Sept. 27, 2011

Dear Family,

Thanks for the letter, and the correction about George Washington and Barbados, you will have to excuse me. It is amazing how rusty you get in only four months. I suppose I can send some pictures home, I'll find a way.

I'm afraid the answer to moms question about the car is less exciting than people may be anticipating. Basically what happened was, there were sisters in our district before this last transfer, and sisters in this mission get spoiled with a full time car no matter where they are. Well the sisters got transferred out and elders got transferred in. The sisters simply packed up the car with their six suitcases each, I'm sure, and took off with their car. When the elders came in to the area they not only found the apartment surprisingly clean and richly decorated but found that there was indeed no car left in the garage. So to help them out we now share our car with them for the weekends. Well, there you go.

In this weeks segment of more odd connections between me and Orange County. It turns out that Phil and pretty much everyone on Phil's street went to Dana Hills High, the same exact high school that all of the Spragues went. Turns out all of them know the whole lot of the Sprague boys. I wasn't expecting to feel like grandma this soon, that is for sure.

Well this week has been an adventurous one in terms of missionary work. This week while out tracting, I got bit by a dog, chased by a swarm of bees, saw a cat that must have been possessed by some sort of devil, and met a guy that greeted us at his driveway with a shotgun. It has been a packed week in terms of journal writing that is for sure. Do not worry though, through all of these adventures and more I have managed to survive.

Phil is doing great, and should be moved into his home in a couple of weeks. Which means he will finally come to church. We continue to meet with Andres, and praying that the necessary hurdles can be cleared. We are most excited this week though for a lady named Teresa. She is a ballet teacher who is teaching a couple of member kids. She has been coming to church, in a different ward, for six weeks now and attended the Relief Society broadcast. We are finally going to get to teach her this week. Hopefully she will accept the glad message of the restored gospel, or at least like us enough to teach us free ballet lessons. Either one a win in my book.

This week I have been thinking a lot about the scripture "choose ye this day whom ye will serve, but as for me and my house we will serve the Lord." I have been thinking about the importance of choosing this day, and not procrastinating the time when we choose to serve the Lord and mark our loyalty with him. In a world that is becoming ever more lost, how important is it to choose today, and everyday to serve the Lord. We simply can not afford to wait any longer to choose a side. Or else we will soon realize how lost we have become. I know that the Gospel of Jesus Christ is True. I know that it is the way to lift ourselves out of the filth of the world and onto a higher and more joyous plane. I love all of you, and hope that you are doing well. Thanks for all of the prayers.

Love Bevan

Sept. 20, 2011

Hello family,

Well I am glad to see that everyone is having a great week, especially mom and dad in Barbados. Just a quick little fun fact, Barbados is the only country George Washington went to outside of the United States. He went when he was a young man to recover from small pox. So just remember that as you snorkel and watch cricket. Also, I am pretty sure that one of the guys I home taught is at that mission, he is in the west Indies. I wonder if he was one of the ones at that branch. That would have been a weird coincidence.

I did get the package, thank you so much for it. Especially for the socks, dryers have a way of eating them. The conference talks were also much appreciated, and the music has made me the envy of the entire zone. So thank you very much.

Also lest anyone think that I am getting too spoiled here in orange county, I come bearing bad news that our car has been taken away from us for the weekends. Which means, I can actually start working off all of the three course dinners we get fed here on a regular basis. Sacrifice brings forth the blessings of Heaven I guess. I also can not wait for conference either, especially for the priesthood session, I will be sure to e-mail my answers to the subsequent quiz the following p-day. It truly is an amazing event, one in which I feel I'm finally beginning to grasp the importance of. Think of it, living prophets and apostles to tell us what the Lord knows we need to do to be safe and happy in this life, and the world to come. What a wonderful blessing.

In terms of missionary work, things here in San Juan, have kind of slowed down. All of our investigators have seemed to just be too busy to worry about us and the things of eternal importance. The shining ray of hope though, is Andres. He came to church with us again this past Sunday, and we were able to teach him just an hour ago actually. It was an amazing lesson, one in which he expressed a desire to gain even more of the Lord's blessings. We taught him how the Lord blesses us whenever we keep the commandments and how that is really the key to being changed into a good man. We told him that the Lord is pleased with the effort that he has put forth and the progress he has made, but that he is always up there beckoning us to do even more. To find something else to be better examples of true disciples. The amazing part was when he described how much he felt the spirit, and how happy he was that he was able to meet us. He then went on to say, that he has been able to see the Lord's blessings in his life already, but that there is always room and reason to accept more. What an example. I think I learned more from the lesson than he did. Truly one of the miracles of missionary work, especially missionary work by the spirit.

I love all of you, and it has been great to hear that everyone is doing great and that Deborah still has a roof over her head. Thank y'all for all of the wonderful examples you are to me. Keep up the good work. This gospel is true, it really is the way. Our Heavenly Father lives and is mindful of us. Because of that fact he speaks to us, both through living prophets and apostles and other chosen servants and through the Holy Ghost. What a miracle it is that we can talk to God, through sincere prayer. What a privilege. I love this Gospel. Please pray for missionary opportunities for everyone.

Love Bevan

Sept. 13, 2011

Dear family,

This week has been another excellent one. We had to say goodbye to Elder Hopkins, which was sad, but every good greenie grows out of his trainer at some point. My new companion is Elder Kang, from Toronto Canada, by way of Sydney and south Korea. He is great and very experienced, he only has three months left, so I am excited to see what i can learn from his wisdom. This is the closest he has been to the beach on his mission so his reaction to the big blue thing to the west of us is pretty funny. We still live with the Zone leaders but one of them got transferred as well. Things change, I guess.

I first have to say that I am extremely impressed by the family's ability to blog so much all of a sudden. It is crazy. I also have to say Happy Birthday to anyone that I have forgotten to lately. I know that includes you Deborah, Chris and Annie. Missions are just one big blur so they all seem to run together. Well, Happy Birthday.

The big news this week was that we lost power Thursday evening. Apparently along with most of Arizona. It was pretty exciting times, although the looting was disappointingly limited, looks like we might be doing some good after all. I also wish that I could top Leah's story and tell you about what all the crazy Californians keep in their homes, but they never really let us in to find out. We have run into a couple of hoarders that keep some very interesting things, and I am pretty sure that we are on the verge of finding some underground pit bull fighting league. It truly is somewhat disgusting how many dogs there are in orange county.

Well as for actual missionary work. Things are looking up. We had another awesome lesson with the Duncan's this past week. I don't know if you remember but Brother Duncan is the very first person I invited to baptism. At first he was very cold, cordial but cold. But know he participates every now and then in the lessons and even admitted that he enjoyed them. It has been great to get to know them and I look forward to the day that he can enjoy baptism, and all the other blessings Heavenly Father wants to bless them with. We also were able to meet a couple of potentials so we look forward to meeting with them later this week.

Well I hope that y'all have a great week. Continue to work hard and doing the little things that keep our testimonies strong. And remember to always be valiant to our testimonies of Jesus Christ. He truly is the Son of God, and our Redeemer. Love you all.

Elder Bevan Blake

Sept. 6, 2011

Dear Family,

I am glad to hear that everyone is having a wonderful time. Also Happy Birthday Deborah. It sounds like you and your girls are just having a wonderful time in Indiana. We actually contacted a lady here who was moving to Indiana, we helped even helped her move a couple of things. Well the big news this week, is that my good companion Elder Hopkins is being transferred. Transfer meeting is later today, so I am not sure where he will be going or who will be coming here. It has been a great ride though, my only worry is that i peaked too early on my mission and it is going to be all downhill from here. We ended it off with an absolutely amazing sacrament meeting last weekend though. First of all we got Andres and his girlfriend Rosa to come, and then one of our members brought his good friend to church with him as well. It has been amazing to see how enthusiastic our ward has gotten about missionary work, just in the past couple of months. I am praying and hoping that we won't lose any momentum with transfers at all. The other big news is that we gave Phil's daughter a ctr ring, and both she and her parents absolutely loved it. They thought it was one of the most thoughtful things anyone has done.

That is really all the news with the investigators. Hopefully this next week will be better and the new blood will equal new enthusiasm. Oh the other news from here in California, is that is actually rained yesterday. It was the first time I've seen rain in a long time, or heard thunder. It was actually kind of refreshing. 300 days of sunshine can get sort of redundant.

Thank you for all of the blog posts. It is good to know that I haven't been completely forgotten here in the wilds of orange county. And, I'm pretty sure the one about Coach Johnson was simply a lie. It really is great to know that I have a big loving family waiting and praying for me all over the world. I'm really happy that everyone is doing so well. Keep up the good work. And it is good to know that J-Dawgs still exists.

The Gospel is true, and it is eternal. I absolutely love being a missionary, and can not wait to put my new companion to work. Thanks for all of the support and prayers. Thank you and love you all.

Elder Blake

Aug. 30. 2011

Dear Family,

Happy Anniversary, Mom and Dad. Congratulations! It is good to hear that everything at home is going well. Sorry this letter is a little bit late, but we were busy this morning attending a session at the Newport Beach temple. It was an amazing experience and one that was definitely needed to recharge the batteries. That is crazy to hear about everyone moving to new schools, I guess life moves on for everybody else while I'm gone. Hansen, my team sports teacher was the basketball coach. Coach Johnson was his name, I believe. It is also good to hear that the Rangers are still up on the Angels. I think the hardest part of my mission so far has been having charity for the fans of all the SoCal sports teams. It been pretty tough. On the bright side, I did get to meet a girl that played roller hockey with Bobby Ryan. (Warning: That experience will be best enjoyed by those with an element of National Hockey League knowledge.)

Well onto the serious news, this week has been great. It has been a great week, to see the ward start to get excited about missionary work. They are reaching out to their friends, giving them Book of Mormons, and even inviting them to be taught by us. Unfortunately I am beginning to believe that no one in our ward has friends who live within the ward boundaries. Oh well, we all play for the same team. Phil continues to be great. He is now just weeks away from moving in, and continues to ask us about the church, and what it is like being a missionary. We told him yesterday, that one of us is probably leaving soon, (transfers are next week) and he started tearing up. It was a good testament, that it really is impossible to not love someone whom you serve unselfishly. I also told him about your 30th anniversary this past week, and he asked me what your secret was. I told him it was to have perfect kids like me, but I think he would be interested in hearing the real answer, I think I would too.

We also were able to teach Andres, this week. It was an amazing experience, and he even bore his testimony of the Book of Mormon. We just knew it was going to be a good lesson, when we walked in and the pass along card we gave him was displayed proudly above the tv. Prayers for him would be appreciated though, because he and his family are going through a pretty rough time financially.

We also met with Peter again this week. Apparently he has a member friend that he works with, whom told him about all of the commandments and the blessings that come from it. So Peter is in the midst of trying to quit coffee, and getting Sundays off of work. His faith is amazing, and his willingness to change has to be the best thing in the world to see.

This week, I was reminded of how much of a joy it is to serve others, and help them come closer to the Savior. It has been just a great reminder of what is really important in life. I have also realized the truth of the scripture in D&C 18. "How great the joy of one soul that repents", or whatever it is. (I obviously am still a greenie, If i can't quote all of Doctrine and Covenants). It is true though, the great joy of missionary work is seeing and helping people change their lives for the better, by bringing their wills in accordance, to our all powerful and loving Heavenly Father. The baptisms are just the cherry on top. I love being a missionary, and serving others. This church is true, and Jesus Christ is the Saviour of the world. Hope everyone has an amazing week. Love you all.

Elder Blake

PS: Tell Sister Sedgwick if you see her that Sister Gonzales says hi, and is doing great.

Aug. 23, 2011

Hello Family,

I am doing absolutely wonderful today. Most likely because yesterday was my first Zone Conference and Elder Gibbons of the Seventy came to visit the mission. It was an amazing event, that was filled with the spirit. Turns out that he is from Richardson, and plans on moving back after he is released. I told Sister Gibbons that we would have to hang out. P-Days have been pretty interesting so far on the mission. We haven't been able to check out the mission, though some random guy off the street gave us two free tickets so I imagine we will go and see it at some point. Today though we have a district activity at the church which should be pretty fun. I have also lost count of the number of times we have been invited to go surfing.

Things at home sound like they are finally going to settle down. I tell you what one of the things Ive learned to appreciate as a missionary is people on regular schedules that include lots of free time spent at home. Pretty much unheard of here in orange county. Tell Josie congratulations, along with Ethan. Also tell Eduardo, that he is amazing, and will be the best missionary in the world. He should come to Carlsbad, so I can train him.

Things here in San Juan Capistrano, are pretty dang rad. Which by the way we met a guy with two boys named Rad and Cruze. Pretty funny. But seriously, the work continues to go forward, especially as we are getting the ward members here more excited about missionary work. It is awesome we are having dinner tonight with a family who has invited one of their friends to come and take the lessons. We are very excited. We also said hi to a guy across the street. He looked at us and then said that he wanted to talk to us but didn't have time. After a long and confusing series of events, we finally have an appointment with him this Thursday. Oh his name it Peter, for those wondering. We continue to work with all of our other investigators and are hoping that some will have a baptismal date soon.

The gospel is true, and because of that nothing else matters. I continue to be humbled by the simple faith of the people in the church here. It is amazing that despite sickness, setbacks, financial troubles or whatever it may be some people here continue to have the faith to say, The gospel is true, and because of that nothing else matters. It has made me wonder how we can help increase the faith of the Saviour in those that we are teaching. It is a wonderful opportunity to be angels helping those along the path to true discipleship. To pick them up and encourage them whenever they fall, and then to see the joy of renewed righteous living. I only wish I were better at it. The Church is true, and Jesus is the Christ. Joseph Smith was a prophet of God, and The Book of Mormon is true. It is a privilege to stand up for those eternally important truths. I love you all, and hope that you continue to have a great week.

Elder Blake

P.S. It is a shame that Leah doesn't get rangers updates. I get them all the time from angry Angels fans.

Aug. 16, 2011

Hello Family,

It has been quite the week, here in wonderfully temperate San Juan Capistrano. I am sorry to hear that you didn't break the record, I was cheering for you guys. Oh well. This last week was one of the harder weeks that we had on our mission. First a lot of our investigators went out of town, and the appointments that we did have all of them but one cancelled. Just a little bit discouraging. But not to worry, because yesterday made up for it all. First we went over to help Phil out on his house again. Which just as a side note, in the time that it's taken y'all to finish the living room ceiling we have been able to completely gut this house down to the studs, and then build it back up, including wiring, insulation, and we are about half way through the dry-wall. Helping him out has definitely been the best experience so far on my mission. Even better though than helping him out and learning so much has been the opportunity to teach him. He is even insisting that we take a picture of the three of us, so that he can hang it up in his home. he has started reading the Book of Mormon through and has committed to come to church once he gets moved in. He is so awesome and we feel pretty confident that he is going to get baptized. He has even said that he is coming up to byu with me after my mission to go to a byu football game. So yesterday while we were over there helping him, he asked us if it would be appropriate for us to pray over his home, once they get moved in. We told him that we would be honored if we could do that. He then said that he wouldn't let any other religious figure touch his home but us. That was one of the coolest things that we've heard.

We then went over to a lesson, with a new investigator named Andres. We then proceeded to have one of the coolest lessons ever. One of the first things that he told us, was that he felt like God had led us to him, and that he wants to change to be a better example to his family. Turns out that he had taken the lessons in North Carolina with his cousin, who eventually got baptized. He said he was really close to being baptized but then he had to move out here to California. Where about a week ago he met both us, and the Spanish elders in the same day. We talked to him about the gift of the holy Ghost and how that will help him to become the father and example he wants to be. He said that is exactly what he wants. We invited him to baptized and he accepted, we are working with him to set a firm date, but he will get there. It was definitely a tender mercy from the lord that we found him. And strengthened my testimony that the Lord knows best whom he is preparing and will make that we will find them. It also strengthened my testimony that the Lord not only prepared his children to hear the wonderful message of the Restoration, but he also prepares his children to teach it. I am so thankful for the gospel, and a loving Heavenly Father who knows his children and knows this work. It is true, all of it. And nothing is going to stop it. Love you all and hope that you have a great week.

Elder Blake