August 18, 2014 (Elder Blackham's Last Letter Home)

This last week was great and teaching went a lot better. I am really learning in this last week that things don't always happen the way we want; but that does not mean that they are not happening the way they are supposed to. As much as our investigators are God's investigators we too are God's investigators and in every aspect of life He is trying to teach us and help us grow and learn and become what we want to be.  As we submit to His will we will become as He wants and that is much greater than what I can ever ask or want. I will just love and give my all to my investigators for this last week  especially to the Lord. Then when I go home I will not have any more investigators and my whole heart will then go to God and my family:) 

Love, 

Elder Blackham

May 18, 2014

Dear Mom, 

Life is amazing:) I have the best days ever all the time. I get home and I am like, that was the best day ever!!!! Haha then the next day, it happens all over again. I feel it happens because of faith in Jesus Christ.  When I wake up in the morning, I truly believe that through Jesus Christ, it truly will be the best day ever, every day. I always tell the missionaries that I am on exchanges with, "Today is going to be a good day:)" Every single day, I say that just before we head out the door.

We found 17 investigators in one day when I worked with my friend Elder Harris. It was so much fun. We just believed we would find someone everywhere we went and believed that everyone wants the message even if they say they are busy. Then everywhere we went we found people. We just kinda expected it to happen. We were able to teach a lesson to a group of people having a marketing meeting for a company. At first we were at the door because there was supposed to be a less active that was there and then we saw people inside and just asked their names and how they were doing and as we began to talk we stated our purpose and testified and asked to share. They let us in and all of them stopped working, even the boss, and let us share. All of them wanted us to come back:) . It was really great.  

The next day we had tons of success too and I worked with Elder Origines, he is so cool. We were able to get new investigators also and teach many lessons and just were talking to people about this amazing gospel all day:) Reaching the goal of 10 OYM's every day, because of the invitation of Elder Ballard to talk to 10 new people every day, has taught me to have really spiritual and sacred experiences while sharing the gospel to others. 

Just meeting someone new and just completely pouring your heart out in love to them,  promising and testifying as you try get to know them and apply the message to them is so cool.  When you first come up to them they say they are busy and they first try to get out of it but by the end of your conversation with them they are thanking you that you shared this message with them. People are so valuable and so precious, it just is so amazing to me that we get to bring the atonement into someone's life who before did not know or understand it. Their families can be sealed in the temple, and every young man I see, I assume will be a full time missionary. About 95% of the time when I OYM someone and share the gospel with them from the depths of my heart, they accept it. This is not a boasting in what I can do, I feel like I am just amazed that God can soften peoples' heart and do all miracles if you just do as He would have you do and trust in Him. 

I just want to thank God and say how amazing He is.  It is a miracle that He can make someone like me who before could not even speak the language of the people, and was afraid, to someone who expects everyone to accept the gospel, and change their life:) God is so good:) I will forever be grateful for the things and my weaknesses that He strengthens. I can take no credit for any of the success on my mission. All I can say is that as we trust Him and His promises, He really keeps them. In the name of Jesus Christ Amen. 

Love, 

Elder Blackham

"here's a picture of how tired we are after a week of exchanges, this picture was taken as we were trying to study together"

Pictures (cont.)

Here are some more pictures. I only know the story of one of the pictures and I'll post Elder Blackham's commentary on how he got the stitches.

This is from the March 11, 2013 letter if you want to go read the entire story. Elder Blackham was trying to show his Filipino companion how to do a cross over (a basketball maneuver) in their apartment, which is super small. They ended up bumping heads really hard. His companion got a knot on his head and Elder Blackham got stitches because of the spot that he got hit. 

Pictures

Elder Blackham recently sent a bunch of pictures (over 100). There are too many to put on one post so I'll be posting only some of them at a time. None of them had any explanation to them but here are the first ten

October 14, 2013

The storms keep coming but they are smaller than they were before.

At this moment I am jamming to BYU Mens Chorus "I love the Lord" right now, because in internet cafe's in the Philippines it's always a competition for who can play whatever they are doing on the computer louder and right now I am winning and its church hymns; haha!! 

We had a baptism this week for a new brother. He is so cool and really has changed his life through the atonement of Jesus Christ. I scrubbed the baptismal font for 2 hours to get it ready for the next day because it had rust stains in it. But the baptism was great, and the spirit was there.  This new convert is born again and so so so happy he keeps saying. It is so interesting what he said when he was bearing his testimony; that his greatest regret in life is that he didn't do this sooner. It really shows how urgent and important this work is. The sooner we get it to people; the less regrets they will have because they can repent and feel the Lord in their life sooner. I feel so blessed to be able to teach him.

The next couple baptisms are coming up on the 3rd of November and they are doing so amazing too:)   They are two sisters that read their scriptures together on a daily basis and at first they were shy and quiet and now they are loud and talk about how the gospel has blessed them in their lives. Wow there just isn't anything better than this.

General conference was absolutely amazing!! I had a spiritual feast every single talk!! My spiritual stomach exploded and then I grew 3 more stomachs kinda like a cow and then I filled all those full, haha. I kept a column on the right side of my note book for spiritual promptings of things I must do/study during the talks and I made sure in my notes I didn't write down what they said like a history of things but what the spirit spoke to me because of what they said. It was amazing!!!!!!!!!! I also looked back over my notes and tried to find patterns in the talks to find what the Lord is trying to say through all the speakers. I came up with 5 main things that were repeated most and what I prayed and came to find 5 things that he wanted me to improve on and understand for the next 6 months of my life. Then I wrote bullet points under each of the five that state the actions I will take and how I will achieve the things the Lord wants me to do. It was so cool to see so clearly the patterns, search and ponder with full purpose in heart to do something more because of what I learned:) 

I love studying the scriptures.  That is the thing I want my children to do the most, gain a love for studying the gospel and feasting on the words of Christ. They will always be lead to Christ and peace in their life no matter what:) 

Love,
Elder Blackham

Random Picture

This picture was sent without any details with it so it gets it's own post :)

Elder Blackham and his companion with a family.

June 17, 2013

Things are going great here:) 

Always there are so many miracles and I am so grateful to be here and a part of this work. One of our investigators that has really been progressing and is the one who sometimes testifies that she knows what we are teaching is true has just realized that we are inviting her to change her entire life:) It was a pretty cool, she is very very smart, because most investigators don't recognize this until they are about to be baptized. It was really cool and the spirit is so strong, and you could tell in her eyes that she realized how important this was and how life-changing this is and the effort it will require. I am so excited to teach her more and see her progress. 

We finally got the conference talks and i just love them so much. My favorite ones right now or the ones I am studying right now are about being accepted by the Lord and the other one is called the words we speak. Conference talks are always exactly what I need when I need it and open a new door of understanding and spiritual guidance as I feast upon their words:) I love this so much:) 

The best and most gratifying thing as a teacher is when someone understands. But really only the Holy Ghost can impart that true knowledge to the heart but its so great to be a part of it:) teaching and learning is so much a way of life and not just a missionary thing, I will do it with my children and I just love learning and teaching and finding and, well just pretty much everything about life!!! haha  Especially the wonderful powerful things pertaining to salvation. You can live better tomorrow that you did today, the hurt and pains of today can be swept away as you live the gospel today:) Why wait?! I have no idea, haha.

Love,

Elder Blackham

April 1, 2012 (pictures)

October 22, 2012 (pictures)

Elder Blackham switched places with a good friend whose parents came to pick him up. These following pictures are pictures that they took of Elder Blackham.