April 21, 2013

Quick email from Jason with his new temporary address:

Elder Jason Mark Blanding

13747 Montfort Dr Ste 120

Dallas, TX 75241-4479

United States

He would LOVE to hear from you.

Oh and my wonderful nephew sent this photo. (By the way, if my nephews are keeping score, Jackson right now is my favorite.)

Elder Blanding and Jackson Ostler

I found this on Elder Blanding's Mission President's blog.

April 18, 2013

Dear Mom,

Everything is fine here. Wow that is crazy! Did the lighting hit the van or was it just nearby?

Tell Matt congratulations for me! I told you I didn't have to worry and that I would graduate :D Thanks for your prayers; I am being temporarily reassigned while I wait for my visa. I will find out where I am going and when I leave sometime today. I will most likely leave on Monday or Tuesday and I will probably only be in my reassigned mission for a few weeks. They will let me call home for a few minutes when I find out where I am being reassigned so watch for my call because I don't know if I will be able to call again until I am at the airport.

The Tuesday night devotional was awesome! Elder Richard G. Scott came and spoke to us. He talked about prayer and how we can make it a better experience by not simply saying a prayer but TALKING with God. He talked about three ways we receive answers they were: 1. A peaceful/calm/good feeling (a yes) 2. A stupor of thought/uneasy feeling (a no) and 3. No answer.  Number three is what he focused on the most, to summarize he said that sometimes we don't get an answer so that we can grow, because God trusts us to use the knowledge we have to act on what we think is the best decision.  At the end of his talk Elder Scott gave an apostolic blessing on the missionaries in the MTC. I don't have my notes right now so I will send you what I was able to write down in a letter but the thing that stuck out to me the most was that he promised that if we work at it we will be able to MASTER the language. I'll send you the rest of what I was able to write down later but it was an amazing opportunity and one that I wouldn't have had if I had gotten my visa and left when I was supposed to (would have missed it by one day) so me not getting my visa turned out to be a blessing.

Love you all and can't wait to see you all again in 2 years.

Love,

 Elder Blanding

Another email later that day:

I just got my reassignment; I leave for the Texas Dallas Mission Monday morning at 5!!! I will be able to call you at 5:45 Utah time (right before dinner). Should I call the home phone or your cell-phone?

He called my cell phone at 4:45 (our time) and since I was refereeing a soccer game, Steve talked to him. It was a short phone call and he basically said what is in the above email. Steve said that he could hear happiness in his voice and that he was enjoying the work and excited to be going to Dallas temporarily.

April 11, 2013

Editor's Note: Jason sent a few emails home today. Most of them are answers to questions we asked him. I'll try to edit so that you can follow along.

We asked if he knew when he was leaving the MTC. I also told him I was jealous that he sent his brother a long letter ~smile~.

I don't know when I am leaving. I still don't have my visa and they haven't given me a reassignment yet so I could be leaving anytime between Monday and who knows when. I'm sorry I haven't sent you a front and back letter yet but I have been busy here and there hasn't been much to write about. That will change soon (hopefully) when I get out into the field. Then I will send you a nice long letter.

Oh and they just changed the rules about E-mailing we are now allowed 1 hour per week instead of just 30 min per week. We are also allowed to E-mail friends now so you can post my E-mail address on Facebook so that my friends can use it.

Tell everyone hi for me, I love and miss you all but I will be back soon.

Elder Blanding

I caught him online so he sent this reply back quickly when I told him we were praying for him to have the gift of tongues.

Oh I am 99% sure I already have it because there is no way I would have been able to learn as much Spanish as I have in only 6 weeks with out it.

another email

Just got your letter (it seems they come on Thursday) and actually I do kind of miss the rain. It is to dry and brown here and the weather is bipolar it can't decide if it wants to rain, snow (it has done so three times since I got here) or be the clearest sky I have ever seen. What they say about Utah weather is true, "If you don't like the weather wait 5 minuets." If I could bottle the sun I would, sorry :(
good luck with soccer :D

His dad emailed him a quick note and this was his reply. Steve just started a new job.

I'll send you my schedule here at the MTC when I leave (hopefully soon) I'll also send a letter outlining what an average day is like here in the MTC. Join the club of not feeling like you know what you're doing I have spent the last 5-6 weeks feeling like that. It will come don't worry :) 

The more I hear you talk about your bike the more I want to get one when I get home lol.

Elder Blanding

 Jason's email is: jblanding at myldsmail.net 

We just ask that you remember to be positive and uplifting in your emails to him. Remember he is out there to be a missionary for the Lord and not as a tourist. He is busy doing the work so if he doesn't reply, good, he's working!

April 4, 2013

 Dear Mom,

Just got your letter. Easter here was awesome. We had one big sacrament meeting with the whole MTC. (We usually have small ones with just our Branch.) Even though there were about 3000 missionaries it only took 13 min to pass to all of them.  It made me think of when Jesus fed the 5000. This was probably one of the biggest sacraments meetings ever.  Bishop Causse spoke to us during sacrament meeting and then Sister Dew spoke during the Sunday night devotional. Both were really good talks and I learned a lot from both. To round off an already spiritual Easter the video they showed after the devotional (they always have some video on Sunday night) was a talk Elder Bednar gave to the MTC about the character of Christ. It was over all an amazing Easter.

I got to host the new missionaries yesterday. It was really cool seeing the different reactions of the new missionaries as they got dropped off. One of the most entertaining was one sister who was like “I’m actually doing this…I’m actually doing this…” She didn’t actually say that but she might as well have.

Well say hi to the rest of the family for me including Alex and Roxy. Tell Dad and Kray I think they are nuts. Oh and tell Kray I told him so about crashing his bike (within a week). Tell Chris and Jess thanks for the notes and tell Jess thanks for the drawing.

The drawing Jessie sent to Elder Blanding

Love you all!

Amo ustedes!

Elder Blanding

March 23, 2013

Dear Mom,
Thanks for the candy. (FYI we aren't allowed to chew gum in the MTC.) It snowed for a bit yesterday and it has been snowing all day today. IT IS AWESOME!! There is an Elder in my district who has never seen snow before (he was born in Brazil, lived in Haiti until he was 10 and then moved to Miami, Florida).  All the missionaries that grew up in Utah wish it wasn't snowing. I don't know what is wrong with them.

Yesterday was a really hard day. I "hit the wall" about an hour after lunch and had difficulty putting together coherent sentences in English let alone Spanish. Jackson was in our classroom after dinner yesterday (not to each us, sadly). I think the only reason I didn't just give up on trying to learn yesterday was a mix of your package, a chat I had (in English) with one of the teachers and running into Jackson after dinner.

Over all I am enjoying my time in the CCM (MTC). There have been a few moments like yesterday but those are the exception not the rule.

Love you all,
Elder Blanding