Great new companions and time at the rodeo...

At the Rodeo with some good Amish folks...

The "super Trio" doing good works in Pryor, OK

So transfers came and now I'm in a pretty small town...not much in it at all...but I have the two coolest companions okay get this...


Elder White--been out 3 months, from San Diego, convert to the church in October 2011, used to be a huge punk has a bunch of tattoos and is the only member in his family. He is so awesome, wants to be 100% obedient and is the nicest guy ever, he still has holes in his ears from his gauges he used to wear. It is so awesome to have him because he relates with EVERYONE. He is very diligent and hardworking and does not take anything for granted because each aspect of the gospel/missionary work means so much to him. He's is going to work me into the ground and I'm so excited to have a companion who wants to do just that.


Elder Gallegos--been out 4 days, headed to the Floranopolis, Brazil Mission, knows Spanish and English and can speak like 75% Portuguese. He is pretty much a professional soccer player, played for the Mexico National team and for the Houston Dynamo academy. He chose to give up playing internationally to go on a mission and focus more on the gospel. He is teaching me Portuguese and we read the Book of Mormon in Portuguese at night together. He is mi amigo.


So pretty much I have the two coolest companions ever...and I top the trio off by just being a goofy kid from Utah...


The small town that we are serving in used to be a senior couple area for the past 4 years, and are happy to have elders. The success Elder White's been having already has been super good and we know we can teach and baptize many.


The first full day we were out here a less active family took us to the small outlying town of "Locust Grove" to see a rodeo. I really like the 'calf-roping' portion of the rodeo. The bucking bronco and bull riding is pretty intense but it can be VERY dangerous. So I think if I ever did rodeo it would be cattle roping for sure.


At transfer point an elder came up to me who was brand new to the mission and told me that as soon as he got his mission call he searched on Google and found my blog and read every single article on it and told me that he enjoyed it a lot and it was a big part of what made him want to come out here, and that meeting me was like meeting a celebrity. I was super flattered and just stunned that someone actually took the time to read what I have been writing. So it was a major boost to me to hear him say those nice things to me.


It was hard to say goodbye to Fayetteville...I gave tie I had that was golden colored to

my "Golden Investigator" ha ha


------>Lately I've been studying in the Book of Ether (because that's where I am at right now) and I found a lot of scriptures that hadn't caught my attention before (<--- I love when that happens, you catch yourself going "What? how did I miss that before?" or "who's been adding scriptures in here?" ha ha)



In Ether 2: 23-25 it portrays a classic example of how revelation and problem-solving through prayer works.


The Brother of Jared prays and says please don't suffer us to go across the ocean in darkness and the Lord responds, " What will ye that I should do that ye may have light in your vessels?" He knows what the answers are already and what needs to be done but he gives the Brother of Jared some hints first and then lets him figure it out himself. He says "Hey you can't have windows they'd break to pieces and you can't have fire, so go figure out what needs to be done and then come to me with what you have found out and we'll make it work" Heavenly Father wants to help us and can help us but he expects us to do all we can first. He is not there to solve our problems for us. That's why we are here on Earth, to have problems and figure them out ourselves while working with the Lord. So through pondering, study, thought, and action on those thoughts, we come up with and take our solutions we have come up with to the Lord for confirmation. And if what we have done is good than he will grant us what we need. So the Brother of Jared makes the stones and then offers a very humble prayer at the beginning of Ether Ch. 3 and asks for the final touch to his solution to the problem of not having light for the vessels. And in the process has so much faith that the Lord will help him that he sees Christ and no longer has faith because he knew, nothing doubting. He says though that we can have that experience too, check out Ether 4:7, 15.

Since there are three of us we have given ourselves the nickname of being the "3 Nephites" ha


This Church is true, Jesus is the Christ, Joseph Smith was a true prophet of God, the Book of Mormon is the word of God, and President Monson is a prophet of God and holds all the keys of the Priesthood on Earth to officiate and administrate the Gospel of Jesus Christ in our day. What a blessing to be a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.


Love you all,
Elder Blackburn