Parker - May 28

Hey everyone!

It's been a pretty normal week here. We're just focusing on working. My companion's really chill. I can't remember if I told you guys, he's from Mexico, name's Elder H. But yeah, we get along great. 

And yeah, this week's been more of the usual. Work work work. I'm trying to remember interesting things. Let's see. Tuesday we had District Meeting with our new District Leader. It was pretty weird to just be a normal missionary in District Meeting. I will say that after being District Leader, I do participate more in District Meeting than I did when I was Junior Comp. But yeah, the District's pretty cool. 

Oh, in the Mother's day call, Jameson mentioned a kind of special Mate that I could try called Mate celestial. With Coconut and crushed peanuts and warm milk. We tried it on Thursday while we were doing Weekly Planning. It was good. 

On Friday, it was 25 de Mayo, which is a holiday here. So there was a bunch of parties and we didn't have a whole lot of appointments. Though we ate so much that day that I was ready to barf by the end. (I may have lost weight in the mission, but if I'm not careful...) Cuz everybody was just inviting us to eat their food. 

Let's see, yesterday we found three new investigators, really sincere, it was really nice to find people who genuinely want to learn. As opposed to what happened earlier this week. Last week we contacted a kid, who told us to come back another day. We went back and his dad comes out. And he's super evangelist, and just wanted to fight with us. He was talking all pretty and stuff and insisted that he just wanted to hear about what we teach about Salvation, but he gave himself away when I tried to share with him a part of the Plan of Salvation pamphlet. He was just like "No, no me interesa eso." So we told him the address to the church and left. Here in the mission, I've come to realize something: Atheists are so easy to teach. Cuz all you gotta do is convince them that God is real, and they'll accept your teachings. Whereas other people, well...let's just say I like a quote from that Avatar movie, with the blue people: "We cannot fill a cup that is already full." Or something like that. 

But, onto another topic, that has to do with what you guys said Grandpa was talking about. The Light of Christ. This also has to do with my letter from last week. 

Lately, I've been trying to figure out more about the Light of Christ and what exactly it is. Cuz it's pretty vague in the scriptures. And basically, I've come to the conclusion that it is "every good thing that makes us one."

I used to read a bunch of articles before the mission, where lots of people were talking about some kind of psychic force that unifies the human race or something like that. And now I realize that those people were trying to study the Light of Christ. 

Also, the Light of Christ is made easier to understand when we study it by contrast. What is sin? Spiritual death. And what is death? Separation. Therefore, sin means separation. What does the scripture say? Mark 10:9 What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder. Or as it reads in Spanish (translated) Let no man separate. 

We are joined with God as we worship him. Thou shalt have no other gods before me. Separation. God placed man's spirit into his body. Thou shalt not kill. God created familial bonds. Honor thy father and thy mother. God sealed man and woman. Thou shalt not commit adultery. (fun fact, Adultery and Idolatry come from the same root word.) Wherefore everything that is "bad" in the world, that is, everything that is darkness, are those things that divide us. And so everything that is "good," that is everything that is light, are those things that unite us. 

That's what the gospel is about. That's what Atonement means. Reconciliation. Mankind amends. Bringing together two subjects that were once estranged. 

So, I invite all of you to put away anything in your lives that divide you from others. I'm not saying lose your individuality, I'm saying to put away things that are divisive. Bitterness, Unforgiveness, racism, sexism, discrimination. 

I don't know, for me, when I think about it like that, it changes everything. 

Also, if you want a better sermon on this than I could ever give, read Moroni chapter 7. It's amazing. 

I love all you guys,

Elder Blaylock

Jack - May 21

Alllllllrighty then, how is everyone doing this week?

My week went well, but lets get into the spiritual thoughts:

Faith. What is it? What does it mean to have it? How do we increase it?

Normally, we define faith as a belief in something, as a missionary you learn pretty quickly that "Faith without works is dead" like it says in James 2:26. Therefore Faith, is a lot more than just a belief, Faith leads us to action. In the Guide for the Study of the Scriptures, Faith is defined like this: (more or less, I wrote this down in my notes in Spanish so I´m translating right now) " Have trust in something or in someone." In general, " Faith is the someone´s trust in Jesus Christ that leads them to obey Him." 

Prophets and Apostles have testified in the scriptures that Faith is like a hope too. For Example, Alma testifies, "...if ye have faith ye hope for things which are not seen, which are true." Alma 32:21. I also know that in the Bible, Paul says something super similar, but I don´t have the reference on hand right now. From my personal studies about Hope, I know that Hope is also a trust. Hope, generally, is trusting in the promises that God makes. Trust that God, being a perfect being, has no need to, and would never lie. So we should know, that we can trust completely in what he says, and in what he promises us. Faith then, is a hope in something, that leads us to act. Let´s think about it then, using related words too. More specifically, Faithful.

Faithful, seems to mean full of faith, right? Why then does it seem to take on another meaning? Is it really something different? Or is it what it really means to be full of faith? Whenever I think of the word faithful, I think more of Fidelity, Loyalty, or Trustworthiness. It means perseverance. Perseverance even when we don`t understand why. We persevere faithfully, trusting in our hope, even when we don`t understand why. What I`m trying to say is that faith, is more like fidelity, dedication, or devotion. Someone who is full of faith, is someone who´s faithful.

Let´s return then to the teachings of Alma. In the same verse I shared earlier, Alma says, "And now as I said concerning faith- Faith is not to have a perfect knowledge of things; therefore if ye have faith ye hope for things which are not seen, which are true." Like Alma said, Faith is not a perfect knowledge. In fact  faith isnt even wanting to believe something when we don´t know if it´s true. Faith isn´t a replacement for a lack of knowledge, they´re not related in that way. Rather, Faith perfects knowledge, by practicing fidelity to it.

How does that work? Alma also teaches that. (He`s basically the expert). Some people told him, "If thou wilt show us a sign from heaven, then we shall know of a surety; then we shall believe." and Alma replied, "is this faith? Behold I say unto you, Nay; for if a man knoweth a thing he hath no cause to believe, for he knoweth it." Alma 32:17-18 This still doesn`t mean faith is an incomplete knowledge, there´s a reference to another scripture that explains why we wouldnt need faith when there is a perfect knowledge. The reference is for Ether 12:12, which goes like this, " For if there be no faith among the children of men God can do no miracle among them; wherefore he showed not himself until after their faith." Ok, so no miracles until AFTER faith...

in the same chapter it says the same about a testimony, "faith is things hoped for and not seen; wherefore dispute no because ye see not, for ye receive no witness until after the trial of your faith." 

Alma, in the same chapter we were in earlier (Alma 32) gives an example comparing the word of God to a seed, which if we plant in our hearts, and with diligence, patience, perseverance, and faithfulness  will grow until we have a perfect knowledge of that thing. Do you understand yet? I`m not the best at explaining things simply (just look at the length of this letter) but I`m trying to say that faith, is a lot more like being faithful then wishful thinking. If we`re faithful to knowledge, when we don´t quite understand everything, if we persevere in the study, the result of our faithfulness is a more perfect knowledge. If we`re faithful to a belief, even during tough times, the result of our faithfulness is a testimony. If we´re faithful in our prayers, even when the answers don´t seem to come, the answers will come. These are the miracles of faithfulness. The miracles that come after our faithfulness. From now on rather than saying "Have faith", I´m going to focus on saying, " Be faithful." A more precise knowledge of things, helps us get one step closer to the perfect knowledge.

Lastly I want to explain the most important thing we can be faithful to. I know, that faithfulness in Jesus Christ is the only way to receive salvation. Not necesarily in some dreary sense that we´re all doomed, but rather, salvation from the burdens and trials of this life. From depression and sadness, from darkness and hopelessness, from loneliness. From every pain or trial we could ever pass through. To be faithful to Him, to be worthy of His trust by keeping the commandments and living His Gospel, is how we receive this Salvation. 

May we all try a little harder to be faithful.

...And there it is! Now I have basically no more time to write, but this week was awesome. In other news, some members from my other area came to visit which was awesome, and we attacked a tree all week for service.

(tree pose)

I am the tree.

I am Groot.

Parker - May 21

Hey everyone!

So yeah, first week of the new transfer, and it's been really great, actually. Even though I loved being district leader, I can free up some brain space now and focus more on just working. And it's shown in this past week, I think I've worked harder this past week than I did the entire last transfer. 

But anyway, mainly I've just been helping my comp get to know the members. Like always, there's mixed feelings, mainly due to the missionary who leaves. Some were so tired of my last comp, some of them are gonna miss him a lot. But the coolest thing is that we were able to finally sit down and teach Chachín's dad. I don't know if you guys remember Chachín, the kid we baptized a few weeks ago. But he was really receptive. The main problem we're gonna have with him is the fact that we can only see him on the weekends and he smokes. (though he wants to quit). 

But yeah, also, yesterday, we had a bunch of people in church. It was great. 

And for pday today, my current comp was trained by one of my former comps in an area a little bit south. So we went there so they could visit some of their converts and stuff. It was pretty fun. I was just along for the ride. 

But yeah, I don't got a lot to say. I guess I just want everyone to know that I'm way less stressed now in the mission. I just wanna work until the end. Which is why I think pres made me senior comp, to let me just focus on the work until the end. 

As for a spiritual thought, I've been studying Gifts of the Spirit a lot lately. And something super important for all of us to understand is that it is through the Light of Christ that we can exercise these gifts. What is the light of christ? To put it in simple terms, it's understanding one another, become one. When we are one, we can overcome any barrier caused by the "curses" we all deal with, like foreign languages, disease, confusion, spiritual blindness, etc. This is how Christ was able to overcome death, because what is death? In a word, separation, yet Christ can overcome death because He is one with the Father, and we can be one with Him. And when we are one with Him, we are no longer separated. 

But the key to the Light of Christ is love and charity. So, I exhort you, just as Mormon and Moroni exhort us at the end of the Book of Mormon, Moroni 7:48

48 Wherefore, my beloved brethren, pray unto the Father with all the energy of heart, that ye may be filled with this love, which he hath bestowed upon all who are true followers of his Son, Jesus Christ; that ye may become the sons of God; that when he shall appear we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is; that we may have this hope; that we may be purified even as he is pure. Amen.

I love you all

Elder Blaylock

PS Got my flight plans today, Wednesday, August 8th. I will be HOME!

Jack - May 14

Hello again, how`s it going everyone?

This week was pretty good, pretty normal though. As far as transfers go both me and my companion are staying.

It was a pretty normal week of teaching people, not much to report on there. There was an activity in Viña on Friday, we had a big poster with a picture of a family tree with spots where you could put your face and we invited people to get their picture taken and learn more about their ancestry and it was a pretty cool idea, just not the best place to do it, not very many people wanted to talk to us. But it went well either way.

I wish I had more to write about, but I don`t really remember if anything interesting happened this week, it`s been a little stressful.

One thing I wanted to share is to invite everyone to do a little more listening and a little less talking. This can apply in many ways but often times, in a conversation people seem to hook onto the second word that`s said and think they understand everything that`s going on. But if we really listen to one another we`ll really get to know the needs, desires, hopes, fears, and really who is the person we`re talking with. As a missionary who has to talk to many people everyday, it`s a little sad to see how many people I talk with hear so little of the incredible message we share and think they don`t need it. It also goes the other way for us too, if we don`t really listen to people we could never know some vital facts about a person, we may find a problem on the surface but completely skip over what`s really troubling the person. So this week I want to invite everyone to have a good conversation, instead of immediately replying to what someone says, ask a question, or encourage them to share more, don`t interrupt people. Let`s all practice being a little more Christlike, listening and helping others once we`ve really come to understand them.

Either way I hope everyone has a good week, I`ve got tons of pictures to share with you today. (Viña del Mar is super awesome)

Parker - May 14

Hey everyone!

It was really great to see you all and talk to you. Sorry not everything turned out like we may have wanted, but it was really great. 

And yeah, this past week, we haven't done much. Last week of the transfer is sometimes like that. But yeah, some changes with these new transfers. 

First of all, I'm no longer District Leader. Don't panic, it doesn't mean much. It mostly just cuz these transfers are always super hectic, and President made some pretty funky changes this transfer all around. Putting Zone leaders together who end at the same time (ie this transfer), sending people up to be zone leader when they've got one transfer left, and yeah, its pretty wacky all around. I think that pres just likes to whitewash alot, and he's preparing to whitewash the mission. Shrug. All it means for me is now I gotta focus more on just doin the work and ending my mission well. 

But yeah, thank you all so much for the support and the prayers, I'm looking excited to these next twelve weeks. My new comp is named elder Hernández, from Mexico. And so far, he seems pretty cool. 

And anyway, I just wanna let you all know that I love you and to not worry about me, I'm doing fine in the mission. 

Love you!

Elder Blaylock

Jack - May 7

Helloooo all my people! This week was weird again. Super short. Super long.

Nah but seriously it was a good week. We played Volleyball with the Mission President last monday and it was pretty fun. The craziest part though is when he serves the ball... He throws it up in the air then bashes it with his elbow! And it works! Really well! Hahaha, it was fun, I think we`ll do it again today.

Last tuesday was a day bien milagroso. We had some experiences that were pretty awesome. First off there´s this grandpa of one of the recent converts here, named J, who is awesome. He´s a funny dude who just loves to chat with us and crack up laughing. The problem is, when we pass by for his house, he normally leaves to greet us and chat for like 5 minutes, then tells us he doesn´t have time to talk with us today but that he´ll call when he has time. Then he never calls. But this time was different. I ministered to him! I felt like the Prophet Russell M. Nelson in his story about ministering! J left to greet us like normal and as he was chatting he mentioned how he used to work as a photographer and still has a bunch of equipment, and suddenly I thought to mention "Hey my brother and my Mom also love photography, it sounds pretty cool, I´d love to learn a bit more about it sometime." He got pretty excited to show me one day. Then I realized "Hey look, I´ve got some of their photos here!" Then I showed him the pictures I had with me of my family and friends, and he really enjoyed it. Then he mentioned a little about his family and I said to him, "You know what, we share a special message about families, we´d love to share it with you for just 10-15 minutes" And he let us in! We taught about the Plan of Salvation and it was awesome! Then at the end he went and brought out some of his old camaras, and I´ve gotta admit they were pretty cool. I didn´t understand them. But they were fun haha.

We also went to visit some less active members later that day and it was awesome as well. They didn`t have any power in their house for some reason, but they invited us in and at the beginning they really didn`t want much to do with us. They even told us that they hadn´t felt the spirit or anything special to do with the church in over a year. So we tryed to get to know them a little more and figure out the message they needed to hear.  (side note, this week I gave a training session in the district meeting) and I decided to apply the things I´d been studying. The main focus of my studies was how to help people realize that we´re representatives of Jesus Christ, sent to help them. And I found the answer in the Book of Mormon, in Moroni 7:13. Which says that all good things are from God, all that invites and persuades to do good is of God, and is inspired of Him. (I don`t have it with me in english right now, it´s a rough translation) But applying that scripture I invited one of the members to repent. I testified, and promised him that if he did it he would feel the spirit again. Later we started sharing our testimonies again and invited them to do the same. He didn´t say much, but he just looked at me and thanked me. He said that it´d been so long since someone had made a promise like that to him, and that he knew he could trust it. I testified again that even though it was only like the second time I´ve met him, that I was sent by Jesus Christ to help him personally in his life. That even though I didn´t know him that well, Jesus Christ did.

And really that´s how it is as a missionary. We´re called of God to minister to others, to guide them back to Him. He has sent us to wherever we are to be representatives of His Son. Listen to the missionaries. Invite them to your home and listen to them. If you´re a member or not. I know that the missionaries serving wherever you are were called their to help you. Let them. Let Christ help you.

Those are the thoughts I´ll share this week, along with a bunch of pictures of like 2 places in Quintero. Feel free to get a little jealous, because it´s pretty beautiful and that´s only a small part of it. Though we can´t go down to the beach so don´t get too jealous ;)

Also random fact from last week I forgot- Last week during an activity to go contacting in Viña with the zone, I contacted a chinese family who had just moved to Chile about two months ago. They were really excited to meet with us and even though we couldn´t communicate much with them they ended up going to church the next week. It was awesome.

Parker - May 7

Hey everyone!

This week was kinda interesting. Last Tuesday was Labor day here, which means that literally no one works and everyone celebrates by throwing a party. That day we had to go to the stake center to have district meeting. But no one had the keys, so we had to wait for like a half hour until someone with keys showed up. And then the other district leader had to leave early to go to lunch, so I had to lead like half the zone. It was weird.

Then, later that day we had to go to Bellavista and do a baptismal interview. It went well. 

Then, later in the week, we took Javier to a 12 step program that a return missionary started in the chapel. It was good for him, cuz he prefers to talk about his problems than write 'em out. It was also good cuz he hasn't been really honest with us, which is step one. So it was good to start over again. 

Then, on Friday, the zls came to do the baptismal interviews and they went well, the only thing is that the mom of the kid wants to postpone it cuz she wasn't gonna be able to make it to the baptism. So we didn't have any baptisms this weekend. 

And Sunday was pretty rough. we had no one come to church. So, we're gonna see how we're gonna tackle this week. 

But yeah, other than that, I am doing great. I've been studying a lot about the Atonement of Jesus Christ. And how every time we progress in life, it is a type and a shadow of birth, death, and resurrection. For example, with regards to Faith. First, we are introduced to faith, then we go through a trial where our faith is tested, we are separated from our state of happiness and go through suffering, then, once we possess a personal testimony and our faith is strengthened, we are restored and blessed with a higher state of happiness. 

It's a little complicated, but I hope you guys can understand it. 

I love you all!

Elder Blaylock

PS, I'll probably be on to Skype around 5 pm my time. But don't worry, we've already got the place and the wifi worked out, there shouldn't be any problems :)