Remember

This week is pretty good. I think these last two transfers have been some of the hardest for me both mentally and spiritually. I have come to realize a very important lesson tho.. I think back at all the times in my mission that I have been frustrated or discouraged or depressed and It all goes back to one word 'REMEMBER' 
 Anytime that I forget my purpose or forget that I have felt the Spirit, when I forget about all that has happened in my life to bring me where I am today, when I forget - that is when I become prideful, that is when I begin to fall away from the path I'm supposed to travel. when we become distracted we lose sight of the plan that God has for us. this reminds me of a story in the bible -
 
25 And in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went unto them, walking on the sea.

 26 And when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, It is a spirit; and they cried out for fear.

 27 But straightway Jesus spake unto them, saying, Be of good cheer; it is I; be not afraid.

 28 And Peter answered him and said, Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee on the water.

 29 And he said, Come. And when Peter was come down out of the ship, he walked on the water, to go to Jesus.

 30 But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink, he cried, saying, Lord, save me.

 31 And immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand, and caught him, and said unto him, O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?

Peter was a man of great faith. For a moment he walked on water! But when Peter turned away and saw the winds and the waves before him he was afraid. Fear is the opposite of faith. We must not loose sight of Christ. He is the light and the life of the world and no man cometh unto the Father but by Him. Every day I meet people who are afraid and unsure of the future. We are so blessed to have the knowledge that God lives and that He sent His Son, Jesus Christ into the world that we my be saved. We need not fear in this life. 

 This last week I came to a realization. I must not forget. I can not forget or else I must perish in unbelief. the Lord has given us many ways to remember the things that are of most importance in our lives. 

12 And now, my sons, remember, remember that it is upon the rock of our Redeemer, who is Christ, the Son of God, that ye must build your foundation; that when the devil shall send forth his mighty winds, yea, his shafts in the whirlwind, yea, when all his hail and his mighty storm shall beat upon you, it shall have no power over you to drag you down to the gulf of misery and endless wo, because of the rock upon which ye are built, which is a sure foundation, a foundation whereon if men build they cannot fall.

 So these are the lessons that the Lord is helping me to learn. I am grateful for the Gospel in my life. I am grateful for the leaders of this church and the fact that they dedicate their lives to this to God and His glorious kingdom.

I know this church is true. I know God lives and He loves me. I pray for everyone and I hope all is well

Love Elder Blandon

Robbie's Link

 

 Things are going well. This last week we met a woman named Mimi. She is AWESOME. She is what you call a 'golden investigator.' She is so happy and loving and the Lord has really prepared her for the Gospel. We met her on a Friday and she came to church that first Sunday. She always makes jokes. The best part is that she always laughs at her own jokes! It's really funny. Anyways she has alot of love for people and those around her. It's amazing to see how God reaches out to His children. She is seeking for truth, she is looking for what feels right, she is a very spiritual person and as she has prayed and the Spirit has prompted her, she met us! It's a beautiful thing. I LOVE this gospel. It's people like Mimi that make this all worth it. I am super excited for Mimi.

 

Hey check out my link http://mormon.org/me/90QD/Robert

 

 I am grateful for the Gospel. I am grateful for the Book of Mormon and the direction it has given me in my life. I know that this work is the work of the Lord. and that this is the restored gospel established on the earth today. I love you all

Where in the fog is Pacifica?

Yup, San Francisco is awesome! I really love it a lot. The ward here is really cool too. Things are going well. My new companion is from Spanish Fork. He lives next to the RRR Ranch in the river bottoms so that is kinda fun. 

 We are teaching a few cool people and we are really working hard to find new people to teach. I cover a city called Pacifica! It is really awesome! You should Google it "Pacifica California" I feel like I'm in it a town from a movie or something. It's really nice. I love it because i get to see the ocean everyday!  It's pretty much cool everyday, jacket and sweater weather pretty much all of the time. And it's really super foggy 75% of the time so some people wouldn't be able to take all the fog. There is a funny saying "Where in the fog is Pacifica!?" It's kinda funny but true.

 The members here are awesome! I really love all the people i have met on my mission. I have been so blessed to meet so many great people.

Anyways have a wonderful week!

Love,

 Elder Blandon

Life Goes On

Dear Family

 These last few months have been really great. I can not begin to express the gratitude I have for the many wonderful people who I have associated with these last few transfers. Things have been hard but also really awesome at the same time. I remember when I first came into this area I was confused and lost.. I had so many wonderful things happening in San Fransico and I really didn't want to leave. Going from the fast paced city to the quiet streets of Oakley/Brentwood was a hard transition for me. Some of the blessings I have been able to receive in this area has most definitely been the families that I have gotten to know. As a missionary we have the unique opportunity of spending time in peoples' homes and sharing spiritual experiences together as a family. I have seen so many wonderful examples of loving families, as I have spent time in these peoples' homes. I have really come to know that the gospel truly blesses families.

 

 All good things must come to an end. On Saturday morning I was doing my usual routine of showering and getting ready for the day. I knew that transfers would be coming up soon but I wasn't even thinking about leaving Antioch. I was in the bathroom and I had just finished shaving when my companion came to the door and said " It's for you " as he held up the phone. It still hadn't crossed my mind that Pres.Wade would be calling me. With a puzzled look on my face I said " Who is it!? " Elder Jones replied " Pres.Wade. " At that point I really didn't know what to think. Pres.Wade went on to tell me that I am released as a zone leader. He thanked me for all that I have done for the Lord and for the mission. We talked a little bit about my service and the areas I have been the last few transfers. My new assignment is to serve as senior companion in the South City San Francisco area. So it looks like its back to San Francisco for me! After President released me from zone leader I just thought about all that responsibility I had been given and how it just left me. I really loved the assignment I was given, and the experiences that I have had during those 11 and a half months have shaped who I am. 

 

 We have been working an investigator named Rebecca. She is a single mother with 3 children going through a divorce. She really has great faith! We actually found her through tracting. Even though she has been told not to believe in the Mormon faith she still wanted to listen to what we had to say. Anyways, we really wanted her to begin meeting members of the ward and meet people who could support her and help her through her trials. We had a few really good lessons with her and talked about the Atonement and the Plan of Salvation. So these last few weeks we have really been working hard to help her come to church. As we talked with some of the members about rebecca and her situation there was a family that we thought of that we knew would be a great fellowshipper, the Taylor family. They had a great idea to have a BBQ at their house and we could invite Rebecca and her family. So this last Sunday we called Rebecca and invited her to church. We talked about how God loves us and he wants us to be happy and by going to church God is able to bless us. We talked about how Satan wants us to be miserable and how he will do all he can to keep us from going to church. It was a very spiritual conversation and as we would call Rebecca and follow up on her commitment to come we did all we could to strengthen her faith to come to church. We came to an agreement that if we arranged a ride that she would more likely come to church. SO we got a member to help us out. We called and then showed up on Sunday morning to give her a ride and there she was! ready to go! It was such an amazing thing to see someone like Rebecca exercising her faith and coming to church. She came with her 4 year old son, Jonny. All during church Jonny was wiggling around and trying to destroy my scriptures.. and choke me with my tie.. but i didn't even care!! I was so happy to see their family here at church it didn't even matter if Jonny lit my suit on fire.. I was just so happy to be sitting there in church with their family! Anyways after church the Taylors invited Rebecca to a BBQ over at the Taylor's home and she agreed to come. We also came to the BBQ and had a wonderful experience. It was like we were all family. The Taylors are great, too. I have really gotten to know their family well over the last few months. Anyways, at the end of the BBQ I let everyone know that I would be transferred to South City. It was hard to hold back the tears but I couldn't have asked for a better Sunday than that one was. I will keep in touch with Rebecca and I know that the missionaries and the Taylor family will be there to support her.

 

 There are lots of others as well. During these last few weeks my companion and I have found like 14 new investigators. They are all wonderful people and I am really excited for the elders to have so many wonderful people in this area to teach. Anyways yup... that's life. We move on. At least I left this area better than I found it ;)

Love, 

Elder Blandon

 

Life is Amazing!

 

 Life is an amazing thing. I am so grateful for the many blessing I have received in my life. My testimony of the Atonement seems to grow stronger each day. It has been such an amazing experience for me to be a missionary. I have really felt a change within my heart. My desire to do good and the feelings of peace, comfort and love are so much more present in my life. I am grateful that I get serve others, I think about the people we teach all the time and I love these people so much. I think some of the hardest times for me as a missionary is when our investigators are not able to act upon the message we share.

 

 I have been so blessed with the opportunity to of serving other missionaries. I am so grateful for the assignments I have been given. Leadership is such a blessing and it has given me so many opportunities to progress as an individual and as a representative of Jesus Christ. I have been able to develop so many attributes that I know will bless me so much throughout my life. I cherish the moments I have with my companion, my recent converts, my investigators and with the missionaries I serve. I try not to take this time for granted because I know someday I will look back and wish I could be a missionary again. there is nothing in the world like serving the Lord. So I have been doing all I can to serve to the best of my ablity. I know I'm not always perfect and there are many ways I can improve but the Lord is by my side.

 

 I am so excited for the missionaries in the zone. We achived our goals as a zone and as a companionship for Baptisms this month. The missionaries are working hard and many of the missionaries have been able to achive their goals. The Lord is truly blessing the people in this area and I am so excited to see the progress and success of the areas in the Antioch Zone. 

 

 I hope all is well! have a wonderful week!!

 

Love,

 Elder Blandon

Member Missionaries

Thank you for the letter. How did you like conference last week? It was great right!? I am really grateful that God loves us so much that He has called men and women to guide us and direct us on the earth today. This life of mortality can be difficult at times. I know that those men that spoke to us are called of God and that they speak His Gospel and truth. God's kingdom is established on the earth. This Gospel is literally an extension of His kingdom. We had some really cool experiences watching conference last week. I'm really excited for the conference edition Ensign to come out. I love studying the words of the prophets! I also buy the CD set from the distribution center and listen to the talks. It's really awesome!

My companion and I are doing really well. We have a pretty good number of investigators that we are currently teaching. We feel really good about the progress of our investigators. In our area we have been working really well with our members. In fact, all of our investigators are taught in members' homes. We have created relationships where the fellowshipper is the main source of support for our investigators. It has been amazing! Our Members are AWESOME! They have been so supportive in our efforts. Really, it seems like we are just supporting our members in their missionary efforts! They basically set up the appointments and we just go to lessons and teach!

When you first become a missionary that relationship with members is the hardest thing to understand. Naturally, we just want to be friends with the members because they are so awesome! As representatives of Christ and full time missionaries we are here to strengthen the faith of the members and help them share the gospel. It is such an amazing thing to see members bring another one of God's children into the church. Anyways, there are so many wonderful people in this area. I am so grateful to serve here.

This church is so amazing. I really am so grateful to be a part of the Church of Jesus Christ of Later-Day Saints, God's kindom on this earth

I love you ALL

Love,

Elder Blandon

A Wonderful Baptism

We had a wonderful Baptism yesterday with Jabari Albert. Everything seemed to go smoothly. Jabari is such a wonderful person. He is very charismatic and after investigating the church for 1 year and 10 months he has made a big impact on the ward and his friends and family. There was a lot of support and the Baptismal service was wonderful.

Elder Killpack and I were giving the presentation during the time that Jabari was changing. It went really well! The Spirit was so strong. When we got to the First Vision I started off with the quote and everything was so quiet and the Spirit witnessed with such power the truthfulness of what we were sharing. As I was quoting Joseph Smith I remember thinking to myself "WHOoo! everything is so peaceful and quiet.." It was truly an incredible feeling... right in the middle of the First Vision, right when the Spirit seemed to be the strongest...RING RING RING!! the peaceful silence of the Spirit was broken by a cell phone!! I couldn't believe it!! The first thing that came to my mind was - the Gospel is true. Time and time again the adversary does all he can to interrupt the Spirit and Revelation. I know God lives and that He loves us and with the help of our Father in Heaven and Jesus Christ we can protect ourselves from the adversary.

I miss you all and hope you have a wonderful week.

Love,

Elder Blandon

Busy!

Anyways, this week has been great. Super busy. Coming up we have Zone Conference and Stake Correlation meeting, both of which are pretty intense. Things are really going well, though I have been enduring well and my love for missionary work grows deeper each day. I have really been able to feel the love of God more and more each day. It has been a really awesome experience to really see and know how the Gospel works and how I can apply it in my life.

Anyways I miss you and love you all! have a wonderful week.

Love

Elder Blandon

I Am a Child of God

Hey Mom, and Family!

Thank you so much for the package!! It made my day. I really felt the love from the letters and gifts. This week was great and I got the package at the end of the day on Sunday so it was a really nice finish to the week. Well, my companion and I are really being blessed in the area. We are finding lots of people to teach! Last transfer it seemed like we would never find people, but we just kept working faithfully and the Lord has been blessing us.

This week I had a really awesome miracle! I think I told you about the Reynolds family - well this last week we set an appointment to go and teach their family, it was Saturday in the morning. We had set up so that another family from the ward would come to the lesson with us. This same family was also going to give the Reynolds a ride to church. It was all set up. The arrangements were all made. We were going to visit someone just before our lesson with the Reynolds when the phone rings. I take the phone out of my pocket... it's sister Reynolds! My heart sank.. the only thing that kept going through my mind was "please don't cancel, Please don't cancel.." I picked up the phone and she was just informing me about something to do with church. Then I asked her if we are still good for her appointment in 15min. She said " oh yeah you can come over" A HUGE SIGH of relief.. anyways it was about time to head to their house. We get there and my companion and I anxiously waited for the member to pull up.. anytime now.. anytime.. Ok well the member is about 10min late so we give them a call.. no answer. Then we get a text message saying that Sister Gulbraith (member) went to the emergency room for apendicitis!!! WHAT!!?? awww maaan. So we knocked on the door and told Sister Reynolds we would be back in half hour and she said ok. So we are now frantically looking for a member that can come to our lesson (we couldn't go inside without a 3rd male because Sister Reynolds is a single mother) SOO we found someone to come out with us.Wwe picked him up and headed over.She invited us in and the kids all gathered for the lesson. We started by singing "I am a child of God' and started the lesson. We were teaching the Plan of Salvation! it was a great lesson. but the best part was at the end when we got to pray. We got to kneel up with all 6 kids (the cutest little African American kids you ever saw!!) and I had the opportunity to teach them how to PRAY!! It was awesome! I reallyLove this Gospel so much. there is nothing like seeing a family come together and pray with one another. It was awesome..

I love you all. HappyValentines Day.Happy Birthday Wendee!! Have a wonderful week

Love

Elder Blandon

Choose Eternal Life

Things are going well on the mission. I am really learning to love the area that I'm serving in. The members are wonderful and I am really getting to know the members well. We have only been in the Marsh Creek ward for a few weeks now but the ward has really given us a warm welcome. These last few weeks have been pretty difficult as to find new people to teach but we were really blessed yesterday and we found a new person to teach. His name is Abraham. He is planning on attending FHE with the singles ward tonight. Serving in the singles ward is a unique assignment because we find people to teach mostly through members. In my last area we had a few college campuses that we could contact but here in this area there isn't really anything like that. BUT things are going really well.

The missionaries in the Zone have been working really hard! as a Zone we have been able to really achieve some great goals!

My reading of the Book of Mormon has been getting better and better each day. I am doing a really awesome challenge and as I have really been diving into my reading, my testimony of the Book of Mormon has strengthened so much!! It makes such a big difference as I really study the things that the book is teaching us! It has been really awesome.. I was reading in a talk the other day and I found a really awesome quote..

"Am I seeking divine direction through daily scripture study, pondering, and prayer, or have I chosen to be so busy or apathetic that I don’t take time to study the words of Christ, ponder them, and converse with my Heavenly Father?

-Am I choosing to follow the counsel of living prophets of God, or am I following the worldly ways and the opposing opinions of others?

-Am I seeking the guidance of the Holy Ghost daily in what I choose to think about, feel, and do?

-Am I consistently reaching out to assist, serve, or help rescue others?

Your eternal destiny will not be the result of chance but of choice. It is never too late to begin to choose eternal life!

anyways I hope you all have a wonderful week!!

Love

Hiking and Whatnot

Things have been going really well. Today we had a Zone activity - we went hiking near some old mine shafts.. it was really fun. This last week we have been focusing alot on finding new people to teach. We have been doing alot of tracting and its been really great. We are teaching some recent converts in the area that are really awesome, so that has been fun.

I started over reading the Book of Mormon at the beginning of the month and it has been really wonderful to see my testimony grow of the power of the Book of Mormon! Each day I have been keeping a journal of the things that I have been reading and the scriptures have really come alive for me. Its funny, ever since I have been a young child I have attempted to read the Book of Mormon, I must have read 1 Nephi chapters 1-10 a thousand times! But this last time I started the Book of Mormon it was different. The familiar words of those first few chapters have brought so much more meaning to my life as I have pondered and tried to understand the messages they contain. I really Love the Book of Mormon so much.

I have a new companion.. ( I have had a new companion almost every transfer! ) His name is Elder Killpack. He is pretty great.

Anyways this week was really great for our Zone. We had a goal of finding new investigators this last week and the missionaries did a great job of focusing on our goals and we were able to achieve and surpass our goals!!

Anyways, I'm really grateful for all the Love and support from home!! I really love this Gospel alot. I know that this is Gods kingdom established on the earth today. I am grateful to be a servant of the Lord. it is not always easy but it is worth it.

Love,

Elder Blandon

Happy New Year

Dearest mother and family and friends
so this week was really good.. well interesting.. so my companion and I are both new to the area so they call that a "white washing" or "shot gunning" the area.. its been really cool because its a fresh start on the work. we get to visit all the members and get to know everybody and its all new faces. so that is what we have been doing in the area (marsh creek ward) this last week.

The other night one of the companionships got in a small car crash and they called us to come help - we got the call at about 9:30pm and headed over to the area. both the missionaries are Asian and don't speak great english especially when a police officer is asking them questions, so when we arrived it was a pretty big relief since I know all about talking with police :)..haha jk.. anyways I have really felt the responsibility of helping the missionaries of this zone, I am really learning the importance of loving and uplifting those around me. I have set some really great goals for this year of what attributes I would like to develop. I am grateful for the Gospel of Jesus Christ and for the ability and opportunity it gives me to over come my weaknesses.

For new years we had a zone activity!!! we had a wonderful member (bro.mason) who offered his home to 30 missionaries! and let us come and watch movies at his house. our mission Pres. approved afew movies that we could watch for our activity. we got to watch Cars 2 and Kung fu Panda 2. it was alot of fun! since I did most of the planning and organized the activity it was hard for me to relax and enjoy my self.. but the missionaries had a great time and we all got home safe.

last week I FINISHED THE BOOK OF MORMON!! ...AGAIN!! haha it was awesome.. so now I am starting over.. for those of you who would like to join me in reading the Book of Mormon I will be reading two chapters a day. I really love the Book of Mormon. my testimony really has strengthened so much of the truthfulness of the principles that are taught in the Book of Mormon and I have really been able to better understand how to apply the teachings into my life. My love for the Savior and my love fot those around me grows so much as I read and pray.

Anyways life is great. I really love this work. I cant imagine being anywhere else but here doing what Im doing now.

Have a wonderful week!!

Love, Elder Blandon