A Week at the Zoo

So, this week was so much fun! I took a bunch of pictures, so let's go on a journey. 

On Monday we went and bought some Coatesville High School sweaters, which meant we had to have a photo shoot with our new clothes. 

Then, we went to eat dinner with a family, and they had just gotten a kitten that day! Her name is Loki, and she's a mischievous little one. Naturally I spent the majority of my time playing with her and taking pictures. 

 

The next day, we went to eat dinner, and this family had just gotten a puppy! Everyone is getting new pets it seems! And they get them all for free from the Amish. No wonder they were getting curious with my camera, they'd never seen one before! Bella is a wild little puppy. 

So, then there were these chickens. I don't remember what kind of chickens they were, but they were really fuzzy! As far as I can remember, I haven't really held a chicken before, so I wasn't sure how to pick it up, and decided to pick it up from the bottom. Not the best idea I have had. They were flapping their wings everywhere! It was madness. I figured it out though, don't worry. 

Last, but certainly not least animal, the guinea pig! This girl is a hot mess. She was running all over the place, making all sorts of guinea pig noises. It was fun though! She was better than the canaries that wouldn't stop flying around our heads. Those things were crazy!

We were also able to go on a little hike this week, it was a ton of fun, if only like a mile or two. This lake was made several years ago, there is a house at the bottom of it, and you can go to the road that lead down to it, right up to the water. Cool thing to scuba dive to I would think!

Ok, so this experiment will mostly just apply to those who have already received their patriarchal blessing, but for those who haven't this works just as well for the scriptures. 

This week in district meeting, we were talking about ways to study more effectively, and how we can gain a deeper understanding of the things that we are studying. The sisters had recently been to a fireside where the stake patriarch spoke, and he had given them some advice in studying their blessings. The patriarch recommended that we read through our blessings and find words that stick out to us, and then study them in depth. I decided to try this, and was planning on going one sentence at a time, but after 30 minutes I hadn't made it past the first word. I hadn't realized that there is so much more that I can learn! The patriarch suggested using dictionaries to study the definitions of the word, as well as synonyms. He suggested using the topical guide, and bible dictionary to find the word used in scripture. As I started doing this, it was just like a waterfall of new insights and understanding cascaded down on me. I still haven't moved on past the first word I chose! 

So, I would also recommend doing this; for those who have patriarchal blessings use those, for those who don't use a favorite scripture! Just to try it pick one word, and then dive as deep into that word as you can! It will be an incredible learning experience, trust me.

Love,
Elder Horne

PS Pokemon is back at McDonalds. Gotta catch 'em all.