Elder Jeremy Ashton Boyd: SLIDELL SCROLLS: CHAPTER NINETEEN

Watch out Satan,

In the great time expansion of history as we know it, we can observe certain patterns of behavior that have persisted and developed in humankind over the years. As missionaries, we bear testimony of one specific pattern, "the pride cycle." Well, allow me to divert your attention to another religious repetition, "The Missionary Model." As we near the second coming of the Savior, there seems to be a grand competition in the midst of mayhem- a dichotomy of sorts. Good versus evil. Satan versus missionaries. Well, as I have observed from the mission parenthood perspective, just as the adversary strengthens, so do the righteous. Satan may be enabling his forces but saddle up you Latter-day Saints, because the Lord's battalion has never been buffer. The Lord is ushering in his strongest soldiers for his toughest battles... and out here on the front-lines, the reinforcements are remarkable. In short, Elder Jones is pre-trained and this week the victory was ours! The battle is won when the battle is his- and the battle was ours in SLIDELL SCROLLS: CHAPTER NINETEEN.

One week down here in the promised land and the promises keep on coming. Elder Jones is INCREDIBLE! He has already taught me more than I can say and is a stellar missionary in and of himself! I am so grateful to be his companion and serve with one of the mightiest in this great work. The quad-ship has carved my abdominal muscles with laughter like the great cascades. We are doing such great work together and I have an even greater resolve to be that much more consecrated and, "on it" with Elder Jones around. We've already seen so many miracles- this weekly truly couldn't contain the magnificence of this week. We were lead and guided by the spirit, helped reactivate returning members of the church, moved a dog turd bed, committed some people to be baptized, resolved concerns through the scriptures, and eaten way too much cake. Every day was great, but after Sunday, I knew exactly what miracles the Lord wanted me to share with y'all:

In the missionary white handbook there resides a plain and simple rule, that if followed, is sure to guarantee miracles.

"Spend as much time as possible proselyting on Sunday"

Now, some of you may question, "Elder Boyd, isn't Sunday supposed to be a day of rest?" And to you random citizen I would respond "yes." Rest from the world but certainly not a rest from the Lord's work. I am convinced that God reserves his most magnificent miracles for the Sabbath Day:

We were car-tailing around the quad-ship in search of a flock of the elect. We had been driving around for a good minute, working entirely through prompting, until we had settled with the spirit on a particular location. We went our separate ways and began the hard-knock life as we ventured towards our first door. The response, to say the least, was a little unexpected.

"Hi sir, we're your local missionaries...

"Come in."

That is the BEST way to get interrupted on your mission. :) Well, it turns out, this man has been taught by missionaries before and because we were willing to follow the Spirit, God blessed us with one of his elect. In fact, this man, in particular, was incredibly impressed with the church's relief efforts during Katrina and had been seeking to find which church it was that was so involved... and the story continues... just as we were about to teach this man about the Restoration, I felt a vibration in my pocket. As I gazed at the caller ID I saw two words:

PRESIDENT VARNER.

Mission rule #6: President takes precedent.

So, I took the call and had a nice conversation with our lovely Mission President. It wasn't more than 15 minutes when I came back AND ELDER JONES HAD TAUGHT THIS MAN THE RESTORATION, INVITED HIM TO PRAY, COMMITTED HIM TO CHURCH AND TO READ THE BOOK OF MORMON. Watch out Satan, these new missionaries are coming pre-trained... and they're ready to harvest, my goodness. Elder Jones is certainly one of the mighty Captains in the Lord's Battalion.

But wait, there's more...

Later that evening...

We had finished a dinner appointment with a lovely family and reasoned with ourselves that we would close the night, reaping in the apartment complexes of Slidell. Mind you, it was a crisp 8:00 evening- and war flashbacks of the previous night (where cranky kooks with their shotgun threats and k-9 colony threatened our efforts) traced our minds. However, a profound truth echoed in my mind, and dispelled all dissonance and fear-

"Latter-day Saints may expect miracles through their faith in Jesus Christ..."

Before we hit the pavement we said a simple prayer, "Lord, we have faith. Please help us to see miracles and find someone who needs us this evening." And with that prayer, we were on our way.

Miracle #1: THE SECOND DOOR.

"Hi, we're your local missionaries..."

"Oh, I'm actually a member..."

Imagine a super-soaker filled with a soldier serum, that when in contact with the epidermic tissue, immediately releases a plethora of neurotransmitters to suddenly make you feel like the most awkward homo-sapiens in existence? Yeah, that's pretty much how I felt.

But, once I dried off from the awkwardness, I noticed how special this moment was. This woman hadn't been to church in over five years because she has rheumatoid arthritis. Occasionally her father, an active member, brings her the sacrament, but she relayed to us how lonely she had felt... That night, right before we arrived, she said she was praying for a sign, a messenger, an answer to her prayer- that she might not feel so alone- that was when we showed up. For some reason, I felt so strongly impressed to share Alma 7 with her- that night, through a veil of tears, she professed how strengthened her testimony became that, God answers prayers.

Miracle #2:

We knocked on the other side of the complex and found ourselves talking to this absolutely massive mountain of a man with biceps wider than the great Appalachians. Seeing as I am also on a quest to be large in stature, I had the confidence to ask how he acquired such gains. A simple response, "steak and eggs." His girlfriend then added the following fun fact: "he's addicted to cows and chickens." ANYWAYS, because we were so entranced with this conversation, we neglected one of the doors on the other side of his humble abode. I felt the prompting, Elder Jones willingly followed, and before we KNEW IT...

nobody answered.

So, we made our way back to the car, with two minutes to spare in the night, and not one new person found. Just then, in my peripheral vision, I saw this lady and her two kids get out of their vehicle and slowly huddle indoors with a fair amount of groceries in their hands. They walked into their door at *:59- and that's when we pounced. She ended up being the most elect woman, who had met with missionaries before and even come to church. She has two enthusiastic children who are looking forward to primary this weekend and is anxiously engaged in reading the Book of Mormon.

A simple prayer goes a long way. A lonely woman with a desperate plea for company. Two exhausted Elders with faith to find the elect. Pray, he is there. Speak, he is listening. You are his child and his love will forever surround you if you have the faith to ask for it.

Well y'all, we couldn't be happier! It has been a stellar seven days out here in the bodacious bayou, and we look forward to the future. The area is great, my companion is great, the work is great, the members are great, and the gospel is great! Truly I cannot say even the smallest part of what I feel. I hope y'all have even the SMALLEST portion of as good of a week as we have- if you do, I promise you will feel such a greater desire to serve the Lord. Thanks for all the prayers! Y'all are the best! HAVE A GREAT WEEK Y'ALL! ELDER BOYD LOVES YOU!!

Still recovering from the super awkward soaker,

Elder Boyd

This Week's Pictures/Video:

Meet Elder Jones (2nd "son")