Oct. 3, 2016
This week was really great. Elder Bake and I tore it up! First we
found out about transfers. Elder Bake is leaving to Parker South and my new companion
is Elder Krulish. I am going to miss Elder Bake it was great serving with him.
Elder Krulish was in my MTC district and I am really excited to start serving
with him. For our P-Day last week we got out of the routine of playing
basketball and went to the museum of nature and science - it was a lot of fun.
We made plans this week to talk to every person we saw. A couple things that
helped were that we kept track of our streak with talking to people and also we
asked each other if we fear man. We said “no” to each other so we talked to
people. At first, with our streak we got it up to about 20 and then we let
someone pass by so it went back to 0. After that the rest of the week we didn't
let anyone pass by and if we did we went back and talked to them. Our streak at
the end of the week was 88 people. We had a lot of success in our finding
efforts and had some cool experiences come from that. We said “hi” to a really
friendly lady and she came up to us and introduced herself and we are going to
be teaching her. We also taught a family that is Born Again Christian. It was
pretty hard teaching them but part of it was that we didn't set the best
expectations. We were walking in a park and we saw these guys playing soccer in
these tennis courts. We decided to start talking to them through the fence and
they were really interested in what we taught. I was really excited for Friday
night because we’re going to be teaching the family we found last week and
another investigator that had a lot of potential, but both lessons fell
through. At about 8:45 that night we were ready to go home and then I looked at
Elder Bake and I said "Fourth Floor Last Door." We decided to try a
potential family that lived in the same building we were already in and the
wife answered the door and we set up a time to teach their family the next day.
We taught them and they are really interested in learning the gospel. It really
helped me appreciate the importance of enduring to the end. Even though we had
appointments fall through this week, I am starting to realize that it happens
for a purpose, so we can meet those who the Lord puts on our path at a specific
time. My Go To scripture fits well with this experience it is Alma 26:27 “Now
when our hearts were depressed, and we were about to turn back, behold, the
Lord comforted us, and said: Go amongst thy brethren, the Lamanites, and bear
with patience thine afflictions, and I will give unto you success.”
One thing I forgot to mention was how great General Conference was.
It was great to hear the Prophet’s voice. As a missionary the exciting thing
was that I saw a trend that it was focused on the simple gospel and a lot was
what we teach as a missionary. Elder Stevenson talked about how the Book of
Mormon is the Key Stone of our religion that is so true and I am grateful for a
testimony of the Book of Mormon and would invite you to follow the commitment
he left to read from the Book of Mormon
Oct. 11, 2016
This week was really great and some sweet miracles happened this
week. Tuesday we had one of the members of the Stake Presidency coming out with
us to an appointment. The appointment ended up canceling but as we were heading
back we met with a guy named C. He has gone through a lot in his life and was
in a rough situation as we talked with him he wanted for us to come by and help
him. We also met with B and we brought a really cool member that is a really
good fellow shipper for him. He really wants to come closer to Christ. We just
have to help him see how he can. Wednesday, Elder Bake left and I met up with
Elder Krulish. I am really excited to be companions with him. We taught A about
the restoration and the lesson went really well. On Saturday I went on
exchanges with Elder Sekona in the Savory Ponds Ward. It was really great. We
were able to find a lot of people to teach. One of them got really frustrated
but he ended up wanting to come to our church. Also a Lady came up to us and
told us her mother was a member that wanted to meet with us. We met with the
whole family and they
wanted to start coming back to church and we invited their children to be baptized. Sunday was pretty crazy. G was able to make it to church about 30 minutes into gospel principles class and we had to leave a little bit afterwards because Elder Krulish had to go confer the Aaronic Priesthood to someone he recently baptized. G had a really great time and enjoyed church. Also we met with M right after church. He is from China and doesn't have a faith and so we started from the very basics of who God is and what it means to have faith. We were able to meet with the F Family and it was a really amazing experience. There are five in the family and we met with
four of them they were really receptive and their daughter E was really excited. She read the pamphlet to her siblings and she watched General Conference at her home. They all accepted the invitation to be baptized which is really exciting. I am really excited for this week and for opportunity I have to share the gospel. I am very grateful for the experience I am having as I am able to serve the Lord is a great blessing from God.
wanted to start coming back to church and we invited their children to be baptized. Sunday was pretty crazy. G was able to make it to church about 30 minutes into gospel principles class and we had to leave a little bit afterwards because Elder Krulish had to go confer the Aaronic Priesthood to someone he recently baptized. G had a really great time and enjoyed church. Also we met with M right after church. He is from China and doesn't have a faith and so we started from the very basics of who God is and what it means to have faith. We were able to meet with the F Family and it was a really amazing experience. There are five in the family and we met with
four of them they were really receptive and their daughter E was really excited. She read the pamphlet to her siblings and she watched General Conference at her home. They all accepted the invitation to be baptized which is really exciting. I am really excited for this week and for opportunity I have to share the gospel. I am very grateful for the experience I am having as I am able to serve the Lord is a great blessing from God.
Oct. 17, 2016
This week has been a very great week. Elder Krulish and I have
really been working hard and it is really paying off. Elder Krulish really
likes to work out, so we have been waking up at 5:45 in the morning and going
to a park where they have some basic exercise equipment and we have been
working out for about an hour or so. I feel like it
actually gives me quite a bit of energy for the rest of the day. A couple big things happened this week as well. First the Fort Collins Temple was dedicated and so they broadcasted it to all of Colorado. That was my first temple dedication and it was really cool. President Uchtdorf was there along with Elder Renlund, Elder Soares, and Bishop
Waddell and a couple other General Authorities. There were some really great talks about the blessings of the Temple. One of the things I learned is that Christ is the Cornerstone and everything points towards him. The other three cornerstones of the Church are the first vision, the Book of Mormon, and the restoration of the priesthood. It
was a very special experience to see the Dedication of the house of the Lord. Also we had Zone Meeting as well and I learned a lot. We had some pretty sweet things happen. First, the F kids that we met with were able to go to the youth activities and really enjoy it. We had some really great lessons this week and we had quite a few members with us, which made a huge difference. We had quite a few lessons where when we had a member the lesson fell through, but we had back up people to drop by and it was amazing to see how the Lord made it possible to still teach someone with the members we were with. One example was when our lesson with a new person we were teaching fell through, so we walked over to another person we are teaching and she was in her car about to drive out when we saw her, but we were able to talk with her in her car and teach her. What is really cool is how members play a huge role in being able to relate to the people we are teaching. We have quite a few people that fit perfectly. We also have kept our finding efforts up and we are continuing to have success in our finding. We have some exciting things lined up for this week so it is going to be great!
actually gives me quite a bit of energy for the rest of the day. A couple big things happened this week as well. First the Fort Collins Temple was dedicated and so they broadcasted it to all of Colorado. That was my first temple dedication and it was really cool. President Uchtdorf was there along with Elder Renlund, Elder Soares, and Bishop
Waddell and a couple other General Authorities. There were some really great talks about the blessings of the Temple. One of the things I learned is that Christ is the Cornerstone and everything points towards him. The other three cornerstones of the Church are the first vision, the Book of Mormon, and the restoration of the priesthood. It
was a very special experience to see the Dedication of the house of the Lord. Also we had Zone Meeting as well and I learned a lot. We had some pretty sweet things happen. First, the F kids that we met with were able to go to the youth activities and really enjoy it. We had some really great lessons this week and we had quite a few members with us, which made a huge difference. We had quite a few lessons where when we had a member the lesson fell through, but we had back up people to drop by and it was amazing to see how the Lord made it possible to still teach someone with the members we were with. One example was when our lesson with a new person we were teaching fell through, so we walked over to another person we are teaching and she was in her car about to drive out when we saw her, but we were able to talk with her in her car and teach her. What is really cool is how members play a huge role in being able to relate to the people we are teaching. We have quite a few people that fit perfectly. We also have kept our finding efforts up and we are continuing to have success in our finding. We have some exciting things lined up for this week so it is going to be great!
Oct. 24, 2016
This has been a crazy week! A lot of good and not so good things
have happened. I went on exchanges with Elder Severn this week. It was a really
great day we had an appointment in the morning that fell
through and so we went finding and we met four new people we are going to start teaching. That ended up being the story for the whole exchange. We had quite a few lessons fall through but we had a great
time as we were out and about talking to people. Elder Severn is a really great missionary. The sad part is Elder Severn ended up going home this weekend because he has been dealing with stress and anxiety,
I hope he will get better and return soon because the Lord needs a missionary like him. We also took our car to the shop and ended up getting another car - this is the third car I have had in this area. With all the logistics we had to deal with, it was a miracle how many people we taught this week. The work has been on fire here in Green Wood Village. We are continuing to find and teach a lot of people. We received a referral from a former Mission Presidents Wife from the South Mission. When we taught him our lesson went really well. He is a single father and his daughter is 3 years old. His ex-wife is actually a member and one of the reasons he is investigating is so he can be a better father for his daughter. He wants to make changes in his life and right now and is really willing to progress in the gospel. We handed off one of our investigators S to the YSA ward. He is excited to be baptized and for him the gospel is making a lot of sense. We haven't been able to meet with the F Family and we have to start meeting with them more often so they can progress because there is so much potential. I feel I am growing as a missionary. There are a lot of things that I am starting to improve on. One thing that has helped me in my studies is I am asking questions before I study and searching for answers as I study. It definitely helps me keep my studies focused. Also, as we have been teaching I have been praying for my companion as he teaches and it has helped the lessons go well and kept me in tune with the spirit. I am really excited for another great week of serving the Lord.
through and so we went finding and we met four new people we are going to start teaching. That ended up being the story for the whole exchange. We had quite a few lessons fall through but we had a great
time as we were out and about talking to people. Elder Severn is a really great missionary. The sad part is Elder Severn ended up going home this weekend because he has been dealing with stress and anxiety,
I hope he will get better and return soon because the Lord needs a missionary like him. We also took our car to the shop and ended up getting another car - this is the third car I have had in this area. With all the logistics we had to deal with, it was a miracle how many people we taught this week. The work has been on fire here in Green Wood Village. We are continuing to find and teach a lot of people. We received a referral from a former Mission Presidents Wife from the South Mission. When we taught him our lesson went really well. He is a single father and his daughter is 3 years old. His ex-wife is actually a member and one of the reasons he is investigating is so he can be a better father for his daughter. He wants to make changes in his life and right now and is really willing to progress in the gospel. We handed off one of our investigators S to the YSA ward. He is excited to be baptized and for him the gospel is making a lot of sense. We haven't been able to meet with the F Family and we have to start meeting with them more often so they can progress because there is so much potential. I feel I am growing as a missionary. There are a lot of things that I am starting to improve on. One thing that has helped me in my studies is I am asking questions before I study and searching for answers as I study. It definitely helps me keep my studies focused. Also, as we have been teaching I have been praying for my companion as he teaches and it has helped the lessons go well and kept me in tune with the spirit. I am really excited for another great week of serving the Lord.
October 31, 2016
This week has gone by quick and it was a really great week. It was filled with some exciting events and a lot of hard work. That is what I have been realizing this week is the blessings of hard work. The difference with right now and in the past on my mission is that I feel that I am more persistent, especially with people we meet. Even though someone may not seem interested I do my best to not give up on them; especially when it comes to teaching people on the street. I feel that if I don't teach them then or do everything I can to continue to meet with them that I am not giving them the perfect opportunity to accept the gospel. A couple different ways that we teach people no matter what is if someone is not interested, we ask for a referral and then try to teach about how our message could help the referral. If someone is busy we ask to come back another time and then we leave them
with a pamphlet with our info, and while one of us is writing our info we begin to teach. I feel that when I am the happiest on my mission is when I am teaching someone. By the end of this day I am pretty exhausted but it feels good to give everything I have got. We have been bringing a lot of the members with us to lessons as well. As a
missionary there is nothing better than bringing a member because they are able to relate a lot better to those we teach. Sometimes we have lessons that fall through and when that happens we take the member to another person in the area and it is pretty cool how the Lord makes things happen. An example this week was when our lesson with M fell through we decided to go to E and as we knocked on his door no one answered, but right then when we were about to move on E came up the stairs and we were able to teach him. We rescheduled with M and had another member come out with us. We knocked on M’s door and he told us he had to go pick up his wife and would be back in 15 minutes. Instead of just waiting around we went to H's house and his mother answered. We began to teach her and she allowed us to come back. When we came back she accepted the invitation to be baptized and she also went to church with us on Sunday! We met with S this week and he is doing great. He really wants to continue to learn and he is working hard to live the word of wisdom. Also we met with the F family this week and taught the Plan of Salvation. They are really excited as they learn and they committed to be at church this week. Also, S is doing great at the YSA ward and we handed off a couple more investigators to YSA. We had a hand off lesson right after the Maplewood YSA Ward got out. While we were waiting I saw Coulter Brown. It was pretty cool but really weird just because I know him already and I'm not used to that. The work is going really great!
Love,
Elder Blackham
This week has gone by quick and it was a really great week. It was filled with some exciting events and a lot of hard work. That is what I have been realizing this week is the blessings of hard work. The difference with right now and in the past on my mission is that I feel that I am more persistent, especially with people we meet. Even though someone may not seem interested I do my best to not give up on them; especially when it comes to teaching people on the street. I feel that if I don't teach them then or do everything I can to continue to meet with them that I am not giving them the perfect opportunity to accept the gospel. A couple different ways that we teach people no matter what is if someone is not interested, we ask for a referral and then try to teach about how our message could help the referral. If someone is busy we ask to come back another time and then we leave them
with a pamphlet with our info, and while one of us is writing our info we begin to teach. I feel that when I am the happiest on my mission is when I am teaching someone. By the end of this day I am pretty exhausted but it feels good to give everything I have got. We have been bringing a lot of the members with us to lessons as well. As a
missionary there is nothing better than bringing a member because they are able to relate a lot better to those we teach. Sometimes we have lessons that fall through and when that happens we take the member to another person in the area and it is pretty cool how the Lord makes things happen. An example this week was when our lesson with M fell through we decided to go to E and as we knocked on his door no one answered, but right then when we were about to move on E came up the stairs and we were able to teach him. We rescheduled with M and had another member come out with us. We knocked on M’s door and he told us he had to go pick up his wife and would be back in 15 minutes. Instead of just waiting around we went to H's house and his mother answered. We began to teach her and she allowed us to come back. When we came back she accepted the invitation to be baptized and she also went to church with us on Sunday! We met with S this week and he is doing great. He really wants to continue to learn and he is working hard to live the word of wisdom. Also we met with the F family this week and taught the Plan of Salvation. They are really excited as they learn and they committed to be at church this week. Also, S is doing great at the YSA ward and we handed off a couple more investigators to YSA. We had a hand off lesson right after the Maplewood YSA Ward got out. While we were waiting I saw Coulter Brown. It was pretty cool but really weird just because I know him already and I'm not used to that. The work is going really great!
Love,
Elder Blackham
