My time is up my time is now...
As transfers roll around,
I say a prayer, and then pray all day,
Hoping that in my holy land I stay
Yes, ladies and gentleman, it is the equivalent missionary, "dead week." When you know that you have the possibility of leaving, and you don't really want to, we call this, transfer week. You may be able to sympathize.. imagine you have just moved to a new area with your dad's job- and it took about our months to settle in, but you're finally getting the hang of things. You're making friends with the community and finding your role in this place you now call home. But every six weeks, someone has the power to send you somewhere else.. to send you to a not so familiar land, where the process starts all over again. This, my friends, is the transfer experience. Now, in terms of missionary work, everything is okay because it is hands far better than ours... God's. And with his perfect exercise of agency, you know that you're meant to go wherever he sends you and that angels above will support and guide and uplift you through even the most uncomfortable of changes. Get comfortable with the uncomfortable. SO was the week of CHALMETTE CHRONICLES: CHAPTER EIGHTEEN.
Now, I bet you're all wondering, what was the fate of our anxious protagonist for this six week period?
Well, for this particular chapter of our story...
I'M STAYING Y'ALL.
Yes indeed, yes I'm pleased- another six weeks in the "Chalestial" kingdom [Jeremy is a "punny" guy]. District Leader Elder Boyd has the privilege of spending a quarter of his mission in the homeland of the East NOLA/Chalmette area. Hallelujah. The church is true. Sister Banner is going home this week- which is weird because I've known her as long as I've been alive in the mission. She will genuinely be missed- she has been a big part of my adjustment out here. But I know she will bless the lives of those back home with the same spirit and sunshine that she shared out here.
Now with all that stress out of the way- this week was a rambunctiously radical and righteous roulette of experiences. I can't wait for you to vicariously ride this rollercoaster of a week.
STORY TIME:
Most of the time we hear a "mission" in the connotation of a super-secret spy escapade of pyrotechnic proportions- not knocking on doors to share the good word of God. So, as you can probably envision, us white-shirt-and-tie-wearing emissaries, are often confused with the more debonair and diabolical.. 007's of the world. Think about it, "what did President say about the DM? Should we call the AP's and the ZL's about the PI's? We're gonna have to get the STL's in on this one.."- to the non-LDS filter, we sound pretty official, to say the least. Well, this misconceived perception and the rambunctious reality of ministry actually aligned for a short moon.. or so it felt- but Agent Boyd and Agent Carter were on the job. Mission Impossible: Made possible through the plan of Salvation and the tender guidance of the Holy Ghost.
- a little context-
We tracted into this incredibly sweet Nigerian family a few weeks ago while we were reaping in the fields of the East. Her percussive accent attracted our attention to share the Book of Mormon with her, and she graciously accepted.
So we were in the area visiting a PI [potential investigator], who eventually fell through, and as we were driving away, the mother of the family, waved at us with the most radiant smile. Seriously you couldn't replace that effluent light with a thousand light up sneakers. Suddenly, I felt prompted that we should go see her.. Elder Carter felt the same and so naturally we made our way over to her house to deliver a Book of Mormon. Well, little did we know what we were getting ourselves into. We knocked on the door and her first reaction was, "Please, you must help me." Turns out she was in quite the conundrum. She gave birth to two babies in the U.S. but they were due back in Nigeria in a week- the payment for their passports was due at the local bank within the next hour or they'd be stranded in Louisiana. But here's the catch... She didn't have a ride to the bank... So this was the very favor she was requesting of us. Naturally, liability prevents missionaries from giving anyone without a nametag or baptismal record a ride anywhere.. so we were in quite the helpless debacle ourselves. With great trust that God would deliver his prayerful people.
We ended up working out a plan: Two steps- Step One: drive over to the bank ourselves, Step Two: try to make the deposit for her- simple enough, eh? She even trusted us with this big wad of cash which was quite flattering really. Well, as a matter of fact, proxy deposits can only be made through a check. So we returned empty handed and THIS is where it got real... She dropped to her knees and begged us to take her with us... We even called President, but alas, we were without a means of transportation. We called each and every contact in our phone and even knocked on the surrounding doors, some of whom were our investigators in the area.. to our surprise, nobody was home or willing to help this unfortunate mother.
BUT THIS IS A GOSPEL OF HAPPY ENDINGS FOR GOOD PEOPLE
Luckily, by the good grace of God and after much prayer and scavenging, we returned and saw that a car had parked in her driveway. Her sister had come to write a check and make the deposit. A happy ending to a rather unnerving hour and a half.
I learned several things from this experience, 1.) God really does answer our prayers through other people.. if we had never followed the prompting we wouldn't have been in that position to assist this distressed mother. 2.) All that spy stuff? Not all it's cut out to be.. in cases of national espionage.. the sweaty collar and atomic wedgie from pacing up and down the road.. really aren't worth it. And 3.) God knows our struggles PERFECTLY, he's just waiting for us to exercise faith and lean upon his perfectly catered help. God knew how that entire fiasco was going to end. He knew that her sister would be able to make it on time.
But why lead us along, you might ask?
Often God does not give us perspective until we are in a position to learn from our experiences. Really, if we saw every encounter as God sees it- we'd never complain- for the growth, we inevitably inherit outweighs even the most tumultuous of trials. I know that we were lead to help that woman that day. And I am grateful that we were in a state of worthiness to follow the prompting... And accomplish our super secret mission. 😊
ANOTHER SURPRISE-
I think I have a smaller idea of how our Savior feels when we make good decisions. This past weekend I had the opportunity to baptize this incredible champion of a kid- who we've been working with for such a good minute- and rejoiced in watching him grow and enter the waters of baptism. Y'all, he is a future missionary for real. And when they say that we are to be, "converted unto the Lord" I think my boy knows what's up. I also had the blessed opportunity to confirm him a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and bestow upon him the sacred gift of the Holy Ghost. It was really a blessing to be apart of such edifying experiences. Isn't it the coolest thing that the Lord trusts us to do His work? Like, really... I feel so unworthy to responsible for such sacred ordinances, but I ALSO know that the Lord qualifies whom he calls. It's such a humbling experience to walk side by side with someone in the footsteps of discipleship, It's like a gardener waiting patiently for his seeds. he knows their potential.. but he also knows what is necessary to help them achieve such greatness. The end result is never inevitable- we must be gentle with the soul we are entrusted to guide and to help. It is our responsibility to supply them with every spiritual nutrient and mineral so as to never deprive them of their endless possibilities. In turn, they must accept the sustenance given and use it for their benefit- they must brave the wistful winds and plant their roots deep, so as to never fall away. If we do not establish roots, the trees of our labors will falter and tremble under the influence of an external adversary.. but as the roots penetrate deep into the soil of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.. we can adhere strictly and abide by the wise counsel given by our beloved former prophet... "Good timber does not grow with ease, the stronger the wind, the stronger the trees."
In anticipation of transfers as well, we went all out on the member relations this week... visiting with all of our favorite Chalmatians. Brother Landers, Brother Hatcher, Mama Caswell, the Farrell family- really it was an all-out splurge to get our member time in before we'd be whisked away to another holy land... Luckily, in my case, and most everyone in the District, we can savor in another six weeks of these magnificent members. Really, they are such a dedicated group. Like I said last week, they very much so encapsulate the essence of ministry and hold true to their callings and responsibilities as faithful members of this church. I love them all so familiarly... I know that we are all apart of the same eternal family and for that, I am most sincerely grateful.
I love my ward family at home and I love my branch family out here. This is a Gospel where home does not depend upon your surroundings.. but your heart. I feel my heart anchored to two separate sides of the nation- a part of me definitely resides in the humble abode of the Lutheran Pre-school off of Paris Road.
Another crazy experience this week came as we likened the scriptures once again.. realizing the necessity of loving those that persecute you:
"But behold I say unto you, love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them who despitefully use you and persecute you;" ~ 3 Nephi 12:44
What we intended to do and what we ended up doing.. were completely different on this particularly ripe and sunny day in New Orleans. We INTENDED on visiting a really cool investigator that we found while out street contacting- she understood our message and purpose and was totally groovy to learn more. So we tried stopping by, Restoration pamphlets in hand, ready to preach repentance and baptize converts-and as our anxious knuckles scraped the mahogany door.. she didn't answer. Rather, this absolutely ripped fella with the largest hands opens the door and proceeds to interrogate our purpose in being there. Turns out, just our luck, our investigator's father is a local Christian minister, who definitely doesn't skip leg day, and loves to entertain colorful discussions about the book of Job.
For the next.. forty-five or so minutes, we endured a rather bodacious beratement, in which the only words I got out were... yes, we're the Mormons. It was an interesting experience. We were instructed to learn our, "craft" (educate ourselves about the majestic ministry of Sir Archibald Wickboldt the Third... no, I still have no idea who that is. He told us that we weren't qualified to minister and that we should go along our merry way and study the Bible before we declare that another blasphemous book of scripture exists and that another prophet besides Job (who wasn't even a prophet.. but a righteous man, might I add) ministered in ancient America. We played on his curriculum and in those circumstances, the only thing you really can do is smile and agree to disagree.
BUT HERE'S WHERE IT GETS SPIRITUAL- I reasoned within my person that it wasn't worth arguing with this yolked individual.. so I just politely encouraged him to check out the website and learn for himself- when suddenly (because his door was open for an hour straight) his wife noticed that their dog had slipped through the cracks and ran away. Our conversation was gracefully interrupted with an all-out scavenge for this little white canine.. but he was nowhere to be found. Then, something interesting happened.. the scripture above popped into my head and I realized that even though he may not have treated us as the disciples we were... we still had the authority to preach the Gospel and to pray for our investigators. So I did just that. I offered up a sincere plea that this family would be able to find their dog, and I kid you not- when I said amen the little guy was jumping on my pant leg (NOT IN THE SHIH-TZU MANEUVER THANK GOODNESS). So, even if you aren't on the best of terms with some of the children of God here on the Earth.. you should still pray for them- we ARE one big family after all.
Some other little highlights of this week:
-We went on exchanges with the Zone Leaders where Elder Dover and I had this incredible two-hour lesson with one of their investigators- AND we had a little graffiti photo shoot.
-We did service as a District over at the Chalmette cemetery, reorganizing headstones with this fancy crane gadget.
So yes, my friends, that was our week! So much went down and this past transfer went by so fast, it's kinda difficult to keep track of it all. I am so grateful to my Heavenly Father that I have been given the opportunity to preach the Gospel. I love this church and I know it is so true. The Book of Mormon is seriously one of my favorite books- I encourage you all to read it prayerfully, pondering its teachings and their effects in your life.
Let's all prepare for General Conference by becoming more spiritually nourished by the good word of God and in serving our fellow members and brothers and sisters. I love you all- I know it and I hope you know it too! I'm super excited for this upcoming transfer.. stay tuned for more adventures from the "Chalestial" Kingdom.
LOVE Y'ALL, HAVE A GREAT WEEK!
With the sincerity and gratitude for all the lovely human beings that you are,
Elder Boyd
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