stormchaser06's Blog

As many of you know, I have been saying that I have been so extremely busy lately. There have been some big events and big changes happening all at once here, but there’s one main thing that has been at the center of it all. Now I feel that I should let you guys in on what that is and what is going to be happening because of it.

I have briefly said before that I am a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day-Saints (LDS Church), a.k.a., “The Mormons.” Part of the LDS faith is that young people (especially young men) between the ages of 19 and 25 serve a two year, full-time mission sharing the Restored Gospel of Jesus Christ. While it is not required in order to remain a member of the Church, we believe that blessings will follow individuals and their families for the rest of their lives if they willingly serve a mission.

I have chosen to serve one of these missions. It is something that I have wanted to do my whole life, and I feel that I am ready to do it. I filled out the paperwork and sent it in to Church Headquarters in Salt Lake City. Two weeks ago, I received a response from the Church. I have been called to serve in the Philippines Bacolod Mission. In other words, I will be going to the Western Visayas Islands in the Philippines for two years to serve the people there and share our message of the living Savior with them.

First, however, I must report to the Missionary Training Center (MTC) in Provo, Utah. There, I will be taught the laws and customs of the land, the Tagalog language, and continue to build upon my knowledge of the Gospel. I have been asked to report on the 30th of July this year. I will be in the MTC for 8 weeks before I depart for the Philippines at the end of September.

By doing this, I will step out of the world and out of my life for two years and dedicate all of my time to serving the Lord and doing His work. This includes leaving the MyFoxHouston Community for that period of time.

Between now and July 30th, I have a lot that I need to do in order to be adequately prepared. I will continue to be very busy, but I will still be here on the blogs for the time being. I’m sure many of you have questions, and I will gladly answer what I can to the best of my ability. Just know that I don’t claim to have all the answers or know everything that there is to know about the LDS faith, but that’s all part of it. We are constantly learning, growing and being taught while we live on Earth. Feel free to leave your questions or comments below, or catch up with me at the picnic on the 17th.

This is an annual event that I really enjoy. It is a drive-through called "Bethlehem City." It's put on completely free of charge and all done by volunteer work by West Conroe Baptist Church on Longmire Road in Conroe. It doesn't matter what faith/ denomination you are, (for example, I'm not Baptist), a lot of work goes into this, and it is really good. I really enjoy going.

This is a journey through the life of Jesus Christ, narrated by a CD that you play in your car as you drive through. (You won't hear the narration in the video as I was sitting in the bed of our pickup truck to get a better view). Also in the video, you'll hear the Covenant Christian School Choir singing and being broadcast live on 102.7 FM (I think they set up a short-range FM transmitter to do that).

I took the video on the last night that it was put on, and like I say multiple times, it is done every year. They do it for two weekends (I think) between Thanksgiving and Christmas.

Enjoy! Video is posted below.