February 24, 2014

This week I was in Quezon City 2nd area and Signal Village and Taguig, I learned so much this week. I cannot tell you how much a blessing trying to memorize a scripture every 2 or three days helps. I mean, the starting point of our faith, doubts, choices, actions and who we are is all in our thoughts and mind.  If I am always trying to memorize a scripture it is like thats what becomes my thoughts and faith and who I am when I am just sitting on a jeep-nee or when I wake up. To be carnally minded really is death and to be spiritually minded really is life eternal.

I went on exchanges  with my trainee that I trained a long time ago and he is training right now and I went with them. It was so much fun. I am so proud of them:) I love to just be the best I can be in every area I go to. I can honestly say that the Lord is helping me become the missionary I have always wanted to become:) I swear I learn way more than the Elders I go on exchanges with. It just blows my mind how white the field really is and how it is so ready to be harvested. There is not a single exchange that I have ever went on where we didn't find new people who wanted to hear the gospel that day. There just simply is no greater work than the work of the Lord. 

I learned a lot more this week about how having a broken heart and a contrite spirit helps you grow so much and is the way that the soil of learning reaches its fertile peak. In Mosiah 4:11-12 the promised blessings of remembering how much we need God and to repent and always doing that is growing in the knowledge of the Glory of Him that created us which is light and truth. That's so cool. Always rejoice, always be filled with the love of God and always retain a remission of your sins. That scripture always blows my mind. So I decided to memorize it so that it would become a part of me. 

The talk about being accepted of the Lord by Elder Kopischke just helps so much as I account to the Lord and strengthen my relationship with Him. As I right all my covenants every Sunday before I take the sacrament it just becomes such a precious and holy time for me as I account and repent and work to fulfill my covenants every week. As I do this I always receive new revelation on what I can do better and in what ways the Lord is pleased with me.  It is like my own little personal time with the Savior and I treasure it so much. 

Well anyways, that was my week. I love sharing the gospel and the people we taught were so amazing. We taught a new family in Signal and it was such an amazing experience and we found another entire family searching for the truth:) The spirit was so strong and I am just so glad I invited them to hear the gospel. They were able to hear it for the first time and feel it in their hearts. wow if only how I can describe how that feels:) 

Love,
ELder Blackham 

February 17, 2014

Well this last week I was in Pasig and Quezon City, we had a lot of fun. There are just so many people to teach in the city  because there are so so many people inside of the city haha. So I enjoy it a lot because there are so many chances to open your mouth and speak with others. I saw a baptism over there too and its so amazing to hear the testimony of this newly baptized convert because he talked about the dramatic change of heart that he experienced. Every aspect of his life has changed for the better. 

I am learning a lot about how important it is to organize yourself and to prepare every needful so that you don't run faster than you can and walk farther than you have strength. Organization really helps things be more efficient and effective. I understand why the Lord's house is a house of order because it allows us to be more in control and understanding of everything that's happening. I also really see that when I have to deal with missionaries that do not sustain their leaders.  Those missionaries are kicking against the pricks. In the end they will see that they could have just let go and followed and would have enjoyed and done so much better instead of living and serving with anger and regret. There are so many changes in the mission and it's such a great lesson and example to me on whether we will sustain and follow our leaders and trust in God or not. Another thing I am learning is the simple joy of the missionaries that do obey. They just simply seem to not have any problems. Of course they still do have struggles,  but it just doesn't affect them as much and they have this inner confidence and power that allows them to reach higher and to do more.  

I think its so cool how you are doing missionary work over there, while I am doing missionary work over here. This whole church, gospel, everything we do in the church or in our families,  the way we live; its all missionary work. Whether we are teaching our own children, or teaching investigators or trying to convert ourselves and teach ourselves more, or serving others, or setting an example, teaching in primary; all of it is either to convert ourselves to the gospel, or others. It doesn't matter if someone is a member or not,active or maybe even less active; we are teaching each other about the gospel and trying to help all of us return to Christ.  It's just a way of life. That's why we go to church, it's why we read our scriptures to convert ourselves and to convert others to the gospel of Jesus Christ and to partake of that fruit which is sweet and precious and delicious above all other fruit. When we catch that vision that God has for everyone it becomes easy to share the gospel because it's just simply all that really matters. If we think of the Savior, He was the ultimate missionary, and all of His disciples did the same. So, just put simply, if we are the true church of Jesus Christ and have taken His name upon us, then we live in the manner of sharing the gospel with others. When people think of missionary work they think of this big organization and name tags and blessings.  The name tag thing didn't come until... well actually I don't know when, but I know Christ never wore one.  You don't have to wear a name tag to share the gospel.  But you do have to be set apart to preach it and teach it in preparation for baptism of a soul. Missionary work is simply love, it's what shows that we treasure what we have enough that we share it with others. When we truly believe that this will change every life and this is what they want and that this really is what the Lord wants then our faith will cast out fear.  Our Love will cast out fear. The Faith will cause us to love. When you love someone the gospel will come naturally into conversations and you will wonder how to share it. Of course you will want to do it in the best way so they wont reject it, but just remember that this is the true church so we are entitled to the true help of our savior and He would not let you fail.  He loves that soul way more than you and I am sure there is no greater joy to Him than when He sees someone share the truth of His atonement, the reason for His coming, and share it with someone else whom He also atoned for. I realize that without Charity we really are nothing, that is the true test of our faith, if we believe, if we know is if we will have charity and share it. That is all Christ ever did. 

Love Elder Blackham

February 10, 2014

Things are going great! I am sorry I wasn't able to get you this e-mail sooner, I just have no time haha. 

This week we were in the mountains of Antipolo and of Cogeo. It is so beautiful up there and the work is progressing in that area of our mission. We had such a great time. When teaching the gospel to others there is this special feeling that is so contagious and powerful that feels like you are so happy that you are floating. All of the stress of anything goes away and its just pure, and light and joy:) 

I always like to interview the missionaries, I go on exchanges with, because I feel like there is a special bond and ability to administer and serve others when you just have a simple heart to heart. I love to get to know them better. 

This week I learned a special lesson about being believing and how much joy comes when you are a believer. Believing that your leaders are called of God, believing that you can be better than you are, believing in all good things, like that things will be better as we learn that God will help us in this.  Believing really causes you to rejoice. It reminds me of the blind and deaf man that President Monson spoke with that said, "The Lord has been so good to me." He could not see nor hear but yet he says that the Lord has been so good to Him. When we are believing and hoping all things as it says about the Christlike attribute charity, it will be so much easier to endure all things. There is this special spirit that comes when you believe that the Lord has been with you this whole time and  that the reason we are still alive is because He is watching over us; it's not just luck or coincidence that we breath a breath every new day. I feel that sometimes on my mission I get down and wish I could do more but then I look back with a believing heart and forward with hope and then I say in my heart, "Oh how the Lord has been so good to me:)" That little change of thought and perspective changes the whole world, because we begin to see it the way that God does. I am so amazed at how large the change is in someone's life when they simply believe and view all things with a believing heart. 

In missionary work, when you speak with people and believe that they are children of God, believe that this is what they are searching for and what they were taught in the pre-mortal life,  believe that God loves them and believe that the gospel you are teaching will heal any and every broken heart and is the answer to all their questions, believe you are teaching them the very way back to our Father in Heaven and the most important and precious things we can possibly discover; then oh how beautiful the world begins to look. The trees and clouds, smiling faces; the joy begins to open itself up unto you. Then to think that our Savior Jesus Christ Atoned so that we can live and return to an even better world. Wow its so indescribable. I wish and I am striving to help all the missionaries catch this vision, if they did they would not be afraid to open their mouth and would know where to turn when it's hard and they wouldn't disobey. They would learn that the spirit they feel is joy and peace that only comes by the Holy Ghost and that this is everything that we say it really is. and if "...for it is by faith that miracles are wrought; and it is by faith that angels appear and minister unto men; wherefore, if these things have ceased wo be unto the children of men, for it is because of unbelief , and all is vain." Moroni 7:37.

There are just so many people to teach and when you think and believe that there are, then you will find them. But if you don't believe that there are so many people to teach then you will not find them. It's amazing the difference it makes to be a believer :) 

Love Elder Blackham 

February 3, 2014

I am pretty excited about my last transfer.  I will get to see more of my mission now.  But I miss my old  area so much.  I miss the Nebit family, they were all baptized and confirmed:) Also the Pimentel family and the Kapoy family they will both be baptized as families pretty soon here. Wow I have seen the Lord's hand so much on my mission. He has really blessed us more than I can imagine:) 

This last week was a blast:) I love to personally serve and get to know all of the missionaries. 

This week we went to Tayuman, Angono, and Cainta to do exchanges and Cubao, it was so much fun:) I loved getting to know the missionaries and I love treating their areas as if it were my own because all of their areas are my areas too :) Its funny because sometimes you don't open your mouth as a missionary because you think, "I am not in my area." But now I never have that excuse and I love that haha. I get to meet so many people everyday, the more people I know and share the gospel with in the day and the more missionaries I meet and learn to love; the happier I am. I am really pushing myself to share and it's now not a scary thing to talk to others but a joy. I purposely put myself in situations now that allow me to talk to people like on jeepnees and trikes and just walking down the street, I feel like it is a great blessing that I do not naturally have, normally its nervous and scary even for a missionary.   I just love that every day is a working day and I dont have to be in the office haha. I seriously thank the Lord every night that I dont have to be in the office and that I get to be out working everyday.  I am actually the one who learns the most from all of the Elders I serve and their investigators.

One of their investigators in Tayuman asked  how to keep all the commandments. At first I didn't know how to answer him, but then we shared the scripture in 1 Nephi 3:7 and the spirit helped me explain a simple doctrine of faith that I have never really been able to explain very well. I told Him that the very moment that we believe that we can keep those hard commandments, or even all the commandments, is the very moment that you will be able to begin keeping them:)

Our faith has a literal effect on our abilities to do things beyond what we thought we could do. Once we believe that we can it becomes a possibility;) 

The same applies to repentance and forgiveness or being happy or becoming like Jesus Christ or many other things We must never stop believing that we can, because once we stop believing that we can, that is the moment that we lose the ability to do those things we desire. This work is so amazing!  I was studying about charity too lately because it is a Christlike attribute that I am working on.  It said inTrue to the Faith that charity hopeth all things, I thought why is that so, how does hope relate to love? Then I realized that hope relates to charity in the way we look and feel about others.  We avoid judging others and sincerely just hope the best for them:) You see what they can become and hope with all your heart they will become it and also believe that they will because charity believeth all things too. Believe that people can change and believe in the potential everyone holds inside:)  

Love Elder Blackham

January 20, 2014

Things are doing great:) We have been having tons of success. We have a few new families that we are now teaching consistently and are progressing and its so so so amazing:) I love it so much:)

I love to see people question and wonder and ask to know things. THis one family just had so many questions about the plan of salvation in our first lesson so we decided to start teaching that instead of normally teaching the restoration first, it all goes together anyway. Their questions were like "how will I know if I can see my husband in the next life? or my children? What is the purpose of life? Where did we really come from? How do you pray?" I just can't stop smiling when people are excited and ask  the perfect questions ever:) Haha I almost had palpitations in my heart again!  Haha, joke, but seriously I get so happy to teach :)

The best thing ever too is to help some one discover true repentance for the first time. Repentance really touched some of our investigators this week :) They are so amazing:) They poured out the their heart in understanding to us this week. We taught the Plan of Salvation also to a sister who had a baby and then her child died three days later. 

We are just having the time of our lives out here, my e-mails must sound unreal and stuff because of all that happens and all the great things like every week but that's just really how it is going right now. I know it's because we are trying our best to be exactly obedient and to do all we can to help these people:) All blessings come from obedience to the law in which those blessings are predicated:) We aren't special or anything this is the same priesthood and Church as in the time of Christ so we can expect these things to happen if we obey:)

Love,

Elder Blackham

January 13, 2014

The beginning of the letter is a reply to Elder Blackham's Mom regarding the problem he has been having getting sleep due to the fact he lives next door to pig slaughtering house and can hear the pig screams throughout the night.  The italics is what Mom wrote to Elder Blackham: (I am really concerned about your lack of sleep and exhaustion.  I am still studying about prayer.   I have learned that I need to be specific in my prayers.  So, this week I have been specifically praying that you can get sleep and be rested and that you will not be woken up by the screaming pigs.  That is a pretty specific prayer for me.  I am working on my faith, so I am not sure that I have enough faith to make this happen.  But, I am daily praying that you can get rest and not be woken by screaming pigs.  Has it been any better?)

BRET'S RESPONSE TO THIS QUESTION:

I actually have been getting more sleep and I have been surprised why I haven't heard the pigs for a while. SO your prayers are working :)

It's just so fun to be a missionary.  The baptism of the Nebit family will be next Saturday and we have quite a few lined up for the next two months. This really has been a miracle because when my companion and I got here and whitewashed the area we had no one to teach and the history of the area was not good either.  But, we prayed and fasted and believed that if the Lord could do anything, why not His work? :) SO, we just put our nose to the grinder and it's just so amazing what the Lord can do if you just put your trust in Him:) 

This last week we had a lot of great experiences with investigators. One investigator had a dream about the temple and His dead father was in there waiting for Him. He said he saw workers there dressed in all white and it was so cool. This investigator had never been to the temple and did not understand his dream.   We then explained his dream to him.  He said he had asked many different people about the dream.  They had tried to explain this dream but he new their explanations were wrong.  He told us that he knew and felt that what we said was right. We explained about temple work and work for the dead and it was cool to see His face light up.  Wow that was just a really cool spiritual experience:) 

We also taught another lesson to this family who wasn't taking the lessons so serious. I just got super upfront with them and was constrained by the spirit to just pour my heart in explanation and pure testimony. I love this family so much, I explained the Plan of Salvation and our purpose on earth and the requirements for the 3 kingdoms. I explained if they want the lowest kingdom, they don't have to do anything.  I told them if they want the second kingdom, they just need to be good and follow some of Christs teachings. But, if they want to make it to the Highest kingdom and be together as a family they must have faith in Christ, repent, be baptized, receive the Holy Ghost and endure to the end. I explained that is why we are here as missionaries in their home.  I told them we aren't there just to visit because it's fun.  We are there to change their lives through the gospel and that they can't make it to the happiest and best kingdom (which is the kingdom of God) without the gospel.  But, that with the gospel they can be together forever:) It was amazing!  They went to church as a family the next day for the first time without us even asking them to come to church. They just really wanted to do so. I was just amazed at the change that happened to them. The next day we saw them, they were so engaged in the gospel and I feel and could see they set the goal in their hearts to be a forever family:) They now ask us to come back and remind us instead of us reminding them:) 

I learned a lot this last week about how to love others and how to love the Lord and to give more of my heart to Him. It's hard to explain as a missionary when these changes you feel in your heart happen. It's just I see things differently and feel about things differently and understand things differently as I am striving to give my all. I feel more calm and more peace. I feel it when I testify with the power of the spirit and my heart and there is no greater feeling. The Holy Ghost is guiding us in everything, and I know that the happiest and most successful missionary is just the missionary who has the Holy Ghost with Him. That comes as we give up our desires and just desire what the Lord wants, as we constantly align our life with Him, and are constantly accountable for our covenants and everything we learn and feel what we must change to be more accepted by Him. I guess this week I was blessed to feel the change in my heart that I am searching for and trying to obtain, and that the Lord though His spirit is telling me that He is pleased:) 

Love,

Elder Blackham

January 6, 2014

Things are great!  It was kinda a rough week or just a slow start this week but then it turned out all right in the end. Elder Montejo and I are really trying to rise up and step it up. 

I am just so absolutely exhausted, haha. But its so much fun. The Lord has been quite literally been my strength this week. Even though I am exhausted, as I submit to His will, things and stress just seem to go away and I am encircled in the arms of His love. I am just the luckiest Elder ever because I have a temple inside of my mission, very spoiled as a missionary. I can't imagine going through the mission without the strength help and revelation that I feel when I go through the temple:) 

I really like what it says in 2 Nephi 4:32 about how when we have a broken heart and contrite spirit that the gates of Hell are closed to us. I am really trying to learn how to have that all the time.  I am understanding that it doesn't mean that you are super hard on yourself;  it means that you are just really trying and willing to change. The sorrow that brings discouragement comes from satan and is not Godly sorrow.  The sorrow that leads to action and renewed commitment is Godly sorrow:) 

I really like how the gospel is the answer for everything and is the key to accessing the power of the atonement of Jesus Christ, and I love how families can be together forever:) I love finding new people to teach because it allows us to open up a whole new world to them. We get to find out what they want, what their dreams are,  what's important to them.  Then we let them know that they can access the atonement of Jesus Christ through the Gospel and that they can be healed and that they are loved more than they know. I love to see the look in their eyes:)

I know this is true, I have had undeniable experiences and blessings from the Holy Ghost. The gift of testimony is a key to getting the gift of eternal life which is the greatest of all gifts of God. Even if I didn't know this was true I would want to know.  The blessings are so amazing, the feelings are undeniable and the love is so great:) 

Love, Elder Blackham