Blake's new companion is Elder Holbrook from Layton Utah. He has been out for 10 1/2 months. Sounds like they get along great and Holbrook is “FUN” to be around. He's “STOKED” to work with him and get him familiar with the Cary area. “I’m excited Elder Holbrook has already taught me a lot.”
Update from Last P-Day …. Blake was so sad to report no bowling as planned; too busy getting Elder Svoboda ready to ship out, back home. The restaurant Crazy Fire was “GREAT.” A young man from the ward, Rex, the bike guru, is replacing the brakes on Blake’s bike. And he will be good to go. Ha literally.
It’s heating up in NC. It has been in the 80° + for the past 4-5 days, and Blake is for sure feeling the humidity. It’s only April, so we know what that means….hotter and more humidity headed his way. They are now back to sharing a car with another set of missionaries, so a little reprieve from the H & H every two weeks.
This past week Blake has been busy introducing Elder Holbrook to the Cary area and to ward members, gators, etc. Yesterday they were introduced to a guy named Remmy ; they taught him the first discussion and he understood it all. Blake shared with him how he prayed to know the truth and Remmy’s friend did the same. “The Spirit was CRAZY!” They will check back with him Wednesday to see how his reading is going and then meet with him next Sunday. “Remmy, remember that name, you’ll hear more about it.”
They were at the park and a guy was jogging by and Blake was prompted to jog along with him. So he did and ended up jogging two miles with the guy while discussing the church. He gave him their number to call them for a Book of Mormon. After the jogging and being out of breath Blake has decided to amp up his morning exercise.
I am happy to report Blake is sending his cameras memory card home in a "Padded" envelope, and he was able to recoup some of the lost pictures from other Elders. You can read about this mishap in the April 9th post.
Monday, April 27, 2009
Monday, April 20, 2009
CHANGE & 1st ENCOUNTER OF THE SUSHI KIND
Change seems to be the theme in Blake’s email. Blake starts out with P-Day events…
Usual email (Have I mentioned Monday has become my favorite day of the week since 2/2/09?), shopping, post office; so Elder Svoboda can mail home a few boxes. With a change up in the district....the boys are headed to “Crazy Fire” for lunch (I had to look this one up it is a Mongolian Grill) and then bowling. Those that know Blake know how competitive he is with is Bowling. This will be his first time bowling on his mission. I’m sure I will get the scores next email so stay tuned to see if he still has “IT”. Blake’s companion Elder Svobodoa “his daddy” aka his trainer, is all packed up and California (home) bound. So I guess the “burning of the suit” is in line for Svoboda tonight. Blake is anticipating the 6 month “burning of the tie.” I certainly hope he will not choose an expensive one. Ha-ha. Tomorrow around 4-ish Blake will have a new companion “step-daddy” aka follow up trainer. He is excited yet nervous at the same time. Blake will be staying in Cary for at least 6 more weeks. “I’m stoked to be here still.” Big change up in the district with the exception of Blake and two other Elders.
“So this was a pretty sweet week.” They followed up with a few investigators and met with some less active members. One follow-up meeting they watched the “Restoration” video and presented him with the large print Book of Mormon, which was gratefully received. He is calling today to set up next meeting. Gave a Book of Mormon to another “gator”, so far she loves what she has read.
A less active member family took Blake and Svoboda to Kanki; a Japanese restaurant where the husband is touted as the “Best Sushi Chef” in town. Blake had his first encounter with Shusi “It was GREAT”. He also had some shrimp and steak (cooked that is).While dining, Blake struck up a conversation about the church with a couple in their dining group. How missionary of him! He was able to throw in a mini lesson about the Gospel and Book of Mormon. "It was SWEET." before they left he gave them a pass-along card for a free Book of Mormon, and they said they will for sure look into it.
That’s a wrap for the week, Blake and Svoboda are just working hard to keep the teaching pool afloat.
Ah...One Tired Missionary
Usual email (Have I mentioned Monday has become my favorite day of the week since 2/2/09?), shopping, post office; so Elder Svoboda can mail home a few boxes. With a change up in the district....the boys are headed to “Crazy Fire” for lunch (I had to look this one up it is a Mongolian Grill) and then bowling. Those that know Blake know how competitive he is with is Bowling. This will be his first time bowling on his mission. I’m sure I will get the scores next email so stay tuned to see if he still has “IT”. Blake’s companion Elder Svobodoa “his daddy” aka his trainer, is all packed up and California (home) bound. So I guess the “burning of the suit” is in line for Svoboda tonight. Blake is anticipating the 6 month “burning of the tie.” I certainly hope he will not choose an expensive one. Ha-ha. Tomorrow around 4-ish Blake will have a new companion “step-daddy” aka follow up trainer. He is excited yet nervous at the same time. Blake will be staying in Cary for at least 6 more weeks. “I’m stoked to be here still.” Big change up in the district with the exception of Blake and two other Elders.
“So this was a pretty sweet week.” They followed up with a few investigators and met with some less active members. One follow-up meeting they watched the “Restoration” video and presented him with the large print Book of Mormon, which was gratefully received. He is calling today to set up next meeting. Gave a Book of Mormon to another “gator”, so far she loves what she has read.
A less active member family took Blake and Svoboda to Kanki; a Japanese restaurant where the husband is touted as the “Best Sushi Chef” in town. Blake had his first encounter with Shusi “It was GREAT”. He also had some shrimp and steak (cooked that is).While dining, Blake struck up a conversation about the church with a couple in their dining group. How missionary of him! He was able to throw in a mini lesson about the Gospel and Book of Mormon. "It was SWEET." before they left he gave them a pass-along card for a free Book of Mormon, and they said they will for sure look into it.That’s a wrap for the week, Blake and Svoboda are just working hard to keep the teaching pool afloat.
Ah...One Tired Missionary
Monday, April 13, 2009
Thursday, April 9, 2009
LOST CAMERA MEMORY CARD
Once a month I send a camera memory card in a clear protective case to Blake and in turn he sends his current card back home to us with a list of what is what on the card. And I add them to this Blog. Well Thursday I received the letter, telling me what each picture on the card was, in a torn envelope without the memory card or case. You can imagine how my heart sank. John Barkley one of the Stake High council members in our Stake works for the Postal service in a high up position, so I called him Friday morning with what to do from here. He explained the whole process of from when the postal worker picked up the mail from Blake’s apartment in NC to its arrival to my home. He was kind enough to go to the SLC area postal distribution center, for our Zip code, where the incoming mail is sent through an automated process to see IF he could find the specific camera memory card in the “Loose in the Mail” area of the plant. Well Blake’s memory card is not in SLC. I am now in touch with the Area plant in NC and they are checking with their “Loose in the Mail” area of their plant. I am still holding out hope with this needle-in-a-haystack scenario. I am saddened, as I mentioned before these pictures go on this Blog and in turn will eventually be converted into a hard bound Mission memory book. Moral of the story….do not send anything thicker than a gift card in a plain envelope. It may cost a little more….but send those items in a padded envelope as they go through a little bit different process then your everyday envelope.
Monday, April 6, 2009
MISSIONARY SUPER BOWL & 1st NC BBQ
This was Blake’s first General conference in the mission field, or as he referees to it as ‘Missionary Super Bowl.” I love the missionary vernacular. In Blake’s words “General Conference was LEGIT”. He was able to view all five sessions and he took quite a few notes and anxious to go back and review and implement these with his mission work. He made one of our family favorites “piggy’s in a blanket for the pre- priesthood session dinner. He said the “piggy’s were a HIT!”
P-Day was cut short today due to Zone conference on Wednesday. Blake is looking forward to this Zone Conference as they are mixing it up a bit by adding some athletic competitions in the mix. As you know Blake is quiet the competitor and is probably losing sleep in anticipation of this day.
Today is a day of Fast for the Mission as they are striving for 50 Baptisms for the month of April. Blake is praying he and his companion will contribute to making this goal happen. His companion, Elder Svoboda, has two weeks before he is homeward bound. Blake says, “He has been a great example to me and I will miss him for sure.”
They taught some great lessons this week. One “gator” loved the Book Of Mormon introduction and the first few chapters. She committed to continue to read and to pray about it’d truth. They will follow up in two weeks. They met the next gator on the street and he was intrigued with the law of tithing. They met with him a few days later to discuss the Plan of Salvation. So far he likes what is being taught. With his bad eyesight, Blake is buying him a Large Print Book of Mormon and will see him again Thursday. Another Gator has been coming out to church with her friend and they will check with her in a week to see if she is ready to start the discussions.
They bike has giving Blake a few “challenges”. Luckily a Rex, young man, in the ward is a “bike genius” and has been a huge help in assisting Blake to get it back in riding order. This has been a blessing since one of the other Elders in a nearby companionship, which they share the car with, just had an operation and Blake will be on the bike and foot a lot coming up.
Friday was Blake’s first time having a “legit NC BBQ” with the Young family (they have them to dinner once a week). He said it was great and yet interesting as it is vinegar based.
“I Love it out here and I’m working my fanny off to get these people closer to Christ”
PEACE!!!! Elder Henrickesn
P-Day was cut short today due to Zone conference on Wednesday. Blake is looking forward to this Zone Conference as they are mixing it up a bit by adding some athletic competitions in the mix. As you know Blake is quiet the competitor and is probably losing sleep in anticipation of this day.
Today is a day of Fast for the Mission as they are striving for 50 Baptisms for the month of April. Blake is praying he and his companion will contribute to making this goal happen. His companion, Elder Svoboda, has two weeks before he is homeward bound. Blake says, “He has been a great example to me and I will miss him for sure.”
They taught some great lessons this week. One “gator” loved the Book Of Mormon introduction and the first few chapters. She committed to continue to read and to pray about it’d truth. They will follow up in two weeks. They met the next gator on the street and he was intrigued with the law of tithing. They met with him a few days later to discuss the Plan of Salvation. So far he likes what is being taught. With his bad eyesight, Blake is buying him a Large Print Book of Mormon and will see him again Thursday. Another Gator has been coming out to church with her friend and they will check with her in a week to see if she is ready to start the discussions.
They bike has giving Blake a few “challenges”. Luckily a Rex, young man, in the ward is a “bike genius” and has been a huge help in assisting Blake to get it back in riding order. This has been a blessing since one of the other Elders in a nearby companionship, which they share the car with, just had an operation and Blake will be on the bike and foot a lot coming up.
Friday was Blake’s first time having a “legit NC BBQ” with the Young family (they have them to dinner once a week). He said it was great and yet interesting as it is vinegar based.
“I Love it out here and I’m working my fanny off to get these people closer to Christ”
PEACE!!!! Elder Henrickesn
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