Elder Jonathan Hunter
5900 Grand Avenue
Riverside, CA 92504
Monday, April 25, 2011
Hey mom!
My P-days are always going to be on Mondays now.
Everyone arrived safe in Riverside. The last few days of the MTC were awesome. I'm so excited to be out here now. Tell everyone to send all mail US PS 1st class so the mission home can forward me everything. They are very good about forwarding everything.
President and Sister Reeves are the nicest people ever! The mission home is super nice. Its up in the Riverside hills with orange trees, palm trees, and exotic pink flowers it was awesome!
Theres a lot of nice nice people here. I love Sister Robinson thats the mission office lady she is so nice to me.
Ok so my first area is!!! Yucca Valley California!!
I am in the desert 30 mins to Palm Springs. My area is the Mojave Desert. The towns I cover are Yucca Valley,Morongo Valley,Joshua Tree & Joshua Tree National Park.
We have a really nice 4x4 truck that we drive everywhere and its awesome. We have to go off roading to get to any of our investigators because none of the roads here are paved. It's so cool here.
There are these funny looking trees called Joshua trees and they are really pretty. There's no grass here.
It gets too hot. Everyone says the summers are going to be 120ish but it cools down at night
because we are in the higher desert area. I live in a very nice place. It"s a newer twin home with 2 bedrooms 2 bathrooms and a huge nice kitchen and 2 car garage. We have a new washer in the garage so I don't have to go anywhere for laundry so thats nice. There are rattle snakes,scorpians,blackwidows and a few other kinds of creepy things. I have not seen any of those yet. Theres lots of lizards and roadrunners and bunnies here too.
I have been working very hard. This morning I cleaned the whole house with my companion Elder Marshall.
He is from Edmonton,Alberta,Canada.
I feel very lucky to have him train me and show me the ropes. He's the nicest person. He works really hard. Its hard to go tracting out here becuase all the houses are a mile apart. We have a lot of investigators that we have found got the past few days. We are going to start teaching this lady named Susan who wants to be baptized so thats cool. We also have a few others who are getting closer to being baptized. The ward here is really good. It's called the Onaga Trail Ward.
The people around here love the elders and love doing missionary work. I went over to this investigator's house that we are teaching and their dog that is a chihuahua named Taco bit me! I didnt get hurt though.
We went to dinner out in Morgongo to this really nice family that made me and my companion Easter baskets. It was really nice. Then we went over to this family's house in Yucca that fed us turkey sandwiches for easter dinner.
Theres a lot of work to be done so im excited. There are 12 zones in my mission but they are going to give Temecula to the Carlsbad mission so then there will only be 11 zones.
All my MTC friends are in diferent zones so I wont be able to see them too often.
Elder Tom L Perry is coming next week to visit the mission. We are going to Riverside for a huge missionwide meeting there I think the San Bernadino mission will be there too.
I miss my teachers at the MTC a lot. They are all really truly amazing people. My testimony has grown so much I am so excited to teach people.
I went out to 29 Palms for district meeting the other day. That place is in the middle of nowhere! Today im going to the store called Stater Bro's to go get some munchies for me.
Tell grandma and grandpa that I love them and that im having the time of my life. I love you a lot mom. Please tell everyone that I say hello.
Love,
Elder Jonathan Hunter
My P-days are always going to be on Mondays now.
Everyone arrived safe in Riverside. The last few days of the MTC were awesome. I'm so excited to be out here now. Tell everyone to send all mail US PS 1st class so the mission home can forward me everything. They are very good about forwarding everything.
President and Sister Reeves are the nicest people ever! The mission home is super nice. Its up in the Riverside hills with orange trees, palm trees, and exotic pink flowers it was awesome!
Theres a lot of nice nice people here. I love Sister Robinson thats the mission office lady she is so nice to me.
Ok so my first area is!!! Yucca Valley California!!
I am in the desert 30 mins to Palm Springs. My area is the Mojave Desert. The towns I cover are Yucca Valley,Morongo Valley,Joshua Tree & Joshua Tree National Park.
We have a really nice 4x4 truck that we drive everywhere and its awesome. We have to go off roading to get to any of our investigators because none of the roads here are paved. It's so cool here.
There are these funny looking trees called Joshua trees and they are really pretty. There's no grass here.
It gets too hot. Everyone says the summers are going to be 120ish but it cools down at night
because we are in the higher desert area. I live in a very nice place. It"s a newer twin home with 2 bedrooms 2 bathrooms and a huge nice kitchen and 2 car garage. We have a new washer in the garage so I don't have to go anywhere for laundry so thats nice. There are rattle snakes,scorpians,blackwidows and a few other kinds of creepy things. I have not seen any of those yet. Theres lots of lizards and roadrunners and bunnies here too.
I have been working very hard. This morning I cleaned the whole house with my companion Elder Marshall.
He is from Edmonton,Alberta,Canada.
I feel very lucky to have him train me and show me the ropes. He's the nicest person. He works really hard. Its hard to go tracting out here becuase all the houses are a mile apart. We have a lot of investigators that we have found got the past few days. We are going to start teaching this lady named Susan who wants to be baptized so thats cool. We also have a few others who are getting closer to being baptized. The ward here is really good. It's called the Onaga Trail Ward.
The people around here love the elders and love doing missionary work. I went over to this investigator's house that we are teaching and their dog that is a chihuahua named Taco bit me! I didnt get hurt though.
We went to dinner out in Morgongo to this really nice family that made me and my companion Easter baskets. It was really nice. Then we went over to this family's house in Yucca that fed us turkey sandwiches for easter dinner.
Theres a lot of work to be done so im excited. There are 12 zones in my mission but they are going to give Temecula to the Carlsbad mission so then there will only be 11 zones.
All my MTC friends are in diferent zones so I wont be able to see them too often.
Elder Tom L Perry is coming next week to visit the mission. We are going to Riverside for a huge missionwide meeting there I think the San Bernadino mission will be there too.
I miss my teachers at the MTC a lot. They are all really truly amazing people. My testimony has grown so much I am so excited to teach people.
I went out to 29 Palms for district meeting the other day. That place is in the middle of nowhere! Today im going to the store called Stater Bro's to go get some munchies for me.
Tell grandma and grandpa that I love them and that im having the time of my life. I love you a lot mom. Please tell everyone that I say hello.
Love,
Elder Jonathan Hunter
Wednesday, April 20, 2011
Arrival Email
Dear Parents of Elders Webster, Hunter, Larsen, Park, Young and Romney,
We are THRILLED to tell you that your sons arrived safely at the Ontario Airport this morning! We are so happy to have them here! What wonderful young men they are! We have been so impressed by their goodness, happy personalities and desire to serve the Lord. They all admitted to being a little nervous. They were extremely tired by this afternoon, having been asked to get up this morning at 2:00 a.m.! They also had a layover, so they were exhausted by the time they arrived. We took them to the mission office and fed them some breakfast. Our senior missionaries introduced themselves and taught them about medical issues (taught by our wonderful mission nurse, Sister Ottosen, who has 28 years experience as a critical care nurse), finances (taught by Sister Crews, a former high school math teacher from New York and South Carolina), driving and safety (taught by Elder Robinson (a kind and patient man! Imagine being in charge of 70 vehicles driven by 19 and 20 year olds!) Elder Parrott (our mail, referral and baptismal "whites" secretary, also from South Carolina) and Sister Robinson, who is our friendly, happy, efficient office secretary (who, along with her husband, are currently from Idaho, but also Texas and Montana).
After driving tests, lunch, photos, seeing the mission map and transfer board, the missionaries were driven to the mission home, where we had them introduce themselves, President Reeves interviewed them, then they had a two-plus hour nap! After their naps, they were priviledged to be taught by the two counselors in the Mission Presidency, President Plocher and President Bishop. They are wonderful men and outstanding teachers! Both teach Institute--one by profession, the other volunteer. After, we had a nice dinner, followed by a testimony meeting.
They are all sound asleep now, after a busy day! In the morning, after breakfast, we have a treat for them, which we hope they will tell you all about having to do with the Savior's atoning sacrifice. Their new trainers will then come to the mission home and we will have another testimony meeting and introduction of the new missionaries and the trainers. After the new companionships have been announced, the missionaries will be driven to their new areas!
Please know how much we will love and try to assist your sons! This is an exciting time! President Reeves and I have about two months and two weeks left on our mission. We have loved EVERY DAY! We have been doubling up on our efforts so that we can accomplish all that our Heavenly Father hoped that we would do. This has been the sweetest time together and the greatest blessing has been to work with these incredible missionaries in the service of our Savior. You will be amazed at the growth that you see in your sons. They are all excellent young men, but we promise you that they will come home as great men. Our missionaries often make statements like these: "When I came on my mission, life was all about me; now it is all about everyone else." "I have learned to love and appreciate my family more than ever." "I LOVE the scriptures; they mean so much to me!" "I love the people I have been able to work with, with all my heart." We also know that your will see many tangible blessings in your own homes and lives because of the faithful service of your sons!
We send our love! With love and sincerely,
President Mel and Sister Linda Reeves
Monday, April 18, 2011
Dear Mom,
Thank you for the letter you sent me. I also got the letter from grandma and I liked it a lot. I probably won't be writing anyone back until I get to California.
I leave for California Tuesday morning. I am so excited! Today I went to the temple and it was awesome. The inside of the Provo temple is really pretty.
Today the sun is shining but its a little cold. Elder Larsen and I spent a lot of time in the celestial room just thinking and everyone left early. We went to lunch in the cafeteria and we have prime rib for 5 bucks!
It was a full rack too! I'm looking forward to leaving and starting my mission. I feel so blessed for my wonderful companions and my awesome district. Its going to be hard to say good bye to my teachers.
They are amazing examples to me and they have taught me so much. I got to take an hour nap today because its p-day. It felt so good you have no idea. Every morning I wake up at 6 AM so my room can beat everyone to the showers. The guys next door and I have become friends. They are all going to San Jose, California. One of the elders in that group is from Perth Austrailia.
We have also been hanging out with some sisters that are going to Hill Cumorah visitors center in New York. I'm starting to pack up my stuff and im getting so happy. I have seen Will & Alan almost everyday! :D I am having a lot of fun.
Its great feeling the spirit almost 24/7. Its incredible and I always want to feel this way when I get back. I miss everyone so much and tell everyone that I love them.
Please pray for me and my district that we will make it to Riverside safe and sound.
I love you and I pray for you guys everyday. I have lots of pictures to send you when I get to California.
Love,
Elder Jonathan Hunter
Thank you for the letter you sent me. I also got the letter from grandma and I liked it a lot. I probably won't be writing anyone back until I get to California.
I leave for California Tuesday morning. I am so excited! Today I went to the temple and it was awesome. The inside of the Provo temple is really pretty.
Today the sun is shining but its a little cold. Elder Larsen and I spent a lot of time in the celestial room just thinking and everyone left early. We went to lunch in the cafeteria and we have prime rib for 5 bucks!
It was a full rack too! I'm looking forward to leaving and starting my mission. I feel so blessed for my wonderful companions and my awesome district. Its going to be hard to say good bye to my teachers.
They are amazing examples to me and they have taught me so much. I got to take an hour nap today because its p-day. It felt so good you have no idea. Every morning I wake up at 6 AM so my room can beat everyone to the showers. The guys next door and I have become friends. They are all going to San Jose, California. One of the elders in that group is from Perth Austrailia.
We have also been hanging out with some sisters that are going to Hill Cumorah visitors center in New York. I'm starting to pack up my stuff and im getting so happy. I have seen Will & Alan almost everyday! :D I am having a lot of fun.
Its great feeling the spirit almost 24/7. Its incredible and I always want to feel this way when I get back. I miss everyone so much and tell everyone that I love them.
Please pray for me and my district that we will make it to Riverside safe and sound.
I love you and I pray for you guys everyday. I have lots of pictures to send you when I get to California.
Love,
Elder Jonathan Hunter
Monday, April 11, 2011
Hey mom! I am doing wonderful I have been so so busy. Right now I'm doing laundry and its taking forever.
I am getting along with my companions perfectly they are amazing people. Everyone in my district is awesome and they are amazing people. They all have strong testimonies of the gospel. They want to
be on a mission for themselves. Not because their parents wanted them to but because they want to serve the Lord. I can't even tell how amazing it is here. I'm starting to tear up just typing it to you. There are so many special people here. I made a really good friend. His name is Elder Webb he's from Mesa AZ. He's going to Louisville KY on Monday. Its going to be sad to see him go but he's going to have fun.
I have been here for 12 days! Time is starting to fly by and I'm getting excited to finally get to California and get started.
We we're told in class that in the pre earth life we promised certian people that we would find them on earth and convert them. I thought that was really cool.
Everything with the shots worked out perfect. I only had to get 2. You know how terrified I am of needles? I was getting nervous right before I was about to get the shot and Alan walked in the room!
He came over and said he felt like he needed to come back into the shot room and he came over to me. He walked in just in time. He talked to me while it happend and asked me to recite the first vision to get my mind off of it. It worked! I didn't pass out and everyone was so nice to me. The guy sitting next to me was
from Wales England and he is going to Portland Oregon! Go figure! haha! I thought that was really cool.
I am getting really good at teaching now. I have the whole 1st lesson memorized now.
Tell grandma and grandpa that I love them very very much and to please write me.
I got my plane ticket. We leave April 19th at 3 am!!!! That will be a very long day. I have been chosen as a travel leader. Lets hope I dont screw up and we end up in Hong Kong.
Stop sending letters to the MTC starting Wednesday of this week because I wont be able to read them before I leave.
I went to the temple today and it was amazing. When we walked there it was snowing like crazy and then when we walked back it was overcast with all the spring flowers in bloom and the mountains looked cool. I took pcitures that I will be mailing you soon.
I love you so much mom and dont worry about me im having the time of my life.
elder jonathan hunter :)
I am getting along with my companions perfectly they are amazing people. Everyone in my district is awesome and they are amazing people. They all have strong testimonies of the gospel. They want to
be on a mission for themselves. Not because their parents wanted them to but because they want to serve the Lord. I can't even tell how amazing it is here. I'm starting to tear up just typing it to you. There are so many special people here. I made a really good friend. His name is Elder Webb he's from Mesa AZ. He's going to Louisville KY on Monday. Its going to be sad to see him go but he's going to have fun.
I have been here for 12 days! Time is starting to fly by and I'm getting excited to finally get to California and get started.
We we're told in class that in the pre earth life we promised certian people that we would find them on earth and convert them. I thought that was really cool.
Everything with the shots worked out perfect. I only had to get 2. You know how terrified I am of needles? I was getting nervous right before I was about to get the shot and Alan walked in the room!
He came over and said he felt like he needed to come back into the shot room and he came over to me. He walked in just in time. He talked to me while it happend and asked me to recite the first vision to get my mind off of it. It worked! I didn't pass out and everyone was so nice to me. The guy sitting next to me was
from Wales England and he is going to Portland Oregon! Go figure! haha! I thought that was really cool.
I am getting really good at teaching now. I have the whole 1st lesson memorized now.
Tell grandma and grandpa that I love them very very much and to please write me.
I got my plane ticket. We leave April 19th at 3 am!!!! That will be a very long day. I have been chosen as a travel leader. Lets hope I dont screw up and we end up in Hong Kong.
Stop sending letters to the MTC starting Wednesday of this week because I wont be able to read them before I leave.
I went to the temple today and it was amazing. When we walked there it was snowing like crazy and then when we walked back it was overcast with all the spring flowers in bloom and the mountains looked cool. I took pcitures that I will be mailing you soon.
I love you so much mom and dont worry about me im having the time of my life.
elder jonathan hunter :)
Wednesday, April 6, 2011
Elder Jonathan Hunter's MTC address
Elder Jonathan G Hunter
MTC Mailbox #215
CA-RIV 0419
2005 N 900 E
Provo UT 84604-1793
MTC Mailbox #215
CA-RIV 0419
2005 N 900 E
Provo UT 84604-1793
Hi mom! I am doing very well. I am starting to get used to waking up at 6:00 every morning. The food here is hit and miss but the past 2 days have been really yummy.
I love my companions Elder Romney is from Rexburg and his family owns Mill Hollow. Elder Park is from Shelley. We are in a 3 some. We all get along perfect. I have been called as district leader over my MTC district. I am really excited! Elder Baily is from Michigan and his dad is the state rep. Elder Reed is from
St Louis MO. They are both going to Boise Idaho for their mission. Elder Webster is from
St Goerge and Elder Larsen is from Lewiston, Idaho. I like my branch president and his wife a lot. They are from Orem. I am getting along great with all of my district elders. I love them all. When I first got dropped off everyone was so nice saying "Welcome to the MTC elder!" I heard that from like 30 missionaries throughout the day.
I got to see Alan! We have lunch and dinner around the same time. I saw some dude from my high school here to. I'm excited for Will to get here next week. The spirit is so strong here it is amazing. I am just soaking it up. I feel there is angels surrounding me and everyone here helping us learn and to protect us.
We get to go to the temple once a week on our P day. The MTC rules are very strict but I don't mind. There are lots of vending places to get snacks and soda and ice cream. I am gaining weight already I can feel im starting to get a gut.
There is a tree here called the skittles tree and its just a pine tree but it smells like skittles exactly! There is a guy in my hall way that makes a Chihuahua bark and it sounds just like one LOL!
All of my teachers are wonderful and perfect they are really neat people. They are college students at BYU that come in for a few hours a day to help out. Its really cool.
It is warm here today and theres flowers everywhere I am really excited. I walked outside this morning and smelled the flowers, dirt, and the trees. It was a really good smell.
I wish I would have packed more t-shirts. We have gym everyday if you could please send some of mine to me that would be fine and dandy lke sour candy.
Theres lots of really neat paintings here at the MTC that I have never seen before that are really cool.
I have been getting so much done it is crazy. I dont have any free time at all. I have learned so much the past 4 days its not even funny. Time is going to fly by here. I'm waiting to go into conference right now. I'ts held in the gym.
I love you guys with all my heart and I pray for you everynight and day.
Love your missionary Jonathan :)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)