THIBODAUX TALES: CHAPTER THREE

Bonjour little flock,

I would like to stimulate your imagination to remember a familiar film... "The Prince of Egypt." Picture how Mama Moses reluctantly donates her baby son to the forbidden river in hopes of salvaging his foreordained ministry.. the scene is melodramatic and the emotions are rampant. Imagine the drastic drudgery of the atmosphere.. but suddenly a harmonious voice rises above the contention and chants, "there can be miracles when you believe." This simple phrase has never been better demonstrated than it has this week in Thibodaux. If miracles were pennies, we'd be millionaires. If our belief was measured in physical strength.. we'd be absolutely yolked. There can be miracles when you believe, my friends.. and with that, I introduce a miraculous edition of THIBODAUX TALES: CHAPTER THREE. 

"So much in life depends on our attitude. The way we choose to see things and respond to others makes all the difference." If Elder Sellers and I didn't understand this, this week I tell you what... The difference in this week was our drive and our attitude. We were determined to see some divine manifestations of spiritual power this week, and we were gonna have a good time doing it. I've found this past week, that when you enjoy what you do... it's so much easier to do it. And when we have the confidence to make goals out of dreams and results out of wishes.. we can really make a difference in our lives. The motto of this week was, "baptize nations." Now, here's a part of our tale that needs to be understood... the missionaries in Thibodaux are infamous for a bad reputation of slothfulness and mediocre missionary work. As a result of such, the members have lost trust in the missionaries who serve in this area and have nearly lost hope for the work in their field. Well, Elder Sellers and I were determined to change that this week. Nothing worth having comes easy.. and in the silence of hard work, success makes the loudest noise. Through faith, God's mercy, and the irreplaceable companionship of the Holy Ghost, we were able to find over fifteen new people to teach and commit two of our investigators to baptism this week. Both of which, haven't been seen in Thibodaux for a LONG time. Our Bishop is pretty excited, and so are we, because God's success is available to anyone who is willing to work for it. And the fruits of our labors were even manifest in the less active sphere of things.. as the one less active lady we were inspired to visit this week, came to church. You should've seen the joy on our faces when we witnessed the coming home of this lost sheep.. we were overjoyed. And that's exactly what we've found this week through hard work.. joy through the success and happiness of others. There's no greater work than this, which provides those fruits daily. 

NOW ONTO THE PLOT OF THIS WEEK:

For those of you who like mission stories, we have enough experiences down here to write a novel:

FIRST:

Remember that Skyrim addict we call Brother? Well, Elder Sellers and I, with our, "baptize nations" machismo, decided we were going to be bold and invite him to be happiest through baptism. Let's just say, what followed, cannot be made up...

We prefaced our invitation by reading out of 3 Nephi 11, where Christ visits the people in ancient America. The spirit could not be denied..and as we reached verse 25 we read the powerful words, 

"Having authority given me of Jesus Christ, I baptize you in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen."

I was feeling pretty good about the whole thing and assumed with the boldness of a daring missionary and invited him to be baptized. To which he said, 

"no."

"Why not?" I muttered. 

"MAN, I hate travel."

Initially, in shock, I further questioned his reasoning and called upon whatever prompting I received to tell him...

"Brother. Do you have faith that Christ had authority to cause blind men to see in the bible?"

"Well. Yes."

"Then you must have that same faith to believe that by that same authority God can make it possible for you to travel to your baptism."

*at this point, I thought we were golden..then suddenly..*

"But baptism makes me itchy." 

Then, as if by some strange course of events I made one of the weirder promises on my mission...

"Brother, I promise you that if you are baptized by the proper authority, thou shalt not itch."

Needless to say, he said he's gonna pray about it and Elder Sellers and I walked away with that much more realization that Louisiana isn't as sane as the rest of the nation. 

NEXT:

A few days later Elder Sellers and I, still in the, "baptize nations" mindset, set out to see one of our more progressing investigators who we actually managed to help get on date for baptism two days prior. 

*A little backstory first*

-Elder Sellers forewarned me that our investigator's sister, "doesn't like us" and that she solely believes in the bible and has an interesting relationship with her sister. She was also recently admitted to a hospital and hasn't been around as long as I've been here... so we've been able to teach her sister and have some quality spirit-filled lessons- so as we approached the trailer, he joked about her sister being there and I refuted that no one can turn down a ginger.. the following are the proceeding events..-

So we drive right next to her trailer and out comes this woman I have never before seen- it was from my companions anxious sigh that I soon realized.. her sister was back. However, to our great surprise, the sister welcomed us in with open arms... commended us for the work we were doing.. and even complimented our ties. She said she wanted us to visit with her and her family and do a bit of studies.. so, cautiously we agreed. This whole situation was very suspicious from the start... but we pressed forward in faith. When we entered the door, I personally felt an immediate shift in the spirit.. something didn't seem, "right." Our investigator was draped across the table with her little, "pill speaker" in hand, blasting, "IN THE ARMS OF THE ANGEL" while her sister ushered us over to the table where our fine china glasses of Sunny D were already waiting for us... She said she wanted us to read from Psalms- contrary to what we were going to teach, but we went with it anyway, looking for an opportunity to invite the spirit. Not one verse in.. the contention escalates. Our investigator starts hollering at her sister.. and proceeds to tell us that she has been struggling recently with, "multiple personalities." Before we had time to react, we were being offered cereal with water as a "snack" and all of the kids' bomb rushed into the living room and started spitting on their mother. There was a thick air of the adversary around.. and so, the only thing I could think to do was to pray. SO, we offered a prayer.. but as soon as we said amen, the screaming continued. Her sister began to call me, "Nicole" with quite the conviction that I was the living incarnation of Bethsheba. And just when this whole hullaballoo seems to climax.. our phone begins to ring.. *President Varner.* Our mission president calls in the middle of this bonanza and in the background all he hears is, "READ PSALMS YOU FREAKING IDIOT." Only in Louisiana... Well, we hung up with President, and with haste made our way out the door. We managed to get the phone number of our investigator and invite her to church where she would feel the spirit. As we were walking away, her sister followed behind and asked to pray for us that God may bless us on our travels.. SO even amidst all the craziness, we knew there were good intentions deep in there somewhere. 

So yes, another week in Thibodaux and the people aren't getting any less crazy. But that almost gives them an even more.. lovable quality. Ya know?

We also met a guy who was convinced the U.S was a modern day Soddom and Gomorrah, and he didn't really understand why adultery was a sin. And the Spirit blessed my knowledge when we taught these four Baptist pastors and I quoted more of the bible than I ever have in my life.. since when did I have Psalms 23 memorized? Well, they were impressed.. and want to learn more about the Book of Mormon.. and I was impressed that God was so willing to strengthen my repertoire. 

However, amidst all of the events of this week... the highlight by far was being blessed to participate in the MLC with Elder Lynn. G. Robbins. For those of you who are more absentminded than others... I have been an Elder Robbins fan for quite some time and watching him counsel and minister in person.. has been an unspoken dream of mine for a while. He did not disappoint. You can tell these men are called of God.. because they move, act, and speak solely by the spirit. In my impression... he had no pre-set agenda.. he exemplified, "speak (ing) the thoughts that I shall put into your heart.." He spoke of everything from Christlike attributes, to marriage advice, to Parenting 101, to leadership types and behavior analysis.. and so much more. Catch me after the mission and I will sing this man's PRAISES. Every question I had going into the meeting.. answered. Every question I didn't know I had, going into the meeting.. answered. And, not to, "fanboy" or anything.. when asked to participate in his counsel.. he said I had "very good insight" so... yeah.. internally screaming, but for a good cause. I'll attach one of two of his quotes.. he's a spiritual genius. And if that wasn't enough, I ate lunch with him and his wife, and President Varner asked me to tell him the story of one of my Chalmette miracles. SO, yes, there is a seventy out there.. who forever has, "Elder Boyd's Southern woman's impersonation" ingrained in his brain. I was edified, instructed, and blessed.. I will never forget his counsel as long as I live, and leaving his instruction just leaves me wanting to be that much better, that much more consecrated, and that much more worthy of this calling. I also got to see my trainer and good pal... Elder Orison at the council. Time really has flown by.. I love that guy. :)

Oh, and a side note for all of the BYU fans that I know exist in the humble abode of Washington... Taysom Hill and his wife came and visited and spoke in our ward this Sunday. SO yeah, meeting legends left and right. :)

Well, folks, I think that'll be it for this tale. Believe in miracles and believe that all things are possible through exceeding faith. I have seen this work in my own life and am a living witness that God is mindful and merciful to his children. I love this church and I know it to be true. I love being a missionary and I love all of you. HAVE A GREAT WEEK LITTLE FLOCK. ELDER BOYD LOVES YOU.

From a blessed soul in Louisiana,

Elder Boyd

This week's FB Post:

One of the biggest testaments of Gods love for his children are his beautiful creations. And yes, the spectacles of nature are divine.. and the wonders of the world are wonderful- but to me, some of Gods most beautiful creations are his children.Each one of us is individually crafted through the eyes of a perfect God. And the irony of it all is that we are so quick to admire the sunset.. but so slow to remember our own similar divinity? The same God who created that sunset, created you.
So, I challenge you all to see and embrace the Fathers love for you and all his children. For, to him, you are his most beautiful creation. If we were to truly understand the beauty of Gods creations we would never deny his existence.
#LBRMSingingSundayJohn 13: 34-35

Pictures sent this week: