Elder Hayden Blackburn Oklahoma Tulsa Mission

Hello Everyone! Happy Labor Day!

Well, it is hot and humid down here after much needed rainstorms for the past 2 weeks. So everything is nice and green again. So last week was pretty eventful, on Tuesday while at Helping Hands doing our regular service that we do for them a new old man was working the shift we were volunteering and he asked us who we are and what we are doing and we explained to him. He said, "Your buddy is Elder, so you must be Younger." ha ha we chuckled together. Later after working a while he came up and grabbed my arm and with tears in his eyes just said, "I think it is great what you and your buddy are doing, God bless you." He then told me many years ago he had, had the opportunity to go to Salt Lake and listen to the Mormon Tabernacle Choir at the Tabernacle and he told me how marvelous it was. It was a tender moment and I needed this mans praise because recently it has been a rough time out here in the field, some days are just tough. But he felt that he needed to tell me that and for that I am grateful. We are all God's children and he must smile down when we listen to promptings to help one another out. That night we went and ate at "Jim's Razorback Pizza" a fun little pizza diner in town. Later we tracted a couple streets and on one a member was like "Hey, I'll come with you guys!" Because of that we were able to finally teach a lesson to some potentials and had a good discussion on the Restoration. That storm Hurricane Isaac hit us nicely Thursday night and it wasn't that bad just poured much needed moisture for a good day and a half and then had some more storms throughout the next couple of days. We helped a Recent Convert move this past weekend and while standing around after helping I talked with his fiancee about Temple marriage and gave her a pamphlet and gave her a condensed version of the first couple of lessons, it was another boost because the words just came to me with great clarity. I also didn't want to drive to the hospital to get my stitches out so I just took them out myself ha ha with nail clippers. My knee is in ship shape, now with a mission scar with a story. In Bentonville we went to the coolest little fish diner called, "The Flying Fish." You feel like you're on the coast of Seattle or something. Mmmmm... I had grilled Rainbow Trout and tried an oyster (yuck...it doesn't taste like anything and just slides down your throat)... The fish was delicious though. That night we had dinner with a Recent Convert and he recently just lost his son in a motorcycle crash and he bore powerful testimony it was inspiring. Anyways just trucking through the mission work and doing my best to stay positive. I hope you got my letter I sent out a while ago. Days when the mail doesn't come are sad for us Elders. ha ha Also in Bentonville is the 'Five and Dime' the first Walmart ever that is a cool vintage shop with a museum about Sam Walton. Pretty Interesting. Everyone down here loves Walmart. Love you guys lots and good luck with school starting!

Love,
Elder Blackburn