He's Baaa-ack!

A letter, at last!

Well, Elder Corey Blanchet is alive and well in Elk Grove, California - a part of the Sacramento California Mission. Hadn't heard much, so although not concerned, we sure were curious.

His companion is Elder Cummings from AUSTRALIA! (This truly is a world-wide church.) Both these young men have red hair and blue eyes and Elder Blanchet has picked up the accent a little (CRIKEY!), so people think they're brothers.

They've already had great success in the field, but after telling me of his first two baptisms, Elder B tells me they won't keep score (not really the point, is it?). So he gave me a score tabulation sheet, which simply says: BAD GUYS: Some, GOOD GUYS: More. That simplifies the work, doesn't it?

They are tracting together, stopping people on the streets, and getting plenty of good old-fashioned rejection. SO? They keep working and praying, and talking and listening.

Don't forget, you can go to theses other blogs for other, different info: www.dearelder.com/corey and http://coreyblanchet.wordpress.com/.

Thanks for supporting the missionaries and remember they love to get mail. Contact me for his email address - it's something he can look at weekly (most of the time), but can contain no attachments - text only.

Best wishes to you and yours for a Merry Christmas.

ArtB

Where's Waldo?

Well, we heard from the elusive Elder Blanchet tonight - just a few brief words:

"no time!!! I'll write you with more info. It's been crazy cool and awesome and sweet and definitely worth it!
Love you all very much,-Elder Blanchet"

I'd wager he's busy and just a wee bit into it - how about you? More as we get it,

ArtB

THANKSGIVING AT THE MTC

Elder Corey Blanchet takes a minute to drop a line. Page two edited where needed to protect financial information - he's gotta have a few secrets now and then... Art

EARLY AND QUICK LETTER

Email from Elder Blanchet sent today:

Hey hey!

I’m doing laundry today since we’re leaving tomorrow around 5am. I am excited to get to work. I have really enjoyed the e-mails so far, it’s great to here from everyone. I also really appreciate all the tips and pointers from past missionaries or anyone with a thought.

I have made some good friends here, two of which aren’t coming to Sacramento with me. They are going to Toronto instead. But I do have five friends coming with me to Sac-town, although there is no guarantee that I’ll see them again. It would be cool if were were companions later on though.

Oh well. I have a busy day today, and i look forward to getting to work.

I love and pray for you all, thanks for the support.

James 1:5
-Elder Blanchet

Elder Corey Blanchet from the MTC - 12 November 2008

HAPPY THANKSGIVING - and an explanation

Art here - We at the Blanchet Home wish you all a Happy Thaksgiving and lots of fat turkey, football, and family. Corey is still at the MTC until Tuesday.

Now to you out there - including my other children whom I love dearly and equally - I want to explain why I created this particular blog when there is already one at Dear Elder (http://www.dearelder.com/corey). Simple. Dear Elder does not allow for a record of posts like blogger does - it has to be changed for every post. It has limits.

So, to create an archive - or history - of Corey's mission, I created this Blogger blog that allows the arching of every post. When Corey returns from his mission in two years he will have a complete history documented for him - kind of a journal spanning two years. Your comments will be a part of this archive and history.

That's it. Hope you enjoy this.

BTW, if you want Elder Blanchet's email address, let me know via Facebook or via comment. I don't want to post it here - privacy and protocol (mine) prevent that.

Best wishes to you all,

Art (Blanchet)

REPORTING IN

Corey's 2nd email from the MYC arrived on his P-day - Wednesday before Thanksgiving. Laundry seems to be the common theme. Here it is.

So, week two is gone. It's amazing how fast time passes here at the MTC. They keep us pretty busy, and the days usually blur into one massive study session, separated by gym or lunch. It's not bad, just tiring.

I hope everyone is doing well back home. I pray for all my friends and family, every night! I have had some time to think about all the nice things everyone has done for me, and I'm very grateful.

This is Thanksgiving week after all. i'm doing laundry again, and we can only write letters and e-mail once a week, and that's today. i will try hard to send out some letters today, but even though it's my preparation day and i don't have to wear a suit, i have a lot to do still.

They tell us Thanksgiving is going to be a great day, filled with service projects and inspirational talks. Not to mention a bountiful Thanksgiving feast, of course.

We've got our flight plans in the mail, and we are leaving Tuesday morning, bright and early. I am the flight leader, which means I'll be in charge of eight Elders and two sisters, all of us flying to Sac-town. That should be an adventure, but i'll worry about that later.

I'm doing well here and learning a lot. I am happy. I don't know when my P-day will be once i'm in Sacramento, so it may be a little while between this letter and the next one. Thank you for all your love, support and prayers, it means a lot.

My laundry has about 4 minutes left, so I've got to go. It really has been remarkable how much i've learned here about the church and religion i've been in my whole life. The more I learn, the more excited i get to share what i know. The Gospel of Jesus Christ is my key to happiness, my secret to success in life, and my best form of comfort. Once again, I love you all and pray for you.Happy Thanksgiving!!!

-Elder Blanchet

ps- We've come up with nick-names for each other here, and my nick-name is Blinds. Thought you may find that interesting.