Parker - February 26

Hey Everybody!

So yeah, getting to know my new area. It's actually a pretty good area. It's not too big, and we have a lot of help from the members, we also live next to the chapel, which is nice. 

So far the only real problems I'm seeing is getting investigators to come to church on their own. Because my comp says that if we don't go by and pick up the investigators, they don't go to church. But if we keep doing that, then when they're members they're not gonna go to church on their own cuz they're used to having someone pick them up. 

Other than that though, we've got a fairly good amount of people to work with. The district's pretty cool. 

My comp's name is Elder P.  He likes to talk, likes the sound of his own voice. But so far, everything's been going pretty chill between us. 

And yeah, I don't know. I'm starting to feel old as a missionary. Or at least I keep answering the same questions over and over again. Where are you from, how do you pronounce your last name, how long in the mission, what areas have you been in, who was your companion in such and such area.

It's just weird. I'm starting to feel the weight of the time in the mission affect me. And how little I have left. What adds to this is the fact that I'm back in the city of Tucuman, and I was here a year ago. It's just so bizarre. 

But, I'd like to end this email with a spiritual thought, and how I learned more about the Atonement of Christ.

In Moses chapter 7 Verse 26

26 And he beheld Satan; and he had a great chain in his hand, and it veiled the whole face of the earth with darkness; and he looked up and laughed, and his angels rejoiced.

We are all lashed down by the chains of sin. Satan and his Angels are pulling down on those chains, causing us to stumble and to fall. 

What I realized is that the Atonement of Christ is not just there to help us not fall, and then kick back in once we find our own way back. He's there to give us the strength to get back up and keep walking. There's a big difference here, between the man who gets pulled down, stands up, and then waits for the chain to pull him again, knowing he can stand back up, and the man who is constantly struggling against the chains, always moving forward, fighting for every inch. The second is the one who will enter into the kingdom of God, who will eventually break his chains. 

I love you all, and I hope you're all fighting for every inch, that you never give up and just wait for the inevitable fall.

Elder Blaylock