Week 81 (Chihuahua, Mexico)

We had a good week this week. With the family Barraza we had a lesson on temples that went really well.  We left them some homework on the word of wisdom for the next visit and she asked us if she could prepare something to teach us on the word of wisdom. So our next lesson she is going to teach us about the word of wisdom. We also talked with her a bit about fast and testimony meeting and how on Sunday people went up and shared their testimonies. She said that she was going to do it.

We had almost finished up and we were getting ready to go when the grandma and aunt came over. We talked with them a bit about the church and the aunt said she wanted to come to church on Sunday and check it out. She came and brought two of her three kids. The third one had come the week before and had listened a bit but had homework from college and couldn’t make it. 

Yesterday during the meeting the mom got nervous and couldn’t get up to share her testimony like she was planning on doing. We didn’t think that she would but she got up at the very end. She was the very last person to share her testimony. It was so cool how she got up and she is not even a member. She talked about how God has slowly been guiding her the whole time. At first she started doing it for her daughters and then realized how in reality it is something that she needed and has been looking for. She then said, “This is only my second or third time here but I know that where I stand is in the only true church.”

 

The ward mission leader was sitting behind us (his wife is the one that you talk to on Facebook, they are the family Barragan) he leaned up and said, “When are we baptizing her?”

After the meeting, all of the members came up and got to know her and her family and they all made them feel at home.

So the plan is to try and baptize her and her daughter Fatima this week. The goal was for the next week, but they have progressed so fast and the temple trip is next week and we hope to get them up there with the ward.

This last week I got the Valentines package, thanks a lot. It arrived in the perfect time right as I finished the last package. We have already downed all of the chocolates and the others are perfect for snacks throughout the day. 

Love Elder Blanchard

Week 80 (Chihuahua, Mexico)

This week we had planned to baptize Fatima, but we have planned to get them all baptized together on the 20th of March as a family. They have been pretty cool. We went on Monday and they gave us some crazy spicy food, and we shared something little. They told us that they really liked church and that Sunday morning they were all looking forward to going.  We asked them what they thought that they could do to prepare for their baptismal date and we normally get the answer ‘pray’, ‘read’ or ‘go to church’. But they said buy white dresses. It was probably the best answer we have gotten. 

Love Elder Blanchard

Week 79 (Chihuahua, Mexico)

This week went well. I am getting a long really well with my companion. He knows how to work well and get things done. One thing that sucks is that he pointed out today that we have 20 Mondays left.

 This week we went and visited a family last name Barraza. It is a mom named Perla and her daughter Fatima, 14-yrs, who are the investigators and they have another daughter named Maryalena that is like 10-yrs. They are really cool. The mom is divorced and found out about the church from her ex-husband. Her two daughters have been 10 times to church and the one that is 10-yrs old is already baptized.  The mom had never been before but came with us this week.

We had a lesson this last week on the plan of salvation and it went really well. That lesson is crazy powerful and helps motivate to do the things of worth in this life. They are really receptive and open, and learn really fast. We are going to try and baptize Fatima this week so we will see what happens.  In the lesson she told us that she wants to go on a mission.

They all came to church and actually brought a cousin to church with them to visit. When they got there my comp and I both thought that they look like members already. The bishop and ward mission leader and the Relief Society president commented the same thing to us. They were a family that at first was only available one time a week but after the lesson they asked if we can pass by more frequently, and they also asked if they can make us food. We have a meeting with them tonight.

The ex-husband sent a reference to our mission offices which was also in our area and we got sent the direction and this other family actually lives in the same little neighborhood as the family I just spoke about. We went and visited them and they were really cool too. They were actually bugging the other family to get the missionaries to go over and visit them. They have been to a few family home evenings with other families and that is how they got interested in the church. They even offered us a ride home after the lesson which was cool. They are a young couple with a seven year old kid. They weren’t able to go to church on Sunday because they had to go visit their mom in another city. (Camargo actually, an old area of mine, also my companion Elder Brown was there at one time.)

This week we were able to baptize Alicia. All went well, we had to run over to the church at 6 and start to fill up the font because she got baptized and 9. She showed up by herself like 10 mins early. This week we are going to try and baptize her 11-year old daughter. The problem is that she lives in another place and not where we have been finding her. We visit her at her mom’s house, and before she was there everyday, all day, but lately she hasn’t been coming over. We will see what happens.

Toward the end of the week one of the sister missionaries got sick and had to go to the hospital. We went over and gave her a blessing. She is new in the mission and has back problems because of the stress. She will have to go home. 

This week in the zone on Saturday, someone that I interviewed last week, got married, baptized, confirmed, and went to the temple all on the same day. We had to get a bunch of permission but they only gave it to us because the family has five years meeting with the missionaries.

I wasn’t able to go to the baptism of the dude that got baptized because we had work to get done in our zone and had to help those in our zones make the baptisms happen. If we weren’t so busy we would have been able to go. 

I think this because it is really important to have a vision of the future and prayerfully make intermediate goals so that we are in harmony with God and what he wants. There are a bunch of tools for stuff like that for example the patriarchal blessing gives you a nice backdrop for your goals. Also the plan of salvation, that is a great tool and the prophets are always stressing the importance of us understanding and deepening our comprehension on this topic. Study these two things prayerfully and don’t forget the power of fasting.

In proverbs 29:18  it says where there is no vision the people perish. 

My mission president explained with an example. In wars the leader general dudes always got on top of hills and peaks to get a better view of the battle and those who did so had an advantage over the enemy and the little decisions became easier to make because the whole battle was in perspective.  In pirate ships they had that crow’s nests on top to be up higher and see farther.  In the scriptures it talks about how the prophets went up on top of mountains to talk to the lord and received revelation. The central idea is being on a higher plane, those examples were literally higher.  We can be on a higher plane in our lives with our worthiness: repentance and getting rid of stuff that can dull the whisperings of the spirit , the way we live or behave ourselves or maybe our surroundings like temple.

I hope you Daniel can understand the advice I tried writing, it is hard to do English.

Make sure to wish Emily a happy birthday for me. I hope she had a great day. 

Love Elder Blanchard