Happy Halloween!

Hey everyone! Hope you're all having a happy Halloween. Halloween isn't nearly as big here as it is in the states, so we just keep on plugging along. I for one am already for Christmas, but so it goes. We had a great, great week. Lots of good work, lots of dedicated hours just getting out and talking to people.

Transfers have come and gone, and Elder MacPherson and I are still together. Not a big surprise, but we're still both very happy about it. He's growing lots. He is a great example of trying to be led by the Spirit at all times and in all things. We do our best to seek the will of the Lord and then get to work. We miss Sister Wu and Elder Gao who just went home, but know that the Lord has great things planned for them back home, and we're excited for our new Sister McConkie who has just joined our Chinese program. We love our Chinese missionaries.

I'm a little short on stories this week - sometimes, you have a week of lessons and activities planned and they all fall through. On Saturday alone, three of the four people we committed to visit the branch fell through, and the fourth left right after to go on vacation. But sometimes, that's how it goes. The 2nd chapter of 2nd Nephi teaches that there has to be opposition in all things. There has to be slow days for there to be hard ones. Some days have to have no investigators, and some days get to have lots. But we keep on pressing on. The joy is there in the work, regardless of "successful" we are. The Lord blesses us with little miracles all over the place - little miracles you can't explain or tell stories about, but make a world of difference in the moment. Studying the right thing in comp study that makes your testimony that much stronger when you're GQing, or when your zone leaders come and share something with you that just makes your day - there are blessings all around.

Speaking of the Book of Mormon, I hope you've all been diligently reading, especially since the prophet invited to do so this last conference. I myself have started again and will read it from cover to cover in Mandarin. For any of you back home who think it is too difficult or too hard to find time to read, I'll gladly switch languages with you. I'll even wrap the book and send it back to you. 

Kidding aside, my Chinese has really improved so much. I can get through a chapter of characters and be able to read 85% of it. Slow and steady, we're definitely getting there. What a blessing it is to have been called to serve the people in this magnificent language and culture. I love it so. 

One story from this week - we set one new investigator on date this week for baptism - a man named Brother He. We have the same Chinese surname, which is kinda cool. He's got a big problem with the Word of Wisdom, but he's cut his drinking by half since our last meeting. Praying that he can find the strength to get off of it altogether. 

I hope you all have a great week! Miss you all tons. Send good pictures of Halloween costumes, and I hope to hear from you all soon!

Elder Blackhurst

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

We are Zombies

Hey everyone! So sorry that I didn't get an email out last week, we were in the temple in the morning and didn't get a chance to email. It has been a fantastic couple weeks. Lots of adventures, lots of contacting. Elder MacPherson and I have been doing great and looking forward to the coming week. 

The to start, the elephant in the room - general conference was absolutely incredible. Wonderful. It was lots of fun to see my companion's face in conference. For those of you who don't remember, Elder Rasband is Elder MacPherson's grandfather. The picture at the end of his talk featured my very own comp right smack dab in the middle. He was a little abashed about it, especially when every other missionary he met would comment about seeing him in conference. All of the talks were excellent, and there is so much good to be got of them. I loved Elder Holland's and Elder Bednar's and, of course the Prophet himself. I hope we're all looking for a little bit of course-correction from the teachings of our modern day prophets.

Elder MacPherson has been doing great. Growing lots, Mandarin in improving. He still loves talking to everyone and taking him out contacting is great. I love working with him. A couple members took us out to dinner last night for hot pot, which was exciting in itself. And then the members ordered 猪脑，which Elder MacPherson recognized probably as well as most of you from first glance. But when the waiter set a plate of small pig brains down on the table, he just about flipped. I just about died laughing. But he got his composure and ate one, which I was proud of. I had two. I thought they were nasty too, but I couldn't seem it. Also featured in that meal were weird Asian mushrooms and duck blood. Wonderful. 

We're looking forward to contacting and working with a lot of new investigators in the next few weeks. We love the work, we love the Lord, and we pray all we meet can come to know Him!

Have a great week, everyone. Keep on studying your scriptures and the words of the prophets. Love you all and we'll talk to you soon!

Elder Blackhurst

30 Minute Meals with Elder Blackhurst

Hey everyone! Great, great week. One of the best in the mission. Not because of the great things that happened, but because of the work that got done. Elder MacPherson and I have been studying the section in Preach My Gospel about what makes a successful missionary - not our results that define us, but what we put forth. We're giving the Lord our all and trusting that He'll take care of everything else. Lots of lessons and contacting and the likes but hey, so is the life of a missionary. 

Elder MacPherson, our new golden, is doing great. Still working and growing. Reminds me of my first few weeks. Chinese is still highly rudimentary, but gives it his all and learns tons every single day. His last name is too hard to pronounce for the Chinese, so he tells them to just call him "Mac". This leads to jokes to "Mac and Black", which inevitably ends with the other missionaries singing AC/DC's Back in Black with our names inserted. Lots of fun. 

Speaking of last names, I'm beginning to realize that the majority of people I work with can't remember my Chinese name because it sounds nothing like my English name. I'm considering changing it to something else because, hey. I can. The character for "black" is waaaaay cooler than my current name. So, we'll see. 

So, Elder MacPherson can't cook. I've mentioned this before. So I'm cooking. And as you can tell, I haven't poisoned us yet. Pastas, noodles, rices, curries, stir-fries - I'm passable now. Stay updated. 

Fun experience on Saturday, the branch had a caligraphy activity. We practiced writing traditional Chinese characters with paint and brushes. Not an easy activity, but very interesting. Teaches you a lot of patience. I'm just now beginning to study characters and learning to read and write in Chinese. It's such a deep, complex language. So much to learn and discover. I find myself saying this all the time, but it truly is an amazing language and culture. I love being a part of it - and even better, being here inviting them to come unto Christ. 

Investigators are growing and progressing. No new news on anyone there, but expect good things soon.

Have a great week, everyone. Love you all lots. Have a good one!

Elder Blackhurst