Nov. 29, 2011

Dear Family,

Thanks for the letter, another thing to add to the lengthy list of things i am thankful for is e-mail and a loving family that spares no effort in filling up my in box. Congratulations to Malan for getting into BYU, and for Hansen for being on the Scouting committee. Way to keep up the family legacy. Well my thanksgiving was wonderful, as i am sure it was reported to you from the browns. And it was great to see Zach again. He did look really good, and if Jared would ever give him a day off, we just might be able to get him to come out with us.

Just a couple of bulletins. First, and this one is for mom, Temecula was recently rated as the second safest city in the us with a population over 100,000. I believe the same thing could be said of Malang too, so don't worry too much.

Second, and this one is for Malan, I recently read a talk by Elder Maxwell where he used the word Swagger. It was a testimony builder to me that the apostles really are prophets for him to be using swagger twenty years before the curve.

Third, and this one is for dad, In yet another weird connection there is a family in the ward that just moved in. We went over to have dinner with them and proceeded to find out that the dad served his mission with none other than Brother Harris. Turns out Brother Harris was way too smart for his own good even when he was on his mission. He told us this story about how Brother Harris kidnapped a teddy bear from one of the elders who was living with him and proceeded to hold it for ransom. Randomly mailing him pictures of said Teddy Bear in precarious situations. Whether drowning in members pools, or getting held up. I now understand the raising of the bar more fully.

The other exciting news was that Denise was finally able to be baptized this Sunday. It was a great service, and we had a great turnout and the spirit was really strong. It has been a long time coming but it has been fun to share in the adventure with her. We also had a great lesson with Lilly, a 77 year old lady whose full name is actually Lillian. I just threw that in there for you Deborah. But she has said that she wants to get baptized, just after she is done with all of her chemo treatments. She has been really fun to teach, because every lesson includes at least two stories from her life. They have been fun to listen too. Well that is pretty much it in terms of investigator news i will keep you updated though. Thanks for all that you do, and are. This Gospel is true, and I love serving the Lord. Especially in this holiday season. Love you all.

Elder Blake.

PS, I am not sure about Christmas yet, but i do know we have church til noon. Also i have not recieved my package yet, but should this evening. Also Tell Bishop Chatwin hello, and thanks for being such a great home teaching companion and mentor.