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| Happy 20th birthday to my wonderful Elder Boone |
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| Birthday with the boys! |
January 20, 2014
Dear everybody-
This week was another good one for Elder Pulsipher and I,
for a number of reasons. Here's a quick recap:
We had
a baptism this Sunday-Brandon Morales. He's the son of a recent convert that the
Spanish Elders taught. This kid is GOLDEN! Once he felt the Spirit testify of
the truth of the message, he made all necessary changes to his life
IMMEDIATELY. He's only 14, so he's mad that he can't come out on splits with us
yet, and he already wants to serve a Mission when he's 18. He's even starting
to share the Gospel, and so we may have a lot of new investigators soon!
But
that baptism wasn't exactly a walk in the park. Here are the borderline
traumatizing events of and leading up to Sunday, in somewhat close to
chronological order: During Brandon's interview, he started feeling
"funny." What was originally just some weirdness, turned out to be a
full-blown anxiety attack. But he passed the interview with flying colors. And
then went to the hospital. He ended up being OK, which was great news the next
morning :) Then Brandon's ride fell through like 10 minutes before Church
started. I kinda started stressing out. Like a lot. Luckily his stepfather
(yeah, still trying to figure out how that worked; it just may be the most
random thing to ever happen) came through in the clutch. So he got to Church a
good 30 minutes late. But he was there. Crisis averted. Then with the actual
baptism, we had to stall for about 15 minutes because the member of the Bishopbric
who was supposed to be at the baptism, forgot that he was supposed to stay. So
we had to stall until after the tithing money was counted by another member of
the Bishopbric. There were several last-minute changes to the program (like
prayers and who was singing the special musical number and stuff), but luckily
they all worked themselves out. And then Jimmy (the priest who baptized
Brandon), and Brandon forgot towels. After we told them to bring towels the
night before, they both forgot. So we went to the custodial closet, grabbed a
HUGE roll of paper towels, and they took care of it. Then, Brandon's stepfather
forgot to come pick them up after the baptism. So we had to arrange for yet
another ride, for Brandon, his roommate Luis, and Brandon's sister Madi. Other
than all that, I'd say it went quite smoothly :)
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| Elder P, Brandon, Jimmy and Elder Boone |
This
was a tough week for Jimmy, because his mom actually died this week. He's
living with another family in the ward, and has been for quite a while, but it
was still shocking. That's a heck of a week-lose your biological mom and then
baptize somebody. Talk about highs and lows...
Yesterday
we went to New Haven for P-Day, and we ate at Pepe's pizza. Can I just say that
it was AMAZING?! By far and hands down, the best pizza I've ever had. By a LANDSLIDE.
If any of you are anywhere near there anytime in your life, you should go and
get some Pepe's pizza. And birch beer :)
The
Schrivers invited Elder Pulsipher and I over for dinner for my birthday
(surprise, surprise... ;) haha) We had EXTRA cheesey baked pasta and then a
cake-complete with candles and everything. I was absolutely flattered by this
show of love, but then Sister Schriver handed me a card. She said that she's
the kind of person who spends hours and hours looking for a card, just to find
the perfect one. She found a card that plays, "My Wish" by Rascal
Flatts and said that she immediately knew it was the right card. How did she
know? Two reasons: 1) it had a country song and 2) I believe her exact words
were, "And yeah, well, ya know..." It was actually a tender moment,
because there just aren't words to get that point across. This might sound a
little corny or lame or whatever, but I knew exactly what she meant. I gave her
a hug afterwards, and I'm grateful that we were able to enjoy the Schriver's
company this last week. I've pulled that card back out and listened to it I
don't know how many times since Thursday, and every time, I'm moved to near
tears. This is one of those moments that I'm certainly going to hold dear for a
long, long time.
I
believe that we can all learn something from Sister Schriver-it's the little
things that count. Even when our efforts may seem imperfect (i.e.-"And
yeah, well, ya know..."), the Spirit carries our intents to others' hearts
and the Lord magnifies our efforts. Small moments like this make life
meaningful, joyful, and wonderful. As George Strait sings, "Life's not the
breath you take, but the moments that take your breath away." I hope that
all of us can find one small thing that we can do for somebody to help them
feel special and loved this week. "If someone you know is weighing on your
mind and needs a friend on the end of that other line, don't hesitate; what you
say may seem so small-but who knows?-they might be glad you called." (Matt
Kennon, "The Call") Whether it's a call, a text, a card, or some
other small token of our love for somebody, we can all do something to help
somebody else. And as David A. Bednar says, "To know, and not to act, is
not to know."
Have a
great week! Love y'all!
-Eldah
Boone
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| Nothing better than a little bball :) |
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| Alex and his favorite birthday present...His levi coat!!! |
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