From Jordan

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Jordan Bloomquist
Date: Mon, Dec 13, 2010 at 1:26 PM

Dear Crazy family in the USA,
       Life sounds like it is going right along, your Christmas
concert sounds like it was a heap of delight.  Has all the snow melted
there?  We had a Christmas activity on thursday and I guess I didn´t
sunscreen up good enough because I got burnt real bad so no my
forehead is pealing off and probably one day I am going to wake up and
my forehead will just be gone.  Anyway the activity was really fun we
did some relays with water baloons had some pretty intence tug of war
and then had some futbol tournaments my team won three of the games.
What can I say I guess I was just born to be an athlete,  I´m not
trying to brag or anything but it is just so hard when... YOUR the
BEST.  After that we went to a church nearby and had a delious lunch.
= People don´t eat dinner ear they eat a big lunch and then a small
snack called once for dinner, and no I have not eaten anything
discusting yet but I will let you know when I do.
   After Lunch we had an incredible devotional by President Laycock,
like always.  I recently found out that he used to be a lawyer and not
a small time one, he has had some big cases.  So he is very good at
speaking and persuading.
  At the end of the evening we all got together and watched It´s a
wonderful life it meant alot more this time seeing it, I just noticed
a lot of small neat things.
  Anyway that was that.  This week we have been working hard to find
new investigators,  when ever we contact people they always fall
through with the following appointments so it is frusterating.  We do
have to people or I should say they have become good friends, that
have baptismal dates Fabiola and Alan both set for the 26th of
December the day after Christmas, so that will be fun.  But the had
those dates set before I even got here so I didn´t really have
anything to do with those but we still visit them often to keep them
excited for their baptisms.
    Random fact when ever we teach lessons or go into members houses I
show them pictures of my family and when they get to the picture of
you, mom sitting on the bench with me at the provo temple they have
every time asked me if you were either my sister or my girlfriend, and
then they flip out and think that I am lying when I say that it is my
mother, one lady didn´t believe me for a long time and thought I was
lying.   They all ask what you eat, and say you are so beautiful and
young, so I am pretty proud.
     So on Saturday Elder Lyman and I got a call to give talks on
Sunday for 15 minutes each, needless to say my life was shortend about
ten years.  I talked about Christmas and the Greatest Gifts that God
has given us The Holy Ghost and his son Jesus Christ.
To answer the rest of your questions I have not had anything thrown at
me,  there are many dogs here but I have only been afraid for my life
twice and those dogs were both behind bars so everything is good for
the most part the dogs are pretty small.
About the pictures (last week) the one of the back yard is at my
house and the other is in another sector, we don´t have bikes in our
sector we were just borrowing the bikes, but good eye dad, good eye.
I havn´t taken very many pictures because I feel like a tourist when
ever I do but I will try to get better at doing that.  These pictures
are of my pention I will get much more to you next week of my area and
stuff but for now, I love you, God speed and keep up the good work.
Elder Jordan Bloomquist

I Am In Chile!

Dear Family,

 I would like to start out with a cool fact.  ¡I am in Chile ahora!  and I love every bit of it.  I don´t know where to start.  The first day my companion was really sick so we had to stay inside all day and I just studied all day so not to fun.  Our Pention is small and not to cozy but I like it like that because we are motivated to get out and work as fast as we can ha ha.  To take a warm shower here you have to turn on the gas heater ,califont, outside and the water is turned on outside as well so that is pretty fun.  Insted of knocking on doors here we stand at the gate and say ALO or tap on the gate with a peso.  Everyone here has gates and on top of every gate is metal spikes, or if it is a cement wall they have shards of glass and or barbed wire.  I feel pretty safe at night when I lock our gate with spikes and then lock the three deadbolts on our door. 

   The people here are magnificently wonderful but they don´t speak spanish, they speak Chilean which has some of the same words but none of the same sound.  Everyday I learn more though and I am loving it.  My companions name is Elder Lyman and he is the district leader so on Saturday we went to a different sector so he could do some baptismal interviews , the pictures are when we were in that area,  We went to the house of one little girl that was going to get an interview but it was more like a shack kind of like what josh and Becky camped in while there house was being build except they have dirt floors and they have been living there for 11 years now.  We have a couple investigators right now but the biggest problem here is less actives so we go visit them and try to get them regenerated.  They speak so fast and sometimes it is frustrating because most of the time I cant understand what they are saying so I look to my companion he will say the same exact thing in spanish and I will understand him.  But I am working hard to get things down.  It is summer here right now and everyone is singing Christmas songs and have Christmas lights up so it is confusing my little brain that I gots me self inside my head.   Couldn´t be more happy unless all of you guys were here too,  we will have to go on vacation here someday.  

I love you all 

Elder Bloomquist

P.S. 

My address is 

Elder Bloomquist

Chile Santiago East Mission

Pedro de Valdivia 1423

Providencia

29 Santiago 29

Chile

P.P.S.  Just a side note it takes two to three weeks for mail here and a helpful hint if you send a box or letter or anything,  tape a picture of the virgin mary on the seems and no one will touch it,  the will drill through the side before they cut up a picture of her. 

Many Magical Moments

This week offered many magical moments. The first and best being that Jordan called on Monday evening. Of course we were anticipating it, so every time the phone rang my heart would skip a beat and then, when it wasn't him we couldn't help but try to rush people off of the phone. Then Mikayla's seminary teacher called with technical difficulties getting his eclesiatical endorsement to go through online and the deadline was that day, so she had to try and work it out quickly. Luckily Jordan thought to call Fred's cell phone, when the line was busy and I picked it up. There is definitely something magical about hearing your child on the phone after a long absense. He asked us to call him right back and gave us a payphone number. We kept trying to call the number but it would be busy or wouldn't ring through. We tried for 10 minutes and then started panicking, so we looked up the number for the airport we thought he was probably at and asked them to page overhead for him to call back home and then we decided we better say a prayer. So we knelt down and I got as far as addressing Heavenly Father when the phone rang, so, knowing that sometimes all he needs is to hear the thoughts of our hearts, not our words, I closed the prayer and answered the phone. He had a phone card so we were able to talk for about 30 minutes, with him on speaker phone and us passing the phone. He sounded so good. I especially loved hearing him talk to Mikayla about his experiences with his "fake" investigator in the MTC and her real investigator here and he cried. When you invest your heart into something, nothing is "fake".

Another magical event was our snow day on Wednesday. Even Fred got a snowday--somewhat. He still had to record a 2 hour video stream lecture online, but still had time to pull the kids and all their friends around on sleds for a few hours and build an impressive igloo (when I looked out Fred, Abe, Lily, Sophie and Eden were all inside and Eden said she could stand up inside). I didn't go inside because the thought of crawling through that small entrance and being surrounded by all that heavy snow made me claustrophobic, but I was impressed. We got our Christmas tree up and I decorated the whole house while everyone was sledding. We did miss Jordan when it was time to get all of the Christmas boxes down out of the garage attic. He used to jump up to the hole, lift himself up and inside and then lift everything down. Of course we had to get down the big ladder and Fred had to climb it this year, but the end result was just as exciting--opening boxes of magic and memories. We spent the whole day as a family, with cinnamon candles burning, 8" of white outside, Christmas music blaring. Every other activity, besides school was also canceled, which meant Abe had no scouts, and Mikayla, Eden and I had no mutual. It was a perfect day. The kids were hoping to duplicate it on Thursday, but magic is a fleeting thing.

Friday the missionaries came over for dinner. We have a threesome here, because one Elder is waiting for his visa to Mexico to come through and is being mentored in Spanish by one of the companionship. They were delightful young men. You could tell by their conversations that they were very obedient missionaries and full of the Spirit. I thought of Jordan when I prepared dinner and cooked an entire crockpot full of b-b-q chicken for sandwiches. I bought huge buns and toasted them with cheese and they each had two enormous sandwiches. Fred's first wasn't even as big as one of theirs. It was fun to see them enjoy their dinner and think about someone feeding Jordan in Chile. The Igloo was still intact thought it had shrunk considerably and they were excited to take pictures of it. The most adventurous one crawled inside with his suit (that would have been Jordan). They are still little boys in some ways, but you can't help but enjoy watching them entertain themselves in the only way they can for these 2 years and their inspiring message afterwards proved their depth and maturity. Having Jordan on a mission sure makes "feeding the missionaries" take on a whole new dimension of enjoyment.

Of course they asked if we knew anyone who they could teach and we told them Mikayla had a friend she was working with. They surprised us by asking if his name was Jet? Minutes prior to coming over they had received a phone call from our ward mission leader, who said our Bishop had asked him to call and ask them to call Jet. They did and he responded positively to them, but shared that he was worried about his parents reaction. He is 18 so doesn't technically need parental permission to be taught, but I can't help thinking of his mother's heart and how she must be worrying about her son being involved in something that must scare her. I think I will ask Jet's permission to go talk to her. Of course we offered out home for discussions and the missionaries called back Saturday morning with an appointment for this Monday evening. I think Mikayla is still a bit in shock from the whole emotional whirlwind of this experience. I don't think she was prepared for how personal missionary work is. It has been such a uniting experience for her to share back and forth with Jordan.

Fred flies out to Las Vegas tonight for a RT conference right before the 1st Presidency Devotional. It seems like he has missed it for the last few years, because of these conferences, but they are mandatory and useful for him. He never enjoys the atmosphere thought and always tries to find a way for me to go with him, so he doesn't have to endure it alone. It's just so expensive to "be a support" that I haven't been able to justify it. I'll just have to be a long distance support--but maybe one year we'll be able to make it work. I'm not happy to have him gone until Thursday. I know Lori does it constantly, but it doesn't make it any more fun. I'll be so happy when he's home. Even alone, I'm looking forward to the Christmas Devotional immensely--that is always the true start to the "meaning of the season".

The Igloo on Thursday morning

The Elders and Igloo--significantly shrunken on Friday night

The first of two teeth --lost in two days

--
Posted By Bloomers to KEEPING UP WITH THE JONESES at 12/05/2010 10:41:00 AM

Hello from the Santiago East Mission!

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Chile Santiago East Mission <2013444@ldschurch.org>
Date: Wed, Dec 1, 2010 at 3:54 PM
Subject: Hello from the Santiago East Mission!
To: "fredbloo92@gmail.com" <fredbloo92@gmail.com>, "crogys@gmail.com" <crogys@gmail.com>

Dear Brother and Sister Bloomquist,

We are happy to report the safe arrival of your son to the Chile Santiago East Mission.  We feel blessed to have the opportunity to work closely with him in this part of the Lord's vineyard. We are excited to share this great mission experience with you and your missionary and are confident that blessings await your entire family as a result of your consecration of time talents and resources to make this mission service possible.  Please know of our sincere concern for the welfare and eternal progress for Elder Bloomquist.  We pledge our untiring efforts to make this experience both meaningful and successful for your missionary.

                                                                                  With love,                                                                                                                                                   

           President and Sister Laycock

Attached is a letter from your missionary and a photo with us of when he arrived.  Enjoy browsing our mission website by clicking on the following link: 

                   www.santiagomissioneast.blogspot.com

I Think I Can...I Think I Can...I Think I Can

What a whirlwind couple of weeks. It was nice to be able to relax  over the Thanksgiving holiday and breath normally.

It's interesting that as I am trying to figure out how to simplify, the climate of my life becomes immediately more intense. It started, over the last few weeks with an assignment to put together the dinner for a Stake Formal. Food planning (especially for large groups) is not my area of comfort, but my President had other responsibilities and her other counselor was getting a missionary ready to leave, so when she looked around, I was what was left. Then the flu bug hit hard, so a week was gone before I had even finalized the menu and in the midst of that I was given the assignment to teach at Auxiliary Training, which I don't normally mind, but it takes intense focus for me and I get a bit one trackish and I had two track s and two trains and well you know what happens to my stress levels.

I knew my brain had hit emotional overdrive capacity when I got so immersed in the details of those responsibilities that I didn't realize the time until I had missed the daily letter post deadline on DearElder.com for the first time since Jordan has been out, and I cried.  That was on a Wednesday.

By the following Thursday afternoon I had finalized the menu, purchased the food, was wise enough, (or overextended enough) to start delegating sufficiently so I could let go of the majority of those responsibilities until Saturday and start focusing on my lesson for the following Thursday which I was getting no inspiration for because I was too busy and because the subject was difficult.  Sis. Fisher had asked me to talk about Pres. Monson's R.S. talk on judging and bring that into a YW/Leader context. First of all, I hate hypocrisy (especially my own) and secondly how do you expound on the prophet's message, especially when it is still so fresh. After the worldwide training I tried to wriggle out of the assignment by noticing that training was now only mandated once a year, but because it was already planned and because there was a provision in the handbook  for more training if needed our stake presidency gave us permission to move forward and Sis. Fisher, my president felt it was important to follow through on a mandate from Salt Lake during Regional Training to put emphasis on the Y.W./ R.S. transition, which they have now deemed a "rescue operation".  My portion of the training just happened to be a small part of that evening.

I got no inspiration until Friday evening on my date with Fred. We had gone birthday shopping for Eden and were walking through an aisle with cosmetic mirrors and both looked into some super magnified models and started making some self evaluations and the inspiration started pouring in. It was a strenuous week to pull it all together but I used mirrors, windows, magnifying glasses, reading glasses, and camera lenses as an object lesson on judging and how we "see" the world around us. Mikayla gave  me permission to make a power point presentation using photos of her to show how perspective is everything in our judgments of ourselves and which always overflows into judgments of others. Some of the pictures were not flattering, but she didn't seem to mind—I think that's because she knows who she is and isn't worried about what people might think; I used that concept in my training as well.  It turned out well. The Spirit was there and I think we all learned something and were moved to be better because of the prophets message, so it was worth all of the stress of preparation. It is a lot of stress for 20 minutes, but it's a tall order to leave people with the feeling that it was a meeting worth leaving their families for and without the preparation the spirit is not there. Unfortunately, I am still working on making my family feel like it is worth it.

 One of the wards in our stake has decided to earn the Young Women's in Excellence by proxy for a sweet high school senior who has Down Syndrome, named Brooklyn Lowell. They have been working on it for some time now and are striving to award her an honorary medallion for Christmas.  I asked if I could be a part of that, so I am working on part of her Personal Progress along with my own…it is such a neat experience to do this for her. They have told her what they are doing and she is SO EXCITED!

Abe has been going through books so fast that I am having a hard time keeping up with stocking him with good literature to read. Every time he finishes a book he falls back to something Star Wars (which I'm not a huge fan of), so I try to keep 2-3 good books available for him but he is so fast. A few days ago he finished a book he really liked and wanted to share and asked me to read it, so now I am reading a book about hatching dragons—not my favorite genre, but I like seeing what he likes and I like that he wants to share that experience with me.  I thought I was so smart when I reviewed a 5 book series that sounded like something he would like and each book was around 350 pages long.  I was thinking that would keep him busy for awhile. I checked the first book out from the library and he finished it the next evening and asked me to check him out the next one. After this, I'm going to check out Charles Dickens for him—that'll slow him down. =) Actually, I love that he's a reader. In January he has to read some historical fiction, I'm going to suggest "The Bronze Bow". It'll be interesting to see if he likes it as much as Jordan did.

Mikayla's best friend's father passed away suddenly last week.  We heard about it a few hours later and I picked Mikayla up from school and we rushed over there. She just cried in Mikayla's arms. It is so hard to know what to do for someone who is experiencing that kind of mourning except to just be there and let them know that you love them. The funeral was on Eden's birthday, right after an early morning youth temple trip so we weren't able to switch gears and make it "her" day until the evening. But to her credit, she appreciated the day for what it was and made it all a beautiful experience. I was proud of her.

She made it past auditions and into two of the 2011 Music Theatre of Idaho productions. She will be Betsy in "The Secret Garden" at the end of April-beginning of May, and an extra in the Wizard of Oz the end of October-beginning of November. There were over 300 people who auditioned and without any experience I think she has been very successful. She is excited—I am nervous. I will stick with her like glue and we'll see what the next year has in store and then decide whether to pursue that opportunity or not. It should be a wild ride. Because the plays are performed in the Nampa Civic Center they are a bit pricey for a family, so we will have to start saving up now, so we can even go watch her, but it will be a fun, cultural experience for all of us.

The Young Artist's Concert Choir is going on tour in April to San Francisco. If Mikayla and Eden want to go, they each have to earn $350. I'm not sure how I feel about the whole idea; it's so much money—so far away from home. You know me, I just want all my kids to stay here in the back yard =) They are supposed to sell calendars and concert tickets as a fund raiser, but the calendars are nice but they are priced at $10 and you can get them at the dollar store.  They went out selling for a couple hours last week and sold only two. We're just hoping babysitting picks up.=)

Last week, one of Jordan's best friends went into the MTC. I had tried to prepare his mother (who is an emotional kindred spirit for the "drop off". She called me from Provo as she was pulling away from the MTC, to tell me that Jordan was standing  there waiting for her son Braiden. We were both crying on the phone. It was such a tender mercy for her to have Jordan there and such a tender mercy for me because as she was leaving she asked if there was any message he wanted her to take back to his family and he said something in Spanish, which he then translated to her as, "I love you Mom." She said he looked great and the spirit was just radiating out of his eyes.  He flies out on Monday and will get to call us on his layover that evening. I'm so excited and so nervous. This is the real deal.

Being together was so nice at the ranch. Playing with cousins in the snow is Utopic for my children and sitting by the fire, without the responsibilities of home, working on Humanitarian projects is Utopic for me. Thanks to all who helped. It was so great to have all of the young girls pitching in. It's one of my favorite traditions.

Can't wait for more family holiday fun.   All my love,

Rach

Thanksgiving in the MTC

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Jordan Bloomquist <jordan.bloomquist@myldsmail.net>
Date: Thu, Nov 25, 2010 at 9:00 AM
Subject:
To: Rachel Bloomquist <crogys@gmail.com>

To all yall Bloomin family,

      I just wanted you to know that I have only 4 more days of winter and then summer here I come.  WEIRDA  well HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

On Tuesday we had a storm warning also they said it was going to be horrible so they shut down BYU and canceled all of our classes.  When It started let me tell you it was bad when I had to go outside I almost got 2 snowflakes on me.  Don't worry I surrvived I am still recovering from the shock though.  I hope you all have a wonderful time at the ranch.  Today we have planned some programs and service and a devotional.  I will tell you all about it when I call on monday.  So for the last 20 hours I have been speaking in only spanish sometimes I forget a word so I have to use hand signals but it is helping me learn much.  I have seen Elder White a lot this week,  we have the same meal times and on tuesday had the same Gym time.  It is weird when ever i see him because everything seems so foriegn here and when I see someone or something familiar it disorients me a little bit.  On Sunday Elder Pew and I were released from our assignment as zone leaders it made me a little bit sad because they have become such close brothers to me but at the same time it took a load off my shoulders.  I have come to love my zone and my district so much.  

    Please let Tessia and Dallas know that they are in my prayers each and every day.

" It's not just in the doing and the knowing that leads us back to God it's in the becomming, it's who we become."

                                                  - Elder Uchtdorf

My Dear Family I love you

    Love Elder Bloomquist

From Jordan

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Jordan Bloomquist
Date: Thu, Nov 18, 2010 at 5:44 PM

Dear Family,

  So Today I got my travel plans to Santiago Chile  My flight leaves from Salt Lake City 2:55 PM and arrive at Dallas TX at 6:30 I leave from there at 9:10 between this time I will have the chance to call you so please try to be availible this is on the 29th of November.   I will arrive in Santiago at 9:55 AM.  AAAAAAAAHHHHHH I can't wait.

I was able to be a host yesterday which was really awesome but there were many a sad faces leaving and many a scared but happy comming in.  I knew that Braiden was comming in at 1:45  so I didn't have to wait forever I hosted 2 Elders before that and around 1:30 I went on the hunt.  I just stood toward the front so that I could see every car that was comming in.   I saw their green car and my heart just started beating faster.   I actually had to steal him from the Elders that were assigned to that post they didn't mind though as soon as he stoped I ran around and gave him a big hug.  The rest of his family got out of the car and we talked to them for about 5 minutes and then had to leave.  He seemed excited but not all the way ready to leave as we walked away.  He went and got all of his paper work and his tags.  When he came out I took him right to his room and then we went to his classroom and dropped him off there he seemed excited to get straight to work.  I haven't seen him again but I will keep looking. I wrote a big hand written letter so I will talk to you then. 

I love you all, 

Elder Jordan Bloomquist

P.S. Elder Taylor says Hi

From Jordan

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Jordan Bloomquist <jordan.bloomquist@myldsmail.net>
Date: Thu, Nov 11, 2010 at 12:40 PM
Subject:
To: Rachel Bloomquist <crogys@gmail.com>

Family, if that is your real name?

                So I don't even know where to start.  This week was so awesome and I keep loving it more and more.  On Sunday Sister Dew came and spoke to us about life here on earth and how it is so short even though sometimes it can feel so long.  And if we can be good for this small time, then we can be happy forever.  After her talk Elder Pew and I got the privaledge to go talk to her and shake her hand it was the most awesomest ever.  On Tuesday Elder Bednar came and talked to us about doctrine, Principle and Application, and the difference between them.  The answer to what, is doctrine the answer to why, is principle and the answer to how, is application.  That is four apostles in a row here and that never happens!  So I am guessing that next tuesday will be the prophet and the tuesday after that the second comming.  So you know I am excited and stuff.  I just want to say that Elder Grillone loved lilys and Sophies letters so much.   Mom you asked about my tie, it was the red donald trump and I looked in the lost in found but they said they would call the  MTC if they found it.  About the pictures yes I do have to print them, I cant get them onto a computer but is is ok because everything in the MTC store is 40 % off for missionaries so it is not expensive at all.  It is winter here now, there is no snow down here but the mountains looming over us are white caped so it is beautiful, I will have to send you some pictures.  I am so excited for Taylor that is so cool Aly looks like a fun girl you will have to keep me update on all the latest gossip. : )  AAAAHHHH another 30 minutes gone sorry.

   I love you all to the edge of the universe and back,

Te Amo,  Elder Bloomquist

Welcome Aly!

Introducing Taylors fiancee--Aly. Taylor gave me permission to copy these photo's from Facebook and Aly promised to send me more.
See the "Did You Know" sidebar for more info. coming soon.

The Things That Matter Most

A few months ago, Eden decided that she wanted to try out for next seasons Music Theatre of Idaho. We agreed to let her audition in November and experience the process and see if it was something she wanted to pursue and we felt comfortable with her pursuing. There was an audition coach option for those who had never been through the process, so we signed her up, thinking it might be a nice professional introduction to the "musical" expectations. It was advertised as three ½ hour sessions to help her find music and give her advice and practice for the audition. Fred went with her the first Saturday and came back with the most exaggerated comments (or so I thought) about the building and the instructor, that I was curious and went with her last weekend. OH MY GOODNESS!!! It is held in the MTI headquarters which is a little old house that has been rezoned for business and is the dumpiest commercial place I have ever been in! I've only seen a few other personal homes that are worse, when the R.S. had to go in and do some "emergency" cleaning. You walk into a tiny front office that has papers and books scattered everywhere and then you notice the smell—a mixture of age, filth and animals and when the black cat wanders in and rubs against your legs that makes more sense. From there you walk through a series of small rooms that have parked bikes and boxes of what might be props or costumes spilling out and the most mismatched furniture with stuffing falling out onto the floor. I'm not sure they have ever cleaned it in all the years they have been an organization and I think they started back in 1997. When we finally got back to "the practice room" there were a lot of old, bent metal chairs set up, maybe for choir or orchestra practices and trash was strewn between them all over the floor and falling from the 3 or 4 boxes of garbage in front that you had to walk around to get to the tiny piano and computer desk that were shoved in the corner. Eden's "coach" was a young (looked like Mikayla's age) likeable, but goofy kid who we later found out was "Dicken" in the Secret Garden production that we saw a few years ago, so he's talented and had some good advice for Eden, but it could have easily been given in one 1/2 hour session, not three. Her audition will be this Saturday, and luckily it is in the Nampa Civic Center. Honestly, I am a little worried about her working with a group that is content to have home base in a place that is so loathsome. It makes me wonder what kind of people are in charge, but right now we are just getting our feet wet. For a local, amateur company they have put on some impressive productions, a few of which I have been lucky enough to attend, so they know how to entertain, but they don't know how to clean.

Marg asked me at the family Harvest party how I was enjoying my time without any kids at home and I had to honestly answer that I felt like I had less time than ever. That has bothered me tremendously and yesterday, as I was re-listening to Elder Uchtdorf's conference talk I decided I really needed to make some hard decisions and learn to slow down and simplify, so I can focus on the things that matter most. With my children gone I have felt compelled to become involved in every good thing that I haven't done because my children were here and now  I never feel like I have time to accomplish anything at home. There are hundreds of women who are much more involved in the community and school and church than I and accomplishing things just fine, but I have to keep reminding myself that I am not those other women. I have my own unique capacity. I was talking to Renee the other day and she was telling me that her whole day is scheduled, including time for herself and her different responsibilities. I know I would feel less pressure and accomplish so many more "real" things if I did that, so that is one of my goals today, to redistribute my time in more effective ways.

It is so much fun to get Jordan's letters each week. He e-mails us the short one that I forward here during his scheduled computer time and then he handwrites us a longer, more personal one each week while he is doing his laundry. He sounds so good and I have been flying high emotionally, regarding him, for the last three weeks, so it was alarming last night when our family was watching "Friendly Persuasion" and my emotions went into instant overdrive when the Mom sends her son off to war. There was no warm up, no prep time--just an immediate flash flood. My poor children were confused and worried (I was a little worried myself), but without even skipping a beat, Fred's arm went around me and he just held on until I found my pace again. I really hope it's not going to be like this for two years and I especially hope that doesn't happen in some public place, because it is really quite disturbing.

Jet came to church with us again this Sunday. He is curious but confused much of the time.  We take so much of the basics of the gospel for granted and teach to those who already have a deep doctrinal foundation. Even in primary, the little children have a vast understanding of religious concepts. I suggested that he go to Mormon.org so that he can get information at his own leisure and his own pace. He is reading four chapters a day in the Book of Mormon and told Mikayla he really liked Isaiah because he's really depressing and talks about the end of the world. It's an interesting reason to like Isaiah, but Mikayla says he sees the world from a very cynical perception and is really interested in things like the apocalypse. I am impressed that he has been courageous enough to come and find out for himself what our religion is all about. I found out today that he is enlisted in the army and will be off to boot camp as soon as he graduates from high school. He seems like such a bright kid, full of such amazing potential that I want him to have something concrete to hold on during those hard days that are surely ahead. His presence has started some stirrings in our ward--people wondering who the "attractive" boy is with Mikayla--but of course she is  not phased because they are truly just friends. I hope he will want to come next week and the next week and the next....

ELDER BLOOMQUIST IN THE MTC--
STILL THE SAME GOOFY GUY
(the captions are what Jordan wrote on the back of his photos).

"From left to right: Elder Grillone, Elder Bloomquist, Elder Thompson,  Elder Pew. In front Elder Hymas"

"Me in the laundry room"

"Elder Perkins, Elder bloomquist, Elder Pew studyin' it up"

"You can't get much better looking than this!"

"Self explanatory don't you think"

--

From Jordan

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Jordan Bloomquist <jordan.bloomquist@myldsmail.net>
Date: Thu, Nov 4, 2010 at 2:06 PM
Subject:
To: Rachel Bloomquist <crogys@gmail.com>

Well howdy do?

It has been another crazy week here at the MTC and I am kind of crazy so that means I LOVE IT.  I love all of you as well.   This week Elder Pew and I got to welcome the new district and take them on a tour of the MTC.  It is kind of crazy I have only been here for about five weeks but it seems like it was a year or two ago, no joke.  This new district is going to be so awesome I can tell they all have such strong testimonies.  On Tuesday Elder Ballard came and talked to us, that is three apostles in a row,  and it is extreamly rare for two apostles to come in a row so it has been a real treat.  He talked about Mastering the art of communication, which means not just speaking but smiling.  It was an awesome talk I loved it and I love him.  So I don't know if I told you, but I saw Elder Haws here I saw Elder Mccalister and I saw Elder Leedom, that one was kind of weird I was standing in line at the book store and he had his back toward me and I said " so where are you going Elder?' and he turned around and I was like "what" and he was like "what" and I was like "what" ha ha ha ok so not really but It was a good reunion.  He is actually living in the same building as me, so kind of neat.  I also saw Kimball on the way back from the temple today and that was way awesome as well so this week has just been darn right beautiful!   Sunday was kind of fun Elder Pew and I had a meeting at 8:00 then at 8:30 then at 9:00.  We have Priesthood meeting at 10:00 with the whole zone and 15 minutes to the Branch president said he had to go to a meeting and asked us if we would teach the lesson. ( see right there... sOO much fun it doesn't even get more fun than that)  It went so well though and I am grateful that we got to do that.  I just have so much love for all the Elders in my zone.  After that I had another meeting untill 12:00 we then had a district meeting and got to share experiences on certian topics.  From there was the temple walk which is always enjoy able.  In between that I wrote my talk in spanish for an hour.  Then went to Sacrament meeting where the branch president picks people at random to give their talk.  He said that he would have mercy on Elder Pew and I because we taught the lesson.  Never the less I was prepared.   After that I had a zone council meeting, then choir which was a mind blowing song I will tell you the name of it in my hand written letter.  We then had a devotional by the directer of missionaries in the MTC which was awesome had another meeting after that and then went to bed.  It was busy but I loved it.   Well its that time again, mom if you get a chance and havent sent the package yet you should send me some of those harvest pictures as well.

I love you all more than anything.

Love Elder Bloomquist.

An Inspiring Harvest Weekend

I love it when the kids are out of school! They had Thursday and Friday off this week, so party night was moved up to Wednesday, Thursday was our annual Family Jeopardy, Friday we had a donut fry and game fest with Mindy and Kevin's family and of course the infamous Extended Family Harvest party was on Saturday. I really abhor Halloween and everything it stands for, so it is fulfilling when we can make traditions that are so fun and make enough of a difference during this week to drown out the evil influences that swirl around us and have experiences that are uplifting and wholesome and so relevant to the season but not the world's holiday.

Because of all of the car trouble we have had this week, we put off everything that usually entails trips to town until Wednesday evening. Amazingly, we found everything we needed for costumes at Savers so that Fred could take the kid's to our ward Trunk or Treat/ mutual activity, but by the time we got everyone home and dressed up it had already started and we hadn't had dinner. I happily opted to stay home and cook, since there is inevitably some Halloween that sneaks in to someone's decorations and when that's promoted at a church function I have a hard time not being irritated. It worked out for everyone. It ended up being very poorly attended, so the whole family was home quite soon and we had dinner and movies here, which we always enjoy.

I was a little worried about our traditional Family Jeopardy party on Thursday, because a big portion of the responsibility for that celebration has always fallen on Fred's shoulders, and he is always so busy. Every year he puts together the game and I put together our Harvest Basket and deliveries.  I offered to help with the game questions, but Fred really wanted to do it, so I couldn't ease that pressure and because I didn't have a car he ended up putting together our Harvest Basket as well. He found a few new varieties of produce that were fun to try. He brought home a Jicama, which is like a mild turnip. We ate it raw and was a big hit with everyone. We also had some tamarindo beans which looked like brown dried seed pods off of some tree, but had a soft raisin like inside, that was sweet and sour, wrapped around cool seeds that we decided to keep for our mancala game to make it more authentic feeling. Mikayla, Lily and I really liked it. Sophie liked it with a little more reserve. Everyone else thought it was a little strange. We also tried a bosc pear which everyone loved and just for fun we had a mango and a pomegranate and some limes. Because Fred had Scouts right after work we didn't even start the celebration until 8:30 that evening and because he was under such time restraints, the questions were a little more difficult than usual this year and we had to do some emotional maneuvering with the younger kids, so they felt as involved as they wanted to be, but it ended up being enormously fun. Fred bought enough candy for a small army and everyone got plenty, so only the older group cared that Mikayla won. Unfortunately, I never made deliveries a high enough priority until it was too late to do that in conjunction with our family party, but the great thing about celebrating Harvest and not Halloween is that the window is so much broader and doesn't have to be a particular date, just a general time of year, so I can still make that happen.

Friday, Mindy and Kevin's family came over and brought enough donut dough over for the entire neighborhood. It took us an hour to fry them all and lathered with maple frosting very few people had the self control to stop eating when they should have, so we had a lot of little kids (and some big men=) that weren't feeling their best at the end of the night. I was smart enough to stop before the gorging point, but they were delicious and even I had three. Mikayla is doing the Middleton Health Challenge on her own and was a rock and didn't touch a bite of any of the holiday treats, including donuts, until Sunday.

A funny thing happened on Sunday. I had put a nice note on our front door informing Trick or Treaters that we had celebrated Harvest on Saturday, and everyone honored that by not knocking on our door, so I didn't even realize how much activity was going on outside until I had to leave the house at 7:00 for a setting apart that was taking place in a sisters home in my neighborhood. As I came out the door there were parents and little children dressed up everywhere. I was wearing a black skirt and collared white shirt and black jacket and hadn't walked more than a block when a young father coming towards me on the sidewalk, bent down to his two young children and gesturing towards me said, "Look, it's a business woman." I'm sure he hadn't meant it for my ears and I just smiled as I walked past, because the only way that comment isn't quite odd is if he thought I was dressed up for Halloween. I guess I did look a little out of place in that environment, but I thought it was humorous.

 We have had such an amazing experience this weekend. Mikayla has very gradually, over the course of her high school years, created a friendship with a boy who used to ridicule her and any other member of the church he knew, quite openly and continually. He was very ill informed and relentless. Last year he and a friend started singling her out in their mocking, but because she never felt that it was motivated by cruelty she didn't let it bother her and as we would talk about it I could tell that he was a bright boy searching for answers and his taunting was a protected way to get information without seeming interested. At the end of the year, he followed her out of class one day and apologized for his taunting and told her he was impressed with the way she never got offended or defensive, but stood  up for what she believed. They have very different personalities. At the beginning of this year, the student body voted on about 20 categories for "Hall of Fame" pictures for the upcoming yearbook. Mikayla and her friend, whose name is Jet, were both "labeled". She as "The Most Laid Back" and he as "Most Likely to Take Over the World". They have had classes together this year that have leant to their talking openly about their very different views and opinions. He has shared enough about his family with her to see that he comes from a broken home and jumps back and forth between parents. He has a sister who is extremely liberal, a father who seems to vigorously believe in nothing and a mother who professes to be Methodist but not actively. He would profess to be liberal and atheistic sometimes as they would talk about politics in government or religion in history, but one day they took a test in class that categorized their political views and Mikayla told him she bet he was more conservative than he thought. They both ended up ranking as moderate conservatives, which kind of shook him up.

This past Tuesday Jet informed Mikayla that he was going to church with her this week. Needless to say, she was a bit surprised--so was I. On Wednesday I met him in the library. I was checking out books and he came in the front door, grabbed a book and approached Mikayla in a way that, though I didn't know who he was, I could tell they were comfortable friends. They made some small talk about their different book choices and I overheard him say that he wanted to read something a little shorter than his last 1000 page book, which picqued my interest. When I looked at his hands, I noticed that he was holding onto an Ernest Hemingway, which isn't the most common choice for the average high schooler, unless it's assigned, so when he approached the desk to check it out, I made a snarky comment about someone actually reading Ernest Hemmingway on purpose and he laughed good naturedly and left. Only then, as Mikayla said goodbye and used his name did I realize who it was and I was a little taken back.

On Sunday, Mikayla and Eden picked him up for church in the truck. He had asked her what to wear and was dressed appropriately. Mikayla was as calm as anything, while my stomach was churning wondering what his perception would be. Of course, I shouldn't have worried, the Lord knew he was going to be there and the entire bishopric spoke in sacrament mtg. on some of the basic essentials of the gospel. He doesn't have much of a religious foundation and asked questions through the entire meeting. He even asked questions during the prayer until he realized what was going on. In Mikayla's Sunday school class the lesson was on the twelve tribes of  Israel, so he was completely lost, but not too shy to ask lots of questions. And then, perfectly, because it was the 5th Sunday the YM/YW met together the last hour and a member of the Bishopric taught about the Proclamation on the Family. It was fun to be there, sitting by Mikayla, watching him participate and her guide him through the whole process. After the mtg. he was surrounded by leaders and youth, many who he knew because it is such a small town. Afterwards, I asked him how he was feeling about the whole experience and he said he was completely overwhelmed. I asked him what he was overwhelmed by and he said that he just didn't know much about religion and it seemed that there were so many basic things that everyone seemed to know, but he didn't understand at all. Fred asked him if he would like to have a Book of Mormon to give him a base reference for all of it and he was very perceptive and seemed quite appreciative when Fred produced a copy for him and said, "I am definitely going to read this." When Mikayla dropped him off, he asked her to pick him up next week. This friendship has been such a long and evolving thing to go from a ridiculer/ ridiculee relationship to what it is now. Mikayla has been an incredible missionary. Of course we don't know where this will lead, or if he is ready yet, but he is so open to gleaning knowledge right now and Mikayla seems to know the right pace to give it to him. She did say she was nervous about his best friend finding out about all of this because he is very anti, though he was a member previously. I know he is going to have opposition because that is how Satan works, but this boy is no emotional lightweight and I am confident if he can keep his wall down and keep searching he will find what he is looking for. It is a neat experience for our whole family, but especially for Mikayla.

I Love You

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Jordan Bloomquist
Date: Thu, Oct 28, 2010 at 12:14 PM
Subject:
To: Rachel Bloomquist <crogys@gmail.com>

Dearesteringerst Family,

 I got the pictures to work and I love them but if you have not already sent the vest you should slip a couple of those family shots in so I can hang them up, as well as Mikayla's senior pictures.  I don't have all your letters with me right now I forgot them in my room so I will tell you about my week in this letter and answer questions in my hand written one, esta bien?   This week has been so amazing and humbling for me,  I  have felt at times that I wasn't working as hard as I wanted to, so I prayed that I would be able to work harder.  Lo and behold prayers are answer but maybe not always in the way you want them to be.  Elder Pew and I were called as zone leaders on Sunday and it has been intresting trying to find out where we are supposed to be when and what are responcibilitys are.  I love it so much though,  I was talking to Elder Pew after we were called and we both had this intence filling of love for all those in our zone.  We just got a new district yesterday and even though I barely met them I love them too.  The MTC is a powerful place and you can have a love for someone ,that normally would take a couple years to develop, in a matter of days.  Also this week Elder Richard G. Scott came and spoke to us about feeling the spirit.  He gave each of a sheet of paper that had inspiration on how to listen to the spirit.  It was things that he had learned throughout his life.  The spirit was so strong in that meeting and in our district devotional afterwards that I could never deny what I felt.  Elder Scott ended his talk by saying " If you remember nothing else I want you to remeber this; Jesus Christ lives.  He is a personage of perfect love.  He is our Redeemer. He is our intermedian with the Father.  I love hime.  I solemnly declare that he lives.  I know he lives because I know him."   Mother, Father, Mikayla, Eden, Abe, Sophie and Lily I want to let you know that I love all of you so much.  You mean the world to me nothing is more important to me than my Father in Heaven.  I know that our Father in Heaven loves us and I know that he sent his son down to earth because he loves us.  I know that Jesus Christ willingly suffered for our sins, our afflictions our grief and our pain because he loves us.  I know that Joseph Smith restored the gospel to this earth through God.   I know the Book of Mormon is true and it is because I have prayed and recieved that comformation.  I know that this Church is the true and original Church of Christ, and I will never deny it. 

Alma 26:35 " Now have we not reason to rejoice?  Yea, I say unto you, there never were men that had so great reason to rejoice as we, since the world began; yea, and my joy is carried away, even unto boasting in my God; for he has all power, all wisdom, and all understanding; he comprehendeth all things, and he is a merciful Being, even unto salvation, to those wo will repent and believe on his name."

I love you

Elder Jordan Bloomquist

"All is Well, All is Well"

I apologize beforehand for this essay length narrative, but I had such a sweet, spiritual experience yesterday, that I wanted to remember, and which needs a detailed preface to give it depth.

.

For over a month I have had some serious concerns on my mind; things of great eternal significance. They are personal trials, but weighty enough to be crushing, if handled without a spiritual perspective, and somehow—miraculously, I have kept my focus where it needs to be and have been guided so specifically through inspired council in stake and general conferences and through personal scripture study that I have felt amazing peace in the midst of these personal tempests. And then, this past week, at the height of feeling that life was once again moving in the right direction, I got sick with the flu, which should have been a minor thing.  I don't usually let sickness beat me. Even with the body aches and congested head I fast walked my 2 miles with Olive the 1^st and 2^nd day, determined to fight it, but by day 3, when it hadn't let up at all, I stayed in my pajamas all day and canceled my mutual visit that evening.  Looking back now I see that was the start of chinks in my armor. I didn't recognize them for what they were then, but I can see now that when I gave in to physical frustrations, the adversary saw an opportunity to sneak in some punches, while I was down. That morning, during scripture study I read over my patriarchal blessing and the defeating thought came to me that had I been more strictly obedient about certain council in there that I wouldn't be struggling with specific trials right now, that it was my own fault and I deserved what I got. And as the week progressed, other, unimportant things started to seem very important and I started having thoughts like, "I've done everything I was supposed to do and look where it's gotten me emotionally, spiritually, financially etc. By Sunday morning, the flu still hadn't let up and the physical exhaustion started giving way to spiritual exhaustion as I pondered my full day of continuous mtgs. from 1:00-6:00. In that state, even the mirror became an enemy and all it took was for Fred to walk in and make a positive comment about how I looked, for me to come completely apart at the seams and then I  had the discouraging experience of having to get ready all over again.

We did finally make it to church and after the second time of having to leave sacrament mtg., because I couldn't stop coughing, I started to feel sorry for myself and think about going home and skipping all of my mtgs.  And then the little, destructive thoughts started…(I don't have the stamina for this—it's asking too much of me— it won't make any difference if I'm there or not, because I don't have anything valuable to contribute anyway.) But, because it was easier to stay than to figure out transportation, I stayed—and because Mikayla also had to go to the preceeding mtgs. I followed her. Then, as the ward conference we were attending ended I remembered that I had a temple recommend interview with a councilor in our bishopric, in our building, which was downtown. I told my YW President I would be right back, hopefully before I had to report on my assignment, and I rushed over to the other building in our truck, with the cold air streaming in the door because it no longer has a seal and the windshield wipers on because the knob is broken and I couldn't find the pliers to turn them off. The interview with Bro. Wagoner was short and I somehow stayed composed, but as I left his office I realized that this was the last week that the stake would be holding temple recommend interviews before October was over and if I didn't go up there my recommend would be expired for a week in November. And suddenly the words, "the bridegroom cometh" came so forcefully into my mind with the image of the unprepared virgins that I knew I had to go straight to the stake center, even though I was supposed to be at another mtg., where they would be waiting for my report. Interviews are set from 3:30-5:30 and it was 4:45 when I left our building. I managed to finally get the windshield wipers off, right as it began to rain and even though I pulled over and tried with all my might I couldn't get them back on. It didn't really matter because even if I could have seen through the windshield my eyes were blurry anyway. I made it to the stake center, went straight to the bathroom and dried my face and then walked to the stake waiting area which was filled and overflowing out into the hall. The stake executive secretary, gave me a number card (#16) and I sat down to wait. As is usual, only the councilors were doing recommend interviews as the stake president was busy with other things, one of which was setting an Elder apart. I know, because Pres. Evans came out looking for a box of Kleenex and then a few minutes later a weeping mother came out of his office followed by her husband and a sharp looking 19 year old young man whom I recognized. How I held it together as they walked past I'll never know, but I did and then Bro. Baker called for the person who had #10 to go into one of the councilors offices and then, ahead of 5, other people he came out and said, "Sister Bloomquist, Pres. Evans would like to see you in his office."  Of course, Pres. Evans doesn't know my struggles of the past month—there is no need for him to know, and I'm sure in his mind he may have thought this was just an opportune time to get some insight about the young women from a stake leader who happened to be sitting in the foyer, because as I came into his office he asked me questions about my concerns for the young women and then he asked me input into council for the young men in our stake and then proceeded with my temple recommend interview.  I answered all of the questions, and then he held my recommend out in front of me and said, "this recommend has two great purposes—one is obviously that it will get you into the temple, where I council you to go as often as possible, but the other is that it is the Lord's recommend and is an absolute witness to you that he finds you worthy. Because of that, Satan will try to deceive you and tell you that you aren't worthy enough, that your service isn't enough, that other people's bad choices are your fault. That is a lie! Don't you listen to his lies, because you have answered these questions truthfully and the Lord has found you worthy." I left his office weepy, something I am sure he sees continually from emotional women, and I'm sure he had no idea that he had been a direct answer to prayer by being so specific in his words that I could not deny their impact, that his inspired council was the means of restoring light and clarity to my mind and giving renewed purpose and vision enough for me to say, "Get thee hence, Satan!" It was more than a tender mercy and will be another concrete evidence to hold onto that my Heavenly Father is uniquely mindful of me and loves me individually and wants us to have no part in discouragement or despair.

I still don't feel at my physical prime. I know I need to be vigilant, that Satan won't ease his onslaught, just because I had a spiritual experience and could see things as they were, so clearly for a moment. That was made apparent to me early this morning as the girls headed to the temple, before any of us thought about it being closed on Mondays, and the car's engine seemed to seize as they were headed back.  I could once again feel the adversary's discouraging influence working on my mind, but even though I don't have all the solutions in front of me, I can feel the Lord's hand as the words from the hymn go through my mind, "I will not doubt, I will not fear, Gods love and strength are always near. His promised gift helps me to find, an inner strength and peace of mind…" And I remember so many of my blessings; that I have an incredible, worthy, 19 year old son on a mission, giving 2 years of his life to the Lord and an amazing 17 year old daughter who I know is prepared to soon make her way in the world and teaching me life lessons every day--that I have a 14 year old ray of sunshine, who is striving to do what is right, and making great strides in discovering her divinity and helping me to discover mine-- at a time when so many youth are falling away to the weighty influences of the world--that I have 10 year old son who often exhibits the compassion of Christ in my behalf--and 6 year old daughters who have been a true gift, and every day, validate my role as mother--that I have a husband who is humble and meek, and teachable and who instills within me the desire to overcome my weaknesses—that my temporal comforts are abundant, no matter how poorly my cars run and how many times my budget won't work on paper—and  most important of all that the atonement is accessible and personal and vibrantly at work in my life. "All is well, all is well".

From Jordan

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Jordan Bloomquist <jordan.bloomquist@myldsmail.net>
Date: Thu, Oct 21, 2010 at 1:17 PM
Subject:
To: Rachel Bloomquist <crogys@gmail.com>

Im sorry that these letters are so short I am going to answer as many questions as I can.  Those I don't answer I will send a hand written letter.

Sophie the Elder that wrote you is Elder Grillone you say his name like (Gruh Lohn).  The picture that I sent and drew is just for fun and because I do what I want. : )

My P-Day goes as follows first I wake up at 6:30 then at seven I have personal study like read my scriptures and study the language.  Then at 8:15 I have breakfast at the caffiteria. 

At 8:45 we have companion study where Elder Pew and I talk about what we learned in personal study.  At 10:00 we get to go to the temple which just obviously makes the rest of the day great.  I then get to get on the computer and write to all of you crazy whoodalums.  At 1:00 I eat lunch.  At 1:45 I have personal time to write you more letters or write in my journal or take pictures.  At 3:00 I have Laundry time where we go to a huge room just full of washers and dryers and while I wait for my clothes I either draw crazy pictures and send them to you guys or I write more letters or just talk to my district.  At 6:00 I get back dressed into my suit and go to dinner.  At 6:45 I go to class and learn spanish and lessons from preach my gospel.  At 8:00 I have Language study, and then at 9:00 I Plan for the next day.  9:30 I we go back to our rooms and at 10:30 we go to sleep.

Lily and Sophie I am having an awesome time at the MTC and I miss both of you.  

Abe Sorry I messed up the code I am sending a letter with the correct code.

Eden I am so glad you are having fun in Student Council,  I loved it, it was so much fun to see the "Behind the scenes" and watch it come together

Mikayla Senior Year is the Bomb ( Lo Máximo) have fun and learn as much as you can because soon It will be over.

A little something about this week, for devotional Elder Russel M. Nelson came to speak and I was only like thirty yards away it was so neat though.  I got to sing in the choir at that devotional and boy was that AWESOME.

Some things he said " It is better to have character than to be one",   and he said to all the missionaries that we are safer on our missions than any of our friends that are back at home."  Food for thought : )

 Love all of you so much,  I will send another hand written letter this week.

Elder Jordan Bloomquist

Ps mom when does braiden come in date and time

Woot Woot

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Jordan Bloomquist <jordan.bloomquist@myldsmail.net>
Date: Thu, Oct 14, 2010 at 1:30 PM
Subject: woot woot
To: Rachel Bloomquist <crogys@gmail.com>

Well you crazy bunch of Bloomers,

   This week has just flown by, and I have loved every minute of it.  Elder Pew and I are trying to work as hard as we can and sometimes, ... no most of the time that can be difficult.  Yesterday we had an appointment at the TE which stands for teacher evaluation.  A volunteer will come in and we get to practice on them.  I have come to find out that it is easy to explain the gospel and get details and scriptures, the hard part is getting the investiagtor to care or how they can apply it to themselves, that is were the spirit comes in.  When we got in the room to teach this person we explained it to him but he just sat their with a blank stare on his face.  He told us to stop and for the last 5 minutes that we were there to just only speak in questions.  It was so amazing how it just helped us to understand what he was feeling and for him to open up to what we were talking about.  

  Anyway spanish is moving forward bit by bit but it help so much that many people around us are speaking and we speak it as much as we can.  During lunch time we have a rule that we can't speak any english.  It is pretty hard but is so fun and helps very much.  We also do activities call contacting which is where we walk up to random people as, if they were on the streets of Chile, and try to share a message with them about the gospel.  It is so cool I love it. 

 Every P day we get to go to the temple.  That is where I just got back from, and I have noticed that every time I come out the weather seams so perfect even if it is cloudy or rainy or sunny.  

  Oh another thing about spanish every week we have to write a 5 minute talk in spanish for sacrament meeting and have it prepared, because the branch president will get up and just choose 2 people out of the audience.  Now if that doesn't scare you I don't know what will.  I have a hard time writting in english, so you know it just make spanish that more funner!! 

I love all of you so much, keep being yourself and doing what is right,

                                   Love, Elder Jordan Bloomquist

P. S. Mom could you send me some of those pictures that you sent me on the email they wouldn't open up so I couldn't see anything.  Oh and Lily and Sophie I got your glue project it is hanging on my bulletin board above my desk.  I love it.

Frolic and Faith

It has been a good week; one of regaining a little control of my home. Mikayla, Eden and I went on a massive grocery shopping trip Saturday, to restock much of our 3 month pantry storage, which had almost waned considerably with my focus on getting Jordan out in the field. It made for a long morning and putting it all away made for a long afternoon, but it felt good to get a small portion of the things I have let slide organized again. I can tell you I got quite a few odd looks in the bulk aisle of the store:) Fred spent the day cleaning and re-organizing the garage so we could store all of Jordan's things and Abe could regain his room. I was very proud of myself. I remained composed  during the entire process. In fact I was more than just composed--it felt like beginnings instead of endings, which I think is a big step for me. We worked hard all day, I even got Eden to mow the lawn which isn't an usual task for her and while she did got the job done, Truman has nothing on her! I was glad that I had done the front yard the day before as her artistic sensibilities got the best of her. I now have diamond, circle, cross patterns and who knows what else mowed in permanently for a week. Doctor Seuss would have been proud!:) As a treat we decided to take the kids on an outing as Toy Story 3 was playing at our discount theatre. We had the bright idea to go to the 9:20 showing as we were working up until then. As an afterthought, that is awfully late to be out on the town if you're not  on a teenager clock. We were all tired and frankly I was caught a little off guard and not  prepared to be sobbing in the last few minutes of a Pixar film, but there is the sad truth. A mother was sending her son off to college and I related a little too closely. So much for my celebrated stability, but it is getting easier, now that we are able to hear back from Jordan. He sounds so happy and I am truly elated, despite my emotional inconsistency.

It came to me the other night, just out of thin air, that I have an Eleanor and a Maryanne in my family. Mikayla's selfless, emotionally reserved, integrity and Eden's passion, verbal expressiveness, and spontaneous zeal for life. Not to mention their sisterly loyalties and affection. Eden said she didn't want to be Maryanne, she wanted to be Eleanor, but we need the Austenian virtues of both. What fun diversity is in this family!

Last night was YW Standards Night. As usual, the stake president was the only adult on the program and it was amazing! He has said before, "You put the youth on the stand and they will perform miracles." and they did. The theme was "I Have A Purpose" and Mikayla was one of the two youth speakers. Public speaking is not in her comfort zone because she has deep thoughts and often a hard time verbalizing them accurately. It's a constant frustration to her, but with this calling on the stake youth committee she is being pushed considerably. She was prepared spiritually last night and taught with poise and eloquence and such mature, spiritual clarity that I sat behind her on the stand in awe. The whole congregation felt it as there were crowds around her the rest of the evening. It was truly a gift of the Spirit and I was so profoundly grateful and inspired. I had two different sisters come up after the meeting and tell me that the look on my face, while Mikayla was speaking was "priceless". I realized this morning, when my personal scripture happened to start with 3 Nephi:26, and as I read through verse 14, why! It took on a whole new meaning and I realized that I had just witnessed a most similar experience, literally.

I keep waiting for the wind to die down so I can walk Olive without winter gear, but I don't think it is going to happen today. So, off I go to find my fluffy red hat!:) Isn't it great that it is Oct.11 and we're just easing out of summer clothes. What we lost in June, we are basking in now!

Mona-Mikayla (by Mikayla-for Grandma's benefit)

Love, Elder Bloomquist

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Jordan Bloomquist <jordan.bloomquist@myldsmail.net>
Date: Thu, Oct 7, 2010 at 2:13 PM
Subject: Re: First Family E-Mail
To: Rachel Bloomquist <crogys@gmail.com>

My dearest most wonderful family,

 First of all I would like to say that I love you all so very much,

  The MTC is amazing it is non stop eating hear first you feast on the words of Christ, then you nibble on rediculous spanish words and then they stuff your face with much comida (food).   Abe I can't wait for you to be able to experience this you will love it it is so awesome.   So far my usual day is Elder Pew and I wake up at 5:30 or 6:00 so that we can do some push ups or go run.  Then around 6:15 we go to the showers they aren't really prikely dad, just a little bit surprising, keeps you on your toes.  Just at random the water will turn into lava and then smack you in your face with a round of ice cubes "isss the besss I luve it".  At 7:00 we go to class have personal study and companion study. At 8:00  we have breakfast and dad there is as much lucky charms as you can eat.  So if I come back weighing 348 lbs don't judge me because it is the inside that counts. : )   We then head back to class and learn spanish or preach my gospel, or both.  It is so awesome.  5 hours later we eat lunch and usually I get a coustom wrap it is so deliousious.  we then have class and dinner later and gym which is a blast they have an in door track and cool things like that.  I havn't seen Kimble yet but I met someone who knows him so I am going to keep looking.  Sorry this is so short I only have 30 minutes on the computer and it is timed.  So if you wouldn't mind could you just send things through dear elder because I don't have a lot of time to read and write.  I am so grateful that you have written so much mail hear is like waiting for Christmas so if any one asks tell them they should write mail if they are not doing anything else with their time. : )   Also ties are like gold here so if you have any old ties that you want traded dad just send them on down and I can trade them for some sweet ones.  I love you all so much. I will try to write more in a letter and mail it.   I know the gospel is true, familys are evidence of Gods love.

Love Elder Bloomquist

Missionary Send Off

Preparing for and sending off  a missionary is an experience of a lifetime. I tried so hard to prepare myself emotionally, but I guess there are just some things you can't adequately brace yourself for--you just have to let them come, and hold on.

The Saturday before Jordan left, our family spent the day in the park, away from all distractions, so we could focus on just being together. It was a gorgeous day to play and visit and enjoy each other. It was one of those days where, as a mother, you look around with gratitude at the righteous family that you've been blessed with and know there is nothing more valuable in the world than your husband and children.

Sunday, Jordan was set apart as a full time missionary. What a beautiful experience that was. The mantle of that calling is a clearly visible thing. Thank you to so many family members for supporting Jordan that evening with your company. Our family felt deeply loved because of your presence.

Monday, was a day of last minute errands and packing and Jordan took his role as a missionary seriously as he made sure he had a companion with him at all times. There were a few times, where I would forget and go downstairs without him and he would coming running down behind me, with a mouth full of toothpaste, wondering where I was going:) It was a neat experience to have him so close by those last few days.

Tuesday was difficult. We were all doing good until the younger children had to say goodbye before they left for school. That was a tender parting. The deep emotions were a tribute to Jordan for the vast, positive role he has played in our family and the immense hole his departure leaves in our family dynamics. Those last goodbyes, including us driving away from home and neighbors was emotionally heightened for me because I can't seem to help being sentimental. We made two more stops to say goodbye to dear friends of Jordan's and as we drove out of Boise, Fred turned on some dramatic Mormon Tabernacle Choir music and Jordan became immersed in writing letters. I put on my sunglasses and with the feeling that I was driving toward emotional execution, cried all the way to Jerome, where we stopped for lunch, turned off the music and I was able to refocus and get control of my emotions. We had planned on driving to temple square, but we were supposed to meet Taylor and Scott at 6:00, so we drove straight to Prove and spent a fun hour, over dinner, with fun boys, talking about Chile and family and girls (one in particular:) I'm so glad we did that. Jordan couldn't help but be pumped after talking with Taylor who is still so fresh from the field, and it was a sweet, rare tie in to the "Larsen life". That night we drove back into Salt Lake and stayed in a hotel close to temple square.

Wednesday I was so proud of myself.  We woke up at 6:30, got ready for the day, ate breakfast and were on temple square by 9:00--with no tears! We walked around, took lots of pictures and soaked up the peace of that place.  There were a few other families doing the same.  Our guide in the conference center was on her 3rd or 4th mission with her husband, but had just recently returned from serving a mission in the Santiago Chile temple, so that was a fun experience to talk to her. The highlight of that morning was standing in front of the Christus, finally knowing that I could give my boy away for Him, and only for Him. It gave me great strength and peace and assurance that everything would be alright, and that not only was Jordan in His hands, so was I. At 10:30 we headed back to Provo, in a very quiet car, and had an hour to spare before Jordan's check-in time. We parked at the Provo temple and walked around those grounds, with many other new missionaries all "saying goodbye" to their families. We could see teams of missionaries playing soccer on the MTC fields, and other groups walking up to attend the temple and their was a great feeling of comraderie and unity of purpose there. We actually ran into a sister missionary going to Jordan's same mission and we and her parents got so excited we put them together and were taking pictures. I realized afterwards that maybe that wasn't the best preparation for the MTC, since he shouldn't even be touching girls, but they were both good sports and it made us feel like they were going in with a friend. We had been warned, repeatedly, that goodbyes needed to be said prior to dropping Jordan off, that it wasn't a time for pictures, that it would be a very quick process, so though not excited I had prepared myself for a 5 minute parting, but the emotions of that drive into the MTC, lined with hundreds of missionaries waving and welcoming, is overwhelming. We pulled in and rolled down our window as an elderly gentleman stopped us and gave us a kind welcome and directions to a distant curb where we stopped the car. We got out of the car, unloaded Jordan's luggage and a host missionary took ahold of a suitcase and asked if he was ready. He gave us brief hugs and was gone. It was so fast that I panicked and grabbed my camera which was right beside me, but only got his suitcase as he was engulfed by missionaries. It was so fast that in that moment I forgot to tell him I loved him. I had tried to prepare for 5 minutes, but I'm sure it was less than that and had felt like 5 seconds. He was gone so fast that only the greeting missionaries saw the flood of tears that started as Fred took me away. I think that was a tender mercy for Jordan, and my tender mercy was a compassionate, understanding husband who pulled over to the side of the road and let me weep in his arms, as my heart was breaking. I have never done anything that hard and yet I know Jordan is where he is supposed to be. I am excited for him and so proud of him know that nothing will be quite as positively life changing for him and for us.

The drive back was such a blessing as Fred and I talked for six hours about life and goals and we anticipated coming home to our other children, who we found out later had been protectively watched over by dear neighbors who went out of their way to be there at the crossroads, to provide them with snacks and dinner (even though they knew I had left them with those things) and be a loving support, during an emotional time for them as well.

It is now Monday and I am feeling a little less vulnerable. There have been some hard moments (when I had to put back a place setting on the table, when I walked into Abe's room and saw a small basket of Jordan's dirty clothes, when we came back from our Friday night date and I saw the car in the driveway and had that brief excitement that Jordan was home from work already), but for the most part I feel joyful, especially during conference, as so many messages were about missionary work. We write Jordan everyday on an e-mail service that prints and hand delivers mail straight to the MTC, but have yet to hear back from him as we don't yet know when his P-day will be. We can already feel the blessings in our family from his service and I am so grateful for this gospel in our lives. I love the Lord and I love my family.

SATURDAY IN THE PARK--LAST PLAYDAY

Sweet catch!  You'll have to trust me on that.

 

Tackling is always more fun when the ball is out of play!

And my beautiful Angel Maid leaves next... ...Thank Heaven for my husband to cling to

And he's down

Another one bites the dust

A big brother's apologies

A tackle and a touchdown

High Five

Abe's namesake TUESDAY MORNING--SAYING GOODBYE

How we love this big brother!

Hearts breaking! WEDNESDAY MORNING

Elder Bloomquist

Temple Square