Week 1 of approximately 78-ish

Hi Everyone!

Whit has asked me to update her blog while she is on her mission, please keep in mind I am not a seasoned blogger - in fact this is officially my first blogging experience.  Most of the information will come straight from her emails just to make sure I am delivering the correct message. 

In the email we received from Whit today she let us know her Pday is Tuesday (for now anyway) so I will do my best to update the blog either Tuesday or Wednesday nights so all of you can keep up with all she is doing.  

~ ~ Message from Sister Whitley Jean Hunsaker  12. 18. 2012 ~ ~

FAMILY!

Time is short so i'm not worrying about grammer. Sorry.

Listen, I wish I had words to describe my love to you all. But I don't. I don't know how much ya'll want to know, or what I should tell you. But I will tell you that I have been humbled and broken. I finally understand fully what it means to rely on my savior and father in heaven. i struggled from wednesday to sunday, but things are better now. wanna know why? because i chose to rely on my savior. I know youre probably thinking, wow whit has seriously changed. and you're right. but I had to change in order to be here. I am a representative of the Lord. This is no longer my life, it's his. This is his time and I need to be the person he wants me to be. The person I need to be. My branch president (shin) said, "This is the embreo of your eternal life". Life has such greater meaning to me.

When I was struggling those first few days, I lacked faith. So all I have to say is that if you are struggling with me being gone, you need to rely more fully upon the Lord. Trust him. He is with me, He is watching over me, and He is watching over all of you. TURN TO HIM.

I don't know how to not be "all preachy" I am a missionary, it would be weird if I wasn't. Wouldn't it?

ALSO, can I just tell ya'll how much I miss being pampered, or pampering myself. Holy cow. I didn't think i would miss that and i do.

AH my time is up

i had so much more to say :(

please write me on dear elder EVERYONE. it helps me so much when i can go home and read

bye love you.

love sister hunsaker!

As Whit mentioned above letters are a WONDERFUL thing and they help her through the tough days.  If any of you are thinking about writing or are interesting in writing her PLEASE do!  It only takes a few minutes and if you go to dearelder.com and submit a letter before noon she will get it the same day.  So - after you are done reading this update go to http://www.dearelder.com/  click on write a letter, select Provo MTC, click on write a missionary, type in your information, you will send the letter to Sister Whitley Hunsaker MTC box #250.  She may not be able to write all of you back but I know she would love to hear from all of you!  

A BIG thanks to EVERYONE for their support, it means so much to Whit and to our family.

~ Zoey

Thank You

This past week I have felt an overflow of love from all of you who are standing beside me as I embark on this new journey of my life. I wish I had time to individually thank each and every one of you, but sadly I cannot.

THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!

You have no idea what it does for me to know I have so many people are supporting and cheering me on.

If you would like to write me while I am in the MTC, send them here:

Sister Whitley Jean Hunsaker

MTC Mailbox #250

KOR-SEO 0226

2005 N 900 E

Provo, UT 84604-1793

If you would like to send mail to Korea, send them here:

Sister Whitley Jean Hunsaker

Korea Seoul Mission

Gwanghwamun PO Box 210

Jongno-gu

Seoul-si

Seoul-teukbyeolsi 110-230

If you would like to send a package to Korea, send them here:

Sister Whitley Jean Hunsaker

Korea Seoul Mission

Samcheong-no 9 gil 45

Jongno- gu

Seoul-si, Seoul-teukbyeolsi 110-230

SOUTH KOREA

I love you all, stay safe, and God bless!

Love,

Sister Hunsaker

Make Your Days Count

All my life I have tried to grow up so fast, and now that I’m starting to finally feel grown up, I want the time to slow down.  In conference President Uchtdorf told a story about him and his wife riding bikes, and how he wants to ride faster like it were a race. He quoted her and she said,

“Dieter, it’s not a race; it’s a journey. Enjoy the moment.”

I love the journey of my life, and I hope to enjoy the journey instead of getting caught up in the race of life. Looking for the finish line, you’ll miss all the important details. He goes on to say, “Doesn't it seem foolish to spoil sweet and joyful experiences because we are constantly anticipating the moment when they will end?”

Don’t count your days, make your days count.

I've been thinking about this quote a whole bunch lately. Since I received my mission call I have been counting down the days until I leave, and now that I have a shorter time left here opposed to waiting, I am realizing I need to make my days count. I've met a lot of wonderful people here at BYUI, and I’m grateful for every single person who has played a role in my life.  Time is drawing near, and before I know it I’ll be in the MTC. It’s scary how fast the days go by! I find myself literally wishing I had some sort of emergency brake I can pull. One of my favorite quotes is by the one and only John Wayne, and he says,

“Courage is being scared to death but saddling up anyway.”

Leaving my family and friends for 18 months slightly scares me, but I am saddling up anyway because I have wanted this for too long to walk away from it all. I’m not that scared to leave my family because I know that I will see them again, and I have a testimony of eternal families. I do know that some of my friends won’t be around when I get home, and that’s okay because the important ones will still be there.

When I arrive in the MTC I hope to have my perspective changed to letting my days count instead of counting down the days to leave the MTC. And I’m sure when I reach my half way mark, I know I’ll want to slow down the time.  So where ever you are in life, stop wishing for it to go by faster. Instead, embrace whatever you are faced with. Whether it be happiness, change, or a challenge enjoy the ride! My hope and prayer are the same concluding words of President Uchtdorf’s talk,

“I pray that we will not wait until we are ready to die before we truly learn to live.”

http://www.lds.org/general-conference/2012/10/of-regrets-and-resolutions?lang=eng

Called To Serve

For all of you who are near and dear to my heart know that I have been called to serve a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and those of you who didn't know that now you do! I report to the MTC on 12-12-12, and I have the greatest support system of family and friends and I want you all to be able to know how I am doing. I also want my family and friends to know that their love and support never goes unnoticed! I love you all. My amazing sister, Zoey has agreed to update this blog for all of you and me while I am serving. 

Heart, mind, and Seoul Korea.

I am so grateful for this undeniable desire that I have to serve a mission. I have been called to labor in the Korea, Seoul Mission. That is where the inspiration of my URL came from, just in case ya'll didn't catch that ;) I can't take the credit though, I'm not that clever.

Many of you are interested about how I'm feeling about being on the other side of the world, literally. I am so excited to serve the people in Korea. As I was awaiting my call, everyone asked me where I thought I was going. Obviously I didn't know, but I honestly thought I would stay state side, and I was perfectly okay with that. On my mission papers I did say that I would like to go foreign, but doesn't everyone say that? I didn't think anything of it. I was set on the Southeast, like Tennessee, or Louisiana. But who was I kidding, those states are full of cowboys and I would be so distracted! ;)

Just a few days before my call arrived my mom, sister and I spent a few days up in West Yellowstone just getting one last trip in before the summer ended. Zoey and I spent a lot of time talking about where I wanted to serve, and we all know how many tourists are up there in West. When we drove through the park all we seen were a ton of buffalo's and tourists. We were joking about counting to see the ratio between buffalo and tourists. I said to her, "In all seriousness Zo, I don't want to go to Asia. I'll go any where but Asia."

...So there you have it, Heavenly Father works in mysterious ways! :)

It took a couple days for it to actually sink in and become a reality, and to be honest it's still sinking in. Some days I still can't believe I'm going to Korea, but in those moments I feel the Saviors love and I know I am going to be okay. After a few days from opening the call I fell to my knees and pleaded with my Heavenly Father, I knew I couldn't survive this mission without him. I cried to him. Korea is everything I'm not. I don't like big cities, humidity, or anything out of my Utah/Idaho "norm". I remember saying, "I don't want Korea." And I knelt there sobbing, for which felt like hours. Before I could mutter anymore words I felt my Saviors love, and I knew that even though I didn't want Korea, I needed Korea.

It's been about six weeks from when I received my call, and all the bitterness has found its way out! I am BEYOND BLESSED to be serving in Korea, and even though I don't know the people in Korea, I love them already. I have about nine more weeks here at BYU Idaho, and I cherish every moment.