A year ago I graduated from High School!!! But now I am in a different country, speaking a different langauge, but teaching the same gospel. It is hard, I cant say it is easy. But sharing the gospel is a joy. I would like to share with you one of the best taught lessons I think I have had on my mission. Elder Petersen and I prayed 3 times for this Sister that had attended off and on for 3 years and had heard lots of missionaries. We prayed for the scriptures that would guide us to help her to accept a date. We taught her with many inspired scriptures and asked her to baptism for the 24th of May. She said she will be baptized but she won't accept a date. We asked her to pray right now and ask the Lord if she should be baptized. We put our heads down and waited patiently for 8 minutes and she couldn't say anything. Then me and my companion raised our heads and she was crying and told us I feel like I have a large burden on my shoulders but I will not be baptized this day. We explained that through baptism she could be clean of all her sin and that the Holy Ghost right now is testifying that you need to be baptized. But she said No. That was just sad leaving and knowing that we did our part and the Holy Ghost taught her, but Salvation is personal. We will pass by and see if she can get her ready for June. 

Missionary Living!! Bedroom/ office

Study time with Chester and a sandwich!

One pair of shoes worn through!

Chester the missionary dog!

Chesters 150 dollar chew toy!

The bridge. Only way on or off the island.

Ciudad del Carmen

Taking in the view!

Ideal scripture study!

Ciity at night!

Storm coming in!

Hamburger Heaven!!! First hamburgers in Mexico!!!! Love the members!

  

Barbecue on the Balcony!

Hot Dogs Anyone?

Chester in church dress!!

Getting ready for baptisms.

Little rain in Mexico.

 Buenos Dias!!! I am doing great!! We had two baptisms and one confirmation because one of them came late so they will be confirmed  next week!!! It was a fun week!!!  We shared a lot the video on Mormon.org and it helped us meet a lot of new people that we are now going to teach.  It was kinda a weird Easter, they really don't celebrate it here.  There are four of us missionaries in our ward, our companionship and the zone leaders!!!  It is awesome!!  Our apartment is like three different apartments together, it works out great!!  We didn't play basketball on the beach this morning because they are having a big fair on the beach today.  We are doing splits tomorrow with the district in Juarez, they don't live in our apartment.   We will see you all in three weeks!!  I wouldn't have  traded this experience for the world!!!   It doesn't feel like I have been gone for a year because the weather is always the same so I don't feel like time is going by.

We baptized on your birthday mom!!!!  

Got to go!!! Love you!!!

Lovin' Life

I am doing really great dad!!! We are getting ready to get into baptizing mode!!! We have two baptisms this week! Vivian and Carolina they are way excited and the husband of Sister Carolina came to church for the last two weeks! We had a great and tough week. My companion got sick and we stayed in a lot but we got a lot of great lessons in and I am really grateful for him. We are improving our Spanish and we are getting ready to baptize every week!!! I am super excited!!! I hope that everything is alright at home!!!! I love you guys and I am indebted to each and everyone of you for everything you have ever done for me to give me such a great example!!! I feel like the mission is mine and it is going by way to fast!! Love you guys so much!!!

Hunter's Apartment he shares with eight elders!

This is Chester the missionary dog.

My week was great!!!  A little tough but we have many new people we are teaching!  The great part of the area is it is easy to navigate the roads are in numbers not Spanish names.  The area is one of the best in the mission by living standards and in sights.  But my other areas in Frontera and Mini were never spoken of as pretty but they are amazing also.  This ward is about the work of salvation, it is awesome!!  We played basketball this morning it was super fun!!!  I got an elbow to the face. ha!ha!  General Conference was awesome and I can't wait to download all the talks and start listening to them.  We have 22 missionaries on the island and they make up our zone.  The members are awesome and feed us lunch everyday!!!  This is Chester he is our dog!  He guards the house while we are gone and plays ball with us!!  This area is way safer than my last one, I just didn't want to worry you.  They respect us here.  We have eight missionaries living in our house but we do have our own bathroom.  If you can, will you buy me a translator and a good grammar Spanish/English dictionary.  I don't just want to communicate I want to dominate the language!!!  Gotta Go!!! Love You!!!

The roof/ gym.

Basketball on the beach on p-days.

Basketball injury, It's all good.

Air-conditioning and a fan!

Study Time!

Look who I found Dad!

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!