I am happy to hear of your reaching outs you have done so far. The decisions you have made are so inspired and things that Briana, and Mom have needed. I hope you can definitely reach out to someone tomorrow, doesn't matter who. I will be happy if it's me, but otherwise, I know you follow the spirit with this sorta thing.
For scripture study tonight, Sarah and I tuned into you Book of Mormon Live video that your mission puts on. First of all, GREAT JOB!I LOVED it. It's hard to get in front of the camera and not say UM all the time or something like that. You were poised, you were confident, and I could tell you actually loved and knew the material. I loved the unanimity of you and your companion in talking about your own things and backing the other up, and transitioning. Now some things I noticed that I would have liked, and you can take it with a grain of salt, because I am by far no professional in front of the camera. YET. And, like I said above, it is not an easy thing to go live and have to keep energy alive in your meeting. So, here is what I got for you:
-I would have liked more questions. Let me explain a bit. I know you technically don't have someone you are talking to on the other end. But still, a question posed to your audience, and then a few seconds of pondering will make it more interactive for us, the audience. I want to feel a part of your video, even if you can't see me. So think carefully. I don't have a specific question you could've asked for 2 Nephi 2, but, more of an imaginary (but real to you) interaction with your audience.
-I loved your intro to the thing, but I wanted more of an explanation. Why is 2N2 one of your favorite scriptures? Is it because it is a blessing to Jacob? If so, don't feel afraid to make that connection for your audience. It'll bring it to them more personally, if that's the reason. A story (maybe not at the beginning) of how some of this has applied in your life or the lives of others you know. Make it personal to the audience. That said, you did a great job of explaining the importance of Jesus Christ in this scripture, and testifying of his divinity as it relates to the scripture.
-Which brings me to the next point, maybe not a lot, Testify some more throughout. Maybe once in the beginning and another in the middle (and you did at the end). But, there is no formula. When the spirit prompts you is best.
-I would have liked to have had you break down the scripture more as you were reading it, and not all in one lump sum. i.e. a long verse broken down and talked about how it relates to you and us, the audience. I find it easy for me to get distracted if a long scripture is read out loud, then if it is broken apart and made alive. Get it?
-Big one-BODY Language, more specifically, Look at the camera. Sarah noticed your companion not looking. Which isn't bad as a whole, but less connecting. You did a good job. Also, and this comes with more experience in front of a camera, use of hands and facial expressions to convey what you are meaning. Otherwise, I would rather just listen to a recording than watch. (Not really true, but do you get my point for your audience).
I can't think of anything else, and like I said, I am definitely no expert and I have my own weaknesses in regards to this, but I do watch successful vloggers and presenters on YouTube a lot, and these things is what makes them more presentable, I think. I'd love to hear your own feedback and like how you felt doing it. Were you scared? Did you feel like you prepared sufficiently for it? Was doing this sprung on you last minute? (As far as these three questions go, it didn't come across to me that you were scared, not prepared, or that this was a last minute thing) So GREAT JOB again! Tell me your feedback, because it will help me as a vlogger and interviewer of my own self in the future.
I hope this is helpful and like you don't feel like you wasted the last 4 minutes of your life reading these things. Please let me know.
Oh, and will you be doing this every Friday? We wanna watch. Of course, not always live, but for sure later on in the day. I asked to join that Book of Mormon Live group. What time? I look forward to more videos.
Speaking of videos------have you seen SAFETY ZONE! Oh man, so good. If not, request it of your mission president. You wanna learn how to be a great broadcaster, observe your favorite broadcasters, Jarom and Spencer, and then duplicate it, because they engage. They just do. And it takes practice. They haven't been doing this all their lives. Safety Zone, tho. So good, right? I hope you have seen it, because I wanna kinda discuss it with you and what you think about it, both on the broadcaster observing level, and on a missionary level (which is what this show was intended for). If you have seen more than the first episode, do tell. But maybe no spoilers. Only the first episode is available on YouTube, so far. But it is so entertaining, and even if it is about missionary work, it does pertain to us as a whole, being an example outside. The worst one was the missionaries taking a picture kinda desecrating the sacredness of place they were in and the gardener just losing the respect of our church because of it. We do need to be mindful and respectful about how we present ourselves in public. Not just you. All of us as members of the church. We are examples of good, or bad, depending on how we act. Let me know what you think about this.
Wow, what a week! It has just been full. But a good full.
Honestly, I was happy today. And even though I had a lot of stuff to accomplish, I didn't feel burdened down by the weight of it, because I was happy in my situation. So, let me back up. Why wa I feeling this way come Sunday? Well, Saturday was a big day for Sarah and me. I learned more about the things Sarah believes and has come to practice and teach people. I learned these things at an Energy Healing Conference we were invited to. Jacob, and anyone else who is listening, let me tell you, there is so much more we haven't unlocked, me personally, and I think us as a family, that we could be using in our own lives. Energy Healing is something that we haven't been raised with, so a lot of it is a change of perspective that we are use to. But, change in perspectives are good, if we use them for our benefit. Some things I learned, and you and all can pray about it and see if this resonates with you:
-Everything is operating at a certain frequency. Specifically, us as humans can be on different frequency depending on many things. Also, illnesses, thoughts, words, cures, all have their own frequency. And if we want to cure ourselves of something, one just has to change the frequency of the thing that is plaguing said person. For example, the lady who was teaching, shared that she had urinary tract infection. Twice. First time, cranberry juice was the thing that cured her, specifically because the frequencies cancelled each other out. But the second time she got it, the juice did nothing for her. Different frequency. She looked within herself and found the root of the illness, physically took it out of her, and commanded it to go away (for lack of better words, and there is so much more to this) but within hours, she was healed. I honestly, agree wholeheartedly with her methods, and want to apply it in my life more.
-Human beings are seeking connectedness, with each other, with spouses, with family, as in Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs, etc. One just needs to improve the base and can then work to become more Self Actualized, and then TEACH others their skill.
-Words are powerful. Especially spoken words and intonation. Only 10% of people are really tone-deaf. However, people can change that. And that is something I want to teach with regards to music. Back to words, though, the speaker used the scripture
Ask and ye shall receive,
Seek and ye shall find,
Knock and it shall be opened unto you.
These three things go hand in hand, and are actually three separate things combined to enhance your life. Asking, using words out loud to make something, seeking is thoughts, making it so in your mind, and knocking is an actual action that one has to perform.
So, words, thoughts, and action all work hand in hand in receiving. Crazy, huh? But it makes so much sense.
-To add on that, we make our own realities. If we don't believe we can, say, earn a $1000 in a week with a skill we have, it either will not happen, or it will be very hard to accomplish that goal. Make sense? Well, it all starts with those three things, and if we do those things, it will become manifest, it's a promise from Heavenly Father. AWESOME!
Those are only a few of the Many things I learned at this conference. It was eye-opening, and actually, a bit overwhelming. But after much prayer, I believe I can do anything. One thing that was said is that a particular presenter, when he was seeking success, he wanted it to be consistent, so he aligned himself with what God wanted, and he was blessed 10x, no joke. And I am happy. Sarah and I have been so blessed. So blessed. We have come together so much in the last year and two months, more than even when we were dating. We have grown, and I trust more in God and in her and in myself.
Recently we have been so blessed. And I don't want it to stop. That's why I am talking about consistency. Sarah reminded me that she thinks part of it is that we have made it a point in the last week to study our scriptures together. You know, read your scriptures, and you will be blessed. Commandment and promise. Case and point. Of course, it's a combination of other things. But, ultimately, we have been blessed because we know that God has all. He is Abundance, or Bountiful, if you'd like. He has everything. Everything belongs to him. And one need only ask, seek, and knock to unlock these gifts that he is so willing to give you.
I loved it, if you can't tell.
As far as events, I met a lot of wonderful people, a lot of Sarah's friends that have hearts of gold.
In fact, we let one of them use our car to get to Sedona, and then spend the night on our air mattress with her daughter. I felt prompted to give her a blessing. And it was just great. I'm so glad I offered. We also gave a couple of presenters, Sarah's friends and mentor Tyler Watson and his wife, a ride to Phoenix Sky Harbor airport. We also took them out for Gyros. It was awesome getting to know them a bit more and their sweet spirits.
Fun news. Sarah and I are planning on making a trip to Utah in November, weekend before the week of Thanksgiving. We have some friends we want to see and meet. All the details are not set yet, but of course, we want to see and spend time with you and Sarah that weekend, or at least the days we are there. I know, November is a long time a ways from now, but honestly, it's exciting to plan some events. Knowing that I will see you at the end of your first semester back. And of course, spending time with Sarah, too, right before we see each other for Thanksgiving of course, hopefully, if that's in the cards for our family. Also, our Thanksgiving plans are not set in stone yet either, so, I don't know if we will be at our home or Sarah's family's home for the event, but, they're both in Cali, so I don't fear too much. I hope this excites you, even though, your head is probably not wrapped around Thanksgiving 2019, already.
We didn't end up going to the temple this week, but it's okay, because we ended up helping out our colleague and friend, Nicole Rodriguez. We even had some discussions with her mother in law about the church and Nicole. Her mother-in-law is christian non-denominational, but is a sweet person to get to know, sweet spirit. Nicole is recovering from a surgery to remove some tumors in her throat. She has a huge scar on her neck. She is an amazing woman, and a super good friend of ours. And we got to spend time with her and her children a bit.
I felt prompted to invite our friend Heidi Greathouse to our house to catch up with us. She came, and Sarah offered her services of counseling, and so on Thursday, the day after, Sarah spent time with her working with her. She's a great girl. Lovely really. Great spirit, too. I gave her a blessing as well. She's going to be working with Sarah a lot, which is exciting, I hope they make breakthroughs.
Another reason we weren't able to go to the temple is that the Branch Presidency asked me and Sarah if we could go to New Beginnings on our normal temple night. It was a great activity. It was combined with the Udall Ward young women. I was able to get to know families completely, and put names to faces, and in particular, get to know the girls even better. They are just really awesome. They can accomplish so much if they put their minds to it. The dinner was tacos, super good, and cake. Two of the Laurels sang one of the Young Women songs. I think it's called Daughter of a King. It was deeply spiritual and fun to get to know so many new people who we work with.
As you could probably tell, I was a bit sick on Monday. I missed work. It's okay. Sarah took care of me, and by Tuesday, I was much better. Gavin is definitely Gavin this week, doing his own thing, which he usually does. Sarah has begun helping the school by translating for IEP meetings. It's pretty cool that she gets to do that.
Today was great, as always. In the ward, a couple, the Juarezes, invited us and the Santos and the Martinez and Maldonado's to the Maldonado's house to have a super great dinner and bread the fast. Enrique cooked the meat, and seasoned it. Wow. Just wow, it was what I needed to break our fast. We helped cook it on a charcoal grill outside their house. We were all about the same age. But two couples with young kids. It was great.
Well, I love you. If you made it to the end of this letter, I congratulate you, it's long, but I love informing you and others the details of our lives.
I haven't asked in a while, but like always, please send something back if you have time.
Love you, brother,
John
Sorry, no pics this week, except this comic:
