Contacting, Beat-Boxing, and other missionary adventures

G'day, everyone! Great, great week. Elder MacPherson and I were on fire this week - he's growing, I'm growing, our investigators are growing, everything is going great. Not easy, but we're working hard. Hard work is what we came here to do. 

Every week, missionaries report their "numbers" to their mission leaders so that other mission leaders can talk about those numbers and figure out how to make them higher. These numbers don't actually measure anything that really matters, but they do help in making sure the people meeting with us are moving in the right direction. These last few weeks have been fantastic, not because we've had high numbers to report - we've been turning in all zeros for three weeks straight - but because we've seen so many small miracles in the work. Finding a powerful scripture in personal study that turns your day around, that's a miracle. Finding a little bit of extra strength to talk to someone you don't really want to talk to, that's a miracle. Your golden-greenie companion reporting that he made sixteen new contacts while you were gone on exchanges with other missionaries, that's a miracle. Being able to understand people, that's a miracle. The Lord showers down all these little blessings on us and we have to be paying attention to receive them. Nothing is better than watching the little blessings add up around you into something important. We don't always know the Lord's will for us - but we always know He's taking care of it. We do our best and trust that He'll do everything else. 

That being said, we statistically had a very poor week last week. But we've been making lots of new friends and sharing the message of the gospel with every person we meet. 

We are sustained by the Lord. I love being a missionary.

One of the highlights of the week was on exchanges last night. I was serving with the Heidelberg Elders, Elders Feng and Hansen, and went with them and our Zone Leaders to a member's apartment and ate dinner with the member and all of her roommates. We ate and we having a nice chat, and the subject of music came up. Somehow they got all five of us performing a musical number - I Am a Child of God, complete with harmonies, ukulele and beat-boxing. I'd attach the video if I could. It was a fun chance to connect with these people and use our talents to show them that we're human too. We're here to do the Lord's work, but we're still us. The Lord uses us, His imperfect children, to spread the word abroad that we might learn too. I love serving and being a missionary and sharing my love of the savior with people on the street each and every day. Lots of bumps along the way, but there's no greater work.

I love you all, have a great week. I've been slacking on the photos recently. I promise I'll try and do better. May the Lord bless you all, wherever you are, whatever you're up to! 

Elder Blackhurst