For me the greatest pioneer in my life is my mother!

This week is transfers so I might stay in the jungle or leave. I have no knowledge of what will happen, but what I did gain knowledge and a testimony of was our ancestors, the pioneers, those brave men and women that gave everything they had, even their lives so that we could have a better life. The bond, the love they had for one another was so great. They knew by the power of God that their struggle would bring joy to us in these days, and it did, till we as humans began to drift away from the things they fought for, even with bloodshed. Now the war continues, a spiritual war that is no longer outside but now even inside our own homes. Let us remember the teaching of those pioneers in our lives let us remember what they thought us and why.

For me the greatest pioneer in my life is my mother. She is a soldier, a guide, a teacher, a father, but most of all she is a role model.  For its through her teachings that I am here serving the Lord. For even in my dark days, she kept on lending me her light. Now I can say that I am no longer borrowing light but in a way I have created my own and each day I struggle to not only make it grow but to keep it on. 

My advice is to keep on going! Remember what you are fighting for and let your light so shine before all nations!  The world might be changing, but we don't have to. Like it says in D&C 64:34 "Behold, the Lord requireth the heart and a willing mind; and the willing and obedient shall eat the good of the land of Zion in these last days."  I testify that if we give Him our all, He will mold our heart, He will purify our mind and fill every part of our body with the light that we need. I promise as a representative of the Lord, if you all make time for your family, for the family home evening, for daily prayer and study of the scriptures, your home will receive more light. You will go out into the world fortified and the waves of temptation will not push you off course.  In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

 This was a drink called chicha ha, its made of corn.  It was really bad for the sister from the ward did not put any sugar in it...we all laughed afterwards.

The rewards of serving never cease to amaze me!

This week was tiring, but the rewards of serving never cease to amaze me. Each day that I get to spend in the service of God I get to know Him more and more. One way of getting to know Him more this week was by serving many and by taking upon myself their grief and their troubles. In a lesson I shared my testimony of the living prophet and God's love for us and a surge of energy past through me. It was like that moment when I got my answer. Like in Mosiah 18: as ye are desirous to come into the fold of God, and to be called his people, and are willing to bear one another’s burdens, that they may be light; 9 Yea, and are willing to mourn with those that mourn; yea, and comfort those that stand in need of comfort, and to stand as witnesses of God at all times and in all things, and in all places that ye may be in, even until death 10 Now I say unto you, if this be the desire of your hearts, what have you against being baptized in the name of the Lord, as a witness before him that ye have entered into a covenant with him, that ye will serve him and keep his commandments, that he may pour out his Spirit more abundantly upon you? 

I know that for all of us the desire to serve our Lord is big. We all have a chance to know the gospel in our own time, be it in our youth, or in later times, he knows how we will accept His invitation to come unto him. The story that shows me of people ready and willing to wait for the Savior to rescue them is in Mosiah 21:33-35 33: And it came to pass that king Limhi and many of his people were desirous to be baptized; but there was none in the land that had authority from God. And Ammon declined doing this thing, considering himself an unworthy servant. 34 Therefore they did not at that time form themselves into a church, waiting upon the Spirit of the Lord. Now they were desirous to become even as Alma and his brethren, who had fled into the wilderness. 35 They were desirous to be baptized as a witness and a testimony that they were willing to serve God with all their hearts; nevertheless they did prolong the time.

I wondered how much time they waited and its not until chapter 25 that they finally enter into the waters and what they become I wont tell but I'll let you all read for yourselves what wonders God has for those that are willing to wait and give their lives to Him. I testify that God never, never forgets about us. HE is there, He is willing to bare with us and till we decide to grab His redeeming arm. My desire is for all of you to keep on holding on to Him, and if you haven't, my advice is to reach unto Him, get to know Him, and experience a change only He can bring unto you.

Yea I heard that you have sister missionaries now in 5th ward and on my mission I have seen that sister missionaries are amazing. They bring a different spirit into the mission where they serve. Help them a lot and always encourage them to keep on fighting while helping the missionaries there.  I learned its a hard area, but there is nothing they can't do with THE ARMOR OF GOD. They will bring many souls to the 5th ward, that I know. Tell Sister Stoddard that I receive every letter that she sends and I feel special every time I receive one!

I am doing great hanging on to the rod. Things get tough though but I have faith that my Heavenly Father is blessing me each day. THANK YOU for all the things I received, I got a piece of all of you. and it filled my heart with joy, I needed that, thank you.

LOVE YOU ALL! SEEMS LIKE THE MORE TIME I AM AWAY FROM ALL OF YOU MY LOVE FOR ALL OF YOU KEEPS ON GROWING!

Elder Blanco

Follow thou me....

Follow thou me....

This invitation was said many times this week has we struggled to find people willing to hear our message. I can say that the mission is a place full of temptations, trials, and rejection but its a place where we get to walk with Christ, teach with Him, and experience the same joy that He felt when he extended His invitation "FOLLOW THOU ME" I know that it is by serving Him that we are filled with light. Yes our bodies might be weakened but this week I learned that our light NEVER stops growing. If someone says it has, its only because we extinguish it. I testify that we will never be lost and that our trials will be lightened as we follow Him.  For its the same course that our ancestors followed when they were led to the promised land. Its in Alma37:45 that we see that if we follow the words of Christ they will carry us beyond this veil of sorrow into a far better land of promise.

I love you all!  Time goes by so fast here and soon I'll be there, but for now I'll work hard, give my all, and bring others unto the knowledge of a better tomorrow.

Elder Blanco

I learned so much this week through working in the Lords vineyard!

Aug 1, 2016
I learned so much this week through working in the Lords vineyard and through hearing His words through the words of His prophets and servants. I have never seen so much love, so much joy, that comes from trials and difficulties like I have seen in the faithful people that have given their all, even their lives to serve Him. In Omni, I have learned that its not giving our time and being baptized that shows God we are willing to give our all, its more than that. It says in Omni 1:26, offer your whole souls as an offering unto him and continue in fasting and prayer and endure to the end and if we do so the promise is AS THE LORD LIVETH YE WILL BE SAVED. I testify that this promise is given by men called of God and that these chosen individuals let us know that they are just like us, they suffer temptation and afflictions, both mental and physical, but they keep on fighting, trusting their all in God. We should be the same. I learned from many wise individuals that our trials are what make us grow. I love you all, and my wish this week is for all of you to look up, see the world around you, feed your testimony with the words of the prophets, and suffer with patience.

Elder Blanco

Forever seems to be a Long time but that's what I see through the gospel!

July 25, 2016

Forever seems to be a Long time but that's what I see through the gospel!

This week was amazing! I saw something beautiful! I saw a family enter into the covenant of marriage. They struggled but they prepared spiritually to surpass temptations, pain, trials and this to bind themselves and to be cleansed by the waters of baptism. It thoroughly made me see that our pain cannot compare to our Savior's pain. He suffered, but during His life here he shared one thing that changed everything and that was his LOVE. Through this He showed us that HE is EVERYTHING and NOTHING, meaning to those that follow and love Him, He is literally everything... love, joy, happiness, comfort, trust.  To those that seek Him not, He is nothing, for they don't know Him, for they don't trust, for they don't allow Him to enter into their life. This week I learned that in Lehi's vision of the tree and the building full of mocking and pointing played a huge part in my life. I once was in that building and righteous individuals that had been partaking of the fruit of the tree extended their arms and without letting go of the rod invited me to change, to be free, and to know my Savior personally. It is my testimony that we can create a big change, we might not be able to enter into the hearts of people but we are guides into leading the spirit to their hearts and then the Holy Ghost will enter and change them. My invitation this week is for all of you, in one way or another, share the gospel. Remember that time when someone changed your life by extending their arms and rejoice with them.

Elder Blanco

NO PLACE LIKE HOME

July 18, 2016
This week I thought about the attributes of Christ that we all are working hard to achieve and it made me think about the story in The Wizard of Oz. Dorothy and Toto are swept up in a tornado and deposited in the Land of Oz. There, Dorothy finds that distinctive, yellow-brick road that marks the path for a journey that eventually leads her home. Think about it, this road that she took to see the wizard was like in the scriptures the road that leads to our Heavenly Father. Its full of trials, its narrow like in D&C132:22, For strait is the gate, and narrow the way that leadeth unto the exaltation and continuation of the lives, and few there be that find it, because ye receive me not in the world neither do ye know me. She faced many obstacles along her way, but its strange how along the way she found characters, that in a way lacked something. It made me think that since all this journey was a dream, those characters symbolized the attributes of Christ that she needed to gain. At the end, after many trials, after many falls, she and the others gain what they had been missing. I can testify that its the same for us along our path. If we desire to be more like Christ, if we desire to get those amazing qualities that He has showed us, if we stay on that path, and I can say it wont be easy, but if we fight hard, we will obtain them. Like young Dorothy, we will come to realize that there is truly NO PLACE LIKE HOME beside a loving Heavenly Father!

I love you all!  I can say the journey here is sometimes hard, but it's easier with God beside me.  Never give up, never lose sight of your goal, we will find the way home.

Elder Blanco

Satan the false fisher of man

July 11, 2016
Satan the false fisher of man
This week was really amazing for I was able to see things in a different way. Thanks to the scriptures and Elder M. Russel Ballard and his talk in the Liahona of Oct 2014. This is a great talk for all of those fisherman out there, you know who you are, ha ha. Well this story reminds me of Sponge Bob... never knew it had some spiritual lessons in it till now.  He talks about how Satan studies our behavior and how he knows our "hunger" or weakness and uses those to bait, and lure us into his grasp just so we can be miserable like he is. In Sponge Bob we see the same concept, as the poor sponge and the star are lured to the hooks, thinking that its a fun and beautiful carnival.  With innocence in their hearts they fall for it, several times falling into the trap, then landing safely back on the ground. This seems to be the same in real life. We sometimes fall into temptation and seeing that it all goes well, we fall again. Its like this that Satan holds onto us. At first we don't see his chain but slowly it grows. Luckily for us, we like the sponge, have someone that warns us about the many temptations. This person for us is our beloved prophet. With love he helps us go through things but like the story of the sponge we fall to a point that we have been trapped by temptations and the world and Satan"s chains and hooks are deep within us.  Family, I can testify that there are many things that will look appealing to the eye and that we are human and weak but its when we know that there is hope through our Father's love and the love of the atonement of Christ that we can see that with them they are able to make everything possible even breaking the harsh chains that bind us. With love in my heart, I testify that JESUS lives for you, for me, for everyone willing to come unto him, in the sacred name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

 THANKKKKKKKKKKKKKKK you Sister and Brother Bowden, you are the best! I cant believe how much love you all have for me! These things are really special to me. I love you all! Also Brother Arroyo is the best! Thank you all!!!