An 8" split? :)

January 27, 2014

Hello friends and family!

            Well, this week has been a huge blur! Is it really Monday again already?! My calendar and my tired levels say yes, but my internal clock says it's like Thursday or something! :P

            So I've officially decided that I've put on a pretty significant chunk of weight. How do I know this? I squatted down to start a test run on a DVD for a finding activity, and my suit pants split down the seam. Like an 8" hole. I'm not exactly fat, but I'm definitely a little more physical in the paint when we play ball! ;) haha

            This Sunday was a big one for the Waterbury ward. We confirmed Brandon (much fewer problems than there were last week). He also got the Priesthood, as did one of the Spanish Elders' recent converts, Luis Burgos. And Steven Schriver got to give the Priesthood to his Dad and brother, Mike. I really did about start crying in the middle of Priesthood opening exercises. It was one of those "payday" moments that really make all the hard times as a Missionary totally worth it :)

            Also on Sunday, our Gospel Principles teacher, Evelyn St. Hilaire, made a profound comment that I'm not sure she's aware that she made. She said, "Satan has a lot of control, but God is IN control." That one made me stop and think for a bit, because it's true-Satan does have a lot of control, because we let him. That's a very sobering though. However, if we can just remember that God is ultimately in control of everything, it makes life a little easier to deal with, and the difficulties worth it :)

            Another cool thought I had this week-oftentimes, we look at others' mistakes and kind of judge them for those mistakes. It's so easy to say, "Well, if they REALLY wanted to change, they'd do it," or something else like that. However, in the Book of Mormon, after King Benjamin's sermon, we read about a "mighty change of heart," that the people had. Simply put, we don't always know what it's like to be a drug addict, or living in a co-habitational relationship, or what other fetters and bonds may be holding others back from fully living gospel standards. In the Old Testament, when picking a new King of Israel, the prophet Samuel is instructed that the Lord "looketh upon the heart." When we "think of the heart as the figurative center of our faith, the poetic location of our loyalties and our values," as Elder Holland suggests, then we see how God is truly going to judge us, and how He sees us. He asks us to serve Him with all our heart, might, mind, and strength. I don't think it's coincidental that He asks first for our hearts. So long as we have given our heart-our desires, faith, loyalty, and values-to Him, mistakes can be overlooked. As Elder Holland says, "Let people repent. Let people grow. Believe that people can change and improve." He then poses the telling question: "Is that faith? Yes! Is that hope? Yes! Is it charity? Yes!" I pray that we can all show our hope, faith, and charity by allowing others to change, and lovingly supporting all righteous changes in those around us. 

Love all of y'all, and I'll talk to ya next week!

-Eldah Boone