think the spirit wants me to share it more.

 

 

Most important to prepare for a mission is the doctrine which is Preach My Gospel.  I promise that if you read it early in the morning each day with sincere intent to prepare, you will become an outstanding missionary. Right now you must study, pray, prepare, serve with the elders in your ward because you will be able to make a impact that you didn't even know, but make sure to tell them that you want to help teach and bear testimony k? Also learn about the Savior's life, if you read and study about his earthly mission then there is no doubt in my mind that you will know that you have been called to that area to serve and when trials and struggles and doubt settle in your mind once you get there it will vanish because of that knowledge that One  has felt what you are feeling and is oh so willing to make you excel in your mission if you but trust in Him.

 

I eat cereal, toast with ham and my candy from the mtc. But when we are at members houses, it can be anything from alphabet soup to iguana ha ha! Fish heads I said no too! I was not about that life!

Hunter's bedroom/closet/library

There is bread, the mangoes here are not great and tell dad that I am not in a rain forest that´s Plankey or something like that. I do eat apples but I forgot to buy them this week so yea. 

 No we don't ride the bus, our mission is huge, and yes we walk it! Oh do I get mileage on this shoes. 

Al right, so this is the Word for the week. Understanding. Yep and the book that I told you tell everything in our gospel so well in it.(Our Search for Happiness) Tell dad to send me a sports update or two k? Also who is bailey on a date with? Tell Luke I miss him the most out of the family, because you are all tied! Keep emailing I have ten minutes. 

What can I say? This work is like nothing else. It is hard but worth every second! I plan to continue many of the things that I have learned here in my everyday life! If you are wondering ¨Should I serve a mission?¨the answer is yes! Why, because this next two years are not about you, you become more humbled and hard working. But you also are preparing for your future and I promise that if you serve for two years to the best of your abilities then you will be blessed for the rest of your life if you continue to do what the Lord has asked. I love my mission and I honestly sometimes get home sick but I am striving not for baptisms rather for eternal families sealed in the temple, which the first step is baptism. I have been blessed to be sealed to my family for time and all eternity and I want to share that. Now if you are not a member of our family and you are wondering what is a temple? And what is it´s importance? Then read Our Search for Happiness by Elder Ballard. The book gives a simple but precise overview of our church.

Sincerely,

Elder DeVries

Hunter is now in Mexico

Dear Mom and Dad and Family,

Well I have made it to Mexico. The land full of  words I don´t understand, weird food, and the new found brothers and sisters. First thing you need to know, I am not in Kansas anymore or Utah. I am in the poorest part of a third world country called Frontera, Tabasco, Mexico . The first night I got here, I stayed in the humblest apartment ever and if the internet works here than I might be able to up load the pictures. But yea the first night was the hardest. I haven´t felt sick yet ( knock on wood) but yea it´s pretty crazy here. I love the people so much.  My trainer is amazing Elder Shuler from Florida, Tallahassee area, he has been out for 6 months.  We are the only missionaries in this area. He was a professional Call of Duty player that let´s just say made bank before the mission. He is amazing and helps me out a lot. I don´t know what I would have done with a Mexican trainer. It has rained off and on here. Yesterday after Church, it was a down pour and we were walking through certain parts just soaking my shoes. But it´s all a part of the mission life.  I love it.! The days are long but short, it's weird.  We have taught quite a few lessons so far, no baptisms dates yet. We could baptize but me and my companion agree that we would rather that they be converted to the gospel and then baptism them. So in other words love the gospel not the greengos. But yea, I am doing great. I did my laundry(really weird how I did it) this morning and shopping. I am pretty frugal shopping right now, I bought two jerseys and shorts for 150 pesos for like 12 bucks. The members feed us a lot though. It's crazy,  I can´t really tell you what I ate but I haven´t got sick so yep I love life! But yesterday, we went out and talked to someone because we got a referral (very important part of missionary work). The person that was referred was not there but we talked to his brother. My companion shared most of the lesson and I shared my testimony and what I did know how to say. Then my companion asked him to be baptized and he said he would be. I was just in shock, now that does not mean he is going to be baptized but it does mean he actually felt the truth. He told us that he wanted  a change in his life for him and for his family, and that this would be a good change for him. Anyway, I love it here in Mexico. Keep emailing. I still have 30 minutes left.

We buy huge things of water for 25 pesos that is good clean water. Then we buy our groceries from the market. I hate the mangoes and  some other fruit here but there are new fruits I like.   Church was great, it was a ward of six hundred members but only eighty in the chapel.  Our apartment is the nicest in the mission I am told and I made it even better by cleaning it.  I was glad you gave me the cover to zip around my mattress because it was gross.  I wear my sandals in the shower.  My fridge is good just old.  My cash I exchanged today.  You will have to write the mission address if sending a stamp here in Frontera. Oh and email me sometime this week if I were to use a atm here with my card would it automatically transfer to pesos?  Yep I love life here.  I pray for everyone at home every day.  I love ya and tell the family hello!  I hope to read a big paragraph next week. K CYA!

--

Sincerely,

Elder DeVries

While we were emailing I asked Hunter if he was taking time to laugh out loud and enjoy the crazy or just walking around with a deer in the headlights look?  He replied in true Hunter style... Oh I am enjoying it!, come on mom, I love life! 

---STADIUM OF FIRE---

     FORTH OF JULY!!

Spent Sunday morning at the emergency room with a fever and some pains.   After many tests Hunter was sent back to the M.T.C with some medicine.  His poor companion had to go with him at two o'clock in the morning.  Hunters fever has started to go down and he saw the M.T.C doctor the next day.  He was given the all clear to fly out on Wednesday to Villahermosa, Mexico.  Hopefully the only time he will spend in the emergency room on his mission.

LETTER

FAMILY
I WILL NOT BE CALLING ON MONDAY!  TRAVEL PLANS ARE NOW LEAVE/ARRIVE ON WEDNESDAY!  EMAIL YA!  ELDER HUNTER DARREN DEVRIES

5th week email

 The temple is going through cleaning for the next month and I will be leaving the MTC next monday at 7:30!!! 
I will be emailing you more later today. But that sounds great. Also i need my ukulele tuner and if you could print off some church music or email me some for the ukulele that'd be great. Also send me a ukulele cord sheet. you could just google ukulele cord sheet and print it. I think that's going be a great way to do hymns.   Please send me a printed copy of Priesthood lineage.

I just got back on I have like 10 minutes! So this week I have done this!

I've been great I have been reading the Book of Mormon and I'll probably finish today! Tell them hello! I love you and read Jacob 1:19 and Mormon 7! I have no more time! i love you guys and I'll be emailing on Sunday because I leave on monday for Mexico at 7 30 am! K CYA! I'll write you a long letter! LOVE YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1

5th week letter

Glad you were able to see the MTC broadcast.  It was amazing and inspirational broadcast!  I hope that the members will be excited for the work.  To answer your question, I believe it explains it very much in Preach my Gospel.  Pres. Hinckley has a great quote in there on page 94.  ( “Every morning … , missionaries should get on their knees and plead with the Lord to loosen their tongues and speak through them to the blessing of those they will be teaching. If they will do this, a new light will come into their lives. There will be greater enthusiasm for the work. They will come to know that in a very real sense, they are servants of the Lord speaking in His behalf. They will find a different response from those they teach. As they do so by the Spirit, their investigators will respond under the influence of the same Spirit.”

—President Gordon B. Hinckley

“Missionary Service,” First Worldwide Leadership Training Meeting, 11 Jan. 2003, 20).

Read it, it talks about the language of the spirit.  That's what makes it possible for me to learn spanish.  Because  through prayer and study you will receive it, as long as you exercise faith and humility!  Glad to hear you are enjoying the summer. We land in Villerhermosa at 8:49 P.M.  So I'm getting excited for the field!  I leave actually the 8th.  Love you and it will be better if you started emailing and writing me now that i'm in Mexico!
      hunterdevries@myldsmail.net
                          Sincerely Hunter Darren DeVries

5th week photos