December 28, 2021

 Hey everybody! 

Christmas has come and gone, and by the time you hear from me again, it'll be a new year. Pretty neat, huh? Anyway. Hope uou all had a fantastic Christmas - spent time with family, ate some good food, got to sleep in, all that good stuff. Christmas here was a bit crazy. Mexico likes to party, so we had plenty of conversations with drunk people. And the streets were empty all day on the 25th. Too much partying, I suppose.

The rest of the week... was more or less the same. Everybody had places to be, and things to do, other than listen to us, that is. :P So perhaps not the best week we've ever had. But hey, we'll give it another shot next week, and see what happens. 

So, since I've not much else to say, a Spiritual Thought. Christmas was last week, but New Year's is this week, so we'll go with that for our theme. And since the new year is all about new beginnings, that sounds like a good place to start. You know what one of my favorite things about the gospel is? New beginnings. We can have as many of them as we choose too. Every time we fall, we can pick ourselves back up, and try again. Every single time. And I'm indescribably grateful for it. So my advice? Use it as often as you need to. :)

Other than that, honestly, not too much to say about this week. So I guess I'll see you all next year! 

- Elder Blankenbiller

Photos: 

- Christmas card picture

- Sees Candies 😊

December 21, 2021

 Merry Christmas everyone! 

It's certainly a wonderful time of year, especially down here, apparently, where everyone has been partying nonstop since Sunday night. And since we live in a big apartment complex, there's always somebody blasting music, laughing, and having a good time. It's also the perfect time to be out on the streets, because so is everyone else. And wouldn't you know it, they're usually more than happy to have someone to talk to while they stand in long lines to make Christmas purchases. So that's been convenient, to say the least.

Other fun things, we had Zone Conferences this week, which were, of course, Christmas themed. We even got some presents from the mission president and his wife. We also bashed open some piñatas, which is, funnily enough, the first time I've done that here in Mexico. Go figure.

As far as the work is concerned, we keep doing our best, and that's about all we can do. The area I'm in now isn't exactly very big, so finding new people to teach who actually belong to us is kind of difficult. But we're working on it. :P

And yeah, Christmas is in like four days! Pretty neat. I, for one, am very excited. And I hope you all are too! I also hope you've all been enjoying Christmas traditions, seeing family, and for those of you fortunate enough to be on the list, a plate of my mom's Christmas baking. Mmm. I miss that stuff. But all that aside, happy holidays, and have a great week!

- Elder Blankenbiller 

Photos:

Ice slides and late night tacos 

December 14, 2021

Hello everybody! 

First, a moment to congratulate all of you who have stuck with me for this long. It's been quite a while now! Nearly ten months. Pretty cool stuff. Anyways. Back to me. ;)

This week... hasn't exactly been the greatest week I've had. Figuring out a new area is always an interesting experience. But this area has a few more challenges than other areas I've been in. It's pretty small, so it's kinda tricky to find people to teach who actually live here. We do have the airport, so that could be interesting, but again, those people most likely don't live here either. So we'll see how we manage that one. :P

In other news, my luck finally ran out, and I got sick. :/ Starting Sunday afternoon, I was just really nauseous, and had a headache, which quickly transformed into a fever, and had me throwing up every hour or so. Yesterday wasn't much better, and although I tried to keep working, it took a lot out of me. I'm feeling a bit better today, but not quite back at 100%, so we'll see how the rest of the day plays out.

Anyway, given my current situation, I figure it's an opportune time to share a spiritual thought about adversity. Because I mean, who doesn't have a little adversity to face every now and again? So. The most important thing to remember about our trials and struggles is that they have a purpose. They are there to help us grow. Like a tree that grows in a windy place, our trials help us put down deeper roots, and become stronger in our testimonies. But only if we let them! The choice is ours. :)

Alrighty, that's all from me. No pictures this week either, because... I don't know. I'm bad at taking pictures, okay? :P

- Elder Blankenbiller 

December 7, 2021

 Hello again everybody!

 

It's been a busy few days, with lots of chaos to keep things interesting. We were supposed to receive our transfers on Saturday night, but they didn't end up arriving until Sunday morning. And contrary to all expectations, both my companion and I got transferred, him to go be a Zone Leader somewhere else, and me to another area in the Zone, Arenal. So I had to pack everything up last minute, since I wasn't really expecting to go anywhere. But either way, I'm now in a new area, right underneath the airport. Technically, the entire airport is part of my area. Not sure if that will ever be useful though, it takes about 30-45 minutes to get around to where the terminals are. But hey, could be interesting.  

 

Also exciting, the Christmas devotional! Hopefully you all had the opportunity to watch it (if not, go do it. I'll wait. ;). It's always so great to hear the messages that they prepare. Especially for me, being rather far from home this Christmas season. So for those of you who are home this time of year, don't take it for granted! Spend more time with your family, and less time stressing about all the goings on in the holiday season. It's more fun that way. :) 

 

I've got no pictures, since they all got left on the other phone, but I'll do my best to take some for next week. Until then!

 

- Elder Blankenbiller