August 28, 2012

I am so grateful to be here. I am trying so hard to totally forget about myself. I love praying a lot, because I get to ask for help, A LOT of help. I feel His strength and His guidance and I also feel when I cant feel it so then I pray again. Heavenly Father loves us so much and so many blessings are so conditional on our asking of them. If we truly believed He loved us I feel we would pray a lot more knowing that we would receive help. This week has been had many many trials, but the Lord does not cease but to carry me when I am too week to stand. The District is doing so great, I am constantly crying for them on my knees and praying for them by name one by one.  I also learned a ton this week about listening deeply to the things the District says, and loving them. I learned that people and their problems are like ice burgs and that you only see 10% of people and that the rest is under water and it takes discernment and listening with love and seeing with spiritual eyes to know someones true emotions and truly help them. I have asked and begged for that this week. I even asked to feel what they feel to understand them better so that I could love them more even if it was painful. Any way I love you guys so much. I pray for you all the time, I cry unto the Lord for your behalf and I love to hear from you:) Thank you so much for being my family I truly am too blessed and life isn't fair in that I am given too much.

love, Elder Blackham

August 21, 2012

I see Josh, Kenden, and Rizek and I talk to Nate a lot. I could write like 3 novels now on what I am learning.  I am teaching an investigator and its so amazing to study for others because all of your spiritual needs get met. I can't stop smiling everywhere I go! I love it so much to be serving the Lord and the revelation flows like Niagra Falls. I am learning a lot about individually helping those in the District as Christ did. I look back on my life and I am so overcome with gratitude that I can't help but to fall on my knees and thank the Lord for preserving me and preparing me to serve Him. I realize, though, that I am not different from others and that He does the same for others everyday, but they just don't realize it. I love the temple so much!! I learn so much in the temple every time.

 

Yeah mom, I am eating good.  I eat more than my companion from New Zealand and yeah I eat a lot.

 

The language actually makes more sense than English but it's so hard to make the switch.

 

Elder Bednar invited us to start a new Book of Mormon on one question that we have, so I went and bought a new one and started it on a few questions haha. 1. What are the attributes and Characteristics of Christ. 2. How can I more fully apply the atonement in my life and put off the natural man. I am learning so much. I was being super hard on myself in the beginning. My goal for my mission was to unyeildingly give all of my heart, might, mind and strength. Then I realized I can't even give Him my all without His help, even in giving myself to Him I need His help, and that myself without Him is not giving Him very much at all. But, yeah, so I can go on and on. I also learned that setting goals allows the Lord to help us in our strivings to be better than we are, and it helps us hold ourselves accountable and use the atonement, and repentance regularly.

 I am in the choir and its totally amazing, I love it so much!

 

(This paragraph is a response to a question about if it annoys his companion when Bret starts talking with the New Zealand accent. ) When I mimic my companion's accent he doesn't even notice.  Sometimes he will say that I should be a New Zealander.

 

I love you guys and I pray for you always, thanks so much for helping so much in my life and for loving me.

 

Love,

Elder Blackham

August 14, 2012 (First Letter Home)

I do miss you guys, don't be silly. I love the MTC a lot!!!!!!!!!

 I am learning so much. I am learning so much about listening and about Christ. I am also learning so much from my district they are good Elders and I am so proud of them. My companion is a professional rugby player from New Zealand and I actually started picking up his accent and I can't help but talk like that. Tagalog is going pretty well. I can bear my testimony and say prayers and my companion and I have been doing teaching an investigator in Tagalog. The gift of tongues is real and I felt the spirit 100% guide my speech the last lesson, it was amazing!!!

The food here is good, I eat a lot, but it does not affect your bowels well at all. I am giving the Lord my whole heart and inspiration comes here so immediately. The Provo temple is amazing and I just love being here so much!!  I love you guys so much!!!! There are not words that describe how amazing it is and how much I am blessed. The best talk I have ever heard is called the "Character of Christ" by Elder Bednar. Everything I have been learning here has been testified immediately in my heart and feels and sounds so familiar as if the Lord has been telling me these things all along. I am sorry that I was mean entering into the mtc, I just could not wait to go inside.

I have learned a lot about how different people are, and how to attend to their individual needs. I have learned a lot about how important repentance is. I love it when I continue to realize that I have an immeasurable amount of things to learn, because I get to learn them with the Lord, and He is with me and I feel Him so close to me. The Lord has been preparing me for this the whole time and I need to completely forget about myself. Its not about me, at all. I must turn outward and through the atonement put on His Character and His love. Wow I have so much to work on, but I love it so much!

I pray for you guys and I love you so much. I am so busy and I love it. My companion is amazing and, wow, I don't know what else to say. I see Elder Vance a lot and he likes to talk. There are so many pretty sister missionaries here and they are glowing but I stay far away from them, ha ha.

Love,
Elder Blackham