January 5, 2016

Hallo iederien! Het heeft een andere gekke week hier in Suriname zijn! It's been another good old Uitkijk week here with tones of cool stuff happening.

Good gracious! New Years here puts anything you see in the states to shame!! It's a war-zone here at New Years time. I had to put in earplugs to get any sleep. Thankfully I slept through the entire night which I consider a blessing. A lot of our appointments fell through for New Years which was a bit of a bummer, but it's like that around holidays. We had a branch New Years party on the 1st which was fun. We had a little testimony meeting and then ate some Pindesoep which is like Peanut Butter in soup form. You eat it with these little balls of dough with some chicken. It's a fun little Creole food here in Suriname.

Wednesday I led out the area of Uitkijk. I know right? I've only been in the area for 2 weeks with only 2 weeks worth of Dutch behind me. It went pretty well though. We biked the 70 minute bike ride to Groningen, where President Schipper lives. We had a little lesson with him. We usually then work our way back with some other people that we visit. But coming back I got a flat on my back tire. And let me tell you,DUTCH BIKES ARE COMPLICATED! Luckily I had a Dutchman with me, Elder Van Den Herik. Elder Van Den Herik is from the Netherlands and understands Dutch bikes really well so he was able to help me get my bike fixed and up and running again so we could bike back that night. Fun stuff.

President and Sister Egbert have been in Suriname for the past week or so. They spent Sunday in Uitkijk and came to church here. Fast Sunday here was awesome. The R's came to church which is AWESOME! They're on line right now for baptism on the 23rd this month. They just need to come to church 2 more times and they'll be ready. Sister Egbert says thank you, mom, for making me play the piano. She says I'm one of only a handful of people she knows that came play piano in the entire mission. President Egbert got up and bore his testimony in Dutch which was cool to hear.  Broeder R also got up and bore his testimony of how the gospel has blessed he and his family. Zuster Ronerajo started to cry by how powerful the spirit was there in that meeting.

The R family are doing absolutely steller! We had a lesson on the Atonement with them Sunday night which was an awesome lesson. Some how that lesson evolved into going to the temple and family history work. They have said they are planning on going to the temple here within the next year after their baptism which is awesome. They also want to start doing some family history after their baptism so me and Elder Dibb have been looking for the best ways of going about doing that. They're absolutely awesome!

We are continuing to teach M. We were supposed to see her Wednesday but because my bike broke down we didn't have enough time. We were able to meet with her Sunday and teach her the rest of Het Heilsplan(Plan of Salvation). She's continued to read and accepted the invitation to be baptized. The next step with her is getting her to church. Hopefully we'll see her there within the next week.

We have a number of other investigators that we are also working with. We haven't been able to see them much, if at all this week because of New Years and Christmas. Everything will resume back to normal this next coming week hopefully.

I am absolutely loving Uitkijk as usual! It is so much fun down here! Yes mom and dad I got your package with the new camera. I am having way too much fun with this thing. I may or may not have already taken a few hundred pictures on it. I do need to apologize. The computers here are a bit sketchy so I can't send home pictures without getting a virus. But I promise I have taken TONES of pictures. I promise I'll catch up haha!

I absolutely love being a missionary. It's definitely a privilege to be able to do the Lord's work here in Suriname. The gospel is absolutely amazing! I am very grateful for it and for the chance that I have to be able to share it with others.

Ik hou van jullie!!!

Elder Hunt

January 5,2016

Sweet questions from Elder Hunt's sister to him:

Do you and your companion have the same bike? We don't have the same bike. Both of our bikes are Dutch imported though.

Do you like the food there? The food here is great. You can get a lot of Dutch food and American food from the big stores here and then everyone usually feeds us Guyanese or Asian food.

Can you get milk chocolate there? Yes the Chocolate milk here is amazing! Not as good as the states but definitely very tasty!

Is there a beach close by?  When we go up to Leiding (which is the north part of our area), we are about 3 miles from the coast. But no I haven't been to the beach yet. We're hoping to go within the next couple of weeks.

How are you able to email us?  We go to internet cafes to email. There aren't any in Uitkijk area so we're also allowed to email from our church building in Uitkijk.

What time dose your church start?  Church starts at 10am.

Were do you and your companion sleep and have your meals?  We have our own small house that we live in (pictures on the way).

December 28,2015

Hey everyone!! Vroelijke Kerst! It's been another awesome week here in Suriname! A lot of exciting stuff has been happening here

We had an awesome/interesting Christmas!  Monday all the Surinamer missionaries got together and had a big Christmas party.  We got some food, did a White Elephant gift thing and played some Ware-wolf. We were supposed to have a Branch Christmas party but it got cancelled last minute. We knew the members were going to be bummed about it so we decided to fire up the oven, bake some cookies (thank you for the recipes mom;) ), and go caroling to all the members here. We invited those we caroled to, to come with us so by the end we had a pretty good amount of people caroling with us.

Christmas itself was cool. Our first appointment for the day cancelled on us so we headed to Koerasan (the branch just east of Uitkijk) where we were going to go Skype. Skyping was fun, but did feel a little short. We were only allowed like 30 minutes skyping. After skyping we headed back to the apartment and then headed to the R's who invited us over for Christmas dinner. It was fun eating with them.  I brought some of my no bake cookies to the dinner. Apparently they were really good because Zuster R asked for the recipe :)

The R's themselves are doing awesome. We got them back on date for baptism in late January. They said they would make it to church for the next three weeks. It'll be very exciting to see them at church. They've continued reading and praying which was awesome. We were going to share a lesson with them after dinner but then a huge car accident happened on the street outside their house so they ran out to help with that. The accident completely blocked off the road, and it took an 1 and a half to 2 hours to clean it up. That street was our only way home so we didn't get back home until like 11 at night.

We also were able to have another lesson with M on Sunday. We weren't able to teach her last week because of the Christmas craziness. She was very excited to tell us not only what she read in Het Boek van Mormon but also what she was learning from it. We had a lesson with her on the plan of salvation and she was very receptive to everything. We are hoping to get her on date for baptism here in the near future.

Other then that Uitkijk has been pretty fun. I was pretty amused when I heard Dutch reggae music for the first time haha. Suriname's quite the interesting place. It's pretty fun to be out in the jungle quite honestly.  It's not crazy like in the city.  It's very content and quiet.  Sometimes we'll be working/proselyting somewhere and off in the distance you can hear a group of baboons in the jungle.

I am absolutely having the time of my life out here in Uitkijk! The people are great and I love speaking Dutch even if I can only speak a little.  My package hasn't come yet so I don't have any pictures as for now< Thank you for all your support! I'll be back next week with more to come!!

Ik hou van jullie!!!

Gifts that they took to their investigators. Each had a message on it 

No Bake cookies that everyone loved, and Danish bread with cream cheese and another topping

Peanut Butter  Cookies

Merry Christmas December 21,2015

Hallo hallo en groetjes van Suriname! Holy cow it's been a crazy week this week! A lot of stuff has been happening and my head is still spinning from it all!

I am absolutely loving it here in Uitkijk! The first thing I have to say about Suriname is I can't believe how much of a European influence there is here. Having spent about the same amount of time in Europe as I have in Guyana, it's super interesting to see how Suriname is similar to both. There were three things I was looking forward to the most here in Suriname, I would be able to use my Dutch finally, I get a Dutch bike, and there's strop-waffles all over the place.

We left for Georgetown Tuesday night and flu to Voog en Hoop, Suriname Wednesday morning. Me, Elder Burr and Elder Buehler left from Guyana that morning. Sister Parker also got her MKV so she flu into Suriname that night. It's awesome that we all got here so quickly. I remember my first impressions of Suriname were that it was very similar as Guyana, only all of the sudden everything was in Dutch. It was a bit of a shock to see that. Suddenly all this stuff I learned in the MTC's become very relevant haha.

We drove to Uitkijk, where I met my new companion Elder Dibb. Elder Dibb is an awesome guy. He's from Pleasant Grove, Utah and has been out a year longer than I have. He speaks great Dutch and despite what he says, he's also very fluent in Sranan Tongo (literally Suriname Language). Here in Suriname the official language is Dutch, but the further and further away from the city you get the more and more likely people are to speak Sranan Tongo. It's a language developed by the slaves here way back when that didn't want to learn Dutch, and people still speak it today.

We have some awesome investigators here in Uitkijk. We are currently working with the Ranarajo family, a fun family of 7 that are very receptive to everything we teach them. The only thing that's keeping them back from baptism is church attendance. Other then that they've been reading and praying and doing everything else we've asked them to do. They're awesome. Another of our investigators is Melissa, who's been very receptive to everything as well. She's been reading and hopefully we can get her to church within the next few weeks.

I honestly am very glad I got assigned out here to Uitkijk. It's very beautiful and very clean. As President Skipper (our Branch president said), "Het is heel vreugde en stilde uit hier in Groningen. U #### dit niet vinden in de staad". We do a lot of biking out here. We bike on average 20 to 30 miles a day, about 110-120 miles a week. I have a super nice bike to help with it though. It's a Dutch-made beach-cruiser, imported from the Netherlands, who have some of the best bikes in the world. I can't' help but think "Don't mind Elder Hunt out here. He's just hanging out in Suriname, riding his imported, Dutch beach-cruiser through the Amazon jungle." The people out here are awesome too. The only things I really don't like here are the amount of biking we do, and at night you have to keep your eye on the road for anacondas. Other then that Uitkijk is awesome!

I don't have a tone of pictures for this week which I apologize for. I don't have my camera yet but hopefully I'll get it this week. I am absolutely loving Suriname though! Where else can you find cobblestone roads and chocolate and cheese delicacies in the middle of the jungle? One of my favorite parts of Uitkijk is that there's a huge Chinese store (all the grocery stores here are owned by the Chinese) that is in the center of our area. When we're just absolutely beat we'll go get some Dutch chocolate or  drinks or icecream. It's pretty great.

Thank you for all that you've done and all of the support that you've given me. I'll be back next week with more to come!

Elder Hunt

The Abbensets

Tamir

Their tiny airplane!

Suriname

Burger king in Suriname

pictures from December 14,2015

First picture is me and Brother Hilton. He's a convert of about 4 months and is an awesome member here in New Amsterdam. 

The next picture is of Kelly and Pria, the two investigator's we've been teaching. 

Next is me with Adrian, our other rock solid investigator who's been coming to church.

DECEMBER 14, 2015

Hey hey hey!!! A tone of stuff has been happening this last week (as usual). I got my transfer call and I'm headed to Uitkijk, Suriname! Uitkijk (pronounced out-kike) is legendary in the mission for being very spread out, so the missionaries do a lot of biking, and if you want to serve in the Amazon Jungle, you go to Uitkijk. It'll be fun stuff!!

This week has been a nightmare though. I wasn't able to serve in my area until Thursday evening. Monday was P-day and I was taking it pretty chill, sorta relaxing. We just got back from shopping and I was doing some laundry before we left to go email. Then Elder Cook gets a phone call from the ZL's which said something like "tell Elder Burr and Elder Hunt to start packing their bags, they are leaving for Suriname NOW!" So we scrambled to get our things together and then we get another phone call saying that we weren't going to Suriname, but that we were headed to Trinidad to do some MKV paperwork to go to Suriname.

We left for Georgetown that night and spent the night at the Guyana mission office. We met up with Elder Buehler in the morning and the 3 of us flew to Trinidad where we spent the day with the AP's doing paperwork. We went to the Suriname embassy in Port-of-Spain where we received our visa's. Apparently you don't need your visa to apply for an MKV. So my MKV was applied for before I arrived in the mission, that's why I got it so fast. We flew back to Georgetown that night and dropped dead at the mission office as soon as we got there haha.

Wednesday I was in Rosignol, across the Berbice river to go on an exchange with Elder Parker. We spent the day in Bush Lot and Rosignol contacting and teaching people. It was refreshing to be in another area, not sure if that's a good thing haha. Thursday I made it back to New Amsterdam. We taught some awesome lessons as well. We taught the Seonerine family. They are a recent convert family that are absolutely awesome! Brother Seonerine just got back from working in the interior. He is from Suriname so me and Elder Burr were able to speak some of our Dutch with him. We also taught Kelley and Pria and had an awesome lesson with them.

Adrian got back from his trip from Corrantine and so we were able to teach him a lesson. He came to church on Sunday which was awesome! His sister is LDS but she is still in Corrantine so he went to church with barely any support which was awesome.

Saturday we had PEC (Priesthood Executive Committee) which is being held regularly now which is awesome. That's something we've been working on in our branch as well, is getting better organization. We've been helping train our branch clerk, and we're currently in the process of getting home teaching and visiting teaching going in the branch. If we get those things going Sunday attendance will definitely rise.

We got transfer calls on Saturday as well. Elder Burr is headed to Paramaribo and Elder Cook is training another Dutch missionary that will be arriving. I've just been so scatter brained this week going to Trinidad, preparing to go to Suriname, and saying goodbye to people. I have made some very dear friendships here in New Amsterdam. Despite all the things that can drive me crazy here, it'll be hard to leave. You truly won't know how much you'll miss something until you have to leave it. I'm excited to go to Suriname though! My new comp seems super cool and I WILL FINALLY BE ABLE TO START USING MY DUTCH!!! Everyone says to be grateful for being able to speak English for a time but I personally think the sooner you get to your area the sooner you'll get the language down.

I am grateful for this chance that I have to be able to serve as a missionary here in New Amsterdam. It's been quite the ride on my mission and I'm excited for more of the things the Lord has in store for me. It's been relatively crazy but in the end it will all work out and we will have fulfilled the Lord's purpose. I have learned some great lessons in Mesa as well as New Amsterdam. A favorite scripture that I found this week is in Alma 7: 22-24. Verse 24 says:

 24 And see that ye have faith, hope, and charity, and then ye will always abound in good works.

Behind it all is the importance of having charity. When we have charity, we will "abound in good works". Thank you for all of your support! I am super excited to be headed to Suriname! I'll be back next week with more to come!

Ik hou van jullie!!!

Elder Hunt

Landscape

Randy Seonerine family in Guyana

Service project.. breaking the floor

flying to Trinidad to work on MKV's

"I love to fly"

Dec 8, 2015 In Trinidad

Hey hey hey! This last week has been hectic and I am in Trinidad currently doing paperwork for my MKV. As far as I know I have received my MKV. I have no idea how I got my MKV this fast (it's you're fasting and prayers). This does not officially mean I am headed to Suriname yet. I don't know.

I don't have much time so I'll write about the extra special highlights this week. My birthday was great! We were fed at every appointment we had that day which was crazy but also kind of nice because that never happens in Berbice. We had some lessons in New Amsterdam as well as in Edinburg. Elder Cook made me and Elder Burr a birthday cake, and YES mom and dad I have received your package, thank you thank you thank you!!! The chocolate is delicious. The Belgian Chocolates didn't melt that much, and they're super good!!!

For service this week we cleaned the church building. We cleaned that place inside out. A problem in Berbice is that cane dust gets everywhere. Cane dust comes from burnt sugar cane fields and it's ashes get all over everything.

We have a new investigator, Nafeeza. She is doing very well and is receptive to everything that we teach. It's been hard teaching her because she doesn't really know her work schedule.

We had some awesome lessons with some other investigators we've found. Pria and Kelly are sisters that help their uncle and aunt run a family store. They were referred to us by Sister Seonerine, a sister in Edinburg. We have had some awesome lessons. This one lesson me and Elder Burr went and taught them the Plan of Salvation. The spirit was so strong in the lesson. Kelly gave the closing prayer to the lesson, and the prayer was absolutely beautiful. She started crying after the lesson. And with tears in her eyes she said "I have been looking for something like this my entire life". When we were leaving Pria told us "Thank you for coming to teach us. We feel so happy when you come and teach us". They are absolute golden investigators it will be exciting to see how things play out.

We had an awesome rest of our week. We taught almost 10 more lessons than our average which was awesome!!!

Monday we went over to Rosignal apartment to do a pig roast. It was... interesting. Quite the experience. Then me and Elder Cook get this surprise phone call that I'm leaving for Trinidad that night. I thought I was headed to Suriname that night from what it sounded like. But me and Elders Burr and Buehler flew to Trinidad to do some MKV work.

I love you all. I will know where I'll be going by this next Monday. Thank you for all of your support!

Ik hou van jullie!!!

Turned 19

biking in Guyana

Pig roasting.... on a ironing board

last week in Guyana