Elder Bloxham - Transfers!!!!!

 Can you smell that??.... It smells like TRANSFERS IN THE AIR!!!! Hahaha!! Elder Hanks and I are staying another 6 weeks in the Promised Land!!!!!!!!! WHoooooohhh!!! At the end of this transfer I will have been here for 7 1/2 months! Also, at the end of this transfer Elder Hanks and I will have spent a quarter of our missions together! It has been the fastest, funnest, and greatest learning experience ever!!!! I love Florence!

We had a baptism this Saturday and it was amazing! John is such an amazing man! I will add pictures with this email :)

We are working with these 2 teenage boys, Tyreese and Tevin! They are brothers, and two boys that have never had to follow rules in their lives! It's crazy!!!! These teenagers are out of control, it's pretty cool to hear the older people's reaction when they find out how young we are! They are always like, "you guys are 20!? Nobody these days would go talk about Christ for 2 years!" But yeah, they are moving right along. Tyreese is 17 and Tevin is 14! They are progressing well, and should be baptized either this month or at the first of next month :) They are good kids!!

Jeremy received the Aaronic Priesthood yesterday at church! He is such a stallion! Dad, I gave him that "Bucket of Balls" Poem and he is going to put music to it and is going to rap it for me! I'll video it, it's going to be amazing!! I love Jeremy so much!! He has really changed his life, it's amazing what the Gospel can do for you :)

6 more weeks in Kentucky? I'll take it!! Stay tuned of what the hollers have to tell us down in the sticks!!

Love Y'all, and Godspeed!

-Elder Bloxham

Northern Kentucky Zone! Promised Land baby!!

Hanks and I with our Blue tongues!

Johns Baptism!!

Knockin the T parks!!! #SocialMediaSplit

The Newport Aquarium!! Swimmin with the Jellies!

Hebron Elders, Glissmeye, Stoddard, Hanks, and Yelter Bloxham :)

Sister Howell :)

Elder Bloxham, Richie Laake, and Jeremy Davis!!!

Cincinnati Reds Game

Yerrrr OUT!!!! :) this was outside the stadium!

Elder Bloxham - Holla from Kentuck!!!

This week was awesome!! As for me and my companion, we will serve the Lord! We are seeing miracles in the zone, we are seeing miracle in Florence, and it has just been a blast! yay!!!

Reading emails, and seeing pictures...... My family is with Jessi!!! HOLY COW!!! That was such a weird picture seeing all of you together! Those 18 months sure did fly by didn't they!?!?!?!? Wow, but it's amazing to see the partial family reunite! 6 months and i'll be there with you :)

I have pictures of Jeremy's baptism that I'm going to send with this email, as well as some other fun things that are going on here! But something that is amazing that is happening today is... drumroll...... WE ARE GOING TO THE REDS GAME!!!! WHooooH!!! I am so excited, it's going to be the best things ever!!!! Don't worry, i'll take lots of pictures :) They are playing the Cardinals, so it should be a good game, at least the Cards are good, so that will be awesome! Although I am serving in Cincinnati, I have not converted to being a Reds fan. I am now a Bengals fan though, so now that is my favorite football team. And nobody can say I'm a bandwagon because 1. I can't even watch the games, 2. I have an excuse, I mean crap I served here, but usually you only bandwagon teams that are good right? RIGHT! They will be good when I get home from my mission, they'll be the team to beat!

              We got home from church yesterday and they family above us were yelling out on the balcony, "Jesus says it's okay to get drunk when the Bengals win!!!" haha we have some crazy die hard Bengals fans here, it's awesome! So yes, I am a Bengals fan! I know dad will like that because they're orange! :)

John is getting baptized this next week, we are super excited for him! And the work is still moving forward! I have put my hand to the plow, and I have not turned back! 6 months baby, lets make it happen!!!!

I love y'all so much, bye byee!!!

-Elder Bloxham

Elder Hanks and I played basketball for like 10 minutes, and got drenched with sweat! My tie knot is darker than the rest of my tie, because of sweat! haha

Jeremy's baptism!!!!

Jeremy and Tasia Scothorn

Hermana Bloxham - My Mission Experience

 Life as a missionary has taught me so many things that I can't put
into words. How can I explain in words how much my life has changed
and how much I myself have changed in these short eighteen months? I
came on my mission expecting to see many people make the step into the
baptismal font and become new, but that was not the blessing I had in
my mission. As the scripture says, how great will be my joy if I see
one person come unto Christ, that person was me. As I have sat
pondering on the special moments and the amazing spiritual experiences
I have had, all I have been able to think of is gratitude. I have
learned of the true meaning of the Atonement. I have learned of many
of my own weaknesses and had the opportunity to work on them daily and
to overcome many of them. Each new day comes and it arrives with many
more opportunities to become better, to think of others and to come
closer to Christ.
   If I could describe my mission in one word or phrase I would say
learning to love others. It has been amazing for me to think back on
my first area or my time in the MTC and see how much love I have
gained for everyone around me. I have learned that each and every one
of us are truly brothers and sisters, just on our separate and
different journeys through life. We have each been given different
trials and problems, but we each chose to come here with that
knowledge. I have truly enjoyed working and serving the lords elect as
I work in New York. I have come to truly enjoy talking to people in
the street as well as teaching others in their homes, and seeing them
learn to love The Lord as much as I have learned to love Him.
   It has been one of the best experiences of my life to work with the
Hispanic people here. There are so many from different countries and
backgrounds, but each one of them has such a great love for others and
a desire to give everything they have to those they love. As it says
in Preach My Gospel that we should adopt the culture of those we
serve. I have seen how much I have grown and felt so much love for
others as I have tried to apply that counsel from Preach My Gospel.
Working with the members of the wards and branches I have served in,
has been one of the greatest blessings of my life. I am certain that
they have taught me so much more than I could ever teach them. They
all live in such humble circumstances and loving homes. They all have
these amazing stories of their conversion and how they came to know
that the church is true. As I have helped less-actives regain their
testimonies and investigators gain that testimony for the first time,
I have seen my own testimony strengthened more than words can even
describe.
  I have watched one man take the step to be baptized in my mission.
His name is José Pichardo. I came into the area and he was already
being taught by the sisters. The first time I met him, I could barely
understand his Dominican Spanish because of a speech impediment and
lack of education. As I got to know him my heart was just full of love
for him and a hope that he would someday accept the gospel and be
baptized. He had such a strong testimony of the Book of Mormon and of
coming to church. He loved the way he felt when he was reading and
when he was at the chapel. When he was home, he had a lot of family
problems, but he found his release inside the Book of Mormon. He would
read for hours daily because that was the only way he could feel the
spirit in his home. He knew the church was true long before he made
the decision to be baptized, but knew his mother and his step father
wouldn't support him in his decision to be baptized, so he pushed it
off for a few months. He would sometimes go to lessons with the elders
as a member present before he was baptized and share his amazingly
humble testimony, because he loved the gospel so much. One day we just
asked him what was keeping him from baptism and that it was a personal
decision that he could make if he wanted to. He thought for a minute
and said, I'm getting baptized, in one week. So we planned everything
in that short amount of time and he was ready that Wednesday to be
baptized. He left his house without telling his mom where he was going
and when he got to the church his mom had followed him there. We
thought everything was going to just blow up and he wasn't going to be
baptized. But we talked to him and had him talk to his mom about his
decision to be baptized. Everything went smoothly, he was baptized and
his mom was there to watch. After the baptism, his mom asked us if we
would come visit her sometime because she had felt the spirit so
strongly during the baptism. He has followed on as a strong member of
our ward. He received the Aaronic Priesthood and finished the Book of
Mormon. He is one of the greatest examples of endurance that I have
met in my mission.
   Another one of my favorite experience of my missionary was when the
Zone Leaders and Sister Baker and I had a planning session for what we
wanted to focus on in Zone Meeting on Monday. Elder Durham had a
really cool idea to help us all get back on track with being perfectly
obedient. So on Monday we did the activity. We had our zone meeting
and then we had a council as a zone about how we feel like we are
doing with our obedience and how to recognize the authority and
respect of our calling. Then we had everyone go into the chapel and we
had a few scriptures written on the board about our purpose as
missionaries(D&C 58:2-7; D&C 6:22-24), what Christ did for us(Alma
7:11-13; D&C 19:15-19), and what he asks of us as his disciples (D&C
1:31; John 14:15). So we all went in and read the scriptures silently
and all had time to recommit to being obedient. As we walked back into
the room there was a quote on the board that said, "You are of a
singular generation with exceptional potential. No wonder satan wants
to cripple that potential by tempting you to violate the laws of God.
He knows that he has no power over the righteous individual, yet he is
a master of making sin appealing to the undecided." And under that
quote said, "I choose to be perfectly obedient", with the Zone Leaders
names signed underneath. As we all walked in one by one we all signed
our names underneath and all chose together as a zone to be perfectly
obedient to all of the mission rules and all of the commandments. It
was a really amazingly spiritual experience and we all were truly
uplifted by the spirit in a way I have never felt in a meeting ever
before. It was amazing.
   In my mission I have realized that no matter what happens during a
bad day, if I am being 100% obedient, working my hardest and learning
and teaching the gospel I am always happy. Yes, we have hard times
every day with investigators, less actives, members or even
companions, but there is always a positive event that enables us to
remember why we are truly here as missionaries, which is solely to
invite others to come unto Christ. While I was being  trained, Sister
Cole helped me to see the positive in every situation. If we tried to
tract a door and the only thing that came out was some horrible
Spanish and they just slammed the door in our faces, she would say,
"The Lord put us here in this exact situation, knowing our previous
knowledge, knowing our Spanish abilities, and he trusts us to do what
is right". I have tried to keep that motto throughout my whole
mission. We all make mistakes, we all forget to do something really
important, or we don't know what to say, but we are all imperfect
beings, and Christ has put His trust in us to do His work. He knows us
perfectly, so He can send the Holy Ghost to us in every moment of
need. That spirit will lead and guide us in our missionary work in
every way.
When I was called to train Sister Livingston I was really nervous but
excited at the same time. I often wondered if I had anything to give
to a trainee or even had the ability to teach her what she would need
to know to be a successful missionary. Sister Livingston came to me
extremely prepared. She knew how to teach by the spirit even in our
first lesson. She had so much love for everyone around her and shared
it with them. The Lord qualifies those he calls. I learned so much
more from her than I could have ever taught her. Training taught me to
be humble and to respect those younger than me, which was something I
had struggled with before that point. As I tried to be the best
example I possibly could, I tried to instill in her that positive
attitude that I had been focusing on throughout my mission. We saw so
many blessings and miracles! We got to know the members and also to be
able to earn their trust and receive referrals for their friends. I
know that everything happens for a reason and that I was meant to be
companions with the amazing sister missionaries that I have been able
to serve with.
   As I end my mission all I can say is how grateful I am to my
Heavenly Father that he has allowed me to serve here in New York with
those who I have been able to serve and serve with. I have learned so
much about myself and about life outside of the mission. There are
just so many things that I have learned that I can't even put into
words. My testimony has grown so much and I have gained a stronger
testimony of all of the things I had a testimony of before the
mission. I know this gospel is true with all of my heart. Even as I
walk through the streets of New York and hear people defile the name
of the church and this work, I can feel the love of my Savior Jesus
Christ and the power of the Atonement. He has guided me through all of
the trials I have gone through in my mission. I know without a doubt
that Joseph Smith was called as a prophet of God to restore the church
of Jesus Christ in our dispensation. I have received the witness of
his true calling many times throughout my mission.
I have learned the true meaning of the Atonement. I have an
understanding of the enabling power of the atonement. I have seen His
hand in my life as a missionary so many times, when I just felt like I
couldn't do anymore and I had given all I had, I have seen countless
times that The Lord's hand is outstretched to me to carry me the rest
of the way. I have experienced true repentance and true happiness as I
have applied the principles of the atonement in my life and in my
work. I know, maybe more than anything else, that the Book of Mormon
is the word of God. The spirit testifies of that truth to me every
time I bear my testimony to someone in the street or to someone in
their homes. There is a power in the Book of Mormon that I can't
describe. It changes people. It changed me. I know that satan is
trying his hardest to fight against us but, just as our beloved
prophet Joseph Smith said, this work will go forth boldly, nobly and
independent, until it has sounded in every ear. I am so thankful that
I was a part of that revelation for these short eighteen months. I
know that all of these things are true and I know that there is
nothing that will stop this work from progressing. I love my Savior
and Redeemer more than anything in the world and I will serve Him for
the rest of my life. I know these things are true, in the name of
Jesus Christ, Amen.

🚋 Hermana Jessica Bloxham 🏀

Reunited with Hermana Bloxham and President and Sister Morgan! So happy to be back together!!

Elder Bloxham - 18 Months!!!

Oh my heck, i've been out for 18 months! The time has definitely flew by, but yet, i have learned a lot! Jeremy was baptized this last Saturday, and it was amazing. Jeremy is such an amazing kid!! I love him so much! Now that he is a member, he gets to come teaching with us, and he will have the chance to bear his brand new testimony with everybody we see! :) i can't wait!!!

Jessi, Adios Hermana!! Te Quiero! Puedes dar dos tortillas mas? haha!!!! You're amazing! I loved the email you sent about your mission! I hope that when i get at the end of my mission i can say the same thing you did with the same conviction! You're my hero!! Now you finna rep that RM swag in SoJo!! haha that's awesome!

We are teaching this guy named John, and he quit smoking!!! Whoooooh!!! He is getting baptized on the 13th of this month! He is so amazing, and such a humble man! I can't wait to see him walk into the waters of baptism! He is already in the 57th chapter of the Book of Mormon! When i was home, i didn't even make it that far!! He's awesome!

Things are going great in the Promised land!! But sadly, transfers are in a week and a half... :/ Hopefully Elder Hanks and I stay one more together!!!! Stay Tuned :)

I hope Y'all have a great week, and make sure you invite your loved ones to church :)

-Elder Bloxham 

Hermana Bloxham - Last week in the mission!

Hey everybody!

Wow, I don't even know where to start. I feel like my life is coming
to a close and something new and unexpected is coming next. I have
seen the hand of The Lord in every step of my path and I know that He
will be with me as I start the new journey at home.

We have had a really good week. We had 3 zone conferences where we did
a planning training. It was actually really cool to go to all of the
zone conferences. I learned something new each time. We got to see all
of the missionaries in the mission and got to feel of the spirit of
the work. I wanted to share something that I thought was really
awesome in the last zone conference. President Morgan shared this
quote and thought:
Joseph Smith said, “Salvation cannot come without revelation; it is in
vain for anyone to minister without it” (History of the Church,
3:389). You will succeed in your work as you learn to receive and
follow personal revelation.
We get our power from god. Unlike other clergy or ministers of the
world who look for power in a book, or in history or through any other
means. God is our source of power. The most significant revelation
will be directly from Heavenly Father to you.
I love that quote from preach my gospel. Revelation in our days is
something that sets us apart as Latter Day Saints. I have felt that
revelation and I know that God truly talks to us individually and
through our prophet.

We found a new family! They were a referral from a member! The moms
name is Gloria and she is Mexican and she has a daughter named
Fernanda and her son is named Julian. The dad is in the picture and
they are together but something happened and he isn't living with them
right now. But we had our first lesson with them last night and
invited them to be baptized and they said they would pray about it and
they would be baptized when they knew it was true. We are pretty
excited about them! The work just keeps moving forward! Our baptismal
date for Lucy, Lorraine and Serafín is going to have to be pushed
back. We came across some problems, but we are trying to work through
them. We are going to try to keep the same date with Lorraine their
daughter for September 6th. They are so prepared, especially Lucy, but
we have to work through some stuff with Serafín. They are awesome!

Another one of our investigators named Ylaura is so awesome!! We went
back for our third lesson and she had read to Enos in the Book of
Mormon!! That's nuts!! We were so excited! We finished the plan of
salvation and we invited her to be baptized! She said she would! She
hasn't been able to come to church yet, but she is so excited to come
and she said she will be there in two Sundays! She is sooo amazing!!
Probably the most prepared person to hear the gospel I have met on my
mission. Wow, if she isn't baptized within the next month or two I
would be shocked.

Well, the work is moving forth! The work of The Lord is hastening and
I am so privileged to have been a part of it! I love this work and I
love Him. He is my savior and redeemer!

I love you all and I hope to see you all very soon! :)

Love,
Hermana Jessica Bloxham

Elder Bloxham - Week of amazing!

A little update of what is going on in the Promised Land is we have a baptism this Saturday!!! Yay!!! His name is Jeremy and he is just amazing!!! It has been awesome to work with him because we have seen a real change in him! The Book of Mormon can and will change anybody who reads and ponders what it has to say! When we first started meeting with him he just invited us back because he liked hanging out with us, I mean who wouldn't, we're freakin cool... :) But then we finally got him reading the Book of Mormon every single night, and he has literally become a different person! Wow, the Gospel of Jesus Christ is real and changes the hearts of those who accept it. Jeremy has Multiple Sclerosis, and is 20 years old. He can't walk very well, he uses a cane, but he doesn't like using a cane so he just toughs it out. He really is an amazing man, and he thanks the Lord every day for what he does have! It really makes me think about what the Lord has given me! I have fully functioning legs and arms, sometimes... haha that I can do what I please, and I take it for granted, but it really is amazing to see him and how positive he is! I love Jeremy!

We've been sifting the Pool a little bit this past week! Dropping those who wont progress, and finding those who will, and it has been awesome! We've met some amazing people, but we've also met some weirdos!! That is always fun for the stories at home ;) "We have bikes and a car but we mostly walk, cuz it makes good stories for the homecoming talk!" what missionaries say here.. Anyway, we are excited about the work, and what is going on, we have really been blessed!

The main objective of the Lord allowing us to know the Doctrine of Christ and applying it in our life is change. The natural man does not want to change, but the Lord wants us to constantly change! A lot of people will say, "I am only like this because I was raised that way" or "this is just a habit that I have". The Doctrine of Christ is what allows you to get rid of those sayings! You can always change! This is an excerpt from the talk "His Grace is Sufficient" By Brad Wilcox. He is talking about a student that asked him about Grace and this is what he told her: 

She continued, “I know that I have to do my part and then Jesus makes up the difference and fills the gap that stands between my part and perfection. But who fills the gap that stands between where I am now and my part?”

She then went on to tell me all the things that she shouldn’t be doing because she’s a Mormon, but she was doing them anyway.

Finally I said, “Jesus doesn’t make up the difference. Jesus makes all the difference. Grace is not about filling gaps. It is about filling us.”

We do not have to earn our way into Heaven, we are Learning Heaven. Grace is sufficient to change all who allow it to change them! I have applied this Doctrine, and the Lord has changed me!

I invite everyone to read this talk! "His Grace is Sufficient" Brad Wilcox, BYUspeeches, and it will give you a new perspective on how the Lord wants us to live our lives!

Have a great week everyone and I Love you!!

-Elder Bloxham

Playing some basketball!!! Elder Hanks thinks he swats me here, he's just wrong!!

People in the Zone

 I was stuck in the downpour while making Hot Dogs! hahaha

Thought I was cool! haha

It was Elder Hanks' Birthday

Playing Ultimate Frisbee!

 More Frisbee

Hermana Bloxham - First Zone Conference down!

Hey!!

It's been a pretty crazy week! Sister baker has been sick, so we've
spent speak time in the apartment, but it turned out to be a blessing
because we had a lot of extra time to plan our training for Zone
Conference. So we gave 3 of our 9 trainings today and we found out
that we will get to stay in the mission home on Thursday night just
Sister Baker and I! It's going to be sick! I'm so excited! The
training went pretty well. We just do a lot of things that other
people don't do so it's hard to explain how we are organized when
others do it a different way. But we are going to cut out some of the
information to make it easier to understand the reason behind planning
and organization more than just how we do it. I hope people can take
away something good from it. Today we are going to mini golf on a
pier! It'll be pretty cool I think!

This week I had the chance to go to the temple with some of the
Chinatown sisters and go through the temple with one of her members
who was going through for the first time. It was a super cool
experience. We were her guide people so we got to go through the whole
process with her. It was really cool! The temple is amazing! The
church is true! Haha. I just love how we can have moments in our lives
that grow our testimonies. Just something simple like going to the
temple can just increase my testimony by a ton! It's amazing!

Also, this was cool, while we were there one of the matron ladies was
talking to us and she is Paul Newbold's mom! Remember Nicole and Erica
Newbold? Their grandma. Small world! The temple just brings people
together haha.

Lucy, Lorraine and Serafín are doing great! They came to church last
week and they loved it. They had interviews with the bishop so that he
could get to know them and he told us that he really feels like they
are going to be an amazing contribution to our ward and help to grow
the ward. He has a lot of faith in them and is very involved in their
conversion, it's really awesome! I can't wait for you guys to meet all
of these people that I love so much! It's going to be so great! I am
so thankful to be a Missionary for these last two weeks! The Lord
loves us, His children and he wants us to be happy. It's amazing to he
his hands here in New York and to bring this good news to people here!
I love Him and I love this gospel!

I love you all so much!

Hermana Jessica Bloxham

Zone Conference