Hermana Bloxham - Service!

This last week has been pretty good. We haven't had much success in finding new investigators but we have awesome members that are trying to help us the best they can. We have had the opportunity to help out one of our members with a lot of things around her house that she can't do because she got in a car accident and can't move around too well. That has been a very humbling experience, to really do something for someone that can't do it for themselves. We help out with cleaning, making beds and doing dishes and stuff like that. We have been blessed to be able to share little spiritual messages with her and she never wants us to leave. She loves having us over there! 

Also, we had the opportunity this week to go and translate for one of our members at the doctors office to help her fill our her paperwork and communicate with the doctor. It was amazing that we could actually help her do that after only 6 months learning Spanish. I am so thankful that I have this opportunity to learn Spanish and to help and serve all of these people here in White Plains! It really is crazy that we can look at a paper with English written on it and tell her what is says in Spanish. The gift of tongues is real, because without it, I wouldn't be able to do any of this work!

I know that as we put our trust completely in our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ that we will be blessed more than we can even imagine. I am overwhelmed by the love that our Father in Heaven has for us, that He will give us the things we need even if they are just small and insignificant. I am so thankful to all of your support, as always! ;)

I love you all so much!

Love, Hermana Bloxham :)

A cool moon, can't really ever have pictures look as cool as real life huh... :)

pictures from transfers

Random Pictures

Elder Bloxham - Heyy!!!!

 This week has been the craziest week of my life!! We have had so much going on and it is out of control!! Time flies when your busy, and this week went by way too fast!! We only have one more week of this transfer, so we are trying to kick butt and kick it into gear and have another baptism before the transfer is over! 

      This last Saturday we had 2 people get baptised. Hunter Robinson (9 yrs. old) and Kelly McIntyre (34) Hunter's family is recently out of inactivity and when they started coming back Hunter came up to the missionaries and said that he wanted to be baptized! So we taught him the lessons and then he was baptized this last weekend! Kelly is an amazing woman! I think it's funny that her name is Kelly because she is exactly like Kelly Tilby. She is just herself and doesn't care what people think about her and she says it how it is! haha, she's awesome!! She never wears shoes, like ever. So when her feet got wet as she was walking into the font, she left little dirty foot prints going in and she laughed and said well hey, the'll get clean in a minute! Haha, and then after she said my soul is clean and so are my soles! haha!!! Her daughter came to church with her and we have been trying to get her baptized as well, but Kelly doesn't want to force it, so she is letting her kids make the decision. But when Aubrey was at church yesterday and saw her mom being confirmed, Aubrey said, "If i get baptized, do i get to have that as well?" and we told her yes and she said she wants to get baptized next week. But, she'll be with her dad this next week so we will do it the week after! :)

      Dayton is out of control! People are ready to hear to gospel and the missionaries here are ready to share it!! :)

       We had the amazing experience of Elder Dallin H. Oaks come and talk to us yesterday. He was absolutely amazing!!! Seeing an Apostle in person and letting him speak to you is the greatest feeling ever!! He's such an amazing person!

       

I hope everyone has an amazing week! Make sure you keep your faith strong, prayers more often than not, and your Book of Mormon opened! :) I love you guys so much and appreciate the support you give me!! :)

-Elder Bloxham

The ever famous... Sunset pictures:)

a sick motorcycle thing we saw driving

Hunter

Kelly

We went to the Wright brothers museum today with a recent convert and Elder Sunderland and I were getting all weird and funny, (you know how i get) but we had the greatest time and here are pictures that can hopefully show how much fun we had!

The Things on our heads are something that was on the table when we walked in, so we grabbed it and put it on our heads hahah!! Elder Sunderland's face...

Hermana Bloxham - Hey guys!

Another week has flown by! First things first, I'm staying here with Hermana Stringam! Hna Brog got a new trainee/new missionary today! So now we have a new roommate! Brog and her greenie are working in Yonkers where Brog was originally called and Stringam and I are working in White Plains still! 

But, we have not been having much success with any of our potential investigators... We are kind of getting discouraged with this and not getting to actually teach anyone regularly. At Zone Conference, as you know, President Morgan taught us about becoming a Consecrated missionary/mission. So we have been trying to do that but have been feeling worn out all the time. At transfer meeting today President Morgan gave us a little boost and we have decided as a companionship that we are going to speak more Spanish and really work on acting and speaking as Christ would speak if he were here. We learned that as we truly work as hard as we can to be a consecrated missionary and do the best we can at every moment, and choose to be more like Christ with every decision we will gain more trust from Heavenly Father and receive more work to do here!

We decided that we are going to speak a lot more Spanish and hopefully we can help Brog and her new comp to learn and apply more Spanish as well. I have really come to be so thankful for the love I have had for Spanish for so long! I didn't realize how much more advanced I was when I came out of the MTC than a lot of missionaries. I am so thankful that the Lord has prepared me for this mission! And to all of you for making it possible for me to be here!

I love you all!

Love, Hermana Bloxham :)

Elder Bloxham - Got some sick news for you guys!!! :)

Soooo get ready for this!!! I got a call friday night at about 10:00 and it was President Porter. He was asking me about how i was doing and how the area was. I tell him that it's decent but it could be better.. He then was like alright i hope you have a good night. And i'm like thats weird?

      He calls back at 10:15 and says pack your bags, your getting Emergency Transferred to Dayton, Ohio. I was like WHAT!? He said that the area i was going into has the highest baptising rate in the mission and the Lord told him to put me into this area. He didn't know why it was me, he said he could have chosen anybody in the mission, but i will be finishing Elder Sunderlands training and will be serving in Downtown Dayton. :)

              The assistants arrived at our West Chester apartments at 8 in the morn, and took me to Dayton! I didn't even have time to unpack, we went right to a lesson!! And come to find out, at 6:00 that evening, we were having a baptism. So i get put into and area, with a baptism, and an amazing companion. Elder Sunderland is absolutely amazing. He's been out for 2 1/2 months, from Rupert, Idaho. He is exactly like Josh Parkinson. I think that is why we get along so great!! We work hard, and teach so amazing together!!!

         President Porter says that he has faith in me that i will keep this area growing. He knows and trusts that i will work hard and keep the baptisms going! This experience is such a blessing!!! I was getting bogged down, and discouraged (as i kinda said in my last letter) and so little does President Porter know, that he put me in this area at a perfect time!!

      The lord knows exactly where and when he wants his missionaries to serve. Even if i don't know until bedtime. The lord works in mysterious ways, and i just found out by experience!!

      So i have a new address now, i don't know it, but i will send a letter out so you will be able to know :)

 

Thank you so much for the love and support!!!

 

Love,

      Elder Bloxham

Hermana Bloxham - I can't believe another week has flown by!

So this week has been a pretty long hard week. We have done a lot of look-ups of potential investigators and less-actives and haven't had much success with that. We went to look up Dejanira a few times this week but we haven't been able to get back in contact with her. :( I hope we get to teach her again soon! At least we planted a really good seed even if we don't get to teach her again!

Yesterday we finally got back in contact with a less-active and we got to teach her an amazing lesson. We showed her the video of the Restoration and watched it with her two little sons. One of them was sitting in his high chair playing with his food and kind of watching the video, but then once the vision of Christ and Heavenly Father came up he was completely still and watching the movie. He looked at us and said, "wow" a few times and it was a really cool experience for us to see a little child be able to feel the spirit so strongly. After that video the spirit was so strong and we were able to teach an amazing lesson.

We also got to teach a referral from one of our members, named Maria, of course haha. It was probably the best first lesson I've ever had. We started with the "How To Begin Teaching" points from Preach My Gospel in Chapter 10 and they kind of just state our purpose for being there and how our message can bless their lives. They are really amazing! And she felt really comfortable asking us questions and we were able to teach her how we pray and how she can receive answers and invited her to read the Book of Mormon. It was such a great lesson! She's really busy so we'll see how it goes this week with her haha

I am so happy that we have the knowledge of this gospel in our lives and that we are out here serving the Lord's chosen people and teaching them the way to have "peace in this world and eternal life in the world to come".(D&C 59:23)

I love you all so much and thank you for your support every day!!

Love, Hermana Bloxham :)

This is when we ate grasshoppers!

In the city

This is us by the Ferris sign haha! That's the street where most of our members live and tons of Spanish people

This is the Elders in our Branch

This is a less active, Anabell and her two sons Franklin and Jake. :)

Elder Bloxham - Hello family!!!!

Ah man this week has been fast, but long at the same time! The time just flies but each day has just been beating me up! We have been finding and finding and finding all day of every day, and yet we still don't have any Investigators. That is why it has been a long week... But i know that God is preparing people for us, we just need to be patient because he will present the chosen people in the perfect time.

     So, Elder Smith and I had a wonderful/Surprising Gospel Principles class yesterday. We were surprised with nobody there to teach, so we taught it, and to our surprise, President Porter, and Elder Perkins from the 70 were in the class! :) That will add a little pressure!!! We didn't even get to prepare for the lesson, but when we do everything we can, the Lord will provide the rest. So we taught out of the manual, well we tried, but the topic got carried away into an amazing discussion of everybody in the class and the two of us. The spirit definitely touched all of us, and that is the reason the lesson went so well! If the spirit is there, then it is a great lesson because the spirit teaches, we just say words.

      

     I can honestly say that the spirit is the only way we can know if things are true. Reading the Book of Mormon, saying or listening to the 1st Vision, or baring your testimony. The spirit testifies of those things if we allow it to!! When i came to know that the Book of Mormon was true, it opened everything else to me. The Book of Mormon is true, so, Joseph Smith was a Prophet, and did indeed see God the Father and his Son Jesus Christ. And by the power of the Holy Ghost, you will know the truth of all things! (Moroni 10:5)

      I love this Gospel, and I love that i know these things! My testimony grows more and more each day, and i don't think it can ever stop growing! 

I hope that you guys have an amazing, spirit filled day!! You are always in my prayers!!

Love,

       -Elder Bloxham

Hermana Bloxham - Wow!!

Hey guys!

Man, so after Zone Conference last week we have been on a spiritual high like no ones business! We have been able to follow the spirit so much better and allow the spirit to work through us. We were tracting on Sunday, shocker, and we knocked into this lady. She's Dominican! Yay! I miss them haha. She's a young mom with a family and her husband is Mexican. We only met her youngest daughter who is 4. On Sunday we didn't get to teach her a whole lesson, just a door lesson really quick and got a return appointment! So we went back there yesterday and taught her a real lesson! The first question she asked was, "why don't you believe in Mary, Jesus' mother?" We were like, oh no here we go haha.

So we tried to answer that the best we could and then we found out that 17 years ago in the DR she played volleyball with some of the members of our church out there! And she went to church a few times as well! Jackpot!! So we basically had the most random first lesson ever. We taught little parts of every lesson and some other random scriptures and stuff haha. But we had the spirit so strong in the lesson that while I was talking she had tears in her eyes and said, "can you feel that? I can feel something in my heart." and our faces probably were like, "no way!" So then we were able to teach her about the Holy Ghost and how it speaks to us in our hearts in the feelings like she was feeling at that moment. 

By the end of the lesson we were working on asking her if she would be baptized, but she jumped ahead and said, "can I get baptized again even though I was baptized in the Catholic church?" We said, "Of course!!" So long story short, she is totally prepared and ready to hear our message! On our way out of her house she said, " I feel like I'm flying!" We told her we did too and we got another appointment with her tomorrow! I am so excited to work with her to help her come unto Christ and partake of this joy! 

I can't believe that we found her tracting! I know that this work is truly the work of the Lord and that without Him and the Spirit, we wouldn't be able to even pretend to do this work. I am so thankful for all of the trials and hard times that I have gone through to be able to help these people through theirs. Even though I'm just a little 21 year old, the Savior knows how we can help them individually. I am so thankful for all of your support and for this opportunity to be here in NY serving the Lord's "elect"! This wouldn't be possible without all of you so thank you for your influence on me!! 

I love you all so much! 

Love, Hermana Bloxham :)

Elder Bloxham - Hello Family!!!

Ahh man this week has been pretty interesting! It's weird being in this huge area compared to small Winchester. We have been biking like crazy people and I realized how much of a waste of time biking is compared to a car... But i guess it is what it is, and maybe we'll drop a couple extra Lb's :)

             I have been thinking a lot about gaining a testimony as a little kid. At church yesterday we went into a class, with about 9 to 10 year olds, and told them about missionary work. And as i was telling them i was thinking, how crazy would it be to have the fire of half the testimony i have now, as a 10 year old. Church really is a great thing and i feel i took advantage of it. A lot of my learning came from church but i don't think i really gained "my own" testimony of this gospel. So dad, as you teach those boys, make sure you aren't just teaching them, help them gain a testimony. Do things that can strengthen their testimony early, and before their mission. :) I am so so so thankful that i have the testimony that i have now and wouldn't trade gaining it now on my mission for anything, but now that i have this, i want younger kids to gain it now.

            It is very weird to be in a ward, but it gets me excited to meet someone new every time i go to church :) Not this Sunday, but last, we sang Hymn #26 Joseph Smiths Song, (i forgot what it's called exactly) But it really hit home to me. As i was singing i was getting choked up thinking about the words and what they really mean. Joseph Smith was truly an amazing man. I know that he was a Prophet. No doubt. Singing that song brings the Holy Ghost straight to my soul and i know that Joseph Smith seriously did what he did. I love that i know this and can share this with everybody around me.

            I love this Gospel. Any person who wants happiness in their life can have it. If they just give it a chance and pick up that book to read it and then pray, just pray... A new world will open up to them. There is so much power in the Book of Mormon. Any man can grow closer to Jesus Christ by just reading this book. Yesterday we read with this man named Maxwell, he is from Ghana, and we read the first 2 chapters. Just those first 2 chapters opened my eyes again! Every time i read from the beginning, again and again, it makes it known to me that it is words from Prophets, & of course God, of how we can better our lives and bring even more peace into it. It's not just a book, it is God letting us know that he is there, and he wants us to be happy!! I love our Father in Heaven so much. Jesus Christ is our Savior, and is at the head of this work. The Holy Ghost will testify to anyone who reads the Book of Mormon with real intent, willing to act on the answer you receive, and it will change their life. Like it has mine.

I challenge everybody to read the Book of Mormon every day and pray about it after each time you read it. Through the Holy Ghost, God will give you another sure answer that it is true. :) I promise it will give you a renewal of testimony, and a new light in your life!!

I love you all so much,

-Elder Bloxham

Hermana Bloxham - Hey everybody!

This week has been so great! We had zone conference yesterday and it was AMAZING!!!

We basically got the guilt trip in needing to be more obedient, how we need to use the Atonement of our Savior Jesus Christ more in our daily lives, and that if we are not giving everything we have to His work, we are not living up to our covenants we have made. He read to us from Acts 4:31-5:11. This talks about a man who didn't live by the law of consecration and was fell down dead because he didn't give all that he had. Now, we're not all going to fall down dead if we don't give everything we have, but what can we do to try to give it all?

So, to make a long story short, I have decided to be more obedient and be willing  and able to do everything in my power to bring souls unto Christ and hasten this work. Even if I never see the fruits of my labors, I am helping a future missionary somewhere to have success.

I am so thankful for everything you all do for me and I can't believe that I'm coming up on my 5 month mark already on the 6th! This time is going by way to fast, just like life always does. We are not making the most of every moment we have and I know that it's hard to talk to that friend who isn't a member or who is less-active, but just do it. We are promised that if we do what the Lord says, he is bound to give us more blessings than we can even imagine.(D&C 82:10)

I know that He is just waiting for us so that He can bless us. All we need to do is act. Don't let the opportunities pass you by to help someone experience the joy of this Gospel. There is nothing else in life that can give you this much joy and happiness. That is why I am on a mission and it is your job as members of this church to do it too!

This is the Lord's work and we are entitled to His help! Use it!

I love you so much!

Love, Hermana Bloxham :)

 Cool Fire Station

Me and my companions matching in grey and purple! and glasses? haha

A cool castle we saw and the view from the castle

This is me and my companion on the far right and one of the sister training leaders in the middle. The sandwiches are called tortas! Delicious!

Elder Bloxham - Helloooo!!! :)

 Hey family!!! All is well, i'm in a new area called West Chester, Ohio! It is has a huge ward, and everybody is like way Wealthy!!! When i drive around it feels exactly like driving through the Patterson's neighborhood. I kinda like it actually. It is very beautiful, trees everywhere!!!! I'm excited to see how the work progresses here :) I got a new companion as well. His name is Elder Smith from Orange County, California! He's a surfer dude!! Haha! I'm not kidding, he is EXACTLY like Josh Davis. So chill, and so awesome! It's just like serving with my best bud out here! I love it!!!!! He's been out for 19 months and he was born in West Chester. (mission born) So he started his mission in West Chester, and now might be finishing it here! Pretty crazy! We got double transferred into this area which is sweet because that means it's our time to get this area's crap together!!! They need a miracle, thats why me and Elder Smith are here!! Gotta make something happen :)

      But being here in this area, just for this short time, it has gotten me Ward missionary work trunky. haha it makes me think about you guys at home and the missionary work you could be doing there. Seriously, every single person at home should be active hahah!!! It's just too much fun to go to church and have this gospel in your life! Like what the heck people.... But there is this kid named Ammon Guffy. He is the Stake President's son and he is 16. The most missionary minded person i have ever met! He gave a talk last sunday, (the one before we got here) and took up 35 minutes talking about missionary work the whole time. Then he gets up in front of the priesthood yesterday and the first thing he says is "Hey the best way to welcome the new missionaries is to get them referrals!" All of the investigators that the missionaries were teaching before came from his friends. He's so sick!!!

       This new area gets me so stoked to do missionary work. It's a way awesome jump start, getting doubled in, and we can do whatever we want and we decide how the work pans out. Awesome!!!!

I have a very strong testimony of missionary work within the ward. That is the best way to bring people to know of this gospel. I think about it now, and i could have done so much more when i was home to get people to have this in their life! it's almost dumbfounding that i didn't take that opportunity! But that is why i want to ask you all to do it. Branch out. Get outside of the comfort zone and invite somebody to church. Make it a goal to get a new friend to church every single Sunday! And just like Ammon Guffy said, get those missionaries referrals!! I know first hand how great they are, so get the missionaries there referrals :)

I love you guys so much and i hope your week has been awesome!! :)

-Elder Bloxham

Elder Simmons

Elder Martin. I loved Elder Martin!! He got called Zone Leader only 10 months out! He's sickk!!

This is the Winchester, Dunkirk District!!! We were so awesome!! ahh i miss them!! haha

This is Elder Smith!!! haha he and I are in a bike area, so this is him getting ready to bike the hilly mother of Ohio!! He is such a goofball! hahah