Happy Mother's Day Y'all!
..and I shall add, that in the creative Elder Carter's case- "he that asketh, receiveth quickly, and in it everyone rejoices.."
Remember that whole theme song idea from last week's tales? Well, it pays to have incredible companions with a knack for lyrics- ladies and gentleman, tale-er and tale-ee alike- INTRODUCING, THIBODAUX TALES CHAPTER TWO:
*preferably sung to the tune of Duck Tales..*
Life is like a hurricane
Here in Thibodaux.
Crawfish, gators, etoufée,
It's country! yeah, bro!
We might teach a lesson,
Or find some Cajuns!
Thibodaux Tales! (a-woo-oo)
Teachin' peeps what we believe in
Thibodaux Tales! (a-woo-oo)
Not Slidell tales or BR tales but
Thibodaux Tales! (a-woo-oo)
Here in Thibodaux.
Crawfish, gators, etoufée,
It's country! yeah, bro!
We might teach a lesson,
Or find some Cajuns!
Thibodaux Tales! (a-woo-oo)
Teachin' peeps what we believe in
Thibodaux Tales! (a-woo-oo)
Not Slidell tales or BR tales but
Thibodaux Tales! (a-woo-oo)
A-woo-oo is right- we have great reason to be glad. Shoutout to Bill Gates or Steve Jobs or whoever came up with the idea of video chatting, because Mother's Day has never been better. To all you mom's out there, I resonate with the sagacious words of Elder Jeffrey R. Holland-
“May I say to mothers collectively, in the name of the Lord, you are magnificent. You are doing terrifically well. The very fact that you have been given such a responsibility is everlasting evidence of the trust your Father in Heaven has in you.”
I couldn't say it better myself if I even tried- we owe our existence in joy to mothers everywhere. I exhort you, if you haven't, to thank a mother. And to make every day, a Mother's Day.
Here is a video clip of Elder Boyd (Mother's Day 2018) sharing a spiritual message about families [Missionaries get to call home two times a year: Mother's Day and Christmas]:
Well y'all, I can't even express the love I feel for my family and this work. But amidst the ecstasy of affection.. we still had a crazy week. The word, "crazy" doesn't even justify that insanity of Louisiana- so I think it'd be best to just say we had a "Louisiana Week." Let me give you a play by play of the business of the past seven days.
- I was nourished by the good word of leadership as I attended my first Missionary Leadership Council. Although I was not satiated by Sister Varner's celestial caramel syrup, it was a grandiose time to feel apart of something bigger than tracting. Don't get me wrong, I love TRACTING, but we just took missionary work to another level and I think it will just make tracting even impossibly BETTER.
-We went on exchanges with the AP's- I was pleasured to be companions with Elder Bertonneau- and to say our time together was a trip.. is like saying Superman is slightly jacked.. a minor deprecation to say the least. Here's a little journal entry of our 24 hours together:
"Elder Bertonneau and I hit the ground running- and the ground was lava because we were running all over the place. We all began the day with some high tech food bank service, as we hummed the spirit of God to drown out the dramatic decibel of Drake in the overhead speakers. THEN we started our adventure being kicked out of an apartment complex for proselyting, and so we scavenged the Earth for a new location- this time, tip-toeing around apartment managers and checking our blind spots for custodians. The first door we knock into? ELECT. She loves the Book of Mormon. She loves the Gospel. She wants to go to church. She was excited about our message because WE were excited. She wants her family of six to be taught so that they can covenant in the waters of baptism. We were quite frankly in shock that she wasn't a member already, THAT'S how pumped she was. ELECT. Then we met up with a less active who has a strong aversion to Ann Dibb and Chicago and hates the very idea of camouflage. We just bore down in pure testimony and she told us that we were modern day. "Conan the Barbarians" because we are so, "savage in the word." I can't make this up. And just when things are getting good... they get better. We moseyed our way over to a Haitian recent converts house- what an experience. Apparently, it's been incredibly hard to reach out to her because she speaks minimal English.. and specializes in the forbidden language: French. Now, you can imagine how I felt about this.. all of my training.. my intensive conjugation worksheets and practice.. it had all lead to this moment. So, I hiked up my britches and saddled up my, "Bonjour" and gave her the good ole' un, deux, trois. *Side note, before we taught her.. her kids were misbehaving, so she took off her sandal and started whipping her kid until we came in the clutch and pried the Nike 7's from her hand, just as she stepped into an anthill.. quite the setting, really.
So yeah, I taught my first lesson in French, prayed, and made sure to put extra emphasis and accent when I said, "JOOOOSEPH SMITH." Elder Bertonneau just sat in the background and I was just praying that I remembered the difference between scripture and watermelon. We're getting close to the end here folks.. we tried visiting a less active and ended up having a nice evening chat with her husband... I don't know why... but he smelled exactly like a perfect mixture of cantaloupe and Windex. Turns out, someone CAN indeed deny your testimony. This guy told us that we know our church is wrong, and when asked if he believed in the bible.. he uttered yes- so I was thinking, "YES, this will lead perfectly into an Amos 8:11-12 support for the apostasy..- well, it turns out he doesn't believe in the Book of Amos, so we asked him what books he does believe in, and he just responded with a simple, "live and let live boys.." and walked away.
Now, we're reaching the end, my friends.. we closed it up with a late night run to Jimmy-John's and upon leaving the premises, we ran into a Sister from the Ward who told us about the divine intervention she experienced when she prayed for a church movie to fall into her hands, and when she opened the closet, "20 copies of Finding Faith in Christ" propelled towards the ground.. so she and her grandson proceeded to watch the film 10+ times while she quizzed him on the origin of President David O. Mckay. So yeah, that was my exchanges with the AP's. Sounds like a Louisiana day, eh?
So yeah, I taught my first lesson in French, prayed, and made sure to put extra emphasis and accent when I said, "JOOOOSEPH SMITH." Elder Bertonneau just sat in the background and I was just praying that I remembered the difference between scripture and watermelon. We're getting close to the end here folks.. we tried visiting a less active and ended up having a nice evening chat with her husband... I don't know why... but he smelled exactly like a perfect mixture of cantaloupe and Windex. Turns out, someone CAN indeed deny your testimony. This guy told us that we know our church is wrong, and when asked if he believed in the bible.. he uttered yes- so I was thinking, "YES, this will lead perfectly into an Amos 8:11-12 support for the apostasy..- well, it turns out he doesn't believe in the Book of Amos, so we asked him what books he does believe in, and he just responded with a simple, "live and let live boys.." and walked away.
Now, we're reaching the end, my friends.. we closed it up with a late night run to Jimmy-John's and upon leaving the premises, we ran into a Sister from the Ward who told us about the divine intervention she experienced when she prayed for a church movie to fall into her hands, and when she opened the closet, "20 copies of Finding Faith in Christ" propelled towards the ground.. so she and her grandson proceeded to watch the film 10+ times while she quizzed him on the origin of President David O. Mckay. So yeah, that was my exchanges with the AP's. Sounds like a Louisiana day, eh?
Apart from that, it's been heating up here in the bayou.. which makes tracting feel that much more a sacrifice. I know God has been seeing what we're trying to do lately because we were blessed to find so many people to teach this past week. Even in cranky old people-ville, there is the elect who are ready and prepared for the Gospel. I'm so excited to teach the people we have found this week and to find more people to bring into the light of this everlasting Gospel.
OH AND, we had two baptisms this past weekend, don't know how I forgot about that! My friends, it's official... Little Wayne has been baptized. He's the most precious child, *Wayne JR... or as the OG's call him... Little Wayne.. who we've been working with since I got here. He loves to pray and truly emulates excitement in discipleship.. it was so humbling to see the pure joy in his face as he made one of the greater decisions of his life. I love that kid, and I'm super excited to see him one day share his Spirit with others and be the greatest missionary the nations have ever seen. The second baptism was this radiant woman.. who just, "gets" the Gospel. She has one of the best testimonies you will ever hear is a real tear jerker when it comes to her conversion story... She just bawled in the font and there wasn't a dry eye in the room. Gosh, isn't the Gospel just the greatest!? I will say it once more.. missionary work, works. AND God helps the man who helps himself.. so help yourself and go find people to make happier through the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
Well y'all, that oughtta do us for this Louisiana week out here in the bayou. I am so fortunate to be a missionary and to share the love I feel for others. I am so grateful for all of the moms in the world and in my life.. you embody the pure love of Christ. I hope you all had a splendid week, and that this coming week is even impossibly better. You are loved more than you know. And treasured more than you realize. Keep the faith, wait for the miracles, and bask in the greatness of this Gospel. You're all champs. ELDER BOYD LOVES YOU!!
Mucho love for the magnificent moms out there,
Elder Boyd
What an amazing man! See link and pictures below:
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