April 26, 2013

Dear Mom,

Here is the letter I told you I would write.  ​

Sorry it has taken so long but I have been very busy. The only reason I am able to write now is because I am in the hospital...don't worry I'm only here because I am being the companion of a sick missionary. They choose me because I'm in a trio that is close to the hospital so we have an extra missionary.

It is weird being out in the field. We spend most of the day trying to find people to teach. We look up a lot of referrals and old investigators. It is weird knocking doors, something I never thought I would do because they don't knock doors in Mexico. We also have a car in my area so that is also weird. ​

I love being out in the field and out of the MTC but I can't wait to get to Mexico. My companions are Elder Adams and Elder Hammond, they are both really cool Elders.  Elder Adams has been out for 21 months and Elder Hammond has been out for 3 weeks longer than I have.  Elder Adams' Spanish is really good and Elder Hammond and myself are at about the same place with Spanish.  We can tell you all sorts of gospel related things but we can't really understand what you are saying to us and as soon as we are off of gospel related topics we are about as useful as a dog trying to tell a human something. ​

I'm sorry that I missed you both times I have called.  Make sure you are there when I call on Mother's Day (I don't know when that will be). Don't think about me too much, I'll be home before you (or I) know it. I can't wait to see you all again.​

I am going to send you my schedule at the MTC with this letter because Dad wanted to see what I did while I was there. ​

​(look it's 2 pages!)

You always end your letters with a spiritual thought so I thought that I would give you one too.​

3 Nephi 13:31-34 [see below]
Don't worry about me, I have been called of God and I know that He won't leave me hanging.

Love,
Elder Blanding

PS: I just remembered about a story I have of my first day here (Monday). I was riding around on a bike with another Elder (not one of my companions now) and we were just contracting on the street.  We talked to a crazy man who said his name was "Jesu Christo" and gave us a piece of paper that said, "My name is Jesus: Luke 8:16 For nothing is secret that shall not be made manifest: Luke 12:2, 9 Matthew 10:26, 33 Mark 4:21, 25: and Miracles in the Bible brother have word fast in my Lord" (it didn't make sence to me either) and while he was just blabbering on in Spanish the Elder I was with went and started contacting someone else leaving me who didn't even speak Spanish to finish the "conversation" (I put it in quotes because we said maybe 5 words after we introduced ourselves.) He was an interesting person who was obviously not all there.  It is interesting that I met a crazy person on my first day in Texas.​

Here is the scripture Elder Blanding was referring to:​

 

31 Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed?

 32 For your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things.

 33 But seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you.

 34 Take therefore no thought for the morrow, for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient is the day unto the evil thereof.

April 4, 2013

 Dear Mom,

Just got your letter. Easter here was awesome. We had one big sacrament meeting with the whole MTC. (We usually have small ones with just our Branch.) Even though there were about 3000 missionaries it only took 13 min to pass to all of them.  It made me think of when Jesus fed the 5000. This was probably one of the biggest sacraments meetings ever.  Bishop Causse spoke to us during sacrament meeting and then Sister Dew spoke during the Sunday night devotional. Both were really good talks and I learned a lot from both. To round off an already spiritual Easter the video they showed after the devotional (they always have some video on Sunday night) was a talk Elder Bednar gave to the MTC about the character of Christ. It was over all an amazing Easter.

I got to host the new missionaries yesterday. It was really cool seeing the different reactions of the new missionaries as they got dropped off. One of the most entertaining was one sister who was like “I’m actually doing this…I’m actually doing this…” She didn’t actually say that but she might as well have.

Well say hi to the rest of the family for me including Alex and Roxy. Tell Dad and Kray I think they are nuts. Oh and tell Kray I told him so about crashing his bike (within a week). Tell Chris and Jess thanks for the notes and tell Jess thanks for the drawing.

The drawing Jessie sent to Elder Blanding

The drawing Jessie sent to Elder Blanding

Love you all!
Amo ustedes!
Elder Blanding

March 23, 2013

This is sort of out of order--letter take a bit longer to get home than does email.


Dear Mom,
Thanks for the candy. (FYI we aren't allowed to chew gum in the MTC.) It snowed for a bit yesterday and it has been snowing all day today. IT IS AWESOME!! There is an Elder in my district who has never seen snow before (he was born in Brazil, lived in Haiti until he was 10 and then moved to Miami, Florida).  All the missionaries that grew up in Utah wish it wasn't snowing. I don't know what is wrong with them.

Yesterday was a really hard day. I "hit the wall" about an hour after lunch and had difficulty putting together coherent sentences in English let alone Spanish. Jackson was in our classroom after dinner yesterday (not to each us, sadly). I think the only reason I didn't just give up on trying to learn yesterday was a mix of your package, a chat I had (in English) with one of the teachers and running into Jackson after dinner.

Over all I am enjoying my time in the CCM (MTC). There have been a few moments like yesterday but those are the exception not the rule.

Love you all,
Elder Blanding

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.