My Diverse Travels



My latest travels have taken me to the great state of New Jersey. So far, I have served all over the state of Pennsylvania: West Philadelphia, Hazleton, Bethlehem, Honesdale, and Reading. So, this trip across the Delaware River is new to me. I haven't found anything bad about it so far, and I'm not expecting to. There are a couple things that are different, such as not being able to pump your own gas. But, different is good.

 

  

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I love diversity. Even within the state of Pennsylvania, there are so many different kinds of people. I traveled all over the eastern side of Pennsylvania, and I met hundreds of people. I'm not just talking about different races, ethnicites, cultures, countries, etc, although that does add to the diversity. I'm talking about each individual person. Obviously, cultures, races, countries, and ethnicities play a mighty big factor. But, each person is different.

My Family

  
   As a missionary, I don’t get to see my family for two whole years. I can talk to them twice a year, on Christmas and Mother's Day, and I get to email them once a week. That's it. It’s hard to believe. Now, although I was always fairly close to my family, being away from them for 18 months has shown me how much I love, care for, and depend on them.

   My family can be described in so many different ways: love, humor, debate, struggles, etc. But, perhaps above it all, we are a family that is together. There are so many quirky stories that come to my mind as I remember my family.

   For instance, my older sister, Bonnie, and I are only three years apart. When we were young, we would come home from elementary school and argue about whether we were going to have Macaroni & Cheese, or Tuna & Noodles. Later in life, when we were in high school, we grew so close as we spent hours together. She was also the one I went to for advice, whether it was school, dating, or anything else.

Pie Heaven?

My sister and I had a favorite joke about pie, that was more of an inside joke than anything else.  A comedian named Jack Handey once said: “When you die, if you get a choice between going to regular heaven or pie heaven, choose pie heaven. It might be a trick, but if it's not, mmmmmmmm, boy.”  My sister could never remember the joke.  All she could ever remember was that it had something to do with pie heaven, and that it was funny.  So pie has become a symbol of humor in my family, simply becuase of her forgetting a bad joke.

The other day, my companion and I had a experience that I think is hilarious.  It relates to pie.  Elder Barnett wanted to buy a pumpkin pie for thanksgiving.  I suggested we wait until after thanksgiving because someone may give us a pumpkin pie, and we could never eat TWO pies.  He agreed.  Unfortunately, we didn't get a pumpkin pie.  Instead, we were given two apple pies and a cherry pie.  Determined to get a pumpkin pie,  Elder Barnett grabbed one, as soon as we entered the grocery store the following Monday.  It wasn't until we got home that he realized that he had grabbed a sweet potato pie, instead of a pumpkin pie.  Defeated, he gave up on pie and simply ate pumpkin bread instead.  He still topped it with whipped cream though.

Now we have a whole lot of pie, which brings me back to the point I made before: Mmmmmmmm, boy. Pie heaven!

(P.S.  As a missionary, I don't feel comfortable posting this without adding the disclaimer that there is no scriptural evidence that there is such a thing as pie heaven, only in a symbolic sense in our fridge :)

-Elder Blackburn

For the Lovers of Lists...

 

Thanksgiving is getting closer, and I thought that it would be appropriate to share an example of how gratitude has effected me in my life.  My sister's name is Brenda, and when she got home from her mission in Toronto, Canada she started a notebook called "things I love."  It started with just 23 things, for her age, but then it grew and grew as she added the lists of friends, families, and even acquaintances.  It became obvious that the more you think about the things you love, and the things you are grateful for, the more you are reminded of the "little things" that really count.  It has become a tradition, for me and my sister, to include in every letter and email that we send to each other, 3 things we are grateful for, and anyone who wants to, can add their 3 things too!

• I am grateful for full moons
• I am grateful for memories of playing in haystacks at Grandpa's farm
• I am grateful for those days that we actually DO find that needle in the haystack. (which doesn't happen all that frequently.  Any of the other missionaries who knows me will agree that I loose stuff.  A lot.  I have probably lost a dozen umbrellas in the last two years, but that is another story completely...)

 I couldn't resist putting in this video made by the church too.  It's great, and is a classic example of being grateful for the little things!
-Elder Blackburn
 

Chalk Drawings!

Here is Elder Darley.  If you can't tell, he loves to draw, and he decided to use his talent in missionary work! His mom is a pretty good artist too, so he had some good training.  He found a parking lot that wasn't being used... (at least that is what he said.  It looks pretty busy to me...)  and did a chalk drawing of the plan of salvation.

"This is worse than waiting for Christmas!"

Elder Blackburn here.  My dad just had a fun experience yesterday, one of those once-in-a-lifetime opportunities.  He got to experience zero gravity by getting on a jet along with a other school teachers in Utah. I didn't get to hear much about it, simply from the fact that I live across the country, but I can just imagine how he felt.  I loved the story that the news reporter gave with it, because it quoted someone saying "This is worse than waiting for Christmas,"  which I can just imagine coming strait from my dad.   I love my dad, and one of the things that sets him apart from others is what happens when he gets excited.  You can just see it in his eyes, and it is just like a little kid during Christmas.   The enthusiasm of the anticipated, and the joy of the rewards of patience.  For my dad, his joy has always been a simple and pure excitement for things that he loves.

In this world of greed, I have found that those who are able to love and yet be selfless, are few and far between.  I have never in my life, seen my dad fall into the trap of letting his desires override his considerations for others.  He rarely does things for himself, but is always seeking for the happiness for his family.  The times I have seen him most excited have been when he was simply eager to bless us.  And so, when I think of my dad saying "This is worse than waiting for Christmas," I don't think of his anticipation to receive a gift, I think of his anticipation to give one to his children, because that is always what made him most excited.  I love my Dad
-Elder Blackburn