9/25/13

So this week has been a bit interesting.

This week was a bit difficult because we had to go around and try to find our investigators again and put appointments and try to teach them. The trick was that I was still pretty weak and just to get to the begining of the area where the majority of our investigators live we have to walk about 30 min and by the time we got there I knew that if we went much further I wouldn´t be able to get back to the house. So that was a bit frustrating, but it was what we had to do because that was all we could do. I was able to get my strength back a little more everyday so we were able to leave longer and walk farther. So that was last week and by the end of the week I was feeling like I did before I was sick.

This week we have been working with the less active that I was reactivating and his wife that we were teaching in Pueblo Nuevo my last area. They were the ones with the accident where their house burnt down and it killed their three little kids which has been devestating, but they have been working with me because in my area it is easier to get married so we finally have it all planned and they are going to get married this friday which is soooo great! We have been working with them for a while and they are finally going to get married so that is great. She will then be able to get baptised. They are a very special experience for me. she learned how to read with us throught the book of mormon and before she wouldn´t really talk to anybody she would just smile and laugh, but now she is expressing herself and talking a lot and is learning a lot. It was really sad and today was the first time I have seen them since the accident and I could tell that it has been hard for them expecially hard for her but they have plans to get sealed next year which is going to be so great!

We have also been working with this less active family and we went down with him to see what it is going to take to marry them and because he is haitian it is going to be really hard and expensive. He was a little discouraged because of the hard requirements. so we went to their house and talked to them about how they are going to be able to get married. We made plans with them on how they can do it and they seem a lot more excited although it is going to take a long time. He has called us asking when we are going to pass by and also he has been coming to church almost every week for the past three weeks and also the activities so that is going great, we just have to get the wife to come to church now.  

Well I hope that you guys are all haveing a great week getting ready for general Conference. I love you guys tons!

Elder Hunter Cannon

 

 

9/18/13

Well this week there really isn´t much to report on. Wednesday we were able to get three lessons in and then on the way home I was just really really tired. we planned and then I went straight to bed because i was so tired. thursday I woke up and was just not feeling good. I had a high fever and just had no energy and felt like I was going to throw up and I had a head ache and I felt like my eyes were going to pop out. So I called sister douglas and she told me to wait because it could be the flu or it could be dengue but the fever should break in a couple of hours. so I waited the day there in our house then that night I went to the hospital. I had dengue. There really isn´t a treatment for dengue they just keep me on fluid and watch my fever, and watch my platelet levels. So everyday they would come and take blood to see how things were going. I stayed there until tuesday morning and it was not very fun at all I was able to sleep a lot though.

 

Well I hope that you guys had a great week. Happy birthday Taylor and happy aniversery amanda and taylor. I love you guys Tons!!!

 

Elder Hunter Cannon

9/11/13

This week has been great.

We are starting to see some of the fruits of our efforts of contacting. We have also had a little bit of help from the members when they leave with us to show us where some members live so that we can work with them. This last sunday there were four less actives that came to church that we have been working with. It was really great. We are also working a lot with a family of four, the parents and two kids 8 and 9 years old. The sisters had been working with them before and now we are working with them to try to help them progress. They are really starting to progress. The dad especially. He told us that his life has been changing since he has been reading the things that the missionaries have been leaving. This week he got hired on the pay roll to a company and it seems like things are just getting better for them.

We were in a lesson with them this week and we were teaching about the 10 commandments and we came to the Day of Rest and we were explaining it. He plays baseball normally Sundays in the afternoon and after we explained it he asked us if baseball was a big deal to play on sunday, and told him that God is more important to him than baseball. We explained a little more about it and then let him make his own disicion and he seemed very happy about that, it seemed to me that he is going to try to get in a league to play on Saturday instead of Sunday. They are doing great. The mom is a little more shut to the message but little by little she is opening up. This week she even prayed to finish off one of the lessons. 

It has been raining a lot here this past week. We basically lived wet from soaked to damp. We have also been walking a lot this week. We took one afternoon to walk to this area that is really far out there to see what we can do there, because there are some members and a lot of less actives that live out there. We walked for a staight hour and we finally got there. We felt like we should finally ask someone if we were there yet and they pointed to the street right there. We turned down the street ready to just start contacting. The first house we walked by I noticed out of the corner of my eye a picture of the temple in the far wall of the house. So we stopped and it was the relief society president. We asked where some people lived and so we started there and found 2 family members of a new member who seem really excited and then also some less actives. It was inspiracion.

We also had some more problems with the division of our area. The sisters don´t feel very safe is some areas in their half. So we talked to the branch president to redo the divisions and what he decided is that we aren´t going to have divisions we are just going to work as a team. So that is going to be a little tricky. I now have to try to guide the work in my district so that we actually work all of Villa Gonzalez and not just the center part. 

So our area is super big. We have to walk for an hour straight from our house without stopping to get to the last neighborhood on one side and an hour straight from the house in the other direction to get to the last neighborhood in that dirrection. And we still don´t know how wide it really is but it is big especially because of all the tabacco fields. We have heard of another area that is super far away that is part of our area, but I am not exactly sure if it is or not. That one would be like 2 hours straight walking from the house to get there. and 2 hours back. so that is going to be hard of that actually is part of our area.

I hope that you guys have a great week! I hope  that Amanda got all moved in and everything is great. I didn´t get the letter about Grandpa Nowers and having that in his kidneys but I will pray for him.

Con Cariño 

Elder Cannon

9/4/13

So this week was pretty awesome!

So this week my companion was getting a bunch of bug bites and a couple started to really swell up. Like the back of his hand was big and round you couldn´t see any knuckles or anything. So we had to go to the hospital. So we went there and the doctor told us that it was an alergic reaction so he was going to give him a shot and then some cream to rub on it to try to help it get better. So they had to give him the shot in the butt. When they told me that I started to laugh and told him and then i went outside the curtain. The nurse went in the and told my companion to lay down but he didn´t understand so she started to get really angry and shouting lay down! She eventually just pushed him and he got the clue, but started to laugh. it was really funny how angry she got but we were able to get done and out of there.

This week we have been trying to contact and find as many less actives that we can. We have found a lot of really people. We found a family that we thought was golden and then last night we found out their problem. It is going to be a little hard to help them, but the best thing is that I know that the gospel is really what they need in there lifes to make them happy and that way they can change a be a great family. But it is going to be a challenge. 

It has been going great I am loving it here in Villa ¨Gonzalez. I love you guys a ton and hope that you guys have a great week this week. especially with amandas house and everything going on. Love you guys tons!

Love 

Elder Cannon

8/29/13

Back to the field!

So last night I finally moved. I was hoping to be in my area by the afternoon to plan a little with my new missionary, and meet with the ward mission leader. Then things started to get a little complicated. The new office missionary is in the hospital and hasn´t left yet. So yesterday i had to go into the office and put all the new minutes on everybodies phones, and the system had some problems so that was a bit hard and took a long time. Then I also had to give an english test to one of the missionaries that was finishing his mission yesterday. By the time that was all done I didn´t have my truck because other people were still looking for all the missionaries and bags and stuff. So one of them had all my lugage so we couldn´t go to our area until someone brought me my stuff. We ended up having dinnner in the mission home and then after i had to run even more errands. We got to the house at 9ish. It was a mess. They have just finished building the apartments. So it was just so dusty and dirty. We had to set up all the stuff like beds and stove and fridge, but it was nice because all the office elders helped us. We got to be late and this morning we had to just clean because it was so messy and all our stuff was still packed up.

This last week was pretty busy we were finishing up all the moves and little things for transfers. We were just passing the members house to say goodbye and to take a picture with them. We were just done and we were going to go and contact a little to try to find more investigators, and just as we were about to leave a member showed up at the house. It was a member that i recognized but didn´t really know because he only came ever now and again. He walked in and stopped and just about fell on his face. I was right there so i caught him and caught a huge whif of rum. So i sat him down on a chair so he didn´t fall over. He was so drunk. He grabbed me so I just sat there next to him and he told me that he wasn´t going back to church. I tried to just calm him down because i knew he would remember if i tried to teach him anything. So I just told him he could and that we would help him, and by the end he was telling us that he can do it. After he did that he started to cray. He grabbed my arm, which drunk guys are pretty strong and tried to rip my arm off. He was pulling and hugging my arm, and crying. then he kissed my arm. So i told me that we could take him to his house to go to sleep. So we took him to his little one room house. He was starting to keep a little angry again. I was talking to him and then he just started yelling and turned from the door as if he was going to just beat the crap out of me. I just braced for the impact of his fist in my stomach and tried to step back and my companion thought so too so he stepped closer to try to grab is arm, but he didn´t we put him in his house and left him there. then we went back and washed our hands and when we came out of the bathroom he was there on the porch again in the chair. So we just left hi with the members there. He told me lots of time the he just loved me lot. It was pretty crazy.

Well I hope that you guys have a great week and that you guys are loving school! Amanda´s house looks really good and it seems to be coming along really quickly. I love yu guys Tons!!

Con Cariño

Elder Hunter Cannon

8/24/13

This week has been pretty crazy. We have been getting everything ready for transfers that are coming up. I am also finishing up training the new office elder because I am leaving this transfer. As now if there aren't last minute changes involved I am going to be opeing up a new area in Villa Gonzalez, a small town just outside of Santiago, and I will be training a new missionary. So that has been pretty interesting.

This week with the office work one of the houses failed on us last minute so we had to find a new apartment and do the contract really fast and had to do 4 moves with all the fridges and washers and stoves and beds, desks the whole deal. So that was pretty crazy. One was in Nagua and the others where here in Santiago. I also had to go to Bonao with the financial secretary to pay for a missionary who is in the hosptial. This missionary really inspired me. We went there and I found out that she is alergic to mosquitos and when they bit her they turn into blisters and then explode. Because of that is now infected and her whole leg is infected. On top of that she has a really bad ingrown toe and finger nail and are just narly. Then on top of all that the doctors thinks she has diabetes and it is very likely that she has diabetes. When we got there to pay the bills at the hospital. She came out with a huge sincer smile on her face and shook our hands and we asked how she was and said I'm great. She is just always so happy, she is such a great example.

Well this week a couple in the ward came home off of their mission. They were serving in the Temple down in Santo Domingo and they came back ready to work, so we are pretty happy because they have already started talking with the bishop to try to help excite everybody to work really hard and reactivate the members and to find new investigators. We talked to them today and they have a couple of pretty good ideas but we just have to work now because we already have a lot of good ideas and have agreed on them but they are just in the air and never get put into action. We hope that this will help the ward a little bit more get back on its feet.

So something really funny happened this week we were taking the other office elders to their house to drop them off. When we got there and they were just getting out of the truck a crazy drunk guy came over to them. He tried to talk to us in English a little bit and then spotted my companion. He came over to my companion's window and tried to get him to roll down the window. Mean time I was telling the other elders to get out of the truck and go for the door. The guy was kissing his hat and making weird signs to my companion and I. Then we started to drive away. The crazy guy instantly turned to the other missionaries. Who by this time were just going in the door to their apartment building. They got in  and instantly started running the stairs up to the third floor. We could see them through the window in the stair case. We called them to make sure they were ok and that the crazy guy hadn't followed them. They told us that he was out in the middle of the parking lot talking to the cars. Right then he turned and looked at them, and headed for the door of the apartment building. They were freaking out on the phone and turned off all their lights and jumped in their beds. They guy never went in the apartment building, but it was really funny.

Well I love you guys and hope that your first week of school was a blast. Congratulations on all of the ribbons from the Fair. I love you guys tons and I'll talk to you next week!

Les Quiero Muchisísimo,

Elder Cannon

8/18/13

Hello Familia,

So this week was pretty good we have been looking for a lot of apartments this week  which has been a bit of an adventure.

We had to do a bunch of exchanges with the assistants to find them all. so my companion would go with one of them and I would go with the other so that we could find all the houses. One of the areas is right next to Cien Fuegos and we drove all over that area and we didn't find anything, we drove through the only calm area trying desperatly to find a house there because the closer we got Cien Fuegos the Rougher it got so we slowly went further and further in towards Cien Fuegos, but we still didn't find anything so we decided we would give it one more pass by to see if there was a good house in nicer area. so we went there praying to find a house that would be good for missionaries, and right there we find a little sign that we hadn't seen before so that was a blessing.

So Yesterday we were able to go but to Aguas Blancas. Which is probably the tallest waterfall in the Dominican Republic. So as an office we all went up there I was driving. We had to go to constanza anyways to take a water heater to the sisters up there because it can get a bit cold. So we went up there and ate a a members house which wasn't a very good idea because she made this rice. The rice was just brown because of all the grease that it had in it. All the rice had in it was chunks of pit fat and grisle and bone, so it wasn't all that great. We then had to go on this crazy dirt road for about 45 minute to finally get there. There was one point where this really narrow road and we met up with a big truck hauling vegetables down the mountain. I got the truck over as far as I could but there was a ditch next to us. We were in a really muddy area to. The truck came down and was super close to us and them it slid into a big hole which tipped the truck towards us and just about smashed us. So it was a bit crazy this little road, but we got up there. They suggest that you take 4x4 up there but our truck didn't have any problems. It was really beautiful. I felt was though i was in utah because there were cedar trees and it smelt like pine and we were hiking around, and off roading. We had a blast, but it is a really long drive for just that. It was really funny how many times the guys in the back hit their heads on the windows because they were trying to look at something and the truck would go down in a big hole or up a big rock and they would smack their heads.

This week the work has been really hard because eveytime that we had some time we would go out and work and pass by some investigators houses and they couldn't share with us. Sometimes because they weren't home and others because they had visitors from out of town. So we have been able to do a little bit more service this week. Helping a guy move and carrying this plastic slabs to a member that moved away. The less active family that we were reactivating and finally had them going to church and they were starting to read as well they moved this week. So that was really sad that they moved. The ward really needed them because so many members are moving out of Pueblo Nuevo and somepeople have been going in-active and don't want to listen to the missionaries. So the work has been a bit difficult but we just have to find the right way to work out the hardships and try to get the members to help us out because without them it is a lost cause.

Well I hope that you guys have a great first week of school! that is so crazy that school is already starting up again! I love you guys tons and hope you have a fantastic week!

Con mucho amor in cariño

Elder Cannon

8/11/13

So this week has been pretty special.

Yesterday we were able to go to the temple again. A family was going to be sealed and the assistants were busy so we had to take them. We had to leave to go and get them so we had to get up at 4 in the morning. We went to the temple and a couple of returned missionaries where there. Rondon was there and Eve and Ramos where all there and we were able to say hello. The temple was great and the sealing was great. It was pretty funny because the sealer was an old american guy who is learning spanish. He knows lots from a book, but just the way he frased things and his accent was really really funny when he was giving them some counsil, and the kids were pretty cute . It was great and them when we went out to eat we also had saw a couple other returned missionaris. It made me feel old in the mission because I was the only one who knew them personally the others had heard of them but never got to know them, and some of them left when the other missionaries got there and now they have 9 months. It was a great trip, but by the end of driving all day I just wanted to go to bed.

This week we ended up doing a couple exchanges with us and the assistants and it was pretty cool because those days the assistants had to do a couple of things. So Elder Cruz and I did them. We went with President to a couple of missionaries who are having some problems and them we went back and started making changes about who is going where and who is going to train in the coming transfer. It was great, and i had fun. Elder Cruz and I are good friends since the mtc in the DR.

So this week we have been able to see people finally want to make some changes in their lives. We have been teaching a less active family for a while now and it has been tough because slowly over time things have just gotten worse and worse for the family. Problems at work and they young adults don't have work and the mom just stuggleing to stay alive with all the problems that they have been having. Finally this week they just cracked. It was pretty funny being a part of it because it was like a cicle in the book of mormon. They were being blessing and them left the church and things have just been getting worse and worse and now the mom finally snapped and they decided to come back to church. They started to read and to pray and one of the sons got called to go and work. They came to church today and we are going to pass by again today to see how things are going and maybe we can get the bishop to go with us because the mom keeps saying that she wants to talk to the bishop and also it would be good to show him where they live.

It has been a busy week and we haven't had a ton of time to get out and share with the people and even more so that when we did get a chance they were home, so we went out and tried to visit people, and while we were out I saw this group of guys just sitting on the sidewalk. We were in a dark part of town, the neighborhood right by the bridge. I felt like i needed to contact them. So I waited for a minute because we had just knocked on a door to see if an old investigator was there, and then it came again so I walked over there and he was very receptive. We have an appointment to go over there today and teach him. It felt really good to contact and have the spirit there with us.

Well I hope that you guys had a great time up at Big John's Flat! I love you guys tons and enjoy the last couple weeks of summer.

Con Cariño

Elder J. Hunter Cannon

8/3/13

Well this week I got some great news!

I can't remember if I told you or not but a couple weeks ago one of the converts from Cien Fuegos called me and told me that he is going on a mission! He is going to Honduras in October which was so great. I am so excited for him, he is going to be a great missionary. Also this week their little brother Melvin is going to be baptised. When I was there I thaught him and he was about to be baptized but then he moved to the country and couldn't be baptized and he called me this week and told me that he had moved back permenantly and that the missionaries taught him again and he is going to be baptized today. I got permission to go so that is going to be great to be able and see them all again and see him get baptized.

This week was also pretty sad because two missionaries that extended their missions had to finish this week. President asked them to stay for a little while to see if the missionaries from Peru were going to get here with their visa problems. So they stayed as long as they could but they had to go this week. It was pretty sad because they were two good friends of mine. I hate saying goodbye. We also taught Dante. We are helping him reactivate and he is solid. He has gone to church every week and is now going in a shirt and tie, we finally found his records and so they are now in the ward. He also has been going to institute. Before he decided to come back to church he was in a rock band and was pretty into that. I sent a picture and all the guitars we are holding he made them and there was another star guitar behind us that he made. He played a little for us and he is way good. He has also left with us to teach some of our investigators and less active. He is such an awesome guy!

This week we have also been traveling alot doing moves and getting missionaries. So we went up to do a move of some missionaries that were having problems with their neighbor in puerto plata. It is a lady in her twenties that wears very scanky clothing and always has different guys with her and they share a front porch with her and that was becoming a problem. So we went to move the missionaries, and I went up the stairs to help them carry some stuff down. It was just awkward. so when I got up there she said, "HEEeeellLLLLOOO" Then as I was going down the stairs, she said, " papi cuidado si te caes" which basically means " Be careful Baby so you don't fall." So after that I just stayed at the bottom at the truck and she kept yelling down to me in broken english, "Hey my friend look up here." "I love you" " I need to go to this church on sunday" It was a good thing that we got the missionaries out of that house, but they had a lot of crap in that house and it took a lot of trips back and forth. The trip was worth it because we bought some cinnimon pinapple almond bread that was really good, So we ate that on the way home.

It was an interesting week with lots of work and lots of driving, but that's what it takes to get it done. That is so great that you guys did so well in County swim tornament, you guys are really great swimmers. Just keep up all the great work! Love you all tons!

Con Cariño

Elder Cannon

7/28/13

Well this was a good week. We had to travel lots this week but we were able to get lots done which was really good.

So on monday we were going to head out early to try to get to Dajabon early and have some time up there to go to the market or something. As we were just about to go the assistants called me because they had gotten in an accident to we had to spend most of the morning in the police department doing reports and stuff. It was a pretty long and boring process. So we were finally done and loaded the truck up with a refridgerator and a mattress for the elders in Dajabon. We were driving on what you could call the highway and we were just going normal. there was a bridge in the road and if seems fine flat without any problems.right before the bridge there was a little dip in the road and then a second later it quickly went back up. It launched us in the air. there was one point when all four tires were off the road. It was fine landing was an issue because I was driving, the thing that we were worried about was the fridge and mattress in the back. But everything was fine the fridge didn't even move which was really a blessing, I guess knot tying has really paid off. We were able to go out there and we were just there for a little while. the zone leaders have a couple coconut trees in there yard. So we cracked some of them open and had fresh coconut milk and ate the meat. We had the meat with lemon juice and some salt and a little bit of tabasco sauce on it and it was actually really good.

We had to go and do a bunch of stuff all over the mission from paying rent that didn't go through the online transfers to moving missionaries to seeing new houses and setting dates to do the contracts. So it has been a really busy week and a lot of driving. This week my companion finally got his drivers lisence. so that really helped my patients teaching someone how to drive in the DR with all the crazy drivers here. It was a pretty interesting experience. I still drive when we are together but it is nice if he has to go with another missionary somewhere and I stay in the office.

Yesterday the assistants went with us to Nagua to drop off a new gas tank. That is a really long drive, and it is the farthest area in the mission, but we got president's permission and went out to Samama. It is within the mission boundries but it has been closed for years. It was a really neat little city and we had a lot of fun, but the drive was really really long. I ended up driving the whole time and we spent the majority of the day in the truck driving. We also had a guy come up to us and talk to us a little about the church. it was really different because most of the people that you find in the mission know who we are and you can see it in the way they act, but over there it was different the people just treated us like normal people and looked at us different because we were dressed in white shirts and ties. It was a great experience.

 This week we went to visit a less active. We had heard that three had been a fight and we went there and you could see that he had markes up and down his arms from nails and his wife was bruised and had some cuts. The husband got home drunk and they started to fight. She said that they were either coming back to the church or seperating. So we went there and when we got there she told us that she had finally given in. It was super sad she has stayed pretty strong through all of this, but the day we went there she had started to drink again. It just sickened my soul to see that she know what is right and I know she has a testimony of the church and then fall away. So that was super sad.

Well I am glad that you guys had a good time camping and that you were able to visit with so many people! I love you guys tons and hope that  you guys have a great week.

Con Cariño

 Elder Cannon

7/20/13

Hola Familia,

This week we had a ton of work. This week we had transfers. We have been working really hard the past couple weeks planning and making sure that everything was going to be ready for transfers. Then on Monday President made a call and changed a lot of the transfers with who was going where. So all the office elders came in on Monday and had to redo everything so we were up really late. We didn't leave the office until one in the morning trying to get everything ready for transfers. Then we had to be up early on Tuesday to go and pick up the new missionaries. There were a lot of missionaries! So we were with them for the morning helping out with everything and taking them to the mission home and meetings and all the jazz. That afternoon my companion and I had to go to finish the last move before transfers. We did it really fast because on the way there we had an owner call us asking about the rent and why it hadn't come. We so we had to go and pay her cash because there was a problem with her bank account so we couldn't deposit the money. Just as we thought we were finally done we got a call that one of the missionaries that was going to be driving during transfers was in the hospital and he was going to have to stay over night. The only other missionary who is qualified to drive was a 45 min drive away. He was finishing his mission so we went and picked him up and took him back to the mission home to spend the night so he could help us drive during transfers.

This week we also had two ex-missionaries come to Santiago and hang around with us. Rondon who was my companion not too long ago. and Peralta who was assistant when I was in the office so we are all great friends. They have been visiting people but now they went home today.

Transfers came and I stayed where I am with my same companion. I am now the office elder who has been there the longest, and it seems like president is depending on me even more. I think this is going to be my last transfer in the office. It will be good to have a change and teach a little bit more.

So this week was mainly spent driving. We drove pretty much all day Monday and Tuesday we drove a tons as well. Wednesday we drove taking all the missionaries to there new areas. Thursday and Friday weren't as bad but it was a lot of driving this past week.

We did try to get out and teach this past week in the little time that we have had. We were able to teach a little bit but most of the time that we went to visit people they weren't home or they were busy so we weren't able to share with them which is hard especially because we don't have much time to go and teach.

We are teaching a couple that have potential but it is really hard for us to help them progress because they are really busy with school and work and their two kids. We have been trying to help them go to church but they have to work and that makes it really hard. The wife almost got baptized but them she got a job on Sunday and just stopped progressing because she could go to church. But they have taken the mission discussions before so that makes it a little bit easier because they understand it a lot faster.

Well I hope that you guys have a great week this week and especially with your vacation to Colorado. Keep up the great work with all your activities that you are going! Love you all tons!!

Elder Hunter Cannon

7/14/13

This week was pretty busy. We are getting ready for transfers that are coming up this next week. We found out that 10 missionaries weren't able to get visas so we have been trying to figure out what we are going to do. One of the houses that my companion and I had to find and do the move and everything isn't going to be used for the transfer that is coming. Maybe in the middle if more missionaries come but as of now it is just going to be sitting there ready to go.

On Monday we went to share with an investigator that really isn't progressing so we were going there to explain that we weren't going to pass by anymore to share and if he wanted he could find us in the church or he could give us a call when he read the pamphlet. When we got there the door was open just a little and there was their handicap brother naked in there and with another brother who is 24 years old and he was also naked in there. The one went and put a towel on. Our investigator finally showed up and we started to share with them. The brother in the towel was just making it hard because he kept making comments that were true and really straight forward and funny at the same time. While we were trying to teach the mother got home. She begs at one of the stop lights with the handicap son in a wheel chair. she explained how she doesn't have a wheelchair to take her son around and how she needed help and if she only had a wheelchair she would go to church every Sunday. then her son in the towel said," you have a wheelchair." "that wheel chair doesn't work it is broken" "Well you push him all the way to the stop light to beg surely if you were really going to go you could push him to church which is a lot closer in that wheelchair." So she left for a minute while that was going on our investigator just left us sitting there. Then the mom came back to ask us to sell Q-tips and a cube to keep the mosquitos away. to help a little baby get an operation. She started of by saying, "it says in the bible that you need to help your neighbor." We explained that we couldn't do that because we barely have time to go out and teach anyone and anyways we aren't supposed to do things like that anyways. We went to say the closing pray to just leave. They chose me and when I was done we were alone in the house with the handicap guy so we just left. It was a crazy lesson.

So on Tuesday we went to go and teach an older guy that we contacted the other day. When we got there his daughter was there. She started out by saying that she didn't want to share with us. Then she just started talking. She started out by explaining how she has an exact knowledge of the bible. Then she would explain something and then read a scripture and it some way or another she would find a way to connect the scripture in what she was saying and how the scripture answered what she was saying. It went on for a little while and my companion was getting a little annoyed about how she was trying to belittle us. I just sat there quietly waiting for my turn to share and just praying that I could have the spirit to testify. A couple minutes later a miracle happened the power went out so she couldn't read anymore. So it was my turn I started by saying that what I was going to share isn't in the bible but that doesn't make it any less true. I then bore my testimony, and sincerely invited them to test it for themselves and God would answer them. After I had finished they sat there for a second or two and then rejected. We asked if she would say the closing pray. During her pray she said that she didn't accept our message because it doesn't say the name of the book of Mormon or Joseph smith in the bible, and that if by some miracle it is true then to be understanding in why she didn't accept it. It was pretty disappointing and sad, but that happens all the time.

Other then that we have been working super hard getting ready for Transfers doing a couple of moves and traveling lots, but it has been going.

I love you guys tons and hope that you guys have a blast this week! keep up the great work with swim team and piano.

Con Cariño

Elder Hunter Cannon

7/6/13

Hola Famlia,

This week was a pretty good week.

This week we had a ward council and we made a plan that if we work hard we can really help the ward but at the rate that we are going we are going to be a branch before we know it. This week also the Elders Quorum President the motor of the ward in terms of home teaching visits and mission work announced that they are moving. So that was a pretty big hit at the ward, With so many moving and nobody moving in it is really hard.

So this morning we went and did some service in the new house of the Elders Quorum president. There was a lot of trash that we had to take out of the house. So we went to dump it with some of the members. We tried to find a dumpster but decided that it would be easier to just take it to the dump. This is the same dump that I lived by when I was in Cien Fuegos. The members were pretty helpful. They told us not to go very far in the dump because the people that live there could come and attack us. So as soon as we were there I asked can we dump it here, and they kept saying just a little further just a little further. The off in the distance I saw a group of people and one of them saw us and pointed at us and all the people started to run towards us. There wasn't much that we could be. They jumped all over the truck. One of them was shouting at the others saying, "you get in there and I'll slash you with my Machete."  They actually unloaded the truck really fast. The members were just saying lock the doors lock the doors. One of the members was out of the truck but closer to the entrance. I had already locked the doors long before. After they unloaded they all came to my window to ask me for money. I told them I didn't have anything, and after that we just started to go. They all jumped in the back of the truck. We picked up the member and just got out of there. It was pretty crazy and it smelt absolutely horrible, and the amount of flies that were there was just unbelievable.

The ward activity this week was really good we had a lot of people show up, some that are inactive came as well. It was great the only bad thing was that the people in-charge hadn't prepared anything so they came to the missionaries to ask us to help them fast. So I ran out to the truck and grabbed the Liahona to share a small message that I had read that day. When I got in there I realized that it was in English so I had to translate it while I read it in front of them and then share a small testimony. It turned out alright they understood what the story was about and then one of the other missionaries thought of a great activity that we played and the activity turned out great.

Well I am great that you guys were able to drop off Tyler at the MTC. It is going to be a great experience for him. I love you guys tons and hope that you have a great week!

Con Cariño

Elder Hunter Cannon

PS. I guess I better put Hunter or you might start to get confused which is which.

6-30-13

Wow where to start. This week has been really really interesting.

So at the beginning of this week we were traveling with an ex-missionary, who was the office elder when I started the mission and we went up to Constanza the highest area in the mission to find a new house. So that was pretty intense with the really curvy roads and majestic views. We spent most of the day there looking for a new apartment for the missionaries.

Then on Tuesday we had a great meeting with the priesthood leaders of the ward. Lately the ward has been going down hill. We are all trying to work hard to keep things going, but it seems like the harder we try the more things go wrong. So on Tuesday we met and brainstormed Ideas about what we can do to accomplish our goals as a ward. We planned a little and came up with some ideas to bring up in ward conference next week. The main thing that came out of that meeting is that they were excited and had an idea about how we can accomplish and help the ward. Back in February we had an average of about 108 people in sacrament meeting, but lately it has been around 65 people in sacrament meeting. People have been moving away, but others are just going inactive, and we couldn't figure out how to help. So that was a great meeting.

This Sunday which was really good we had a lot of people at church. My companion and I left the house an hour early to go out and find people and try to get them excited about going to church. If we can get them to go they will feel the spirit and then it will be more likely that they will come back on their own. So we went and gave a less active family a ride, and also a Sister from the ward that had surgery, but a couple of her family that are less active also came so it was really great. The excitement had seemed to really get to other people as well because a couple of the other people that the other elders came and some that they just came. So we are starting to see some progress and hopefully after ward council we will have a better idea on how we are going to work together.

This week I also had to go and visit the doctor of the mission. I went to check up on my toe. He didn't operate on it though the way he was twisting my toe nail off and squeezing it sure felt like he was operating on it. He said that it is still just starting, but that it is a lot bigger then normal so if he has to operate he will have to take a lot of the nail. So he told me to try to bend it and ease it so the toe nail grows straight. He also gave me an antibiotic to kill the infection that I have in my toe. So that night I took the first pill. I woke up in the middle of the night and barely made it to the bathroom. It was just straight water. I spent most the morning near the bathroom. I call Hermana Douglas and she call the doctor and he said that that happens and that I needed to eat yogurt to put all the good bacteria back into my body. So I did and with in a couple of hours I was alright. But during those couple of hours I had a couple close calls where it was a miracle that I made it to the bathroom without soiling some of my clothes.  

This week we also had to go down to Santo Domingo again. We went to go and pick up new trucks. I have been working on trying to get the trucks changed since I got in the office. We drove down and ate lunch with a missionary that just finished his mission from our mission. Then we changed the trucks we had 2009 Toyota Hilux, and now we have Isuzu D-Max and they said that it is 2014, but I'm pretty sure that it is 2013 or maybe 2012, but it was new. We took off all the plastic and everything. So that have been really nice so far. It is also Automatic and the ride is a lot smoother.

We also had a ward activity this week and not a lot of people went but it was a really effective activity. The investigators that were there got to know some of the members and we played games and then after we played a little bit of basketball. One of the guys that we played with is a returned missionary that lives in our area. So we talked with him a little bit and he moved into our a little while ago and hasn't been going to church for a while. We asked if we could go by and invited him to church. He came to church and brought his whole family who aren't members and today we are going over there to teach them.

Well I hope that Tyler does great on his Farewell talk! Enjoy your last weeks with him. Have a great week! I love you all tons!

Con Cariño

Elder Cannon

 

6-22-13

So this week was pretty great. So to start off the week I got a call from Santo Domingo with one of my bosses. He we talked for a while about the cars of the mission and he told me that President's car was ready but that there wasn't anyone to bring it up here to Santiago. So I told President and he told me to go and pick it up. He also told me that there was a missionary that is going home this transfer who really wanted to go to the temple so that if we were going to go down there anyways we might as well go to the temple. So Tuesday we went and picked up the car that President was driving and then Wednesday morning we left by 6 to go to Santo Domingo.

It was pretty awesome we were able to go to the temple and Elder Rondon, now Brother Rondon because he finished his mission, he came with us to the temple. So that was really special to be able to finally visit the temple after a really long time. It was really weird while we were on our way to Santo Domingo just the feeling of leaving the mission was really weird. It was like leaving behind a special spirit and there was an empty space inside of me. It was a great trip. We had to wait there for a while because they were still finishing up with President's car on something last minute. We were able to see all my teachers from the MTC here and that was pretty cool. It was nice actually being able to carry on a conversation with them. We then traded the cars and drove back to Santiago. It was a great trip and even more so to be riding in the comforts of President's car, but we did find a problem with the car on the way home. They had replace the windshield but a small part wasn't sealed all the way so when it rained on the way home a tiny bit of water was leaking in, and  you could feel a slight breeze. I was fine with that because that just meant that I had to keep President's car for another day to go and get it fixed.

This week we also had a senior missionary couple come from Santo Domingo. They are moving here so we have been looking for apartments for them. They are from Sandy so maybe you guys would know them. The Wegeners so we spent pretty much all day Tuesday showing them apartments. It was a long day going from apartment to apartment and speaking with them and speaking with the real estate people to try to get them what they want. We finally got something that they really liked on the last apartment that we say. It was a pretty good day because they took us out to lunch at TGI Fridays, which sure beats rice and beans.

So it has been a pretty busy week, but on Monday we went to go and visit the less active family that we have been visiting. We were going there because the wife had asked my companion to talk about alcohol with the husband he has been falling really fast and we have really been trying to help them. So we went there and the husband just blew us off and pretended to be asleep, but that might also have been because he was a bit drunk. We were talking to the wife and she just needed someone to listen to her because it has been really hard for her. She really does have a testimony but this trial is so much for her. She is being so patient and is really trying to keep everything together. She has just started sewing to try to earn some more money especially now that her husband is drinking where as before he wasn't. She wants to get out of the situation because he husband is now trying to get with other ladies, but she doesn't have the financial ability to do that and if she does her husband will just try to find her again. Basically he had decided not to be happy he wants to make it impossible for the rest of the family to be happy. So we just listened her out, which made her feel better. The only thing that we could do was give her a blessing of comfort then we tried to encourage her to keep on reading and praying and then we left.

This week we were also able to do some new contacts. It was raining slightly and we were walking around contacting. It felt great. The majority of the people rejected us but we were able to find a guy that is really interested. We taught him and his son, and we hope that next time we can teach the rest of the family. We also found an older man that seems pretty interested. He can read and he seems to be understanding. It is hard because sometimes you find old people and they either don't know how to read or they really don't understand so it is really hard for them to progress, but he seems pretty interested.

Well I hope that you guys had a blast this last week being Strawberry Days and everything. that is really great about Joshua winning the relay race. I love you guys So much and hope that you have a great week!

Con Cariño

Elder Cannon

6-15-13

Hola Familia,

This week has been pretty good. At the beginning of this week we were traveling quite a bit. We had a Haitian family in our ward that had their visas come so they could go to Canada. Which is really good for them they are super humble and always willing to serve. So we asked for permission if we could help them out and take them to the airport in Puerto Plata. So we had to leave here at 5:30am so that we could get up there and back by 9 because we had a meeting with President. After the meeting we had to go to the other side of the mission to Cotui and finish a contract with an owner. She was pretty upset and trying to say that we hadn't paid her so that she wasn't going to give us the deposit back. So we had to show her some records and then she calmed down.

We have had some more time this week to teach and to try to help out some of the people. This week we went and visited a less active Dante that just moved into our ward, and really wants to change and has come to church two Sundays in a row, but late. So we went and passed by his house and he is really interested. He has had a lot of personal problems, his dad passed away about 2 months ago, and he wants to change his life around. the lesson was great with him he was very open. We had a lesson about the spirit and how we can have the spirit more in our lives so that we can be guided and receive guidance from God. After we shared is when he explained that he really needs to have the spirit more in his life and is really looking for guidance. He told us a little about his life and he has been playing the guitar since he was a kid. He had two star guitars and a double necked guitar that he made with an amp that he also made. He used to play in a rock band for a couple years and now he is trying to change the type of music that he is playing. He played a little bit for us and he is really amazing. He is a super humble guy and is pretty quiet.

He came to the ward missionary activity and so we were able to introduce him to a couple of people and he also plays basketball and so after the activity the young men were playing basketball so we were able to help him and let him play. He has also enrolled in two classes of institute and is really filling his life with really good things. It is really cool to see how excited he is about everything.

We also have an investigator that we contacted a long time ago. In the office we don't have a ton of time to contact and try to find the people that are prepared to accept the gospel so we really have to try to follow the spirit and to try in the small time that we have to find the people that are ready to accept the gospel so we can try to help them progress. We contacted a couple of really good contacts and were working with them for a while but they became really busy and we weren't able to find them in their houses, but one of the contacts we did we weren't able to find but I always thought we needed to pass by, but she was always working. So now we were finally able to find her and to start teaching her. She is really animated to with the things that we are teaching her she is really accepting about everything and is keeping all of her commitments. It has been a bit hard to get her to come to church because she works and hasn't been able to come because of that, but we are hoping that this week or maybe next week she will be able to go to church.

Well I hope that you guys had a great experience with Trek and that you will remember those experiences forever, it is really something special. I love you guys tons and hope you have a great week!

Con Cariño

Eder Cannon

6-9-13

Hola Familia,

This week has been very interesting. This week we had transfers so we were very busy trying to get everything ready. We had some late nights driving home after we finished a move.

We were able to get everything done before the transfers.

It was pretty sad because Elder Rondon, one of my old companions finished his mission. It was nice that I am still in the office so I could be there in the mission home during the testimony meeting that we had the night before he went home. He was a great companion and really funny and it was sad to see him go.

This week in one of the new houses that we set up we didn't have time to take everything out of the boxes and set it all up because we didn't even get home until 10 and if we had set everything up it would have been really late. so we told the Elders that are also in that area to go and set it up for the sisters. Well when the sisters got there on the stove they were missing a clamp on one side of the hose, and they started to cook lunch and gas was leaking out into the room while they were cooking. Then the gas hit the flame and their stove basically exploded. The sister weren't hurt and luckily they had neighbors that helped them quickly get the fire out. So that was a bit of a shock and the sisters were pretty shaken up. One of them had the gym shorts that she was wearing melt right off her, but they were hurt which was a huge blessing.

We are going through a bit of a rough patch here in the office and it all started with the stove that exploded. There are just a lot of houses with things going wrong. There are a couple of houses without water, and a some that didn't have electricity because something happened to the check that we paid with and they couldn't process it, and other houses that have broken doors and they are just telling us now that they don't have security. So we were really busy with all the work in the office and trying to figure how we are going to have time for everything that we have to do and we have to do it all really soon because they are all top priorities. There are also a lot of missionaries losing their cell phones.

We have been trying to help a less active family and this last week he told us that he is tired of fighting and that he is just going to stop for a while and then maybe later he will start again. We tired to talk to him and teach him, but he's mind is just shut and it really doesn't matter what we say because he just says the same thing to every question or comment. so that is a bit tough but we are tying to find a way to help him.

We are also teaching a women who is reading a lot and now her schedule changed and we are able to share with her more. She understands very quickly what we are teaching and reads everything. This week she wasn't able to go to church but we are really going to work to get her to church this next sunday.

Well I hope that you guys had a great first week out from school and that this next week will be even better. I love you all tons!

Con Cariño

Elder Cannon

6-2-13

This week has been pretty crazy with everything that is going on in the office. We are trying to get ready with transfers before this next week. So the beginning of this week we were stuck without supplies to do the moves, they were still in Santo Dominigo. So we started doing moves by taking the stuff out of our house and taking it to another house that is really far away from Santiago.

So we started with Bonao, and that move wasn't very fun because it was raining and we had to take the stuff out of a house in Bonao that is on a third floor and take it to the other house which is on a second floor so, and the tile was all wet and slippery. That took all day Wednesday.

On Thursday it was a holiday here so we really couldn't do anything with the moves and stuff because everything was closed here. So we spent our time doing the office work that we hadn't done during the rest of the week. I also am in charge of the English tests for the latins. So a missionary came in on Thursday to take the test, and as the Proctor I had to sit there and watch him during the whole test. It was so funny! he is a really great, kind guy. but during the English test they were asking him about a whole lot of different things in English and he said that he like video games and they asked him to explain why. " I like to be quiet, and to be silent to hear my mind. But sometimes I want to kill somebody, and shoot them in the head!" It was really funny and then he was trying to be angry at someone and he said, " If you no come by in 20 min I will call you and I will offend you." I was desperately trying not to laugh because it sounds like he is a bit mental or that he has problems, but that is just how his English comes out, in Spanish is really isn't like that.

We were able to do an exchange with the zone leaders from montecristi because they came in for an early morning meeting on Friday, so they went with us to go out and teach. We were able to teach a lot of people between the 4 of us. We have been working with a less active Luis and we have been working with him for a couple of weeks. He has come to church a couple of times but now he is having a couple of challenges, so we have been trying to help him out. He hasn't been coming to church for a couple of weeks, we think it is because he is in discipline so that really makes it tough for him.

The family that has been really struggling we had an activity on Wednesday, which was really sad because we were stuck in Bonao but we heard that it was really good activity and the other missionaries in our ward were able to go. When I went by on Thursday the wife seemed really happy which it has been a long time since I have seen her like that. This Sunday her and her mother both came to church, but the other family that was having a lot of doubts about the book of Mormon because we are always focusing on the book of Mormon and not so much on the bible still haven't come to church, and we are trying to really help them with their testimonies, his wife is really closed about the topic and we really can help them if they aren't willing.

Yesterday we had to do 2 moves that we both really far away so we were really busy yesterday, and it was just exhausting. This week we haven't been sleeping a ton because we get to bed late that then we get up early to get going on everything, and this next week is only going to be more busy because of transfers. I am going to once again stay in the office for another transfer as of now, unless president received more revelation.

Well I love you all and am Happy for you all now that you are out of school and home all the time. I hope that you have a great week in Camp Helaman and everything else that you guys have to do! I love you all and hope you have a great week.

Con Cariño

Elder Cannon

5-26-13

So this week has been a little bit easier but that just means that this next week is going to be harder. We have to prepare the houses for this next transfer, but we don't have materials and so we have talked to President about it and we still don't have the stoves and fridges and desks and stuff so that is just going to make next week really busy moving stuff into the new houses.

So this week we were able to go out and work some more and go to more of the meetings and stuff. So I felt really good really talking and planning with the ward leaders so we are on the same page.

Today I had to give a talk in church. So during the week I planned and prepared my talk and then when we went to church today I left my talk in the house. So I was trying to remember the scriptures and the stuff that I had prepared, but I also had to play the piano and so I did horrible on the piano and then my talk was just alright, it was a little short because I could remember all the stuff that I had, but it wasn't short my much so that was good. I spoke about Talking of Christ.

Yesterday we had a great service project in the Rehabilitation center here in Santiago so we went and cleaned it all up. We had about 80 missionaries there so it was a huge help for them. After that we were able to enjoy a little of out p-day and after we cleaned the trucks we played basketball in the rain. which was a lot of fun.

We were out trying to teach and everything was just falling through all our appointments and we tried calling people and nothing seemed to be happening. So we were just driving around and a thought came to mind to go and visit a family that we had contacted a long time ago and their house was shut and we thought that they might have moved. We went over there and it was open and so we went in and shared a short message with them. We really hadn't planned anything for them because we hadn't even put them in our plans so we just sat and talked for a little and then we started the lesson. At the end of the lesson we invited them to go to church and she said no because it was mother's day, but her 15 year old son Moses said that he wanted to go to church with us. So this morning he came to church with us. They are very Catholic and talked a lot about the catholic church but we think that he had a good experience. It was a bit of a surprise. His mom said no I can commit to do that and he just blurts out I want to go to church with you guys. 

Right after that we were really happy and we called the Lady that we had an appointment with and her Husband answered. We still haven't been able to share with her husband and he told us that she was busy getting her hair done but that we could go by on Monday and share with them both. So that really made us happy.

Well Congratulations on everything with school and piano, and baseball volleyball and dance. I hope you guys have a great week with graduations and temple visits and ordinations! I hope that you have a very special week. I love you all so much!

Con Cariño

Elder Cannon