September 2

September 2, 2014

Crazy week, everybody!

                It all started last P-Day. We went to a clambake with some of the other Elders in our zone. It was awesome! I had two lobsters and a probably unhealthy amount of steamers, plus some of the best cheesecake I've ever had! Of course, the part that makes this worth sharing wasn't the food. The host of this clambake, an investigator named Steve Dahl, asked us to share our testimonies of the Atonement and how that has helped us in life. He lit a fire in a firepit, and told us how many missionaries have told stories around that fire, and how a part of their spirit is within those ashes, and how they're all with us in some way or another. It sounds kinda iffy, but the spirit was so strong, and you could almost feel the presence of all the people who had spoken around that little fire. We had this incredible testimony session, and it was just a great thing to be a part of :)

                Thursday was another big event. We had the chance to go to the BYU football fireside. People from all over New England drove down to Bloomfield, CT to hear the coaches and players speak. I got to see a bunch of the YM from Waterbury, some members from Cambridge/Boston, and tons of missionaries who I haven't seen for a while. The fireside itself was awesome, (highlighted by the Jewish kicker's talk) and then we closed by singing "Called to Serve." Elder Wright talked to some of the linebackers and the defensive coordinator, and he may end up trying to play for BYU when he gets home in a year. 

                We also got permission from President Packard to watch the game! We went over to the Gelbach's house and got to see it on a projector, sitting in massage chairs and talking sports the entire time. It was a heck of a game to watch, and we all got a kick out of it. (Brother Gelbach has kept me in the sports loop since I got here, so he's one of my favorite members. hahaha)

                This ward never ceases to provide really awesome nuggets in sacrament meeting. Sister Baldauf was giving a talk about false views of perfection, as they pertain to the Savior's command to "be ye therefore perfect." She gave a phenomenal talk, and then began to conclude by talking about how she always fixes her kids' beds after they make them. She mentioned that she straightens out their room as well. I was kind of starting to wonder how all of this is pertinent, and then she started to get a little emotional (which isn't normal for her at all...). Through her tears, Sister Baldauf looked at her children, and said, "I do that, because it's my own little way of showing my kids that I've got their backs." She went on to tell how this helped her to solidify the concept of the grace of Christ. After all we can do, the Savior makes up the rest, and brings us to perfection. Though the kids' covers weren't straight, or there was a pair of socks on the floor, so long as they tried, Sister Baldauf would help them out by getting it to "Mom standards." The Savior works the same way-though our efforts are imperfect, misplaced, and sometimes downright pathetic, He will always step in to fix our efforts, so long as our heart is in the right place. Jeffrey R. Holland spoke of this false idea of perfection and said that one of the most important things we can do for others is to "help him or her escape our culture’s obsession with comparing, competing, and never feeling we are 'enough.'" ("The Tongue of Angels") When we eliminate comparison and unhealthy competition, suddenly we don't have to feel like "enough," we just have to feel better than we did before. (Or as I like to say, "Make better mistakes tomorrow.") 

                We got to go to the Temple yesterday, and it was absolutely incredible! We had interviews with President Packard on Thursday, so to be able to take the counsel we got from him, and to take it to the Temple was absolutely incredible. I can't wait to be back in Utah, where the Temple isn't 2 hours away! haha

                Cool quote of the week (thanks to Pinterest): "Nothing is impossible; the word itself says, 'I'm possible.'" (Audrey Hepburn)

Hope all is well on the homefront, and y'all have a good week!

-"Eldah" Boone

I'm excited to talk to the Schrivers about how things went at the open house :) 

Mom, Im Glad to hear that you're liking your job, too! I knew you would-it's right up your alley.

And who in the sam heck asked my baby sister to homecoming?! haha-I'm gonna have to kill them! :P