September 17, 2012

I know the Lord is with each of us.  He will lead us. I know that because he Promised that He wouldn't leave us. I'm reminded of His plea to His apostles, in John 16:33, "in the world ye shall have tribulation; But be of Good cheer, I have overcome the world." Because of what He did, we also have the capacity to overcome.

The highlight of my week was Saturday morning. Grabe. There is one elderly couple that we have been visiting, who are in very poor conditions.  We help them in anyway that we can. My testimony has grown that as we make the effort to come closer to Heavenly Father, He will send blessings our way.  We've been working with this couple, and it has been so neat to see the effects of coming unto Christ, especially that it's had on them.  Anyway, we have oftened prayed for them, and in our recent visits, they've asked us to pray specifically for their family to help them.  On Friday night, help came their way.

A member of Nanay's family brought them sacs of rice and food. Nanay was sooo ecstatic. She is 78 years old, but as I came up to greet her in her home, her eyes lit up, she came out, grabbed me by
the hand and said "Halika! May kuwento ako sa iyo!!" haha, which means, "come on! I have a story for you!", she was literally jumping up and down, and I was overcome with joy when I saw the food lined in her house.  It was like a Christmas miracle in the middle of September! She then continued on to explain how the help came. I know that this is a blessing because their faith, and in making commitments to follow our Savior. I know that as we do what we can, and make sacrifices to know Him, He will endow us with the power of deliverance through tender mercies.

Sunday was awesome again as well, Erlinda is continuing to grow and progress and gain a testimony of the truthfulness of it all.  One of our new investigators is a kid named Gomi, it's been so neat getting to know Him this week.  He had questions about repentence and how we can be forgiven.  There is so much hope in the atonement and I feel so blessed to understand this, and to be able to share it with others.  We are all in perfect, and stand in the same place before our savior; because of what He did for us, all things are made right and fair according to His love and His mercy.

The language is still a struggle; In the area that I'm in, they speak two languages here, Ilokano and Tagalog. Most everyone can speak and understand Tagalog... except for me haha. But I'm working on it. I'm able to understand most parts of most conversations, which really isn't that much, but I'm also able to communicate most of what I need to say. I've still got a long way to go, and as I think about it, It's a wonder that the work has been the way that it has, despite my weaknesses. It's a testimony to me that this is the Lord's work.

Thank you for reminding me about the privilege we have to get to know the Savior.
Those are really inspiring words, and have brought comfort to me.

Find happiness in the little joys of the day :).
love,
Elder Blackham

September 10, 2012

   There's  song about the Savior that I've heard recently called 'He walked a mile in my shoes', which says, "From the Garden to the Cross, He walked a mile in my shoes". He knows our doubts and and fears, He knows our simple joy, and can give us peace in the midst of a storm-raging world. I love the opportunity that we all have of a new week. 

    Yeah, things are going good in our area now! We're working a lot with less actives, with a goal of helping everyone get to the temple! Our sacrament attendance has been over 100 for the last 2 weeks in a row, which is pretty big! especially considering that before it was as low as the upper 60's. We often talk to people about the temple, that is one of the mission goals right now.  It takes 4 hours to get from here to the temple.

    We had Zone Conference last Tuesday; President talked to us about becoming "visionary Missionaries", As Lehi who is called "a visionary" man. As we catch the vision of who we are, who we want to become, and the vision of what the Lord wants us to do in the areas where we are, we will be given the power to accomplish those visions through faith, diligence, and obedience. It takes faith to follow Christ; but it is trust in Him that doing so will lead us to peace and happiness that inspires us to turn away from sin, turn to Him, and accept Him in our lives.

     The highlight of my week, again was Sunday. Sunday is such a special day, and I love seeing the people who are able to make it to church. Sometimes it's disappointing when those that were progressing miss a Sunday, but It's so much more rewarding to see those with the faith to come actually come! Especially sister Angie, wow! She has some kind of dwarf syndrome and has a hard time walking; she lives in one of the areas that is the farthest away from the church, but surprised the whole ward as she stumbled in through the back; She made the journey to partake of the sacrament, disregarding the fact that she walked up a flight of stairs to get there, and the journey before from her home to the church must have been hard; she came.  Her example and faith is
a good example to us all. Some people put off church attendance like it's a whimsical thing, forgetting that others know that it's worth the long and hard trip that this sister made. 

     Lola Erlinda is continuing to progress and improve! She expressed a desire to be baptized this Thursday morning, and oh how sweet that was! Her faith is continuing to grow and it is so neat to watch her grow closer to the Savior.  On Sunday, Elder Lozano and I were asked to participate in the S.A. Choir and we sang "I   Know that my Redeemer Lives". I do know that He lives. I do know that He loves us; He gave everything for us, that we might have the opportunity to gain everything through Him.

September 3, 2012

     I still haven't been able to take any pictures yet because I haven't bought a new charger yet, but I'm going to soon so no worries on that! I'll work on getting you pictures of a Jeepney, and of my new companion!

    

    Yeah, ground beef is good and usually pretty cheap comparatively. The stores here are way different haha. In the big cities they have Americanized stories, but nothing like that in the city I'm living in. We usually buy our things at a market; like a Farmer's Market. But usually a couple times a month, we'll have zone gatherings where we can buy ground beef and things like that. 

   

    I know that fasting is a true principle of this gospel.  In relationships with my companions, when something they do or say to me would normally be pretty offensive, I try to remember my own weaknesses and quote to myself Ether 12:27.  The scriptures are so powerful, and are our guide back to our heavenly home!

    I've been so impressed this week by how much the atonement is part of the gospel; I think it might be appropriate to say that the atonement is the gospel, because every part of everything that can be taught is rooted in the atonement, and with it the hope that we can return to live with Heavenly Father.

    This week was so good, just in general.. One of our investigators actually asked if she could be baptized! She's the 11 year old girl that we've been teaching, and began coming to church on her own! She's starting to bring her less-active grandma back with her.  She is such a good example to me, and I'm so humbled to be able to work with the people here in Lupao. The highlight of my week was Sunday.  We had five of our investigators come to church!  An investigating Lola that we have been working with and her family who had recently become less active came to church. We had been visiting Lola quite often and inviting and inviting, but she's had difficulty committing to come to church because of the friends she has in the church she currently attends, and she's been going there for a while.  We had a lesson with her and her less-active son and daughter in law the Saturday before where we talked about missionary work, and how the atonement is part of missionary work; her grandson and grand-daughter are preparing to serve missions later this month. It was a very spiritual experience, but what was even more sweet, was seeing them all together in their Sunday best enjoying the gift of the sacrament together. I know this is the true church, and that it blesses families.

     I had no idea about the earthquake; I'm doing fine though - don't worry about me! I'm in good health and am stoked because we have zone conference tomorrow where we get to meet with the president! Always a
sweet experience!