June 2018 Updates

June 6, 2018 Updates:

Hola Familia!

Another week goes by here in Clarksville. Not much has happened here recently, we had a zone conference where we had some one who was like a head honcho in the theater department at BYU or something came and did a comedy act for us. Not too shabby, he threw a gynecologist joke in there so there's that haha. We also had the Nashville Tribute Band perform for us. They are well known among missionaries. A lot of missionaries only listen to Nashville Tribute Band and EFY music. They were pretty sweet. I went on exchanges in Brentwood TN and knocked on some big ole doors. A lot less interested people there. That's my week! We are going to Land Between the Lakes today, so I should have some good pictures next week!

Love y'all! 

Elder Hamblin

June 13, 2018 Updates:

Shalom!

Another week flies by here in Clarksville. Not too much to report on. I've got a count down of 6 months as of yesterday.... Also, we got our tires slashed. We might be moving apartments but there isn't anywhere else to live in our area, so maybe we'll get a camera or something. We also went to the temple to do baptisms for the dead with 2 recent converts and a recently reactivated member. The reactivated member is handicapped and is limited to a wheelchair, but they put a little stool in the baptismal font and someone held his legs down and he was able to baptize and be baptized. It was pretty rad. There was a bunch of youth there that were in shock. Here's a few pics. Love y'all! 

Elmer Hamblin

June 20, 2018 Updates:

Familia,

Clarksville is no longer! I will be heading down to Dickson Tennessee! It's just a stones throw away, in fact it touches the current boundaries I'm in in Clarksville 1st Ward. Dickson will be the smallest city and largest area that I will have served in. I'll also be with Elder Carlson who's on his last transfer. I'm pretty pumped to help him finish strong. I'll send y'all the new address next week when I figure out what it is. Love y'all! Here's some pics of me shooting a big gun and hanging out with Jordan and Bre!

Love, 

Elder Hamblin

June 27, 2018 Updates:

Family and Friends,

Dickson is pretty great. There's dollar bowling on Wednesdays which is pretty sweet. On a serious note, there is a lot of work for me to do here in Dickson. There's a guy about my age that has been a member for just under a year and he's putting in his papers for his mission. He's on fire! He's sharing the gospel with everyone. We are right about to start teaching his family, but they have a background in another church that is very much opposed to Mormons. Especially the whole modern day prophet and additional scripture stuff. So pray for us and pray for them :)

Sure do love y'all!

Elder Hamblin

May 2018 Updates

May 9, 2018 Update:

Hola Familia!

Another week in Clarksville. We just got transfer calls and Elder Horsley and I will be staying here in Clarksville for another transfer! Also, two of our investigators have a baptism this coming Saturday. It's a mother and son and they are having a Mother's day baptism. Pretty dang cool. I was asked to baptize the son and Elder Horsley was asked to baptize the mom. They are so amazing. I have really grown to love them so much. The mom is a boxer, cancer survivor, interior decorator, and really really really incredible mom. And the son likes video games hahaha.

I'm super excited for Mothers day! 

Love y'all, 

Elder Hamblin

May 16, 2018 Update:

Familia!

Another week flies by in Clarksville, TN. I got to call home this last week for Mother's Day. (Shout out to Mom!). That was a good time. We had 2 investigators who were baptized this last Saturday and confirmed on Sunday. A mother and a son (a Mother's day baptism!). I was blessed enough to baptize the mom and confirm her on Sunday. That's all for the Clarksville shenanigans! Sure do love y'all!

Elder Hamblin

May 30, 2018 Update:

Hola Familia!

Here are some pictures of Ryan, Mandy and Savannah. Also, Elder Neuenschwander (he was here for exchanges). Ryan and Mandy were baptized on the 12th and we are still working with Savannah. Sooooooo, President Stone messaged me again and asked if I wanted to go home December 12th or January 18th since he forgot and lost the paperwork already. Sooooooo, I thought about it and I realized that if I went home December 12th I'd be home for Christmas and be able to start school pretty soon after getting back. And starting school quickly sounds pretty good because I'm going to be 24 years old pretty soon and I need to start making some moves haha. Sooooo, see you in 6 months :D

Short Updates: Red Cross and Smoking

May 2, 2018 Update:

Hola y'all,

We helped out the Red Cross this last week. We were going door to door offering to install free fire alarms for people. It was quite the change to be in shorts and shirt and selling people on free fire alarms rather than a collar and pants and talking about the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Fortunately people were receptive, actually very receptive. We set a record for fire alarms installed. The Red Cross head honcho said she knew it was a good idea to get the help of the Mormon missionaries. 

We helped a lady quit smoking this week. She's on date for May 12th along with her son and she knew she needed to quit smoking to be baptized. So she crushed up her cigarettes, is drinking grape fruit juice after every meal, is using cinnamon mouthwash every morning and is giving up coffee along with it. 

Live is good! 

Love y'all, 

Elder Hamblin

April 25, 2018 Update:

Howdy Family and Friends,

Another week flies by here in Clarksville. Lots of fun stuff this week. We had Domino's on a dock. And I gave a talk on Sunday. Elder Poppe is now in the new ward and it's just me and Elder Horsley!

Love, 

Elder Hamblin

March-April Updates ft. Trios, Boundary Changes, and President Nelson

4/18/18 Update: 

Howdy Y'all,

We just went through a boundary change this last week. A new ward was created and it practically split our ward in half. A lot of people are heart broken and some are mad, but I think it'll be a great change to get people more engaged in missionary work.

Life is good! Work is good! I'm driving a mini van now.

Love Elder Hamblin

4/4/18 Update: 

Family and friends,

Another week flies by here in Clarksville. General Conference was a hoot. Some big changes. President Nelson came in guns ablaze. He said "Look at me, I am the captain now." That's not an actual quote, but I figured a good Tom Hanks reference was fitting. With the announcement of no home and visiting teachers, no high priest groups, and the cherry on top, temples in India and Russia, the Quorum of the Twelve were just trying to keep with our 90+ year old prophet. Also, we got some flavor in the Quorum of The Twelve with Elder Soares (Native Brazilian) and Elder Gong (I think originally American, but with heavy Chinese roots. In fact, I'm pretty sure he has an ancestor named First Dragon Gong. That's pretty cool. He also just came to our mission this last November, I believe. With his sustaining at General Conference came the roar of approval from the Tennessee Nashville Mission. This is a really long sub paraphrase thing. I'll end it.).

Hmm what else? Well, our ward boundaries are changing. This will leave us with a much smaller congregation. I believe this is the goal for most units nationwide. Studies show that the larger the ward, the slower the growth. There are more people that can hide in the background and get away with less work. But when you are Young Men's president and there are only 2 young men, you most likely want to change that. However, with more units, we are changing to less missionaries covering those units. More and more missionaries are covering more than one ward or Branch. This, I believe, is to keep missionaries from doing the work that's the rightfully the members duties (finding investigators, reactivating less actives, and fellowshipping).

Anywho, life is good. I'm excited for the Mothers day call in about a month. Love y'all! 

Elder Hamblin

3/28/18 Update: 

Family and friends,

Another week flies by here in Clarksville, TN. I am now in another trio! Who would of thought? Elder Poppe and I received Elder Horsley! The trios are nice here in Clarksville, because there's a rule about only 2 missionaries being a house with a female, so with 3 of us we can go anywhere we want which is nice in a military town with a lot of army wives.

Our ward also just announced some boundary changes, sooooooo this could mean a whole lot. Maybe they will split the trio and put one in the new ward. Maybe we will cover both for a bit. Maybe we will lose a bunch of members we knew well and we will get some new members we don't know. The change is good and I'm excited. 

We've had the whole spectrum of people this week. There was rude guy shouting that he used the Book of Mormon to wipe his butt but there was also a man who wept and wept and wept when we shared Alma 36:17-21 with him. His wife had recently died and was raising two daughters himself. People hate us and people love us.

There is a woman here that we've been teaching that will be moving to Virginia soon. We got in contact with the Bishop and Relief Society president over there and have been able to have the RS President join our video chat lessons. Sister Doelling, the RS President, is so excited and is already preparing for the move. She's made a huge banner and all sorts of stuff. Sister Doelling is amazed by the technology usage by missionaries because her missionaries still have flip phones and paper area books. Technology (video chat, Facebook, Messenger, smart phones, data, etc) has become just a third arm for us. It is so normal and easy. 

Well, sure do love y'all! 

Elder Hamblin

3/21/18 Update: 

Familia, 

We had a visit from Elder Holland this last week. He was very, loving, intense, and passionate about missionary work. He focused a lot on not passing by anyone on the street. Not passing judgment on anyone. Because we don't know what God sees in that person. Both Elder Poppe and myself came out of Elder Holland's training with high hopes and hearts touched by the Spirit. However, on the drive back, we came to a stop light where there was a man having car troubles. Elder Poppe and I were prompted to help, but we both quenched the Spirit. Right after the training! On the drive back back from sitting down with an Apostle, we passed judgment and did not proclaim His gospel. A short little while later, we both admitted to having felt the Spirit but not heeding. We were frustrated, disappointed, and a little disgusted with the way we had acted. We recommitted right there to never pass up another person to do our very best to give EVERY single person a real chance to receive the gospel. This brings us to 2 days after Elder Holland's visit. We decided to bike to the church for companion study and talk with every person we saw. We did. On the way back, we continued keeping our eyes peeled to anyone and everyone we could talk to, regardless the situation. Person after person they shewed us away, avoided us, slammed their doors on us. We even pulled into a driveway with kids playing in an jumpy house with a mom watching. As she sees us pull in, she runs into the house screaming "it's the Jehovah Witnesses!" The kids rushed in behind her and started yelling at us from the window to get out their yard. That they didn't like us. That we were "dumb dumbs". All sorts of profanities. My heart feeling a little hurt, I questioned where the Lord's prepared was. As I continued biking I prayed silently that I would keep my eyes open for anyone else I could talk to and asked that he would lead me in the right direction. As we neared our apartment, a very big man was walking the streets. Remembering my commitment to God, we went to talk with him. He had been praying for spiritual guidance. He had been looking for hope. He had been looking for strength from God. And he said he had found that as he prayed with us on that street corner. Mike was so excited for our meeting the next day that he arrived 30 minutes early to the church. During our next lesson, we showed him the baptismal font and invited him to be baptized. He set a date for April 8th. The earliest possible date for him to be baptized. I know Elder Holland's counsel was inspired. I needed to hear it. And since then, I've needed to recommit myself everyday. I've needed to also repent everyday for the times I didn't open my mouth. I sent a picture with us and big Mike below. :) 

I am doing pretty well. We are going to be in a trio this transfer, so I'm pretty excited haha. The picture below is from this last zone conference (we didn't know we'd be in a companionship together next transfer) 

Love, 

Elder Hamblin

Clarksville Update

March 14, 2018 Update: 

Hola Familia,

I'm alive! Clarksville has been treating me well. It has been a hard adjustment. New city, people, and companion. It's a lot to adapt to. It was especially hard to step forward when I had one foot back in Tullahoma. An incredible woman got baptized 2 weeks ago that I had taught and served a lot and gotten really close to. She asked me to perform the baptism, but I was unable to make it down to the baptism due to time to drive and mission rules. It was still an incredible day for her and I'm so happy to have played my small role. Here in Clarksville, we see other missionaries practically every day which is quite different from the secluded Tullahoma. Being so close to Fort Campbell, we get a lot of military families in the wards and city here. Most are moving around a lot, so we always have new people to talk to.

As for more Elder Hamblin things, I've really enjoyed setting personal goals recently. I remember dad always trying to get me to set goals and make plans and I thought it was lame. I thought it was extra thought and work when I could just do my thing. But I have loved reviewing my progress and setting goals for the vision I have for my life. Greatly suggested.

I'm grateful to be in the service of God. I'm grateful to be in the service of others. 

Love, 

Elder Hamblin 

Short and Sweet Updates

2/21/18 Update:

To Dad:

Howdy Howdy!

Life is good here in the big city! Well, it's not really a big city, but it is bigger than Tullahoma! Elder Poppe and I have hit it off. He's a well-seasoned veteran of 20 months. The ward has a heavy military influence since our area includes Fort Campbell. There are a surprising amount of Mormons in the military and a lot of Mormons in the military married to members of other faiths! It's a high transit city with plenty of people moving in and out which keeps us busy. I've lost 16 pounds so far! I'm in Moroni and just finished Mark as well. I'll send the address soon! Love ya! 

2/14/18 Update:
To Dad:

Hola Fajo!

Quick update, I'll be headed to Clarksville. No more Tullahoma. I'll send my new address next p day. 

Hey if you could check out 2 things.

1) establishing residency in TN

2) the Tennessee promise (free 2 years of college) 

Definitely something to look into, but I don't really have the time to look it all up. Not for sure the path to go down, but knowledge is good. 

Thanks, Dad, love ya! 

1/24/18 Update:

To Mom:

I'm pretty dang good! It's amazing how an extra bit of sleep each night will do you good. And also just being patient with yourself and how you feel. I get frustrated because I get tired, but I just have to give myself a little time and get back into things.

I got a lot of snow! There should be some videos on the Google Drive of the snow. We've had a couple freezes, but only one real good snow day!

I am now in zone leadershipping haha. I help train the missionaries, especially the district leaders, in the entire McMinnville zone. Which is probably about 20 missionaries. It's great, I get to help a lot of missionaries.

I have not moved! Surprise surprise haha. 

As it stands right now, nothing much. But I will need to figure out BYUI and housing and stuff for when I get back. I'm unsure what my game plan is going to be entirely, but I don't want to be caught with my pants down. So I'll probably have to talk with Grandma and Grandpa Hamblin about financial assistance for the first semester.

I'm sure the second Mothers day will come a lot faster than the first! 

Love you mom!! 

1/10/18 Update:

To Dad:

The new responsibilities are great! I have to be even more obedient and an example now. But my main task is to inspire, edify, and uplift missionaries. Lots of missionaries are just discouraged and need a little motivation and hope.

Still in Tullahoma. Always and forever haha. President Stone told my companion that he'd be replacing Elder Brätt and me, but that's subject to change. 

Current mindset: A little frantic trying to learn the ropes with the new assignment and I feel a little like the 3rd wheel right now, so I'm trying not to be the lame wad.

Current attitude: I would say generally positive and hopeful. A little frustrated. But I'm not just taking it, I'm fighting back.

Current health: overweight, but working on it.

New Year's Resolution: lose 50 lbs and read the entire standard works and missionary library collection

Time has flown by! And it's only getting faster haha

New Zone Leader Assignment

January 5, 2018 Update: 

Dear Elder Hamblin,

Thank you for accepting the new assignment to serve as a zone leader in the McMinnville zone. You have received this assignment because you have distinguished yourself as a leader in the Tennessee Nashville Mission. You have earned the trust of Heavenly Father through your striving to be obedient, your work ethic, your Christlike attributes and your skills in teaching repentance and baptizing converts.

Being a successful zone leader is far more about what you do than about what you say. Please lead by example. Find constantly, teach repentance from the Book of Mormon, and baptize converts. If you do that, and if you teach others how to do that, then you will be an exemplary zone leader. Remember that you are a keeper of the TNM Christ-centered culture of high expectations and charity.  Please help the missionaries in your zone to get swept up in our mission culture.

You will train the district leaders and other missionaries in your zone. You do this primarily through exchanges and at zone conferences. Remember to find opportunities to lift, build and inspire the best efforts of the missionaries in your zone. Missionary work can be challenging. Always seek to encourage missionaries in their faith and joy.

Cultivate the qualities of persuasion, long-suffering, gentleness, meekness, love unfeigned and kindness (D&C 121:41-42). It is also very important that you continue to strive for obedience and a strong work ethic. Place Preach My Gospel and the Missionary Handbook at the very center of your missionary work each day.

I love you. You have received this assignment from the Lord. He will qualify you. He has blessed you with unique gifts and talents that you will utilize as you lead this work forward in your zone. He trusts you. And I trust you. Please continue to earn Heavenly Father’s trust each day. Seek His guidance through prayer, and He will help you. We need your very best. I will be praying for you each day.

Love,

Jared W. Stone

President, Tennessee Nashville Mission

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D&C 121:41-42

41 No power or influence can or ought to be maintained by virtue of the priesthood, only by persuasion, by long-suffering, by gentleness and meekness, and by love unfeigned;

42 By kindness, and pure knowledge, which shall greatly enlarge the soul without hypocrisy, and without guile—