Hello!

dear family,


i wish for you all to purchase a movie, it will tell you all about how the missionary work in africa is and hopefully it will answer all of your questions. dad my companion is one of those people. it will tell you also about the reality of what i stated about the power of the book of mormon to convert. it is called "pioneers of africa" you can get a copy by calling 1-800-962-8061. it is by BYU creative works. when you email me next, i wish that you will have seen it, i wish to know of how it made you feel and i wish to hear your testimonies.



thank you for thanksgiving emails and letters (amber) i loved the letter you wrote me, thank you for being inspired to write it. dad, thank you for the pictures, they arrived on thanksgiving. perfect timing.


i will not be emailing you next satruday, i am not sure when i will again, i am going into the field on wednesday. therefore my address will be changing to my actual mailing address, not the mtc one.
there is a set of twin missionaries in this mtc. it is really interesting seeing the differences between the two, they look very similar as far as features go, but one of them is very large in stature and is very healthy, he also can't carry a tune in a bucket. the other one, on the other hand, is smaller, he has cerebral palsy, is almost deaf, has a very severe limp when he walks but plays the piano really well.



in ether 12:27 it talks about how weak things will be made strong. that is true in the case of the smaller brother. i can see in the big one that he doesn't have that strong of a testimony. it is strong, but compared to his brother, he still has a lot of growing to do. the younger brother is very humble. he gave a talk in sacrament meeting and it totally anhialated everyone elses talk. that was a total fullfilment of that scripture in my opinion. the Lord has bee working miracles here, there is an elder from madagascar that didn't know any english when he came. we have been here for two weeks and i carried on a full conversation with him yesterday. the faith of the people here is immense.


when i was in the airport a couple weeks ago, i had an experience that was very cool. i was waiting for the flight and there was an older woman in a wheelchair who parked her wheelchair in front of where i was sitting. i had been pondering about the events of the day, and i was praying that the Lord would be able to work through me. i made the decision that i was on a mission and therefore i was ready to teach. the prompting came as clear as day, "you need to talk to the woman in the wheelchair." i was sort of surprised, i wasn't expecting it that fast. so i did, she had this awesome jacket that i commented on. i found out that she had gone to the broadway presentation of Joseph and the technicolor dream coat and had gotten it from there. i kept asking her about who she was (she had been a kindergarten teacher for 25 years. i told her how important that was, and i told her of Mrs. Price and the influence that she had on my life because of those couple months i was in her class. i thanked her for her time that she had spent doing her job well, and that i was appreciative of her example), where her family lived, and finally i got her name. it was nancy. she had a very interesting life, her family lived all over the united states and she was visiting all of them, she had been traveling for two months and she had been in salt lake for 3 weeks. she was going home to west virginia. she was inbetween faiths, she had gone to a methodist curch but decided that she didn't like it so she was investigating the presbyterian church. she said that she was confused about what church to join. i asked her if she knew anything about the church of jesus christ of latter day saints. she said she had been friends with the relief society president when she was living in this one town but she moved and lost contact with her. then i was told, as clear as day, "the book of mormon, ask her about the book of mormon." what could i do? i just told God i was on his side... so i did, i asked her "have you ever heard of the book of mormon?" she said she had but it was on her shelf at home. she had never read it, it was given to her by a pair of missionaries who tracted into her. she then asked me what it was. i told her it is an ancient record of scriptures, comparable to the bible, written by the prophets that lived on the american continent before and after the time of christ. i bore my testimony and asked her if she knew where it was. she said yes, i know exactly where it is. then i said, "will you read it when you get home?" (i know now where that came from, but when it came out of mouth, i was sort of shocked.) she said a very sincere yes. i told her that if she went home and read it, she would find the answers she needed, i told her that god loved her and that he had a plan for her.


the coolest part about that was, i wasn't talking to her to convert her, i was telling her because i truly cared about her as a person. i don't know if i have ever felt so much love for a complete stranger before. on the flight to atlanta, she sat in the front of the plane and i was in the back. she would purposely come to the back of the plane when the fasten seat belt sign would turn off and she would tap me on the shoulder and smile as she passed. at the end of the flight, she waited for everyone else to get off the plane and as i passed her she gave me a hug and said, you have told me exactly what i needed to hear.


her immediate baptism may not come, but i know i touched her life, i know she will go home and read, and i know the book of mormon is the word of god and will work a mighty miracle and wonder in her heart.


thank you for reading, mom, keep up the good work at school, karli, keep being awesome, dad, keep working hard and have faith in christ that through him all things are possible. amber, be a strong mother and keep raising your children in righteousness, especially tate, he needs to go on a mission someday. marlayna, may the Lord bless you as you continue your study of the book of mormon and teaching that less active member. she needs to hear the words you have to say.



love,
sister blum

pray that i get a really good trainer, or that i can have the strength to bear with patience whatever the Lord throws at me