May 16

Ok so I really don't have much time today, but thanks for all the really fantastic emails everyone!!! Ok so here are the highlights from the week:

1) David accepted a baptismal date for the 22 May... and then a few days later got all wishy washy again. So we'll see.

2) Melissa's dad doesn't want her to be baptized on the 22... so we're working on that one too. Just keep them both in your prayers, please!

3) We painted a whole house in about 5 hours. I love service!

4) We went to a Swap Meet (Mexican style) and a Mexican bakery in the San Fernando Valley on Saturday. Afterwards we went to the LA Temple with our district. SO SO SO GREAT to be back there again!! The Temple was incredible and a renewed eternal perspective was exactly what I needed to come back and have another exhausting lesson with David that night! haha The grounds were gorgeous. I took a picture by where the mission home used to be and where I have so many great memories with Tim & Jan... I met an Elder Nelson (blonde, curly hair if that rings a bell)who was one of their missionaries... he says Hi to you both!! :)

5) Yesterday I ate some interesting things... menudo (cow's stomach), pig feet, and pork rind (fresh pig skin). Oh yeah, and cactus... but that was normal compared to everything else! haha... Yeah... the pig foot was the worst. It tasted like, well, terrible. But it was the texture that really got me... like meat jello... it jiggled. haha SICK. Anyway, I survived. And I'm sending you pictures to prove it! haha

6) Had interviews with President Martin this week. He pretty much talked all 10 minutes of it, so it was good. He told me he REALLY needs me to learn Spanish as quickly as possible... because well, he's not getting any Spanish sisters in for a long while so he's going to have to use me. Like REALLY use me sooner than he would otherwise. So I could REALLY use all your prayers! haha... No pressure or anything...

This week we again saw lots of tender mercies. We have two new investigators, and it turns out they just HAPPEN to be sisters-in law. COINCIDENCE? I THINK NOT!!! And a man, Meliton, that we had dropped a few weeks ago because he kept standing us up and not returning our phone calls... well, my companion literally RAN into him one morning and he asked where we've been... he wants us to come back... So we had a lesson with him that night. He likes the Book of Mormon but doesn't want it to be true so he's afraid to pray about it. TUrns out though, he LOVES THE OLD TESTAMENT. Guess what?! SO DO I!!!! I was SO excited. I asked him what his favorite story was... turns out it's Joseph in Egypt. So what did I do? I invited him to read what Joseph of Egypt had to say about Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon in 2 Nephi 3... He was stoked to read it. If there's anyone I can relate to, it's someone that LOVES the Bible. :) If only I understand more than 70% of what he was saying... haha Shoot. Well one day! :) But the most important thing is that I keep following the promptings of the Spirit and acting on them to the best of my ability.

Well, I gotta go! But I love you all so very much! Have a great week!

Love,

Hermana Blackburn

P.S. Tiffinie, Mark Gantt was in my MTC district! Tell Tayt that for me please!

P.P.S. Tanner, are your papers in yet?! You only have 6 more days until 22 May! haha ;)

May 9

So first of all, it was SOOOOOOOO wonderful to talk to my wonderful family last night!! Thanks for the laughs and all the encouragement. Mom, I'm still repenting for that crack I made about dad. ;) haha But I really do love you all and I'm so grateful for all your prayers! I still need them!!!

So I promised that I would write in my weekly update about some of the miracles and tender mercies that I've experienced this last week, because it felt like there were SO MANY!!! So here are just a couple of highlights:

Remember Melissa, the 11 year old we're teaching? Well she is just so fantastic! She is getting baptized 22 May, and she is SO excited! I love her like my own little sister. Well we taught her on Friday night, and when she let us in, her dog (a chiuahua OF COURSE haha) Blackie got out. He normally comes back within a couple hours, but he never did. So we got a text from her Saturday morning saying that he never came home and asked if we could come help her look for him. So we started off with a prayer, and then wandered around pretty much aimlessly for the next 30 minutes until she said we should just go back to her house because we weren't going to find him. Back at her house we shared Alma 32:21-22 about what it means to have faith, and how God is MERCIFUL to everyone that believes on His word. I told her that God's word was that He would answer our prayers, if it be His will, but it would be in His time and in His way. We told her to keep praying and we'd do the same. We prayed with her again before we left, and I was 100% confident that God was trying to teach this little girl about Faith. So that's what I told her. And I found myself promising her that if she would have faith and pray, that God would help her get Blackie back. I walked out of there thinking to myself, "WHAT HAVE I DONE?! I CAN'T PROMISE HER THAT!!" haha So Before I started to panic, I just remembered that if the Spirit was telling me to promise her that, then I could show some faith too. Well, On our way back home, we hear some dog barking, so I started following the noise and calling Blackie's name. A woman was getting out of her car and asked us if we had lost a dog. We said that we had and it was a little black chiuahua. She said, "I have him! I was just coming to report that I'd found him!" NO WAY. God is SO COOL. So we walk back to her apartment with her while she tells us how her son found him the night before while walking their dogs and thought he was a stray because he didn't have a collar on. And then she says, "By the way, I'm a member [of the church]!" WHAT?! ARE YOU KIDDING ME?! Seriously. God is SO SO SO GREAT sometimes. Not only does He work miracles, but He does it in such a way to teach us lessons and build our faith. I've never seen a little girl so grateful to God for anything as when we gave her Blackie. I made her promise that she'd go home and kneel down and pray to thank God for this miracle in her life. And now she really does know that Heavenly Father answers our prayers. Seriously, it was so wonderful!

Another miracle, well I don't have much time left to go into too much detail. But we found this Honduran woman, Maria, digging through the dumpster looking for things she could recycle--that's how a lot of people earn money here. We miraculously found a bottle to give her, and so we were able to start talking to her really easily. Turns out her husband's coworker had just told him about the Book of Mormon a couple days ago. Coincidence? I think not! God really wants to bless this family's life with the gospel and He's hitting them with it on all sides! :) That's just how merciful God is to us. I love it! Anyway, turns out her son was murdered in Honduras a few years ago... when Ryland says it's dangerous there, he's not kidding! So we start telling her about how we know where her son is right now and what he's doing--learning about the same things that we'd like to teach her about! So we ask if we can come back and teach her about how her family can be together forever, and she gladly accepted. Before we left, the Spirit prompted me so strongly to sing her a hymn. By the dumptser. In the parking lot. But hey, who am I to go against the Spirit? haha So I pulled out my hymn book and said a quick prayer to know what to sing her. The Spirit very clearly told me "Nearer My God To Thee." So I open it up, show my companion, ask the woman if we could sing with her, and we just start singing to her right then and there. And you know what? The Spirit was so very powerful. When we were done, we all had tears streaming down our faces because the love of God for that woman was so palpable through the Spirit. I only understood about 40% of what she said, but in that moment, singing to her, our spirits communicated and I really could feel the overwhelming love of God for Maria. Incredible.

Don't worry. We had a lesson with her on Saturday and it was just as amazing. She is such an incredible woman and I pray that God will continue to touch her heart through the Holy Ghost. Because God is trying to show her His mercy through Hermana Kiewra and I. In fact, He's trying to extend His arm of mercy to ALL of His children in our area through us. It's so sad to see people rejecting that mercy so much. But when they accept it and welcome it into their lives and do the things and make the changes necessary to feel it more, it's an incredible experience!

Ok so those are just a couple highlights from this last week. But there have been so very many tender mercies because God really is directing His work here on the earth. He really does invite ALL of His children to come to Him through His Son Jesus Christ. But in order to fully come, we have to do 5 simple things: 1) Faith 2) Repent 3) Baptism by immersion by someone authorized by God 4) Receive the Gift of the Holy Ghost, which is only one of the greatest gifts God can give us--a member of the Godhead to ALWAYS be with me?! YES PLEASE!!!! And 5) Endure to the End (Happily!) by continuining to follow Christ in our daily actions.

For everything we all go through in our lives, these 5 things really are very simple. It's hard for me to learn just how many of God's children don't want to hear, don't want to know, don't want to do these 5 simple things because of one excuse or another. That's why Melissa is such a bright spot in my day when we teach her. Because she doesn't care that it will be hard to have to be the example to her family. She doesn't care what people might think of her for making good choices. She only cares about what God thinks and what He wants for her. And she's humble enough to ask God really and truly to know for herself what He would have her do. And she's also humble enough to accept that answer and act on it. I hope I can always have the faith of a child like Melissa. Because, really, in the end, what God thinks of us and what He would have us do is the only opinion that really matters. So I encourage you all to think of how YOU can try and cultivate this child-like faith in our Heavenly Father.

I love you all!! Look for a miracle today. I promise if you look, you'll find one. I do EVERY TIME. God is always there for us!

Love,

Hermana Blackburn

Week 10

Well, I really don't have much time to write, but I obviously had to say SOMETHING, right? :)

1. My companion is still awesome.
2. Our area... well, we have lots of work to do. :)
3. My Spanish... starting tomorrow I'm going to go on an English fast except for when we teach youth in English. Hopefully that will help. It's just really hard to improve your Spanish when you're immersed in English. So keep those prayers coming! :)
4. Our investigators. We had 4 of them at church yesterday!!! Such a great day!! Melissa is still incredible. And still planning on getting baptized May 22. David is still good... still progressing, but he rejected the invitation to be baptized on May 22... he doesn't want to put a date to work towards. But he does want to be baptized. Will you all just pray that his heart will be touched with the urgency of baptism? It's not the end goal... just the first step! But Hna. Kiewra and I both left our lesson on Thursday with this overwhelming comfort from the Spirit that we literally have done everything we can to do our part for David, and now it's up to him. But here's the great thing... the Spirit taught us both that it is now His job to work with David. When we invited David last week to live the word of wisdom and to not drink coffee for a week, he said he wouldn't promise that. Then we said 3 days. Then we said one day. He said, "I'll try." That's as far as he would commit. haha But guess what? Yeah... he hasn't drunk coffee in over a week! So after we left on Thursday the Spirit just reassured us both that now that we got that date stuck in his head, the Spirit could work on him. So just keep him in your prayers! The Lopez family is receiving some blessings... after two years of being unemployed, RIgo has finally had some construction jobs the last couple weeks. So great!! However, that does mean that we only have been able to teach them once this last week. But Rigo and Balbina both came to church on Sunday, so that's awesome! Pray for them... specifically that Balbina will feel the desire to get married ASAP. Cuz that is the only thing holding them back right now.
5. MOM!!!! YOUR PACKAGES WERE AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!! Thanks you so so so so so so much!!! They made my whole week. And my roommate is obsessed with the water bottle. She presses it every time she walks by my desk so I constantly hear hoops & yoyo. I love it! haha And Aunt Jan & Uncle Tim, thanks so much for your letter!! So fun to hear from you again!! I'm SO glad that Clay is home safe and sound! Sounds like he got back just in time! Hope things start to look up for them and that they'll be able to find a house in FL quickly! And yes, I can email all family and friends, so whatever you decide. I love your letters, but I love emails, too. :)
6. I get to call home on Sunday. I don't know exactly when I'll be calling, because I can't really call from our apartment. We don't get a signal on our phone very often. haha Lame. So it will be between 4-7 my time... which I guess is between 7-10 your time right? PM of course. Sorry I can't be more specific than that. We have a lunch appointment that is way far away, so I don't really know how long it will take for us to get home... But Erika, I'm going to try and call you for a few minutes, too. So don't leave your phone from 4-7pm PT on Sunday. Capiche? Ok good!
7. Happy Belated birthday to Anna!! Look for something in the mail. I didn't forget you, I promise!!! Loves
8. Logan and Liz, I can't to find out if you're having a boy or a girl!! I think it's a girl though. ;) And 2 pounds? Seriously... that's ridiculous.
9. Honduran food makes me really really sick. I can' even imagine how Ryland has survived the last two years! haha Oh yeah, and I can't understand a single word that comes out of Hondurans' mouths, either. Stellar. I love that feeling. :) haha
10. Eryn Sinclair, I can't wait to hear all about your new trainer-life! WRITE ME!!!


Ok really, the most important thing I have to say is that the Church is still true. I still love the Lord. And I love you all so very much. You're all in my prayers!

Loves loves loves
Hermana Blackburn

Week 9

Ok, so I know that you all have been anxiously awaiting to hear about my transfer IN THE FIELD!!! Well the long awaited hour has come!! AAAHHHHH!!!!!!!!!! I LLLLLLLLOOOOOOOOOOOOVVVVVVVVVV

VEEEEEEEEE it here!!!!!!!

Fer rills.

1) I'm serving in the Santa Clarita 1st Ward, which is the Spanish ward that covers the entire Santa Clarita Valley... big area. My companion and I are one of four missionary companionships that serve in our ward, and we still have huge areas. Good news? Plenty of work to do! So my area is called Canyon Country East, just for your future reference. :) Oh, and did I mention that we are "whitewashing the area" together? Which means that we are both brand new to the area and pretty much have to start all over on our own. It's awesome. It is GORGEOUS HERE!!!! Seriously... I love it. It has mountains like Utah, but it is green like Indiana. And there are tropical flowers everywhere, like Hawaii. Think Garden of Eden mixed with Sodom and Gomorrah... that pretty much sums up where I live. haha I'm so excited to be here, though!

Oh, here is my new address:
27310 N. Sara St. Apt. 103
Canyon Country, CA 91387

Use it!!!

2) My trainer's name is Hermana Kiewra, as in (Key-ra). She's from Syracuse, New York. She is truly fantastic!! I love her so much!! She goes home June 1, so I only get this transfer with her, which is really sad, but I'm super excited that I at least have the opportunity to learn from her for that long. Her Spanish is incredible, which is good... REALLY GOOD. haha We live with two other Hermanas that also serve in our ward--Hermanas Stander (from Ogden) and Walton (from American Fork). They're great too. Last night for Easter we decorated eggs with stickers and crayons, and then had an egg crashing contest. haha... I lost. haha But we all really enjoy each other!

3) My district is the eight of us missionaries that cover the Santa Clarita 1st ward--four sisters and 4 elders. Our district leader is E. Camacho, from Mexico. His companion is E. Rowley, from Utah I think. Then E. Pastor is from Spain, and his companion is E. 'Otuafi, who is Tongan, but from Hawaii... I know what you're all thinking. That he probably knows Hna. Ponaveitongo... but he doesn't. Tragic, huh? Anyway, I'm still stoked that I get to practice my Tongan eyebrow gestures that I've been perfecting over the last 10 weeks in the MTC! haha My Zone is the Valencia stake, and we are the only Spanish speaking district.

4) The adjustment: it's going well! To be honest, the hardest part has been adjusting to the very different culture of the missionaries here than in the MTC or in Tim & Jan's mission, or even in Indiana. I've had obedience to 100% of the rules drilled in to my head for so long, that I guess I kind of forgot that you can choose not to be obedient. haha Does that sound weird? This mission is one that just is a bit lax I guess. And I'm certainly not here to judge anyone... it has just been a bit of a culture shock coming right out of the MTC if you know what I mean? But just because no one else is 100% obedient doesn't mean that I can't reap the blessings of being so. So don't worry, I'm not going to go AWOL on you! ;) haha

5) The language: Well... hahahahahaha. I'm not COMPLETELY lost. Most of the time. ;) But I also only know half of what's going on normally. It'll get there. I speak as much as I can, but I realize more and more every day what a long long road I have ahead before I'll be able to really communicate everything I know and feel. Baby steps though. I just have to keep reminding myself that. In reality, I can now understand about 70%ish of what people say... unfortunately sometimes it's that 30% that is lost in translation which contains the really crucial words that give me understanding to the whole story. hahaha Aye well. Just keep praying for me. :)

6) The people: Amazing. I love them all. They are so great. Really. We are teaching several people, and I wanted to tell you a bit about each of them.

David Martinez, we taught our first night here. We taught him again on Saturday about the Gospel of Jesus Christ. He has a desire to get baptized but doesn't feel quite ready yet to accept a date. And we're working with him to give up coffee, which I think is actually is main concern about getting baptized. So pray for him. He can do it! He's awesome, and is truly being prepared by the Lord to accept the truth in his life. He just needs the faith to trust the Lord and reap the blessings of doing so!

Melissa is 11. Her mom is an inactive member, and her dad is Catholic. Melissa told us when we met her that she has not had a good life, wants a better one, and has already decided that the way to do that is to follow Jesus Christ. Can you say PREPARED or what?! Seriously. We invited her to be baptized on May 8, and she accepted, so hopefully we can help her prepare to start following Christ.

The Lopez Family. Rigo and Balbina aren't married, which is actually the main obstacle right now. Rigo is a straight up former thug from Mexico. (To everyone from the MTC, think WILLIAM.) But he has completely changed his life around. He loves the gospel, he loves church. He wants to be baptized. He is ready to be baptized. We just have to help them get married first. They have 3 children: Alma (11), Rigo (9), and Robert (5). Robert is autistic, which has been very trying on the family, and has been difficult for them to come to church of because someone always has to sit outside with him. Balbina originally liked the church, and then she hated the church. She wanted to get married, and then her family made a big stink about wanting a big party, which they can't afford... so then she didn't want to get married. So we are hoping that with prayers and fasting her heart will soften and she'll let us talk to her about it. They all came to church yesterday, so that was a step in the right direction! Pray for them. :)

Meliton Alvarez. He has a 3 yr old son from his first wife, and he shares custody of him. He is remarried to a woman who only speaks English, so hopefully we'll get to meet her soon. We had an awesome lesson with him on Friday night about the Book of Mormon. He has been taught before, but has struggled being able to accept the Book of Mormon as the word of God. I didn't say a whole lot during most of the lesson, but when I did finally say something, it was by the Spirit. It was powerful, and I KNOW he felt that even in my terrible Spanish that I just KNOW that the Book of Mormon is true and that all I want for him is to know for himself. It was then that his heart opened and softened and he accepted the invitation to pray sincerely about it. So pray for him to know. He is such a good man and is trying so hard to be a good father. I read 2 Ne. 25:26 to him and explained that that is exactly WHY the Book of Mormon was written and preserved for us in this day.

There are a few others that we've taught or will teach later this week, but I'm out of time. SO... I hope this will satisfy your curiosity for now!

Happy Easter to you all! I had the awesome opportunity to bear my testimony yesterday in church. In Spanish. I shared with them Omni 1:26, which has become one of my favorite verses in the mission, because it pretty much sums up exactly why I am here running around all day every day trying to invite people to come closer to Christ. Because Christ IS the WAY, the TRUTH, and the LIFE. And This Gospel which was restored by Joseph Smith and is contained in both the Bible and the Book of Mormon is the ONLY way in which we can return to live with our Heavenly Father, Jesus Christ, and to live with our families for eternity! I'm so grateful that Jesus Christ lives. The truth that Jesus Christ really was victorious over sin and death, and that He really was resurrected so that we could do so one day is one of the cornerstones of my faith and testimony in Him. I hope that you were all able to remember that and also that you'll continue to remember that!

I love you all!!

Hermana Blackburn

Pictures from the MTC

Hermana Blackburn




A trip to the BYU Health Center for shots (and Hermana Blackburn's first chance to speak Spanish outside the MTC)

Hermana Blackburn and her companions

Hermana Blackburn and Sister Willis (Sister Willis is from Blackburn England and knew Elder Blackburn while he was serving there! SO COOL!)

Hermana Blackburn and her District

Week 8

Ok... so this is my LAST email I get to send you from the MTC!!!!!!!!!!!! AAAAHHHHHHH!!!!! I head to California on Tuesday, 19 April! This last week has been incredible so far, and it's not even over. It's been a crazy schedule since all of our Elders had to take trips to Seattle to get their visas for Mexico. AND we've had lots of different meetings in preparation for our departure. Oh, yeah, and we got a new teacher this week, Hermano Cragun. We all miss Hno. Gillis, but Hno. Cragun is just as awesome, so we can't complain!

So have I told you about how my district is so fantastic?! Cuz they are! They make me feel right at home... I still my my brothers, but they definitely take the sting away! They may or may not call me Hermama Blackburn sometimes... hmmm... and there is this running joke about the generation gap between us... which actually doesn't exist, but it's still so hilarious! But it gives them a creative outlet that they don't do anything stupid with, AND it makes me feel right at home. It's a win-win. I wouldn't let them say anything, even in jest, if I didn't already have the confidence that they respect me as a woman and as a fellow servant of God... but they do. So I told them to not apologize and to bring it on. Anyway... they've had some awesome comments this week, and we've pretty much laughed our way through our stress... SO GREAT. Laughter really is the best medicine!!

Our devotional this week was incredible. Elder and Sister Ronald A. Rasband of the presidency of the Seventy... he gave us a formula on how to always keep the companionship of the Holy Ghost with us... are you sensing a theme here at the MTC? Yeah... that's because it is KEY AND CORE to EVERYTHING we do. This really has NOTHING to do with me. This is GOD'S work!!! And thank goodness it it, because otherwise all 52,250 some missionaries world-wide would FAIL. MISERABLY. Anyway, the formula is this:
1) Bridle all your passions.
to bridle our passions is to learn to yield to God, to go where He directs, and to not give way to the natural man which is in each of us.
We are all asked to give up things that we love, our passions. Leave them behind while you are a missionary.
2) Let Virtue Garnish your thoughts unceasingly. (D&C 121:45)
Garnish: to make beautiful with an adornment...
Article of Faith 13
Alma 31:5
Quote by President Hinckley: "We cannot lift others to higher ground if we are not there ourselves!"
3) We must ask for the Spirit by the prayer of faith!
D&C 63:64
ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS ask for the power of the Spirit

Ok that's a pretty good summary of that devotional. There is one other thing I wanted to share with you though mom. I know you and Bob have been thinking about going on a mission. DO IT. From the same experience that Elder Rasband shared in Priesthood session a couple general conferences ago, it was asked to President Eyring if he had time to assign some senior couples to missions. He asked, " How may do we need to assign?" --"30."-- "How many do we need?" --"300."-- Seriously. You are so needed. And so valued. GO!!!! :)

Oh yeah, and mom, thanks for passing that information on about all of our loved ones. All their names have been added to the prayer roll in the Temple.

Erika, thanks for all those notes from your students!!! It made me SO HAPPY!!!

Tanner, ARE YOUR PAPERS IN YET?!?!?! WRITE ME!!!!

LOGAN AND LIZ... BOY OR GIRL?!?!?!


Love you all so very very much!!!The Church is so very very true! God is so very good and merciful to all of His children!!!

Hermana Blackburn

Week 7

WOW!!! WHERE DO I EVEN BEGIN?!?!

General Conference: AMAZING. Every single question or concern I wrote down before the first session began was answered either directly by a speaker OR by the Spirit while someone was talking. Either way, I learned so very much. Do any of us realize how incredible it is to HEAR A LIVING PROPHET SPEAK?!?! God is SO GOOD to us!! I hope that any of you who missed any sliver of conference will take the opportunity to go back and watch what you missed online at www.lds.org and also to study the Ensign when you get it next month! If you aren't currently receiving the Ensign, lucky for you it's online, too!! Seriously, what a miraculous blessing in our lives to hear the words of God from living prophets and apostles, just as in times of old! There is a talk by Elder Holland from a few years ago, where he testifies that God's words have not ceased. I want to add my testimony to his... A few things that I feel like I should point out specifically and invite my dear family and anyone else who reads this to try:

Elder L. Tom Perry, living Apostle of Jesus Christ: Keep the Sabbath Day holy. I invite you all to evaluate how you are doing in this... I want you to try to be exactly obedient in keeping the Sabbath Day holy for ONE MONTH. That means FOUR CONSECUTIVE SUNDAYS... don't do the things that you do during the rest of the week. Find activities to do with your family that will invite the Spirit into your home. Starting this next Sunday, and for the three Sundays following. I invite you, as does an Apostle of the Lord, to TRY THE WORD OF GOD. See if you aren't blessed for your obedience. I dare you! ;) Because I can promise you that you will be so very blessed!! Elder Perry also encouraged us to study the New Testament where we can read about the life of Jesus Christ during His mortal ministry. I have started this with my companions. Every morning before our personal study, we have a mini-devotional where we will discuss one story from the NT and how it applies to us and our investigators. We have been SO blessed from this. Just do it!! It's AWESOME!!! :)

Elder Walter F. Gonzalez: Followers of Jesus Christ are 1) those that Love the Lord, and 2) MAKE AND KEEP sacred covenants with Him. Namely, Baptism, receiving the Gift of the Holy Ghost, and other sacred covenants that we make within the Temple. And we do make all these covenants with him by someone holding the proper priesthood authority of God, which was restored to the earth in 1829 to the Prophet Joseph Smith. If we make covenants with God in ANY other way, they ARE NOT valid. They don't count, on earth OR in heaven. THIS is the way that God has established. This talk was incredible to me. I want every one of you to go back and read this talk carefully. So many gems of wisdom for each of us! I want all of my friends that I get to teach in California to be able to read this talk and truly FEEL for themselves the power of making and keeping your covenants with the Lord!! AHHH!!! SO AWESOME!!!!

Of course, our living prophet, Thomas S. Monson: I love HIM!!! I KNOW without a doubt in my mind that he is called of God to be the prophet on the earth at this time. For me. For you. For ALL OF US!!! How cool is that?!?! Do I sound stoked about this knowledge? CUZ I TOTALLY AM!!! Seriously, this is even GREATER THAN an ICE CREAM SUNDAE!!! And for a Blackburn, well that's REALLY GREAT!!!!! :) I loved his talk on Temples. Read it. Love it. Live it. Especially all of you in Indiana who are about to get you own temple. The more you share the good news of the gospel with your friends and family and anyone you meet, the more miracles God will bring about in getting us that temple in a timely manner. I promise you that. I feel that so very strongly from the Spirit, so as a servant of Jesus Christ, I PROMISE you this. OPEN YOUR MOUTHS!!! :)

Ok, well there isn't much time left, and there is still SO much that I learned about in General Conference. If you aren't a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, don't worry... these messages are for you just as much as they are for me! The prophet and apostles speak TO THE WORLD!!! :) Pretty darn cool, huh?!

Erika, to clarify for you... my companions and I are teaching people her at the MTC... they are roles played by Elders or teachers in our district and zone, but they are real people that each of them knows... So I have a REAL relationship with Mike, and David, and Brendon, and Angel, and Susannah... even though I also have a real relationship with Elder Beatty, Elder Christensen, Hno. Hill, Hno. Gillis, and Hna. Salisbury... does that clarify? They are really our progressing investigators though. And I think of them as REAL people... so I talk about them like they are real people. Because they are real to me! ;)

Ok, I love you all!!! Have a great week! Thanks so very much for all your letters and dearelders!!! I LOOOOVVVEEE them!!!! You are all in my prayers!!!

Con amor,
Hermana Dana Blackburn

P.S. I did sealings for a couple of our family names today in the temple. WOW. I can't even begin to describe how special that was. They were SO happy! A couple of them had waited for 400+ years to be sealed to them families for eternity. So full of the Spirit!!! So full of love, joy, and gratitude for such a merciful God to provide a way for ALL of His children to be happy and return to live with Him! The GOSPEL IS TRUE!!!! I LOOOOOOOOOOOOVVVVVVVVVVVVEEEEEEEEEE Being a missionary!!!!! Loves loves loves!!!