This week was sooooooooo good. I can't really complain. And when you get to end it with a visit from the Prophet to the state you live in, it can't really be that bad, right? No matter what negative things have happened to you.
Of course, that was probably the highlight of the week for sure. He spoke in the State Farm Stadium in Glendale (Phoenix) to a crowd, well, really, a mega crowd of more than 70,000 persons. I was just amazed, and to sing, "We Thank Thee, O God, For a Prophet" as he was leaving was such a moving sentiment and feeling. Of course, that was when he left, but the whole meeting was super super cool. First of all, this stadium is intended to watch NFL football and University of Phoenix (football??? I think), so the grass was covered and on the floor, there were a ton of seats, mostly just for the youth of Arizona and their leaders. President Nelson and Oaks and their wives all spake.
In a nutshell, Sister Nelson prepared us for the talks by the presidents. She told us Salvation is not a cheap experience (as quoted by Jeffrey R. Holland). President Oaks spoke about the changes, how change is a good thing, but the end goal is for us to change with these changes. He mentioned all the changes he could come up with from past conferences, etc. Sister Wendy Nelson's talk was by far my favorite. In it she pretty much described A normal day in the life of the prophet. She also said they shop at Costco, hehe. She described his pattern for receiving revelation, with and without her, for the church, and for their family. She described how much President Nelson's age lessens when he speaks about the church, especially to the youth. And, ultimately, President Nelson gave a talk similar to his talk that he gave to the youth about the Gathering of Israel, of which we ALL have a major part in. He said that he wants us to pray each day, specifically asking for how we can gather Israel that day, and he gave us certain examples, such as, feeling the need to visit someone, or talking to the missionaries. ALL GOOD. I was fully and deeply spiritually fed tonight.
Speaking of the missionaries, we gave our to sister missionaries, Hermanas Kellogg and Yeaman, a ride, as well as one to the Relief Society President, Sister Rosa Isela Lujan. What was awesome, is on our way out of the stadium and on our way to the car, Sarah found Uncle Jesse, who was waiting for Gracie and Kerry to get out of the stadium to meet him. We took some pictures and talked about our experiences. Aunt Kerry had a hard time getting through security because she had a glass bottle that had root beer, and the security guards thought that it might be actual beer. However, they also noticed all the things she carries for her diabetes and ultimately decided to let her pass in peace with the root beer. The stadium was not allowing you to bring outside food, nor beverages where the lid had already been open.
Overall, fun and great experience.
Sarah made food to break our fast, but the roast which we had planned to make was still frozen. So, when I told her that some members were getting together to have ceviche, she was like, let's go for that. So before the devotional, we joined the EQP, a counselor, the Relief Society President and a couselor, for ceviche, Mexican style. It was super good. We were filled.
Sarah and I made it to the temple this week. It was Sarah's first endowment session at Gilbert Temple. I know, it was long overdue, but our experience was super great. Also her first time to experience the new temple endowment changes. It was nice to sit in the Celestial Room with her, and talk about life, and feel the Savior's love dwell upon us. We were like the last ones to leave for the night.
Date night was also pretty fun. We went to an Indian shop that has a restaurant in the store. It isn't your normal restaurant. The food was super amazing. Great Sauces. We also met some cool Indian kids and their mom. I didn't know anything on the menu and we just decided to wing it and get a couple of things to try. One dish was good, but super hot, and we also got Samosas. Then we walked around looking at all the interesting things they sale at this shop. We did get a dessert like a pudding or yogurt with some pistachios and another thing.
We had our planned FHE with Jackie and the member, Sister Anita Kleinman. It started off well. We sang I Am a Child of God, which she caught on. And after the prayer we showed her the 15 minute Restoration video. That also went okay, but then she started feeling pressured. She thought that we wouldn't be her friend if she didn't join our church. She felt like we were forcing this on her. She thought that we thought that Joseph Smith was the living embodiment of Christ on the earth today. Of course, she was mistaken about much of what she said. She left early, unable to be subjected to the lesson. I don't blame her. It really upset Sarah for like three to four days straight. Fortunately, I reached out to her to be with Sarah on Thursday, and Jackie arranged a workout day on Friday with her and things seem much better. It was pretty upsetting though. I'm glad things have passed over.
I had my first Audit on Tuesday. Besides a few missing receipts and a computer that is not protected to LDS computer standards, we did alright. I kept pushing it off because of one receipt for sure that I knew was missing. But it went alright, overall.
Something scary did happen, though, on Thursday. One of the people that I work with had a seizure at Amazon. It was a good thing that I was in my right mind to call 911, but for some reason I reached out using one of Amazon's phones and there was major static, so much that I couldn't understand the operator. By the time I got done with that, I noticed someone was already calling 911. The woman that suffered the Seizure was standing and fell arm-first to the right of where she was standing, banged her head on a chair, enough to lose a dread-lock, and was unconscious for a good 3-4 minutes before she came to. One employee cradled her head, and when she finally regained consciousness, she lunged at him shock. She didn't really know where she was. Ambulance arrived 10-15 after the call, really fast, and took her to another room to be examined. It definitely put me in shock for a few minutes and freaked me out. I texted Sarah to see if She was okay. Fortunately, everything was.
Besides, that, it was a good week. Lot done. I'm grateful to be living and be with my wife. She is amazing.
I did post my fourth vlog. Now on to my fifth one.
Love you,
John
