It is SO GREAT to hear from you all!  This week has been very hard, but very rewarding!  We're hoping to make big progress with the Romaninan family we're teaching, the Anghels.  Mihai the elder just needs to stop smoking and drinking (which I hope will come quickly because Mihai has great faith, and he only smokes in small moderation, and he only believes that alcohol is to relieve pain for when you are sick.  Joseph Smith story time! =) ), and get married to his very long time partner, Florica.  Mihai the younger is ready to be baptized, but wants to be baptized with his wife, Zorinca, who needs to learn and grow just a little bit more, and get married too!  Sorin smokes and drinks a little bit, but we hope to help him stop too!...and get married to Pupa.  We joke about the Romanians having a big fat Romanian wedding! XD  Their only beef with getting married is that they don't have the money, and accepting money or help with preparing for the wedding is considered, in Romanian culture, to be an embarrassment.  So we have faith that the Lord will either soften the heart of Mihai, or provide a way with which they can be married!  I am glad that the Lord is on our side, though. :)
Stewart and Teresa, a less-active member and "investigator", respectively, just need to get married and then Teresa is ready to be baptized!  I say Teresa is an "investigator" because she has had many lessons from the missionaries, and is practically an active member of the ward!  She just needs baptism.  I hope they get married soon too! :)  We have a few other investigators we are starting with this week, a man named Steven who we work with in a Salvation Army charity shop, he asked us to pray for him, and we taught him that he could pray for himself anytime, anywhere, and we invited him to let us teach him more.  And he accepted!  So that's later today!

Bishop Black is amazing, he helps a lot with the ward and with the work!  Members are always volunteering every week to joint teach (we teach an investigator/less active with a member present) and they are such a blessing and help to the work!  Bro Cattell (who loves to be called by his first name, Fraser) is our ward mission leader, and always is a big help in organizing the work and joint teaching!  We love him.  He's very funny too.  When he reads scriptures, he emphasizes certain points and it's nothing short of hilarious.  Imagine reading something slowly in an exasperated, and impatient way.  Now imagine that emphasis but without the exasperation and impatience.  For example:  "And it CAME to pass, that THOSE who didn't do the WORK, did NOT receive an INCREASE to their KINGDOM!

I am getting a lot better at talking to people on the street, and at the door.  I have had a few embarrassing moments, but me and Elder Boehme are working together a lot better in unity.  I am continuing to learn and increase in confidence and faith!  The flat is rather a mix of the London and Scotland one.  The flat is nice, not like Scotland, but like...maybe Grandma Betty's house?  Except it's only one floor.  It is a comfortable place with the normal commodities of life, except for a drying machine.  We hang it on a stand up rack.  I'm not only in the foreign food club, I'm also in the foreign people and really foreign food club.  Scotland is like a big melting pot for Europe, especially for Romanians, Poles, and Germans.  The food is not bad!  I still haven't been kebab-tized, as they call it here (which means eat a kebab), but for the most part, we buy, eat, and make most of our food!  It's pretty good!  The summer's actually been super great in Scotland!  Which means that the winter might be more mild, than extra harsh and cold.  But who knows?  Well, someone does, but let's not worry about that.

I have also heard about some Hunters living in Airdrie and they were just sealed in the temple!  So that would be fantastic if we were related!  I want to do more family history work SO BAD!!!  It's unbearable. Ish.

Thank you for praying and thinking about me!  I know I am being blessed by the Lord because of it, because I would not be able to do the things I do now if it weren't for the guidance of the Lord through His Holy Spirit.  I would love to hear from you individually, because I love you all individually, and I have been blessed to hear from many friends and family this far out!  I had 12 emails from people this week.  It melts my heart. :')

So I pretty much walk everywhere.  We cover a whole lot of Cumbernauld:  Seafar, Carbrain, Kildrum, Balloch only ocasionally, like yesterday, Millcroft is a street we cover where the Romanians are (it's very dangerous at night, and there are some unfriendly people we have had persecute us verbally, asking for our badges, swearing, and I just feel bad for them), Greenfaulds where we are, and a few other unrecollectable areas.  We do take buses often if the place is rather far away, but it's not too bad!  Yesterday we walked from Greenfaulds through Condorrat, Westfield, and then to Ben Venue, Balloch.  Then we walked back over the red spire bridge, through Seafar, and then home to Greenfaulds.  There are so many awesome people out there to teach!  We are working hard to find them and teach them, and I think this week we are setting up for much success and a few new investigators to teach and bring to the knowledge of the truth of the gospel this week!  Who What When Where is always a big help, and when we have faith, they always show up.

We have so much fun!  Our talents and interests are very much alike, and I think I'm with Elder Boehme to learn to work in  unity and develop strong companionships.  He's a great singer, a good listener, and good teacher, and a great friend.  He's definitely someone I will strive to meet up with after the mission is over.  A glad but unsavory thought.  I love being a missionary!  Blessing lives is a blessing.  I am learning a lot about being a mature adult and friendly person.  It's hard to resist the urge to go run down a hill, or goof around and play on things or act silly, but we still have a lot of fun!  I am glad for the opportunity to be so immersed in the gospel, and hope to use this opportunity and environment to teach and work the hardest and best that I can!  My testimony has grown immensely too. I feel sorrow for those who say "it's not for me" or "all roads lead to heaven" and reject the gospel without knowing it!  I know that the Lord blesses those who open their mouth, and will not lead them astray.

So barbecue sauce pretty much fixes everything.  We have chicken patties, barbecue sauce, and mayonnaise in pretty much every lunch and dinner.  It's great! :)  I've never loved BBQ sauce more ever than now.  It's truly a lifesaver.

I miss you all so much, and you are in my thoughts and prayers!  I love you!  Please write me back, or write me initially.  I enjoy hearing from you!

Love,
Elder Hunter

P.S.  Kirk out!

September 23, 2013

Hey y'all!
The work is going forward quickly!  The bus ride to the mission home (not a train) was about 3 hours long.  On the way there, we stopped for breakfast, and I ordered a "breakfast bap", which is basically two buns with 4 ingredients in the middle.  I ordered black pudding.  It looked like a little chocolate lava cake, like the ones from dominos.  Much to my surprise, it was made of meat.  Elder De Vries (from Edmonton, Canada) was very surprised that I ordered it, and refused to tell me what it was and what was in it until I finished it.  Much more to my surprise, it was blood pudding, or blood sausage.  And, to my super duper uber surprise, it wasn't that bad. :)  I also had Haggis my first night at Bishop Black's house.  Can you believe it?  The first night?  It was actually very good!  Apparently, the sheep's stomach thing is kind of an ancient days thing, more of an old-fashioned tradition.  Sister Black just cooked it in a pot, and substituted some spices in for other ingredients.  The food isn't bad, but be grateful for what you have!  Our meals are a more rushed experience. :' (but it's to give the time we have to the work of the Lord.)
I have never missed anyone more than in the last 5 days of my life.  It's hard not coming home to family, or to friends, or to Aaron or Braun or Jake or Alex or Colby or Preston or Ryan or anybody else!  It's just me and my companion.  My senior companion/trainer's name is Elder Boehme, and he is a very spiritual and compassionate person.  He prays for long stretches of time, and in 5 minutes of study, he can pull out so much insight on one small passage.  He is from Mesa, Arizona.  He is a very hard worker, and is a super good missionary.  He is good at street contacting.  I'm not.  That is something I am struggling a lot with.  I am good at saying hi and being friendly to people on the streets, but I am struggling with keeping a conversation and sharing the gospel.  It is difficult because a lot of people reject us just because of the badge we wear.  A lot of people lie and make excuses just to tell us no politely.  Elder Boehme is very good at catching them in their lies though.  Very good. :)
So I am in.... drumroll............



Greenfaulds!  Which is in...



Cumbernauld!!!  Which is in...


Glasgow!!!!!  It's sweet! (which is in Scotland by the way).  The train ride over was about 2-3 hours i think, but it's almost directly west of edinburgh, where the mission home is.  The ties we wore in the picture are the mission ties.  On our ties it says "SIM" (scotland/ireland mission) and under that is our mission motto, "act well thy part", which basically means whatever you were sent to the Scotland/Ireland mission for, whatever specific reason that is, do it well.  This motto is a huge help because it gives me courage that the Lord sent me here for a purpose, and that I can be successful if I follow His commandments and look for the people that He has prepared.  Many people just accept a card or have a small conversation with us, but as Representatives of Jesus Christ, we not only teach those that are ready, but plant seeds to prepare people for when they are ready.  So I live in a flat, and it has 5 rooms-- the kitchen, the living room, the big closet room, the bedroom, and the bathroom.  It's not bad!  We have plenty of space.  The people of Scotland are amazing!  The older people I feel are more hard-hearted and set in their ways of living, and are unwilling to change.  MOST of them, not all, but most.  The younger people are more willing to learn the truth for themselves, and are often much easier to talk to.  They are more honest, and even though the neds try to take a mick out of us, we still end up teaching them something about the gospel.  I hope I get better at street contacting!  It's a struggle, but I know I can do it!  1 Nephi 3:7, also 2 Nephi 2: 8-9.  Those have helped me a lot.  I am so hot though!  I wore the clothes Aunt Lish gave me, and I was sweating very hard!  It's actuallly pretty nice right now in Scotland.  What else.... oh yeah, we are teaching a lot of families from other places in the world.  There is the Romaninan family, who is the best flippin' ever!  They are very well versed in their scriptures (especially Mihai their dad), and so is Elder Boehme.  They are very accepting of the gospel of Jesus Christ and are receiving it with understanding from the scriptures and the Holy Spirit.  Without the spirit, no missionary work would happen effectively.  Non!  Bro. Catell is quite funny.  He's the ward missionary leader, and he helps us with a lot of joint teaches, which is lessons with a member present.  I love you all, especially my family!  Say hello to my friends.  I love the gospe, I love the work, and I love the Lord!
Love,
Elder Hunter

ps kirk out!

Yeah, I got to see Grandpa and Grandma when I arrived here! It was great! I have learned so much in my experiences here so far! I took a few pictures, so I'll try to send those to you! I've introduced some of the missionaries to him, and they were a bit surprised! :) i know why missionaries never capitalize, at least in europe! the left shift key... agh! anyways, that makes sense, i was wondering why the old audio-visual presentation was playing, that really confused me. we've roleplayed a lot, and you'll have to tell me if your experience was different, because we don't teach memorized lessons and stuff. we learn the material under (basically) bullet points, if you read preach my gospel, it will basically tell you everything! chapters 3 and 10  are basically the bomb. oh yeah...... sister loynes ( one of our teachers {she's from ireland!]) gave me a study journal... aka notebook. :) no time for napping though! you are right. so my companions are elder wrenger, from germany, and elder defriez, from, willard utah (not elder de vries, who i mentioned earlier was my flight companion buddy, and their names sound exactly the same!) they are the best! elder jens wrenger (whose name is pronounced, YENZ VRANGER) speaks english very, very well! he does not think so, but he does. and elder defriez reminds me a lot of aaron because he is calm, collected, intelligent, fun, and kind. ok, so the old aaron taylor was more calm and collected, but he's still a better man than he was! anyways, sorry, sidetrack! I find that using the caps lock key is a good substitute for shift. I might be able to get used to that! :) life is good here, and i am feeling the spirit like never before! i love it! anyways, i've got to go, i'll email karli in a little bit. i love you all!!!

Love,

Elder Hunter

 

p.s. kirk out

p.p.s. teaching by the spirit!!! i love it!

England MTC-- Here's where Devin is staying

The MTC is on the left, Grandpa's building is directly ahead.  That's how close they are.

The cafeteria

View from the back

I don't know why it's blurry.  That's the temple behind the field and MTC is to the left.

These benches are in front of the MTC and in front of Grandpa's bld.  The sidewalk connects the two.  

Photos

Elder Hunter

His Joseph Smith pose

Hey guys! the shift key on this keyboard is so small, so i just won't worry about it. :) i have arrived safely, and made many new friends! elder schuben gave me a pen: that's the one thing i forgot to take, a silly old pen. i also have much in common with elder de vries. i got about two solid hours of sleep on the flight here! so i will probably take a nap soon. i can't wait to get started! there is so much learn! i saw grandpa and grandma and i got to say hi to them and hug them. i hope i get to see them tomorrow in the temple! p-days are wednesdays here in the england mtc. I will mail more to you then! I love you all! tell the ward i say ''hi''. :)

Love,

Elder Hunter

P.S.... Kirk out.