December 16, 2013

I had a great week this week haha. I keep saying I am so happy and eventually I had to go to the hospital this last week because I was so happy haha:) At the Christmas conference I started to have heart palpitations and my heart was beating like 200 beats per minute. I blacked out for a bit and went to the Hospital. They heard I came from a Christmas party and thought it happened from too much alcohol and stuff like that and immorality and everything, haha.  Little did they know that we were just singing Hymns earlier and that we teach people not to do all that bad stuff. They then asked me what I was feeling before I had heart palpitations, I told them I was just feeling really happy and just moments before I was explaining to a sister that I feel really happy and then I stood up and then my heart started beating super fast. 

Heart palpitations can be caused by too much stress, too little sleep and things all adding up, they can also be caused by extreme emotions.  We were celebrating Christmas and all missionaries are tired so maybe that is it, haha.  But the medical diagnosis was that I was too happy and my heart couldn't take the happiness, haha. The emotional force of my joy was too great and created a hyped level of heart beats. So that's a pretty awesome story:)

I hope that will convince someone to share the gospel more because that's just what happens, haha. You get too happy. They also told me not to drink coffee, or alcohol and stay away from women for a while to help me heal and I laughed because they don't really have to worry about that. 

The family we are teaching and I have been sharing about is so amazing. They just keep coming to church and loving it more and more. They are really excited for Baptism and are working hard together. They stopped drinking coffee and alcohol and tea and I am just amazed how every principle we teach they accept openly and lovingly, excited for the blessings that we promise them. They keep reminding us about their Baptism. We were teaching a new investigator yesterday and we asked Him why is it important to know that the Gospel is true. He then opened up and shared how He really wanted to know who Jesus Christ was:) Then my companion and I looked at each other and smiled and said in our minds "Yes!! He is ready!"  and then continued teaching and shared John 17:3 and that by knowing Him He will also find Eternal life. WE explained how to get to know Him and how to pray and it was just so awesome. All missionaries need or actually all the Lord needs is that we ask a sincere question, just like Joseph Smith and it allows the whole gospel to be unfolded unto us:)

We know that all it takes is a sincere desire to know and that eventually He will find His answer:) 

Love, Elder Blackham

December 9, 2013

 THis week was great:) The blessings and success just keep coming, sometimes we have no idea how we are going to reach the goal but we just say to ourselves, that it doesn't matter the odds, what matters is the faith:) We just put the nose to the grinder and it all works out in the end:) 

There is a family we are teaching that is so incredible, every time we teach a lesson everything goes wrong. The baby starts crying, neighbors are yelling and partying and its so hard to focus and so loud. But no matter how bad it goes in my view it goes so great to the family and when we come back they remembered everything and are keeping the commitments and testifying on how it is changing their family. They came to church as a whole family and brought friends and extended family and loved it. It just shows how powerful the spirit is:) It is the spirit that touches peoples hearts as they strive to live the gospel and keep commitments.

It doesn't really matter how good the lesson went as long as they read, or pray as a family they will receive the blessings of the gospel. The gospel will have no effect on you until you begin to live it. So no matter the principles we teach or how we teach;  the more important is that they act and try it, then they will know. The blessings of the gospel are not something taught they are things and experiences that are caught through living it and having the Holy Ghost testify of its truthfulness to us. No one will ever be converted to the gospel without living it. That's why if you try to convince someone the gospel is true through telling someone, they can just say, "No its not, haha. But once they try it,you don't even really need to say anything because they will know it. As missionaries we just need to get out of the way of the spirit. Plan commitments first and then plan on what to teach to help them keep commitments, and you might see a lot more conversion:) 

In my gospel studies I was studying about charity in the 7th chapter of Moroni. I was wondering why all things must fail except for charity. I was thinking, "what that's not fair to virtue or to other good things." So I pondered it and thought about it and I realized that charity is the motive behind the other principles, and the sincerity of it. In Romans 13:10 it says that love is the fulfillment of the law. We cant just keep Gods laws, we also have to keep Gods laws and be happy about it and sincere and do it because we love. Other wise it wont benefit us and it will fail. For example if everything went Satan's way we would be forced to do everything and we could not choose to follow God out of Love and freedom and choice. All of our obedience means nothing and we wouldn't learn anything.  We couldn't prove anything or grow. In God's plan we learn to obey because we love Him, then we truly gain the blessings, because it is an act of our own agency and free will. We must learn to do what Christ does while thinking and feeling the way He thinks and feels. That is what charity is. That is why in verse 48 it says we will be like Him because we have not only acted like Him and obeyed but we learned to feel like He does and think Like Him. :) This does not mean that we shouldn't obey any commandment we don't want to, it means we obey them because we Love God. As we live the commandments out of our own free will and choice our love will increase and we will learn that only when we obey can we gain that thinking, and feeling that Christ has:) 

Love, Elder Blackham

December 2, 2013

Over here we had an amazing thanksgiving:) We taught really great lessons and were able to help people come closer to the Savior. We are just having the time of our lives preaching the gospel here:) Just giving it our 100% all.

We had a couple families we are teaching show up to church and it was so amazing! They loved it and we taught them later that day and they thanked us for sharing the gospel with them. I am so grateful too and I looked at their whole family smiling at Elder Montejo and me and I couldn't help but to tear up:) The spirit was so strong as we testified of the restoration and they are reading and praying as a family and it just doesn't get any better than that. 

This man that came up to us on the street is so cool too and is so excited to be baptized and change his life:) All these things are just miracles in my eyes and I love to serve the Lord, there really isn't anyone else worth serving, because when you serve others you are also serving the Lord:) 

As far as things that I learned this week I learned a lot about the gift of discernment by reading a talk by Elder Bednar called "Quick to Observe". It really expounds on the blessings of this gift and how it can be used and how there are 4 main things or ways we use discernment. The most valuable ones are the ways we recognize good and evil within ourselves. I learned how to better recognize my thoughts and feelings to realize if my perspectives or very thoughts were in line with God or not. It really helped me feel the spirit in greater measure and recognize the things I can do better. I am really trying to learn to use it so I can recognize and help bring about the good in others and in myself. He said that this is the highest form of discernment and not just recognizing the hidden concern in statements or distinguishing the falsehood in something but to recognize truthfulness in a testimony, or in our own testimony. We need to see the good intents of others or in ourselves:) It really helped me teach and listen better:) The church is true:) 

Love Elder Blackham

November 24, 2013

Dear Mom,

This week was another great week. We really took a leap of faith setting the goals we did and it just keeps working out in the end. Every time we start the week its a big leap of faith. I am seeing so many miracles and I love helping the Lord. I am really doing my best and I love it:) 

Obedience really is the big test of this life. What's crazy is that we are always blessed more than the sacrifice it takes to obey or let go of something we normally do and exchange it for what the Lord wants. It teaches us to exercise faith and it helps us do what is right. Also sometimes we just really need to just let go. We need to just let go and trust. Take a breath and say whatever happens happens and choose to be happy and just do the Lords will:) 

We have one of the survivor Elders from the Tacloban Mission in our Zone and it is really great to have him.  There really is nothing better than serving others. 

This week one of the biggest things I learned is that we need to have personal time with the Lord everyday. I was getting pretty stressed out because of all we had to do and I was so worried about every person we had to teach and keeping track of all the referrals and all the activities we had to plan for missionaries and training. It was just building up and I started to feel anxiety and it's a lot harder to feel the spirit when you feel like that so it was rough haha. What solves that for me every time is taking a time out and just opening the conference talks, and praying and listening to Heavenly Father. That quiet time or personal time just gets me back in order and helps me just trust and do things one step at a time:) Especially that talk called being accepted by the Lord. We all just need to have personal time with Him everyday, and just ponder His will and ours, our standing and what He would say to us for that day.

I know that the Church is true and I keep getting witnesses all the time that it is in the name of Jesus Christ Amen:) 

Love, 

Elder Blackham

November 18, 2013

Things are going great here:) Another amazing week with even more help and blessings from the ward. It is just an absolute miracle and I am so so amazed at how things are going. We are completely safe over here and there is no clean up or anything from the typhoon, it happened on a different island but there are a lot of families here that are from that island and havent heard from their family and it actually has helped us get into some doors because of the plan of salvation and people have kind of gained a greater understanding of the reality that life is so short and they want to know the plan of salvation so that a good thing:)

My companion's name is Elder Montejo and his family was on the island that got hit by the storm but he heard that his family is safe. We are staying busy and that probably helps so that he doesn't dwell on his family.

There really is nothing better than teaching by the spirit. We are contacting lots of people and starting to see this area bloom and blossom into a beautiful tree spring unto everlasting life. I know that sounds cheezy but that really is a good way to describe. All the members come up to us and set appointments with us so that they can introduce us to their friends, man this is so so so so so so so so so so so so so much better than tracting and the people are so so so so much more receptive. and they already have a friend in the church which means they won't fall away, this is just so great.

As we taught most of our lessons this week we really discerned that most people we taught don't really know God. As I use my list of questions of the soul to begin teaching the number one questions lately have been, is there a God? and does He know me? Its the best feeling to help someone understand that there is a God and to help them pray and sincerely talk to HIm for the first time. We taught this 18 year old boy with no parents to take care of him and he is normally so quiet and shy but his face lit up as we read scriptures and assured him and testified that God knows him and loves him. He can get to know God even more every day. In general conference it was said more than once that the most precious thing is our relationship with God. I know this to be true. It brings peace direction and help and is the very source of revelation, which without revelation all would be darkness and guesswork. 

I was reading in Moroni 7 about every good thing and how every good thing comes from Christ or else no good thing could come to man because they are naturally fallen. By faith in Christ we lay hold upon every good thing. If we lay hold upon every good thing and reject it not we will surely become a child of Christ. It makes me so happy to think that all the pretty colors I ever see, every smile I ever smile every good thought and good feeling comes because of Christ's atonement for us. BY faith in Him we understand the source of all good and we cant become or lay hold upon good without letting go of the bad. for example If I always choose good I will not have time to bad, and the bad things I did before will be forsaken by laying hold on every good thing. It really is just a huge process of repentance  Once we find something good or better we let go of the dark and take an extra step into the light and become like Christ and accept the source of all good:) When we accept good or better things we also accept the source from whence it comes:) 

Love, Elder Blackham

November 11, 2013

I was transferred to Taguig. Which is right on the border of the Manila Mission but I am now on the opposite side of Leguna Lake but still on the side of the lake. It just was windy here and a little rain but we didnt get affected by the typhoon that much at all so I am doing great!!:) It is a lot more city here but I love it:) I love this area so much and things just took off running when we got here!! The first couple days we got here we really felt we should visit all the members and just give this area our absolute all and we set a high baptismal goal upon arrival, I know that the cities are well known for being low baptizing areas but who cares this is the Lords work which means we are entitle to His help.  we knew that if we had the faith that we could turn it into just the opposite. All it needs is faith because faith is power and action, and if we use that power which is God's power nothing is impossible because nothing is impossible to Him therefore it is not impossible to us if we use His power. I know we can reach it. I read a talk by Gene R. Cook about faith in Jesus Christ. If we have the hope and set a high goal and look with eager optimism in everything always having faith in Christ on your mind you will achieve so much more than you thought you could. This is really what everyone is searching for in life that really is what everyone is searching for and looking around with faith miracles happen. Just in these few days that we have been here we have gotten 40 referrals which is unheard of. Also the bishop that everyone said was lazy, when we visited He was so excited to get the work going and said that He could see the excitement on our faces as we were walking up to visit Him. the ward and has been giving us families to visit and it has just been the most amazing thing:) Visiting so many family and just in the few days me and my companion Elder Montejo have been here it seems like an outpouring of excitement and the spirit here. This one sister who is not a member and has never known missionaries walked up to us  and said" my husband just died and I am so sad, but I saw you and I think you can help my family" and said to come back on Thursday at 2pm. This is amazing:) Its all because of faith.

If this really what we say it is shouldn't we set our expectations higher. I feel some people live way below the joy and peace and success they could have enjoyed if they would have just believed that they could. That sounds cheesy but it is not when it is applied to the gospel, if we act expecting the Lord to help our actions will increase greatly. Faith is the evidence of things hoped for and not seen. Therefore the greater the hope we have the greater the evidence we will see and create through our actions. Like wind when the wind is strong you can see the flags moving a ton and its obviously manifest that the wind is truly there. If we work with high expectations and hope our actions will also jump to a higher level and the evidence will be great and effect the lives of everyone around you. So to summarize things are going great and I love the challenge to turn this into a fruitful zion:) 

Love, 

Elder Blackham

(My mom wanted me to post an article about some Sister Missionaries who were in Tacloban. If you want to read it, here is the link http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865590735/Surviving-the-typhoon-A-story-of-fear-faith-and-what-it-means-to-be-prepared.html )

November 4, 2013

( A few days BEFORE Typhoon Yolanda hit the Philippines)

Transfer day is tomorrow and everything was great here in Angono:) I will miss it so greatly :) I was so blessed to be here and learned so much! Like so so so much and I love learning it really is life changing to learn something new and apply it into your life because every time you do that your life becomes new in a way and better and changes.  I will white wash another area which means both the elders before will leave and my new companion and I will start again. THere is nothing better than change and repentance:) 

Jovie and Grace were baptized on Saturday and confirmed on Sunday and when we visited them that night it touched my heart when they looked at me with sincerity in their eyes and said thank you  Elder; as if to say thank you for my new life as a disciple of Christ. I will always remember that, and Brother Robert named his new dogs after me and that was flattering but we all know it is all the Lord:) He deserves  100% of the credit, I will go my entire life and never convert anyone because it is the spirit that converts people through the Grace and light of Christ:)

This week in the book of Ether I was reading  in the famous chapter 12 when I came upon the verses when it describes that through faith the veil is taken over our eyes and nothing is withheld from us. Imagine how much more simple things we could see if we faithfully walk through each day. 

Also in the Faith in Jesus Christ section of preach my Gospel it says when we have faith in Jesus Christ we look for ways to be more obedient. We show our love for Him by turning completely away from our sins. I know that by removing and finding all of our sins we remove everything that separates us from God:) We must be actively engaged in our own salvation and not just sit and wait for ways to obey more or strive to be comfortable, we should actively move towards God.  I promise there is no greater feeling in the world than feeling the Holy Ghost and knowing that you are accepted of God:) Becoming clean is the simplified way of saying that:) I testify that in the name of Jesus Christ amen:)

love,

Elder Blackham