THE GONZALES GAZETTE: CHAPTER TWO

Salutations and whatnot. Someone approached me in the bathroom with that, "formal greeting" and I knew then-- it had to be the intro to our Gazette. 

I have to apologize first and foremost. Today marks a wonderful day. Now, you may or may not have noticed, but my weekly's as of late have been lacking a bit in material. I know, I know... no excuse. But, ladies and gentleman, I come forth in the morning of a beautiful and bright day with some glorious news: for the first time in six months, I am typing my weekly at THE LIBRARY. What a remarkable occasion. Thank you, thank you... All silliness aside though, this drought of effective emailing has really helped me to ponder how we use the instruments available in our lives. Yes, I CAN write a weekly from the discomfort of my phone... sure, I may get arthritis in the thumb muscles, and YES, there could be a casualty or two in the "quality' category... but it CAN get done. Alternatively, when emailing at the library, my thumbs find themselves in much better health, and the quality skyrockets at the feet of modern-day technology. How often are we settling for less effective means in say... our scripture study? Or even our daily prayers? Sure, you can get through the day JUST fine without feasting upon the words of Christ-- but how much MORE effective, healthy, and wonderful will be the days where you decided to start chomping on the word of God. There are divine instruments in our midst and at our fingertips. We are over-equipped with the tools necessary to bring forth life unto salvation. SO, don't harvest those fields with the strength of your thumbs-- whip out the sickle and lay up in store the effective work that is prepared for you! YES, I KNOW, CRAZY METAPHOR, but I mean it-- and I may be a little too excited to have PC accessibility again. Welcome my friends, to a new and improved weekly-- a re-invented and much more whimsical edition-- dare I say, A GAZETTE. THE GONZALES GAZETTE: CHAPTER TWO. 

A beloved companion of mine once taught me, "you miss 100% of the shots you don't take." As we continued in our precious time together, he would always encourage me to have faith in myself. He helped me to develop righteous habits of self-love and instilled in me a greater realization of divine identity. I don't know where I would be without this companion in my life and I will be eternally grateful for his everlasting influence.

Jesus Christ is the same way.

The Savior says, "take a shot on yourself." Or, I guess in more scriptural terms, "love thy neighbor as thyself." Our Heavenly Father thinks it's awesome that you put so much effort into others. He admires your great attention to the little details of the lives around you. He praises your selfless service and pours out his richest blessings for your unconditional love-- but more than that, he wants us to love ourselves. He says, "sure, that's great that your neighbor feels so loved, but how do you feel?" "Can you feel my spirit, and the heavenly attempts I am making to make SURE that you know that you deserve love too?" Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ and the Holy Ghost can BE those companions who encourage us to love ourselves. They ARE those companions--- but are you choosing to feel their love? You'll often find that when you love God first, it's easy to love your neighbor. When you worship the Father in the name of the Son, you understand that the best thing you can do for them is to take care of their kids, and you look outwards-- but you're not done yet. Too many of us fail to complete the process... God expects us, through charity, to develop a love of self. To reach out to our neighbors and realize, "wow, I have the attributes of godliness." Or, "hot dang, I am a child of God." Do you get what I am saying here? Take time to love your neighbor AS YOURSELF. It is awesome to be that companion who helps everyone else to take a shot, but it is even better to take a shot on yourself. We're all shooting for the same, "eternal goal." Satan might be the goalie, he doesn't want you to score-- but our God has him on SKATES. He's slipping and sliding when we work together as a team to calculate our celestial shots. So, let's all take our shots as a team, helping one another to score, and remembering that the best, "teammates" are celestial skaters. 

It's so much easier to write metaphors at the library... my lanta this will be a good six weeks. :) 

ANYWAYS,
Seeing as how it's been three days since we've last talked, I bet you'd imagine not much could happen between now and then...

well...

THINK AGAIN! 

MIRACLES CAN HAPPEN IN THREE DAYS, AMIGOS. 

I love telling stories, can you tell? I want you to really visualize how promised this great holy land of the Southern states really is. And you know, sometimes all you need for a good story is to follow a prompting to race a team of seventh graders down a dirt road in a shirt and tie! 

Never challenge a servant of the Lord to a foot race. First off, you've probably underestimated his age-- thinking he was an eighth grade graduate with that boyish grin of his-- but in reality, you've challenged a 20-year-old. Secondly, we have the power of God on our side-- and when the wager involves helping you come unto Christ-- we can't lose. Yes, you guessed right, we sprinted our way to salvation. You're playing a loaded game when you say, "we'll listen to your message if you can beat us in a race." Oh, and on a completely different note, yes my streetball record is still flawless, thanks for asking. But on a more spiritual side of things... 

This very champion situation was the exact authorization God needed to soften the heart of this family we were teaching. The grandma, previously set in her ways and now interested in the restored truth, had been avoiding us for a few appointments-- so, we decided playing, "catch" and racing her grandchildren would be a great second option. This weekend, we stopped by to cash in our deal with her two grandsons (the wager of the foot race) and she was actually present for this lesson with some great questions: 

"Why do you come here and teach me about Jesus Christ?"

"Are you soliciting me for money?"

Oh, and something awesome to note is that we met this, "evangelist" in his driveway who said he was listening to a good preacher-- so I asked if we could exchange pastors-- and he proceeded to follow our recommendation with "Russell M. Nelson" on Facebook. 

Back to the story:
We responded pretty excitedly to her questions by stating our purpose as missionaries and our Heavenly Father''s plan for her. Suddenly, she looked as though she had been hit by the whirlwind of the spirit. She began to verbalize a striking recollection she had in that very moment...
She told us about this faint memory she had of praying 20 years ago in New York. She looked around and saw a lot of different preachers sharing conflicting views out of the same Bible, and questioned their authority. She said that in her confused daze, she could only think to go home and ask God. As she dropped to her knees and asked which church was true, the answer came immediately and obviously, as two times the same name echoed through her head: The Church of Jesus Christ. The Church of Jesus Christ. At that moment, she realized that she had received her answer 20 years ago. When she looked up, two young men had extended a black name-tag for her to read: "The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints." 

She said, "well, I guess I received my answer." 

"Well, what are you going to do with that answer?" 

"I need to get baptized." 

(She had a James 1:5 experience-- she lacked wisdom and asked God. You too can do the same and I invite you, in the words of James, if you lack wisdom-- ask God! Maybe he'll surprise you with a 20-year-old answer)

Suddenly from the back of the carport, two eager faces emerged with the same joyous exclamation, "we want to be baptized too." It was the very foot-racers themselves. I wonder if this is what the day of Pentecost felt like for Peter and John? All I know is that that was one sincere gratitude prayer. God is so merciful unto us, and though we may not feel worthy of his blessings nor his miracles, we sure are appreciative he loves us enough to help us to feel how he feels. Every righteous act is a miracle to our Heavenly Father. He has a perfect attitude and perspective about life-- I only pray that one day I can be as joyful and excited as He is... 

...but I can get pretty close. And that seems to be a reoccurring theme here in Gonzales. We are beyond blessed with the best. And I mean that. I'm not just saying that to create a facade that, "life is perfect as a missionary" because life can be pretty hard sometimes. I say that, to also say, that with God-- though things may not always be good-- we can always feel blessed. We can feel joy no matter our circumstances. Joy is not circumstantial. It is an inner commitment to follow Jesus Christ, the King of Joy, and we can be true to that commitment no matter what is happening around us. That is my testimony. I haven't always had the easiest days on my mission-- in this new position, things can be exhausting at times-- but subsequently, not a day has passed where I haven't felt blessed or an exceedingly great joy for being in the service of the Lord. I love my mission. I rejoice in the bad days and the good days. I count it an honor to be exhausted for his names' sake, and I truly intend on serving Him with all of my heart, might, mind, and strength. This the finisher's race and I want God to know-- in the words of the beloved prophet, President Monson-- if he needs an errand run, [Elder Boyd] will run that errand for him. I hope you all strive this week to develop a similar attitude-- to look for the joy in every situation. Put on your celestial skates and shoot your shot-- I know the Lord has great blessings in store for all of us who choose to let go and let God. Run the race that is set before you-- run to the end. And in due time, the finishers' touch will help you to shoot every righteous shot you undertake. 

From a wannabe celestial skater,

Elder Boyd

This Week's Pics:







Elder Boyd had a heavenly meal at the Mission Home.  He ate well!


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