Elliot's July 30 email and pictures

Here's the latest email from Elliot, along with several new pictures.

Bueno!

Glad to know everything's going well back at home. That's exciting that Addie is going to be blessed in the same Sacrament meeting that Carlton and I are speaking. And we're singing haha. That is going to be a packed meeting but that's awesome. I'm excited.

Things are good here on this end! We had a really fun week. The Branch asked us to teach Kimberly, an 8 year old daughter of recent converts here, the lessons before she got baptized. Her baptism was this past Saturday and it was a really cool experience. Definitely a very sweet Spirit. We also have had some very good lessons. 2 of our investigators tried to come to church yesterday but ended up by accident in the church across the street. Whoops! We saw them last night and they're really excited about everything we've taught them. So I'm happy and doing well.

And I got some pictures today to send! The first is lil' busta, my rubber duckie that's been my flying companion on my bike for about the last year. The next is me. Then we got Hno. Mauro and his daughter, Kimberly, at her baptism. And last is me and Grimaldo. He helps us out all the time. He's great and I like his glasses.

Love ya!

Elder Elliot

Bible Videos: "Jesus Heals a Woman of Faith"

 30 And Jesus, immediately knowing in himself that virtue had gone out of him, turned him about in the press, and said, Who touched my clothes?

Mark 5:25-34

2012 Oklahoma International Bluegrass Festival in Guthrie

This October some great bluegrass pickers will gather in Guthrie for the 16th Oklahoma International Bluegrass Festival. Headlining the festival will be Vince Gill, who performed in the inaugural event in 1997 and again in 2002. A host of other great acts will perform, including:

• Beppe Gambetta (Italy)
• Kruger Brothers (Switzerland)
• Byron Berline Band
• Hunt Family Bluegrass
• Cowboy Jim Garling

And many more. If you happen to be in Oklahoma October 4-6, this is a can't-miss-it event. For ticket information, click here.

For some fun background information about the festival and its founder Byron Berline, check out this NewsOK report. It tells the story of Mr. Berline's efforts to track down a young tenor by the name of Vince Gill, randomly dialing all the "Gill" listings in the phone book until he finally found Vince's dad. That began a long personal and professional relationship that continues today. In the picture above, Vince is seen accepting an award on being inducted into the Oklahoma Music Hall of Fame, presented to him by his friend and fellow Hall of Fame Member, Mr. Berline. Enjoy the story, as well as this news video about the festival, featuring Mr. Berline. And don't stop scrolling down, where you find video performances by Vince Gill, Hunt Family Bluegrass, and Beppe Gambetta.

Justin Peacock returns home!

Justin Peacock is one of Elliot's friends from Valencia. Justin and Elliot were briefly in the Missionary Training Center together way back in August 2010, just before Justin left for his mission to Mexico. We posted a great picture of the two of them here on the blog. And we've been keeping track of Justin via his own blog.

Justin returned from his mission last week and spoke today in church. As you can see from this picture with his parents, it looks like everyone is happy to have him home! (Only 18 more days until we'll be posting a similar picture of Elliot's homecoming!)

Elliot's July 23 email

Here's the latest email from Elliot. 24 days to go!

Hola!

Okay, I'm going to get at your questions first while I'm thinking about them:

[The family stuff has been redacted.]

I can't really think of a whole lot else I'm going to have to do when I get back. Have you set up an appointment with the President Carlson for the Thursday I get back? The only other thing that's coming to mind is that I'm seriously gonna need some In-N-Out as soon as I get in haha. Like probably before I even get back to the house. No joke.

Things are still awesome here in OK City. Still working hard, we found 10 new investigators this week and set a couple of baptismal dates. It was really a fun week, despite the heat. My companions are super rad and I'm loving it. I also got my flight plans this week. It's crazy to think how little time I have left, so I usually just don't think about it. I feel I've got only a few weeks left to show my love and appreciation towards God full time, so I'm just making the most out of it. I love these people out here and I'm just trying to do what I can to help as many of them out the best I know how.

But I'm doing great! I'm glad to hear everyone's doing good.

Love,

Elder Elliot

"So you still think God is a merciful God?!"

Forgive me from straying from the usual topics of Elliot's missionary blog. In addition to posting Elliot's weekly emails home, I usually focus on stories about Oklahoma, missions and missionaries, temples and other church topics, and occasionally other tangentially-related topics. I strive to stay away from controversy, politics, and tragedy. But it's hard to ignore the recent horror that happened in Aurora, Colorado. I don't suppose there's any way to make sense of such unimaginable events, and I won't pretend to do so here on the blog. I will, however, share the thoughts of a survivor of that night, a Christian woman who attended the movie with her husband and children. On returning home from that night, she sat down to document her thoughts, focusing on the question, "So you still think God is a merciful God?!" A portion of her answer:

“So, you still believe in a merciful God?” Some of the comments online are genuinely inquisitive, others are contemptuous in nature. Regardless of the motive behind the question, I will respond the same way. 

Yes. 

Yes, I do indeed. 

Absolutely, positively, unequivocally.

She later adds:

Though we don’t have all the answers, we do indeed listen to the cry of our hearts: When I am afraid, I will put my trust in You. In God, whose word I praise, In God I have put my trust; I shall not be afraid. What can mere man do to me? Psalm 56:3-4 [King James version]

God is always good. 

Man is not. 

Don’t get the two confused. 

We will continue to praise and worship our mighty God, anticipating that He will bring beauty from ashes, as only He can do.

The full blog post is available here.

CNN: Salt Lake Mormon Temple One of Eight “Religious Wonders” in U.S.

CNN recently featured the Salt Lake Temple in a story, "8 religious wonders to see in the U.S." Describing the temple and its construction, the story explains.

Only temple recommended Mormons may step foot inside the structure, which is used for special instruction and ordinances, such as celestial marriages. But the view from outside the temple is inspirational enough.

The Neo-Gothic building, which was dedicated in 1893, took 40 years to construct. Except for some of its hardware and glass, the temple was built completely of native materials. With five floors, six spires -- the tallest standing at 210 feet -- and a granite facade, the structure is definitely imposing.

Here are a couple of videos of the Salt Lake Temple. The first is a series of exterior shots set to music, and the second is a video of a scaled model of the temple showing the interior.





The other seven religious wonders in the CNN story are:

• Bahá'í House of Worship in Wilmette, Illinois
• Hsi Lai Temple in Hacienda Heights, California
• Islamic Center of America in Dearborn, Michigan
• Memorial Presbyterian Church in St. Augustine, Florida
• Temple Emanu-El in New York City
• Palace of Gold in Moundsville, West Virginia
• St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York City