This area is Amazing!!!!  We talk to so many people, but we came and opened the area. We only had 4 investigators and lots of references. Well I am doing good here in Carmen, we have a pet dog here that protects us he doesn't like anybody but missionaries! It is awesome!!! We have talked to over 100 people this week we contacted like crazy!!!  It was great!!!! Tell Angela congrats!!!! We teach a lot of people here it is great!!! They are so prepared and Elder Petersen is a champion at Spanish and helps me a lot!!! I am really blessed to be serving here!!! We walk by the beach everyday and we played basketball in the morning on the beach!!!! It is awesome!!!! I am doing great mom!!! I am learning a lot more Spanish and I am loving the beach life!!! We put 6 dates for baptism this week and we are excited for them!!! Our area is with a beach!!!! North Beach in English!!!!  Another great thing is all the american food.  They eat a lot of fish here, which is healthy but I really don't like fish.  Our apartment has air conditioning and a blender but no hot water but it is too hot for a hot shower anyway!!  We walk everywhere we go because taxis are like 5 bucks.   I am loving it and I am really learning a lot from the people I am living with and there are 8 of us here ha ha!!!! But we are totally obedient here and I love it for that!!!  We are teaching so many people!!!!  It is small but lots of people!!! ! 

Lovin life in Minititalan!

Wore through a pair of shoes!

Minititalan Zone 

Alright Check your email! I have special transfers, I am going to Carmen City tomorrow and I will be a district leader and my companion will be Elder Peterson. We will see If I have time tomorrow to write you guys! I had a great week and everything was perfect until they called me for special transfers! I love you guys and I will see you soon!!! 
Mom, I can't write a lot but let's just say I am in Ciudad de Carmen!!!! I love it so far!!! It was hard to leave but I had too and we are opening an area...... I have a lot of work to do! Two Americans versus the World!!!!!
I brought my air conditioner(we have free air conditioning here)  ha ha!  It took an eight hour bus ride to get here.   My companion is Elder Peterson from Bountiful Utah! He has six weeks less then me!  He has been in Palenque for his whole mission, he just got here a week ago! We are living in the area Carmen, and zone Carmen. We are living with the zone leaders.  We are by the beach!!!!

New Air Conditioner!!

Hunter's English Class

Learning to make a hammock!

Members hammock shop.

I really am so grateful for what I have had here in the mission and I am learning everyday!!! I just saw one of the photos from Frontera and one of our investigators got baptized!!!! It really is awesome to see the fruits of our labors come to harvest!!! Here in the ward we are building up again and trying to get everyone back into being one in unity!!! It is working out and we are really try to get work done here!!! For the week Monday we went to see the center of Minititalan and I found a air conditioner for a hundred bucks that uses water which is super cheap so now I can sleep good! Also We saw the river and I bought a bag because my other one broke. Tuesday we had District Class and It was great! Then we walked around in the hot sun!!! This week was super hot and I wanted to die but I am drinking plenty of water. We secured the date of our investigator for Saturday. Saturday night we talked with our Ward Mission Leader and he really wants to work, just got home from the mission and we are ready to go full speed!!! We also got return missionaries this week and they are really wanting to work also!!! I am doing great but we will see what the new changes bring!!! 

Today I would like to change something in my mission, I would like to write my thoughts and experiences of the week in a weekly email and then add a personal note for everyone. 

I have been shown that everyone needs the opportunity to learn about the gospel not just in the church, family home evening, or a appointment with the missionaries or any other perfect case situation. We need to make that situation when we sit by someone on the bus, walking by someone in the street, passing by the doctors office, or any moment that you see someone. Talk to them and give them something that WILL help their lives!!! This is a dawning promise in which I can testify is true, I know that if you show your love they will receive it in that moment or one day in the future. This is the way Jesus taught us, he had many things to do but yet he always had time to help the one. This week I had the opportunity to visit a less active named Juan Carlos with my companion and one newly released missionary. The lesson went great and I can see him back in the Church in April but we asked him this question ¨Do you know anyone who would  be helped from the message that we bring?¨ He told us yes and said Lets go! We literally got up and started talking to all the friends he had that weren't members of the church!!! We now have 3 new families we are teaching, and one 14 year old boy. If we would have never asked this small question we would have never had this opportunity!!! Just don't be afraid and do as the Savior would do ask with a sincere and loving heart if they also know anyone who could benefit from our message! Help the missionaries and help them always have people to teach! 

Our Area!!

My week was really great! I feel super old with 9 months in the mission and yes our investigators are getting ready for baptism! We are trying to plan to baptize every week so we need a date for the 22nd which we will put down this week and we have one for the 29! The seventy came and talk to us it was awesome and I am excited that he said everything I really needed to accept!  Heaven sent! and now we are exercising  and studying the language everyday!!!!  I am sooo happy!!!!! It is starting to get so hot like in the 90's sometimes with the humidity!!!  Love you dad and I hate to say it but the mission is just flying by!!!!

New Apartment!

Well we are trying to see what we can do before the transfer and trying to prepare for the next transfer and I am excited for General Conference!   We have a missionary coming home early because he has cancer in his femur in the ward today. I think God has a plan for each and every one of us and sometimes we get the rough end of the deal for a moment but then we will receive our promised blessing of happiness in this life or the next if we are obedient. 

The Kitchen

Hunter, so excited he has a microwave!

So this week we were able to give service and I would like to talk about something I noticed. Here where I am serving, they don't use gloves to work, it is weird because it is super dirty here but I am use to it and they are too. So we were destroying a cement wall with a sledge hammer and I got a blister the size of my lower palm, it was pretty cool. But it hurt so I didn't want to work as hard to make it worse. I kept working because we wanted to help out our investigator until it was done. This is the same when we are not prepared with the proper equipment it hurts or limits our full potential. We need to prepare ourselves with daily scripture study, praying constantly, attending church, full-filling our callings, and doing our best to be better prepared to serve Our Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. We know that we must love the Lord thy God with all thine heart but also equal to it our fellow man. So we must prepare to serve them and continue to be better everyday. I am not saying that your life will be easier but it will be better. The best things in life are worth fighting for and I am fighting for Him, my family, my future family, and everyone that I know. Now is better than later, I invite you to put goals down and start today. Make your life in line with the Savior. 

Dad I can proudly say that I am getting up at 6 30 every morning. I do feel like I am getting ready for something but I am not quite sure what ha ha! But Dad I am here to work and I know that you would expect nothing less of me. I carry His name and just as important I carry your name with me, Elder Hunter DARREN DeVries. I am glad that you are being humbled everyday at home and dont worry I will continue to help you out when I get home. Remember the Hot Chocolate that you sent me, well I made a trade with a investigator for his coffee, he will now be baptized on the 15 of March!!! He is excited to start the Hot Chocolate life! So thank you soo much for that!!! Dad I love you so much and I am thankful for the example that you always gave me! I look forward to talking more about the gospel with you when I get home, so I can study in English again ha ha!!!! Love ya!

LOVING MY BIGGER AREA!!!

 It is short and sweet! The Holy Ghost can touch the heart of one and they will still be afraid to accept it! I was on splits Wednesday and we visited an old investigator and taught the Restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and taught to her needs. Then asked her if she would be baptized on a certain date and she she told me just as the Holy Ghost was touching our hearts, I don't know. Well I know she needs this and it isn't easy but I know that she will be blessed if receives it. So I follow my testimony and that of my companion and ask her if she thinks the Church is true. She said Yes. Then told her if this is The Church of Jesus Christ established that means this is the only church that has His power or authority to be baptized in His name, so will you be baptized by someone with this authority and she said Yes. Then I put down the date and she said she doesn't want to change her religion because she is comfortable with hers. I ask her if she has every attended our church, she said no. I ask her if she reads the Book of Mormon evidence that Joseph Smith was a prophet and pray, and then attend this Sunday she would receive a an answer, she did not come! She was touched by the Holy Ghost and yet didn't come. Not the story that you expected right but I am here to tell you we won't give up but how sad is it when the Holy Ghost really touched her heart but yet she didn't want to exercise her Faith in the Savior and try to know. I humbly pray that we must always give the lessons with the Holy Ghost but I also can tell you that salvation is a personal choice. I just hope I will be the person to help them realize it is a choice worth taking! 

 My week went well I am learning a lot and I was able to be senior for a day in a division and honestly I felt the Holy Ghost so much during my day.   We just crushed it with the Holy Ghost in everyone of our lessons and we were able to say what we wanted to say! I think he is showing me what I need to become and who I should be.

Straining the worms out of the water!

We have worms in our water.  So we put towels over the spout and fill the bucket and use it.  Then the worms are filtered by the towels and we don't get them  on us. Hopefully!  I am being very humbled by this area, but lovin life!  I hope to never take clean water for granted.

Working hard to make contacts!  or   Casting pearls before swine.

Hunter can iron? WHAT?

I AM STAYING IN MY AREA!!!! I am doing great mom! I really am excited to stay for one more transfer!  We are putting down a lot of dates for baptism and getting everyone ready to get in the water. I am where I need to be, I know that!  I have come to the conclusion that we all have choices or decisions to make. Every one of them have a conclusion, whether it is big or small, it does have a conclusion. I think that Gods Plan He thought over and He knew we would have to learn for ourselves, rather than be given knowledge. But it is hard for a parent to give their child an experience in which they know they will suffer, they will be tried, and they will question WHY ME? But think more then this. Think of all the great experiences that He has given us and all the many things that help us know He lives. ALMA 30:44 gives us an answer to this. But I testify He loves us and through His decision to send us here, we can decide to follow the greatest tool He has sent us or not, our Brother Jesus Christ. How sweet it truly is, to know that my Redeemer LIVES! I can only imagine the decisions that I might have to give my children one day but if I live His principles and His teachings I will be just fine but I already knew that because I have great parents, so I learned a thing or two! Decide to chose HIM, His plan, His example, and more importantly then anything, accept His LOVE! I bare solemn and humble testimony as a Servant of God, our Choices reflect our lives and we can be happy if we Choice the Right! Love you guys and this is my prayer for each and everyone of you!

Breakfast of Champions!