June 15, 2021

Hey there everyone! 

If you've been following along with your calendars at home, you already know that a week has gone by! And, of course, that means it's time for a missionary email! Since I've completely diverged from maintaining any kind of organization in my emails, let's start with the food, why not? On this weeks menu: Chicken sandwiches, Tortas, Carnitas, and more of my new favorite fruit, mangoes. Delicious. I've decided to buy a bunch of fruit and freeze it to make smoothies, because they don't have very good smoothies here. They normally just toss some powder into water and milk, and call it a day. Very disappointing. So that's my new mission in the food department.

As for the Spiritual department, things are going really well. We've currently got three families, the Pinzons, the Villanuevas, and the Britos. They're all super awesome, and we're planning on inviting them all to be baptized this week! So definitely wish us luck with that! I've also really been enjoying my study of the Bible. There's so much amazing historical context that adds a ton to the scriptures themselves. If you ever feel like studying it, I highly recommend using the Seminary and Institute manuals that are on the church's website to help you study. Obviously, the Book of Mormon is still the most important to be studying constantly, but it's been such a cool experience learning about the context behind a lot of the teachings and events. Like the Law of Moses, the Israelites, and all the prophecies of Christ that have been given since the beginning of the world. Super cool.

Other Spiritual things, we had a whole bunch of meetings this week, with a Zone Conference on Friday, a special fireside with Elder Pingree, the Area Seventy who's finishing his service here at the end of the month, and an awesome District Council yesterday with the Zone Leaders yesterday. Zone Conference was unsuprisingly much more interesting when you can understand what is being said. :P It was definitely much better than the last one, at any rate. We talked a lot about how we can better use the Book of Mormon in teaching, which is obviously crucial to our message, as it's really the thing that sets us apart from other religions. The fireside with Elder Pingree was similarly awesome, the message I took from it was that we need to dedicate ourselves to the work, and remember that we aren't here on our time, we're here on the Lord's. And finally, the District Council, where we talked more about the big picture ideas, like why we chose to serve, why we're still here, and what we want to become by the time we finish. It was really nice to take some time to step back, and remember why I'm here.

And that's gonna lead right into my Spiritual thought for you guys this week. Having a purpose is super important in all aspects of life. We need to have something to focus on and remember, something that motivates us, and keeps us going. Especially when things get hard, like on a mission, or when the world shuts down, times like those. All the feelings of being lost, alone, or wandering can all be made that much easier when we have a 'why' behind what we do. I've felt that especially during the hard days down here in Mexico. When I focus on why I'm here, everything is so much better than when I am only thinking about myself. So my challenge to you this week is to take some time and think about your own 'why'. Write it down, put it somewhere you'll see it often, and try to remember it when you're having a bad day.

And that's a wrap folks! I will see you all here again this time next week! 

- Elder Blankenbiller

Pictures

1: Chicken sandwiches

2: Special meeting with Elder Pingree

3: Tortas - Only $2.50!

4: The Louis Vuitton x Nike collab everyone's been waiting for

5: And some more off brand stuff for your entertainment

June 8, 2021

Hey everybody!

I know how much you all look forward to this part of the week, so rest assured, I'm here to entertain and enlighten, as per usual. But first, the all important question: what did I eat this week? First and foremost, it's lychee season here, and for those of you who don't know what those are, you're missing out. Imagine a very large, very flavorful grape hiding inside a tough skin. They're delicious, the season is very short, and I'm eating them every chance I get. Also on this week's menu: Steak omelettes (just when you thought they couldn't get any better), homemade enchiladas verdes, a whole lot more horchata, and to top it all off, a member brought us some ice cream one day when it was really hot. If that doesn't prove that the people down here are amazing, I don't know what will. 

Speaking of amazing people, we're teaching a couple of families at the moment, one of three girls, Gabriela, Regina, and Valentina Pinzon, and another of Abigail and her three daughters, and let me tell you, it has been one of the best teaching experiences I've had thus far. They're all so eager to learn, and there's something so powerful and special about seeing families grow closer together as they read the scriptures, pray together, and feel the Spirit in their own homes. There's really nothing quite like it. I would definitely recommend the experience to anyone who's interested in that sort of thing. :) Coming up this week, we're hoping to take two of the families on tours of the temple Visitors Center, and invite them to be baptized! I'll let you know how that goes, but in the meantime, any prayers you can send our way are greatly appreciated! There are always a lot of challenging things in life, and that's especially true when we're trying to follow the Lord's commandments. But even though it's hard, I know that they, and we, can all be blessed for our efforts as we turn our hearts to Him who is mighty to save. So keep a positive attitude, and keep on keeping on!  

In other news this week, we're finally working our way into the rainy season, which of course means that we often end up drenched by the time we get home, as seen below. So that's added a bit of fun to the day, trying to dash home as fast as possible as soon as the rain lessens slightly. The puddles stay around forever, though. The drainage systems aren't the best here, so the water tends to just sit wherever the lowest point is, and that's often just in the middle of the street somewhere. Across from our church building, actually, there's a big road that has had absolutely terrible traffic for the last week or so, because there's sort of a pond that has formed for a few hundred feet. That slows the flow of traffic right down, but it's kind of entertaining to see all the little cars trying to make their way through the flood. That's just Mexico, I guess.

And finally, a Spiritual Thought for you all, since you've been so patient. From the Old Testament again, because I think that's a rather untapped well of knowledge. Deuteronomy 16:11, 14-15. This chapter talks about all of the different feasts and holidays that the People of Israel were commanded to observe. The main purpose of these holidays was to help them to always remember the Lord, and to give thanks to Him. Actually, that was basically the purpose of all of the commandments given to the Israelites. But specifically in these verses, we are told specifically that we are to rejoice. Rejoice with our friends, rejoice with our families, and rejoice with all those that we know, because of how great the blessings of the Lord have been in our lives. So this week, I want to give you an excuse to throw a party! (Circumstances permitting, of course, beats me what the whole lockdown situation is like in the U.S. right now :P ) But seriously, get some friends together, have a dinner party, play games together, just enjoy being together as friends and family! After all, it's a commandment from God; life is meant to be enjoyed. :)

Anyway, I've no time for parties, so it's back to work for me, but I hope you all have a wonderful week, and I'll be here for the next one, don't you worry. 

- Elder Blankenbiller

Pictures:
1: Field trip to the mall

2: Lychees!

3: Elder Kreutz and I on exchanges, having just ridden through the worst part of the storm 

4: Steak omelettes, and fresh bread from the bakery

June 1, 2021

 Hi again!

(Insert comment about how fast time is going by here)

First and most importantly, we had an amazing baptism on Saturday; Hugo and Patricia are now members of the church, and we couldn't be happier for them! It was such a special experience, and you could just see the happiness radiating from them as they left the water. The Spirit was so powerful in that room. I can only imagine how they must have felt. It's something I think we tend to forget, those of us who are born into the church. We're kind of used to feeling the Spirit, what with going to Sacrament Meeting every Sunday, opportunities to serve in our communities and in the temple, we get quite accustomed to having the spirit with us. But just think for a moment about the people in the world who haven't had that experience. This is the most powerfully they have felt the influence of the Spirit in their entire lives! It's a testament to me, how important it is to strive to be worthy of always having the Spirit to be with us. 

I've always been pretty great with words, but if it was just me speaking, nobody would actually listen. It is only through our efforts, combined with the Spirit, that the work of the Lord can progress. Hence, my challenge to all of you: Take a few moments in the morning to say a prayer, and ask that you may be more receptive and open to the Spirit, and that you will be able to recognize and act on the impressions you receive. I know that when we are making a consistent, conscious effort to invite the Spirit into our hearts, we will be blessed with increased capacity in everything that we are doing during the day, from the important to the mundane. It is more than worth it, I promise.

=÷= Food Section =÷=

That's right, it's time for that part! This week had no shortage of amazing food. I decided to master making omlettes, and since eggs are cheap here, it's a great way to have a cheap, easy to make breakfast! The best part is, they're super variable, you can add pretty much whatever you like, cheese, onions, ham, chicken, steak, potatoes, all sorts! Plus, there's always plenty of hot sauce down here, if that's your thing.

Speaking of hot, I had probably the spiciest food I've ever tasted this week. We made Chilaquiles, which are... sort of like nachos? If nachos actually tasted, you know, good, and had a sauce with apparently not one, not two, but three whole jalapeños? Yeah, so I loved it, but my mouth did not appreciate me. Fortunately, we have Horchata, the ultimate weapon against spice. Good times.

Moving on from food, I'd like to wrap up with a few quick stories. First up, an Elder in our district, Elder Jarvis, had a birthday this week. So of course, we went out for tacos, which were delicious. Campechanos are quickly becoming a favorite of mine. They're a mix of Pastor and Chorizo, and they're delicious. Definitely would recommend. 

Actually moving on from food (yeah, my bad), we met the coolest guy the other night! On the way home from tacos, we bumped into someone who had been referred to us, but was actually already a member before the pandemic. His name is Victor, he's 16, and he's an absolute legend. He can skateboard, beatbox, speak English and at least some Japanese, and do card magic. Yeah. He's awesome. And he's in our ward, so we get dibs! ;) 

In other news, the Mexcio City temple has moved to Phase 2! That's all live ordinances, which means a lot of recent converts will be able to start attending soon! Very exciting opportunity, and it looks like things will only keep improving from here! Fingers crossed, maybe soon we'll actually be able to eat with members again or something! I know, crazy, but you can't blame a guy for hoping. :P

According to my word counter, this is now long enough to be entertaining, but not boring, so I'll call it there before I overstay my welcome. I'll be here next week!

- Elder Blankenbiller 

Photos:
1: A cool restaurant made out of a plane 
2: Omlettes and pancakes with Horchata
3: Birthday tacos for Elder Jarvis
4: Baptism of Hugo and Patricia 

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 

May 18, 2021

 Hi Everybody! 

I've been keeping pretty busy this week, what with a new companion and everything. We've been trying to go through all of the contacts in our areabook, attempting everything within our means to find new people to teach. Rumor is, things here might start opening up soon, but until then, all we've got is a phone, and a Facebook account. We do our best. :P 

Either way, this week was pretty great. What with all the phone calls we were making, as well as all the appointments scheduled, it felt very productive, even if not too many people answered the phone. The only thing we can really do is do our best, and trust that God will bring us to the people he has prepared to accept His gospel. Hard work brings blessings! 

Hard work also brings an appetite, and that brings me to my favorite part of the email! And this time, it's even better, because, thanks to the divine goodness and mercy of God, my new companion can cook! Hence the title. We've been having a little bit of a friendly competition, where everyone wins, because we both get to eat great food! ;) So far on the menu: Breakfast burritos with homemade tortillas and guacamole, French toast with nutella and fresh bananas, Chicken with a chipotle sauce, pasta with mushrooms, chicken wings with Buffalo sauce, Beef lo mein, chicken fried rice, and Hielitos, which are kind of like ice cream? You make a tres leche, blend up some oreos, mix it all together, and freeze it. They're delicious. So yeah, needless to say, I've been eating good this week. :)

Moving on from the food (I'm sorry, I know that's what you came here for), I wanted to share a really cool spiritual thought that was given in our District Council yesterday. So, a long time ago, this Spanish guy named Cortez and a couple hundred soldiers came in some boats to conquer all of the land for Spain. They landed, and when they discovered how many people were actually living over here, his men all got scared, and wanted to retreat to the boats and leave. So Cortez, in a move that seems rather insane, ordered his men to burn their boats, effectively cutting off any means of escape. 

What was his plan, you may ask? Well, he was aware that if his men knew there was a way out, they wouldn't fight as hard to win. Once he removed that option, they were ready to give it their all, because there was nothing holding them back. And thus, he conquered the entire continent with a few hundred men. 

Now, what does that story have anything to do with a spiritual thought, I hear you asking. Well, allow me to enlighten you. If you will, recall the story of the Anti-Nephi-Lehis, who made a covenant with the Lord to never shed blood again, and then "buried their weapons of rebellion". They made sure that there was nothing holding them back from serving the Lord. And that's the message here. What are, metaphorically speaking, our weapons of rebellion, and our boats of escape? It's often small things, maybe a commandment you'd rather ignore, maybe it's being just a little bit prideful. 

Whatever it may be, those things hold us back from being fully on the Lord's side. So, starting today, I'd like to encourage you all to take some time to think about what you have holding you back from serving the Lord with *all* your heart, might, mind, and strength. It's not the easiest thing in the world. Believe me, I know. But I promise that you will see an increase in blessings, and the hand of the Lord will be made manifest in your lives as you strive to follow Him. 

Alrighty, that's a wrap folks. As always, thanks for listening in, and I'll be back next week with more tales from Mexico! Stay tuned. :)

- Elder Blankenbiller

Pictures:
1: Alitas con salsa Buffalo 
2: Tostada Francesa 
3: Cita con Hermanos Mario y Carolina
4: If you know, you know 
5: My companion does a lawnmower impression 
6: I don't care if you are a bunch of 18-25 year olds living alone in Mexico. You can still eat good food!

May 11, 2021

 Hi again everybody!

As the title suggests, we had transfers this week. I did not get moved, but they shipped Elder Juarez out to a different zone, may he rest in peace. My new companion, Elder Muñoz, happens to have been the previous companion of my MTC companion, Elder Walker. Small world, huh? (Or maybe just small mission ;)

Either way, we had a grand old time with me doing my best to explain everything about the area, and to my surprise, mostly succeeding. I feel like I'm getting better at Spanish every day. Who knows, soon, I might even be able to say something in our lessons? (That was a joke. I promise I'm working hard down here. *glances around nervously for the Mission President*)

Anyway, since I've broken the pattern of talking about food first, guess I'd better do it here before you start wondering who's writing these. Last week on Friday, we had companion exchanges within our district, meaning that for a whole day, I sat on the other side of the room. XD Seriously though, they were great. I got paired up with the only Elder in our district who speaks no English, so that was quite the test of my abilities, let me tell you. Nevertheless, I pulled through (which is clear evidence to me that God still works miracles), and afterwards, we went and got tacos to celebrate. And this time, oh boy, this time they were amazing. And they cost like sixty cents apiece. Plus a horchata. It was Heavenly. So I can now say that yes, there are in fact good tacos in Mexico. At the moment, it's a fifty-fifty, but I'll let you know if those odds change.

Also in the food related topic, Elder Muñoz and I spent our first night together making tortillas. Very fun, very messy, and very tasty, I highly recommend you try it at home. 

And for the finale, the important part. Spiritual stuff. 

On Saturday, I had my first baptism of my mission! It was an amazing experience, and made even better because I got to be there for the whole experience, from our first contact with Miguel, all the way to his baptism. His grandpa actually got to baptize him, so definitely an experience he'll remember for a long time. 

So that's one down, and (quickly Googles the approximate population of my mission) ah. I see. One down, 1.2 million to go, minus the ones who are already members, and hey, we're well on our way :)

And for my spiritual thought for this week, I'd like to talk about the Israelites. I'm sure you all remember the story of Moses leading them out of Egypt. But what struck me most about the story this time around was how quick the Israelites were to complain, and to forget all the things that God had done for them. And as a result, they ended up wandering around in the wilderness for forty years. So the moral of the story is really quite simple: be grateful! Something I've been trying to do more often is say a little prayer whenever I see a way I've been blessed during the day, just a quick thank you to God. It doesn't have to be anything fancy, but I know that we will be blessed for showing our gratitude, and that we're keeping our promise to always remember Him. 

And yeah, I think that covers me until next week. Nos vemos!

- Elder Blankenbiller 

Pictures:

1: Tour of the Visitor's Center with Hugo and Patricia 

2: Actually good tacos

3: Baptism of Hermanito Miguel

4: Adios to Elder Juarez

5: Making tortillas

May 4, 2021

 Well hello again everyone!

It's already been another week, and I can only believe it because the calendar says so. I am now thoroughly convinced that time passes faster here in Mexico. Or maybe it's just me. Either way, greetings from Mexico! Someone emailed me the other day and pointed out that I spend almost as much time talking about what I've been doing as I do what I've been eating. And since I'd hate to break from tradition, let's start it off with a bang! I finally went and ate some tacos. And though I know I'm going to get a lot of hate for this, they were nothing special. Honestly, they weren't even that great. In my semi-professional opinion, too much cilantro, the onions would have been better fried a little bit, and more pineapple wouldn't have hurt either. I'm reserving judgement on account of small sample size, it's entirely possible we just didn't go to the right place. Then again, I have been known to be a bit critical of food, so forgive me if I've offended anyone. In other food news, I'm going to an American style all you can eat buffet later today, so that should be pretty awesome. 

Moving on from our food segment, let's talk about the weather. It's a nice solid average of about 75 degrees down here, with 25-30 mile per hour winds come sundown, and the occasional thunderstorm blowing in over the hills. I asked my companion if this was normal. He looked up at the sky, and then replied: "La verdad, estes son los Ultimos Días." 

And finally, the important stuff. How goes the work, I hear you asking. Well, it goes quite well. We've got a baptism lined up for this Saturday, which will be my first of the mission! We also have three other people with set dates for their baptisms, and two of them, Hermano Hugo y Hermana Patricia are husband and wife! We're definitely super excited for them to be baptized, and they've been amazing in our lessons with them, always asking great questions, and eager to learn more. We're actually going to take them on a tour of the Visitor's Center at the temple tomorrow, so that'll be awesome too. 

Sunday was another fast and testimony meeting, which of course means that I got up again and bore my testimony. And man, in the four weeks since last time, I feel like I went from a Primary kid to at least a deacon as far as the ability to share a coherent testimony. I'm very pleased with how my Spanish is coming along. I even managed to get a grasp on how reflexive verbs work! So I'm very hopeful for my progress with that in the next weeks. God is very kind to me, that's for sure.

And speaking of God, wouldn't you know it, it's time for a spiritual message! And this time, it's from the *dramatic music* Old Testament! That's right. That book. I know, I was just as surprised as I'm sure many of you are to learn that the Old Testament does, in fact, contain useful information. ;) (But seriously, if you haven't before, it's really worth a read, at the very least. Trust me, it's a lot easier than people think) 

Anyway, my spiritual message for today is based entirely on a single word used in Genesis 47:9. Jacob and his family have come to Egypt after Joseph invited them there. Jacob and Pharaoh are introduced, and Pharaoh inquires how old Jacob is. Jacob replies, "The days of the years of my pilgrimage are 130 years". I would like to call attention to the word Jacob chooses to use instead of life. Pilgrimage. If you look up the word Pilgrimage in the dictionary, it is rendered thusly: A journey into an unknown or foreign place, in search of new or expanded meaning about self, others, or a higher power, through the experience. I absolutely love this definition. Because really, isn't that just the purpose of our lives? To become better people, and to learn more about others, ourselves, and God? I especially love how it acknowledges that we are indeed in an unknown land, this Earth is a strange place to all of us. However, we trusted God, and Jesus Christ, and we left our heavenly home to sojourn in this terrestrial world, this Pilgrimage to Earth. But you want to know the best part about a Pilgrimage? It isn't permanent. We will all return home one day, with all the knowledge and experience we gained in this life. It's up to us how much that is, and how much better we will become. 

So I encourage you, as uou continue this Pilgrimage, to remember the reason we began it. Strive to become who you are meant to be, and remember that "for this cause [were ye] born". You can do this. 

And with that, I'll see you all next week! 

- Elder Blankenbiller

Pictures: 

1: Consejo de Zona

2: Tacos

3: Intercambios especiales, saying goodbye to Elder Figeroa 

4: And welcoming a new Elder to our District, Elder Kruetz