Birthday Week in Panama!

Everyone treated Hunter like family on his birthday.  He said it was one of his most memorable ever!!  He had a great week including a zone conference where he got to see a lot of his MTC buddies and a multi-zone P-DAY!  Enjoy the pictures!!

Zone conference - MTC gang!

Hunter's "I am not working" sign!

Hunter's best friends from the MTC together again!

With Elder Barker

With Elder David
(If you look closely you can see the sweat on their faces from the insane humidity!)

This crab belongs to the husband of a recent convert in the ward.

Hunter with Elder Arismendi

noche de platillos con nuestro barrio
(evening meals with our ward)

The San Miguelito Zone

My Panamanian B-Day cake!

Diablo Rohos

Hunter and Elder Arismendi's b-days are only one day apart!!

The family got a "Captain America" pinata for Hunter!

Hunter broke the pinata stick on his first swing!

Elder Arismendi is Hunter's zone leader.

Hermana Romagoza

The family who threw them the b-day party!

These are the missionaries for the ward

He finally can send Pictures!!

So Elder Meine has finally discovered how to send pictures from Panama!  HOORAY!!  Here are a few from his first couple weeks.....

Our flight to Panama

View from Panama from our Hotel day one

My humble abode that I call home.  From the outside....

 From inside looking out......

 Inside the house I live in.

Where I sleep (on left).  No sheets, no pillows.  Just  a mattress that luckily has been sprayed for bugs!

It rains here.  ALOT and HARD!

The roads and walkways become temporary rivers.

Me and my trainer Elder Polio

Week 3....It FLEW BY!! (for Elder Meine, not mom!)

Still no pictures yet, Elder Meine needs a special adapter which he is working on getting.  He did say this week flew by since he was so busy!  All of the fasting and prayers from Idaho have really strengthened him.  He answered questions for us this week......

 1. What do you drink?  Do you have a fridge in your house?  Did you figure out how to get breakfast yet?

We drink a lot of water, and we do have a fridge. For breakfast I bought a box of cereal from the grocery store hahaha! And the members give us this delicious drink called chicha. Its basically foreign koolaid

2.  How big is the house you live in?  Did you figure out how to download pictures yet?

Its a decent size, but not too big. Im trying to figure out the pictures thing, i promise!

3.  Do you have power in your house?  Outlets?

Yes, and yes. But most of our outlets are occupied by our four fans.

4.  Where and how do you do laundry?

We go to a little Chino laundromaut which kind of sucks, but it does the job. Its got like, 9 washers and 2 dryers which makes no sense

5.  Who is the most interesting person that you met this week?

We met some guy that i cant even explain right now and i dont think i want to. He freaked me out a little. That's a story for another time

6.  Tell us about one of the families that fed you?

Oh i dont know which one to talk about, youd have to be more specific! But they are all incredibly nice, and always give us a huge meal

7.  How many wards or branches are you over?  Who is the bishop?  Do the wards have names or numbers like here at home?

We have one ward, led by Bishop Dias. It's called the Santa Librada Ward, and the most we've had in attendance so far is just over 100 people, which was yesterday

8.  How do you pronounce your companions name?  Does it sound just like the disease?

Hahaha yes, but the í is accented like that. So its Po-LEE-oh

9.  How far do you think that you walk in one day?

 

BÚKO

10.  Have you learned any of the members names yet?  Who is your favorite member so far?

Hermana Oda is really sweet, and so is Hermana Muñez, but my favorite is David Lee and our ward pianist. They relate to me the best, and they are both somewhat recently returned missionaries. And our ward pianist speaks english!!!

11.  What do you sleep on?  Did you need your own sheets?

I just have a mattress on a bed thingy and one sheet that i usually just use as a pillow

12.  Have you had any MANZANAS yet?  That's right we are studying a little spanish here!

Do you mean apples? if so, no hahaha i havent even seen any!

13.  Do you need a USB cable to hook your camera up to the computer?

I think so... I dont know if it will read my sd card, but i would like one anyway

14.  Tell us more about Santa Librada.  We had a hard time finding it on a map.  What is the street called that you live on.

There arent really street names... hahaha im really bad at directions here, but ill let you know if i figure it out!

WEEK 2 in Panama!!

Elder Meine is still trying to figure out how to upload pictures!  So here are a few of his thoughts from his e-mail home this week!  Hard to believe he has been in Panama for two weeks!

So I have a story from that experience. Broadhead's trainer was explaining a thing they call 'Jungle Fever', or as he likes to call it, the Cornflakes. I will explain the story first, and then interpret its meaning.

So while you were at home, you ate your favorite bowl of cereal every day, an amazing bowl of Frosted Flakes. But then you get out here in the mission field, all they have is Cornflakes. You don't really like it, but after awhile you get a little bit used to it. Sometimes, there's even a little sugar added to it. By the end of your two years, you LOVE Cornflakes! And when you get home there is a hug bowl of Frosted Flakes waiting for you. You can do one of two things. You eat that whole bowl in one singing because you missed it so much, or you go back to the Cornflakes you've grown to love so much.

here is what this means in reality. Frosted Flakes are all of your lady friends back home. When you first get out to Central America, you dont find ANYONE attractive. But overtime, you start looking through those missonary goggles. You havent seen those american girls, or those friends youve found really attractive in over a year. So you start liking the locals a little bit. Its basically the science of why so many missionaries come back and marry people from their missions.

I thought some of my bros would get a kick out of that! And I am determined NOT to let that happen to me, even though everyone tells me it will, and that the more i say i wont, the faster i will. Help me!! I dont want to become a victim of the cornflakes!!!!

This is NOT the language they taught me in the MTC!!

Here are a few parts of Elder Meine's first e-mail from being in Panama for a week!

"HOLY CRAP. This has been the craziest week I've had in my entire life!!  We got to Panama tuesday night, and we got our trainers the next day and then started working. Here, the call the trainers 'parents', the greenies their 'kids', and when you start you are 'born' and when you go home you 'die'. My 'father' is Elder Polio. He is from El Salvador and speaks very Little English. He helps me a lot with the language, or at least as best as he can. 

I have a fun Little thing for you to try. There a few slang words in spanish that we use all the time, and im going to share them with you if you want to use them or whatever hahaha! They might not be spelled right, but I'll try my best.

Buko: a whole more than a lot. Like, a LOT. Example: There is buko rice on my plate!

Chuso: dang it!

Panga: crazy, weird, or stupid

Speaking of which, we eat rice and chicken ALL THE TIME. So far everything has been delicious expect for this one thing we had that Elder Arismendi called rice with milk. It was nasty, and he had to finish it for me. It was a drink with chunks of rice in it, and it was panga."

If you get the chance, please write him.  He is very homesick for Idaho!

Here are a few MTC pictures that I forgot to post last week....

The missionary has landed!

Hunter left Salt Lake City on August 19th at 10:15 AM.  With one stop in Atlanta, Georgia we were blessed to have TWO phone call visits with him!  His Aunt also saw him at the SLC airport and snapped a memorable photo of him in security.

The next morning we got an e-mail from the mission president's wife.  Well, it's official!!  Elder Meine is in PANAMA!!

LAST P-DAY IN THE MTC!!

Well this is it!  Our last photos from the MTC!!  Hunter leaves for Panama on August 19th at 4:30 AM!!  I have updated his addresses on the left.  He loves letters and continues to tell us how much they strengthen him and help him not feel homesick!

An amazing picture of me that Elder Gibby took.

Celebratory Cartwheels with Elder Barker

Our District Rocks!

Some of my favorite Elders!

I have made great
friendships here at the
MTC!

One of our substitute teachers, Hermana Young.  She's super cool and helped me a lot with lessons and the language.

"Selfie Inception" I took this during a group photo.  Can't wait to get the copy of the group photo

Ready for some soccer!  This is the "Hegalo" shirts that Sister Kofoed made my entire district.  It is spanish for "Just Do IT!" Instead of a Nike swoosh we have Moroni's trumpet!  Our names are on the back!  I am a rockin' defender!!

My updated photo wall in my room

Zone picture.  I am in the very back jumping on Elder Dastrup!