Last email. 9/01/14

3 John 1:13-14. I love you all!

Elder Hamblin

8/25/14

Hello everyone! Sorry this is so late but we had a fun day at a roller
rink, so it was lots of fun! This last week was simply amazing!

The local Easthill Church here in Gresham has been a Mormon bashing
church for many decades. Throughout the years the local members have
worked hrs to build a decent relationship with this church with very
little progress. This last Saturday Easthill hosted a huge service
project in which they planned on restoring the beauty to a dozen or so
schools here in Gresham. At their count early in the week they were in
desperate need of help and finally reached out to the Stake's PR and
asked for help. Wednesday they sent out an e-mail and by Saturday the
LDS church had more members than they did at every school! It was
pretty awesome to see the church reach out and help them. All the
missionaries in our zone met at the High School. What an amazing sight
to see all the missionaries and members mingling with the local
community!

The rest of the week was packed full of teaching and works with the
members here. I know that I am forgetting something because I was very
excited to tell you all, but I really can't remember....hmmm...love
you all!

Love,
Elder Hamblin

8/18/14

Well hello there everyone! How are all you this week. I hope that you are getting my e-mails because my account has been going crazy lately so if anyone could respond as soon as they get this, that would be much appreciated!

This last week was a good growing experience for everyone here in the Blue Lake Ward; many trials have hit the four of us and have really tried each one of us very mentally, but I think that we were all able to grow spiritually from these experiences. We have truly grown together in the Spirit. I think this past week was also the first real taste that I had of going home. I had my last zone conference, which was a little weird because I am so used to seeing all my fellow missionaries going and bearing their final testimony and this time it was my turn. It just feels like yesterday I was arriving in a small town in eastern Oregon to begin this edifying journey down the Columbia River and back again. But the work goes on one foot in front of the other as there are still hundreds of thousands of people that I see everyday that have not the truth because they simply know not where to find it. Our efforts are also increasing among those who were once a part of our fold and now find themselves apart of the Church of God. Funny how we let the littlest details dictate the major events of our lives, but as President Monson has declared, "Decisions determine our destiny."

This week we were given a referral to visit a newly wed couple in the northern parts of our area. When we knocked at their door, we were received warmly as we exchanged pleasantries. As we talked it became apparent that this young husband was very well schooled in both mechanical engineering and the word of God (according to the interpretations of the Bible). We asked if we could simply share a message of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and about the amazing events that have lead to the restoration of this gospel in our modern days. He accepted on the premise of asking a few questions before we got started. He came at us with all the intellect of his worldly mind and when that seemed to fail he began asking us questions originating in his Christian past. As boldly as we could and with as much love as we could muster for this man we answered every question and left every answer with an invitation to follow what James directs which is to ask God for himself. Unfortunately he declined, even so much as to the denying of the Book of Mormon once he had held it in his hands. I thought of all the missionaries in the Book of Mormon and Bible who had the message that they bore rejected, and much more violently than the encounter that we had with this man. My heart went out to him as he closed his door and his heart to this wonderful message. However, I know that this man was left a better man. He never rose above frustration, and had questions to ponder. How long he may ponder, I will never know, but pondering is what this gentleman (and in extension what we all must do) to find spiritual truth that only God can give.

I love you all and pray for you more!

Love,

Elder Hamblin

8/11/14

Hello there! Sorry for last week, I am still trying to recover. The time is flying; can you believe that it is almost half way through August! Uggh! The time is definitely far spent. However the blessings keep flowing as the work keeps rolling and the miles keep coming along.

One such blessing is in a part member family that the YSA Elders found and referred over to us. This last week Elder Twitchell and I went over to their apartment and talked to them. The mother had joined the church about 14 years ago in California and watched her family prosper in the church. Her son received his Patriarchal Blessing and she wanted to receive hers, but let other things get in the way. That led to a divorce in her marriage and to meet her current husband. They moved up here to Gresham and the YSA Elders went to contact the son. The current father of the family said that he had family that are members of the church and would like to know more. When we came over this week the couple said that they had been going to various churches, even though the wife always knew that our church was the only true one, the man said that he would just like to find a place that he could understand what was going on. There are many blessings from the work!

Also this week as we were texting one of our more solid investigators, she drop us. She had been gone for about a month with the death and funeral of her brother. The ward here has been super though! The Bishop was in constant contact with her, many people from the ward tried to visit her (too bad she was out of town) and someone from the ward came by and took care of her lawn. She had only come to church about 3 times, and to see the our pouring of love from the ward was quite amazing! She had found a guy going to another church and decided to go with him. Before her brother died we ate dinner with her and she had left us with a ton of leftovers, so now we have to return all her Tupperware, so we will have to see what will happen!

Other than that there has not been too much going on. Well...our district really wanted to do some service to help unify us. We haven't been able to find any so the Sisters in our district took matters into their own hands and called up the county to tell them we were going to clean up a road in their area. It was fun to get out there all as a district and help clean up the local area. 

Hope that is what you were looking for mom! I love you all!

Love,

Elder Hamblin

Email 7/28/14

Well hello there everyone! This week has been full of ups and downs, but you now sometimes the ups out number the downs. Everything here in Gresham is going great! Elder Twitchell and I have been adjusting to the two new Elders in our apartment, Elder Santo and Elder Smith. They are wonderful missionaries full of energy and love to work with people. They have come home every night now with a new story to tell or a new burn to show;) I think that this will be a wonderful transfer.

The summer heat is here in Oregon and we are seeing many new people open up. Last night I was reading through one of my old journals and I found a quote that I had put in there from good ol' Dad; he said: "People don't view the world as it is but rather as they perceive it to be." It seems that  when the summer is here, people here in the great NW seem to soak deep in the rays of the sun helping them feel better. This in turns helps them see the world a little different, a little better. I love to talk to people that are already happy, they just seem to be more receptive. Sorry I don't have too much more to say than that. I love you all and hope that you are all doing well!

Love,

Elder Hamblin 

Email 7/21/14

Well hello there! This past week was a little slower than many of the previous ones, but I still had a ball with Elder Twitchell. We got our transfer news this past week, Elder Twitchell and I will be staying together (thank goodness) but unfortunately Elder Burk and his companion, Elder Goldman, are being transferred. That is too bad because I thought that I would be able to finish my mission with a great childhood friend, but God doesn't do random so I think that it will be for the best. We are getting two new Elders in are area, and I don't know either one of them very well. It is a little sad to see everyone move on and try and get to know everyone coming in. Frustrating, but fun. 

Other than the transfer news there hasn't been a whole lot of excitement. Many of our investigators have been going through many trails and have not been able to meet with us. It is a sad sight to see what many of the people have to go through. I know that each and every trial that we have was designed for each individual personality, but I am grateful that I do not have to go through what many of these people struggle with. I hope and pray that we have taught these people enough and allowed them to feel the Spirit enough to help them see that the gospel is the answer. It scares me to death to think that I may have neglected my duty somewhere and these people will not be able at this time to be comforted by the gospel which brings so much hope to we who have it. I know that these people will accept the gospel eventually, but I in my mortal minds want to force it on them now! However I realize that it might be extremely counterproductive considering all the other trials they are being put through. One trail at a time. One focus at a time. We are here simply to motivate and provide another option.

I love you all and hope that you have a great week (especially you Ship:)!

Love,

Elder Hamblin

Email7/14/14

Well hello there! Things here in Gresham are just as good as ever. We are having more fun than a scout in the middle of a knife throwing competition. Fun. Elder Twitchell is the man, he is pretty blunt, but it is fun to be with him nonetheless. He is a very simple and clear teacher of the gospel, which makes him very harmonious to work with. The people here in Gresham simply need simplicity in their lives and Elder Twitchell is the right man for the job. I love serving with the guy.

This week was above normal. President Taylor has asked us to focus a little more on the sheep here in our pastures who were once a part of this fold but now find themselves apart from us. We have been focusing our efforts around this inspiration and have seen quite a few miracles already unfold from our obedience. Many of the less-active members that I have attempted to contact in the past were simply unwilling to meet with us and change their ways. A simple invite into their homes was almost never extended as we would stand at the door and talk. This past week, however, an open-door policy has seemed to rest in the hearts of those we were set out to find. Many have invited us back and were ever kind to us. Now we will have to wait and see what will happen to these future faithful members.

Other than that we have been doing well. The great NW is a great place to be this time of year--there are many fresh berries along the roadsides and just as many people out and about to talk to! I love you all and hope that you have a fantastic week!

Love,

Elder Hamblin

7/07/14

Well Hello there! This week was alright. It definitely didn't feel like the build-up to the 4th of July, there just weren't that many people that had the flag up in their yard, no one was talking about it, and (of course) there was no lining up of chairs on the main street for a small town parade. Just not the same, however it was still fun. On the 4th the stake put on a breakfast and had a flag raising. It was good to see that the members of the Church know what is means to be patriotic! That evening we went with some members to a BBQ and some fireworks. Just a normal day other than that. My birthday was fun; the Elders here took care of me pretty well. They bought me a cake and some funky glasses and sang me "Happy Birthday." Then they told one of our investigators (who is very well known for throwing parties) and we went to her home for dinner last night where she made carrot cake cheesecake. MMMMMMMmmmmmmmm.

Other than that we had a pretty good week. It was a little slower, but that just means that we can work a little harder! There is just so much to do here, we are just trying all of our options. We have already seen so many miracles just from being here, and we are excited to see what will happen next! I love you all!

Elder Hamblin

P.S. Mom, thank you so much for being the wonderful person that you are! I love you for all that you do! I got the paperwork for BYU-I, and I need my I-number for that, but I don't know what it is. Could you get that for me? Thanks! 

Email 06/23/14

Hello Family!

Sorry no video this week. I kept on forgetting to make a video and the all the Elders in the apartment really wanted to come and e-mail this morning so I didn't have time to make one. I know that you are all crushed, but don't worry hopefully I will get a few made this week! Well I did have one video but that was a bunch of Native Americans that were all dressed up and dancing in a parking lot that we saw yesterday as we were walking around and talking to people. It was pretty intense but that was about it;)

This week was amazing, but there wasn't a whole lot done. We are still trying to get the work going here, but there hasn't been too much success...yet! We have been going through all of the former investigators, potentials, media referrals, and just about any list that we can extract from the Ward Council. The ward here is great and is so willing to help with anything we ask, but we just haven't found the people to work with yet. BUT there are still many, many things that are going on. We called just about every number that we had in the phone and then some (and Mom you know how much I hate talking on the phone) and we had quite a bit of success. We were able to talk to many of the people we called just to find out that they have moved out of the area. The good news is that many of them were still interested in learning about the gospel so we sent off four or five referrals. At least the work is going somewhere!

We were able to see an investigator that we inherited from the previous Elders. She is very interested in learning and already shares many of the beliefs that we have. She also was offended by the pastor of her previous church so that kinda helps! She invited the four of us Elders to her birthday party that she had for herself, so we decided to go and meet the rest of her family. When we got there we realized that she had invited a few people from her previous church including her pastor. He is a Southern Baptist African-American pastor so right when he walked in we could feel the burn of his stare on us. I thought that he was an interesting guy once we got to know him, but apparently he didn't think the same of us. Well, I think she got the point across to him that she wasn't going back to that church any more!

One last story! This week I just knew there was going to be a miracle, I didn't know how or when but I knew there was going to be one. Thursday night we went to the church to sync our I-pads, and I got a message on Facebook from a Sister in our mission saying that they were teaching a woman named Elizabeth who had asked if I could baptize her. I had no idea what in the world she was talking about, but then I noticed I got a friend request from this said Elizabeth. I looked at her profile and recognized her immediately! I had taught this woman a year ago, almost to the day, in Woodland! After I had left Woodland she moved and told the missionaries that she just wasn't interested anymore. I couldn't believe that when those missionaries told me that because she was purely golden. I thought that Elizabeth was lost forever. I wrote her real quick to see if it really was her and she said it was! She said that she thought a lot about what Elder Babbitt and I had taught her and realized this was for her. She realized she needed to get back in contact with the missionaries to have the happiness back in her life. I couldn't believe that she had even remembered us from a year ago. Miracles happen daily!

Love,

Elder Hamblin 

Email 6/02/14

Dear Family,

Sorry I don't have much time for today to write much! We are going on
a hike today, so I have to write this real quick. This past week was
amazing, as always! I love being back in the country (well it is kinda
like the country). I really like to serve here because I can actually
love the people without having to force myself. Most of the people
here are level headed and have the "right" frame of mind, if you catch
my drift;) I really loved the people of Portland, but it was a much
harder adjustment to make. These people are very concerned about their
relationships with their family, friends, and (what I am most proud
of) God. Most of the people here are God fearing and just want to live
their lives the best way they know how. The only hard part is that
this is a much smaller area and it has been combed through many times
over. That is just dandy because the more contact with the church, the
better!

This past week some of our investigators became very solid out of
nowhere! We were happy about that because we have been really hard to
find people to teach or help the people that we have desire to want
the gospel. I realized this past week that there is almost nothing I
can do to help then desire the gospe more; what my job is to create an
environment where the Spirit can testify to them that the gospel is
true (PMG 92). Once they known this, God grants them with the gift of
faith. Once they have this God given treasure, miracles are able to
happen!

Sorry I don't have more, but I have to go! Love you all!

Love,
Elder Hamblin

Email 5/26/14

Dear Family,

Sorry I don't have much time for today to write much! We are going on
a hike today, so I have to write this real quick. This past week was
amazing, as always! I love being back in the country (well it is kinda
like the country). I really like to serve here because I can actually
love the people without having to force myself. Most of the people
here are level headed and have the "right" frame of mind, if you catch
my drift;) I really loved the people of Portland, but it was a much
harder adjustment to make. These people are very concerned about their
relationships with their family, friends, and (what I am most proud
of) God. Most of the people here are God fearing and just want to live
their lives the best way they know how. The only hard part is that
this is a much smaller area and it has been combed through many times
over. That is just dandy because the more contact with the church, the
better!

This past week some of our investigators became very solid out of
nowhere! We were happy about that because we have been really hard to
find people to teach or help the people that we have desire to want
the gospel. I realized this past week that there is almost nothing I
can do to help then desire the gospe more; what my job is to create an
environment where the Spirit can testify to them that the gospel is
true (PMG 92). Once they known this, God grants them with the gift of
faith. Once they have this God given treasure, miracles are able to
happen!

Sorry I don't have more, but I have to go! Love you all!

Love,
Elder Hamblin

Email 5/19/14

Family! How are ya'll doing? This past week was crazy! We started the
week off with zone conference, which is always amazing! (You fellow
missionaries can attest to that.) We had a Sister that had recently
returned from her mission from the Philippines. She came home after
suffering from PTSD from when the typhoon hit, she happened to be
serving right in the city where the eye of the storm hit. She told of
intense life and death situations that her and her the missionaries
she was with were put in. After all that all 204 missionaries were
safe! Kinda made you think of your current trials and put them back
into perspective. Not more than a day after that I read through Alma
14, so I think that God was really trying to out my trials back into
perspective:)

Then after a week of Stake Reports (which are always my favorite;) I
went on the craziest exchange that I have yet to have on my mission.
After we had exchanged on Friday night we got a text from one of their
investigators that said that she couldn't stand to live in her current
situation and didn't know who else to turn to. She was living with a
LA who was using the church for money and using Craig's List to find
sketchy guys to come and rent rooms from her so she didn't have to pay
rent. That night there was served an eviction notice before the end of
the month. Their investigator had had just about enough of the LA and
wanted to get out ASAP. The next morning the Elders I was with called
the RSP and asked for help. Within twenty minutes she had found a
place with an older lady in the ward who needed help around the house.
We tried calling their investigator back but she had class until 12
and then had to take several buses for a few hours before she got
home. In the meantime we had to get back in contact wit he RSP and let
her know so we could get everything of their investigator's out before
the LA got home from work. We call the RSP and no answer. We biked to
her house just to find her not home. We waited for a few minutes, and
with the time running low, we decided to pray for her to be able to
get in contact with us. We looked both ways down the road and seeing
no cars, we bowed our heads and set off a prayer. As soon as we said
"Amen" we heard the gravel to the driveway crunch! I believe in prayer
now. Anyway, after a long caraway day, we got their investigator and
her dead truck out of the LA, but not without MUCH drama!! Needless to
say, some things got heated and the RSP called the LA lady nuts and
got a few colorful words thrown right back at her. Very interesting
day to say the least, and I wish I could right down all the details of
the day, but this email would be way too long!

What did impress me most about that day was the love the missionaries
had for that investigator. They went to great lengths to help her in
her great time of need. She is just about the coolest person that has
had the HARDEST of time, and to see what they were willing to do was a
true lesson to me! I love you all!

Love,
Elder Hamblin

Email 5/05/14

Hello y'all! How all y'all doing? I don't know how long this is going
to be because I think that I don't have a lot to say...;) so here we
go!

This week was transfers! After 7 months in Portland, got shipped to
they suburb of Portland called Troutdale. We have a small chunk of
Troutdale but have a huge area full of mountains and trees, so I feel
like I am at home;) I love it here! All the people that we have talked
to are extremely kind and love to talk, not too many are interested in
the gospel, but we give them something to think about. The people here
remind me a lot of the people in my first few areas: kind, humble,
hard working, and diligent in what they believe. My new companion is a
stalwart of a missionary and a very good friend of mine, Elder
Solomon. He served near me the whole time I was in Longview, and came
over to Portland with me for three transfers. I am thoroughly enjoying
my time with him thus far and we will see how the rest of the transfer
goes!

Recently Pres. Taylor has invited us to re-read the Book of Mormon, no
matter where we were currently at. That was a little bit of a bummer,
considering that I was in Mormon, but as I have been reading through
this time, I have seen miracles. I have been focusing on faith and the
power that it brings into our lives. I had many questions about what
faith really is and why it is so important. On Friday we were at a
meeting with Pres. Taylor and he told us that the reason that he had
us start the Book of Mormon over is to increase the over all faith of
the mission. He then went on to answer almost every question that had
been accumulating in my mind over the recent weeks. I know that the
Book of Mormon is the most correct book that God has thus far caused
to be written.

I love you all and will talk to you Sunday!

Love,
Elder Hamblin

Email 4/28/14

Hello there ones and all! This week we received our transfer
letters...and I will be leaving my beloved Portlandia:(. Not too
excited for that, but I will be going to a companion that I have known
for quite sometime. I am headed over to Gresham, just on the outskirts
of Portland, so I won't be too far away. Transfers are on Wednesday,
so I am going to live it up while I am here in Portland for the last
two days and try to talk to almost everyone that we see!

The rest of this week was another big growing experience for me. It
seems that when we try our hardest, Satan comes in the most
interesting of ways and really tries to hit us where it really counts.
Some of the people that we have been seeing have seem to have just
stalled and don't want to progress; they want us to come over, but
they didn't want to do anything. I have a bad habit of becoming upset
when things like this happen, but then I realized something that Elder
Holland said when he was here: "We are God's investigators." When this
thought came to me I realized what I had been missing this whole time!
I was getting content with the work that I had been doing and the
results that we have been seeing. I saw in myself a spiritual plateau,
which as we all know in the gospel is always a sign of regressing.
What a spiritual slap in the face that was! Now the challenge to
continually change for the better is the task that I am in, and I know
that as I start to change again, others will also. Funny how that
works huh?

Anyway, everyone here is doing great! The one guy, Erick, that we took
on the temple trip is super excited to be baptized! His fiancé won't
be here until the beginning of June, so I won't be here for his
baptism. But we have a set of Sisters in our ward who had a baptism
this past week and the man that they had baptized asked Erick to give
the closing prayer. He was a little nervous, but handled better than I
have seen any of our other investigators pray before. It is a true
miracle to see how prepared everyone is!

I love you all and had to Skype you all soon!

Love,

Email 4/21/14

Dear Family,

This week has been a wild one! Whew! Blessing and miracles are
definitely results of the trials of your faith, and I have this past
week to prove it. Not more needs to be said about it. We just have
seen so many miracles The Lord has truly blessed, especially on this
Easter weekend.

This last week we had a focus on getting members to lessons and along
with everything else that we have been trying to do to find people to
teach. We were doing good as a zone at teaching, but when we were
following up with everyone, they said that their finding hasn't been
as productive. Elder Aragon and I saw the same problem in our area, we
were able to teach many people, but weren't able to find new
investigators to teach. Everyone in the zone seemed to be discouraged.
(As a side note--our mission has been putting a huge emphasis on
finding these past few months, so when we weren't able to find,
everyone's hopes just got shattered.) All the missionaries were doing
their part to go out and find, but everyone got the same response,
"Thanks for the message, but I am not interested," or "I'm an
atheist." We were all a little worried.

When Saturday rolled around we got a text from one of our District
Leaders saying that he had an idea. He told us that anyone that found
more new investigators than him, he would wash their car and buy them
lunch. I don't think it was the challenge, but much more the
enthusiasm that he extended it with that caught everyone's attention.
From that moment until last night, we were able to witness miracle
after miracle!! How grateful I am that the are people who are so
willing to help and so willing to do whatever is asked of them to help
inspire others. The enthusiasm was all that we needed to go and be
happy while we talked to as many people as possible.

Thank you all for the prayers and the help that you have sent up here
to the great NW. There are many people that need it, and I am grateful
that you have sacrificed your time to send some up here. I love you
all!!

Love,
Elder Hamblin

> On Apr 21, 2014, at 6:47 AM, Mindy Hamblin <mindyjohamblin@gmail.com> wrote:it

Email 4/14/14

There are never a shortage of miracles here in the great NW, and even
more especially here in Portland! We were able to see the work really
hasten and pick-up throughout these last few weeks. At the beginning
of the transfer we got together with the District Leaders in our zone
and set very specific goals for each week of the transfer. Every week
thus far we have been super close to all of our goals as we have seen
the areas that are most needed to be worked on improve. That has been
the miracle of these last few weeks. Months ago, Elder Ballard
presided over a mission presidents seminar with Pres. Taylor in
attendance. Elder Ballard had mentioned that if we were to talk to 10
people every day, we would see the number of baptisms in our area
double. We have been trying and have been very diligent in doing so,
but there hasn't been a myriad of new investigators or many people
accepting the invite to baptism. What I have seen, though, was the
boldness and the love that has been shaping in each missionary as they
seek to be obedient. The willingness to testify wherever they find
themselves has been astounding to me. The miracle here is the becoming
sharper and wiser tools in The Lord's hand. That has been what has
really been the miracle as we have been focusing on our goals.

Yesterday we went to go and contact a referral our area book. We had
previously attempted to contact him, but we had just caught him in his
underwear and he had just woke up. We tried him again yesterday and he
said that he had only 30 minutes or so to talk. As we went in, he
tried to tell us that the world would be better without God. He
reminded me of the apostate Nephites and Zoramites in the Book of
Mormon who make things way too complicated by trying to ignore the
small and simple things. It was very interesting because earlier at
church we had been talking about how God is our loving Father in
Heaven. Just goes to show that when we are edified by the good word of
God, Satan will always be there to attempt to tear us down. I know
that May not have been the experience that you were looking for Mom,
but it had a great impact on me and my teaching pattern. Small.
Simple.

I love you all!!

Elder Hamblin

Email 4/07/14

What a wonderful weekend this has been! I don't think that I have ever
as spiritually uplifted as I was during this conference. Every talk
was spot on to many of the world challenges today, and for many
problems in personal lives. Many of our investigators were able to
catch at least one session of this inspired conference, and each
reported to feel a greater sense of peace and direction in their
lives. What a miracle it is to have modern day prophets and apostles
to guide us in these latter days! Personally I loved Elder Bednar's
talk, not only did it deliver an inspiring message of the loads that
we carry in our lives, but it also reminded me of the hard work that I
was taught in a small mountain town in Arizona. What wonderful
memories have been made at that time and throughout a few years until
the present day.

The Sunday sessions were particularly special because we had a few of
our investigators come to our church building to watch conference. We
have 4 sets of missionaries in or ward, a set of English Sisters, two
sets of Spanish Elders, and us. We all gathered tiger with our
investigators and others that we have been working with and watched
the morning session followed by a lunch at the church. After the
afternoon session we were able to go to the Portland Temples's
Visitors Center. What a wonderful experience that was!! As the Sister
missionaries at the Visitors Center took us on a tour of the Temple,
they stopped at some doors and explained that they were linked to the
sealing room. After talking to us about the eternal natures of
families, one of our investigators looked at the sealing room doors
and said, "In a year from when I am baptized I will be walking out of
those doors." That was the highlight of my conference weekend. As much
as I love the words from our church leaders, the words from those that
we know best are always that most comforting! I love you all!

Love,
Elder Hamblin

Email 3/31/14

Life is good here in the great PDX! I love it here! I thought it was
going to be a little harder focusing on a smaller area, but The Lord
has truly blessed us. We have been working with some pretty amazing
people as of late, and they all seem to be progressing very well.
Before this last week we were thinking about dropping many of them,
but they have all made significant progress and we are doing our best
to help them out anyway that we can.

We have been working with a part member family where the husband is
not yet a member. He has had many questions about the church and
religion in general. We have met with them a few times and each time
things seem to go from bad to worse. There was one week when we were
on exchanges and I had left the area. Elder Ehrenzeller and the
missionary he was with went to their house for the lesson. That whole
day Elder EZ had a headache, and at dinner our members had given him
some medicine for the headache. Well they turned out to be high doses
of sleeping pills and Elder EZ fell asleep! Poor guy, he always tried
so hard to present himself in a way that is acceptable! Anyway, this
family was beginning to wonder if we really knew what we're doing.
Yesterday was the husband's birthday and so Elder Aragon had suggested
that we "build him a cake or something." So we baked him a cake and
took it over to him. He was more than a little shocked when we showed
up to his door with cake and sang him Happy Birthday. His wife was not
home, but he let us in anyway. We started talking about the church and
what made it different from the other religions. Up to this point he
was not too interested about the church and really didn't care, so we
told him of the Book of Mormon and why it was so important. After some
time had passed he became faceted to every word that we were saying.
We invited him to pray and he turned us down. I told him that I would
pray simply first and he could just follow my pray. When I finished
praying he tried to skirt the situation and change the subject.
Finally he agreed to say the prayer. There is nothing more powerful
than hearing a child of our Heavenly Father pray for the first time.
The peace and comfort that filled my soul could only be a fraction of
what our Heavenly Father feels for us. Afterwards he didn't want us to
leave and followed us all the way put to our car. I love this place!

Sorry I haven't written in forever!! I am the worst missionary in the
world! I will try and do better! I love you all!! You are the best!

Elder Hamblin

Email 3/24/14

Well hello there you all! This week has been crazy but very, VERY
blessed. I won't go into to too much detail, but I think that the
pictures should say it all. Let's just say that we won't be in the van
for quite some time...that is all we will say on that subject:) Also,
all is well and we are all ok!

I received my new companion this past week, Elder Aragon. He is the
man! I love that guy! We have been having way too much fun this past
week, but we have been getting much work done. It was nice to be
covering the YSA and the Alameda ward, but it feels good to really
focus on just one ward. Everything is much smoother, we only have to
focus on one ward, one stake, one (smaller) zone. This last weekend
wee got together with all of our District Leaders and planned out this
upcoming transfer for the newest zone in the mission.  One of our new
District Leaders has been in my zone for all of his mission except for
one transfer. It is a little like watching one of your kids grow up. I
have been able to see all the progress he has made thus far for the 9
months that he has been out, and he is really becoming a missionary
and a person that everyone is looking up to. We have planned out many
new and exciting things for this transfer so the mission is looking up
us!

The man from San Francisco is doing great! He didn't come to church
yesterday, but I think that he was picking up his fiancé at the
airport, so we will be seeing him soon! I love you all!

3/17/14

Whew! This week has blown by! We have transfers coming up this week, and usually that means that the week previous is down on most of our numbers. This past week has been the best week thus far since I have been here in Portlandia! We found the most new investigators and taught the highest number of lessons since I have been here. Many people think that we are just focused on the numbers, but that has been the highest number of people that we have helped come unto Christ since I have been here. That has been that highest number of people that have accepted an invitation to learn more about the restored gospel since I have been here. Many miracles has been brought into the lives of those whom we come in contact with since I have been here in Portland. Unfortunately Elder Ehrenzeller and I will be split this transfer, he will take the YSA ward and I will stay in Alameda for another transfer and receive Elder Aragon. Since we moved apartments, we had a much larger apartment. Elder Ehernzeller and his new companion will be living with us! They will be the zone leaders over the Portland Zone, and we will be over the new split PDX East Zone. It should be very competitive between the zones!! :)

This last week we had the opportunity to see a fellow who referred himself onMormon.org. He has recently moved here from San Francisco and is engaged to a member who lives down there. He came to church a few weeks ago and loved it. Then he went back to California to purpose to his soon to be fiancé. We  met back up with him this last week where we were able to go into his life story and how he decided to join the crochet. He told us he could see his life going out of control and needed some change. When he prayed to "a god [he] did not believe was there" and felt as if God was standing next to him. It was not too long after that when he began to date the member who is soon going to become his wife. What miracles we have been able to see!!

I love you all and hope you have a great week!!

Love,

Elder Hamblin

Sent from my iPad

Email 3/10/14

Dang, I have no idea where the time has gone. It literally feels like yesterday I was just e-mailing you all. I just don't know where the week went! I really did write part of my letter to you last week, but I left it in my and forgot. You would think that I don't want to write (ok that is kinda true) but I really want to get better at writing a hard copy letter every week, just like you all are so diligent at doing.

It is good to hear that you MTC experience was good, I know that you and Dad did a wonderful job! Sister Hamblin, thank you for the Facebook advice. It is always good to hear other perspectives other than the one's in my mission. Hermana Hamblin.... Ship, I always love to read your e-mails. I know of the pressure that it is to serve a mission, but what I have learned is two things from being close in your shoes. 1) The more afraid you are of something, the more important it is to do it. 2) The more pressure you feel, the more qualified you are. You have way too much talent and skill, and the Lord would just like to refine the wonderful person you already are. I just know how much the Lord has changed me, and how much He desires to help you, no matter what you are going through.

Elder Ehrenzeller and I had some amazing experiences this last week, hopefully I will get to expound upon them in my letter home.... Hopefully that will give me motivation to actually sit down and write that letter this week! All I know is that "God doesn't do random". It's kinda like our mission quote. I love you all and hope the best for you this week!

Love,

Elder Hamblin

Email 3/03/13

Hello from Portland! This week has been absolutely nuts!  I just can not believe where the
time is going. Anyway, I know that I always promise this, but I will
try and be better about writing you!

Much of the mission has been in mourning with the loss of Sister
Parrish's family. She took a flight home on Tuesday and we got word
last night that she has decided not to come back out. Can't really
blame her, her and her brother have way too much on their plate right
now. Quit is interesting though how much The Lord cares for each one
of us. He knew what was going to happen and he knew why they needed to
go. He knew that Elder and Sister Parrish would be suffering more than
most people can imagine and would need the prayers of 200 of the
finest missionaries in they church, the best members in e NW, and many
of thousands of other prayers from around the world to help them
through the grieving process. She is a strong missionary and I know
that her ASL testimony has been felt throughout the Zone and mission.
Thank you for all the support that you have given her. I know that she
would really be grateful for the prayers and thoughts that has been
directed her way.

The rest of the week has been a little hectic. We just received our
I-pads, and I am lost. I really hate technology! But it is kinda
sweet....I am just lost though with all the changes and what not. I
hope that I can just keep up with the hastening of the work!

Love,
Elder Hamblin

Sent from my iPad

From Sister Hamblin:

So I posted on my missions wall that Sister Parrish needed prayers and I can't tell you the response that I got from them! There is one missionary whose family lives in that mission and he said that if she needs anything to just let him know and he will let his family know! I have been getting calls all week from missionaries asking about her and how she is doing and if I know her personally... It is just really great! Missionaries are just the coolest people on the planet besides the HAMBLIN family! Ha ha But seriously. They are so great! Elder Hamblin if she needs anything PLEASE let us know! She has the Whole of NY NYS praying for her and her brother!

Email 2/24/14

Sorry, but I really don't have time this week to e-mail a whole bunch! We had to move apartments recently, and have been doing that for most of the day.

First things first. There is a Sister in my zone here by the name of Sister Parrish. Her parents and a few siblings passed away last night from carbon monoxide poisoning, so please keep her and the rest of her family in your prayers! They can use all the help that they can get.

Anyway, last week was full of meetings and moving, but we still had a fantastic week. The missionaries here have been working with one of the investigators here for the past 10 months, and he has shown little signs of progress. He reads occasionally, but that is about it. He has also been through many personal and family struggles that we have had the opportunity to help him through. He has a great heart, and really wants to change, but had to get through many personal struggles first. Yesterday he FINALLY came to church! We went to visit him later that night and he stated that he loved church so much that he could not see himself ever missing another day of church again! He is wonderful and really wants to be baptized now! This really is the Lord's works and it is on His time!

Love you all!

Love,

Elder Hamblin

Email 2/17/14

Hey ya'll, it sounds like everything is going well where you are, and I love to hear it! It makes me slightly sad when we meet people on the street who have no idea what is going on in their families' lives, and all they have to do to figure out is just call them up on the phone or drop them a text or shoot them an e-mail or chat on Facebook or even hop in their car and drive 5 minutes home to see who is living in their home. Just to be able to hear from you all at least once a week is pretty darn amazing! I have the best family in the world, and everyone in NE Portland knows it! (Well except for Hermana Hamblin...;)

This week seemed to fly by! By Tuesday all the rain had melted the snow and we are now back to Portland as we all know and love it!  Bytheway, sorry this e-mail is late because of President's Day, that one kinda snuck-up on me. But, like I was saying, this last week flew by. We had many people to get in contact with after the snow storm and many things to do, I just don't know what happened with the week! I can't even think of where to start.... On Saturday I went on exchanges with an Elder who is in a biking area. It was raining all day and we were soaked to the bone. No one that we had planned on seeing was home, but that didn't matter. We are in Portland and there is never a lack of people to talk to! So we spent the day tracting and street contacting and were able to meet the many interesting people of SE Portland. I thought that Portland was already weird before I went down there. Now I know it for sure. Anyway, the whole point of the story is that I had way too much fun in the rain. It wasn't too cold, so I was happy; I really love the rain!

Well I have hit a wall and we have to get rolling, so I will talk to you all later! Love you all!

Love,

Elder Hamblin

Email 2/10/14

Well the snow keeps falling here in Portland, and so does everything else. Literally. These people have never seen snow before, and they FREAK out! It has been quite hysterical for a people watcher like myself to see the people around here go nuts over a few flakes of snow! Yesterday almost all the churches (including both wards that we cover) in Portland and Vancouver did not have services yesterday. All the bus systems were running way late and the MAX (the local light rail) completely shut down. The city never sees snow so they only have 5 snow trucks for the whole city. The good thing is that limited everyone to walking around or staying inside. People here in Portland are funny, though. Many people were fearful af walking in the snow and didn't want to fall, so they either strapped on their cross country skis or their snow shoes (I mean the ones that look like tennis rackets) and went cruising around town. The weather was perfect for missionaries! We are very blessed in our area to have many of the main roads and many, many businesses so there were more than plenty of people to talk to. We would leave in the morning and walk all day in the snow and just talk to people. Our area is quite large and so we weren't able to see many of the people we have been seeing, but we were able make up for that by just talking to the people we saw. I wish it would snow like that more, because it was WAY too much fun. Elder Ehrenzeller and I had walked and walked and walked all day everyday during the storm, but mostly because Pres. Taylor asked us to keep the cars parked. That may seem like a bad thing, but we got a work-out and a fun time all in one! There was one night when it started to "freeze rain" and we were coated in ice. My hair was a solid sheet of ice! It was awesome!

But in all seriousness this was an amazing time for all of us. I never realized how much that I was missing just talking to the regular people on the street. We have been making it a point to talk to as many people as we can a day, but not being in a car for four days straight has been more than a blessing. Many of the people that we would have normally passed by in a car we stopped and talked with. There were many people who just wanted someone to talk to. We even met Jesus (long story, someone that thought he was):) But walking around yesterday on the Sabbath made me realize just how much I love the gospel. We have met many, many, many people and they all have something that they love. I am grateful for the past few days because it has brought me back to focus. I love you all!

Love,

Elder Hamblin 

Email 02/03/14

Well greetings from Portlandia, land of the weird and the social. Portland was hopping from the game last night, which I thought was a little funny. In the Alameda ward boundaries we have really two classes of people, very middle-class rich and poverty. Not too much in-between. All the people within the poverty side of the area are always watching sports, so that was no surprise. What was more interesting was that the richer side of the area never watches sports and complains how everyone is too caught up into sports and those sorts of things when there is so much more out there (like sports...don't ask...it still doesn't make sense). Anyway, everyone was watching the game last night, so there wasn't too many people to talk to on the streets and all of our investigators were at someone else's home watching the game. That is when it FINALLY hit me, as much as I love to watch the Superbowl (and sports in general), sports are one of Satan's greatest twists in this life. Innocent and simple, we get too caught up in the trivial things of this world and replace the hierarchy of God's gifts for the simple yet complex "releases" of the mind. Sorry it sounds like I am blowing up on this, but we have had a few too many people not willing to give up what they want at the moment for what they want most. It can be a little frustrating, but in the end when they DO realize what the kingdom of God has to offer them, it is completely and totally worth all the frustration and disappointment that we express while in the conversion process. For those who stick it out to the end, rewards far greater than Superbowl glory, musical immortality, and yes even monetary wealth, will be honorably bestowed upon our heads for each true blessing we can count.

Yes it can be said that it is much easier to stew on only one conceivable imperfection in our own imperfect mortal plan, than it is to simply count the bounteous blessings contained in the pure and perfect Plan of Happiness created by one who loves us much more than we can love ourselves. We seem to follow the example of Laman and Lemual much more than that of Nephi or Sam. As we look Heaven-ward and seek out those blessings which only God can bestow, freedom of choice is granted to our moral agency. The opposite can be said of our other choices. Freedom is clearly taken away as we think only of our immediate reward. Anyway...

I am staying here in the Alameda ward for at least one more transfer, and the best part is that Elder Ehrenzeller will be staying with me! This will be the first time that I will have had a companion for this long since I had Elder Olsen the first time! So there are blessings in counting blessings and that is for sure! Sorry there isn't more to this letter, but I have been having a blast. Sometimes when I e-mail, life just makes so much more sense.

I love you all and pray for you always!

Love,

Elder Rex Hamblin

Email 1/27/14

Well...craziness that was this past week. I know I haven't sent pictures in a while, so here are some "newer"ones!

Love,

Elder Hamblin

Email 1/13/14

What the heck! No one ever told me about Tell! Man, the things that you miss on your mission! I hope that the family is doing good and that everything is working out. That is sad to see one such as him go. Please let the Udall family know that I will be praying for them and that even though they are Udall's, I still love them.

Well, sorry about my letter this past week. I bet you are thinking to yourself "What letter?" Exactly, we were just about to leave this morning and I grabbed my notebook and realized that my letter from last week never got sent off. I don't know what has been happening lately, but I can't remember a single thing. I could have sworn that I sent you all that letter, but it will come in the mail this week!

Thank you soooooo much for the GPS, it definitely makes life a whole lot easier to get from appointment to appointment in an efficient amount of time. I know that I have not been as grateful for everything that you all sacrifice for me, but I really do appreciate it all. I haven't been as diligent at writing or as good at sending pictures (but let's face it, I never really was anyway), or any of the small and simple things that show my gratitude, but you will never know the thankfulness and love for all of you that I have in my heart. I have never found it too easy to love people, and I think that is why God puts us in families and sends us on missions. The charity that we learn in these two foreordained factions leaves an enlarged place to expand in each human soul who desires to willingly participate in these units. I only hope that you all will never forget how much I really do love and appreciate everything you do, whether I show it or not;).

This week has been good. We may have offended one of our top investigators, so it looks like we are going to have to apply some of that charity that is needed here soon. He has been investigating the church for a while and were trying to make daily contact with him to see if that will help him progress. We asked him one day if we could come over and he said that he didn't feel like it. A little upset we told him that he knew that he had to meet with us. He had told us again and again how much better he felt after we came by, so we thought that it might work. Since then we haven't heard from him. Yesterday we were talking with the family who is fellowshipping him, and they said that he took what we were trying to say as being too pushy.  As I have been thinking about this, I have learned so much about the charity that Christ must have had when He told the Jews over and over who he was and that he was only there to help them, nothing else. He never forced His will on us, nor can we force our will on anything else. We are going to try and see this man tonight and I think a big bowl of crow soup on our part might be eaten, but in the end it will be worth it!

Love,

Elder Hamblin

Email 1/06/14

The old year dies as we ring in the new. Commitment, change, and improvement are often the subjects for this time of year. We as a people look at our personal lives and try and make changes in three major areas: physical, mental, and spiritual. Each of these characteristic areas lead to improvement in the others, almost unknowingly; if you are exercising you are able to think clearer, which then leads to an open mind to which the Spirit can work more fully with you. When we fail to meet these expectations for ourselves we tend to get sarcastic or upset and say that goal setting is something that nerds do. (I may or may not have said that more than a few times....) But the point to it all is the same--improvement. Yesterday in our Elder's quorum meeting for the YSA ward we had a very interesting discussion on how the Atonement of Christ is in every facet of our lives, including our New Year's Resolution. The topic was more than a little inspired because we had an investigator that we found last week at church who was looking to make some new changes in his life. He seemed amazed at how much Christ is really in our lives and how much our Heavenly Fathers actually does care about us. We will have to see what happens from here, but we were excited for the lesson!

The rest of this week has been amazing! We, as a mission, made the goal when Pres. Taylor got here, that we would find 200 new investigators every week. For 6 months we have not been able to to so, but the New Year also brings new miracles! Last week we, as a mission, found 208 new people who want to know more about the gospel! Not only that, but since I have been here in Portland we have made it our goal to find 30 new investigators, and last week we achieved that goal too! I attribute it all to talking to everyone we see. What blessings this brings!

Well, I love you all and pray for miracles in your lives all the time!

Love,

Elder Hamblin

P.S. I just found my letter that I was supposed to send last week...so you will get two in a day:) Love you!

Email 12/30/13

Happy Holidays from the great city of Portland! I think that I can still say that right? I should be, after all I am serving in the most "politically correct" city on the face of this planet, and here in Portland we are always right! I guess it serves me right, but I still think that it is just down right funny. For instance, the high school right behind the library where I am e-mailing from (and where I e-mail from every week) is called the Jefferson High Democrats, complete with a donkey as the mascot. I wish I could say that I was joking, but I'm not. Other than that, it is amazing to see how different people respond to you. The other week wee were tracting and ran into a woman who was convinced that we were brain washed and that Christianity in general is the cause for everything that is wrong in the world. Now she wasn't the first person to say this, nor will she be the last, she just happens to be the stereotype of most of Portland--uninformed about a merciful and just God. If we would have so much as said anything against what she thinks, we would have more than likely ended up having a nice conversation with the other men in uniform. BUT the good news is that many people are just that, uninformed! What an easy and very fixable problem to have! We were able to see through this Christmas season the hardest of people let their guard down and listen to us even for the briefest of moments. I know that God will never take away our agency, but when it comes time to celebrate His Son's birth, I think that He opens people's minds just a little bit, even when they would normally turn away!

Now this Christmas has been one of the best yet! We were supposed to spend it in the prison, but we some paperwork didn't get filed and we ended up walking around the streets of Portland with our brothers and sisters who had no one else to spend Christmas with. We had many good and uplifting conversations with people and had experiences to boost us through the rest of the week. I really love this holiday season, and am ready to carry out the Spirit throughout the rest of this year. I love you all and hope you have a great week!

Love,

Elder Hamblin