Believing Christ

Well mi bonita familia, 

probably one of the most trying weeks of my entire mission, 

but also the week I feel like I've learned the most! 

So I read some excerpts from the book Believing Christ and I learned SO much about the atonement. 

Just because you have faith and believe in Christ, doesn't mean that you believe Christ.

And if that's the case, then it's like "someone sitting in a cold, dark house surrounded by unused lamps and heaters, someone who believes in electricity but who never throws the switch to turn on the power."

Nice imagery, huh?

So we have to believe what he says and that when we take him and his infinite and unlimited power and combine it with our finite and limited abilities, then we still get infinity!

We can become perfect through Him. 

"What matters most is not how much we bring to the equation, but only that we can make the equation.

Anyone's best efforts, however great or small, plus the atonement of Christ will equal 100% of what is needed to enter God's kingdom."

We can't do it all on our own. President Hanks likes to say, "There's only one Savior, and you're not Him"

So we just have to let go. We have to humble ourselves and then just let Him take care of it. Because He can and will. He always keeps His promises.

Sister McDowell and I did something really BOLD this week. 

We went around Decatur on Wednesday night and gave invitations to our activity to all of the other churches.

I thought it was actually quite fun. 

Sister M was terrified. 

And most of the people were just super not interested and were only nice to our faces. 

BUT WE DID IT!

And now they know who we are and hopefully someday, one of them will be interested

On another adventure of handing out invitations...

I walked up to a lady in a home decor store. We talked for a minute and then I gave her an invitation and started telling her all about it. Well the funny thing about this conversation was, she didn't look at me once. I was literally just talking to the wall. 

And that's when it hit me. This isn't the first time that someone wasn't completely disinterested.

In fact, it happens all.the.time. 

And then I realized, that Decatur is a hard place. 

And that all we do is just keep trying and trying and trying, but with no success.

And that sometimes the Lord has us go through these times to test us and see how we endure during the hard times. And that if we just stay faithful, He'll bless us, in his timing.

Brenda got baptized on Saturday and it was fantastic!

The spirit was so strong, and it was such a special day!

She's been waiting for a long time.

And the Bishop commented more than once how grateful he was that she finally made the decision even though we all knew what that decision was going to be months ago haha!

And there were so many missionaries and ward members there! 

By far the most support I've seen at a convert baptism. 

I just love her so much and only know there's good things ahead for her. 

She's a go-getter, that's for sure!

She already asked the Bishop about getting her patriarchal blessing and asked us about going out teaching with us!

She is amazing.

And lastly, I'd like to share a short little thought:

the key to happiness

1. family

2. follow the prophet

3. keeping the commandments

4.the scriptures

5. the temple

6. work

as outlined in 2 Nephi 5 

I'll let you find the verses :)

 "and it came to pass that we lived after the manner of happiness" 

--2 Nephi 5:27

Have an awesome week! All is well in BAMA.

con amor,

Hermana Blackner

I Can Do Hard Things

Sister McDowell and I were tearin' it up this week! Decatur is havin' a comeback. 

We also started our week off by biking to the church and then working out this morning. And had hard-boiled eggs for breakfast. #healthnuts

Last week we made a goal with the Elders to pass out 20 Book of Mormons and we did it! 

Best way to get an elder to do anything is through his stomach.

We can seriously make them do anything by promising food!

So the reward...chocolate chip cookies with oreos in the middle! 

There will definitely be more group goals in the near future :)

And we have been doing some serious mommy duty this week. Those poor elders, bless their hearts, but they need all the help they can get. 

The mission field really is the MTC for the rest of your life.

We had interviews with President Hanks this week and afterwards Sister Hanks took us to lunch so she didn't have to be at the church by herself. I seriously love that woman :) 

I am so grateful to be in the Alabama Birmingham Mission!

What I learned from my interview. We all have our turn to do hard things. And during these times, we have to decide how we're going to deal with it and if we're going to become a better person because of it. 

And then, "...if we endure it well, we shall be exalted on high" (D&C 121:7-9)

We went on exchanges this week. I think they are so fun because you get to learn from other missionaries! We've all had different experiences and it's always fun to meet new people and get to know them better! Especially when we all have the same purpose here and love being servants of the Lord.

Brenda is beyond excited for her baptism this week! :) And so.are.we.! 

She is going to make such an awesome addition to our ward! 

Everyone always loves her and I'm so glad they are so supportive. 

We are also getting super excited for our activity this week!

The Elders went to go talk to some of the local preachers yesterday and we are going to some other churches on Wednesday night. We've been handing out lots of invitations and so have the members. It's going to be awesome! 

In this case, the more the merrier is definitely true :) 

We had a very successful weekend of store contacting. We were able to talk to so many people and the best is when we tell them what we're doing and they get so interested! 

Sometimes I forget that we're the "weird' ones wearing skirts and name tags everyday. It kind of just seems like every day life. 

Actually we were in a store this past week and a lady asked us if she could return her purchase and we had to tell her that we didn't actually work there haha!  

One of our new investigators this week is a lady named Pumpkin. She is fantastic! 

Story Time:

So once upon a time, probably 20 years ago, there was a sister missionary serving in Decatur and her and her companion knocked on Pumpkin's door. As far as I know, they didn't have a chance to teach her anything but that sister missionary told Pumpkin that she was a very special lady and that she would never forget about her for the rest of her life. And she never did. They still keep in contact and now she has a family of her own and sends Pumpkin her Christmas card each year and even came down to Alabama to visit her this spring.

Well, a few weeks ago I get an email from the daughter of this sister missionary who was in one of my wards at BYU and she gave me Pumpkin's information and gave me very specific instructions to bring a gift and tell Pumpkin who sent us and she would let us right in. 

My companion and I did just that and we even invited her to be baptized and she said YES! 

If y'all couldn't tell, the work has been struggling a little bit here in Decatur but I firmly believe that I'm here for a reason. 

20 years ago, some missionaries planted a seed and I am so grateful that I am here now and am able to help this woman grow closer to her Savior, Jesus Christ and follow His example by being baptized and partaking of the blessings of the gospel. 

more details to come Ü

the best joke I heard this week:

So a snail went to the car dealership to buy a red convertible. 

And the salesperson asked if the snail had the money and insurance to buy the car and the snail said yes. 

The salesperson also asked if the snail had any requests for customization. The snail said "Yes, I need an S on the sides of the car." 

Well the salesperson thought it was kind of weird but did it anyways. 

A few weeks later the snail came to pick up the car and the salesperson asked, "Why did you want an S on the side of the car?" 

The snail replied, "When I drive by, I want people to say, Wow, look at the S car go!"

(escargot...get it? haha! Ü) 

Happy Martin Luther King, Jr. Day and have a wonderful week!

con amor,

Hermana Blackner

Change Is In the Air

Hello all my lovelies!

I decided I have a love/hate relationship with change. You would think I would be used to it by now buuuutttt I'm not. 

Anyways, transfers are always a new fresh start, and Crazy Sister McDowell (yes, she calls herself that haha!) and I have been working hard and trying to spread the gospel to all that will listen, which is not too many at the moment. 

Decatur = the buckle of the bible belt. no joke.

We got some new blood here in Decatur and we're super excited for this transfer.

Elder Leali'ie'e & Elder McMurtry - one goin' home and one just comin'

Elder Mayer (the veteran) and Elder Jordan - both away from their trainers and think they can take over the world

Sister McDowell (one stop short of the loony bin) and Sister Blackner - CRAZINESS! Seriously, all the missionaries we saw at transfer meeting said one thing, "They put you two together??" haha! We're already having a blast!

We have been making some awesome plans each and every day, and e.v.e.r.y.t.h.i.n.g. falls through. But the lesson that we've learned is to just keep trying! 

And more importantly, what I've learned, is that everyone still has their agency. 

Sometimes I wish that we could just help them all and make their decisions for them since we know it will only ensure their salvation but that would be a little like Satan's plan and we definitely don't wanna go down that road. 

Yesterday, was pretty much the best.day.EVER. 

We went roadtrippin' to Fort Payne for a dunk fest, a.k.a. a baptism

That was the most country I've seen my whole mission, but it was so fun!

Seriously. Out in the boonies.

We watched the CES devotional last night and it was pretty much perfect for missionaries! Here's my thoughts:

I always just wanna lay down the gospel just like Elder Callister did and tell e'ryone wasssup. 

But then I realize that doctrine and all the facts isn't gonna help them gain a testimony. So it's not all about what you know, but it's about what you feel. Sometimes I think we underestimate the power of a sincere and honest testimony.

Flashback to Birmingham:

CELSA IS GETTING BAPTIZED! Remember when her mom moved in and the catholic prayer group started coming over? 

Yup, well Celsa is tired of waiting around for everyone else and getting their approval. She's knows the church is true and she's taking the step. She even brought up back in November when I asked her to commit to a date that was like 10 days away and she freaked out haha! Oops! 

But, it still got her thinking about it and put it in her head and that's important. 

Invite, Invite, Invite!

I finished the Book of Mormon this week after studying it all about CHRIST. His name, His attributes & actions, His words, and His gospel. It was fantastic and my testimony just keeps growing. I seriously love that book! And I know why we're supposed to keep reading it over and over again. I always find new things and am pretty sure they've never been in there before even though I've read it all the way through plenty of times before. 

I think I need to go back to putting my funny line of the week because there are going to be some priceless ones this transfer.

Sister M: It's like heaven when I see a Subway and a Sonic right next to each other. 

For real, they were definitely listening to the Spirit when they did that one

all is well and we're fixin' to make this week a good one!

love y'all muchisimo!

Hermana Blackner

(B minus J is like the peanut butter without the jelly. I miss her already!)

All Over Alabama

Well we ventured out into the below freezing weather today and went to Tuscumbia. Turns out, Alabama doesn't really know how to deal with cold weather so EVERYTHING SHUTS DOWN. Not even kidding. So here's some awesome pictures of us not going to tour Helen Keller's birthplace. She is one of my childhood heroes! I love learning about Helen Keller and it must have escaped my memory that she was born in Alabama, so it was basically a dream come true to be able to go here today :)

We then decided to take a  hop, skip, and a car ride away to the NASA U.S. Space & Rocket Center in Hunstville.

We became very cultured today and we learned so much! Let's be real, as much as we love all of the spiritual things, it was kind of awesome to be able to learn some secular things today.

Let it be known, I LOVE LEARNING!

Speaking of which, I have been absolutely devouring the Book of Mormon recently. I seriously can't put the book down! It is true! And I am so grateful that I learn something new each time I read it. I have already read it so many times and am so confused why I've never noticed some of these details before! It's so cool! Read all of Helaman today and didn't want to stop for companionship study #missionaryproblems

So that's why I'm emailing so late today. Sorry familia, I know you were probably patiently waiting to get this.

In other news, transfers are this week :( I would actually prefer not to talk about it. Hermana Johnson is leaving me. It's going to be a really sad day, but such is the mission life. On to bigger and better things. Actually 4 of the missionaries here in Decatur are leaving. Elder Mayer and I will be the survivors and are super excited to welcome all the new ones! Change is in the air!

We're starting the year off with a bang. We are planning a "What Do Mormons Believe?" fireside/open house. It's going to be awesome!

Purpose:

-get the members more involved in missionary work

-increase our teaching pool

-educate Decatur about our beliefs

It's going to be BIG. We're advertising like crazy and inviting everyone. It's going to be the biggest thing in 2014 so far!

Church tour, presentation, dessert, members, investigators, community members, you name it.

SOOO! Lots of exciting things :) Still loving every minute of being a missionary!

con amor,

Hermana Blackner

Holidays in the Mission are THE BEST

HAPPY 2014!!!

Who knew that you could find so much joy during the holiday season even though you're thousands of miles away from your familia? 

I've decided that since I have been putting so much creative energy elsewhere that the humor level and enthusiasm in my email has significantly dropped and that I am now resolving to do better. My sincerest apologies.

Let's just start by talking about the one and only Cynthia A.

Short history:

Met the missionaries through a friend that was also taking the lessons

Got baptized in South Carolina

Moved back to Alabama, went inactive (for reasons unknown)

Fast forward several years to now...

Had no way to get in contact with the church so went on mormon.org and requested the missionaries

We show up and whelp, this lady is pretty much solid. She's already been through the temple, remembers SO much, and is so ready to get active again :) She even made a list of the things she needs to do so she can get a temple recommend again. It's so cool to be a part of all aspects of missionary work. 

Think of those missionaries who taught her all those years ago and how relieved they must be that she is taking to the steps to return to where she needs to be! What a blessing to know that no effort is ever wasted in the work of the Lord.

 Ok, so transfers are already next week. Don't ask me how it came up so fast because I seriously have NO.IDEA. 

Although the 6 of us missionaries have gotten along well from the beginning, it seems like we have been communicating a lot more recently and really trying to help each other out. It's this crazy thing called unity. And it always seems to happen when we're about to get split up. Such a bummer.

Remember how 12 Days of Christmas? So on Christmas Eve, the six of us, plus our driver :), went all over Decatur and sung our little hearts out full of Christmas cheer. Aaannnnddd...revealed ourselves as the Christmas Elves that have been leaving their doors full of Christmas goodies and thoughts :) We got all sorts of laughs and funny comments as the realization that suddenly dawned on them, "Of course the missionaries would do something like that!" And wondering who was behind the sound of running feet every night haha :)

Complete with a wonderful repetition of our favorite Christmas songs (really because they were the only ones the Elders knew...) and some tasteful beat-boxing from Elder G, we had a blast!

That night we went over to a member's house and had dinner and then they gave us presents! We each got an over-sized t-shirt. Mine says,

Have your peeps call my peeps

It even has a cute little peep like the ones you get on Easter

pretty classy, huh? :)

We finished the night by watching some fireworks. My favorite!!!

Sister Johnson and I were absolutely loving the 30 minute car ride home, jammin' to Christmas music with the heat cranked up :) 'Tis the Season

At approximately 8:21 on Thursday night the Sister Training Leaders called and asked if they could come over for a sleepover. Sure Sisters! (Thinking in our heads about how dead tired we were. Explanation: Christmas takes a lot outta ya) And lo and behold Sister Blackner was OUT when they finally came by around 10:15. Didn't hear the door knock or nothin'. #sleeplikeababy

But we had a blast in the morning :) Some nice stretching to start out the morning and some fabulous cinnamon rolls for breakfast! That's how it's done way down south in Bama. And those lovely sisters heart-attacked our front door. It was totes presh! LOVE THEM!

this is what Christmas is all about :)

We started teaching with the Elders this week. This sweet lady has two boys that got baptized recently and we have got down to business about helping her to accept the reason for the same joy and happiness and change that her boys have found. All I have to say is baptismal calendars are theeee.bomb. 

Our dear Brenda is deathly ill with pneumonia so we'll put that one on hold for a while. Bless her heart. And be sure to keep her in your prayers!

All is well :) Shout out to my amazing family. I love y'all SO much and had an absolutely A.M.A.Z.I.N.G. time talking this week :) 365 and counting? Nah...let's not let the time pass too quickly!

Words of wisdom for the week:

Don't just say prayers, but actually pray.

"Please bless us with safety as we return to our homes"

"Please bless this food that it will nourish and strengthen our bodies"

We should be the safest people in all the world and never have poisoned food since we say those prayers so often :)

con muchisimo amor 

and wishing y'all a very Happy New Year!!!!

~Hermana Blackner