Hey,

So I am out in a Branch again, and we only had twenty-seven people at church on Sunday. Which seems like it is less than usual for out here but I've only been out here for a few Sundays so far.

When I got out here I expected to be in small towns most of the time. When I thought small I thought like Stanwood back home (Stanwood is a 4A school for those wondering how big!).  When I got to Ramah I saw what a small town actually is, everyone was related and there were only about 5 streets! Compared to that Toadlena isn't even a town. It really is just a tiny community with a trading post, a couple churches and a gas station that is 12-ish miles from most of the people. Just a tiny little place, but from our trailer and the church, which is at the base of the mountain, we have the best view over the whole place. Some nights we can see the lights of Farmington from where here.

This week was very different from normal. P-day was way good. We climbed part of  Bennets Peak (way steeper than we thought it would be) and then climbed up the mountain behind us. It was also way steep but I just went up the side of it and the view from the top was amazing! Then on Tuesday we got to have a zone conference with Elder Paul V. Johnson of the Seventy. He spoke on some really great things. Some of the most interesting was that they had been considering changing missionary age for about a year but didn't decide until now. Along with that age change comes another change. All missionaries, starting January 1, will spend only 2/3 of the time they do now in the MTC, so for English speakers its down from 3 weeks to 2 weeks. More responsibility will be placed on the trainers of those missionaries than ever before. Its going to be very different out in the mission field in the next few years. And I have already started to see the change in peoples' decisions. A friend from school wrote to tell me she was putting in her papers in the next couple of months. I never thought that she would serve but now she is and she will do a wonderful job out in the field. Then after our zone conference I had exchanges with Elder Vawdry from back home (Arlington 3rd) which was pretty fun and really different from my last exchanges. When I got back to Toadlena I got pretty sick, I think I threw up 5 times on Friday and wasn't really able to work or go out till Monday. We think it might have been some lead poisoning cause I found some shot in the venison I ate the night before, but whatever it was it was not fun. And so i didn't even get to teach in Toadlena this week because of that.

Those days you are sick feel like such a waste of time. Other than that it was a really good week and I can't wait to get back to work.

The gospel and the priesthood truly will and do bless our lives so much.

Love
Elder Alex Huff

Baptismal Font

Hauling wood with our truck.

Old Zuni Mission

Hahhahaaha

Look close and you will see the "roads" on the reservation!

Kachinas painted on the walls.

Sunset over Ward building in Ramah, NM

A Good Place to Be

Ya'ate'eh

This week has been awesome! We spend so much time out doing service, usually up in the mountains hauling wood for the people and trying to get people back to church. Its hard work but it is satisfying to see the change come into peoples lives as we work and help them realize what the gospel can do for them and why it is so important.

My companion and I are starting a diet this week :( no sugar and lots of veggies and chicken. We are also doing the Insanity Asylum workouts in the morning, which is nice since I left the weight room we had in Ramah.

We were hauling wood Friday and Saturday and got way up on the mountain behind us and got some amazing views of the flat lands and of the mountains. Today for p day we are gonna climb a lone peak out in the desert in our area and then take the rest of our district on a hike up the mountain. It should be a really nice day.

We finally met with one of our investigators, who is very different than most people out here. He is a white guy who is rather involved with his faith, both of those things are the rarities out here in the rez.

I have really been noticing the land this last week. I can and have literally seen places that make the scriptures about rough places becoming smooth and smooth rough and cities being swallowed and destroyed, come to life. You look at them and you just know that it couldn't have been like that before but that it is like that now. I love seeing the scriptures like that.

I am way excited for tomorrow we have a general authority(one of the ones I got to listen to at the Stake Conference we had last month) coming down and speaking to us, Paul V. Johnson. It should be really good.

I finally had my first sacrament meeting out here in Toadlena and it was different. The schedule was backward and Sunday School and one of the talks were in Navajo.  I couldn't understand those. I am trying to learn it but it is way hard with all the little differences that it has and how none of it makes sense.I have to say it is the language that makes no sense to outsiders and very little sense to the natives. But it is fun to learn and to figure out and to make a little progress with. Teaching would be so much easier with some of the people if we spoke it already but I see why they don't teach it, since not many people speak it fluently any more.

Daily study is so awesome! I have been learning so much from the scriptures and seeing so much more of the connections that is in them already. I wish I had been doing it at home already.

Something funny that happened this week was that we noticed a rock we always drive by is shaped like a thumbs up, and its funny cause that stretch of road has a crapton of hitch hikers!

Everything is getting cold here and all the leaves on the mountain are yellow or orange by now and tons of them are on the ground already. I am grateful the Lord chose to send me here, its a good place to be.

Love

Elder Alex Huff

New Area

Hey
The new place is really different. The Navajos are completely different than Zunis. Finding is really hard out here once you tract out the government housing, after that you have to go "hogan hunting" which is pretty much taking a dirt road and seeing if people live on it.

It is way hard to find out here. But I like it, it is great! I just have to be real careful with eating fry-breads otherwise i will gain a ton of weight. We usually eat them with powdered sugar or honey, which tastes awesome but when they are the size of a dinner plate you can really be putting on some weight if you aren't careful. I will make some for everyone when I get home.

The people are great, and crazy. It seems like most of them love the missionaries but will never follow through with much. We will go over and talk with them and they will tell us they know the church is true but then they will never show up, which is kinda odd. And if they offer you something you pretty much have to say yes or you will offend them, which is different as well.

The area isn't to much red sand just brown sand. We went up in the hills on Friday to go chop some 'woods', as they say out here. We took 3 axes with us and we broke one, lost the head off another and threw a huge splinter off the third(we didn't have anyone with us, so no chainsaw). I felt pretty bad that we broke 'em but Elder Eging doesn't care. Elder Eging is great, i have been getting along with him really well, although it was a little odd with the change. He cooks really well so we eat pretty well and people just give us food too.

We watched conference with a less active and in Shiprock, and in our district the news about missionaries caused quite a stir. Oh and you will never guess who I have in my district. Nick Vawdry from back home, he was friends with Ash and from one of the Arlington wards. That was quite the surprise to have happen.

The transfer stuff wasn't bad at all, I just went into Gallup early and spent 4 or 5 hours with my zone leader and another elder who was being transferred. We taught a lesson and tried to find some refferals. Then the transfer van came back from Holebrook and picked us up and off we went. We probably got to Farmington around 8 and to Toadlena around 9:30-10 pm.

We had some surf and turf yesterday with the less active which was pretty cool, big ole steaks and some crab legs. We also helped rescue a golden eagle. The eagle had a broken wing and we called the ranger and helped get it into a box and stuff, that was fun and I got some great photos. The views out here are amazing, my camera cant even do them a little bit of justice.

This p day we are going into Farmington and gonna check out some trading posts and jewelry shops that give us killer discounts.I'm looking for a keyboard to start spending a good amount of time practicing when we go home for the night. I have been working on learning Navajo from elders and from the people we visit but it is slow going so far but its only been a week. I would really love a Navajo to English dictionary for Christmas.

I can't think of much else that is going on except we will be climbing Shiprock and Bennets peak on p day next week which will be way cool.

Love
Elder Alex Huff

My First Transfer

Hey Family,

So, I have kinda stopped trying to learn Zuni since I learned that I am getting transferred this week. I have to be in Gallup at 12 Tuesday and will work with one of my zone leaders and another elder as I wait for the transfer van to go out to Flagstaff and Winslow.  Then it will come back for me, and take me up to Farmington. Once I get there I meet up with my new companion, Elder Eging, and will ride back down towards Gallup again to get to my new area. I will be serving in Toadlena, which is deep in the Navajo Res, I will have a real hard time understanding the people. But I will get to go into Farmington for most of my pdays which will be nice, and it will be nice to talk with President a little more often.

 

President is sending me out there to help the elder and the area, I guess. The elder is a little homesick (he only has 6 months left so it is kind of understandable). I guess the area is right on the edge of being super productive, so it will be a really big change and it will nice to have it be different. The area will be super different, out here they have trees and sage and a little bit of grass but out there I guess it is just red sand. If you can think of some of the more desolate places in the John Carter movie then you are probably pretty close to imagining what it is like. They will live in hogans which are their houses, which are circular and one room and dirt floor usually. I have heard there are no cattle fences so livestock: sheeps and elks and cows and deers(as the navajo say), will be all over the road and everywhere else. 

 

This week has been amazing. The baptism went through and both President and Sister Batt were there and they both spoke. On Sunday we got to confirm and ordain him to the priesthood which is amazing. Then he got up and bore his testimony of his own choice which was so cool.  President Gibbons asked me to sing the closing hymn in Sacrament meeting. Everyone knew I was leaving so it was kinda special. Then right after that our Sunday school teacher asked me to sing a song for Sunday school to help her emphasize the lesson which was rather fun. I love being able to share my talent so much with these wonderful people.

 

On Pday Elder Bankhead and I went out to some natural bridges above Ramah. As we were hiking up I split my pants in a big way. I had been patching them with ducktape till I could get another pair but President Gibbons gave me a pair of his which was pretty nice. So I am good for pday and service pants right now. On Saturday we were doing service for some folks fixing a fence on one of their fields and we heard some elk bugling. We went to take a look and I saw a couple but Elder Bankhead said he saw 6 or 7 bulls and a bunch more cows, that was pretty cool.

 

President Batt said something about me training in the future so I have that to look forward to in some of the next transfers. I think that would be really fun but also really hard to teach someone and our investigators at the same time and also to be in charge of an area. Being in charge of an area is kind of a scary thing to look at. I dont know how I'd be able to do it but I know that the Lord will never ask me to do something that he won't support me in.

 

It is so amazing to read through the Book of Mormon slowly and to be praying to learn what I need to know each day because when we do that we get things that we never would have seen or even noticed before, and it just reaffirms my knowledge that this church is true and that Christ is at the helm and that he is teaching us what we need to know as we need it and as we will accept what He is teaching. Christ is my savior and my redeemer.

Love 

Elder Alex Huff

Gamilli

Singing in Sacrament Meeting

Hey,

This week has been good. I sang A Poor Wayfaring Man of Grief in Sacrament Meeting this week. It was great, President Gibbons transposed it and truly accompanied it. I feel we did a real nice job. I think it really helped the people of the branch. I will speak on recognizing the Spirit on the fourth Sunday of the month. 

I feel rather adjusted, although please don't ever ask me to be able to understand a Navajo giving directions!  It's a lot of lip pointing and odd distances and semi coherent words. I try hard but they never make much sense with their directions. We talked with four people trying to find this less active and they all gave us different directions, and in the end we never found her, just got what we needed from someone who knew her. 

We were helping out an investigator this week with cutting down a tree. The tree pretty much looked like one of the trees in Hatari (John Wayne safari movie). The Zunis who were with us were kinda going crazy with planning it all out, they went to a lot more effort than I would have but I guess that's just the culture. The trunk of my neck got a little burned that day and it has made wearing white shirts real fun the last couple days.

We have been working real hard to try and get people to accept the gospel but we hardly find anyone. When we do they always have a problem committing, usually to the law of chastity. No one gets married out here, its really sad to see. Our guy with a date for baptism didn't show up this week. We don't have to push his date back yet but he really needs to be there, you can really tell a difference when they come and when they don't. 

This is the last week of the transfer so it's kinda strange feeling, I kinda feel like Elder Bankhead will be going somewhere else and I will have a step trainer but I don't know. 

We are having a sweet potluck this Sunday in Zuni for Branch Conference. There is gonna be brisket and turkey and ribs, so good. They have some of the best fruit down here, melons are way good and the grapes as well. Green chile is really not that bad, you just want to eat it with something cause it can have a boring taste before the heat. For some reason we eat quite a bit of orange chicken in members houses, I don't know why but they seem to really like it. 

Well, that's all!

Love, 

Elder Alex Huff

Keshay!

keshay(hello in Zuni)

The weather you have isn't hotter than down here, it gets up to 90 everyday usually before the storms roll in. We have had some pretty big storms the last couple days! Our truck was all nice and clean then the storm hit and we slipped and slidded all over the road and got mud all over the truck. Elder Bankhead cleaned it all up this morning. He never really lets me do any of the cleaning. 

We got a date this week for one of our investigators. He decided he wanted to get baptized on his birthday, which is guess what? the 28 of September. Talk about a crazy coincidence! ( That is Taylor, Alex's brother's birthday.)  We talked with him on a night when Presdident Batt went around visiting with us, which really helped. He has come so far and will still go really far in the next 2 months. When we act in faith THEN miracles happen, just like with prayer. When we ask for something we have to have enough faith to act as if it will happen and it will. 

Our pday today is going to be laundry in Gallup since we are already up here, then lunch and some sports with the zone at the stake center here i believe. After that we will head back and have home evening with a family in Ramah. 

We went to church in Ramah this week and I have to say I kinda like going to Zuni better. Although I have to talk in Zuni on High Council and Branch Conference Sunday I believe. Then I sing the Sunday after. 

Elder Bankhead and I went through a wolf sanctuary this week and saw some pretty cool wolves. 

They actually ask us to plan service on days other than pday for some reason, but we should be taking down a tree for one of our investigators soon. We never really have enough miles but we try not to do stuff that we don't need to. They never really call us on it. 

We have 5 new investigators this week. A family in Zuni and another single guy in Zuni, as well as a young man in Ramah.  We haven't met the father of the family yet but everyone else seems really interested but we will see. I also went on exchanges this week out to Fort Wingate. It was a hard day for us because it was the first of the month on the Navajo Res. Everyone was in Gallup shopping or drinking. 

The MTC wieght has changed more from fat to muscle with our workouts every morning. President Gibbons really pushes us. Well I can't really think of anything else, so I guess that's it for today.

love

Elder Alex Huff

Oh and if you want to send me some talks from general authorities and such, you can. I have really been enjoying reading them and learning from them. You could invite others to do the same.

July 30, 2012

This week was quite similar to last week. I sent home a couple things. The letter in the package is kind of my ramblings so read at your own risk ha ha! 

I haven't been driving the truck yet but I got the nod of approval from President Batt this week at zone conference. That was pretty cool, President Gibbons came up to meet President Batt and President Batt had him speak to us. Hahaha, I think that I surprised President Gibbons. I did gain some wieght at the MTC but I think I have most of that off and exchanged it for some muscle. The morning lifting with Elder Bankhead and Pres have really done the trick, as well as the change of how and what I eat.

The people we teaching is a weird story. We have been teaching the same people for a looooonnnnng time I guess.  We haven't really found anyone new to teach, which is really hard, but from what I have heard about Zuni there has been tons of people taught but they always stop when it comes to one thing whether its drinking or getting married. Something always stops them from making the step to baptism. 

Again zone conference was great. I got to have a nice talk with President Batt. He explained a question I had quite nicely. He explained that when someone has always done the right thing and is still doing it the Spirit is always with them and they really feel it when it goes away but others feel it in bursts and lose it quickly as well. That just really helped me because I always thought something was wrong but it wasn't. That seemed to be the case with a lot of people I've talked with out here in the field. President Bednar said in a talk that when you have the Spirit always then it doesn't have to shout at you to do something, you do it because you think its right. We see another example of that in 3 Nephi chapter 10, I believe, when Nephi is walking home and pondering. 

President Batt said we can go to the temple with investigators or reactivated members if they are going to the Snowflake Temple. That's pretty much it. Send another one next week.

Love

Elder Alex Huff

Pioneer Day in New Mexico

On Saturday we were manning a booth during the Pionneer Day celebrations, and some girls from Utah came up and said that it was a tradition of theirs to send pictures of missionaries to their parents so that they know everything is alright. And so thats what happened. The other guy is Elder Bankhead. That was a rather fun celebration, a pagent and then a tiny parade and booths. It was really quite cool to see how, as a missionary, you don't have to worry about food or drink too much, people were bringing us water and snocones and burritos. The promise to missionaries to take no thought for food or drink is really true when out serving these people, especially the Zuni, always giving us food or drink.

Today was not much of a normal p-day I guess. We went to work out at 6 in the morning with President Gibbons(really cool guy). Then we ran out to Zuni to help this older brother who can barely see put down some roofing and to switch out some sheets of plywood. They don't really do shingles out here, its rolls of stuff and if not that, then its sheet metal. Parts of the places we go look like a 3rd world country, its kinda crazy. But most people live in mobile homes with some houses in Ramah and more houses in Zuni. After the roof, we ate lunch in Zuni and then came back for a bit of study and to wash our truck cause we have zone conference on Friday. 

Zone conference is in Gallup (NM) which is 45 minutes away going about 65 the whole way, and its just our zone, and the Zuni Branch(which only had 45 members there this week)  are supposed to be feeding us. Elder Bankhead and I have to leave our apartment at 7 that morning to get there in time to meet with President Batt. I did learn that one of the guys from my district in the mtc is out in my zone with me, Elder Meng, the one who's shoulder I messed up. Its pretty cool to see him at zone get togethers. 

Our normal day right now is wake up 6:15 go work out till 7:15ish then come home eat oatmeal and drink some protien, shower then study from 8 to 11, with 2 of those hours being companion study, that's part of the 12 week in-field training. Then we have been eating lunch in our apartment with a little bit more study til we leave at noon. Our apartment is tiny by the way, take a couple feet off every direction in the garage and that"s pretty much it. I'll send some photos of it soon. then its out to work, and we have to leave Zuni around 8:30 to be back by curfew, its 30 minutes out. 

We have been teaching this one family for awhile but as seems to be the case with Zunis the committing is one of the hardest parts. We also have this man who is ready to commit he just doesn't think he will be able to be ready before the end of the year and that will be too much time, cause he doesn't really have any major things he has to change. Another guy is probably only 35 and he will get baptized as soon as his probation is over. Then another guy who is just not sure he wants to give up the Zuni religion entirely because he likes the Zuni dances, but he doesn't have to give that up just as long as he realizes it will become culture instead of religion. Not much else in the way of investigators but we spend lots of time with less actives just because there are so many who have been baptized but chose to be offended or just quit coming. 

Yeah most days kinda feel long but looking back its hard to see it as a month and more that has gone by. Every day is just so similar you can't really keep track. The worst days are when all your appointments fall through cause you know they are there but they just aren't willing to talk with you that day. 

I got the card from grandpa and grandma, make sure my emails get forwarded to them, and also the wedding announcement, nothing much else comes hahaha. It has been way more of a sauna down here, mom haha, especially since its monsoon season for a little bit more, but supposedly then it will all quit raining most afternoons.

I will be singing 'A Poor Wayfaring Man of Grief' in Zuni Branch a couple of weeks from now. President Gibbons is pretty good on the piano and a music teacher so he will be playing along, he is the one who suggested I sing. 

Its pouring rain and thunder right now, I can hear it. That is really all I can think of right now, maybe I'll think of something later but that really is pretty much everything.

love
Elder Alex Huff

Oh and I ate a halepaeno (Mom's translation-jalapeno) green chile the other day and it wasn't that hot!

My First Area

7/11/12
I got the package that you mailed when I left the mission home on the 10th. My Trainer is Elder Bankhead from east of Pocatello.  He is a farm boy and that is what he wants to be when he goes home.  We are in Ramah, New Mexico, which is 45 minutes south of Gallup, which is where our district meets and the zone leaders are.

We drove 3 hours last night to get here.  The area holds Ramah, all the Zuni rez and all the Navaho rez but we mostly work with the Zuni.

Oh, and my trainer is only at 4 months.  Gotta go.

7/16/12

Yes, I have more than just Ramah, we have the whole Zuni res as well and a part of the Navajo res around Ramah. Yes, I got the water pictures in the package and I got the candy and thought that it was kinda funny.

I love the area. The people are so kind, the Zunis will give you food or water when you go into their homes, as a show of respect for what you are doing. We met a man who is kind of a perpetual investigator, and he does lots of stuff with the culture and stories down here, which will be really interesting and helpful to talk with him. 

Most of the work we do is down in Zuni, simply because the people of Ramah are baptized or they don't want to be at all. Most of our appointments fall through though. We had a whole day that was full of appointments and then we had none of them go through. And the ones we have taught always have the one thing that is holding them back, like common law marriage or the priesthood or other stuff, but its always just the one thing.

And 78* is a very cool day out here. Most days its up in the 90's if not more. Almost every evening there is a rainstorm or lightning and thunder, although they somehow miss Zuni and Ramah. 

My companion gave me a letter that Wilford Woodruff wrote talking about the natives, that said most of the Pueblo Indians are actually Nephites and that the other tribes that were raiders or nomads were usually Lamanites. When I see the people and the attitudes and the history, I really believe it. There is such a difference between Zuni and Navajo, in looks as well as in work attitude and focus. Zuni jewelery is way better than Navajo stuff, usually. 

My companion, Elder Bankhead is cool. He is a farm boy from Malta, Idaho area, worked as a diesel mechanic for years before he came out. He's 26. He and President Gibbons have got me heading to the gym and working out in the early morning. I don't know what else to say about him. 

I have really been working hard to do everything like I should and be exactly obedient, its not that hard but you have to work for it. President Benson once said that "When obedience ceases to become an irritant, and becomes our quest, then will God endow us with power." or something really close to that. That is my goal and my quest. I began reading Jesus the Christ by James A. Talmadge and I really like it. There is so much knowledge there to learn and to have brought to my understanding, I may want a copy sent out later. 

I have eaten more beans than I would really like to have in the past couple days but that's what the food is down here so that's what I'll eat. Oh, and I ate sheep stomach but that's no biggie. Well, that's all I've got this week.

Love

Elder Huff

Travel Day

(This post is written by my mom.)

Alex emailed on Sunday to let us know that he would be calling around 4:45 local time.  We were stoked!  Rob set his alarm to be awake for our call.  Chris was up waiting for the call as well.  4:45 came and went, no call.  We assumed there just wasn't time so we looked forward to hearing from him during his 1 1/2 hour layover in Denver.  The phone never rang at home or either cell number.  After 4:45 pm rolled around we finally accepted the fact that he wasn't going to have that opportunity to call. I kept checking my email to see if he sent a short note from the mission office in Farmington.  There was no email.  We had given up this time.

While I was cooking dinner at 8pm the phone rang.  I didn't think anything of it until a few minutes later I got the sign from Rob that Alex was on the phone!! I turned everything off, pushed things off the heat and picked up the extension.  It was wonderful to hear Alex's voice.

I had missed out on a few things so Alex repeated his adventures of the day thus far.  Alex and his 9 travelling companions (7 elders and 3 sisters total) all headed to the New Mexico Farmington Mission left the Missionary Training Center bright (well, maybe not bright) and early at 3 am.  They arrived at the Salt Lake airport at 4:15 and made it through security by 4:30.  All tried to call home but the calling cards they had would not work at the airport. (It was nice to know that they tried.)  Their plane to Denver had some problems.  They couldn't get them all fixed so they needed another plane.  They left 5 hours later than their original departure time.  They were only scheduled for a 1 1/2 layover in Denver so they missed their connection to Durango, Colorado.  They were told there would be another flight at 9.  They were cool with that.  It turns out that was 9 am the next day!!  The airline gave them some food vouchers and put the lot of them up at a Holiday Inn in Denver.  Once they were settled in they all called home. Alex's comment on the hotel was that there sure wasn't much to do in the hotel when you are missionary! No tv and no swimming!

It sounded like they were having a good time but they were travel weary and were ready to begin this next phase of their missions. They will arrive in Farmington on Wednesday around lunch time. From their they will meet their new companions and head out into the mission field to begin this next step!

Alex was very happy and ready to get out there and go to.  Please send him a note if you think about it.  His address is just to the right. Don't send mail to the Provo, Utah, address, they won't forward.

July 2nd 2012

 This week has been awesome! I got my travel arrangements on Wednesday.I will leave the MTC at 3:00 in the morning and my first flight takes off around 6:50, lands around 8:10ish. My second flight takes off at like 9:50 and lands 10:40. I go from Salt Lake to Denver then Denver to Durango, and its a car trip from there on. 

We had some amazing stuff happen this week. We had a devotional from L. Tom Perry where 10 of the 12 were there. I have been able to see a bunch of Elder Bednar's devotionals here. He is such an amazing speaker. If you can you should read or watch them. Character of Christ and Becoming a Missionary are the 2 titles. 

I have felt the Spirit so strong this week. Some of the lessons that I have taught with Elder Poulson have just been so filled with the Spirit, its amazing. Then our fireside last night was interesting and spiritual. It was by Ted Gibbs, a member of the 70 and he played the part of  Willard Richards as he described the story of his conversion and the martyrdom. It was so powerful. You should read that story again, and really think about it. 

I'm gonna dry clean my suit today and get a hair cut appointment, not that i need to cut my hair but I'm gonna see if they can give me a fade without cutting the top, but I don't know maybe not. So close to heading out its not even funny. 

I got a package from Matt, which had a Ducks button in it, which was pretty cool. 

My friend Hunter should show up Thursday so I'm excited for that.  I hope to see him a bit. We vacuumed stairs for service this last week which was weird because they were tile stairs. We don't get to go to the temple again.

I think my closing thought will be on some of those talks I heard this week. Elder Bednar talked about being baptized by fire being as important as being baptized of water, and President Benson had a talk where he spoke of that when we accept the Lord as our captain that we catch fire and that we can transmit that fire to others. I know that the fire that they both spoke of are the same fire and that it is the fire of conversion. My hope is that I will be able to kindle that fire in myself and let it burn long and hot. I know that what I am preparing to do is the right thing and that this church is true and that the Savior lives and that Joseph Smith restored the gosple of Christ and was a great prophet. I know that our church leaders today are prophets just like Moses and Abraham.

love 

Elder Huff

First P Day Email

Ya¨ateeh family

 

This week has been great. We have been doing a whole lot. I'm sorry about Taylor's finger (he broke it on Saturday night) but its not all that suprising. I have not met President Brown and haven't been called up in any meetings yet, thank goodness. I did however get to meet my new mission president. His name is President Batt. they are super fun and have quite a few stories. He has grown up and lived most of his live in Rigby, Idaho, and got his masters in mechanical engineering, and his mission was the indians in Minnesota area.

My companion's name is Elder Poulson. He is rather funny. Not out and out funny but he is so quiet and reserved that when he tells some of his stories in a completely common and unexciting way it is hilarious cause they are just ridiculous. He's from West Jordan, Utah, and likes to skate. My district is 7 guys, a threesome and two companionships. The 2 companionships are both going to New Mexico and the others are going to Raleigh, North Carolina. The other New Mexico guys are Elders Meng and Tucker. They are great, as is the rest of my district. We spend all of our time together as a district.

 

I have met lots of guys I know. A bunch from school who were here or got here the same day as I did, and I'm leaving before all of them! Haha. I did see Tyler Miller and some other missionaries going to Sendai as well. There are a few of those. Oh, super cool is I saw President Eyering today as I was coming back from the temple. Kinda cool. I didnt get to see grandma and grandpa cause I go early on  Monday.  I dont think I will be able to go. You should read Elder Bednar's Christmas MTC devotional. It is so good. We watched it last night. and I heard that since the first mission in the Phillipines opened that it has gone from 65 members to 650,000 members. Way cool and I thought Matt might like to hear that.  All of us in my district are all really wishing we had mail. It is just so nice to get something every day or just every so often. We got here at just the right time cause we hit the  Mission Presidents' Seminar, which really confuses us on schedule but is super cool cause we have most of the general authorities here all the time. Oh and I was kinda dumb and gave my self a nice little goose egg last night, super fun. That's pretty much all I have to say.

 

Ya"ateeh means ITS ALL GREAT in Navaho

 

Love,

Elder Huff

Snail Mail

6/22/2012

Dear Family,

Made it down here just fine.  Was first to  pick my bed in my room which was cool.  My room has 4 Elders AND we are ALL going to New Mexico!

Our distict is 7 Elders--Raleigh North Carolina and Farmington New Mexico. 

I really like my zone leaders.  Ther are funny guys.  Both Australian, both going to the Philippines, speaking some language I've never heard of.

Learned a bit more Navajo from on of my Branch Presidency.

Well, we were just supposed to write a quick note. Gotta head off to breakfast with my district.

Love,
Elder Huff

June 20th-MTC Day

Alex enters the Missionary Training Center (MTC) in Provo, Utah, today around noon.  His aunts (and maybe grandparents) will be dropping him off.  We are grateful for family in Utah.

Did you know that you can send Alex a letter thru DearElder.com for free?!!  With same day delivery if you post before noon Utah time?? 

Go to http://www.dearelder.com/ .  Click on "write a missionary".  Select "Provo-MTC" from the drop down menu.  It is fairly self explanatory after that.  Alex's address for that is:
Elder Alexander William Huff
MTC Mailbox #165 NM-FARM 0709

They will deliver this to him as a printed letter in an envelope!  Please don't use this service after July 7th.  Remember that he only gets to send letters once a week but he can receive them daily.

Alex really loves his friends from school and speaks of them often.  He would love to hear from everyone occasionally. 

alex's one post

well monday night and my birthday. i fly out tomorrow and then i head into the mtc on wednesday at 1255. sure hope i see some familiar faces there. so long and farewell