An Eye Opening Week

So I found out another thing about Kansas that I had never known before. It kind of goes a long with the whole cicada and heat and humidity fiasco that occurred a couple of weeks ago. However, this one might be more uncomfortable then the other ones. So Kansas and other mid western states (so I hear) have these things called Chiggers. And they are these things that are microscopic and live in the grass. Whenever you walk on the grass they cling on to who knows what and climb up your body. They then proceed to feed of you and create an insatiable itching sensation. I think at the height of the week I counted 15 of the little bites up and down my legs. Good thing they just itch. and after talking around I found that clear nail polish works like a charm. However, I didn't realize that one coat would be sufficient so needless to say I have a lot of nail polish stuck on the hair of my legs. So just a word of caution if you are even in Kansas. DON'T WALK ON THE GRASS. You'll regret it I promise.  

Anywho, This week has been great! We were in a trio with a zone leader for a little bit because his companion got transferred a week early so that was fun! We had to balance both areas but it was pretty easy because we have members in our ward that would take one of us out and we could work in the other area. Then we had transfers where I picked up my new little guy! He's from Hyde Park Utah and his name is Elder Tippetts. He graduated high school 3 weeks ago!! So crazy! But he's a great guy and gonna do great things! He has no idea how much change is about to take place in him! It's so exciting. 

This week I came across a story that I had come across before, but I found it really applicable this week more than ever. It's found in Mark 9. A little background.. There is this father that has a son that is being tormented by an evil spirit. and the father is pleading to Christ "If thou cans't do ANYthing help us, have compassion on us" and Christ responds "If thou cans't believe all things are possible" and STRAIGHTWAY the father answers, "Lord I believe, Help thou My unbelief." As I read that I thought about the times in the past couple months where I have been that father. Where I have asked Heavenly Father for help and the answer is always "if thou cans't believe all things are possible" and I can only say "Lord I believe, Help thou my unbelief" and he always has. I shared that in a lesson with a guy that is having a big problem believing and as I read it I'm not gonna lie I teared up a little bit.(I've kinda became a spiritual baby in the last couple months...idk why) It's so applicable to every single one of us. Elder Holland has a great talk entitled "Lord I believe" which has helped me out so much in the last couple months and I would encourage all to read it! But in the talk he says, "His initial declaration is affirmative and without hesitation: “Lord, I believe.” I would say to all who wish for more faith, remember this man! In moments of fear or doubt or troubling times, hold the ground you have already won, even if that ground is limited. In the growth we all have to experience in mortality, the spiritual equivalent of this boy’s affliction or this parent’s desperation is going to come to all of us. When those moments come and issues surface, the resolution of which is not immediately forthcoming, hold fast to what you already know and stand strong until additional knowledge (or help) comes."  I'm so grateful for a loving Heavenly Father who Knows and loves each and every one of us. He has the power to do anything as long as we believe! and HE WILL ANSWER!

Love you all! Keep strong! Thank you for the prayers and support! It means so much! 

-Elder Hunt

Pictures: The first one is a picture of my posterity (Sis Hanson, Elder Lee, Me, Elder Tippetts MISSING Sis. Wade)

The second one: the Derby zone in our zone shirts! D-TOWN! 

It' A Boy!

So exciting news! I'm going to have another son! I got called last night to train another new missionary! I am so excited! I love training so much. New missionaries are the best and have so much fire and passion and excitement. It's exactly what this area needs! So super excited for this next transfer. I'm staying here in Derby and pretty much the whole zone is changing and having new missionaries come out. #GreenieFireForDays

This week has been probably one of the most stressful weeks of my life but also at the same time completely rewarding. I haven't talked about it to much in my emails I don't think but this whole transfer my companion and I have been planning a luau for the ward. Let me tell you... that takes some serious work. My heart goes out to all of you Relief society presidents out there. It was extremely stressful. We have been working on it so hard and we wanted nothing more then to be a success. A lot of prayer and Heavenly Fathers help was definitely required. 

Friday quickly came and we spent all day setting up and cleaning the church. and let me tell you about an hour before it started to the time it started was the longest hour of my entire life. I was so nervous no one was going to show up. But MIRACLE! we had about 120 people there.. and about 15-20 people were non members, and about the same amount of less active members. It was so great and so much fun! Everybody was participating in the hula hoop contest and the limbo contest! It was crazy fun and such a great success! Hard work sure pays off!

Also another exciting thing this week! We got iPads this week! They seriously are super cool and I feel super blessed to be able to use them to progress the word forward. I'm still feel weird about using them in lessons and prefer hard copy scriptures when I teach but they are super nice when you want to show a video or in studies when we can look up talks and other stuff like that. We are slowly transitioning so next month we will get the area book and planner app and then in August we will get Facebook and social media! Super excited for that! 

Other than that we have had a really great week and been able to visit and talk with a lot of people, and hopefully with this Luau it will open the door to so many other people we can work with! I feel so blessed to be here in this sacred part of the Lord's vineyard and I know that he lives. He is here and that's the coolest thing ever!

Love you all so much! Thanks for the support and the letters and prayers! 

-Elder Hunt

Part of our luau the limbo part... its at 27 inches........

Another Week Come in Gone in the KWM

I still can't get over the humidity in this joint! It's so crazy. Last night my companion and I went on our balcony at around 9:30 and I'm pretty sure I was underwater. But hey can't complain! So this week our district had a baptism! The other Elders in our ward had a baptism this weekend and it was one of the most spiritual baptisms I have ever been to. This guy has had a rough go at life. There is this couple in our ward that was on assignment from the Stake to go to the prison and basically be Home teachers for these two church members in the prison. Not only did they find those people that needed to be ministered they have found 38 other people in that prison that desperately want to change and find meaning in their lives, and on Saturday the first guy from that program was baptized. The Atonement can change anybody, and I seriously see it here every single day and I couldn't be happier. We read Alma 29 with a returning member this week and this scripture really hit me hard. It is found in alma 29:10, "And behold, when I see many of my brethren truly penitent, and coming to the Lord their God, then is mysoul filled with joy; then do I remember what the Lord has done for me, yea, even that he hath heard my prayer; yea, then do I remember hismerciful arm which he extended towards me." I LOVE IT OUT HERE SO MUCH! 

I am quickly running out of time for today! But I hope you have the best week ever! 

-Elder Hunt

Cicadas and heat and Humitity... Oh my‏

So this week has been really fun. My eyes were opened to two things that I have never been exposed to before. So I had an opportunity to learn some new things about Kansas. 1) Cicadas are really strange. and they are literally taking over Kansas right now. I think there is probably a million of those big nasty bugs in every single tree. And they aren't scared of you, if you are walking under a tree they WILL dive bomb you, they are no respecter of persons, and they make the loudest sound ever.. and you think I'm joking.. My companion and I literally were shouting over the sound of the Cicadas. So that was new and something that I will never forget. 2) Heat and Humidity. I know heat, I've been exposed to that but besides the week in Florida (where we spent a majority of the time in the house or in the water) I have never been exposed to this much humidity! It's gross. We will be walking home at 9 o' clock and it will still be 80 degrees and feel like you are swimming in your own sweat. Just another awesome aspect of Kansas! 

This week we have been really working on this guy that has been investigating for a while. We were asking a few of our leaders about it all and we were led to this scripture that I would like to share with you. It's found in D&C 88:67 and it reads "And if your eye be single to my glory, your whole bodies shall be filled with light, and there shall be no darkness in you; and that body which is filled with light comprehendeth all things." and I thought how freaking cool! Light and darkness CANNOT coexist. Light will ALWAYS drive out darkness! and by keeping our eye single to HIS glory we can have that light that we need and we can drive away any darkness. Christ is ALWAYS more powerful, the atonement will ALWAYS work, and he will ALWAYS be there for you. It was a cool thing that I was able to learn this week that I thought I would share with you all! Light is the best!

Love you all! 

-Elder Hunt

P.S. Kansas has the best sunsets... It's a fact

Another General Authority!!!

So this week we had yet another General Authority come and talk to the mission! Two mission conferences in like 3 weeks of each other. It's so awesome! This time we had Elder Don R. Clarke from the 70 come and speak with us and train us on I-pads. The problem was that we really didn't talk about how to use I-Pads we only talked about why we are getting them and how to keep ourselves safe. It's actually really cool. We are getting I-Pads so that we can learn habits of using technology for good and righteous causes. So instead of missionaries leaving there technology addictions and phones at home for two years and coming home and falling right back into the same bad habits over and over again, we can learn how to form good and healthy technology habits and we can help our families learn how to use technology and it will be such an amazing impact on the future of the church. I mean it will be great for missionary work to but the most important is so that we can learn how to use it instead of them just taking it away from us. So it really helped enlarge my vision for what a mission is all about. 

Then for the rest of the week we did missionary work. Right now we are really trying to build a teaching pool and kind of starting over. On Thursday morning my Companion and I were thinking and praying about the best way that we would be able to really unite with the ward and find people to teach. We got this prompting to watch some Missionary training videos and in one of the videos it shows a group of missionaries putting on a Luau for the ward to invite everyone to and really have a great time! So we took it to the Bishop and the Ward Council and guess who is trying to pull of a Luau in three weeks? These guys! It'll be super fun though and a really great way for us to all come together and have a great time! It's going to take a lot of work and planning but I mean there is no such thing as something for nothing right? 

That's about all that is going on with us here!  It's going awesome and I love every second of it! I haven't been able to take any pictures yet because I'm lame... but I'll get some pictures here in the next couple of weeks! 

Have a great week and God bless! 

-Elder Hunt