I know that Christ lives

There might not be photos this week because the computer that I am using won't allow me to remove my photos from my camera. That so cool that Gilbert is going to receive a temple. Looks like the Hunsakers are going to all live in Gilbert. haha. It is a 5 hour difference from here to Vegas. We can call any day near to Mothers Day as far as I know. I hope that pills is code peanut butter and goodies. And yes I hope they arrive, *wink* *wink*. This morning was freezing. You all need to try the electric shower. If the water is freezing, the electric shower doesn't heat it very much. The temp was 50 degrees. The baptism went really well. We had cake like usual. There is a type of water heater in the church that we started up so we could fill the font with warm water for Sebastian. He had to be baptized twice because his foot popped out of the water. The second time was hilarious because he practically sat down in the water and then Pres. Lopez lifted him out. haha. Dulce de leche is everywhere here. It is kinda like caramel. I am glad that you saw the mate cups. I still haven't seen a true gaucho. Everyone needs to try the alfajores that they have here. Alfajores are like mini cakes with dulce de leche filling or other fillings. They are really tasty. Today my zone is going to have an asado (BBQ) at the house of the zone leaders. They are going to buy tons of beef, chicken, and sausages. I can't wait to eat. I have quite a few pictures that I want to send. I have one of a colectivo (the buses we use). We had an investigator family in church this past Sunday. We visited with them after and he asked what the speaker meant when he said, "I know that Christ lives." The father of the family thought that he meant Christ lives in all us in the meeting and that because we were gathered in his name he lives in us. We explained to him that Christ truly lives and so does our Father in Heaven. That they have bodies like ours. More and more my testimony grows. I know that Christ lives that this life is but a short time. We have a Heavenly Father just as we have a father here on the earth. We can talk to our father just the same as we can talk to our Father in heaven. If we have this thought in our minds constantly, I know we will have more power to resist the temptations of this world. I love you all and I can't wait to talk with everybody. Today is my "cumplemes". I have been in the mission 6 months.

Con amor,
Elder Hunsaker

I got permission to send the photos I couldn't send earlier. Here are the pictures that I wanted to send and more.

1. Baptism of Sebastian.

2. Us with Sebastian.

3. Colectivo that says proud to be a missionary.

4. The street that we live on.

5-6. Our meal with the Gomez Family. mmmm.... rice and beans.

*Parental Advisory for picture below*

7. This cat was found "sleeping" in the well of water that the zone leaders use in their house...gross.

8. We had an asado the same day we found the cat...hmm... what a coincidence???

9. My zone minus two

Description of Branch in Santa Clara

I have bad news to share with you all. I'm coming home early.....not! The news is that the tarantula was dead and not alive and now I'm less of a man. haha. As far as the branch goes. We have only 15 active members. Sometimes we have 30 in the church but it is usually around 20 people in church every week. We have priesthood, relief society, and primary separate for our first hour. Second hour they have gospel doctrine men and women together and our principles class is with the ward. Our primary has like 2-5 kids maybe 7 on a good day. Our members are helpful they're just few. We have a baptism of a 9 year old this Saturday. His mom is a member but was inactive for a little while. He was supposed to be baptized last Saturday but it rained like crazy the Sunday before and they didn't show up to church. We have had a little bit of success in finding families this last week. We now have 6 families that look promising. We found a family of 6 yesterday. The parent's names were easy to remember but this kids have like 3 first names and there is no way I can remember a name like Ramon Miguel Dionicio for six different kids. As for the photos, I decided to treat myself to a box of fruit loops this past week. They were tasty. We've been having a lot of fog in the mornings so I decided to take a picture and send it. Hopefully you can see it well enough. We attended a wedding of two members of our branch. They asked if we could take photos for their family and we did. I have at least two weeks more here in Santa Clara. I'm pretty sure I'll be getting transferred. I'm not quite sure when our new mission president will arrive. Hermana (sister) Shakespeare is ready to head home where people speak English. I've heard that it is cheaper for you to buy a calling card and call me for Mothers' Day. My comp had his parents call the phone in the church building last time and I think I'll be doing the same. It will be difficult to plan now because I'll be in a new area so I'm not sure on the number. When is Mothers' Day? Hopefully I can figure things out. Everything is going well in my area. Hope all is well with everyone back home. Love you all.

Chau,
Elder Hunsaker

(Date of email: Wed, 23 Apr 2008 14:49:53)

Testimony of prayer and of a mindful Heavenly Father

Date: Wed, 16 Apr 2008 17:19:07

Those pictures of Shawn were awesome. He is such an Ironman. My comp and I have found some new and promising investigators. We would have a baptism this Saturday but the two investigators didn't come to church because of the huge storm that passed through here. So the baptisms have been set back a week. The storm that came through brought cold weather with it. Now I sleep in my sleeping bag instead of with a sheet. It is really weird to be in the middle of the year with cold weather. I feel like I should be drinking egg nog and getting ready for Christmas. Because of the weather change we sing Christmas hymns in our district meetings. I hope you enjoy the photos that I sent. I'd like to give a happy birthday shout to Jenny. ¡FELIZ CUMPLEAÑOS! I apologize for the randomness but it just came to me. I really haven't had any allergies here. In the beginning of February, I had a scratchy throat for a week or so but other than that I really haven't had any problems. We have all sorts of interesting bugs and snakes here. There is one snake with a red head that if it bites you, you have 5 minutes to live. Kinda crazy, but whatever. The bugs here are really weird. Big, small, we've got them all (thank you Doctor Seuss). Everything is going really well with the missionary work here. I am glad that we have people to teach that actually listen and understand. I hope our investigators will find it easier to go to church this week. My Spanish has improved tons in the last 3 weeks. I understand almost everybody and I am able to communicate much faster now. I feel comfortable speaking Spanish now. This past week I have had two experiences with prayer. During two lessons basically the same thing happened. In one lesson we were watching the restoration video with a family filled with crazy loud kids. My comp and I both prayed that everything would be calm during the first vision part of the movie. Sure enough the children went outside during this part and the spirit was able to be in the room. The children didn't come back in until after the movie finished. This made it possible for the parents to pay close attention to video. I know that Heavenly Father is always listening and ready to help. I know that if we pray with faith the Lord does and will answers our prayers. I am so thankful for a loving Heavenly Father that listens. I will figure out the whole calling situation.

Love you all.
Elder Hunsaker

My new pet tarantula!

I thought our snails had babies and here is the evidence.

This is the institute center in Posadas. It is located on the eighth floor of some random building.





POSADAS








Am I a stud or what?! ;) (Tricia)



This is a villa, I think?

Stairs/Escaleras

Conference weekend

Date: Wed, 9 Apr 2008 19:31:39

Hola Familia,

Conference was broadcast in the stake center in Posadas. All of the English missionaries were in a small room with a little TV. This was probably the first conference that I stayed awake for all the sessions. Elder Bednar's talk on Sunday was really good. Jenny, good luck finding a video of Pres. Monson wiggling his ears. That is crazy that the chapel is condemned. So the family that we have been teaching since I arrived here has finally made it into the church for sacrament meeting. We were so surprised to see them in the chapel. This is the family with the dad that kept thinking about the Book of Mormon and couldn't sleep. Our investigator bank is running low and I've talked to almost everyone and everything in our area. My companion was born in Guadalajara Mexico. His grandparents were converts so he was born into the church. He has a younger brother and sister and that´s it. He has been out here for 15 months. The options for food here are very few. We usually just put ground beef in the tacos. There aren't a whole lot of beans down here so it is hard to have bean burritos. We made tortillas and horchata the other night. As far as fruits and vegetables special to this area that grow, there is only one thing called mandioca. Mandioca has the texture and taste of a potato but looks like a big root. An investigator gave me a huge bag of mandarinas and that is what is in those two photos. I hope dad is jealous. haha. Dairy products are pretty expensive here so I don't eat much cheese which is killing me. For breakfast I have the options eggs, cereal, oatmeal, fruit, yogurt, leftover dinner, and that's about it. I made french toast one time but maple syrup doesn't exist down here so it wasn't that special. As for reading the talks from conference, I have the Ensign and Liahona from which to choose. I finally got those postcards sent. They should make there way to the states. I hope everything continues to go well back home. Love you all.

Con amor,
Elder Hunsaker

¿Como andan?

Date: Wed, 2 Apr 2008 14:26:18
I enjoyed hearing from more people this week. It took me a while to read everything. My new comp is pretty cool. He can make tortillas and that is awesome. I am now learning. The work continues. The men are either working, drunk, or non-existant. The new mission president is Pres. Collins or something like that. He is from Buenos Aires. My schedule: 6:30am wake up: 9:00am leave: 12:30 lunch/siesta: 4:00pm leave: 9:00-9:30 in the apt. and in bed by 10:30. I will write more next week.

Love you all.

Elder Hunsaker

Photo of my area.