Well, CONGRATULATIONS on selling the house!!! I can't believe that I am officially going to be homeless... :/ haha But seriously, I'm so very grateful that our prayers have been answered and that Heavenly Father is pouring out His blessings upon you all!! Good luck on the move to St. George! I hope that Tanner, Logan, Liz, and Lilly all figure out what they are doing and can make their life changes with confidence! :)
Well, my dear companion is really sick, and was sick all last week. The problem with living in a tiny apartment with 7 people... if one person gets sick, you're all bound to get sick! Needless to say, we weren't able to leave very much... but we are making progress with Vladmir. He is reading the Book of Mormon like crazy, which is AWESOME! He still won't come to church... he wants some time... But we're hopeful that as he continues to prayerfully read the Book of Mormon, that his desires will begin to change. That is normally what happens as we read the Book of Mormon. It brings the Spirit into our lives faster and stronger than anything else can. And The Spirit helps us soften our hearts and change our desires. It is one of my favorite things to witness as a missionary. :) Speaking of the Book of Mormon, I hope you ALL are thoroughly studying the AWESOME issue of the Ensign this month, entirely on the Book of Mormon! What a FANTASTIC resource for all of us!
On another VERY exciting front, WE ARE MOVING!!!!!! Remember that tiny apartment I mentioned above??? The one we are sharing with the Nunez family... well we are FINALLY getting our own place. We are SO excited. I love the Nunez family, and they definitely helped me A TON last transfer. But it is time. There are 3 more people in the process of moving into the apartment, and no where for them to go. So they are just always sleeping on the couches. Pobrecitos. And we are constantly left to entertain their 4yr old granddaughter. So we're hoping that our new place will be a much more conducive place to feeling the Spirit and receiving the much needed revelation to guide and direct the work in this area. So we start moving in on Wednesday. Here is my new address:
14078 Astoria St. #204
Sylmar, CA 91342
We are also hoping that our new apartment will be COCKROACH-FREE. And up to earthquake code... haha. ;)
Well, because we spent so much time IN this week, I spent A LOT of time studying and receiving revelation. Some of the things we learned about from Zone Conference just kept playing over and over in my mind. And as Hna. Erickson and I discussed them, and studied more specific things, we received A LOT of revelation. Awesome!! Basically in a nut shell it led me to think what my missionary "covenant" is, and what the "ordinances" are that I am supposed to do to validate my covenant. (Elder Golden told us that ordinances validate covenants...) So I have lots of study notes from several days, but I won't bore you with those. But it just really led me to understand that just like any other ordinance we do in the church, that there are correct and approved manners to do things like studies, prayers, planning, and obeying missionary rules. And by doing these things, like ordinances, in the correct manner established by Heavenly Father, I validate the "covenant" for the rest of the day... Basically that meaning that I will do everything I can to teach by the Spirit every day, and in return God will lead me to His children who are ready to accept and receive the restored Gospel of Jesus Christ RIGHT NOW. Isn't that cool? Tanner LEARN THIS. To double our success as missionaries, we don't have to double our efforts. We just have to "sharpen our sickles" so to speak by doing the small and simple things every day. Pray. Study. Plan. Be obedient. And GOD WILL HELP EVERYTHING ELSE TURN OUT. I don't know why all this time I've been trying to complicate things. It really is THAT SIMPLE! And we can do the same thing as MEMBER MISSIONARIES, too! WHAT GREAT FORTUNE!!! :)
I got a phone call a couple days ago that made me SO happy!! You'll never believe it, because I almost didn't! But do any of you remember the Tovar family from Canyon COuntry? The ones that Hna. Kiewra and I found my FIRST day in the mission, and started visiting almost every day for 3 months? Well Leonor, and her two oldest daughters Carla and Maria got BAPTIZED YESTERDAY!!!!!!!! That is 3 out of the 8 people in their family! And the only other one older than 8 right now is Carlos, the father. I hope that he will start progressing now that Leonor has proved she is committed! :) I seriously am SO HAPPY for them!!! I wasn't able to go to the baptism, but the ordinance is still valid, even without me there! ;)
Well, I just want you all to know that I LOVE you and am so grateful for all of your love and support!! Happy Birthday to Aunt Jan, Angela, and Jack Tingey all on Saturday! I have the best birthday buddies EVER!! :) Well, keep expecting those miracles!! God IS SOOO good to us! :)
Love,
Hermana Blackburn
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