May it be known, that never in the history of one's ministry has anyone ever felt Galatians 5:22-23 personified as I have this week. The fruits of the spirit were digested- with virtuous vitamins and miraculous minerals included. I dare not deny the confirming witness I have felt from the past seven days that God is aware, he is there, and he always cares. And if you're ever lacking some apostolic C12H22O11, serve the Lord for two years, your spiritual sugars will skyrocket. And on that note, I say from the most sincere part of my heart, thank you for all of the birthday/year mark wishes. Y'all, the Lord, and my blessing of a family have made 20 years to remember already... here's to another year of serving the Lord, one scroll at a time. And on that note, let's get 20 started with SLIDELL SCROLLS; CHAPTER TWENTY.
On the 27th of this month, I completed a year of full-time service in the work of the Lord. Never have I seen so many miracles in my life, so much growth in myself, developed such great love for others and this Gospel, appreciated the scriptures and the powers of prayer and revelation so much, overcome so many doubts and fears, worked so hard, knocked so many doors, talked to so many people, met a blessing load of elect spirits, and grown so appreciative for a restored Gospel, a savior, and a loving Heavenly Father, than I have in this past year. I have learned more about myself, who I was, who God wants me to be, and who I can become. I have grown SO dependent upon the Atonement of Jesus Christ, it's not even fathomable. Subsequently, I have seen my weaknesses magnified, and uncovered and acknowledged my personal endowment of strengths and talents. I have seen the hand of the Lord more openly in my life and become closer to my Savior than I ever imagined possible. I have put greater value on the word of God (reading it daily), on the gifts of the spirit, the attributes of Christ, on my relationships with others and with my Heavenly Father. With a strengthened testimony, a determined discipleship, and a crave for consecration, LOOK OUT LOUISIANA, because this Elder is going out with a bang. Call me Farmer Boyd, cause the number of seeds about to be a'planted will undoubtedly prepare the promised land for the harvest for the century.
...but before we harvest and reminisce about the best year of my life, we have work to do- and work we DID do this past week.
The great conundrum of the elect in Slidell is casualness. In fact, as we pondered over the pool of our people being taught, we realized that most of them have been casual in their commitments. Well, we could have easily chosen to be frustrated... I mean, this is the Lord's work and we have a limited amount of time to accomplish what we have been foreordained to do... BUT, we chose this week to do away with the habits of Laman and Lemuel and to make miracles instead of murmurs. During my daily feast in the bakery that is the scriptures (daily bread, get it?), I stumbled upon this scripture that allowed us to do just that:
For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required: and to whom men have committed much, of him they will ask the more.
As members of the church we are given SO much- so naturally, it can be understood that much is required. As missionaries, however, we are given two toasty years in the furnace of affliction- a guaranteed opportunity to learn and grow and become your true self if you ALLOW yourself to be molded- now that if that isn't much given! So, shouldn't we expect a great requirement as missionaries? That's what we realized. We have committed so much to the Lord in this time, so we can only expect him to ask, "the more" of us! It is an honor and a privilege to suffer shame for the name of the Lord- we rejoice in rejection, we are optimistic about apposition, and positive about persecution! This is what we needed to be reaffirmed as we labored with the, "less motivated" this week...
...and when we consecrate ourselves and devote our lives to the service of the Lord, we qualify for an irreplaceable gift to ease our burdens and assist in this great apostolic work; the gift of the Holy Ghost. Now, yes, I have a testimony of the spirit. A very STRONG testimony- but after the events of last night... I cannot deny that following promptings of the spirit are absolutely essential to the work of the Lord.
Promptings precede protection if you follow them.
First of all, y'all I am pretty sure Louisiana has a universally understood bedtime; 5:00. It is such a funny struggle to be obedient and knock doors from 8:00- 9:00, because everyone is either watching the Saints game or is ridiculously disappointed in our decision to knock their door during, "quiet time.." We even had the cops called on us this past week because we were, "soliciting hooligans." Anyways, I digress...
This particular evening, we were fulfilling our obedient duty by proselyting in an apartment complex with the other Elders to finish out the night. Game plan: we take one side, they take the other, and when we meet in the middle we'll head to the other side. Well, Elder Jones and I said our prayer, and specifically prayed as we do every time... to have the spirit to be with us. Taking no thought beforehand all that consists of that request, we hit up the hard knock life. It wasn't too long after we knocked on the first door that it both hit us simultaneously; sluggish, a lack of enthusiasm, frankly depressed, we did not feel good around these doors. At first, we couldn't understand it- usually, I am VERY ENTHUSIASTIC about knocking doors, meeting new people, and finding the elect. I personally was very frustrated and confused at this feeling... it wasn't until I voiced my concern that my companion admitted he felt the same. Both having voiced our concern, we knocked one more door until the feeling was undeniable, "stop knocking." We met up with the other Elders and told them how we felt, and without a second thought, made our way over to the other side of the complex.
Immediately, we felt better. The enthusiasm returned, we sang hymns from door to door, and something felt entirely different about this side. As we were nearing the end of our efforts, we even found new people to teach who wasn't going to bed OR watching the Saints game- we even passed by some open blinds, and saw the other Elders in a lesson with some receptive people. It turned out to be a great night...
BUT EVERYTHING STARTED TO MAKE SENSE WHEN THE SHERIFF DEPARTMENT SHOWED UP.
..kinda like the fire nation, but with flashlights instead of lightning fingers.
For some reason one of the doors we knocked, we only knocked once and then moved on. WELL, our card was still in the door when the Sheriff knocked and busted the first criminal. Yes, that's right, I said FIRST. As we anxiously made our way back to the car, we noticed there was not one... not two... BUT FOUR COPS on the side we were knocking before. And get this... we saw them bust some men and take them away in their cars.
Elder Jones and I were dumbfounded... if we had knocked that first door one more time, what would have happened? The reason we felt different was that we weren't qualifying for a spirit of enlivenment... but a spirit of premonition. God was protecting us. Both of our testimonies of the spirit have grown exponentially from this experience, NEVER will we ever forget to pray for the spirit. And you all can qualify for the same protection... God protects his anointed.
Well y'all, other than that the quadship is on FUEGO and Slidell is about to flood with the baptisms of the elect. We are beyond fortunate to serve here. I love my mission. I know this past year will forever bless me and my family. I look forward to many more opportunities in this coming year to serve the Lord and his beloved people in Louisiana.
In short, ALWAYS follow the spirit, keep the faith, remember what is required of you and what is in store, and never skip out on the virtuous vitamins of the gospel. HAVE A GREAT WEEK Y'ALL! ELDER BOYD LOVES YOU!
Twenty years older, not sure how much wiser
Elder Boyd
This Week's Pictures and Videos
So many members wanting to celebrate his birthday with him. Lots of love was shown towards Elder Boyd
Facepaint from a Slidell Ward Activity
Lots of door knocking
Elder Jones & Elder Boyd
Not sure what's happening in this pic?
How his family celebrated Elder Boyd's Birthday:
We celebrated Jeremy style. As you can see, we invited several sets of missionaries to help us celebrate your Birthday. We had Fat Coco's (back when you COULD eat dairy), rice krispy treats, and almond dream bites/ice cream sandwiches.
Elder's reading their aprons
No comments:
Post a Comment