February 8, 2016

This week was one of those up and down weeks. Monday we dropped by two potentials that we had scheduled appointments with - both fell through and then we decided to go try another potential. On the way we met a lady named J. She was just sitting on the stairs outside her apartment and we started talking. We found out her ex was a member and she knew a little bit about the church. She was fine with us dropping by and sharing a message with her family. It is pretty amazing how the Lord puts people on our path. Tuesday we had a lot of snow - like 16 inches, which provided a lot of service opportunities. We helped a couple people shovel snow which was great. One of those was a Less Active. When we saw his drive way wasn't shoveled we grabbed their shovel and shoveled it. As we finished Brother G walked out to shovel the snow and he was so grateful that we helped him - it was pretty cool to see the joy on his face when he saw what we had done. Afterwards we dropped by E’s and we taught him part of the first lesson before he had to go. We dropped by L’s, a less active we had been trying to schedule an appointment with for a while, and we were able to teach him and schedule another appointment. Wednesday we got to go to the Temple which was a really great experience. We dropped by a couple less actives and were able to teach them. Also, later that night we dropped by Brother C’s and we were able to teach him and testify of the truthfulness of the Gospel. Brother C wants to strengthen his testimony and he says he is able to feel the Spirit when we teach him - it is pretty cool. Thursday, I gave training during district meeting and it was centered on extending invitations. When we extend invitations to people it allows them to progress in the gospel. We've been finding a lot of Less-Actives that were not even in the ward directory lately. Sunday, we had a couple appointments cancel so we dropped by a Less-Active we had tracted into. After talking to him I found out he is from Pasadena, Texas and also he is a hip-hop artist. He said his Rap name is BIGSAINTJAMES. It’s pretty cool - you meet all kinds of people in Denver. By the way, the Super Bowl was yesterday, which kind of halted the work for a day. We couldn't tract during the game or go into homes that were watching the game. It is kind of ridiculous how crazy the fans are here. We asked a member to go with us to a lesson and he told us that he couldn't because of the Super Bowl. It didn't matter because that lesson canceled - probably because of the Super Bowl. Anyways, all we could do was street contact, which wasn't very effective because the streets were empty. But at about 8:30 we found out the Broncos won because there were fireworks going off. People were driving in trucks waving flags. We got to an intersection and there was a truck driving around the intersection with people in the back. It was kind of crazy. Anyways My GOTO scripture this week is John 15:5 "I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing." I know I can gain my strength from Christ and that through him can I bring forth fruit.

 

February 16, 2016

This past week has been pretty great! For the past couple weeks we had been facing a barrier where we had been finding quite a few potential investigator but we weren't able to meet with them. This week we crushed that barrier and 5 of those potentials turned into new investigators!

 

Monday: We had a zone P-Day and went bowling. We bowled as pairs, so I bowled with Elder Mork from Sacramento, California. It was probably the best I have ever bowled. I got 3 spares in a row and ended with a strike. Afterwards we had an appointment fall through and then we met a kid named D. We talked to him for a bit and he told us to come back tomorrow to meet with his whole family.

 

Tuesday: After we got back from running in the morning we found out we didn't have any power in our apartment. We had some pretty cool experiences though. We had a lesson scheduled with Sister M’s but she canceled, so we left a voicemail to let Brother Hampden, the member coming with us, know it was canceled. We decided to tract around Sister M’s home. So we parked our bikes in front of her home. Brother Hampden didn't get our message and so when he got to her home he thought we were inside because he saw our bikes. Well, when he knocked on Sister M’s door she let him in and we headed over to teach a lesson. Later that day when we were on our way to D’s we met a lady named S, who asked us to help her get to her car - she was in a wheel chair. After helping her she wanted us to drop by and teach her some time later. When we got to D’s home his mom did not want to meet with us at all. It is amazing how the Lord puts us on people’s paths. Later we were getting our mailbox popped open by one of the maintenance guys and a man named C talked to us. We had actually knocked on his door that night before but he was not interested. Anyways, C apologized for being rude the night before and he wanted to meet with us. We also dropped by Brother V's because we have not met with him for a couple weeks. He wasn't there but we talked to his wife and found he has been working 7 days a week and that his schedule is really busy for the next month. We also taught E the rest of the restoration. He isn't the most solid investigator but he is willing to listen to us. We also tracted into a less-active family in the ward.

 

Wednesday: We had a Zone Meeting and there was some really good training - one was about getting out of our comfort zones and experiencing growth. As we get out of our comfort zones it’s important to have a good attitude and be cheerful because it will make things easier. We taught a part member family but they are not willing to keep commitments that we extend to them. Our mailbox got jammed so I used a butter knife to open it.

 

Thursday- Saturday: Set up an appointment with S but she ended up cancelling on us. Taught Sister M. We are trying to help her gain a testimony for herself. It was a powerful lesson though. We taught Z, he is a potential we tracted into last week, he has only lived here for four months. Before he lived in New York but he was born in the Congo. It was a powerful lesson - he wants to find out for himself that these things are true. We taught L and his wife T. - they want us to teach them the missionary lessons. Also the tenants in our apartment complex have been posting complaints at the mailboxes so it looks like we aren't the only apartment being ignored.

 

Sunday: Elder Wohlrab and I gave talks in sacrament meetings we were originally told to give ten minute talks but right before we found out we were supposed to finish a couple minutes before the hour so I ended up giving a 25 minute talk. The topic I spoke on was Christ-Like Love. The two main points I made is we have to understand God's love for us to have Charity and that as we serve and give of our self our love for those around us will grow.

 

Monday: It was Presidents Day so we played sports the whole day and now I am pretty sore.

 

This week my GOTO scripture is Isaiah 53:5 “But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.” Christ suffered the Atonement for each of us because he loves us.

 

Feb. 22, 2016

So I've got to go sorry I didn't have time to email you about my week. I am doing well. Next week we have transfers so we'll see what happens. We found a new investigator this week! Most of our appointments canceled but we just kept working. My GOTO scripture this week comes from my Call Letter. President Monson says "The Lord will bless you for the goodness of your life. Greater blessings and more happiness than you have yet experienced await as you humbly and prayerfully serve the Lord in this labor of love among his children. We place our confidence in you and pray that the Lord will help you become an effective missionary." It is humbling to know that the Prophet and Apostles put their trust in me as I serve the Lord. Hope you have a great week I'll tell you some of the highlights next week.

 

Feb. 29, 2016

So I just found out transfers and they are sweeping our ward. That is really frustrating for me because we have one person on date and three other investigators that will be baptized. Any advice would help. I am getting transferred to the Brighton Zone to a ward that won't be created for another two weeks and I am in a trio. My companions are Elder Demerit - he is currently in my District and I have been on exchanges with him, and Elder Ah Nee - he was a zone leader in West Minster, and Elder Mourino - really loved serving with him so it will be exciting.

 

Anyways, our week was awesome! It is amazing what the Lord has done for the work in this area. Monday, Elder Wohlrab and I tracted into a man named D. He has gone through some real tough trials and after a week my love for him has grown. We taught him half of the Restoration and we met with him again on Friday. On Wednesday the mission tour was great - Elder Soares of the Presidency of the Seventy was there and I learned a lot of things: like that I need to never give up, that my faith can prepare people to receive the gospel and that I need to have Faith to achieve the goals we set. Later that Day we taught at Bro. V's, but he was doing school work, so we taught his wife R. We taught her about faith and she wanted us to start teaching her the missionary lessons. I was so excited to start teaching her because I know that she will be baptized just like Brother V was. Thursday we taught the W’s. They are a part member family and we taught them the restoration. After we taught them, the father who is not a member, told us that we helped him answer a lot of questions he had. The son who is not a member either, started asking questions about the plan of salvation and wanted us to keep teaching him. We were very excited. Friday we taught D and he wanted to be baptized, so we put him on date for the 26th of March. Saturday we had exchanges and I was with Elder Mourino. We went over to do service for a part member family and he invited us in for us to teach them. We taught L and his wife T and it was very powerful T has bounced from a lot of Churches in her life and she seems to be one of those people that searches for the truth but knows not where to find it. I have a really strong feeling that she will be baptized as well. We met with a less-active K. H. and he wants to come back to church and his wife wanted to start taking the lessons as well. We were supposed to have three investigators and three less actives at church but they all had things come up, which was a little frustrating, but I know they will be there the next week. It is amazing to see how far this area has progressed. When I first arrived we only had one investigator - now we have one investigator on date right now, and we have three other investigators that will get baptized as well. I have been focusing a lot on Charity and my GOTO scripture is Mosiah 28:3 3 “Now they were desirous that salvation should be declared to every creature, for they could not bear that any human soul should perish; yea, even the very thoughts that any soul should endure endless torment did cause them to quake and tremble.”

Love, Elder Blackham

 

March 7, 2016

This week has been crazy. It feels like I am in a different world and there has been a lot of change. Monday our appointment with D cancelled I was devastated after that. The funny thing was when we knocked on his door he asked who it was and we told him the missionaries and then he said he wasn't home. In my head I was like nice try D, but I know it is you, so I had a short conversation with him to see if we could try again. Tuesday was really hard -we saw almost all of our investigators. We had a really cool experience though, we taught the G's. They hadn't made it to church so we shared a message about how the apostles slept through the hour of the Atonement. Honestly, it was a little gutsy, but we were leaving so if didn't go well - oh well. Anyways, we shared this message and it was what they needed to hear. I got a little worried when Sister G started crying, but I could really feel the spirit so I knew it would be all right. The message helped them realize that they needed to come back to Church and it was really powerful. We got to teach L and T one last time which was so great. It is amazing how much I have grown to love them in such a short time. We also got to teach Brother V and it was so powerful because of the connection we have. So, Wednesday we had transfers. I really am going to miss Elder Wohlrab but at the same time I am excited for the work we have to do. Here is the run-down of our assignment. We will be opening up two brand new wards The Buffalo Run Ward and the Barr Lake Ward. Both were created this Sunday and we will be in a trio for this whole transfer. Elder Ah Nee is great - he is from Hawaii and Elder Demeritt  is from Vermont. So when we got to our area it was a brand new apartment with no furniture, so we had to get furniture and stuff from the Mission. It took some time, but now we are all settled in. We also didn't know our boundaries since the wards hadn't been created and the Stake President didn't want any information leaked out. So we were Wardless. Elder Ah Nee served in the Brighton Ward for 6 months so we went to visit a lot of people. Now most of the Brighton ward was shifted into the Barr lake ward. It will be pretty crazy now trying to get the work started in these brand new wards. It has been pretty fun so far. One cool thing is it seems like people are really easy to talk to which is great for missionary work! My GOTO scripture this week is 2 Nephi 11:6  “And my soul delighteth in proving unto my people that save Christ should come all men must perish.”

 

Love,

Elder Blackham