Facebook Finding, But not how you would think...

Funny: We were at Walmart (which is about 30 minutes away from home). I got out of the car and heard a loud RIPPP yep, there goes another pair of pants... I don't know what it is about Bayfield this transfer but it has effectively destroyed my pants. Anywho, thankfully Elder Moea'i had an extra pair of jeans in the truck and I was able to throw those on. Needless to say, I had the song from Sponge-Bob stuck in my head for the remainder of the trip ("just a fool who went and, ripped his pants.")

Spiritual: This week I took President Nelson’s challenge and did a social media fast for the whole week. We had been having a really hard time finding this transfer but we put our trust in the Lord and prayed hard. We were very blessed, we got three new investigators all of whom seem to have a lot of potential to progress. When we follow the prophet we are blessed, it's that simple.

Where I am going ;): Bayfield is being Whitewashed!!! We are all leaving, Elder Moea'i is going to Montezuma creek up in Utah, he will be companions with Elder Laver (Beth Laver's cousin). I am going to be staying with Elder Ludlow and finishing his training. We will be whitewashing Farmington 4th ward. It is going to be a crazy time of adjusting and I am very excited to see what this next adventure brings. 

The Man, The Myth, The Legend

Funny: We were driving down a dirt road to a lesson and we saw a horse on the side of the road. As we drove past Elder Moea'i coughed and the horse literally jumped in surprise. I don't know why that was so funny to me but I guess I had never seen a horse jump like that before.

Spiritual: We had three lessons with Jacob this week and they were incredible! During each one he would talk about how he just felt the light that came from whatever it was we would be covering. He told us that he was a little bit distracted during our first meeting because he felt something that he had never felt before. We told him that it was the spirit and that it was a good thing to get distracted by.

Where I am at: It finally rained!!!! It was a good long rain and it felt amazing. The fire we believe is finally getting under control which is so nice. We are doing really well down here and we are interested to see what transfers next week brings. There are a lot of speculation that I will leave but it is still in the unknown.

Thanks for the support, love ya'!

Durango Has a Word of Wisdom Issue

Funny: I am growing in so many ways, one of the largest though might be my waistline. This week I went from having 3 pairs of slacks to having only 1 pair of slacks. Two pairs ripped, and when I say ripped I mean ripped. Bahaha, let your soul delight in fatness.

Spiritual: We had an amazing ward party on Friday, it was spectacular and it really helped us get a fire going underneath the members (not a literal fire though, we have enough of those already). We had a lot of non-members there and every one of them was brought by a member. That was maybe the biggest miracle I have seen here, it was truly something special.

Where I am at: The cloud of smoke has moved in, as I look outside right now I can barely see beyond 100 yards. The smoke is thick and penetrates everything. We have limited ourselves to no longer walking but to driving everywhere. The fire is still raging and has gotten to the point that the fire fighters have stopped fighting it and are now just trying to protect homes and property. Other than that we are doing well. We are staying busy and are happy.

Thank you for all the prayers.

Elder Black

the pictures of smoke are poor representations of the reality but they do show the growth of it in one week. yikes!!!

Fire!

Funny: This week we went Less Active hunting. We went down many a dirt road looking for an obscure address. We finally found someone. They let us in and they commented how excited they were for the new prophet. They told us that they were shocked when they heard that President Hinckley was dead but they also know that President Uchdorf will do a great job... I was honestly speechless. This is the 3rd person I know that has said that in this area. 

Spiritual: We had President Adams last Zone Conference this week. It was powerful, one of the things that he kept mentioning is that "things that never change remain the same". what a simple but powerful statement. If we only do what we have always done we will only get what we have always gotten.

Where I am at: Yes, there is a massive fire up north of us. It is a bit spooky and there is an eerie feeling around town as it sits in the shadow of a massive pillar of smoke. But we are safe, the fire has given us a lot of service opportunities and we are taking full advantage of that. But, let me tell you if you ever need anyone to come sweep up pine needles I have gotten very good at it recently.

I love you all and appreciate your prayers

Elder Black

The fire Jonah refers to is title the 416 Fire. It is centered about 10 miles north of Durango and as of today is only 10% contained. 2,250 acres have burned and many many people have been evacuated.