Y'all. What. A. Week. I've never felt more white in my life, and that's a hard thing to do because contrary to popular belief I do indeed realize how Caucasian I am, but hey, "embrace the paste." This was potentially one of the more exhausting but exhilarating weeks of my ministry, but HEY I AM STOKED BEYOND BELIEF TO SHARE IT WITH Y'ALL: WELCOME TO THE NINTH (what, already?) EDITION OF YOUR FAVORITE EMAIL SERIES: THE CHALMETTE CHRONICLES: MLK EDITION. *Hallelujah, praise the Lord.*
Okay, so much went down this week, I have no idea how I am going to arrange the sequence of events: so bear with patience my beloved peeps, this is gonna be a wild, but fruitful ride. Think of it as Celestial Disneyland, the true Happiest Place on Earth, with commentary from your favorite fresa-cabeza. Before I even get the ball rolling, I would just like to say: my testimony was reaffirmed and strengthened yet again this morning as President Dallin H. Oaks and President Russell M. Nelson and President Henry B. Eyring (the new First Presidency) spoke to the tender hearts of the church. With all my heart, I sustain these fine gentleman and am truly enthusiastic about the future of this church. As President Eyring said, "great things are truly ahead."
OKAY SWEET REVELATION EXPERIENCE: Elder Orison and I, as we do, went tracting in Chalmette to visit this beast of a man who has a weird abhorrence for socks and shoes, but alas, were sadly disappointed to discover he was not home. So what do missionaries do in the face of discouragement? WE PRAY. ALL DAY EVERY DAY. The grind is real, and in this particular time, the results were incredible. So we both prayed about where we should continue our glorious mission to invite souls to repent and be baptized. Immediately, a street popped into my head.. well if I have learned anything on my mission it's to roll with the Spirit.. so Elder Orison and I decided to announce our revelation on three.. 1...2...3.. GALLANT DRIVE. Yes, that is right, our spiritual frequencies were in tune with each other, and we both knew there was someone on that street who needed our attention and this Gospel. *Shoutout to the homeboy Gallant's back home, y'alls name inspired some gnarly experiences*.
Well, we arrived, and nobody was home. Not a single soul. And the one who was? Well, he'd rather get back to playing Halo and eating cheez-its than hear about his eternal need to repent and make covenants. And to make matters EVEN better.. Elder Boyd had to go... like REALLY go... like, a gallon of water go... and there was no gas station in sight. So, bathroom tracting is a thing- but here's a little caveat..it only works when people are home. Twenty minutes later, yes I felt the creeping sensation of bladder poisoning overwhelm my tingling being, the FINAL house on the street opens up.. the sweetest old lady offered her way into my heart with a toilet invitation. I've never felt so relieved. Note to self: strategically plan water intake to maximize bathroom usage. ANYWAYS, because we had found a bathroom we decided that we'd tract these last three houses on the neighboring street, yes, this is where the good part hits... the final house we tract- we open up and do our little introduction, and lo and behold she's a member, but get this- not only is she a member, but she's in town for that day only for her mother's funeral who is the sister of the 1st counselor of our Branch Presidency..bear with me.. she's been inactive for so long, and we had mentioned her the PREVIOUS Sunday in Branch Council as no one could get in contact with her.. no one had heard from her for almost TWO YEARS... no one knew where she was or what she was doing.. and lo and behold, there she stood in front of us. And lo and behold, yes ladies and gentleman, she came to church that following Sunday, after eons of inactivity.
She was the one we needed to see that day, and thank goodness we were entrusted with that spiritual prompting to go to Gallant Drive. Revelation is real. I figured y'all haven't had enough stories from Elder Boyd lately, so here was a big HONKING ONE. Cool experience of the week: completed.
In other news, this past week was MLK Day- and let me tell y'all, Louisiana knows how to celebrate. I can honestly say, I have never celebrated this holiday before, but DANG DID I CELEBRATE IN STYLE. Starting the weekend, we went to a Stake Priesthood Leadership meeting on Saturday, which really helped us to build member relations and was super awesome. I finally met the man and legend, President Stock, the Stake President in our area, and we even had mission President interviews. Then we made our way on Sunday over to the Stake regional Broadcast, where Elder Bednar presided. he spoke about having faith unto repentance, and I gotta tell ya, he is a legend. He spoke about how we need to treat sin like a spiritual wound.. you wouldn't prescribe yourself your own medication, would you? You need the help and authority of a "Great Physician" who knows your wound perfectly and can help you perfectly. You should also confide in his authorized servants who have the blessed capabilities to catalyze the healing process. ANYWAYS, after the Broadcast, we had a little intermission where we watched the President Monson documentary, dang I love that man, and the Elders and Sisters piled in as we formed the ultimate missionary choir. We sang, "I Believe In Christ" and "Love One Another" and it was freaking awesome. We traveled over to the Beulah Baptist Church and sang at their MLK services, and holy cow was that everything I hoped for. I've never been to a church longer than ours, but I can say that I am now a survivor of three and a half hours of pure baptist babblery. Yes, we sang. Yes, we praised, "Hallelujah's" to Jesus. And yes, my behind was very exhausted at the end of it all, but now I can confidently say that I have had the Baptist experience.
Then, on MLK day itself, we were privileged to take part in the grandiose march of Downtown. We were basically a squadron of missionaries, equipped with an arsenal of pass along cards and pamphlets, and took Louisiana by STORM! (See pictures attached.. lots of photos...) It was an absolute blast and I found so much renewed joy in sharing the Gospel with others! And if that wasn't enough... President Stock marched our entire army of missionaries to the famous Mother's restaurant 4.5 miles away and paid for all 67 of us missionaries to eat lunch. I have never felt such a strong spirit from such a righteous man. We sang Love One Another at the end of the whole shebang, and goodness is he a mission legend. The people in this church have a special quality about them, ya know? It's all about love. I can't emphasize enough the immense comfort I have found in loving others.
Well, that was a whole lot, but dang it was so cool to embrace the culture of Louisiana. Next week, Elder Costa is coming up for Zone Conference, so be looking out for that righteous edition on Wednesday. I am loving this mission so much. I love these people and I love this Gospel. I know that it's true. All of it. And I love ALL OF YOU! I hope you all have some fantastic weeks and embrace the Book of Mormon and the companionship of the Holy Ghost. Keep being righteous, for I know that every single one of your souls is of the utmost importance to our Heavenly Father. Y'all are incredible and you inspire me every day. Keep on keeping on, and when keeping on gets rough, keep on some more. LOVE Y'ALL!
With a plethora of passion and an arrangement of affection that defies all loving odds,
Elder Boyd
Loved reading this update! Keep up the good work jeremy, you are able to touch so many lives by serving! Thanks for sharing!
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