Elder Jeremy Ashton Boyd

Happy Mother's Day Y'all!

Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye. shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh. findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.

..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)

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?

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:

http://www.ldsliving.com/37-500-Loaves-and-Counting-Cute-75-Year-Old-Man-Feeds-Hungry-Mormon-Missionaries-Members/s/81459

So begins a new chapter and a new tale...
Little town, it's a quiet village,
Every day, tracting all these doors,
Little town, full of crazy Cajuns..
Waking up to say...

HEY, Y'ALL,
Y'ALL FIXIN TO POP SOME MUDBUGS IN THE ICE BOX AND HAVE A GATOR WRENCHING, YEE-HAWING GOOD TIME?

It's the south y'all. And Thibodaux is as country as it gets. If missionaries could wear overalls and proselyte with tractors, this would be the place to do it. Where roadkill is a delicacy, and plantations abound a plenty.. we endeavor to enjoy the first edition of THIBODAUX TALES: CHAPTER ONE.

*I feel like an alternatively Cajun version of Duck Tales as our theme song would be most appropriate here*
One week down in Thibodaux, and like an icebox, we just straight chilling. I've got to say, this humble abode certainly isn't Chalmette, but its definitely a promised land of its own. I can feel the potential all around, and the more doors we knock, the more excited I become to find those elect and invite them to be happiest. But don't get me wrong.. the elect aren't the most conventional bunch. Let me give you a good ole' fill of some of the.. beloved sons and daughters of God we have met up with this week...

My very first impression of Thibodaux:

-Now, I myself, am a man who loves to talk to people. And I'll be brutally honest, I try to blend in with the culture as much as I can.. which sometimes, is to my downfall. This particular instance, we get to talking to this guy, who has been investigating the church for two and a half years.. and immediately we get off topic. Now, I should've taken the hint from the Spirit, but I was just trying to get a conversation about the Gospel going. Long story short- my guy starts teasing me about how missionaries are not divine, because they are constantly distracted by women. He said he didn't trust me and that he knew he'd be seeing me at the club that night partying it up with the local chicas... AND, that I wasn't responsible enough to pray. Well, just when I thought things couldn't get better- this young women walks in.. okay, feeling relieved.. we get to talking, feeling a lot better, and then come to find out, it's his mom. Well, me just trying to be a nice gentleman and all... I let her know how good she looks for her age... AND MY GUY starts teasing me about his mom. As we were leaving, he said, "Gingy's got a crush on you ma.. " So yeah, that's the time that I ruined a lesson by accidentally "flirting" with an investigators mom. Welcome to Thibodaux.

- Our next stop was short and sweet. Imagine this: He's a video game addict with a keen fancy for fruit punch, and he refuses to give us his name because he is convinced we're with the "FEDS", so we call him "Brother". We tried teaching him the Plan of Salvation, but right before we could give him the keys to the kingdom.. he jumps up and hollers, "fellas, I'm not feeling well. I have an inkling for Skyrim and my dragon lord is calling my name." So yeah, that was the time we met a Skyrim addict.

- And last but not least...
We have this awesome opportunity to volunteer at a tutoring center over on the outskirts of Thibodaux. Now, if you have ever wanted or desired the strength of a raging fire or the force of a great typhoon.. go to Myron's tutoring. It's essentially a patience workshop for the short-tempered. I was pleasured to assist in some phonics fun with a 3rd grader. Apparently, my companion worked with this individual before, and he is one of those kids who, "makes the tutor do his homework." Well, we weren't having it.. and once we finally overcame his five-minute temper tantrum, we finally got some work going. Well, this particular time, was a spelling obstacle. It was the most hilarious sight.

"Describe the weather in Fall."

"Cold"

"Okay, how do you spell that?"

Well.. he gets the C.. but the O was a struggle..

..and I kid you not, this kid goes through his ABC's twenty times and every single time he skips over the O. Even my fourth-grade friend was tripping, and started feeding this kid hints... "OCTOPUS. THINK OF THE OCTOPUS."
It was seriously straight out of a sitcom, it was so funny.

So yeah, there are a few comical experiences I had in my first few days in Thibodaux.

The ward here is pretty stellar. I came just in time for the ward crawfish boil- which was a delightful time to get to know all of these members. Church was refreshing. We have a meal calendar, ladies and gentlemen, I REPEAT, a meal calendar. Tender mercies from serving in a branch.. don't get me wrong, Chalmette is home, but the ward vibe is pretty cool too. I don't feel like I have to make a comment on every principle or share my testimony in between each member to keep things lively. I definitely feel like I could get used to it here. It makes the transition so much easier when you actually ENJOY change- so we're just gonna get to work and enjoy the journey.
So yeah, other than that.. here's a few other little details:

•A huge tender mercy here.. is they actually have weightlifting stuff in our apartment.
• We have a tiny house. Now, when I initially heard we had a house, I imagined a pitiful collection of 2×4's making the boondock looking like a luxury.. but no, this house is so cozy and adorable. The view from our back porch is straight bayou, and it is so relieving to not worry about someone downstairs. Straight up, I can stomp and scream all I want, and nobody will come upstairs and berate me for my excitement. The couches are comfy, the shower has some stellar power to it, and the amenities aren't too shabby. I definitely look forward to coming home to this house every night, which is not something I thought I would say, but I can.

•WE HAVE A MALIBU. Now, I've never been too picky with cars... but Chevy Malibus are an upgrade and a half for sure. We were driving a Ford Fusion over in Chalmette, and the Spanish Elders taunted us with their Malibu.. such a smooth ride, beautiful interior.. heck, when you're looking for the positives about life, you can find them anywhere.

So yes! That would be our week.. lots of new and exciting things coming our way, and I look forward to seeing what the Lord has in store for me. I'd like to give a huge shout out to everyone who prays for me back at home. I feel your love and support. BIG THANKS Y'ALL. TALK TO YOU NEXT WEEK. ELDER BOYD LOVES YOU.

With grandiose goodness for the good people you are,

Elder Boyd