The Oldest Member in My District

Dear family and friends,

 

        The zone leaders just got off the phone and....  I'M STAYING! But Elder Adona is getting transferred. WHAT ON EARTH IS HAPPENING TO ME? I'M LOSING MY MINI-ME TOMORROW! I've been in this area for 6 months now, which has been more than Elder Adona, who's been in this area for 5 months. We are both sad and shocked since both of us were willing to put money down that I was going to get transferred. Now I'm "the oldest member in my district". I've seen a lot of rapid changes happening in this area. This will be the second time that I've taken over the area. I know I'll be able to do it, with the Lord's help, I just hope my new companion can help me pick up the work because this area is moving very slow right now. 

 

         Elder Adona and I have played a lot of Uno this past transfer. The current score right now is

• Elder Boothe: 65
• Elder Adona: 62
• Elder Catlett: 8

          The reason why Elder Catlett's score is so low is because he didn't start playing with us until way later. He still got his butt whooped though. Here's what he said to me once after I kicked his butt for the umpteenth time (remember that this is a joke and that he wasn't being serious):

 

              "I made a pact with the devil and he still beat me, I formed a secret combination and conspired against him and he still beat me, I threatened to John Wilkes Booth him and he still beat me. GOSH MAN! SUCK FACE! This kid always beats me!" 5 of his 8 wins occurred last night.

 

           I personally LOVED General Conference. There's too many awesome talks to describe since I loved the whole thing but I'll give a few examples of some talks I liked:

• Elder Oaks' talk in the Saturday morning session of General Conference about sacrifice. That talk makes you (in general for Latter-day Saints) proud to be a Latter-day Saint
• Elder Ballard's talk in the Sunday afternoon session about families. I loved the statistics that proves that families are important and that families are crucial to society.
• Elder President Uchtdorf and Elder Bednar's talks during the priesthood session were amazing! These two seem to follow each other very well. The big theme of the priesthood session of Conference seemed to be a smack down on the brethern for not doing enough.

Overall themes noticed:

• Importance of the family
• The doctrine of Christ (faith, repentance, baptism, etc.)
• The Atonement

My favorite speakers in General are Elder Holland, President Uchtdorf and Elder Bednar's talks. They're bold, straightforward and very powerful. That isn't to say that the other GA's aren't. They are, it's just that I've gravitated towards these three.

 

         Right before General Conference we asked the Bailon family to read the first six chapters of Mosiah. This was a big undertaking for them since they don't like to read but they did it anyway. They all argued over who really did the reading since they all said they did. It was hilarious listening to them argue about it. It was also a huge moment of joy to hear that all of them read so much. They truly have come far in their spiritual journey.

 

Love,

Elder Boothe

 

(P.S. My birthday's in 5 days! Can you believe it?! I'M TURNING 21! HOLY COW!)