November 30, 2015

Hi Family,

 

Hope you had a great Thanksgiving, I know I did. This is the last week of the transfer and then I will have a new companion. This week was really great we were working really hard and it has been awesome to see the fruit of our labors. Elder Sevilla and I have found a lot of joy in serving the Lord this week. Elder Sevilla has been watching and quoting the New Testament videos a lot and it is kind of funny because it seems like he is addicted to it. Monday was a really great way to start the week. We first taught Sis. M and it was really great to teach her and it is amazing how much she has progressed. She shared a personal spiritual experience with us and I knew without a doubt she has a testimony of this gospel. After we taught JS, he was a referral from the Heather Ridge Elders. He is Liberian and is huge! The fist thought that went through my head was who is going to baptize him? He has a really strong desire to follow Christ. He promised to attend church and he was able to attend for the second hour and then he had to leave but he felt bad and told us he would be at church the full time next week. Tuesday we saw a man we had street contacted and so we gave him a Book of Mormon and taught him on the side of the road. We also taught a family that is Seventh Day Adventist. It was difficult to teach them because they kept on bringing up the Sabbath. Wednesday we had a lesson with a former investigator we found in the area book. Tracting that day was tough - we had some harsh rejections. One lady opened her door. I said "Hi we're your missionaries," and she said "Well good for you!" and then slammed the door in our face. Rejections are hard, but I've felt like they strengthen my testimony because if tracting was easy than it would mean the adversary isn't working. Thanksgiving was really great! President Mendenhall wouldn't let us play in the Turkey Bowl probably because he wanted to keep the teams even because he knows I would have torn up the competition. Actually it was so his missionaries wouldn't get hurt. We had dinner with a family. One of the things I am really thankful for this Thanksgiving is my trainer Elder Sevilla. He is really a great example, and he really shows his love to our investigators and I one thing I have really learned from him is to be bold and loving when extending commitments. Friday thru Sunday we were very busy teaching investigators and less actives. We also had O's Confirmation this Sunday it was really great. Sunday night was crazy, we were looking for less actives and none answered their door but it lead us to take a different route home on our way we saw a car stuck in the mud in a school parking lot we went over to see what was going on and it was an 87 year old lady without a phone that had stuck her car in the mud. We were there a couple hours trying to help her and finally one of the members showed up and helped tow her out with his suburban. Even though we got back late it was a really great opportunity to serve and help someone and we hope this turns into a great teaching opportunity. This week I've learned the importance of being anxiously engaged and when I am the lord can use me as an instrument in his hands. So I hope you are getting excited for Christmas and don't forget to watch A Savior Is Born. I will leave you with my ponderizing scripture. Alma 53:20 And they were all young men, and they were exceedingly valiant for courage, and also for strength and activity; but behold, this was not all—they were men who were true at all times in whatsoever thing they were entrusted. It is great to be part of the Lords army

Love,
Elder Blackham

 

November 23, 2015

This week has been a tough week, but I definitely learned a lot from it. I realized I need to stay humble and rely on the Lord. This week we were really excited for O’s Baptism and it kind of detracted from the rest of our work. We had some really great experiences. Wednesday we went to the temple. I love going because the spirit is so strong, but it is a sacrifice because we have to wake up at 4:30 to make it in time to the 6:00 am session. Afterwards our Zone Leaders took us to Kneader'.s. The last time I ate there was the morning before I left to the MTC. Boy have I been out in the field for a long time. Thursday we had Zone Meeting we had some really great trainings. One that really stuck out was from our Zone Leader Elder Hodson. He talked about how we are children of God. It's amazing how profound and divine that statement is that the creator of the universe is our loving Heavenly Father. Later that day we had a lesson with our investigator Sister M. It was really cool - during the lesson the member's  shared about ponderizing and later that night she texted us and told us after reading 3 Nephi Ch. 11.  There were two scriptures that really spoke to her and she wrote them down and stuck them on her fridge. She also texted us last night and told us she had a testimony building experience last week and wanted to share it with us in our next lesson. We had O's Baptism on Sunday and it was really great. The spirit was so strong. We played Mormon messages while she was changing and she walked out in the beginning of Dare to Stand Alone. It was really powerful because as she is starting a new chapter in her life she is going to stand out but also be blessed. I am so grateful for this experience and am so excited for this week. Missionary work is easiest when you give everything to the Lord. I only have two weeks left with Elder Sevilla and I am ready to make the most of it. My ponderize scripture this week is D&C 76:22-24 I stand with the Prophet and testify that He Lives!

 

Love,

Elder Blackham

 

November 16, 2015

Hi Family,

 

This week was really great but it had its trials. We had 6 appointments cancel on us this week. But besides that things went really well. Monday we went to this Asian market it was pretty cool and Elder Sevilla loved it there! Tuesday we met again with the trainers and trainees. It was really great to meet up with the missionaries that came out with me. It’s funny because even though we only knew each other for a week, it is really cool to see how they are doing. Wednesday was really great - it snowed a lot! The thing about Denver is even though it snows it melts quickly. Also I learned I have to be a little careful biking after it snows because I was trying jump onto the sidewalk and well my bike slipped out from me luckily I didn't hurt anything. Friday was good we found a new investigator and we have a solid potential investigator that we will teach this week. Saturday some really awesome things happened. We were teaching Sister M and we committed her to be baptized it was a really awesome experience and we are really excited for her. Also we taught another investigator Brother P and he committed to attend Stake Conference on Sunday. Also we attended the Stake Adult meeting that night and President and Sister Mendenhall spoke. When Sister Mendenhall spoke she had all of the missionaries come up and we recited our purpose together it was really cool. President and Sister Mendenhall are so great. Sunday was really cool because we had three investigators at Stake Conference, Sister M, Brother P, and O. It was really great and what was so awesome was that at the end Brother P jumped in and helped out take down all the chairs in the gym. Afterwards we taught O at the M family’s home. We are so excited for her Baptism this Saturday although we found out last night we have to teach her lesson 5 so we are going to have to squeeze that in this week. I am so grateful that the Lord has blessed with these really great experiences and I love every moment of my mission. My ponderize scripture this week is Mosiah 2:17 it helps me remember who I am serving.

 

Love,

Elder Blackham