FAMILIA!!!!
Where do i even begin?? OKAY YOUR RIGHT WITH THE BORING STUFF---- HOUSEKEEPING!!!
I did get an email from coach wad so i will show it to president and let him know the new news and we should be set to go! It wont be a problem. Also as far as housing and stuff for SLCC.. Honestly as i've mentioned before i would love to live with friends and stuff but it will be sooooo much easier if i just do the baseball apartments to start out. Idk much about them but i'm sure it'll work. Is it like on a campus? Idk it'll be fine!! So maybe just plan on that! Dev and them are all staying down in st george i'm sure aren't they? If any of them are headed to salt lake maybe they have an opening. Idk really it doesn't matter! Thank you though for trying to figure all that out for me. I appreciate it a lot!
WHAT AN AMAZING WEEKEND HUH!!!!!! :) I am soooo very grateful that you all as my family got to go up to the sessions of conference!! Aynsley got to meet her mish president and wife that is exciting. Really it just sounded like you all had a great time! I love what made that little vacation so much fun is just that your were all together as a family and you were all being fed by the prophets and apostles of god! The gospel and the spirit was the true source of this happy vacation :) So thank you for sharing those thoughts about your trip with me :) A few of my companions were at the conference sessions too. haha it is crazy to think that you all were there in the same building as my companions. I wish i knew earlier from my comps that they were going to be there. I couldn't hooked the two of you up! It's all good though. They will meet my amazing family someday :)
It was interesting to see as i stated above that the Gospel and Gods spirit were truly what caused us all to have a memorable joyful experience this past weekend! It amazes me that physical I was NOT in your presence at that conference session BUT spiritual I felt of each one of your love and each one of your spirits. The Gospel connected us as if we were together! I like to think how the Gospel of Jesus Christ can connect me with my family and then think of how the Gospel of Jesus Christ can connect all people to their families. This past week I had a miraculous experience with one of my new best friends Lenard. Lenard is a man that is 26 and he personally is not connect too well with his family. Nor was he too connected to god at the time. Lenard has unrighteous past of a lot of things but that didn't matter. The day we met Lenard we saw potential in him. Just as Jesus Christ saw potential in Peter. As Elder ONeill, Harris and Myself met with Lenard daily we saw a change in him. He wanted to be baptized but he knew that was a step he was not ready for. So step by step with helped Lenard prepare. He began keeping commitments. He came to church 3 weeks ago on the 23rd of March. After church we tried committing him to a baptismal date for the following sunday but he still felt as though he wasn't ready. So that week we continued working with him. A week past and we were able to help him leave behind smoking, drinking, drugs, etc... He was amazing. He was such a repentant guy! The next sunday on the 30th of march he came to church again. He loved it. We tried committing him to another baptismal date for the following sunday but guess what.... "i'm not ready!" is what he told us. Sad but even more motivated to help him at this point we pondered and though on what was next. What could we do as the lords representatives to help Lenard get baptized this weekend? The 6th of April.
THATS WHEN THE TEMPLE COMES IN TO PLAY!!!!!!!!!
We decided... Well he's living the commandments. He's repented. He's coming to church. What more does he need? He needs to have a spiritual Experience at the temple of God. We planned with a member to take him over to the temple. This was on Wednesday the 2nd of april. We traveled with Lenard over to the temple open house. Oh how beautiful it was. The spirit that connected me with my family this past weekend, connected Lenard with his Heavenly Father! The temple was beautiful. It was some of the most Beautiful artwork, carpets, wood engravings, shandaliers and paintings i have ever seen. It cause myself (born in the church) to choke up a bit at the beauty it brought. One stop on the tour of the temple was at the recommend desk. There the tour guide explained that after the dedication each person that enters will need a recommend. Well long story short we went through the entire temple feeling of the spirit of god. That special connection that each of us has. Afterwards we encountered something that i will NEVER EVER forget. As we were looking back at the temple, this time from the outside in, we asked Lenard a question. "Lenard how did you feel inside gods house?" his response was simply "I felt good. I need to prepare to get my little paper thingy (recommend) so i can come back!"
It was at that moment we told Lenard that the first step of preperation that he was talking about was his baptism this Sunday on April 6th. Lenard looked at the three of us with a smile on his face and he said "I know, I'm ready!"
From that moment on Lenard didn't look back. He had felt of the special connection between him and god. The connection that he needed more of in his life. He desired to have more. God had proved a point to his chosen son Lenard through his holy house. THE FLORIDA FT LAUDERDALE TEMPLE!!!!!!
Family this is an experience that i will never forget. Lenard was baptized yesterday and what an experience it was! He's such a stud and now he is currently working on getting his family there to the temple this week. We will be going with them :) The spiritual connection is what got Lenard Baptized. It's what gave him the Peace and Joy that he was looking for. Family my Prayer is that each of us will continue to feel of that spiritual connection that we all have. The one that not only we have with god but also with our family :) Strengthen that connection with our heavenly father and i know god will bless each of us :)
Love you family thanks for everything!!!
LOVE ELDER OVARD
p.s. Tell Devin I drove his truck before he did... hahaha i drove that with Jerry Jensen when i used to work with him!
No comments:
Post a Comment