When we lose ourselves, we find ourselves

December 13, 2010

This week has been fairly uneventful here. Everybody is gearing up for Christmas. We had a Christmas party on Saturday in one of our wards. We also had a zone competition that was focused on finding, so we did a lot of that this week. We are working very hard with the members since that is the best way to teach. We might end up getting a few investigators (not in our ward, but oh well... we'll transfer them to the other missionaries once they are comfortable with missionaries teaching them) from the members. What we have been doing is there are pamphlets that go along with each lesson. We are giving those to members to give to their friends and neighbors. So my commitment to YOU is: ask your local missionaries to give you a pamphlet that you can give to a SPECIFIC person (one that you have thought and prayed about) and ask the missionaries to pray for that person by name as you give the pamphlet to them. Will you do that? I know that the Lord will put words in your mouth as you rely on Him in faith. Pray that the person's heart will be open. Also you could use the excuse that you baked too many cookies and you need to give them to somebody. ;) We have a list of names that is about 20-30 people long (we only started writing them down about half-way through the week, so there are even more people that we committed) that we pray for each night. It is a very powerful experience as we pray for these people by name. I hope that the members here do their part. (oh, and my district won the competition. woohoo!)



Last Christmas (I gave you my heart...) I gave everybody my address where I lived because the mission office asked us to. But I also missed out on Tami's present and didn't get it until April. Haha! So transfer calls are on Christmas Day this year. I don't want to risk it again, so if you could just send packages to the mission office (even though they don't want us to) and if they have any questions, i'll tell them the whole story and they might be mad at me but they will get over it. :) (4455 Allen Ln. ste. #140 North Las Vegas, NV 89031) Also last year, we were able to talk as long as we wanted. This year we have a time limit of 45 minutes. Yikes!  My Christmas plans are that in the morning, we are going over to the member's house with the foster kids (they are going to be with their Mom for about 2 weeks). She is super cool. Then we have Christmas Dinner with some family that I don't know. Should be fun.



Christmas is a very special time of year. I love the wonderful feeling that comes with it. I just barely put 2 and 2 together this year and realized that it comes because so many people around the world are focused on our Savior Jesus Christ. They are blessed with the gift of charity as they think about others. That gift is so great; the most important gift that we can strive for. Mormon describes the cleansing effect this has on us in Moroni 7:47,48 "But charity is the pure love of Christ, and it endureth forever; and whoso is possessed of it at the last day, it shall be well with him. 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." What a promise that we are blessed to feel at least once a year, just because of one little baby born a world away 2 millenia ago. If we could have this feeling with us at all times, what a powerful effect it would have on all of us! We can be like our savior and show his love to all around us. Truly, when we lose ourselves, we find ourselves. I love Christmas and I love even more what it means. We know that we are not lost because God gave us a priceless gift: His Son. I love it!



That is about all. I love you all. I love all the nieces and nephews. "I thought you hated all the orphans in the whole world!" "Not anymore. I like them!" Name that movie!

-Elder Blakemore