6th week, ZL

Hey Everyone!

So first is first, Hovanski's thank you for your continual letters. I love hearing how the fam is doing and I am always so happy to hear about fun stuff like teaching the primary about fasting. Way neat. Fasting definately has power to it, and its amazing that the kids are learning about that.

So, I am still here in the MTC, and I am still sick. I have been sick for over a week now. It's not necessarly the worst thing in the world, it just means I get less sleep then everyone and more headaches... But, the hand of the Lord has been in my life and I can see it already. I have been receiving strength this last week, and I know I would not have been able to progress as much as I have without the Lord. (in fact IDK if there would be any progression at all).

This week we have been teaching one of our investigators, Mario, about the importance of church attendance and FHE. We brought over a member to teach with us. I just want to let everyone know, Member involvement in missionary work is CRITICAL!!! The members can do SO much for the work. (I wish i would have understood this before, I would have loved to go on splits with the missionaries). The spirit was there so strong. Mario has a lot of problems with drinking and such, but he is really starting to turn his life around and become a better father. His wife is still skeptical though, but I know with time the Lord will soften her heart.
(our investigators are all "fake" here in the MTC, but It is so very real the spirit that is here, and those who play the part of the investigator only change when they feel they have been influenced enough by the spirit, The hand of the Lord is in this work!)

Other new thing this week. On sunday, myself and my two comp.s were assigned as Zone Leaders... Lots more meetings... But we are grateful, we have been seeking oppertunities to serve and we now have one of the greatest positions to serve other missionaries. It will be crazy though. In the next 8 days we will go from 18 Missionaries to 54 missionaries... 54 Missionaries is a lot more than any ZL will have in their Zone in el Campo (the feild).
We get 4 sisters and 8 elders tonight. I know Dallin Eliason is coming in tonight so Maybe I will see him around the MTC!

also the MTC is filling up. They just announced they will have 2,900 missionaries in the MTC in August!! The work is going forward!!! :D :D

This week has been rough. I wont lie. Investigators have been hard, but the Lord has found ways to Humble us as a companionship and build us up as well.
This week for devositonal we had a man come (i cannot remember his name for my life, its in my notes though) who has written a lot of amazing church literature, He did an presentation on Joseph smith from the veiw point of one of his great friends. It was absolutely amazing. After we sang praise to the man and we began sitting, but within moments all the missionaries had stood up. It was incredible to feel the love these missionaries have for the prophet joseph smith. My mind flashed back to HT and singing to the prophet as we stood outside the John Jonson home. There is no way in that moment that I could deny that Joseph Smith was a prophet of God. My testimony is still small, but I know that Heavenly Father has restored the true and everlasting gospel through Joseph Smith.

Another tender mercy of the lord this week: while my comps and I were going to the front desk monday night to call president cameron I met an elder who had served in chiclayo!!!! He is the first elder I have met in the MTC who has/is going there. I dont think they send very many white people to chiclayo.... This missionary was injured out in the feild and sent back to heal and he is waiting for the next three months as he serves in the Chat center to find out if he makes it back out there. I hope he does. He was really nice and had an amazing glow about him. There is a huge differenc in the missionaries that have been here for a while and the ones who havent, and also a huge difference between the obedient and so obedient. He was a good missionary.

Apparenty my mission is everythign. Mountains, desert, jungle, beach. Im so excited!!! I mostly excited to meet my mission president. He sounds like the coolest guy.
Doesnt sound like I will be getting much mail out there though. He said it takes three weeks for letters to come though, and sometimes up to a year for packages... if they make it.
So if you are going to send anything. Send it now. (thank you btw to everyone who has sent letters, i love hearing how the lord has been blessing your lives. It brings a lot of joy into the work)

anyway I want to end with a spiritual thought.

D&C 6:32-37 has become a favorite of mine

v. 33 says: "Fear not to do good, my sons, for whatsoever ye sow, that shall ye also reap; therefore if sow good ye shall also reap good for your reward."

One thing i have learned this week is to completely trust in the spririt. Its hard and im still working on it. But nothing bad can come of listening to the spirit. Only good things can come.

During one lesson I didnt want to share a particular experience that the spirit was prompting me to share, but i did anyways. It was an experience near and dear to me and sacred. The investigator rejected and disregarded the message i was trying to share. It hurt, and i felt betrayed by the spirit because i didnt want to share it in the first place and I felt I had sullied that sacred event in my life. but I came to find out later the message i shared wasnt for the investigator, but for my companions.

Only good can come of listening to the promptings of the Holy Ghost.


I love you all

The church is true, Tell your friends!!!
Always turn outward and Keep Smiling!!!

Love, Elder Bunker

5th week Still in Limbo

Hey Everyone,

 

First, Thanks for letters. I really cant say thanks enough cause often letters are the answers to my prayers.

 

Rae Blanco: Thank you for the second letter. I was happy with myself that i was able to understand all the spanish you had written. Haha Also I really liked the quote that you shared.

 

Brandy Mayo: It was really good to get a letter from you too. Im not suprised about your calling. Your going to do great!! and actually your letter came at a great time! It was an amazing testimony to me of missionary from a converts perspective. I hope you dont mind but I shared part of it with my district.

 

I have really impressed with the sisters from the 109th ward and their dilligence in writing the missionaries. We all appreciate it a lot!!

So far i have seen Elders Zack Cole, KJ Aletto, Kahuna, Wyatt Clegg, Derek Holmstead, and Michael Goodman. We are all doing great and we love hearing from you.

 

Brittani Johanson: Thank you as well for your letter, It was really nice to hear from someone from HT. (Your the first to write me out of the HT family)

 

Hollie Answorth: Thank you as well. I had to laugh when i saw the tiny envelop. I got a few weeks ago but it got lost in my stuff. :P

 

Sorry I cant reply personally to all of your letters. If i had time I would because they really do mean a lot.

 

 

So this week in a nutshell, I am still here in Provo. They call this stage of waiting for a Visa "Limbo" because no one is really sure what will happen. It could even turn out I get sent state side for a while.

Also this week... I got sick. Not the funnest thing for a missionary. Im not terribly ill, so I have avoided going to the clinic cause im afraid they will cuarentine me and it will effect my time to be learning here in the MTC. (spanish has ruined my ability to spell), but its just bad enough that its been keeping me up at night. I have a sore throught and a cough, but i got a preisthood blessign this morning so it should be going away soon. The Lord has truley blessed me cause even though i have gotten very little sleep i have still had enough energy to teach and continue to learn spanish.

 

Also, This week we had a devotional given by Elder Perry. It was amazing cause 10 out of the 12 apostles were there. Elder Holland is the man crush of every missionary I talk to. Really kind of funny. We love the Apostles Here in the MTC. (People starting lining up for devo an hour or so early, we got let in before everyone else because one of the members of our trio was singing in the chior, reallly neat to be so close). All the mission presidents were there and it was just amazing cause you could feel the love radiating off of them. They really have been called to be mission presidents for a reason adn they do love their missionaries. I cant wait to meet mine.

 

Looking back on this week I have been able to see how the Lord has been giving me a completely different prespective. I have been working hard to improve myself and become better, but even when i think im there i could be better. I have found the need to be 100% humble and I am not sure if i know what that means yet, but Im sure I will find out soon.

 

The lord is looking out for his missionaries and the only reason any of this may be hard is because I am not perfect in anything yet and the Lord is finding ways to shape me into a new man. I really do feel different, and i feel like I can honestly say if all returned home tommorrow I would not be the same person. I have learned more about how to receive and recognize revelation in 3 weeks than I could in three years on my own. That alone has changed me.

 

Last thing, Dallin Eliason. If you are coming in this week keep your eye out for me! I hope i get to see you. I will find out probably today if I will be here for another week.

 

best of luck to all of you, I am praying for many of you specifically and all of you generally. I love you and I am grateful for that gift from the Lord

Truly, faith and the ability to love are gifts of heaven.

 

 

The Church is true! Tell your friends,

Always turn outward, and keep smiling!!

 

 

Love Elder Bunker

Foreshadowing of the "Best Two Years"

Hey Everyone,

 

First thank you Rae Blanco for your letter, I enjoyed getting it. I have to admit I have not heard of most of the food you mentioned. Im sorry this reply is through email. P'day´s are pretty hetic most of the time.

 

Second, Brittani Rawlings, If you are working at the MTC you need to say hi!! I have been looking for you but I havent seen you yet. Elder Brady is still here and he hasnt seen you either.

 

Third, Family, I saw Elder Alex Christofferson yesterday. It was really good to see some family here in the MTC. He seems like he is doing well and is happy. The first day is always the most overwhelming but he seemed happy.

 

and last, I am still here in the MTC. Still no word about my Visa. Ive decided to stop asking the travel office, and just wait haha. There is a reason my visa hasn't come in yet and i still dont knwo what it is, but all i know is there is a reason I am still here in the MTC. Mission Presidents conference is this weekend so there is a whole bunch of general authorities comming to speak. there are 6 sacrament meetings for the whole MTC this sunday and I am sure there will be General Authorities there (I have been assigned to pass the sacrament in that meeting!!). Also there is a MTC wide preisthood meeting. So I might have the chance to hear from some of the Apostles there as well. Pretty exciting.

Dallin Eliason, I might be here when you arrive. So keep your eyes out. Our zone leaders have been here for almost their full 9 weeks because they are still waiting for their visas.

 

K funny story. So every Wed. we go to the TRC or Teachign Resource Center and teach vollunteers who speak our language. This week we taught a man named scott. Scott is a very interesting guy. (He looks just like Uncle Justin)

When we arrived at the TRC we went up to the third floor and found the door that we were supposed to knock on. Scott was on the phone so we were going to wait adn not bother him, but our teacher (hermano davis) knocked anyways. So scott answers the door and Lo and Behold... It is the guy who played the investigator from the "Best Two Years". I about swallowed my tounge. We sat down and began our lesson wtih scott and we got to the part were we were sharign a quote from Preach my Gospel. We had forgotten our copies of spanish PMG so I had to read from a mini spanish version my companion had. The print was so small that it was hard to read so i kept stuttering and tripping over words. My mind flashed back to the part int he movie where the new missionary testifies that He also knows that Joseph Smith was a pamplet. It was so funny it was hard not to laugh. Of course that didnt help my spanish at all.

 

So, so everyone knows. I taught the investigator from the best two years. Kind of surreal. not going to lie. And i ended up being the awkward gringo in our lesson.

(it seems like in every lesson some one owns at spanish and someone keeps forgetting the vocab) its all good though. He said our spanish was really good for only being here for four weeks. that was encouragement.

 

I swear I have learned more spanish in the last 4 weeks than I have in 3 years of highschool. (The trick to learning spanish, it seems, is being completely humble. Still working on it. but the Lord will help me get there)

 

Thank you all for your love and support. I can feel the power of your prayers. please keep praying. There is no work more important than this.

 

The church is true, Tell your friends!

Always turn outward, and Keep Smiling!!

 

Love,

Elder Bunker

 

PS Also jsut a reminder. You can all send me letters through DearElder.com

MTC Super Senior: The Fantastic Trio

Hey Everyone,

 

So I guess first things are first. Thank you everyone for sending letters as usual I wont have time to reply to all of them, but I will try my hardest.

 

Second, if anyone is wondering, I am still in Provo. I got a call last Pday efter i sent my email and they informed me that Salt Lake called and i didnt get my visa. Not going to lie I was a bit dissappointed. Especially when I found out everyone else got their visas. Its been an interesting week. However, I was talking to my branch president and he told me that there is a reason i havent left yet. There may be something i still need to learn here in the MTC or someone i still need to meet or help. I think part of the reason I am still here was fulfilled today.

 

Every P-day we get to go to the temple and do work. Today we went to do some sealings, to make a long story short and to keep the sacred nature of the event, we went and I met a lady there from Peru. She is from a small town near Chiclayo and her much of her family lives in chiclayo. I couldnt beleive it. I had never met anyone from there or who has heard of it besides grandma and grandpa and a man who was visiting our ward a while ago. I know Heavenly Father put her in my path. When i told her i was going to be serving my mission in chiclayo she got so excited and was practically jumping out of her seat. She got this big grin and in broken english she said "Thank you, Thank you" and patted me on my arm.

 

I cannot wait to go down to peru and meet all the people and teach. I realized though, while i was talking to this lady that my spanish is no where good enough to teach with clarity.

My new comps and i are working hard on our spanish and we are trying to talk nothing but spanish. Our teacher laughs sometimes cause we sound so gringo. I wanted more than anything today to talk to that lady though. And I was so frustrated I couldn't talk clearly. Even though spanish is frustrating we have been learning a lot. we continually pray for the gift of toungs... we need it.

 

so my new comps... Elder Lythgoe and Elder Kjar. They are the funniest elders. We have only been a companionship since tuesday but it is one of the greatest blessing to have companions who I can set goals with. I have been blessed thus far with good comps. Both of them are going to mexico and they are here for 9 weeks. I hope all goes well for them, mexico is a hard place to get a visa too it sounds like.

 

Hovanski's, Thank you so much for the star chart. I wanted to make one before i left. Its going to be really different looking at a new part of the universe I have never seen before for the next two years. I am excited to use it when i get down there.

 

Brittani Rawlings, So I am still here in the MTC. I know you start work tommorrow so keep an eye out for me and I will do the same. Eric Brady is here and so are some of our other friends. Tyler Reyes left on Monday.

 

HT kids, so thus far i have seen Cree Anderson, Kayden Heaton, and someone else from tour, cant remember his name. Came in yesterday though. We are all doing well and the work is comming. How is tanner browning, nathan, and dallin??? I miss those kids.

 

The other new thing that has happened this week is i was honorably released as district leader this last sunday. so its been kind of an adjustment. at first i thought maybe the reason i was here in the MTC was so i could help my district as their district leader, but when i learned i was being released i figured its for a different reason.

 

Sorry my english is so bad,

 

I love you all. Thank you for your letters and support. Ive said this before, but letters can sometimes been the lifeblood of a missionary.

(even though the spirit is plenty motivating)

 

The church is true, tell your friends.

Always turn outward, and keep smiling.

 

Elder Bunker

Level 2 Missionary

Hey everyone!!

 

I cant beleive the second week is already over!! It is crazy how fast the weeks go by and how long the days are. I was joking around with another missionary the other day about how long days can be, but how fast the weeks pass by. He said, "So how does it feel to be a level 2 missionary?" ;) haha I remember when I first got into the MTC all of the other missionaries seemed so much older than me. I can understand why now. I have grown so much in the past two weeks. I think I can honestly say that if the Savior came tommorrow and they sent all the missionaries home today I would not be the same young man I was two weeks ago. Now, obviously there is still a lot of growing and learning to do, I am trying to avoid being prideful as best I can. I have found that in the moments when Pride takes over and you think you have it down the Lord sends trials to humble you and help you to continue to grow. And beleive me, when you are humbled in the MTC you are really humbled...

 

Sorry if anything is spelled wrong, or my grammer is bad. Spanishing is sucking the life out of my English speaking skills.

 

Spanish is coming along great. Again, Obviously, there is still much more learning to do. But we went to the TRC yesterday and one of the volunteers there said our spanish was pretty good. That definately was a tender mercy from the Lord, because sometimes I wonder if there is a light to the end of the "Learning Spanish" tunnel. I know the Lord is helping me though.

 

Speaking of Spanish. We are getting a new investegator tonight! Kind of nervous. (Its our teacher so it should be fine cause he is a really relaxed guy, but still) Alberto, our current investigator, is another one of our teachers. His name is Hermano Peck. He is one of the most genuine, sincere, Hermanos I know. We committed him to baptism yesterday!!! Haha it took us a while. But now we are working with him to help him solve his drinking problems, and hopefully he will be well on his way to the temple! :D

 

Now... My companion, Elder Gates. He is actually a really cool guy. He loves polotics though haha. He and another one of our roomates Elder Lowe had a polotical debate while we were getting ready for bed. I had to leave the room because I realized that I can be pretty opinionated haha. I want to keep the spirit the best I can cause it is the only way to survive out here.

 

Also this week we got a new Elder in our district. His name is Elder Maddock. He is a short cowboy from Wyoming and he is just funny. He has a lot of different stories about breaking horses and working in a rodeo, and all sorts of other "what you do in Wyoming" stuff. I have to watch myself cause his stories are really interesting and its easy to forget what time it is. I have found myself running to meetings a few times.

 

It seems I have so little time to do anything. So when P-Day comes around its the best. Other missionaries get to hang out on sunday and study, but because I am the leader of our district I have lots of meetings to go to. Elder Jensen came on Tuesday as his last visit as a 70. He will be released this month, but he left some departing wisdom for the missionaries, and one peice of advice was to not seek after positions of authority. Amen!! He said this church is not the "Church of Latter-day Status" and we shouldnt treat it as such. My Advice to anyone going on a mission anytime soon or in the next few years. DO NOT seek after positions. Its hard being a district leader and sometimes I find I would rather just be a normal missionary. I am not complaining though. I know this is where the Lord wants me to be and I am grateful for the oppertunity I have to serve the members of our district.

 

Anyway, a spiritual thought for you all....

 

If any of you are wondering what the spirit feels like or how to recognize it here is some advice from Elder Bednar, "Many people ask me: how can I tell if it is the spirit or just me. My response is, quit worring about it! ...You be a good boy, you be a good girl, you honor your covenants and keep the commandments, and you will find yourself doing what the Lord would have you do, and in the places the Lord would have you be."

 

How true that is!!!

 

Anyway, I love you all. Thank you to those who sent the dearElders. sometimes letters can be a missionaries lifeblood.

 

The church is true, tell your friends!!

 

Elder Bunker

Letter #1

Hey everyone!

Before I forget this is my address. I realized I forgot to give it to people when I didn't receive any letters this week :P

My MTC address is:

Elder Isaac Bunker

Provo MTC

MTC Box # 292

2005 North 900 East

Provo, UT 84604

You can also get onto DearElder.com and email/mail me. My mission is the Peru, Chiclayo mission.

DearElder.com is a really cool site because you can email me on there and they will print it off that day, and so I can read your letters during the week rather than during my 30 min of email that I get once a week.

So the MTC is nothing like I ever imagined. I used to work here so I kind of know my way around, but I never expected what everyday would be like. I pretty much live in 3 rooms: the room I sleep in, the room I study in, and the cafeteria. Haha so not a lot of scenery, but its alright. I am here to work so that is what I am going to do. Haha and that is what I have been doing now that I think about it. The days are really long, but I can hardly beleive a week has already passed since being dropped off.

My companion's name is Elder Gates. He is a hard worker so I am really grateful. He is also a super optimistic guy and has lifted my spirits on multiple occasions. There is a reason he is my companion. He is from Southern Utah and I guess he knows McCall Smith from my BYU student ward.

Oh also, one of the instructors. I have no idea what his name is, used to live right next to Michelle Perry and was good friends with her sister.

So Michelle and McCall if you read this I know a few of your friends.

Sorry the time is running out. The computer froze on me and wasted a lot of time.

But I love you all and I hope Everythign is going well at home!

Elder Bunker

Hey guys Isaac is in the MTC as of Wednesday the 23rd. We dropped him off at 12:00. Good Luck Bud! I'm sure we all cannot wait to hear of your first adventures. -Heidi B. Lamy