Primavera

First and foremost, everyone send me your favorite general conference talk by mail and tell me what you liked about it!! :)

Spring is finally in the air here, that awkward temperature where you need a jacket in the morning and at night but you sweat all afternoon! The trees are blooming gorgeously and the grass is so green it makes the Hulk seem happy. But the best part about Spring is that unique sense of a fresh start, a new beginning, a new time to recover from the gloomy dull winter that just passed!

Speaking of new beginnings, I have a new companion now! Her name is Hermana Sandra Macias, and she hails from San Jose, California, which she informs me is the ghetto! She is 22 and she has a unique, tough girl personality. Meanwhile I'm as pasty as Frosty the Snowman and we are polar opposites in just about everything. But we actually get along super well!! She came out to Oregon at the same time as me, so it's been cool sharing with each other the things we've learned the past ten months. She is Hispanic and grew up with Spanish-speaking parents but always responded in English, so though her speaking is not completely fluent yet her comprehension and listening is pretty much perfect (THANK PETE).

Anyway, having a new companion always turns a twist on the lessons with your investigators. Our investigators or less actives have always had a hard time progressing, and so we often have to reteach or reiterate on certain principles. But this last week with Hermana Macias we've been able to share new insights and new perspectives
which she has learned, and therefore, it results in some kind of progression! No crazy miracles lately, but the lessons have gone by so smoothly and spiritually this week, I'm very excited and privileged to work with this "sistah."

Another great thing about Spring is the arrival of General Conference. It starts of thee batik full season of renewal just right, How blessed are we to have a living prophet and other valiant men of God to speak to us in these extremely crazy times? How blessed are we to know that God loves us enough to speak to us, that the heavens aren't closed and that revelation has not ceased?

We know that the doctrine of a God is and always will be, unchanging. But the beauty of the prophets is that they reteach and clarify the doctrines that applies to us specifically in these times, directly to His people who are on the earth today, in their present circumstances. That is why every General Conference is different. God loves us so much to have his prophets and apostles teach us specifically to US.

There are things spoken this past weekend that was meant for me to hear. There are things that were directly meant for you.  The worse and most ungrateful thing we can do is to not heed to the words that we've been given, not matter how hard it may have been to hear them, no matter how difficult it may seem to accomplish the thing that they
asked.

I know with all my heart that God LIVES. He not only loves but he KNOWS each and every one of us. This conference was for meant for me just as much as it was meant for you, just like it was meant for someone with the gospel as much as someone without the gospel. You will never, in your lifetime, look into the eyes of someone that Jesus Christ did not love enough to die for. He is the Savior and Redeemer of the world, whether we believe him or not, whether we choose to follow him or not.The prophet is The Lord's mouthpiece for everyone
living in this earth, whether we know it or not, whether we choose to listen to him or not.

But let us rejoice in this fact that we CAN listen to the Prophet, and that we CAN follow our Lord Jesus Christ. Our loving Heavenly Father has restored this gospel for us so that we can be spoken to, guided, and shown the way. I love how many resources The Lord provides in order for us to be happy. The scriptures, general conference, church, prayer...we have everything in our favor. I know that this is way to eternal life, and I know that by simple things can we return into the arms of our loving Heavenly Father, with our families, for all time and eternity.

I love you all, and I'm grateful to have felt your love in all your letters and emails and prayers. :) have a wonderful week!

Hermana Blanchard