September 14, 2021

 Hey everybody!

Honestly, after the flooding and the earthquake, not much actually went on this past week. Which I suppose is good, more earthquakes probably would have knocked the city to pieces from what I've seen. Fortunately, everyone around here was spared from that, and with the exception of the still very flooded Walmart, most of the stores are back in business as well. 

To be fair though, most of the people we've been teaching were a bit busy trying to clean and dry their houses to pick up the phone, so for the most part, we were working through Facebook and such. Another lucky break - our chapel didn't flood! So we were able to have church on Sunday no problem. 

And Monday was the last day of the cycle, so as per usual, we had transfers! I have remained where I am, but I've got a new companion, Elder Gutierrez. He's from San Luis Potosí, a city more or less dead center in Mexico, and he's about 18 months into his mission. And he speaks Spanish! So I no longer have to carry the lessons as hard. And honestly, I'm just glad to be speaking Spanish all the time again. (To be fair, he does actually speak a lot of English, but I've only been speaking Spanish) So yeah, I'm hoping to both improve my Spanish and just have another great cycle in general! 

And to wrap things up, a spiritual thought. This past Sunday, I had to give a last minute talk, because someone didn't show up to church. Always a fun assignment, especially in a foreign language. But you know, I did pretty well, thanks to two things. One, constant study. And two, having the spirit with me. So my message is, even if you aren't learning another language, that pattern still applies, whether it be studying the scriptures, for school, or anything. The key to understanding is constant study, and the spirit. So next time you want to learn something, say a quick prayer before you start! Trust me, it makes all the difference. :)

And that's all I've got for you this week. See you in the next one!

- Elder Blankenbiller 

Photos:

1 - Last picture as a Zone before transfers 

2 - My new companion and I 

3 - A lesson with an awesome member family who live right behind the church and sneak us food sometimes 

4 - Me, because someone asked me to prove I was actually in Mexico, and not just stealing other people's pictures and pretending I was there :P 

September 7, 2021

 Hey everyone! Sorry this one is crazy late. It's been a wild day today. Over the past two days, we've been having a ton of rain, enough that lots of houses and other buildings have flooded. When we tried to go shopping today, the Walmart was flooded, along with much of the mall, so we kind of ended up just hiding out in the church building. And then, at about nine o'clock or so, we had an earthquake, which felt very different than what I'm used to. Forgive the nerdy part, but basically, Mexico City is built on an ancient lake bed, composed of loose clay and silt. Since the city was built on top of a lake, and they've been draining the water table for years, the whole thing is already very unstable, and when an earthquake happens, the ground under the city acts like a liquid. Long story short, instead of lots of shaking, it felt like being on a boat in the middle of the ocean, rocking back and forth. It was pretty crazy.

But all that aside, I'm alright, and from the look of the Mission group chat, so is everyone else down here with me. And that's what's important. 

And yeah, I don't have a ton of time to write this, so enjoy some photos!

1 - Realizing that I might be serving in Venice

2 -  Finally got around to some more cooking 

3 - Tour of the Visitors Center

4 - The swamp in front of the chapel

5 - Some amazing carnitas the members brought us

6 - Helping clean water out of people's houses

August 31, 2021

 Hey everybody! 

I've come once again, to share tales from Mexico. To begin with, there's been lots of rain recently. Enough rain that I decided to do a quick Google search about it. Turns out, Mexico city gets more rain on average than either Seattle or London. You learn something new every day, apparently. So yeah, needless to say, there's been quite a bit of running home, getting soaked, and trying our best to dry everything out overnight, to varying degrees of success. I don't mind it too much, I just try to make sure not to wear any of the ties I actually like. ;) 

Speaking of water-related subjects, we actually just put a person on date last Saturday! As it stands now, our new friend Alejandro will be baptized on the 25th of September. We're super excited for him, and he's definitely pretty excited too. So I'll let you know how that progresses. 

In other news: We are back to the red level of danger from Covid over here, which means that things are once again, shutting down. We had our Zone Conference last week over Zoom, for the first time since last December (from what I hear, anyway, I wasn't exactly here for that). So yeah. Things are looking kinda crazy. But you know, it's all good. We've got quite the advantage over the other team: an all powerful, unbeatable God. Pretty good teammate, if you ask me. 

And that's the spiritual thought I wanted to share this week. How can we be on God's team? It's simple, really. He gave us lots of instructions about it. We need to: 1) Follow His will, and His commandments, 2) Make and keep covenants, and 3) Try to become more like Christ, through His Atonement. That's really all there is to it. And the best part is, the more we do it, the easier it gets! We've been promised that as we do these things, the Holy Ghost will strengthen us to keep pressing forward. So my advice: start now! 

And yeah, that's about it from me today. Hope you're all having a great week, and don't forget, I may have the name tag, but you can all invite people to come unto Christ! :)

- Elder Blankenbiller 

craig.blankenbiller@missionary.org

Photos: 

1 - Companion exchanges with the Zone Leaders. Elder Fox is from Temecula, funny enough 

2 - I guess they put it on the wall to help people remember where they are..?

3 - A little tienda with a great name 

4 - Late night snack runs 

August 24, 2021

 Hey everybody!

Later in the day than usual, I know, but here I am nonetheless! Honestly, kind of the same report as last week, tons of phone calls, member lessons, and planning, and not a lot of progress to speak of, unfortunately. :/ 

But we press onwards anyways! After all, the journey of a thousand miles begins with a few steps. And the journey to baptism begins with... lots and lots of phone calls. XD 

Seriously though, it's really just all about those small things we do. Even if it doesn't make any sense, when we're doing the little things, we will eventually see results. For example, I think I've shared this story before, but a while back, we were having a really hard week, nobody was answering the phone, our messages, nothing. But we just kept on trying, doing everything we needed to do, and that next week, we got a ton of referrals from members, and were able to start getting to the real work again. So somethings, even if our efforts seem to be having no success, the Lord will provide. That's definitely something I've seen in the mission so far. 

That was kind of a spiritual thought and a summary of the last few weeks all rolled into one, so now, a funny story. My companion and I are both still rather new to this whole "speaking spanish" thing. Fortunately, I've gotten pretty good by now, but my companion is still learning. Anyway, we were talking with an Hermana after we dropped by her house to return some of her dishes, and she asked us if the food was too spicy. My companion thought she was asking if we *liked* it spicy, though, and so started nodding enthusiastically, and saying 'si, si hermana!' After a brief moment of confusion, I clarified the question for him, and he quickly turned around, saying no, no, it was great, we like it spicy! I thought the whole thing was hilarious, and the Hermana was rather shocked that I had understood her. Anyway. Just Mexico things I guess. :P

I think that's about all for me, so enjoy the only picture I took this week, because I totally forgot to take any of anything else. Until next week!

- Elder Blankenbiller 

Pictures:

(Yes, I know, I'm really bad at taking them. Maybe next week :P ) Until then, here's some sushi. Yes, I have a problem. No, I'm not stopping :)

August 17, 2021

Well. It's now been a full six months since I started this whole mission thing. Only gotta do it three more times, and then I'll be home already. Kind of crazy, huh? I bet you didn't even notice I was gone. ;) 

In all seriousness, I can't believe it's been that long either. But here we are. Honestly, I don't have much to say this week, I hope you'll forgive me for it. I think making it to six months has made me realize that I've still got a whole lot of mountain left to climb. So this week, I'm gonna have to take a break from the usual humor, and just get straight to the point. That doesn't, however, mean that I don't have time for a spiritual thought. (Because let's face it, as funny as I am, that's always the most important part).

As I've been continuing my study of the Old Testament (yeah, still. It's kinda long), I recently read through Hosea. Now, I'm sure most people have no idea who that is. Suffice it to say, he was an ancient Israelite prophet. Anyway. He compares the Abrahamic Covenant to a marriage, between Jesus Christ, and His people. An interesting metaphor, to be sure. But the point was, our relationship with Christ isn't just a contract. We don't just show up to church, pay tithing, etc. It's about the relationship we have with Him. He loves us a whole lot. The very least we can do is love Him back, right? 

Anyway. I really liked the comparison, because it's very true. Sometimes it can feel like a chore, all the assignments and things we do as a church. But when we have that love for Christ, and for our fellow men, it all feels a lot more like what I think Christ had in mind for us. 

And yeah, that's all for now! I'll be here again next week. :)

- Elder Blankenbiller

Photos:

1 - Waiting for interviews with President 

2 - Some sushi. It was delicious

3 - Our very safe, totally mission approved staircase to get to our apartment

August 10, 2021

 Hey, how's it going?

This past week has been a bit of a blur, so bear with me here as I try to remember what's happened. First up, obviously, it's been a full week in my new area! Pretty exciting, it's always nice to see a different part of the city. Keeps things interesting. Either way, some cool things about this new area, there are, not one, but two massive shopping malls. So we are definitely never bored on P-Day. 

Also, as mentioned last week, it definitely feels much more city-like. Lots of people, everything is much more packed together, stuff like that. There's even a metro station down a few streets from our apartment. Also, lots of airplanes taking off and landing in the airport. Kinda reminds me of home a bit. 

Either way, the work continues same as ever, even if I'm not in the same place. We've got lots of great people to teach here, and I'm excited to get to work with all of them! We've also had lots of opportunities to teach members, and get them involved in the work as well. Even if we don't get to have meals with them (I know, it's sad), we can still do our best to help them invite people to learn, to come to church, etc. The dream being, of course, that the members do the work, and we're just here to support them. But that might just be wishful thinking. :P

Anyway, a quick spiritual thought, and then I've got to head out, we've got a lot of running around to do today. The thought I wanted to share today is about service. Every calling in the church is a call to serve, in some way or another. And our responsibility is to do our best to serve people. That doesn't change. However, the way in which we serve people is subject to change. Whether that's due to individual circumstance, or an everlasting global pandemic, the way we serve is always changing. So don't get to focused on the things you can't do, instead, try to find the new ways that you *can* give service. 

Just some food for thought. :) Anyway, enjoy your week, keep on keeping on, eat some great food for me, and I'll see you all next week. 

- Elder Blankenbiller

1 - I found ramen!
2 - The view from the rooftop is pretty nice 
3 - Oh look, I'm there too. What a surprise.

August 3, 2021

Wow, another week already? I could have sworn I wrote my last email just yesterday. Huh. Well, since we're here now, I might as well tell you a bit about what happened this last week! 

First up, and probably the question on everyone's minds: what happened with transfers? Well I tell you. Having been in the same area for three cycles now, the powers that be finally decided it was time to kick me out. So I'm in a brand new area now, closer to the mission offices, called Aguilas. It's much more like what I expected from Mexico, to be honest, lots of small streets with houses packed together haphazardly, and a good deal of... questionable wiring jobs. But hey, we've got a huge mall in our area, so I can't really complain about that one, now can I?

Either way, I haven't really seen too much of the area yet, I've only been here for a little over a day. So by next week, I'll be sure to have more pictures and stories about where I am now! But to tide you over, I'll tell you a little bit about my new companion. His name is Elder Taukeiaho, he's Tongan, taller than me, and could probably take half of México in a fight with one hand tied behind his back. In other words, I think he's awesome. He served for one cycle in the States, in Oakland, and then another cycle down here in Mexico, so I'm only one cycle older than he is. Should be quite the adventure, as we're both still learning Spanish. We'll see how that one goes. 

Lastly, a quick spiritual thought. Honestly, I try to keep a pretty positive attitude about everything that goes on here, but getting transferred for the first time really hit me hard. It's difficult to have spent so much time coming to love the people of an area, and working with them, only to get sent somewhere completely new, and have to figure it out from scratch again. But we can take comfort in knowing that this isn't our first time doing something like this. Before we lived here on Earth, we all had a pretty good idea of who we were, and what we wanted. But when we got sent down here, to live our lives, we lost all of that knowledge, and had to build it back up from square one. And hey, look where we are now! So whenever you feel like you're lost in a new place, and you'll never get the hang of it, remember that this is the first thing you ever did in life. You can do it again. :)

Anyway, that's all from me, I can only write so much before my fingers get tired of trying to type on a Spanish keyboard. (it's not that different, but it's different enough) So for now, I bid you all farewell, and hope you have another fantastic week, I'll see you in the next one! 

- Elder Blankenbiller

craig.blankenbiller@missionary.org

Photos:

1 - Me and the boys on the last night of the cycle

2 - My new apartment

3 - Some crepes I made one day