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 

November 30, 2021

Hi again everybody! 

Today is the last P-Day of the transfer! Pretty crazy, I know. It's also the last day of November, which is honestly even weirder. But hey, it's time for Christmas, so I'm not complaining. Christmas is the best holiday, and anyone who says differently can feel free to go read about why they're wrong in literally any scripture you can think about. Nothing is better than a holiday where we get to celebrate Jesus Christ. (Also, food is great, the treats are better, and I'll never be mad about getting presents. But that's besides the point) I'm just really excited for Christmas. Don't mind me.

In other news, this week has been pretty great, we had lots of events going on, a missionary devotional for the youth in our stake, the Lighting of the Lights at the temple, a Zone Council, and just this morning, we got to go to the temple! It's just been a really good week, I've honestly nothing to complain about. (Not that I do that much complaining anyway. Just thought I'd put that out there.)

As for the work, we've been doing better than ever, and our district is absolutely killing it, we met our goal for baptismal dates, and we've got a lot of potential besides. 

And that's gonna have to do it for this week, because we're currently taking the subway across the city to get back from the temple. So I'll talk to you all next week! 

- Elder Blankenbiller

Photos: 

- A bunch of ties that a member gave us. I will never need to buy another tie for the rest of my mission :P 

- Apparently, México makes limited edition currency to celebrate special events. I now have a new hobby. 

- Our stake had a big Youth night, in which they invited all current and recently returned missionaries. We, of course, took a picture with all our name tags on. 

November 23, 2021

Hey everybody! 

It's been quite the week (as per usual), so let's get right into it. We started off the week strong, with Zone Conference. Always a party. One of the big focuses this time around was combining everything we've learned from the pandemic, and applying it going forward, as we move more and more towards normality. 

And after that, things only got more interesting. One of the Elders in my district has a family emergency that requires his presence, so he flew out Sunday night, and will hopefully be back by tomorrow evening. However, it means that my companion and I are currently living with his companion in their apartment. So that's been an adventure. I've been sleeping on the floor for two days now. But on the bright side, we got their apartment all cleaned up, so it's not too bad. I'm sure the sleep deprivation will catch up to me later, but for now, I'm doing alright. 

And as for today, we've been running around doing lots of shopping, and we're going to go cook a bunch of hamburgers for lunch, have a party, and then call it a day and go hole up with phones and computers to call our families. :P

So yeah, since I'm in a bit of a rush, I think I'll call it here. Hope you're all having a fantastic Thanksgiving week! 

- Elder Blankenbiller 

Photos:

- Zone conference 

- Bread is amazing here 

- Trying on suits, because why not? 

November 16, 2021

Well, today is a pretty exciting day. I am now a nine-month-old missionary. So that's cool. Only a hop, skip, and a jump away from one year. And since one year sounds a lot bigger than nine months, I think we'll just leave it as it is until I get there. 

Anyways, on to the meat of the sandwich, what am I doing down here in Mexico? Well. This week has definitely been a week of miracles. After two and a half weeks of calling people, trying to set up meetings, and getting no results, we got a bunch of referrals dumped on us at the same time, and now we've got a week full of meetings, two people on date for baptism, and several more well on their way! Never gets old, seeing the way the Lord's plans come to fruition. 

Since I'm sure that at least three of you asked, yes, we have successfully moved houses. I am now living downstairs. And we've basically got our hands on everything we need, and anything we don't have, we can just ask for. Really convenient, right? 

And now, a funny story. There we are, two young dudes in white shirts, walking back to the chapel from having lunch with a member (Which, quick side note, was amazing. They made this sort of beef and bell pepper mix, with melted cheese on top, which we ate with tortillas and home.ade guacamole), when out of nowhere, this guy starts walking next to us, clearly very drunk, and starts yelling something about how we believe in a fake Jesus, and we're going to burn in Hell for it. Until, of course, being to busy with his drunken tirade, he crashes into a telephone pole, and gets knocked out cold. I swear, I felt like I was in a movie or something. (The guy is fine, but it was hilarious)

And in a brilliant transition to a very related subject that doesn't contrast at all with the previous one, a Spiritual Thought (since I've been slacking off on those recently). Today, our spiritual thought is brought to you by a book of the Old Testament you've probably never bothered reading: Proverbs. Specifically, three verses from proverbs. Proverbs 3:5-6: "Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths. (Proverbs 16:9:) A man's heart deviseth his way, but the Lord directeth his steps."

I really like these two passages, I think they compliment each other very well. And it paints a very clear picture for us: We must move forward, and trust the Lord to direct us. And we know that we can trust Him. He will never do anything that will not be for our benefit. And, if we still aren't quite there yet, we can pray, and ask Him what His plan is for us! It's that simple. So, my invitation, in closing, is that you should give it a shot. And no matter what, remember to look for the good in every situation you go through. :)

I must be off, I've business in the city. I shall return in half a fortnight. Until then. 

- Elder Blankenbiller 

Photos: (Not too many this week, I've been busy :P )

1 - District Council photoshoot 

2 - Me, I guess