Called to Serve In Fort Lauderdale: What A Prophet!

Hello everybody! Wow, some amazing stuff just happened, where do I begin?

Monday was Pday, we had a fun time just chilling as a district playing sports. Then we tried to do FHE again but no one came again. This week we made sure to tell everyone that they need to let us know if they'll be coming otherwise we won't waste time waiting around to see if some comes (Haitians are notorious for being really late as it is haha). I didn't make brownies this time, maybe that's why haha.

This week we helped a Haitian teacher that was retiring move out of her house. A member of the Spanish branch volunteered to have us help her I guess. Not sure exactly was the situation was, but we spent a good couple hours helping her move boxes and pack up the big Penske truck she's taking up to Georgia. It was a good experience to be doing some good physical labor and making friends with some Haitian people.

Elder Charles got his first flat tire this week! It was on our way down to see Saintanna. We did all we could to patch it but the hole was too big, his tire had torn and the tube got pinched. We ended up locking up our bikes and walking the rest of the way to Saintanna, and we coordinated with the other elders to get the car and pick us up and drop us off again at our next appointment. Fun stuff.

Speaking of Saintanna, things are still going well. Ever since she found out more about how we take care of ourselves she's been insisting on feeding us something every time we go by haha. Lately, since her husband works in the watermelon fields, we've gotten giant slices of watermelon to eat before our lessons. We're working on having her baptism in the next couple weeks. She and Neftalie came to the Sunday morning session of conference and loved it, especially because our branch brought lots of food to share afterwards.

Now, speaking of conference. What a conference man. Not only was it my last one in the mission field, but what a way to finish it off. I'll start off by saying that President Nelson is my new favorite prophet. In the words of Elder Holland, "What a prophet!" I've really enjoyed the past couple talks he gave before becoming president of the church, and now my love and respect for him has increased 10 fold. Being able to stand in solemn assembly to sustain him as the prophet, as well as the other leaders of the church was a very unique experience that I am very grateful for. Listening to him during conference, I truly felt his love for me in a way I can't really describe, a way that felt like him channeling the love of the Savior for me specifically.

There was so much that happened during conference, it's hard to know where to start! It really all started during the Priesthood session, where President Nelson gave his first address to the church. In it, he announced that there will no longer be separate high priests and elders quorum groups, but now the Melchizedek priesthood will for one united Elder's quorum! This is a sign that the Lord is hastening His work and revealing His mind line upon line, precept upon precept. The rest of the session was focused on clearing up questions and giving details and examples. Then, during President Nelson's final address in that session, he called upon each office in the priesthood to arise (literally!) and stand with him as we sang the closing hymn, "Arise, O Men of God" It was a very spiritually moving experience for me, and I learned a lot about the blessing and privilege of holding this priesthood.

Some other interesting things that happened Saturday was that a lot more of the church leadership went through changes. We got 2 new apostles, Gerrit W Gong and Ulysses Suarez, as well as a multitude of new general and area seventies.

Sunday got very interesting too. President Nelson himself conducted the morning session, something I don't think has been done before. Then in the afternoon session, he announced that there will no longer be home/visiting teaching, but a new effort simply called "ministering". It is a more united, coordinated effort in the quorums to be more people-oriented than report-driven. No longer will we simply share a lesson once a month and check a box, but we will be building relationships and having regular interviews to discuss needs and strengths of those we minister to. AND THEN he announced 7 new temples, including one in INDIA and another in RUSSIA. Wow, talk about hastening the work! Much of his remarks during conference focused on the personal need to prepare for the 2nd coming. Mind blowing.

If you can't tell, I loved conference haha. The rest of it was great too, I didn't take a lot of notes 1) because I was so mind blown by the Spirit and 2) because I'm nearly out of pages in my notebook haha, but here are a couple highlights:

• Real success comes from not only going from failure to failure, but growing from failure to failure without losing enthusiasm. Lynn G Robbins (I saw him!)

• Casualness leads to casualty. Teniela B Wakolo (I saw him too!)

• Keep His commandments, and we'll be alright. Russell M Nelson

• Small and simple things over time bring great things, both positive and negative. Dallin H Oaks

• Good inspiration is based upon good information. Russell M Nelson

• Behold the Man! Dieter F Uchtdorf (I saw him too!)

• Are we active in the gospel, or merely busy in the church? Gérald Caussé

After returning home from conference, not 10 minutes later it started pouring rain haha, I broke out the old rain jacket and we worked the rest of the night.

That's pretty much it, sorry this is so long, I promise I have pictures to supplement. I'll be trying a new thing and sharing them with a Google Photos album, let me know if this is a bad idea for some reason. Anyways hope you all have a great week!