My cute missionary!

March - May (Sorry I'm so behind, but it's life!)

March 14, 2016

So guess what! I am now in Aurora! This week was pretty great. I was in a trio up in Brighton and I found out Thursday I was going to be emergency transferred to the Peoria Ward in Aurora. There was an Elder in the Peoria Ward who had to go home to take care of some things. That left my new companion, Elder Burt companion-less, so because I was in a trio, President felt that I should transfer to be companions with Elder Burt. So, yeah It’s kind of been crazy with a lot of things happening in the last week. This week started off a little slow. We were still organizing our ward that had just been formed. We had an awesome lesson that we were able to teach to an investigator. It was really powerful, especially as we asked inspired questions to help them understand what we were teaching. As we taught this family they had a greater desire to understand what we were teaching them and wanted to learn more about the gospel. So, I got to Aurora on Friday and I was able to meet Elder Burt. He came out at the same time as me and he is from Pocatello, Idaho. The Peoria Ward is pretty interesting. It is in a rougher part of town and Elder Burt was telling me about some interesting experiences he had there. We live with a member, which is something new for me and we have a car which is also pretty nice. A couple weeks ago in Aurora Highlands, Elder Wohlrab and I ran into a less- active in the Peoria Ward. He had never transferred his records but we got all his info and passed him off to the Peoria Ward. They hadn't gotten a hold of him, but on Saturday Elder Burt and I dropped by and we were able to talk with him and he came with us to the Stake Conference. It’s pretty cool how the Lord is already preparing people for us to meet. I am really excited to be here in the Peoria ward. 

 

March 21, 2016

Things have been going pretty good in Peoria. We taught a lot of people this week. We found a new investigator this week his name is M R. He is about 16 or 17, but he is pretty interested in what we have to share. We were able to teach quite a few less actives as well. Sister F - she currently has cancer in her skull and every day she has Chemo therapy treatments where the doctor inserts 6 inch long needles into her skull. It is a very painful procedure, but the most amazing thing is how much she has turned her life around and now has such a strong desire to return to church. We also met a man named Brother M. He has a real desire to learn more about the gospel. We had Zone Conference this week. The Theme was "What Lack I yet?" It was pretty great. I am focusing on how I can improve as a missionary. My Go To scripture this week is Alma 38:5 "And now my son, Shiblon, I would that ye should remember, that as much as ye shall put your trust in God even so much ye shall be delivered out of your trials, and your troubles, and your afflictions, and ye shall be lifted up at the last day." I am really excited for this up-coming week and know I need to keep my trust in the Lord.

 

April 4, 2016

This week was a great week! Monday was a solid P-Day. We taught a recent convert the Plan of Salvation. It was very spiritual. She was only about ten years old, which was good because I felt like I got better at teaching simply. Tuesday was a weird day. We went to teach a couple Muslims who had walked into Church last Sunday and wanted to learn how to teach English. We were just going to see how it went and when we walked in we saw two hookahs in the corner of the room. At the end of the lesson they were about to fire it up so we decided to just leave. We got an awesome call though on Tuesday, a man named J called us and said he wanted to meet with us. I was trying to remember who he was and then I remembered he was a former that I texted a week ago while Elder Burt was in a District Leader Meeting. We are meeting with him today so I am really excited. We were also trying to meet with our investigator J and so we called him. Before we called him he had a seizure and we were able to give him a blessing and I was amazed at the Lords timing. Wednesday we met L and A. They are from Liberia and they were a referral from a member in Heather Ridge. It was and awesome lesson. They both accepted baptism but only L accepted a date. Afterwards we met a family that moved into the ward - the L's. They were less active but want to come back to church. Brother L owns a vape company and he is pretty into the vape thing himself. I am not a fan of it at all because it just makes a bunch of smoke. The awesome news was that their eleven year old son wants to get baptized, so we are really excited to start teaching him. Thursday we had District Meeting and I had to do some training. Elder Burt asked me to give it the day before because I had been studying the topic in personal study. We had baloot for dinner which was pretty interesting. It is basically a fertilized duck egg - pretty popular in Asia, and you eat the whole bird. It tasted good and it was a good thing to eat so I can say I ate that. We taught J and it was a rough lesson. He kind of dominated it and we didn't go anywhere. As he was talking I could see a concern he had and so I stopped him and shared with him a scripture and my testimony. The spirit was really strong and I felt that I answered his concern. Friday was cool - we were tracting and I started to remember a training given in Zone Conference about relating just a random object to the gospel. So, as we were tracting we met a man named A. As we talked to him I wasn't sure if we were going to get in but I noticed a painting in his home and I said "I like your painting." As I said that, he said come on in. As we taught him, he told us he had a dream that we would knock on his door. it was super exciting. Saturday was cool we planned on watching the morning session with L and A. It was awesome. A was really funny sometimes. He was way into it - clapping, or saying amen, and other times he looked like he was falling asleep. When Elder Hallstrom spoke about his experience in Liberia L woke A up and told him to pay attention. You could tell that it was meant for them and that it really touched their hearts. After the Priesthood Session I felt prompted that we visit a less active family. The M family is from the Philippines. While we were there we were able to give her son a blessing. I asked them if they were all baptized and everyone but there 10 year old daughter was. Her mom asked her if she wanted to get baptized and her face lit up and she said yes. We were so excited! Sunday after General Conference we dropped by an Investigator and we taught him the first lesson and after wards we invited him to be baptized and he said yes! This week was amazing! General Conference absolutely strengthened my testimony that our Church is led by a Prophet of God and that the talks given are truly inspired and meant for each of us. Brother Owens talk stood out to me. We are all placed in positions where we are to lead and the best way to lead is by following Jesus Christ. My GOTO scripture this week is Proverbs 3:4 Trust in the Lord.

 

April 11, 2016

So this week was pretty great. We taught more lessons than I have ever taught my whole mission. The great part about it was that the majority of the lessons we taught to our investigators we brought members with us. Monday we went to get haircuts. We were told that there was a barber off Colfax that gave free haircuts to missionaries because the Barbers wife is Mormon. So we set up an appointment, but the main barber wasn't going to be there. We got to the barber shop and it was pretty funny because it is like a barber shop for mostly black people.The guy who gave us a haircut was named St. Louis. He told me had been working there a couple years and that he didn't know how to cut hair with scissors - he only used clippers, it was an interesting experience, but hey it was free. We taught a former named J, and when we walked up to teach him he was talking with his neighbor, so we taught both of them and they were interest in hearing about the Restoration. Afterwards, we headed over to A's. She has been struggling with cancer and was completely inactive for a long time but with this trial her heart has softened and she has a really strong desire to come back to church. She told us she had watched all of General Conference and had re watched it as well. We shared with her Elder Hollands talk and it was a powerful lesson. Tuesday we taught a recent convert and her mom. The really cool thing was that we had given her mom a blessing before she went in for knee surgery and a week after that surgery she was off crutches and walking around normally. Earlier we were asked to give a blessing with a senior missionary in the Colorado Children’s Hospital (we give a lot of blessings there because it is in our ward boundaries). The child was two years old and had passed away the night before but they revived her and had her on a breathing machine. It was a very sad situation, but while I was in that room I felt the Spirit testify to me of the Plan of Salvation, that God had a plan for this child and that this childs death was not the end. As we gave the blessing it was very powerful. Wednesday we had a lot going on we had Zone Meeting and then we taught three of our investigators. While we were at dinner I was reaching for a pot and I knocked my water cup over and spilled it all over the member right next to me. Looking back it is kind of funny, but boy I was a little embarrassed when it happened. I'm going to skip to Saturday morning at 2:00 am when we heard a really loud noise upstairs. A couple minutes later we walked up stairs and find out some drunken guy was trying to break in. This guy was kicking at the door, so Papa Q got his pisto,l peeked out the window, saw the guy was unarmed, cracked open the door pointed the gun and said "What do you want?” The guy started to walk away so Papa Q called the Cops and the guy got arrested. Later that day we taught A. We brought our ward mission leader Brother V because he served a mission in Honduras where A is from. We taught him the Plan Of Salvation and he committed to baptism. Sunday we only had one Investigator come to church which was disappointing. We were trying really hard to get more of our investigators to come but Sacrament attendance will be something we will have to emphasize this week. We taught S at his rehab home and he invited one of his roommates K to listen and so now we have another investigator. During my studies I realized the mindset that the Sons of Mosiah had when they went to teach the Lamanites. They didn't see them as who they were but as who they could become. That is the way God sees us and that is something I am trying to work on. So my GOTO scripture is Alma 26:3  Behold, I answer for you; for our brethren, the Lamanites, were in darkness, yea, even in the darkest abyss, but behold, how many of them are brought to behold the marvelous light of God! And this is the blessing which hath been bestowed upon us that we have been made instruments in the hands of God to bring about this great work.

 

April 18, 2016

This week is transfers and I am staying and I have been given the assignment to be a district leader which is exciting but humbling at the same time. My new companion is Elder Glen. He is a couple transfers behind me but President told me he is a hard working Missionary. Also Elder Ah Nee is going to be my Zone Leader which is exciting because I enjoyed being with him in for a week in Brighton.

 

I don't have a whole lot of time, but these are our top investigators right now. All four of them were at sacrament meeting. L and A are the couple from Liberia. Somehow they got a marriage license so they should get married within a month and then L will be ready to be baptized. A says he will get baptized but he hasn't committed to a date so we are going to work on that with him. A(diff. A)is excited to get baptized but the thing I am worried about with her is that her parents gave her permission, but they have been going to a different church and I feel like that might make it a challenge for her, but I think she can also be a great example for her family. For our investigator J we brought a primary teacher with us so he could help keep J interested and focused. This was great. One thing I have learned this transfer is how much a difference members can make in helping investigators learn and progress. We have been teaching a lot and we have been pretty busy which is good. I am really excited for our investigators as they get closer to baptism it gets even more exciting

 

April 25, 2016

This week a lot of cool miracles have happened. It makes it clear to me that this is the Lords work. My new companion is Elder Glenn. He is from Yucaipa, California and has been out one transfer less than me. He is a really good missionary because he has a strong desire to serve the Lord. Here are some highlights for this week.

 

Monday- P-Day found out transfers and that night we visited the W’s. Elder Burt was really sad to leave Peoria so we visited some people.

 

Tuesday- We taught L and A and we found out they were getting married on Saturday which was super exciting! We taught A the Gospel of Jesus Christ and she is getting ready for her Baptism on the 14th.

 

Wednesday- Transfers - cool experience - it was about 8:15 and our plans fell through so Elder Glenn suggested we pray and then he asked if we were teaching a person named M. We were,  and so we dropped by and he wanted the address to the church building and we gave him the address and taught him.

 

Thursday- We taught G. She is from the Congo and she told us she believed that the restoration was true and we invited her to be baptized on the 21st of May

 

Friday- as we were walking out of a lesson a lady asked how we were doing and we began to talk to her and we set an appointment up with her for tonight.

 

Saturday- We were walking out of an apartment complex and I heard someone trying to talk to us but I couldn't see anyone. I walked towards the voice and it is coming out of someone’s window. The man wanted to talk to us and invited us in. We are going to teach him the restoration on Tuesday. We also had L and A wedding - it was pretty cool. Bishop Doxey married them.

 

Sunday- A was the only investigator who came to church, so we are going really focus on getting our investigator to come to church. We were going to visit a member but I couldn't find a parking spot so I parked across the street. We walk over and talked to the member and she tells us that the building across the street is a crack house and that every apartment except for two are doing crack and that expensive cars pull in and stuff like that. The police know about it but they haven't done anything yet. Well, that was the building I parked in front of. As we are walking back to the car this sketchy motor home had just pulled up and before we get in someone in the motor home says something. I was pretty nervous and didn't really know what to expect. A lady and her husband walk out and they tell us they are members from Wyoming and are trying to turn their life around immediately I felt a love for them and we talked to them about coming to church and about how the gospel will change their life. I could see hope fill up in their eyes and I knew the Lord put these people on our path.

 

This week has been full of tender mercies that the Lord has blessed us with by putting people on our path it is truly amazing to know who is on our side. My GOTO scripture this week is  D&C 50:26 He that is ordained of God and sent forth, the same is appointed to be the greatest, notwithstanding he is the least and the servant of all. I am a servant to the people here in Aurora but my Master is great he is Jesus Christ.

 

May 2, 2016

This week has been really great we are seeing some amazing things happen in the Peoria ward. Elder Glenn and I are doing great together I am surprised at how in sync we are with each other. One thing that has been on my mind is that we are teaching a couple ten year olds and they are keeping the commitments, but one of them, her family is inactive. They support her decision; I just hope that A will be able to continue to progress despite the fact that her family is not centered around the restored gospel. Honestly I really love it in this ward because the people here are just great and I love the people we are teaching.

 

Monday- We met with A(diff. A). The change she has made in her life is amazing and now she is completely free of Cancer she is the definition of a broken heart and a contrite spirit. She even wants her boyfriend to start taking the lessons. She bore her testimony in sacrament meeting! We had an opportunity to give a blessing at the children’s hospital - now I cherish each time we have the opportunity.

 

Tuesday- We taught A and when we asked how her reading was doing she told us she read the first seven chapters in the Book of Mormon. I was so excited for her!

 

Wednesday- One of my weaknesses is street contacting because I am just used to tracting. We went street contacting in a park. Luckily, Elder Glenn is pretty good at street contacting, so he was helping me out. Elder Glenn told me to talk to a man walking his dog, and I was hesitant because he had already passed us. Elder Glenn told me to shout at the guy and so I did. We started talking to him and now he is a new investigator. We also taught A that night and it was a really cool experience. A is able to feel the spirit really strongly  when we are with him and when he reads and he feels really good about our Church we are just trying to get him to come to church.

 

Thursday- We had District Meeting and afterwards we taught two of our investigators M and C, - she is blind. That lesson M kept on trying to get off track so we really had to work to get the lesson back on track.

 

Friday- We taught V - she is a new investigator. She had met with missionaries a long time ago. She is interesting because she is Roman Catholic, but she believes the Book of Mormon is true and that Joseph Smith was a prophet. But she isn't ready to commit to anything.

 

Saturday was a really good day. We had been teaching a guy named C but every time we met with him he would try to argue over the scripture. I felt that he wasn't ready yet and so I told him that we were here to help him gain an understanding about the Gospel and if he wasn't willing to do that we couldn't teach him. I felt like it was one of the best drops I've done because he told us he wanted to learn but that now wasn't the right time. I think timing is really important for people to progress in the gospel.

 

Sunday- was amazing we had 5 investigators at church, which is the most I have ever had attend. It was really cool! We also taught a new investigator T and hopefully she will take the message of the restoration to heart.

 

This week has been truly amazing these are just the highlights a lot of the work has been the small and simple things that we are doing to help our investigators progress in the Gospel and help them gain a testimony for themselves. I am grateful to see the work increase not only in our area but in our whole district. My Go To scripture this week is D&C 68:6 Wherefore, be of good cheer, and do not fear, for I the Lord am with you, and will stand by you; and ye shall bear record of me, even Jesus Christ, that I am the Son of the living God, that I was, that I am, and that I am to come. This work is a joyful work because the Lord is with us as all of us bear testimony of him. Hope you have a great week.

 

May 9, 2016

This week has been a really great week. Although it felt like we had quite a few appointments cancelling on us, we were able to be just as productive this week. Here are some of the highlights

 

We had zone p-day, so we played whiffle ball and basketball and we had lunch together. Afterwards we taught KM and her sister BM started to listen as well, so we are now teaching her. We taught A afterwards and it was a very spiritual lesson. He can feel the Spirit really strongly when we are there and he is gaining a testimony for himself but he needs to start acting on it. We have been teaching A this week and we are trying to help her get ready for baptism. We were planning on that this week but we felt that we need to push it back a couple weeks so that she will be ready. We have been teaching a Seventh Day Adventist whose husband is trying to get active in our church. It has been difficult teaching her because while she agrees with a lot of things we are teaching there are somethings she having trouble understanding. We also had a really good District Meeting and I learned a lot about resolving concerns. We were able to apply it when we taught V. She wasn't reading from the Book of Mormon but we helped her understand the importance of it. Friday we had a barbecue with the M family. They are less actives that we just started meeting with and we had dinner with them. The food was really good. We also found a really solid investigator his name is K and he is from Vietnam. He was interested in learning about the things we were teaching him. I enjoyed the time I was able to skype my family it gave me a good boost.

 

My GOTO scripture this week is D&C 84:83 For your Father, who is in heaven knoweth that you have need of these things. I think it is really comforting to know how much Heavenly Father Loves us and he know exactly what we need.

 

May 16, 2016

Hi! First off I will wish a Happy Birthday to Mom and Tyler! This week was a little different. It seemed like we had two days this week where we were really busy and taught a lot of people. We were able to meet with A this week and we had a really good lesson and we were able to get her parents more involved. We also got the Restoration Video and the Children’s Book of Mormon to help A have a better understanding. We taught L and A and we are really excited for L's baptism this week. She has a really strong desire to be baptized. Something pretty cool is that A’s cousins are Ashton and John Youboty. They both played football for Klein High School and played college ball and I think they even played in the pros. We also have been getting J ready for his baptism this week as well, which is really exciting. We also found a really solid new investigator. Her name is V J. We taught her the first lesson and we extended a baptismal invitation and she accepted. Some other exciting things that happened this week were that we had zone meeting and one of the trainings was on a real cool idea called the Calendar for Conversion. What we do is when we set someone on date we give them a calendar and we plan on the calendar lessons and commitments and it helps people see how they are doing on keeping commitments. It helps us as missionaries plan and keeps us accountable to make sure we teach everything. We had a District Leader Meeting which was very helpful. It helped me see ways I can be a better leader in my District. Also we went on exchanges this week. I was with my old Companion Elder Ah Nee! It was a really fun exchange and part of it was because we already knew each other really well. One of the things I was able to realize is how important it is to have fun. Missionary work is hard - if you try to find joy in it - it is definitely there. One thing that really helped me this week was that I tried to view people as Children of God. That really helped me have a desire to share the Gospel with them and to just not get frustrated over things that happened. My Go To Scripture this week is 2 Nephi 33:15 For thus hath the Lord commanded me, and I must obey. Amen. I think Nephi's attitude that he must obey is the perfect attitude to have and it is the last words that he shares with us so it is probably something pretty important.

 

May 23, 2016

Hi Family! This week was a really exciting week. We were preparing for the baptisms we had this week. I felt really tired this week for some reason. Part of it is probably because we had to put a pause to playing basketball in the morning. But I just kind of had to push through. We had some cool experiences. We have been working with a Less-Active. She has been trying to get her life in order. It is pretty cool to see her make that change in her life. She even made it to sacrament meeting this week. We also had been teaching a guy named M and we retaught the restoration to him and set him on date and it seemed really solid. Well… two hours later he called us and told us he wasn't being himself and dropped us - hey its mission life. We are working on getting A baptized this week. It may happen it just depends on if she remembers everything we taught her. We found a new investigator this week.His name is Q. He is a pretty cool guy and is willing to find out if our message is true. We are still working with V as well. She says she believes what we are teaching her but she wants to talk to a Catholic Priest before she commits. It is a little bit frustrating but we should be able to work out her concerns. We had the Baptism for L and then J and his brother Z. It was really exciting! We had a lot of support from the ward which was great. Bishop Doxey baptized L and I Baptized J and Z was Baptized by Elder Burt. The Baptism went well. The water was a little hot but the Spirit was definitely there. We had the confirmations on Sunday and I was able to confirm L. That was my first confirmation which was exciting. I was a little nervous but it was a really great moment. Some other cool things that happened this week were that we had dinner with a convert and his mother. The things was he never told his mother he was Mormon and he felt that having us over for dinner would be a great way to let his mom know. Well it ended up going really well and at the end we left them a commitment to read from the Book of Mormon together and they did it and had a really good experience. Also we were contacting a referral and we were in an apartment complex and Elder Glenn went through a door into a courtyard. I wanted to make sure we would be able to get back through the door but when it shut it wouldn't open and so Elder Glenn had to climb a wall to get back over where I was. it was pretty funny. This week I am really just focusing on being more diligent and achieving the goals that we set for the day. My Go To Scripture this week is D&C 58:27 Verily I say, men should be anxiously engaged in a good cause, and do many things of their own free will, and bring to pass much righteousness;" Hope y’all have a great week

 

May 31, 2016

So I found out about Transfers yesterday and I am staying in Peoria, although there are going to be some changes. First, Elder Glenn is getting transferred to downtown and my new companion will be Elder Parsons. We are losing our car so I am going to be back on a bike. The reason why we are going back on bike is because our mission is adding two new stakes to our mission: the Boulder Stake and the Parker South Stake. I am still very excited because it will provide us a great opportunity to be even more effective in our area. Anyway,s some really cool things have happened this week. First was Monday night - we had 3 appointments cancel and so we prayed and I felt prompted to look for a less active named O and so we found their address and when we got there we realized the address didn't exist, so we tracted around the area and we found two new investigators. Later that night we taught J. We found him last week during a picnic we had with some members. We were walking back to the car to get our Jackets and I saw a kid’s football team and one of the Dads (J) watching them. I talked about football with him and then scheduled a time to teach him. We met him Monday and taught him the first part of the restoration. It was a really cool lesson because the spirit was really strong and you could see his desire and interest in what we were teaching him. We also reset A's Baptismal date for the 11th of June. We found that she is able to learn well when we use drawings so I've been using my creative juices to draw out the lessons for her. On Wednesday things were just not working well for us so before we started tracting an apartment we prayed and asked for God to put someone on our path. Well we tracted into a Less-Active that was not even on the records #notrandom! We also started teaching V again and it is so much fun teaching her because she gets really excited when she understands things. We also are working with a boy named J. He is 14 and has been in some trouble and so his Grandma who is a convert wanted us to start teaching him. We taught him twice the first time. He really didn't want to open up so we gave him some time and we taught him again the second time. I felt that we just needed to teach him and as we went through the lesson he would open up. Well that’s what happened - he started to talk to us a little more. Monday we had a mission 5k run so we met up in Westminster and ran as a mission. It was a whole lot of fun to be all together as a mission. Well this upcoming week will be an exciting week and I hope we will be able to carry the momentum forward.

 

Love,

Elder Blackham

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

January 11, 2016

 

This week was not the easiest week but it ended really great! This week we had quite a few appointments cancel which was a bummer. We kept busy though through finding and service. It snowed on Thursday so we had fun shoveling people’s driveways. We found three new investigators. C was a former investigator who is from Samoa. We taught her the first lesson and she wants to investigate the church more. R, we found tracting last week and we were able to set up an appointment for this week - and D, he has been living with some members in our ward for the past month and has showed a lot of interest in the Church. This week ended really great with Brother V's baptism. I had the privilege to baptize him. I had to dunk him twice because the first time his legs shot strait out of the water, but it was amazing to listen to him as he told me he felt clean. His confirmation was also really great. I was getting a little worried because he didn't show up to sacrament meeting until sacrament started. We performed his confirmation after sacrament meeting. Elder Wohlrab gave the confirmation and it was really awesome. He was a little nervous because the congregation was about twice the size as normal because there were two homecoming missionaries. But as Elder Wohlrab gave the blessing you could feel the Spirit very strongly. Afterwards Brother V said he felt different and he couldn't describe it. That was the Spirit and a testimony that the priesthood is real and that this Church is true. It was great because his whole family was able to come to church and we are really excited to teach the rest of his family. My GOTO scripture this week is Mosiah 3:19.  I especially am focused on the part that says "willing to submit to all things which the Lord seeth fit to inflict upon him, even as a child doth submit to his father." I know I can be more submissive to the Lord just as Christ is submissive to the will of the Father.

 

Jan. 19, 2016

 

I didn't email yesterday because all libraries are closed in celebration of MLK Day. So, first things first - we got Transfer Doctrine and I am staying in Aurora Highlands with Elder Wohlrab. It’s going to be a great transfer and it will be awesome to keep building up the Ward. So last P-Day we went bowling and I realized I am not a great bowler, but I got 3 strikes after 3 games! We were able teach quite a bit at the start of the week. One of the less active families we taught, we told them that the Church time had changed to 1:00 and he was really excited because he was going to be able to make it. We have also been trying to get the members more involved in missionary work and we shared a message and had them choose a couple families that they could share the Gospel with. We definitely learned a lot from that lesson on how we can better invite members to look for missionary opportunities. Wednesday we taught two of our investigators. One was a young man named D. As we taught him he asked us to bear our testimonies and as we did the spirit was really strong. Also, Elder Wohlrab was getting sick but he continued to push forward and teach the lessons that we had scheduled to teach. On Thursday we had a district meeting and I was asked to give a training on “How to Begin Teaching,” - that was the first training that I had given and it was cool how much I learned from it. Elder Wohlrab had a fever so we had to stay in. It was hard to be inside and it helped me realize how precious time is on my mission. Friday we gave Elder Wohlrab a blessing and he was able to feel a lot better. So after we planned we were able to teach the C Family. I really love teaching them but I want to help them progress further in the Gospel. The rest of the week was rough because we had a lot of appointments cancel on us. But we started this week off great with three lessons last night. We taught a less active and her son, so I had to teach simple - it was really cool how teaching simply allows for the spirit to take over. So my goto scripture this week is 1 Nephi 3:7 – “And it came to pass that I, Nephi, said unto my father: I will go and do the things which the Lord hath commanded, for I know that the Lord giveth no commandments unto the children of men, save he shall prepare a way for them that they may accomplish the thing which he commandeth them.”

 

January 25, 2016

 

This week was pretty great! It started off great with the Missionary Broadcast. I was able to learn a lot of great insights from the General Authorities. What was really cool was that missionaries from all over the world were watching this at the same time - there are about 75,000 of us missionaries in the world it is a great work to be a part of. They had transfers right after the broadcast and even though we weren't getting transferred we had to wait for our District Leader to arrive at the building because we had to get a ride from him. After the Broadcast we were able to teach a couple lessons. One of those lessons was with our investigator D we challenged him to prepare to be Baptized and he said he would. When we told him the date, he said he was moving to Texas in a couple weeks. Our plan is to continue to teach him to help him have a strong desire to be baptized. Thursday's District Meeting was really great. Elder Mourino is pretty awesome and he is really emphasizing finding, which is something that would really help our area. We later met with C and we read from the Book of Mormon with her. We are really trying to push her to attend church but she doesn't know if she can because she works on Sunday. Sunday we taught another Investigator R he was able to read and feel that there is truth in it but he doesn't want to commit to any religion just yet, but he is willing to continue to search for himself. Sunday was pretty funny because Denver people are crazy about their Bronco's. It was pretty easy to find out that they are going to the Super Bowl. Biking around you could hear people yelling from inside their house "WHOO BRONCOS ARE GOING TO THE SUPERBOWL.” So far I am not a Bronco's fan - you cannot get into people’s houses while the Broncos are playing, which is why I am really excited to go tracting in two Sundays. Anyways, we met with Brother V's wife and she is  going to start taking the lessons once she starts feeling better, we just have to be patient. This week we were focused on teaching a lot of lessons and I realized that is not the best approach. Instead I am trying to focus on finding new Investigators, because ultimately that is where it all starts - where someone is able to be taught the gospel of repentance and be converted to the gospel through baptism. My GOTO Scripture this week is in Doctrine and Covenants Section 50:13-14  - “Wherefore, I the Lord ask you this question—unto what were ye ordained?  To preach my gospel by the Spirit, even the Comforter which was sent forth to teach the truth.” Elder Wohlrab pointed this scripture out to me on the Cover of Preach My Gospel I had never realized the title came from Doctrine and Covenants. I am really excited for this week.

 

Feb. 1, 2016

 

This week kinda flew by. It was tough but still a great week because I can't really complain I am serving the Lord. The reason why it was tough was because just about every appointment cancelled except for two of them, but hey that didn't stop us. We ended up tracting a lot this week instead. Tuesday was a pretty crazy day. We had an appointment with a Less-Active that night - when we walked into her house you could smell the marijuana really strong and when we sat down I noticed a pipe and a lighter on her table which explained the smell. We still taught her a lesson about faith and how we can strengthen our faith. It was really powerful as Brother Hunt bore his testimony that God loves her and you could feel the spirit really strongly. After that on our way home we saw a lot of cop cars on the street searching for some one. When we got home a member called us and asked if we were alright. We weren't sure what was going on but it turned out that earlier there was a shooting in our apartment complex and that they were searching for the shooter. No one told us we couldn't go out, so we went tracting in our apartment complex. We met a guy named S. He had met with missionaries before, so we are going to start teaching him. As we were walking home we talked to a man outside who was just watching the commotion outside. His name is E. He asked if we knew what a "Ghetto Bird" is?  I said no. Apparently that's what they call the helicopter flying around. We started talking and while we were talking an armored truck drove by and then a couple foot soldiers with dogs walked by. Anyways, E told us we could drop by and share a message with him which we were pretty excited about. The rest of the week was filled with tracting and finding a couple potential investigators. We did find two new less actives that we will start teaching. The one thing I am a little sad about is this week we are losing three of our investigators. The C’s will be moving to Castle Rock and D is moving to Texas. This week is going to be really exciting though - we are going to be finding a lot of new investigators!  My GOTO scripture this week is Alma 29:1-4 specifically when it says "for I ought to be content with the things which the Lord hath allotted unto me." Sometimes I wish I could just convert everyone I speak to but I have to respect their agency. I can do my best by carrying the spirit to their hearts they have to take it in though.

 

Love,

Elder Blackham

Christmas in Denver

Catching Up to a New Year

Dec. 7, 2015

This has been a really fun and exciting week. Elder Sevilla and I set a goal to finish to the end of the transfer, because a lot of missionaries use the last week of a transfer or "P-week" as an excuse to be more laid back. That wasn't the case for us - we were so busy.  I got transferred from Bible Park to the Aurora South Stake, Aurora Highlands Ward, biking. My new companion is Elder Wohlrab - he is from Daytona Florida and this is his fourth transfer. It was sad to leave Bible Park, because Sister M's baptism is Sunday Dec. 13th. President said that we would have to either give a talk or a musical number to go to the baptism, so we are doing a musical number. We had another investigator J on date for the end of December, but I know this is where I need to be. We had a really fun P-Day last week. Elder Sevilla is kind of obsessed with Sushi so he dragged me to a sushi place. Don't get me wrong - I like sushi, but it is so expensive. After, we played Laser tag with our Zone Leader's. It was really fun.  We also got a car for the week. This week I was able to see the importance of service in missionary work because the lady we helped really wants us to come and share our message with her. We had a great District Meeting. It was focused on Diligence and I've realized that is one thing I could definitely work on. It's the small things that really make a difference. Saturday was great because we went as a zone downtown to the 16th Street mall and caroled and shared “A Savior is Born”- it was really fun. Sunday I bore my testimony for the last time in Bible Park. It was really sad I'm going to miss the members there. As I was packing last night I washed my towel and the hose to the washer busted, so our bathroom was filled with water and it took forever to clean it up. Because they are closing our apartment we had to clean out our apartment which meant clean out the oven, cleaning spots on the carpet, and cleaning of the marks on the wall - there were a lot. We were also cleaning out an outdoor closet that had junk left by old missionaries and as we were cleaning, two big rats ran out of the closet. It was a little frustrating this morning packing and then cleaning the whole apartment even though most of the stuff was not from us. I'll just leave with one of my favorite parts from the Christmas Devotional. I loved Elder Bednar's description of the Nephites during Christ's birth. Jesus Christ really is our light and as we look for him we will see that even in the darkest of times his light continues to shine bright.

 

December 14, 2015

This week a lot of cool things have happened. My new area is really different from Bible Park. There are a lot of homes, whereas my last area was mostly apartments. There are a lot of families here that have been in this area for a long time. So this week we had a Zone Meeting and one of the trainings was about having a vision for ourselves. I realized I never created a vision for myself and who I want to become as a missionary. So I've been working on creating a vision for myself. One of the things that really helped was a talk called “The Fourth Missionary.” The talk describes four different missionaries and the fourth one surrenders himself to the Lord and consecrates everything. We also had our Christmas Devotional. It was fun. We had skits in the morning from all of the zones. Some of them were pretty funny. Then Santa came and we did some fun activities. I got to read the letters you sent. They were really great - I really appreciate all of the letters from all of you. Afterwards we had a guest speaker because we had to move to a different building because there was a funeral taking place. Our guest speaker was Paul Anderson - he is the director of the Piano Guys. That was really cool and he shared some really inspiring stories. We also taught our investigator V. He is from the Congo and is really excited to be baptized. He is scheduled to be baptized on the 9th of January. Sunday was really great because I got to go back to Bible Park for Sister M's Baptism. I could feel the spirit really strong because Elder Sevilla and I taught her for two transfers and we know how much she has changed and how strong her desire is to follow Jesus Christ. I am really excited for her family in a year when they will have the opportunity to be sealed in the temple. Seeing how much the gospel changes other's lives has really strengthened my testimony of the truthfulness of this gospel.

 

December 21, 2015

This week was pretty crazy. Monday was pretty fun. Most of the missionaries in our zone met up and we played basketball, volleyball, and soccer. Later that night we taught a recent convert family. Tuesday was I woke up and there was a lot of snow and it was still snowing and it didn't even stop until later that night. In total, we probably got about a foot. Also, the heat in our apartment doesn't work, so it was really cold, but now we have space heaters so that's good. And the hot water in our apartment wouldn't work. So, for two days I took a shower with a bucket and boiled water. It was pretty fun. I felt like I was in a third world country for a couple days. Tuesday we had to walk because there was so much snow. We went around and helped shovel people's snow. Biking was really fun the rest of the week because there was still snow left on the sidewalks that people didn't shovel. Biking in the snow is a pretty awesome skill I acquired this week. Wednesday we had a really great district meeting and it helped me remember when I teach to make it personal because it is. We have also been picking up old investigators from the area book so it will be great to see them progress. Friday was really cool we were contacting some referrals from church headquarters and we met a really cool young couple. The wife has a cousin serving a mission and some other family members who are converts. We are really excited to teach them. On Saturday we taught V and we are very excited for his baptism on January 9^th. It is amazing how much he loves the gospel and it will be really exciting once his family starts taking the discussions. This week my studies have been really centered on being a consecrated missionary - it is something I am really trying to work on because I know that is what kind of missionary the Lord wants me to be. I am really excited for this week because we will be really busy. The bishop gave us a lot of families that could use an uplifting message. I think that is one of the greatest things about this Christmas season - there are so many opportunities to lift people up. I hope you have a Merry Christmas and I look forward to talking to you guys on Friday.

 

Dec. 28, 2015

This week was super great. We had a white elephant thing for our zone. It was funny because all of the gifts were pretty bad, but what do you expect other than canned food from a bunch of Missionaries on super cheap budgets. My gift was pretty good. A member gave me it because he got it as a white Elephant gift - the gift that keeps giving, it was a Star Wars toy shaving kit with tattoos and bath foam. This week was pretty busy we were able to share the message of Christ's Birth with a lot of families. It is so good to be able to bring the Spirit of Christ with us. We had the opportunity to give two priesthood blessings and what an honor it is to carry the priesthood and be able to bless people's lives. Elder Wohlrab and I took a member who had just gotten back from his mission to visit a less active who is struggling with an alcohol addiction. We shared with her the message of Christ's Birth. It was a very spiritual experience. Elder Wohlrab shared that Christ suffered for all of our pains and afflictions and you could feel the spirit so strongly. Christmas Eve we had dinner with a part member family the T’s - they are from Samoa. They are really great people and it was nice to spend the evening with them. Christmas Day was really great. I enjoyed talking to you guys and it is good to know how you are doing. We ate at a member’s home for lunch and she is from Laos. She cooked homemade PHO - it was really good. Our Mission President let us watch two movies - from a list I picked “Forever Strong” and my companion picked “The Nightmare before Christmas.” We had dinner with our investigators the C Family. They are really great and it was fun to get to know them more. We also taught Brother V on Sunday and he is very excited for his baptism on January 9th. We are really trying to get him to invite his family to take the discussions and he said he will invite them to Church this week. I also had a realization this week that has helped me a lot. For some reason I got stuck in a mindset of doing things to help me become a better missionary or better person, but I realized that when I have the mindset of doing things to help others it make things so much easier to accomplish. It is true when Christ says "He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it." This has been a really memorable Christmas I hope we all strive to feel the Spirit of Christ in our lives.

 

Jan 4, 2016

This week was a really good week. Every week Elder Wohlrab and I are getting better. This week even though we had quite a few lessons cancel on us we still made the most of it and found people to teach. Tuesday I went on exchanges with Elder Demerit - he is from Vermont and has been out just as long as I have been. It was a great day. We did service at a place called Stepping Stones - it is a place for Mentally Handicapped people and it was fun to help lift them up. Afterwards we taught a less-active that has been struggling with a smoking addiction. It was sad to see how much it affected his health but hopefully we can help him overcome it. When we were tracting we met a man named R, he is a really nice guy, and would have let us in if his girlfriend wasn't sick. He shared with us a miracle that happened in his life. The thing he didn't realize is that he was a miracle for us, because he is a really solid potential and we are going to try to meet with him this week. Later in the week we met D. He was on break from College but we were able to share the first lesson with him. Even though he wasn't going to be in town much longer it was great to share our message with him and help him come closer to Christ. On ChristmasEve we had a Mission meeting that was really great. We launched our Goal for 2016, which is 501 souls. A couple really great topics were taught as well. Our mission president always says to make it personal because it is. Also sanctify yourself, remember who you represent. One thing that really stuck out to me is that Our Saviors goal was always higher than his reality. Our Savior's goal was to save all of us and he suffered for each one of us even though not everyone chooses to use the Atonement. I am really excited for this year and to surrender all of 2016 to the work. I am trying to improve on the small things so I can be exactly obedient and give everything I have to Lord. It iss hard and I don't expect it to come all at once but I know it is achievable. New Year’s Eve we ate at a members and he cooked alligator. After that we had to stay home so I made the ginger bread house you guys sent me. We taught the C family the Restoration this week. It was really powerful and I felt the Spirit especially strong as Elder Wohlrab shared Joseph Smith's First Vision. We invited them to be baptized and they wanted to find out if it is true through the Book of Mormon. They are an awesome family and I have faith they will be baptized. It is just a little frustrating because they are moving to Castle Rock on February 6th. I am just grateful to have met them and to be a part of their conversion. We also taught Brother V and prepared him for his Baptism this week and we are really exciting, and I hope that his family follows his decision. My scripture this week D&C 11:12 “And now, verily, verily, I say unto thee, put your trust in that Spirit which leadeth to do good—yea, to do justly, to walk humbly, to judge righteously; and this is my Spirit. As long as I put my trust in the Savior and his Spirit than I can know that I am doing good.

 

Love,

Elder Blackham