He broke his face!

Yatee!

Something that has manifested itself since being out here, has been the love for roping and just cowboying it up in general. Tuba City had a fair last week and we had the opportunity to go to the rodeo. Luckily, there was a guy who was a member who ended up letting us in for free. We met a ton of people and got a ton of contacts, and in the process we got to see some of the events for the rodeo. One of them was the bull riding contest. In a very traumatic and heartbreaking event, we saw a young boy whom was only 17 years old, get bucked off of a bull and got his faced smashed in. Literally. I distinctly remember seeing that massive bulls hoove come down on the side of his face smashing his head into the dirt. Immediately, his face was swollen and bleeding. The paramedics took him out and off to the hospital.

It wasn't until later that day that we got called by a member to go see her grandson in the hospital, who just happened to be this young boy. Oddly enough, I don't know what it was, but I remember watching him get ready and I felt like I'd seen him before. It was strange. When we went to the hospital, the kid I saw getting ready to ride a massive beast, was not the same. The doctors had him drugged up to the point that he was completely out. They diagnosed him with having both of his cheek bones broken, nose broken, and a broken upper jaw. He literally broke his face. Luckily, there was no brain damage, or damage to his eyes. Very gruesome scene to be seen. 

So this happened, plus five other people that we have been called to go visit at the hospital who were suffering with various other things, has made this week very eye opening.

I have learned so much since being out here. There are many things I would wish to tell each of you about, but now is not the time. One of the things is that the priesthood is very very real. Some of the most sacred experiences I have had out here, have taken place when I am given the chance to excercise His authority given to me. Something I've noticed when the power is present and when the power is not, is in these circumstances- first, I've got to feel something for the person. Wether it be because I truly and deeply care about the person, or because I can feel so fully what it is the person is going through. More often than not, the power comes from having both occur. The principles of empathy and charity. 

Another big things that needs to occur is feeling the Spirit within me, and having the confidence that it is God's will for the requested result of the blessing to occur. Sometimes, it is necessary for us to go through certain things. It's not that God is punishing us or hates us, but because we need opposition to grow. Priesthood power is such a real thing and the Lord has restored it upon the earth again for us to be the means of much good. He gives it to us, His children, so we can experience in a small degree the joy that comes when He blesses us.

Thank you all so much for everything!

Keep this young boy in your prayers. His name is Dominick Descheney

Elder Sandberg