Dec. 6, 2011

Dear Family,

I am glad to hear that the nativity went well. And that you got to see the NBA Championship trophy. That is cool that Mr. Parks came, you will have to tell him hi from me Hansen. It sounds like it will be another typical crazy Blake Christmas. I did get the package, don't worry mom. And our tree is proudly taped up on our window and is even decorated. It definitely adds to the Christmas spirit. Thanks for all of the candy as well.

Well here in Temecula we are getting some pretty chilly weather too. Occasionally in the 40's at night. It is really tough serving in southern California. We had a great day two days ago with being able to watch the Christmas devotional. It is always great to hear the prophet, and have an hour to sit down. I felt like I was in priesthood session, having to keep my companion awake.

This week has been pretty slow missionary wise. Not really that no one wants to listen to us, but rather everyone who wants to listen to us, seems to have the flu of pneumonia. Luckily both my companion and I are healthy and don't so much have the sniffles. We were able to start teaching someone who wants to get baptized. He is a ten year old kid whose name is Bryce Grabau. He is the son of a less active lady. His older sister who was baptized but then went inactive, just moved back from college and reactivated herself. She has been bringing Bryce to church with her, and we get the privilege of teaching him. I am excited because if it all works out the way it is supposed to, he will be first person i get to find, teach, and baptize. I will finally go the whole nine yard with an investigator. It is really exciting. Other than that things just keep rolling along here in Temecula. Oh I did get a new roommate. His name is Elder Blakely. We are hoping that we eventually get to be companions, just for the word play.

I love this gospel, and have gained a much deeper understanding of it out here on my mission. I also have gained a stronger testimony of the priesthood. Of its authority, of its function, of its role in the eternities, and of its power. I am truly humbled to realize that i get to be a priesthood holder, and hope that i will always be worthy of it. I love you all, and thanks for the box again. Hope that everyone has a great week, and that you don't freeze.

Elder Blake

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.

November 22, 2011

Dear Family,

First of all, thanks mom for the hug. Brother Brown was able to give it to me this past Sunday. I am glad that the surgery went well, and hope and pray that you continue to improve. Also, the bandaging is very impressive. Thank you also for the care package, especially for the letters. My companion said before we opened it that he hoped the tie wasn't red. I told him if the ties were from my dad, he could bet on them being red. And sure enough. We look forward to matching ties, at all future ward/christmas events. Thank you very much.

Well besides being with the Browns this past Sunday, and having the opportunity to be with them this Thanksgiving, the big news is that we just got back from the San Diego Temple. It was absolutely amazing, and even though i know all temples are equal in the sight of God, it put the dallas temple to shame. It was definitely one of the highlights of my mission so far. The best part about it was that it was enjoyed in 70 degree weather, in the middle of November.

The disappointing news this week was that we were supposed to have a baptism this past sunday for a women named Denise. Unfortunately we got a text about an hour before church saying that she wasn't ready and would have to think about it some more. We went over after church and it seems like it was just nerves, so it should be good this week. Your prayers would be much appreciated. We did however get a couple more people to teach this week, so overall it was a good one. We went by a couple of former investigators and they said they would be willing to resume taking the lessons. One of them is an eighty year old lady whose twin sister just died a couple weeks ago. We were able to teach her about the plan of salvation and bear testimony to her that her sister is patiently waiting for her in the spirit world and that she was most likely taking the lessons from some missionaries as well. I am so thankful for the gospel in our lives and for the perspective that it gives us. Other than that nothing too exciting, although we did get to walk right next to the Indian reservation out here, definitely another highlight. The work continues to progress and perhaps most exciting is that a spirit of missionary work here in the ward has seemed to take root. I give Joe and Sue Brown all of the credit. Here all of three days and they already have the ward on fire, not too surprising though.

Besides Mom's surgery going well, hearing about Brother Ramirez baptism was about the best news I could receive. I do know Jonatan, he is a great kid, and I would be happy to share my testimony with him. That is so exciting, and is an amazing feeling. Tell Brother Ramirez congratulations from me.

Well, keep up all of the great work, and hope that you have a Happy Thanksgiving and that the cowboys continue their streak. I am extremely grateful this week, for the goodness of God. That he would see fit to send his only begotten Son to perform the atonement to complete the plan of salvation on our behalf. Closely behind it, I am grateful for the opportunity to have been raised in the best home ever. To have been taught the gospel in both word and deed at home all of my life and for the wonderful example everyone is to me. Thanks for everything and all that you do.

Love Bevan

Nov. 15, 2011

Dear Family

I am having a great p-day. We got to play a preach my gospel game today in companion study with the zone leaders. So with that the day has already been made. We are in a full time car here in redhawk, which is great for getting to appointments, but not for staying in shape. Oh well just more of the sacrifices that a missionary makes. In case anyone feels like i am getting too spoiled, this last weekend i went on exchanges, and lost the privilege of having a car. Instead i was on bikes and spent a good four hours riding around in the rain. I was also without raincoat and umbrella, left both of those in my apartment. I got soaked, and i think some of my clothes are still wet, but i now feel like a real missionary. It is also district activity this week, which means some basketball at the stake center, and then next week we get to go to the san diego temple. Looking forward to that.

It is great to see pictures of James, looks like everyone is doing okay and is healthy, which is always good. And it is also good to hear that avery maybe joining me out here next week. You have no idea how many times we get offered to take little kids out tracting with us so that parents can have a break. It gets pretty humorous.

So did you hear about the two missionaries in texas that passed away last week? Was it in the Dallas mission? Don't worry mom we are being very safe, and i fully expect to come home whole and healthy.

So this week was a really good one. We also had zone conference, it was not nearly the ordeal leahs was (all it entailed was a 40 minute car ride down to vista). But it was really good. We learned a lot about how to study and teach, and how to create real usable study journals. I found out that president cook's study journal consists of four filing cabinets, I found someone who might actually give brother harris a run for his money.

In terms of investigators we have had a pretty good week. We are working with one lady denise, who was supposed to get baptized yesterday. But we encountered some setback and have had to move the baptism back at least a week. It was pretty cool though because on sunday we were really hoping that she would get to church but unfortunately she didn't show up. So we stopped by after church to see how she was doing. We found out that she had been up since three that morning debating on whether she should continue with this or whether she should just scrap the whole conversion thing and find something else. Finally she prayed and asked heavenly father for a sign to tell her what to do. Right after said prayer, we knocked on her door. She then told us that she knew this was what needed to happen, and how happy she had become since meeting with us. A pretty cool thing for a missionary to get to experience. After that all the rest of the stories pale in comparison.

Thanks for everything, and hope everyone has a great week. Good luck mom with your surgery hope all goes well. I love this gospel, and still love serving the Lord, somehow it never seems to get old. I love you all, and hope everything continues to go so well. Love Elder Blake

Mom i would like more pens, and more of those moleskin journals, that fit conveniently in pockets. Other than that, just more socks, nutella, ties, and conference talks. Thanks for everything.

Nov. 8, 2011

Dear Family,

I can not believe that I get sent to Southern California, and the rest of the family is the one that gets to be in earthquakes. That seems a little nonsensical to me. I am glad that everyone was safe and the saftey clothes worked to perfection. All the missionaries here seem to think that some big earthquake is going to happen here. I assure them though that as long as i am here, and mom's prayers get answered nothing will happen.

I also cannot believe that i will be getting yet another nephew this week, good luck Hannah. And good luck Mom with the babysitting. I suggest that you get very familiar with tangled and how to put it on. Halloween seemed like it was quite the event, glad everyone was able to stay safe amid the apparent whirlwind of excitment.

This past week in temecula was great. We indeed have another baptism, this past saturday. It was Kenyona. It was definitly the highlight of the week. The young women even made an appearance to sing at it, which definitly help invite the spirit. We also have another baptism coming up this upcoming monday. It is for a lady named denise. Again i just came here to crash the party. But it has been amazing to see the change she has gone through in just the three weeks that I have been here. It is always good to know that the Lord is really who is behind everything and the spirit is the real catalyst for change. All our job is to be a vehicle for the spirit and then invite them to act to gain even more spiritual experiences.

Other than that, I can't really think of anything other exciting events. Oh on exchanges this week, we were able to help a guy move. It was a neighbor of a member. The said member neighbor of the movee, was the uncle of some girl i knew from efy and byu. That was a little wierd. Just another connection that i have made, i take it as verification that i really am Grandma's grandson.

Everything here is going well, this week i think was the break through. I am the senior companion, and so that was the major adjustment, but things here are going really well. I have definitly had to grow and stretch a lot, but that is what life is all about. I am thankful for all of these wonderful opportunities on a mission to not only lift others but to lift myself. I have also gained a greater appreciation for all of the prepraration that happened before my mission and for all of those involved in that. I know this gospel is true, and that no matter what sacrifice it entails it is worth it. And lest Leah scoff and roll her eyes at me talking about sacrifice, please know that i have had severly chapped lips for the past couple of days, and have had to wait till today to purchase some much needed chap-stick. Truely the sacrifices of a Carlsbad Missionary are great. But on a more serious note, I am grateful for this gospel, for all those in it, and most especially for the the Savior and his atonement, which is my foundation and source of strength.

Love Bevan

I also leave you with a word of caution. Lest you feel sorry for the missionaries in carrollton and feel it necesarry to give them some halloween candy. I assure you every other member uses the missionaries as there own personal salvation army donation truck for candy and they do not need it. I believe before the holidays are out, all four of us here will be diabetics.

Bevan and his comp

Bevan went to see Amy and Jared Brown and saw Sue Brown. Here are some pics she sent.





- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

11-1-11

Dear Family,

How is everyone doing? I hope that everyone is doing well, despite the tough week for the rangers. I had known about it, our dinner the other night, upon hearing that I was from Dallas, proceeded to tell me all the events of the last two games, with all of the gory details. We did not get to carve pumpkins for Halloween, but we did go in early last night at 6:30. So there was some spice to life.

The baptism was amazing. And it was really fun. It has been cool to see the change of him between Tuesday and now. We stopped by on Sunday, to see if we could teach their kids, and they were all watching the living scriptures animated story of Nephi as if they were life long members. It was one of those rewarding experiences as a missionary.

We should be having another baptism this Saturday as well. It is for a girl named Keynuana. She is the niece of another recent convert, who moved in with her not to long ago. They are a hilarious family, with possibly the most enthusiasm for the gospel that I have ever seen. It has been fun teaching her, especially because she is only 13, so we get to be more creative with our lessons and slightly less serious. We try not to drive the spirit away too much though.

Mom I am glad to hear that your talk went well. I still haven't given a talk while on my mission. I did however give the opening prayer last sunday. It went well as far as I know. I also haven't heard about sister Seale's Aunt or Uncle but I will be on the look out. I also had dinner with the Secor family on Sunday, and found out that their son, Billy Secor just moved in to the Coppell Third Ward. I assured them that he had a great bishop, but that the stake president was pretty iffy. But in all honesty, if the parents are any indication the Third ward just received a great family.

We are doing great here in Temecula, and although the adjustment has been longer than I was hoping for and not without some rocky patches. The work continues to go along and we are seeing some really cool things happen. For instance, on Saturday we found a lady outside of our apartment. We started talking and found out that she was wavering in her faith about God, and Jesus Christ. We gave her a Book of Mormon and invited her to read 3rd Nephi 11. The very next day we come home from church, and find her in the same spot waiting for us. She told us that she read the chapter, and had felt peace. She admitted that it was the first time in a long time that she had been able to find any peace and she wanted nothing more than to have it in her life. We were able to share some scriptures with her, about how through the atonement we will be able to find the lasting peace that Christ offers us in John 14. It was an amazing experience, and now she is being taught by some other elders. This gospel is true, and truly offers us peace, even when everything else in our lives beckons us away from that peace. I am so thankful for the Savior and his example to all of us.

Love Elder Blake

PS, if you could mail me a real letter, this week. I need some proof of residency to finally get a Temecula library card. One of my lifelong pursuits.