May 25, 2021

 Hello again everybody!

If I didn't have this weekly email to keep track of time, I would have no idea how much time had already passed. Quite a lot has happened this week, so let's just get right into it, shall we? 

So first up, on Tuesday night, we got a call from the Assistants, who informed us that we would be getting another companionship of Elders living with us. We exchanged some details about how many beds we had, how many bikes, etc., slashed our plans for the next day, and spent the better part of the night moving beds between rooms, and trying to fit all our stuff into the one room my companion and I share. Good times. The next day, we kind of just had to wait around for the entire morning, because the only word we got from the mission offices is that we would be getting the new Elders 'Some time before 2:00'. Very helpful of them. So we kind of just sat around outside doing personal and companion study until they finally arrived. With two extra beds in tow. Yeah, apparently that didn't get communicated well enough. So we had to drag both extra frames and mattresses over to the other Elders' apartment. And then go all the way back to our apartment to help everybody get settled in. So we did nothing important all day on Wednesday, which was kind of a test of patience.

Thursday, however, and the subsequent days, were fantastic. All of the patience, all of the phone calls that hung up on us, and all of the people that vanished without a trace (Or at least, we couldn't find a way to contact them), all of that effort finally bore fruit on Thursday, as well as on every day since then. And in classic fashion, it was in the way we least expected. Out of all of the calls we made, and all of the people we talked to, take a guess how many we ended up teaching? If you guessed Zero, you'd be right. And yet, starting on Thursday, and continuing until today, we had the windows of Heaven open above us, and Investigators rain from the sky. Almost literally. We must have gotten about seventeen references from the ward, from other missionaries, and even from other missions entirely. We even got a few that already had baptismal dates! It was a powerful lesson to me that we are blessed for our efforts, even if we don't understand how or when. So just keep working, even if you aren't seeing success! I promise you that if you will press on, no matter what, you will see your efforts rewarded. :)

So since I already snuck in a Spiritual thought, let's talk food, hmm? This week, I began experimenting with Horchata. And none of that cheap powder mix stuff. I'm talking about traditional, rice and cinnamon sticks, soaking overnight. And man, it tasted amazing. I've been messing around with the recipe to try to improve it, I'll let you know what I end up with. I also made an amazing beef stir fry over white rice. It was delicious. And the members have consistently been bringing absolutely spectacular food. Tortillas are a must. I think my favorite thing this week was probably Enchiladas Verdes. They were superb. 

Moving on from the food session, and since I've already given the spiritual thought, I thought I'd just list some of the other interesting happenings this week: I played the piano for Stake Conference, that was pretty fun. I played Hark all Ye Nations, aka La Luz de la Verdad, and some other missionaries in our area did the singing part. I'm glad piano is finally a useful skill, and I appreciate the opportunity to serve. I've also been playing a lot of chess with my companion. I'm rapidly improving; He's really good, but I've already beat him a few times. It's nice to have something to do to help us wind down in the evening. 

And last but not least, I just wanted to share another quick story about life in Mexico. So there we are, taking a quick walk over to the nearby tienda to buy a couple of snacks, when all of a sudden, a police car comes screeching out of nowhere, and stops in front of us. We kind of stop, and wait to see what happens. The officer rolls down the window, takes a look at us, sees our nametags, nods, and then speeds off in the other direction. Yep. No clue what that was about. And that's just kind of how life is here. :P 

I think that covers me. Until next week!

- Elder Blankenbiller

1. Our Zone at Stake Conference
2. Beef stir fry 
3. Zone party last P-day 
4. Playing piano for Stake Conference