August 12, 2013

This week was amazing because of the change of heart that has been taking place in the family that we reactivated and also the referral that they have given us. Her name is Jazmine and she loves the gospel and knows that this is her 2nd chance in life.  (That is what she said in her own words.)  She understands and feels the miracle of repentance and really wants to be baptized because she understands that being clean and having the companionship of the Holy Ghost is the joy and peace and happiness in her life and will connect with great power and clarity her with Her Heavenly Father, so that she can be led and guided throughout her whole life until she will return to live with Him again. 

The family's house is way up on the mountain through bamboo and lots of mud and banana trees and mango trees. I love that family a lot and I can't tell you how many times we have hiked this mountain to teach them. They have been less active for two years or more but in the teaching record it shows they have been taught for the last two years.  We were about to drop them because we were sick of hiking the mountain to have nothing happen haha. We prayed what to do and decided to give them our all and if that didn't work we were going to drop them. We decided that instead of hiking up their twice a week like we had been doing; that we would hike up there four times a week.  Well now they are active and have brought many others into the church.   Now, I love hiking that really sweaty hike to their bamboo house.  

This is the best work ever, you cant even choose a better job, because this job as a missionary changes you just as much as you try to help others change. I can think of no greater payment than treasures in heaven and a change of my own heart as I consistently strive to serve the Lord:) 

Things are going great. I am getting transferred to the Taytay Zone  and I will be white washing the area. The zone has 25 missionaries in it so that is scary.  But there is no sense in being scared because I am going to do it whether I am scared or not haha. 

This week I found and felt the change in  my testimony as I bore it. I felt the peace and power enter my heart. I focused on saying I know by the Holy Ghost that it is true every time I testify so that the people I teach will understand that they cannot know without the Holy Ghost and more what it means. Well I can say that I have been a big benefactor of saying this and have felt an increase level of the Holy Ghost and joy as I do so:)

I will really miss my trainee Elder Gako, He has really become my friend and has taught me a lot on how to be a friend and all the little things that help someone become friends.

 As I was studying and praying for what I should study for. I felt prompted to get to know Christ better. I realized that if we take His name upon us and make His example the basis of all our decisions, how are we going to be able to do what he does and become like Him if we don't know what He would do in some situations. So I am devoting 15 minutes of my personal study every day on who is Jesus Christ. Then the rest of the 45 is for my investigators. 

So yea life is like the best, today I jumped off a water tank and fell and it hurt but it was fun and I laughed. Its been raining so so so much here. But I love it:)

Love.

Elder Blackham