June 3, 2013

First I asked him last week where Alamos 2 (his district) was because we are trying to find him on the map and he replied:
“Actually they changed it to Alamos 1 right before Transfers. It is in the city of Puebla and it is near the border between the north mission and the south mission. Maybe if you search for the Colonia Alamos you will be able to find it.”


I did and this is what I found:

  [link won't post right now--I'll have my computer geek work on it]

I  put in “puebla mexico Alamos” in google maps search. It also gave me a few other options, so I still don’t know where Jason is except in the hands of the Lord, doing his work and all is well.

Jason's email:

“3 months down 21 to go (not that I’m counting)”

[He actually titled his email this time!]

I am actually not counting down I'm just counting how long I have been out by the number of transfers that I have (or would have) been though. One transfer is 6 weeks so counting the MTC I have been through 2 and am just starting my third and there are 17.3 transfers in a mission counting the MTC so there are about 16 in the field and you go home at the end of the 16th I think. It is really easy to count transfers because you use one planer per transfer so all I have to do is keep them all and whenever I want to know how many transfers I have been out for I just count my planners so I have one transfer in the Field and so I have one old planner. 

Well Elder Swenson is now district leader and almost certainly will be for this transfer and the next. This is because training is 2 transfers so neither of us are getting transferred next transfer unless for some reason they want me to train with 6 weeks in the mission (or him). 

This week was both awesome and terrible at the same time. I'll go with the bad news first so that you can be lifted up by the good after. 

We weren't very productive this week and our numbers show it. We barely had 5 lessons all week :( the work with investigators is very slow here. We don't do finding activities. We don't knock doors. We don't do much street contacting. All of our work basically has to come through the members and that can be very hard when they don't give you many referrals. Also I wish that I didn't have to learn a language to help these people and they all just spoke English. But enough of my complaining now I'm going to move on to why this week has been AWESOME!! 

We have been meeting with part of this family named Es* and a friend of theirs who lives with them and this week the 15 year old daughter basically asked to be baptized!!! So we set a date and are working to see if we can get the rest to have the same date so they can all be baptized together. It will be so cool if we are able to do it!! The only problem is that she works on Sunday and even worse is that she works during Church (Church is from 12-3 and she works from 10-3 on Sunday) so we don't know how hard it will be to get her to church and this week was even harder because they had a family emergency Saturday night when we had an appointment with them and so we were unable to invite them to church this week so we will have to move the baptism date because they need to come to church 3 times before they can be baptized ;(  The other good news is actually in the numbers I said were bad earlier. Here we track something called "MARS" which stands for "Menos Activos Reunión Sacramental" which means Less-Actives in Sacrament Meeting. The good news is that we had 10!! this week (that's a lot). The chapel was the fullest I have ever seen it. It actually looked like enough people to be a ward (it is one there are just a lot of less actives here).

Well I thought that I would send this picture to show off Mexican architecture and ingenuity... Yes that is what you think it is. They didn't like where the door was so they put a wall behind it.

-Elder Blanding

"The way not to go" 

"The way not to go" 

May 20, 2013

Jason sent about 12 emails today because he was loading pictures and while the pictures were loading he would type and then send that email. He would then start another email and load pictures and type more while they were loading. I think I was able to put it all together and make the story flow.​

But first off his address: ​

Elder Jason Mark Blanding
Oficina Mision Mexico Puebla Norte
Av. 25 Sur #907
Col. La PazPuebla, Puebla, C.P. 72160

It cost $1.10 (or three forever stamps) to mail a letter to this address.  ​You can purchase overseas forever stamps at the post office too. It is the mission home address and that is where we are to send our letters.  Of course you can email him at jblanding @ myldsmail.net

Now to his letter home:​

So I am in Mexico now and wow do I realize just how much I actually had in the states.

I am writing this here because I am waiting for pictures to upload and so I am going to use the time instead of just waste it while I wait.

I have to say one of the things I miss the most is the food and the eating schedule. I can't stand the food here and the eating schedule is even worse. We only really have one meal here called "La Comida" (the food) and it is at about 2 or 2:30. I am hungry all the time because I only have one meal and maybe a few snacks throughout the day. I also miss the fact that I didn't have to worry about where what I drank came from. Here if you drink the water out of the faucet you WILL GET SICK! There is no doubt about it everything you drink has to either be from a bottle or you have to filter it yourself.

[Editor’s note: Elder Blanding could pack it away. He inhaled food.  After he left I didn’t change my shopping habit for a couple of weeks and noticed that I had cheese, meat, milk and bread leftover at the end of the week!! His snacks were four sandwiches and an hour later he'd asked, “When’s dinner?”]

I also miss carpet. I know that sounds strange but I have yet to see any carpet here. None! It is all either tile or concrete.

One thing I am glad about is that I am not driving here. It would be a death sentence. All of the drivers here are nuts!! No one stops for pedestrians, uses turn signals, stops at stop signs and they always cut each other off. The rule of the road here is that if you don't force your way in you are not getting in. He who has the most guts and is bigger; wins.

But either way I love the people here they are always offering us things and what not. Mexico’s economy really is reliant on the small family owned business. I can't even begin to count the amount of small stores that are on one street and whenever we go into one owned by a member they always offer us something.

It is weird to see the families that are well off their houses look the same from the outside but once you get inside they look really nice.

Some even have somewhat nice TVs and computers. The weirdest was the second to the most recent house we ate with (I think). On the outside the "house" looked like every other "house" here metal door no knob only a key hole (all houses are that way) but once you got inside the house they had nice furniture, a nice computer, a nice kitchen, the bathroom even looked nice.

But anyways the people here live very simply and so do we. We are lucky because one of the families in the ward runs a laundromat and so we were able to use a washing machine but everywhere else in the mission you have to wash your clothes by hand (not something I am looking forward to). 

Oh I had my first baptism on Saturday! Well really we stole it from the elders that were already in the ward and when we split the area he was in our part. His name was E* and he is 10 and both his parents are members but he wasn't baptized when he was 8 because his parents have been inactive for a while so it technically counts as a convert baptism. His dad was actually able to baptize him which was one of the coolest parts about the whole thing.

Also what they said about no tracting here is 100% true we don't even street contact because we have been told to focus on reactivating less actives and following up on the referrals we get from the members. I actually think that tracting should be banned in every mission because it is the least productive thing you can do and it is also one of the most dangerous things you can do.

It is hard to open up a new area because we don't have any investigators and we don't know anyone so we spent most of the week just getting to know the members and less actives. 

It is even harder when I don't speak the language but my comp tells me that I will probably know it well enough to talk with people in about a month so that will be nice. Either way I am going to probably (99% chance) be here in this area for the next 2 transfers and we are in the last week of the transfer. I should have gotten here at the start of and those 2 weren't including this one. 

Sorry if these E-mails seem disjointed I just have to keep changing messages because there is a limit on how much data you can send at once and I am trying to send you all my pictures (and for spelling the computer/keyboard are in Spanish). I don't know how much more I will send today but I will try to send as much as I can.

Anyways... there are a ton of dogs here. They just wander around and do whatever they want. I really hope that my allergies don't get the better of me and make things miserable.

Other than all of that I love it here and am so glad I was able to come here (finally). I have kind of run out of things to say and we should probably be going soon. But I will send as many pictures as I can before we leave.

Oh one more thing I don't like: the climate. It is hot here (at least it feels that way) and the air is so thin. Also it has rained every night for the past few days and the rain here is nothing like the rain in Seattle. It is closer to what we had at Disney World. Oh and when it rains there is usually thunder and lightning to go along with it. I almost feel like a traitor to Seattle because I have been using my umbrella and it makes me feel bad :( but I would rather be a traitor than be soaked to the bone.

 Well I don't really have more to write but I will keep sending pictures.

[I caught him while online and asked if he had a mailing address; this was his reply]

They actually said that if we want to actually get the mail we should have you send it to the office not to our addresses.

Also if you want to send me anything while I am here there is a list online of what the Mexican government will let though and what they won't and they said to have to check every time you send anything because it changes all the time.

[Then he replied to his dad’s email]

I arrived here right after it went off and they had already cleaned it all up so I don't have a story from it sorry :(

My area in Dallas was Sunbeck North and my area here is Alamos 2 (2 because we split the Alamos ward into 2 areas, so I am already opening a new area) my companion's name is Elder Swensen and he is from Las Vegas so he is just as gringo as I am (except he can speak Spanish and I can't).

Tell Mike and Matt Congratulations for me.

 

April 29, 2013

I'm so sorry I missed you both times and I will get you on Mother's day I promise.

Good luck with the yard work. Was all my stuff out of the room when it flooded? that sounds like an awesome way to paint the room go for it.

You will never guess who I met this morning... William Richardson it turns out he is serving as an English Missionary in the Texas Dallas Mission. It is always weird seeing people you know from before the mission but this was unusually weird because I hadn't seen him for what is it now 4 years? That was so weird.

Tell Uncle Lee thanks for the thought.

I am going to send that letter I told you I would send you soon I just need to find a time to go put it in the mailbox.
Love you all:  Elder Blanding

April 21, 2013

Quick email from Jason with his new temporary address:

Elder Jason Mark Blanding
13747 Montfort Dr Ste 120
Dallas, TX 75241-4479
United States

He would LOVE to hear from you.

Oh and my wonderful nephew sent this photo. (By the way, if my nephews are keeping score, Jackson right now is my favorite.)

Elder Blanding and Jackson Ostler

Elder Blanding and Jackson Ostler

This was found on Elder Blanding's missionary president's blog.​

This was found on Elder Blanding's missionary president's blog.​

April 18, 2013

Dear Mom,

Everything is fine here. Wow that is crazy! Did the lighting hit the van or was it just nearby?

Tell Matt congratulations for me! I told you I didn't have to worry and that I would graduate :D Thanks for your prayers; I am being temporarily reassigned while I wait for my visa. I will find out where I am going and when I leave sometime today. I will most likely leave on Monday or Tuesday and I will probably only be in my reassigned mission for a few weeks. They will let me call home for a few minutes when I find out where I am being reassigned so watch for my call because I don't know if I will be able to call again until I am at the airport.

The Tuesday night devotional was awesome! Elder Richard G. Scott came and spoke to us. He talked about prayer and how we can make it a better experience by not simply saying a prayer but TALKING with God. He talked about three ways we receive answers they were: 1. A peaceful/calm/good feeling (a yes) 2. A stupor of thought/uneasy feeling (a no) and 3. No answer.  Number three is what he focused on the most, to summarize he said that sometimes we don't get an answer so that we can grow, because God trusts us to use the knowledge we have to act on what we think is the best decision.  At the end of his talk Elder Scott gave an apostolic blessing on the missionaries in the MTC. I don't have my notes right now so I will send you what I was able to write down in a letter but the thing that stuck out to me the most was that he promised that if we work at it we will be able to MASTER the language. I'll send you the rest of what I was able to write down later but it was an amazing opportunity and one that I wouldn't have had if I had gotten my visa and left when I was supposed to (would have missed it by one day) so me not getting my visa turned out to be a blessing.

Love you all and can't wait to see you all again in 2 years.

Love,

 Elder Blanding

Another email later that day:

I just got my reassignment; I leave for the Texas Dallas Mission Monday morning at 5!!! I will be able to call you at 5:45 Utah time (right before dinner). Should I call the home phone or your cell-phone?

He called my cell phone at 4:45 (our time) and since I was refereeing a soccer game, Steve talked to him. It was a short phone call and he basically said what is in the above email. Steve said that he could hear happiness in his voice and that he was enjoying the work and excited to be going to Dallas temporarily.

April 11, 2013

Editor's Note: Jason sent a few emails home today. Most of them are answers to questions we asked him. I'll try to edit so that you can follow along.

We asked if he knew when he was leaving the MTC. I also told him I was jealous that he sent his brother a long letter ~smile~.

I don't know when I am leaving. I still don't have my visa and they haven't given me a reassignment yet so I could be leaving anytime between Monday and who knows when. I'm sorry I haven't sent you a front and back letter yet but I have been busy here and there hasn't been much to write about. That will change soon (hopefully) when I get out into the field. Then I will send you a nice long letter.

Oh and they just changed the rules about E-mailing we are now allowed 1 hour per week instead of just 30 min per week. We are also allowed to E-mail friends now so you can post my E-mail address on Facebook so that my friends can use it.

Tell everyone hi for me, I love and miss you all but I will be back soon.

Elder Blanding

I caught him online so he sent this reply back quickly when I told him we were praying for him to have the gift of tongues.

Oh I am 99% sure I already have it because there is no way I would have been able to learn as much Spanish as I have in only 6 weeks with out it.

another email

Just got your letter (it seems they come on Thursday) and actually I do kind of miss the rain. It is to dry and brown here and the weather is bipolar it can't decide if it wants to rain, snow (it has done so three times since I got here) or be the clearest sky I have ever seen. What they say about Utah weather is true, "If you don't like the weather wait 5 minuets." If I could bottle the sun I would, sorry :(
good luck with soccer :D

His dad emailed him a quick note and this was his reply. Steve just started a new job.

I'll send you my schedule here at the MTC when I leave (hopefully soon) I'll also send a letter outlining what an average day is like here in the MTC. Join the club of not feeling like you know what you're doing I have spent the last 5-6 weeks feeling like that. It will come don't worry :) 

The more I hear you talk about your bike the more I want to get one when I get home lol.

Elder Blanding

 Jason's email is: jblanding at myldsmail.net 

We just ask that you remember to be positive and uplifting in your emails to him. Remember he is out there to be a missionary for the Lord and not as a tourist. He is busy doing the work so if he doesn't reply, good, he's working!

March 28, 2013

Editor's note: Jason was able to send a few emails today. Some had PHOTOS!!

Here is his first email:

I still can't believe someone gave Kray a loan.  I never thought I would see the day my dad bought a bike (I can believe Kray would just not that someone would loan him the money).

Thanks for the package it can get cold during the night here.  Just in case you haven't got my letter yet, it snowed twice earlier this week it was awesome. One of the Elders in my district hadn't seen snow before (he grew up in Haiti and then moved to Miami when he was 10 (I think)). Sadly the snow melted by the end of the day both times :(
As much as I love it here in the CCM [MTC] I can't wait to get out into the field.

We finally got a new district in our zone so my district is no longer the newest district in the zone. 

things are going well over all. oh you were right about me probably needing lotion so if you could send me some good lotion in the next package that would be awesome.

I will send you some pictures later today because I don't have my camera with me and even if I did this computer doesn't like to send pictures. (and yes the email client doesn't like big pictures and I didn't get it the first time you sent them).

Editor's note: I had sent him a few pictures of his dad and brother on their bikes.

Elder Jason Blanding is far left.​

Elder Jason Blanding is far left.​

​Elder Jason Blanding is upper left.

​Elder Jason Blanding is upper left.

Elder Jason Blanding is (again) far left.​

Elder Jason Blanding is (again) far left.​

Elder Jason Blanding and his companion Elder Clark This time Jason is on the right. ​

Elder Jason Blanding and his companion Elder Clark
This time Jason is on the right. ​

 Then his last email:

I just got your letters like 5 min. ago.  YOU GAVE CHRIS YOUR IPHONE!!! you didn't even give me buy a smart phone and you just give Chris an iPhone? (yes I'm a little jealous) but anyways congrats to you on getting a new iPhone. how is dad liking his new job?

March 21, 2013

Jason's email from this week was short and to the point, but we got a hand written letter earlier in the week.  I think with the 5000+ missionaries that they have at the MTC computer time is highly regulated and scheduled.

His letter dated 3-15-13
Dear Everyone,

Thanks for the letters, they were nice. It is nice to hear from you all and that everything is going well.

I love it here. My district is awesome and I am picking up Spanish faster than I thought I would.

We finished teaching the first investigator (R*) they give you here at the MTC. It was an interesting experience.  Because we didn't really know much Spanish on our first lesson, we weren't able to communicate much and so we didn't start teaching how we would have liked.

We found out today that the person who was our first investigator is also one of our teachers. His real name is Hermano (brother) T*. He is a Samoan from California and is a really awesome guy.

Time to go to bed.

Love you all,
Elder Blanding

PS: Use Dear Elder if you want to communicate faster because they just have to print them and we get mail after lunch and dinner every day.
PPS: Tell people to write, I want to know what is happening!!!

His email from March 21

Ha ha ha I can't believe dad got a bike (insert smile face) and I can't believe that Kray found someone willing to give him credit.

I might have answered the questions you asked me in a letter already but just in case...

my companion is Elder Clarke, he is from Utah and is pretty cool.
My whole district is awesome we have so much fun together.  there are 7 Elders (3 are in a tri companionship) and 4 Hermanas (sisters)
Thanks for sending me the package it was nice to get stuff from home.

tell the Delanos thanks for me (they sent me an Easter package) I'll send them a thank you later today probably.

oh and while I'm on the topic of thank yous can you send me the Bean's address so I can send them a thank you for the shoes.

I love you and can't (kind of) wait to see you all again (even Kray (insert winky face))

see you in 2

Love:

Elder Blanding

I got a reply to my reply to this letter (I sent him the Delano and Bean home addresses) and it said:

can you send me my Phinius and Ferb blanket? (the thin fleece one) it gets really cold in the mornings here and the blankets they give us suck.

can you also send me my BYU jacket. (it can get cold and windy in the mornings but not cold enough for me to want my big coat)

thanks.

Elder  Blanding

ps. I asked dad to send me a SD card reader (USB) so you can send them at the same time.