This last Monday we had a meeting
with the assistance, it was great because I didn’t have to give a lesson to my
district. They gave us a couple lessons that were pretty cool. I liked one that
talked about mental tenacity that came from a talk by Elder M. Russell Ballard.
The talk started out with a question what is the difference between a
successful missionary that baptizes frequently and one that doesn’t. The answer
isn’t the area, the people, the time of year, or the companion the answer is
the attitude. If you have a good attitude the results will be good. If you have
a decent attitude decent results. And bad attitude gives you bad results.
The message we share as missionaries
changes lives but it doesn’t only rely on the message because a lot of the time
one of the ingredients to change someone for the better are found within the messenger.
Failure and excuses go together. We need to make ourselves into someone who
makes things happen instead of someone who makes excuses. It was a cool lesson
and it doesn’t only apply to my life here in the mission, every other aspect of
life depends on your attitude, it reminds me of a quote "whether you think
you can or not you are right."
On Tuesday the zone leaders came by
our house because our mission president has been really harping about the
importance of the cleanliness of our houses. Luckily it wasn’t as bad as before
because we had mopped and swept but it still wasn’t great. They also checked
our USBs and our luggage. My leader saw the thing of pepper spray that I had in
one of my suitcases from a package that you guys sent me and he thought it was
pretty funny.
Also later that day we went and
visited Nicha. She told us that she still only wants to go to sacrament meeting
and after go to her congregation until God indicates to her that he wants her
to stay in one or the other. She is way nice and always gives us juice and
cookies now and like a month ago she talked to the relief society president to
get her name on the list of people who give food to the missionaries.
Wednesday we had a cool lesson with
a less active member and her two daughters who are 18 and 21. They are not
members and their names are Nadine and Victoria. They are really receptive and
even were really interested in getting a Book of Mormon. they have been coming
to church with us these last few weeks and we are going to see if they are
ready and able to get baptized this next week.
On Thursday we did some divisions. I
went over to the other area in my district with Elder Valentine from Dominican Republic.
We went and talked to some of his investigators and I got to know someone of
the people they have been teaching. He told me more of what happened to him in
his area over in the west side of Chihuahua in the Sierra. He and his companion
were on his bikes over there and he got hit by a car that didn’t stop at a stop
light. He has been going to therapy these last few weeks and this last week was
his last. He is really cool and a very crazy outgoing personality.
Later we took one of the teen
investigators they have in that area and we had an activity at the church. The
whole ward got together and we played volleyball. In the middle of the game it
started raining and we played volleyball in the rain. It was pretty fun because
the missionaries got split up into different teams with the members and
investigators and played kings’ court. Where the winner stays and the losers
wait for next game.
One of the daughters of the less
active that we are teaching Victoria came and brought her boyfriend as well
which was really cool to see how comfortable she already is with the ward and
everything. My companion Elder Nueman had brought a bag full of his shoes
shorts and soccer jersey that he was going to change into but never changed
into and the bag full of his stuff ended up disappearing. He wasn’t too happy
and our leader promised him that he would find it or that it would show up. And
a few days later we found the bag in the one closet that they didn’t check. It
was cool because in the meeting we had on Monday they talked about the power we
have as rep. of Jesus. We can promise anything and it will happen.
They had shared a few different
examples of people who had been promised blessings that would come to pass that
happened or things where missionaries had said the person would get sick if
they didn’t do something and they ended up getting sick. also later I was
reading through D&C 29:10 it says for the hour is nigh, and that which was
spoken by mine apostles must be fulfilled as they spoke so shall it come to
pass. We are by no means any apostles but we are his servants and it applies to
some extent to us as his representatives.
On Saturday we went to visit this
guy we had contacted the day before. We went to his house which was supposed to
be 509 but there was no such house. It went 505, 507 the again 507. We went and
tried the last 507 but it was some random lady and she didn’t want anything
from us. We didn’t know what to do because that was the last house on the
block. We decided to head out to go find some other investigators and continued
down the dirt road. We were half way down the street when this guy called us through
the fence we were passing. It turned to be the guy we were looking for and we
never would have found him because he wasn’t close to the other houses and it
was hidden by bushes and weeds that covered a wooden fence blocking everything
from view.
We went in and talked with the guy
and had a lesson with him and he told us that he has been praying a lot lately
because he is deciding whether or not to go the US and work or to stay here and
move or what to do. And the day before my companion had asked him right before
we were going to continue down the street if there was anything that we could
help him with. The guy said that that was an answer to his prayers, he said it
was as if God was asking what is it you would like to do, I will help you with
whatever you decide to do.
It was cool because I was listening
to a talk that morning by Elder Holland where he talks about when Jesus called
two apostles. It is found in John 1:35 there were two guys intrigued by Jesus. They
followed him (v38) Jesus sensed that someone was following him and he turned
and said what are you looking for or what do you want. The two guys end up
asking where do you sleep? And Jesus said come and see. Elder Holland says that
the question of Jesus for all of us it what do you want. What do you look
for? He says the answer come and see is the answer to any question or doubt we
have. Come and see.
The guy felt like he was being asked
through us by God what he wanted. He told us that he still wasn’t sure what he
should do only that he knows that God is good with both things that he chose. We
told him his answer was to come and see. Elder Holland says the invitation is
to come to Jesus walk with him see where he is going and together you can talk
about where you are going. It was a cool lesson and the guy came with us to
church this last Sunday too.
On Saturday night we went and played
soccer with a bunch of kids in the street. We got a bunch of contacts from them
and we are going to go visit them this week.
A member in my ward was telling me
that she has been talking with you these past couple of weeks. She told me that
she was making a cake and everything and that she was waiting for us to show
up. But we got a call earlier that day and we got told that our group got
switched foods, but in reality it was only that companionship but there was a misunderstanding
and we got all switched up. We actually ate really well. We got lasagna and
spaghetti and salad with melon juice and tamarinda juice that were so
good.
Love Elder Blanchard
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