Some tender mercies

Just going to give a few little updates here because... I got a new journal! And I spent a good part of today writing my first entry in it. (Almost called it a "post" – any time I write in there, it's an "entry", and here will be a "post".)

This was originally my grandmother's on my mom's side, but she never got around to using it. So my mom gave it to me to use, and I love it!

I think I'm going to spend more efforts putting personal thoughts and feelings there from now on, but I'll still be updating this on a regular basis. (Or I'll actually get started on the movie reviews on my other blog, which at tho point is just sitting untouched...)

I did want to share a great experience I had this week here, though. Working at Deseret Book, I have the opportunity to talk to lots of people, some from places around the world, and I get particularly excited talking with someone from Brazil. This week I didn't just meet any Brazilians, though – I met a couple who was visiting the husband's cousin who lives here in the states, and they're originally from Novo Hamburgo, a city I passed through towards the end of 2010 and the beginning of 2011 during my mission. Talking some more, I found out that the husband is actually from the ward that I served in, though he wasn't there while I was. I do know his family, though, so I got to reminisce a bit about the time I spent there. When I asked about a young man who was baptized while I was serving there, Elvis, Bryan (the aforementioned husband) told me that he was on his mission!! I checked out his Facebook and sure enough he's serving in the Brasilia mission and should be hitting his one-year mark pretty soon.

Elvis' baptism. Sorry for the lower quality, for some reason I can't find digital copies of pictures from when I served there...

Despite being a somewhat crazy week as far as work goes (both jobs seemed to have a much higher amount of customers than normal), this definitely was a highlight and kept me going through each day.

I didn't get to see the sessions of General Conference yesterday, but I heard some of the first one while working at Deseret Book and saw both of the ones from today. And for those who may have missed any sessions of it, it looks like you can already watch them online here. All of the talks, along with full transcripts, should be up within a few days, but I can already guarantee that one of my favorites was from Elder Holland (who I mentioned in my last post). It's so great to be able to hear the words of living prophets, who can give us just the right words in our times of need, and that it's available at our fingertips. I'm glad that I got to see a part of the conference today, and I'll be watching the rest of it this week as soon as I have the chance.

And again, I'm super grateful to have found out about Elvis. The phrase "tender mercy" has stuck out with me ever since I first seriously started studying the scriptures; it's a phrase found at the end of the first chapter of the Book of Mormon:

"But behold, I, Nephi, will show unto you that the tender mercies of the Lord are over all those whom he hath chosen, because of their faith, to make them mighty even unto the power of deliverance."

I always like to think of a "tender mercy" as a special type of blessing; it's not one you're necessarily expecting, but it definitely brings you an amount of joy in a personal, special way. I've already had a few happen throughout my life, and this mercy is one more that will stick out for as long as I live.