Happy Birthday Mom, Parker and Grandpa this week!!!  Wow, I miss you guys so much and love you tons. Hopefully all of your wildest dreams come true! Sure love you homies and enjoy the week! Oh and Drew watch out man! I threw up 135 lbs 19 times this morning and put up 185 lbs 4 times. SOOOOO getting swoll big guy you better be too!
 
Well, I really can’t believe I’ve almost been out 3 months. Pretty crazy! 3 months in 10 days! This week was super good for the work side of the mish. haha  We had our first baptism but I didn’t do it.  She wanted some bigger dude from another area to do it because she was worried about falling in the water. hahah  She’s a BIG lady! But it was awesome!  We also have 4 new fechas bautismales for November and so I think that’s going to be really good. Two of the guys I play volleyball with at the ward all the time and they love me because I always wreck them! haha.  They’re both 18 and names are Eric and Paul and they are super studs!  We also have two sisters we are working with so that will be good.  I ripped another pair of pants though because I fell down the stairs hahaha. Don’t worry, I’m ok! Got that fixed though no worries mom. 
 
Other than that nothing really happened this week. It was a super chill week and we literally do the same thing every day. The Spanish is coming along quite nicely tambien! The people here are really good and always tell me I’m doing great so that’s awesome! haha.  We had cambios today and my best friend in the mission is leaving sadly. Elder Hildebrant is a stud and he’s going to Llo to be a district leader and open an area.  That will be really good for him! Really not much else happened though. haha  Oh, I haven’t gotten my package yet.  It has been sitting at the mission home for 3 weeks.  I should get it today!  So keep on having fun this week! I love you guys!
 

Seems like everything is going good at home and that you are enjoying life! That is sweet that you were able to go to Jaron’s farewell.  I miss that kid! We had such a great time in track together but he is going to kill it in Australia.  Well it was kind of a rough start of the week but had some of the best days of the mish later so all it good here.

Week 11 . . .Woooow! haha I don’t know how I feel about it to be honest. This week was pretty solid!  I went on divisions with one of my best friends in the mission and it was awesome! haha It  really was so much fun!  We found legit chocolate milk at the store and it was the greatest thing I’ve ever had in my life! Then we went and got tacos for my birthday so that was super chill. He is super sick! haha  That night we went and played some volleyball at the stake center. Literally we were playing for 5 minutes and my pants split down the middle. hahaha  It was so funny. My pensh was there with other people in the ward and it was the funniest thing and we were both dying! The next day Elder Hildebrandt (my homie that I was doing divisions with) and I made peanut butter bars. HOLY BALLS... I can’t explain how great they were!! Literally, the best thing I’ve eaten in my life. I know I keep saying that but it’s been a while since I had them.  haha
 
Other than that this week has just been a little weird. A lot of our investigators are falling through so we only have a couple of people to teach.  Our baptism fell through last week but I guess it’s better and maybe they will be ready later down the road.   We have a baptism this week which is for sure going to happen and 2 the next week.  One of the ladies that we are baptizing gave me a beanie for my birthday!  It is really cool and I love it.   We are working really hard looking for new investigators.  Day by day we keep moving forward and I am sure we will find  new ones.
 
As for my Spanish. . .  I don’t really know! haha. This week was a little rough on the Spanish but I’m going to have those days and I will just have to keep working hard!  A lot of the people in the other ward that I did divisions in told me that it sounds like I have more than 6 months in the mission.  I get impatient but it is getting better and better. I can understand most of the things people are talking about but speaking it is just totally different and it is so hard! haha.  Sunday I gave my first talk in Spanish!  I think it was actually way sick! I don’t know if they understood me but hey it was pretty cool! I wrote it out but didn’t use it at all. I just spoke from the heart and by the spirit so they probably had no idea what I was saying. hahaha.
 
Today for P-day we are meeting up with some of the gringo Elders in the zone to play football, the american kind, so I am pumped about that.  I love and miss you guys.   Enjoy your week!

Love ya boy Hunts!

Thanks for the Happy Birthdays and such. It was easily the best day of my mission so far!  The birthday was honestly so sick! My investigator and Family were so chill about it.  My pensioissste told everyone in the ward that is was my birthday so all day at church people were wishing me a Happy Birthday. haha. One of my families that I’m teaching right now invited us over last night to teach them. They bought me a cake and everything! They are the best! Then when I returned back for the night, my other family had a bunch of people over and we just played games and they bought me a cake too!  hahah. It really was so much fun!
 
This week I have been teaching a lot more instead of just the usual little here and little there and it has been going so good. We have 4 baptisms set for this month and it is so sick!  The family of 3 will be baptized next week and then another guy we met street contacting.  His name is Jonathan and he is set to be baptized the last week of October.  All of my investigators are really doing great and it is really cool to see how the gospel is helping them change their lives.  The Spanish is really coming along. Something just happened one day and boom!  Now I’m understanding how the freaking language works. hahaha.  It’s awesome! I think I can understand like 70 to 80% of what people are saying. Now it’s just replying to them that’s hard as balls.  

I’m not going to lie, I got a little homesick this week. It was Drew’s birthday, Happy Birthday Bro and just thinking about all we would be doing and stuff.  You defiantly miss it when your so far away.  I was talking to one of my investigators about track this week because she does track. WOOOOOW, I would kill to do that right now.  She told me that there is a high jump pit close by my house! hahaha  So I’m going to go over there one of these days and try it out.  Why the freak not!!! It is awesome!  Everything has been good though.  My comp is a little better.  I found out the he was having a hard time because the members and investigators like me so much.  I can't help that I'm a likable guy.  He is at the end of his mission and will be going home in January so I am sure that doesn't help either.  I didn't get my birthday package yet but hopefully today.  It has been at the mission office for over a week.  I’m still working out everyday and it’s awesome! Not coming back weak or fat. Not me haha. Love you family and enjoy the week!!!!
 
Ya boy Hunts

Well, how about this everyone, I turn 19 in 6 days! It’s MY BIRTHDAY!

​I still feel and look like I'm 12 but hey, what can I do about it.  So this week was interesting.  My comp has been giving me a bad time about my Spanish and telling me that I should be doing a lot better and I just wasn’t going to take it anymore.  He didn’t speak to me for 4 days and so I asked him, What's up?  I just told him that if he had been in the states for 2 months his English would suck and he has been learning it for 10 months. So after that he was good.  I don’t know what he expects.  I’ve only been in the field 3 weeks and the members say I’m doing great!  He is super impatient but that’s fine, I’m not going to let him get to me and I will just keep working hard. 
 
Well, the teaching went great this week.  We have been teaching a family, a mother and her 2 kids.  The daughter Elizabeth is 13 and the son Daniel is 18.  Daniel is studying at the University and so I have been teaching him English.  They are a really great family. We committed them for baptism this week and so I am super stoked about that. SO finally having some luck here in Arequipa!
 
This weekend was way sweet!  I got to watch General Conference and chow down some Nutella and Peanut Butter with my buddy from the District Elder Hildabrant.  He’s a stud.  I am going to play basketball with him today which is going to be so nice and a change from Soccer.  Not going to lie, getting sick of soccer! haha  Other than that we really aren’t doing much today. My pensionisste is the best.  She is honestly one of my favorite people here and she is a really good cook so that makes it even better.  Spanish is coming poco poco everyday and I’m trying my hardest to get it down. It’s finally starting to click though! Freak! haha I can understand every word that everyone is saying I just don’t know about 40% of the things they are saying! hahaha  Everyday is better than the last.  This week went by so fast! I got to see one of my best buddies from the CCM Elder Brown. He is so cool and we got to chill for a little while we were watching conference. He’s coming to play b-ball with us today as well. Oh, my comp and I are starting to hit the gym every morning. haha  There is a gym close to our house that is only 10 bucks a month so boys I’ll be getting swoll everyday!  So don’t even worry about it. So that’s my week! Love and miss you guys!  Keep on living life to the fullest. Thanks for everything!
 
Love Your Friendly Neighborhood Missionary,
Hunt SIMO

Well, to start of with, let’s just say the Spanish I thought I knew was not Spanish at all hahaha! Dad would say, there’s schooI Spanish, MTC Spanish and real Spanish. Now I have to learn real Spanish haha. I probably understand about 60 to 70 percent of what people are saying to me, which is not bad if I say so myself!! It is just so weird though haha. A lot of the people here in the ward tell me that my Spanish sounds like I’ve been out more than 2 months and more like 4 months. So I guess I shouldn’t worry too much. I can comprehend a lot of what people are saying it’s just constructing the sentences. Now I’m starting to think in Spanish, which is so weird and I only understand 60 to 70 percent of my thoughts which is so crazy and frustrating. I can’t even talk to myself hahaha. 

It was great talking to you last week from the airport. Yeah, I have been sick and it sucked. Nothing but straight rios for a week. I found out that I had an infection in my stomach but I’m all good now! I lost 10 lbs!  I got my first package and THANK YOU! I was having a really rough time and it made my month.  I’m just livin life and don’t have a clue what’s going on but I love it here so much.  It is so crazy to think I’ve been here for almost 2 months.  IT’S GOING SO FAST!!!

My comp is a stud though and I really love the kid. His name is something Araujo. (I just can’t say elder.  It might come in time. I’m just not a fan.  It’s so formal and just not personal.  You know I like to get to know the person not the title.) He’s been helping me a lot with my language and is a really hard worker so you know it’s all good here.

There are 2 things I’ve learned about myself since I arrived in Arequipa.  First, this place is sure to humble anyone. I know I will be a much more humble person when I come home, that’s for sure. Second,  I will never eat rice again so no one try to feed it to me. I am so sick of it already and only have 22 months to go. 

I am serving in the area of Arequipa Misti.  It is one of the closest areas to the volcano Aqui so that is way sick! It’s a nicer looking area but apparently pretty dangerous. I saw a couple dudes get mugged and my comp and I just ran and got out of the way. Also , there was a dude sitting buck naked in the back of a bus so that was cool too I guess hahaha!  I am getting really good at pulling cabs over on accident because I just smile and wave to everyone then they all pull over.  It is so funny and my comp just laughs at me every time it happens. The people are pretty interesting and have so many different opinions about me and its really kind of funny. Some hate americans so I’m just like eh whatever and others just really like me.  Some people think that I look like Channing Tatum soooooo Ladies look out for me!  hahaha and others tell me that  I look like a sports guy haha. Love those guys! 

I had a super cool experience this week while we were contacting and I just have to say  that the gift of tongues is so real.  We were teaching a lady and I just started talking to her.  I said something and had no idea what I was saying.  This lady just started bawling and then decided that she wanted to come to church with us.  It was so cool and something that I will never forget.

Love you guys and just keep working hard!
Hunter
​​

Well, I’m sorry to hear that Grandpa is still in the hospital. I can’t imagine what it’s like and it makes me sad that I can’t be for him but I am keeping him in my thoughts and prayers every night and day. Make sure to give him a hug for me! Drew, I freaking envy you so much that you got to go to that Coldplay concert! Holy balls! haha. That looked so sick! You have to send more pics and a video. I Looks like you guys had a great time! Great pics of you dunking Drew! You better be freaking good at dunking because you’re an ape man! Not going to lie though I’m coming home ripped Drew. I have a massive workout that’s going to get me cut beyond belielf! haha. Love you man!

Really nothing has happened this week. It’s been such a normal week. We get up, eat, study, eat, study, eat and study! We’ve just been having fun and going a little crazy in our spare time. I am super stoked to get out of the CCM! I wont be able to email next week because I will be leaving for Arequipa on Tuesday morning. We leave the CCM at 2 am to get to the airport for our flights to our different missions. I have had a great time here and have learned so much about myself and the gospel. More than I thought I could cram into my brain in such a short time. I have loved my district and all my teachers. They have all been so cool and probably some of my favorite people! I have tried to be the kind of person to help keep everyone positive about the language and the work. I know it is really important to put those gifts that I’ve been given to work. I have realized it just doesn’t come easy to a lot of people and so I want to help them if they are struggling. My teachers here are pretty impressed about how fast I’m learning the language and even when I can’t focus. They don’t know how I do it! haha I definitely feel the crazy energetic side of me everyday and can’t wait to put it to work in the field where I’m not cooped up in a classroom all day. Hey but what else is new! I love keeping active and being out there.

I love you guys! So keep on keepin on and live life to the fullest! Hey and 5 weeks down! What ?!?!?

Miss and love you tons!
Elder Simonsen hahaha jk (I just can’t call myself that).
Love you guys!
​Hunter Out!

Well, it seems like a kind of rough week there for Grandma and Grandpa. I am hoping and praying everything will be okay. Let them know how much I love them! As badly as I want to be upset with how this accident happened, I also know this is a good time for us to practice loving everyone and forgiveness. Two of the most important things we teach in the gospel. I will be praying day and night for Grandpas recovery. Drew, tell Nathan I love him and have fun this year bro! Remember who your true friends are and Nate’s definitely one of them so keep an eye on him!

It was a pretty crazy and fun week here though haha. My buddy here, Elder Rokovitz, is such a stud! We were all sitting in class and this fly was bugging us so bad. Someone yelled first one to kill it wins! The thing lands on the window and he open palm smacks the window and just blows the crap out of it hahaha. He was a wrestler so he’s a big guy. It was so funny to see the look on his face after.  Like I said last week, I’ve become known as the guy who can jump really high and far so nothing new. haha. I jumped over this fountain here that is about 19 ft or something like that so super easy. Had to do it for the fans. It is awesome here and I really can't believe how well I’m learning the language. It’s way cool here. We play a lot of soccer here and I love it now for some reason. I am sure it’s because I am going to be playing it a lot for the next 2 years. hahaha I have to say that I’m not half bad either!

One of the coolest things we did on Saturday was proselytizing on the streets of Lima. It was so nice to be outside the walls of the CCM and have some time to walk around in my walkin around shoes. I had my big boy pants on! It was one of the most humbling experiences that I’ve ever had. We were in one of the poorest parts in Lima and so it was pretty crazy. I taught a couple lessons and got to chill with a lot of the kids here! I love them so much. They are the bomb. They wouldn’t let me take my backpack or anything sadly so I couldn’t take any pictures of the experience but it was so cool! One family that we taught literally lived in a concrete box with one side of it open. They had a couch, refrigerator, and a small table. It was a mom and her daughter. Such a cool thing to see how much the gospel meant in their lives when they literally had nothing. The mom’s testimony was amazing and it made me realize that I was sent to Peru not to serve the country of Peru but the people and how much I can change their lives. The little girl in that family was maybe 5 years old. They didn’t have enough seats for us to sit down during the lesson so my comp and I stood while they sat. She ran out and found two of the smallest chairs for us to sit. and I’m not going to lie, it was the cutest thing ever. It was such a cool experience. I can’t wait until I get out of the CCM and actually serve the people! I am really getting tired of being all cooped up here. It’s all good and it’s going so fast. I love it here!

One of the funniest people at the CCM is the janitor. hahaha He calls everyone here maripositas and walks away laughing so he and I chill and have a good time. I don’t have a lot of pics for the week because I couldn’t take my camera to the coolest thing I did. Love you all and keep on having a fun time and live a little for me!!!

​Love ya boy Hunts!

It seems like everything is going good back home!! Good luck to everyone starting school this week! You will all do amazing! I know you guys are going to kill it because it’s just the bro way! Good luck Cole on the new major and all that new crazy business! haha Just find something you enjoy and you’ll love every moment of it! Never doubt what you can do because you can do anything you put your mind to! Park and Drew you guys just keep on keepin on! Don’t overload on classes Parker and enjoy the U man. Drew don’t get into trouble or ill have Parker put you in your place! haha Love ya bro miss ya man!

I sorry I couldn’t respond this week to everyones emails. We had the fresh meat show up and we had to show them around. This week went by soooo fast! I can’t believe it. It’s so weird to think that I have been here 3 weeks. My Spanish has gotten so much better! Even Parker would be impressed. We went to the temple last week and it was super cool. It was nice to get out of the CCM for a little. It is such a beautiful temple. There is this little store across the street from the temple that sells some sweet ties. I bought a few for me and some to send home for birthdays. Not much happened this week really until Tuesday. Everyday is just about the same. We have breakfast, 4 hours of class, lunch, hour of activity, 4 hours of class, dinner, and 4 more hours of class. haha. Not the most exciting thing but it's cool. My friends that were here on the earlier transfer left on Tuesday so it was super weird! I’m going to miss Bates and Bumstead a lot but I know they’ll be awesome! Like I said, some fresh meat appeared at the CCM today so we were all making them super nervous about everything. haha It was pretty funny, good old fashioned hazing. But we told them we were just messing around and we're all tight. I am sure we’ll be good friends.

All the latinos love me here. They say I’m like one of them. It is so funny. They are some of the coolest and neatest people. One of my favorites, Elder Ramirez is of Iquitos Peru and his story is so cool. He doesn’t speak any English so I have been teaching him a little while he is here! He’s 25 and has provided for his whole family and he’s the only member of the church in his family. He said he has received so many answers to his prayers and he knew he had to go on a mission. He is super cool and by far one of my favorite people I have met. He is such a humble and cool guy. He and I are going to stay in touch on the mission! I love it here though and I am learning a ton. I finally put some weight back on. I think it’s because I’ve been working out! You would be surprised what exercising can do for muscles. haha. Finally starting to thicken up so now I’ve only lost a total of 5 pounds since I’ve been here! Oh, I also found this massive wall that I’ve been showing a few of my jumping skills on. I am still the best! hahah Love you guys and good luck with everything! Miss you but I’m rockin it out here so don’t worry about me!

Love Ya boy Hunts!