"Birmingham Has My Heart"

Can I just start by saying how much I LOVE these people?! There were so many moments this week where I just couldn't even imagine life without all the new friends I've made here!

This week I realized that our teaching pool is...slim. It's not for a lack of people, it's a lack of people not answering their phones and their doors. But I guess that's what happens when you baptize all your investigators haha! I guess things fluctuate in areas so if y'all have any good finding ideas. hit me up. We did try to put an emphasis on member present lessons this week and it was awesome! Seriously, every member of the church should offer to have investigators in their home and just go out with the missionaries for a night. It makes a w.o.r.l.d. of difference! For real though. Hopefully those numbers are going to continue to go up each week.

So it's the end of the month and that means we're running low on miles which means that we have to bike which means that our bums get really sore and we don't get to teach as many people. BUT. It's also good exercise and sometimes we run into people on the street and get to talk to them. Or the sister training leaders just happen to drive by and have rice krispy treats and they gave them to us for working so hard! Yay us.
So we just happened to show up at someone's door and the Elders were already there (this happens all the time) and so we just had a big group lesson haha! Anyways, they see our bikes and are like...did you know your tire is on backwards? And then they start to look at it and then they start listing off things that are wrong with it. Awesome. So they just whip some tools out of their backpacks and start goin at it. Then they wanted to know if we were planning on ride a lot that day. Yes...haha! So then they sent out a mass text to the zone about our activity today and made sure that all sisters bring their bikes so they can fix them all up. Yes, it's all our fault haha! Thank you Elders.

We visited a really sweet lady this week. Essie P.  She has so many health problems, it's ridiculous. However, she has so much FAITH. I told her that I was so impressed with how strong she was and how she still has such a strong testimony even though she can't even go to church right now. And then she looks at me and says, "Honey, what choice do I have?"
She is determined. And she will never give up because she says she will not become some useless lump on a log so she tries to stay as active as possible. She is awesome!

So this week we went over to the Bradt's and made dinner. I love that family! We made pancakes and bacon. All the kids were so willing to help! Cameron makes the best cinnamon sugar toast. Alexsia loves bacon. Pretty sure she almost ate the whole plate. And we had some fancy hot chocolate and apple cider. Plus cake and ice cream! It was awesome. And then we played the jeopardy game I made. It seriously makes me so happy when we play it with all these kids and they know the answers. They really are paying attention and are learning the gospel :)

Probably the best day this week was wednesday when we went to the trailer park. Of course Alejandro was a big highlight. That man is rock solid. He keeps sharing these awesome testimonies with us! And today he read the whole introduction to the book of mormon in english and I read the whole thing in spanish. We're doing awesome haha! It's super fun to do this bi-lingual thing :) Then we taught Joe. Yeah, remember Joe? The very first guy I ever taught in Alabama. Well, that man is progressing. He even cleared off his porch a little bit so you can actually see the wood at the bottom. And we called him yesterday to check up on him and he actually read the book of mormon! This man has huge potential. It still makes me laugh though. I'm teaching a man who has no money, is missing teeth, and still does yard work for his ex-wife. What a crackup. But the important thing is that he has a desire to change and we are helping him get there one step at a time. We decided to just walk through the trailer park and we taught quite a few lessons. I was just talking to everyone! And it was freezing cold, but I felt super accomplished. There is definitely a lot of potential in there and on the plus side, it's like a mini mexico :)

Well, my companions are learning slowly but surely that e.v.e.r.y.o.n.e. loves to make fun of Hermana Blackner. I don't even have to say a word and someone finds something to say about me or how my companion needs to keep me in line. Sometimes it gets a little bit ridiculous, but it does add some humor to our day I guess. I'll just take the fall for the amusement of my companions, how does that sound?

The trunk or treat SOOO great! It's been a while since I've been to one but I loved it. The kids were absolutely adorable! Oh my cuteness. You can bet that I was taking pictures galore. The youth set up this haunted maze. They made me go through it and I was terrified. Seriously. Screaming the whole way through. I don't do scary things haha! The best part must have been the Armstrongs though. Guess who they dressed up as...Elder Oslapas and Hermana Wong. My companion came back!!! haha! And Bishop loves my signature "hands on hips" in pictures so he thought he would try it out as well.

We taught Lawrence this week about the priesthood and about the strength of youth pamphlet. It went so well! I was with Hermana Isaak and I'm pretty sure we would be dynamite companions. Also we had a mom and son in our ward there and they bore these awesome testimonies. Unfortunately Lawrence didn't make it to church but it'll happen when it's supposed to.

Sorry this email is so late. We had an awesome zone activity today. P-day clothes all day was fantastic and I got to play some basketball. It was a quality day. And then we went to visit Sister Grant. She says, "Don't be discouraged when someone doesn't answer a door. It's Heavenly Father's way of letting you know you're not supposed to be there." I will definitely be keeping that in mind!

Happy Halloween and make it a great week :) I love you all!

~Hermana Blackner

"Leave it all Behind"

Hello!

Well it is officially fall in Alabama. And when it hits 60 degrees, the people start bundling up like it's 20 below haha!

The biggest news of the week of course was transfers. Like without Hermana Wong is different, but my new companion is super sweet! Hermana Madsen is from Las Vegas and has served in a spanish branch for the whole time she's been here, 8 months. So pretty much we're gonna hope that I'm fluent by the end of this transfer. haha just kidding...but wouldn't it be nice?

There were 217 missionaries at transfer meeting, the biggest one yet. And President spent 18 hours trying to figure it all out. What a big project!

The Elder that just got transferred into our ward is awesome too! He is spanish speaking as well and he has VISION! He's been out for quite a while and has all these great plans and is super energetic and ready to get things done. He says that in the next 5 years, there will be a spanish branch in Birmingham. Well looks like we have a lot of work to do, given the fact that we have z.e.r.o. hispanic investigators haha!

The beginning of this week was filled with lots of goodbyes. It was like wash, rinse, repeat. Go to a house, teach a lesson, take pictures, the talking continues, and then finally goodbye. But the last lesson I taught with Hermana Wong was one of the best ones yet. We were teaching Robert and Nikki and had planned to teach about eternal marriage but didn't really know how it was going to work out. Well it naturally came up in our conversation at dinner and by the end of the lesson, everyone was crying haha!  We basically all just shared our testimonies and why eternal marriage was important to us. We talked about the examples of our parents, our dating experiences from the past and the steps that we needed to make in order to accomplish our goals. The spirit was so strong and it was awesome to be able to talk, as 4 young adults and share how the gospel has blessed our lives and what we are going to do to make this important decision. Obviously for Nikki and Robert it will come a lot sooner but I guess it's always a good reminder.

This week I had the opportunity to be BOLD. It's always something I wanted to do and felt like I needed to do because what do I have to lose right? But it's a lot easier said than done. However, with a new transfer comes change and a new beginning and I was ready to embrace it. So because I know the area, know the investigators, know the members, and everything else I kind of had to take charge even though I feel like I don't have very much experience. And it was kind of empowering. It was a testimony builder to me that I CAN do this and that because I have the name of Jesus Christ on my nametag, I can do all things. I was talking to people in the store, I was offering to help people, I was calling all these less actives and trying to set up appointments, I was explaining things and testifying and who knows what else. And I realized that through it all, I'm becoming the missionary that the Lord needs me to become. And maybe this transfer will be a growing one. I know the expectation won't be 7 baptisms every transfer, so I will just have to keep working hard and be the best sister missionary I can be! And what I learned from doing all this is that this is what it means to serve the Lord with all your heart, might, mind, and strength. Because I was so focused on trying to plan things for the next day/week, I didn't have time to think about anything else! My mind was constantly being turned to each investigator and their needs and how I could help them. And more importantly, how we're not going to go over our miles for the month haha! But really, it's been an eyeopening experience and there is so much more work to do!

Another highlight of the week was that Lawrence came to church!!!! I could not even contain my joy and excitement that he finally made it! And afterwards I asked him how it was and he said it was so much fun! Ahhh that kid is golden. So be prepared for a baptism in a couple weeks :)

And never in my life have I ever been so grateful for all the knowledge I've gained of the scriptures. Maybe it was just my love of learning, but religion classes, sunday school, seminary, parents and teachers, yeah y'all did a good job because I have been saved so many times in lessons because I know the scriptures. Let's just say my companionships would be at a complete loss if there wasn't some basic level of understanding between me and the investigators. These people know their stuff. Welcome to the bible belt :)

Anyways, the work is moving forward and we are focusing our goals on working with the members. Member present lessons are going to become a daily occasion. And it's starting tonight :) Till next week!

con amor, 

Hermana Blackner

"A Father's Love"

I'm sure y'all are waiting for the day when I say that it's been an awful week, but that just hasn't happened yet!

 

First let's start with transfers. So we got a text saying that they would be making calls starting at 8. We didn't go in till 9 but still hadn't gotten a call. We planned, got ready for bed, and still no call. I wasn't feeling very well so I told Hermana Wong that I was closing my eyes but that she could wake me up if we did get called. Well I ended up having a great night's sleep without getting woken up. We had waited all day for that call and...n.o.t.h.i.n.g.

So in the morning we texted the Elders and asked if they got called. They said yes. So then we called them and they told us to just be patient and wait it out and they wouldn't even tell us if they were being transferred or not!

We were also supposed to text the district leader about it so we called them and told them we didn't get called. In the middle of our conversation the assistants called so we told them we had to take it.

So the assistants said that they pretty much forgot about us. Awesome. But they proceeded to tell us that we would both be staying!!! We were completely shocked because President had pretty much already told us what was going to happen at our interview. But also kind of excited at the same time because that would mean another 6 weeks and working hard and getting stuff done.

We called the district leader back and told him the good news. Once again, our conversation got interrupted because the assistants called back. They said they had made a mistake and that Hermana Wong would be leaving and that Hermana Blackner would be staying. I guess6:45 in the morning is just a little too early for them to be thinking straight haha!

Basically, it was just a lot of unneeded suspense and confusion but it's all figured out now and I will be getting a new companion on Wednesday!

And until then, we have been/will be taking lots of pictures and saying a lot of goodbyes. I'm not ready for that day to come yet.

 

Nicholas got baptized on saturday! Yes, 10.12.13. and it was probably one of the most spiritual baptisms I've ever been to. Read 1 John4:19. It's all because of a father's love :) And in 366 days, we will be going to the temple with the M's. :) It's a dream come true!

 

 

One of the best ideas from our zone training this past week was baptism calendars! So pretty much you make a calendar and put important events like church, appointments, etc., doctrines you are going to teach, and homework. And it all leads up to their baptism date! So it really helps the investigators to stay on track and since we teach so many kids we figured we could give them a sticker every time they do their homework and accomplish something! Pretty awesome! It must be the teacher in my coming out, but I thought it was the best idea ever haha!

 

We got a mtc referral last week and it was sweet. It basically said that Linda wants to join the church. You better believe we called that one right away! So this lady has a niece that lives in Palmyra. And she has told Linda a lot about the church. When we go over there, it was not what we expected. Linda and her husband Gordon know the bible like the back of their hand. Seriously, we were getting into every little detail and I'm pretty sure they talked for 3/4 of the hour and a half that we were there. By the time we left, my head hurt. We only got through like half of the restoration but they were so excited to share all their knowledge with us and have been to jerusalem twice and all that good stuff.

My problem is that I can keep up with the conversation so I just want to share all the great knowledge that I have back with them and talk about the bible and everything. But that's not what I need to do. I'm supposed to be testifying and speak from the spirit. So there's our new investigators for ya :)

 

I learned this week that whenever you are feeling down about your life and how things are going...Just read Job and then be grateful for all the blessings you do have and then follow his example and never lose your faith in the Lord :)

 

So on Wednesdays we go and teach Alejandro in spanish and then the elders come and teach him in english. This past week we were teaching him lesson 5 and talked about missionary work and how he can share the gospel with his friends or the people he works with. Later that night, we saw the elders and they said that Alejandro went out teaching with them for like 5 hours! We're not sure how the whole language barrier thing worked out or how he really felt about it but it was awesome that he just jumped right in and we still think he's the most amazing person ever!

 

Two more things...

 

First, let's just talk about how lucky I am to have been companions with Hermana Wong. Seriousy, the longer we've been together, the better it gets. We are unstoppable and we know how to have fun! Our motto is GO AND DO. It's the answer to all our problems and is how we get stuff done. We have seen so many miracles and have experienced so much together. One thing that they don't really tell you about missions is that you have the opportunity to make some of your best friends! So even though our time together is coming to a close, we are already counting down the days till 1) we get to be at the sealing together 2) we get to be in utah together! Good things to come...

 

Second, I just wanted to say how grateful I am for the priesthood and also the influence that fathers have as the patriarch of their families! It seems like we've been learning a lot about the priesthood recently and how much it really blesses our lives. Also I've been thinking a lot about how essential fathers are to their families and how they lead and guide them. Yesterday I had the opportunity to hear two fathers pray with us and their families for the first time. One, who just got baptized and received the Aaronic Priesthood, and one who will not even read the book of mormon. Two totally different situations but it has been amazing to see the changes that both of these families have been making and that in the Lord's timing, miracles really do happen and these fathers understand how the gospel can help make their families even better.

 

I'm excited for what's ahead and as always...absolutely LOVE being a missionary :)

 

~Hermana Blackner 

" October 12, 2013 "

Well. Let's just say this was the most amazing week EVER!! I will try my best to give a play by play.

 

I'll start with the title of the email. In case you were wondering, Nicholas M. is getting baptized on that date! Him, being the logical man that he is, decided that 10.12.13 would be a great date because there are 10 commandments, 12 apostles, and 13 articles of faith. So that's what we're rollin' with. Also, mark your calendars for October 15, 2014 because the M's are going to the temple to be sealed for time and all eternity with their family on their ANNIVERSARY! I cannot wait for that day :) The dress is already picked out and it's going to be amazing!!!

 

On tuesday, we had interviews with President Hanks. I love that man! We had a great time talking and it was just all around good! We also went to stop by the Southern Museum of Flight to see if there were any service opportunities for us. Not only do they need a lot of help, but the guy was really friendly (in a businesslike manner) and gave us all the information we could ever ask for and even gave us a free tour of the museum! The whole time we were just wondering what we got ourselves into but we are super excited to help each week and hopefully have some good gospel conversations with the employees there.

 

On wednesday we taught Alejandro more about the priesthood since he will be receiving it next week! We also started to teach him english with the elders. He. is. a. PRO! Seriously, he picked up on it so fast and his accent is awesome. Pretty much Alejandro is the best!

We also had the way sweet lesson with a lady named Tavia. We were waiting at the library for a computer to do media and she comes in and then starts to get impatient and then says that she needs help with a job application but she doesn't have time to wait. So she asked if we could follow her to her house to help her. She said she was harmless and before I could really comprehend what was going on, we were out the door and in the car on our way to her house. Totally spir the moment! So I sat at the computer and tried to figure out the whole thing. Seriously took me forever. Meanwhile, we're having this great gospel discussion and let me tell you. Miracles do happen. Because she has this crazy religious family and she said that normally if she would have found out that we are mormons she would have kicked us out of her house. But we ended up having this great discussion about her being a daughter of her Heavenly Father and how she can use her talents to bless others and about the difference between our church and other churches and I think that in some way, we really did help her out that day.

 

Thursday was pretty much the bomb.com. Hermana Wong is amazing and wrote me the sweetest card and decorated my door with sticky notes. They were hilarious! We rode our bikes for exercise that morning to a doughnut shop that was SO good! And she even made me wear a party hat. It was embarrassing. Then we got ready and did all of our studies and weekly planning and then we went out and taught for 3 hours. We saw Deantra and worked out her schedule so she could come to the temple with us. We also went to see Lawrence. That boy is GOLDEN! The first thing he says to us is, "I'm so glad you came today!" Yes! Made our day :) He was going to New Orleans for the weekend and was planning on reading the book of mormon in the car with his cousin.

 

Then we came back and Sister C. picked us up for the temple! We could not even contain our joy because we were beyond excited all.day.long. We had been waiting for this day for weeks! The spirit was so strong as soon as we walked into the temple and the smile couldn't get wiped off my face when I saw Alexsia, Martha, Emily, and Deantra sitting in the waiting room. Our dreams are coming true! Our converts are making it to the temple!!! I was one happy missionary :) The temple president was talking right to them and said how they'll always remember the day they first went to the temple kind of like they always remember when their birthday is (kind of ironic, right?) Well, the whole night was fabulous and I just never wanted to leave. It was so peaceful! It was also so special to be able to do a family name while I was there. Bishop was the one doing the baptisms and being the jokester that he is...on the last name I did he held me under for a good 10 seconds and then whipped me back up! Unbelievable. He then proceeded to wish me a happy birthday! I think everyone was so surprised that he actually did it and we were all laughing. But trying to be reverent too of course! It's a Birmingham Ward tradition to go to Chick-Fil-A afterwards so that's what we did! Bishop spoiled us and it was a great night! When we got home, pretty much all the missionaries in our zone called and wished me a Happy Birthday! I got sung to many, many times. It was fantastic! And it was so nice of all of them to remember! I can't even begin to describe how I felt that day. Besides the fact that I didn't get to talk to my family, it was definitely one of the best birthdays I've had. And now I'm 21! Still can't get over that one, but I guess it's exciting to be getting older, so I will just embrace it :)

 

And then conference was the icing on the cake! The week just got progressively better and better! For the first time, I felt like I was fully engaged and had prepared myself and had questions and didn't have any distractions and didn't fall asleep and really it was just all around great. It was so awesome to watch it from a missionary perspective and to get insight on how to really help the people we're teaching. And there are so many things I want to go back over and read. It really does work! Your questions can be answered and I am so grateful for that testimony builder that I got this weekend.

We watched the first session at Carol's and it felt like every talk was speaking right to her needs! Seriously, it was all being handed to her on a silver platter and then when we talked to her about it after, she still rejected it all. It put quite the damper on the day, but it's ok. She still has a lot of faith and has a really strong testimony, just isn't willing to make the commitment.

The second session we watched at the church and an investigator family that just moved from another area came! They are so awesome and even though we had only known them for one day, it felt like forever! We can't wait to teach them more and help them on their road to conversion!

Sunday was fabulous as well and it was pretty much just us and the Elders chillin' at the church haha! We saw Deantra at work that night and she said that she just felt the spirit telling her that she was for sure going to Utah! We were like jumping up and down for joy! And she even picked a date that she is going to go out there. Her mom told her to pick out a wedding dress here because she's probably going to end up getting married out there hahaha! And she is just so rock solid and is really good at listening to the promptings of the spirit. I am so grateful for her example!

 

It was an exciting week and I am one happy, happy girl! It's going to be another busy week, but I am so pumped about everything that we have in store. It could be the last week that Hermana Wong and I are together so we're gonna make it a great one!

 

~Hermana Blackner