Speaker in Church

My Dearest loving family,

Thank you for the descriptive and fun email. And thank you Dad for all the thoughtful stuff I have received throughout the week. You is very good at helping me conquer doubts and overcome specific concerns I am having. I would say Dad, Elder Pollmeier and The Spirit have helped me grow by leaps and bounds here my first month minus one day (can you believe that?!) I hit a month in Arizona tomorrow. I feel like I don't have any spare time to think about what day it is, so the time just flies and I end up somewhere I didn't think would come. It's crazy. Although, I still think two years is a LONG ways away, but I am working hard every day, coming to the understanding that I will regret wishing time away if I do, and eventually I know I will realize that the time did indeed fly by) the very most out of anyone/thing. I am surprised with my growth as a person, missionary, and disciple of Jesus Christ, but I am certainly not satisfied. Right now I am amazed at the kind of person I can become in 22 months if I continue this improvement and growth. I need to make sure I don't get caught into "cruise control" or a rut where I stop realizing my purpose out here. I need to fulfill my potential. I reckon the best way to do that is to work! Right? :D

Be sure to tell Mitchell LaDell Gee when you see him that I love him and miss him! I just received a stellar letter from him and it made my day. I laughed a lot and realized how much I miss the times we enjoyed together.

So from one of Dad's letters I saw that Isaac is number 52? Just like Ray-Ray! I love it! Also, the picture makes it look like he's pitching to second base or something weird like that. Either the picture is taken at a funny time or he's confused. Haha. And Sam! Wow has he grown and gained weight the past two months? He definitely looks like a high schooler out there playing ball. I am so excited for him now that he's on that team. You're going to love every minute of it. And I'll be able to watch you play for two years of it. :)

Aight, enough of all that...

So on Thursday night, Hermano Cesar Zayas called me on my way back on the bike for the day. He asked me to speak for 8-10 minutes on prophets in Sacrament meeting. I was pretty shocked. But never, not once, was I nervous. I was so excited!!! (BTW It is easier in Utah wards to get the call at least two and a half weeks in advance. I guess this is how they do that here haha) The talk went really well too. I'm not one to toot my own horn--ANYMORE--but I think it was well-received. I had to read most of it, which I didn't like, but it wasn't hard to write. I just gave the basics and talked about conference coming up, and shared four scriptures. It was fun. I enjoy Spanish a lot. Also, at the end of the meeting Obispo Denoso (Bishop) came up and talked about the meeting. It was also a homecoming. I didn't understand him very well because he speaks in Chilean Spanish and it is fast. But I had it revealed to me by a few members and Elder Pollmeier that he was praising the missionary efforts of this ward, the missionaries around the world, the four serving in the ward, and just the members in Agua Fria in general. It was way cool. I was told that he said he wished he were handsome like me, with slick black hair (I parted it that day), and he also said that my Spanish is way better than any of the kids in the ward. HAHA! Which may be true just cause they speak English and don't even read Spanish. I am learning grammar and everything. It was such a fun meeting though. And Bishop Denoso is straight out of a De Niro movie. Short, plump, intimidating, looks like a mob boss, often says stuff that mean something like "you don't mess with my ward." Haha he's funny and a great guy and doesn't always go by the book.

The biking has continued here in Peoria. It has been a real bittersweet riding the past couple days because to get to one of our investigators' house we take a canal which turns into a sidewalk that basically runs a 180 degree half- circle around the outfield of the stadium on Bell and 83rd. Padres and Mariners I believe. I have also see the Cheesecake Factory and all the other places I am sure you have been to. Did you know that that area of town is the most densely-populated with restaurants area in the United States!? I only heard that, but it sounds right. Anyway, I ALWAYS see games on in there. It makes me sad! Haha. But the lights are on, I hear cheering, not very loud though, and it even smells like peanuts. I get very nostalgic at these times. I cannot believe I didn't come down with any of you before to see the games!! They have sounded, and now they look, so fun!!!! I think I'll be down here every March from here on out. I am truly missing out. Honestly though, I am very happy to be serving a mission here and will be just fine waiting. I only have this one chance in my life to serve the Lord completely with my full dedication. That is what I am doing right now. Oh and I crashed on my bike haha. Be sure to tell Thomas that too because it was his bike. I was not paying attention.... A sign fell across the sidewalk and I ran over it. The bike landed on top of me! HAHA. I didn't rip any clothes though. My belt was scraped and my shirt got some dirt on it. I drew no blood and only bruised in three places. The bike is perfectly fine too. I thought it would've been a lot worse. I guess the Lord was looking out for me even though I wasn't looking out for the sidewalk. Haha. Anyway, it wasn't that bad. Just something kind of fun. Elder Pollmeier made fun of me, and was proud of me for my first crash.

I was reading Mormon, and Moroni, and Ether a little this week in my personal study. WOW. If you want the best writers in the whole Book of Mormon then you read the last three books and pay attention to all of Mormon's commentary throughout the Book. I love reading what Mormon and Moroni have to say just because of how beautifully they say it and string concepts into each other. I also love what they teach. Read Moroni 7 and be amazed. It is Mormon's best doctrine. I loved it. Have angels ceased appearing to men and bringing miracles? Of course not. Men are weak and do not have faith sufficient if angels aren't seen. I was pretty inspired after reading that. Read Ether 12 too. There is so much more to that chapter than Faith. Did you know that Hyrum read verses 38 and 39 to Joseph the night before they were killed in Carthage. Very comforting. Also- The same miracles that happened in Christ's time and in the time of the Book of Mormon can and wuill happen today. We just need to have the faith. Read those chapters when you get the time. And the last chapter of the BOM. It says exhort 11 times. He is strongly urging us to do a lot of things haha. Oh one last thing, In Ether 12 Moroni talks about how weak he is in writing. This always amazes me because he is not. He is very humble. And then verse 27 comes up. In all honesty, it is my favorite Book of Mormon verse. A lot is in there. Through his grace our weaknesses are made strong.

Wednesday morning we had a run and we saw four coyotes right in front of us on the sidewalk! Crazy huh!? They ran away scared pretty quick. But we were so close. And we have seen so many bunnies and lizards. Arizona is cool. I love it here.

Investigators- Not going awesomely well. But we have a lot of potential that is coming our way with some people. Families and others that may be prepared to hear from us. We are excited and positive about the future. It would appear that after 3-4 visits we already reactivated a few of the C family! And the mom wants to serve a mission! The mom also makes the most delectable FLAN known to man, so that is a plus too. But the S Family are bad at keeping commitments and coming to church. I love them, but they need to start understanding the importance of it. That is our job :)

Oh I forgot one last thing! On Friday Elder Pollmeier and I had the opportunity of going to the Easter Pageant in Mesa! It was so cool! The Temple was lit up and there were hundreds of actors portraying the life of Christ on stage. Mesa is 45 minutes away though and we didn't get back until almost 11:00. My two month tradition of falling asleep at 10:40 was broken. I felt weird. The next day I felt weird too. But the Pageant was awesome. Things like that are HUGE catalysts for the Spirit. I felt it so strong--and I understood just about all of the Pageant(we went to the Spanish night)--as I learned more about the life of Christ. Man I love this time of year. How cool is it. The S family went too! We came late, and it was quite a miracle that they spotted us and invited us to sit by them. I saw the Lord's hand in that. On the way home we exchanged Spanish chistes with our ward-member ride and I got to eat six pieces of pizza so life is great.

I wish I had a couple hours to write you all here from AZ. Just so you know I spend 50 minutes on this email and 10 on President Taylor. I need to do better at that, but I love you all! I will have Grandma, Evan, and all you in my prayers. I love you and miss you. Let me know during the week if there is anything specific you want me to share about on Mondays. I miss you! Keep tearing up the baseball diamonds, getting appointed to officer, going to church (DO NOT TAKE MP5 FOR GRANTED), and eating Mom's delicious cooking. There's not much more than PBJs, Cheese quesadillas, and Scrambled eggs out here.

Stay Gold y'all. Get excited for the new Star Trek movie that comes out in two months.

Love you Family (and everyone else who reads these).

Elder Parry

Challenges--Craig's Response to Jake

This advice to Jake is vintage Craig and almost General Conference material:

Dear Elder Jake,

Just got your email.  Made me laugh.  Made me proud.  Made me happy.  Thank you.

I wanted to send a quick note to you about your “concerns” with numbers.  Remember, Christ said feed my sheep, not count my sheep.  In fact, when the Lord does talk about numbers, He often speaks about the number one:  “And if it so be that you should labor all your days in crying repentance unto this people, and bring, save it be one soul unto me, how great shall be your joy with him in the kingdom of my Father!” and the parable of the one lost sheep (Matt 18:11-14).

Remember also that the greatest teacher and missionary, with perfect faith, obedience, and wisdom, converted relatively few, and even one of His own apostles fell away.

If you are a good missionary who loves the Gospel and those whom you teach, your mission will be full of disappointments.  Only poor missionaries who do not have strong testimonies and who do not love the people – those who do not care – are not disappointed.  You will be disappointed every time someone exercises his or her agency (that neither you nor even God himself can take away) in not accepting the Gospel.  How sad do you think the Savior felt when Peter denied Him, when Judas betrayed Him, when Alma the younger and the sons of Helaman were going about persecuting His people?

Don’t worry about the numbers.  They are not the measure of a great missionary.  While it is necessary to “return and report,” as numbers and statistics are used throughout the Church to measure progress, identify areas of need, and to move the work forward, they do not necessarily reflect the obedience, effort, and faith of those reporting the numbers.  If you are faithful, obedient, and hard working, the Lord will, without fail, bless you – the blessings may be in ways that are quantifiable or they may not. That is up to the Lord.

Goals are important.  Set them prayerfully and work to achieve them.  But keep the numbers in perspective.  Also, remember that the Lord’s timeline is not yours.  My Mission President asked us to set a baptism goal the first week we were in Japan.  Not knowing any better (and not really realizing that the entire mission was baptizing only 5-10 people a month), I set a goal to baptize 23 people, one for each month I would be in Japan.  One year into my mission, I think I had 4 baptisms.  We set teaching, finding and sacrament meeting attendance goals every week.  Sometimes we accomplished them; often we did not.  But I stuck with my mission-long baptism goal, and Sister Shinoda, who was baptized when my dad and Sean came to meet me, was #23.  But in the end, the number matters little.  What matters is the people we are able to meet and help while serving a mission.

The Lord knows where Hilda is.  Even if you never see her again, you blessed her life by loving, teaching and testifying to her.  The Lord knows that and appreciates your effort.

From D&C 75:

2 Hearken, O ye who have given your names to go forth to proclaim my gospel, and to prune my vineyard.

 3 Behold, I say unto you that it is my will that you should go forth and not tarry, neither be idle but labor with your might—

 4 Lifting up your voices as with the sound of a trump, proclaiming the truth according to the revelations and commandments which I have given you.

 5 And thus, if ye are faithful ye shall be laden with many sheaves, and crowned with honor, and glory, and immortality, and eternal life.

Anciently, grain was cut by hand and tied into large bundles or sheaves which were then carried to the place of threshing. To see a person or an animal “laden with many sheaves” was proof that the person had reaped an abundant harvest and would now enjoy the fruits of his labors.  Missionaries who go out to preach the gospel sometimes return and report that they know not whether they have been the means of converting anybody or not. But if they have been faithful, the harvest is sure. The seed they have sown may sprout and come to maturity years after they have been released.

Keep up the great work.  We love and pray for you.

DCP, Esquire.

Challenges

March 18, 2013

I did think of a few things to have in a package... Don't stress over them but... I am taking an Allegra every morning and it doesn't do a TON, so if you could send me allergy medicine that would be great. Dad would know what I could use. Basically, I sneeze a lot, my nose runs, my eyes water and itch, my throat itches, and I get really fatigued when the symptoms wear off. I am not trying to complain, just telling it how it is I guess :) I am fine. Just pushing through it! We weeded again this week and the pollen and dirt and dust was so terrible to me. Horrible. But it has been fun to overcome my allergies and work through them. Be sure to tell Coach Larry Wall that his "conquer instead of survive" adage has popped in my head NUMEROUS times here in Arizona. A lot of what that man has taught me has popped into my head. Almost daily. Tell him I miss him next time you see him. That'll probably be the only shout out today haha. But yes, the works of allergy medicine if you can manage that. I'll let you know if I can think of something else. Oh yes- Candy is great. Do not send a lot though. Send maybe one thing of candy. The problem is that I get so hungry here and I am not very good at budgeting or cooking so I don't have a lot of food; therefore, I eat whatever. So replacing candy with healthy food (granola bars, dried fruit, etc.) would greatly help me. Frankly, any food really. I am pretty hungry.

Dear Family, I love you and miss you. Every day I think of all our fond memories built into 18 and 11/12 years of my growing up. The good news is that I have been getting better at controlling my thoughts and focusing on the work and losing myself in it. I think that mainly comes with time, and it has certainly shown so far. I have so much to think about here in the mission so I find that I have to focus harder on what needs to be done. Thanks for the prayers. I pray for y'all too, nightly.

Hilda is a pretty disappointing story as of now. Not by any fault of ours, or hers either, we think. We talked to her Thursday but have not since seen or talked to her once since. We have tried several times. Just before this disappearance, she had told us that her husband in jail changed his mind and didn't want her "to be changed" and get baptized before he got out. So that was an obstacle for us all. She still expressed desires to change and commit herself to the Lord by being baptized, but a lot needed to get done. We called the stake guy who speaks Spanish and is in charge of visiting jail to clear up concerns. We figured he was the guy for the job. Nothing really came of that yet though--no visit. Anyway, we haven't seen or talked with Hilda since Thursday. We have called or knocked on her apartment in total about eight times. Her car is still at the apartment and her blinds haven't changed position in her apartment. To conclude this story, we think she went into the jail to try to talk to esposo and got arrested/deported/detained etc. We don't really know, but we have a hunch she's not ignoring us, and she and her husband have had papers problems before. So all in all, the first person I invited to get baptized accepted with a truly sincere heart and contrite Spirit and had progressed and learned faster than just about anyone my 15-transfer trainer had taught, may be headed back to Mexico. It is sad. We're still trying to contact her. But we'll just have to see. Chances are very good that she'll get baptized somewhere at some time, and for that I have faith. It was just a disappointing end, maybe end, to my first investigator.

Investigators are kind of frustrating right now. None came to church. Jose had to work, Hilda is hiding, and the S family said they would but ended up not. We are going to talk to them today. This shouldn't matter a lot, but it is really tough on our numbers/goals. Zero people went to church and our only baptismal date got canceled. This is an ambiguous part about missionary work I am working hard to understand. I don't understand the whole numbers/goals thing completely? It is not very personal and what if we don't find any investigators to teach and baptize after doing everything in our effort and faith to find and teach? Am I making sense? You don't have to try to answer these questions, I am just bouncing some ideas off. We are doing everything we can, we are not making our number goals very well because of a few unfortunate events, and we look like bad missionaries. Success as a missionary is measured on your efforts to find people to teach the Gospel to and baptize. We do that every single day. I'll figure out the balance eventually though. Maybe the Lord blesses you with success and "windfalls" and "it fell upon a day (this story is in one chapter in Kings-- if you can manage to locate it, I highly recommend it, it tells a story about 'coincidences' that the Lord blesses us with)" when we put people's names behind the numbers that we pick. That is all for that rant haha. Something to think about for everybody I guess.

Happy Birthday Dad and Evan! Sorry I am still settling into living and figuring out what to do on P days and what not so, sadly, I have sent nothing for either of them. Love you both and hope you had great B days. Dad is 35 right? Sounds like your birthday was wild. I remember last year we didn't have cake until late and two years before was my first high school baseball game and we went to El Matador real late. Set aside a day a week for Dad! He deserves so much more! Right!? Love you.

Sounds like your trip was not everything you wanted to be. Funny, it's been pretty warm every single day here except for two days when it rained... But you have already been down to St. George too in the last week. I am not going to be able to keep up with everything that goes on this Spring. I love hearing about it all so thank you!

I have a million things to say throughout the week but always seem to forget most of it when the one hour to share it comes around. Sorry I spent so much time rambling about my Spring Allergies. Oh! I just thought of a few things.

Elder Pollmeier and I are going super-over on our miles for the month. It is supposed to be 47 miles a day and we have gone about 55 so far because our area is HUGE! And our Chilean Obispo (Bishop) doesn't really do the calling by the book (like most Spanish speakers down here) so half the ward lives outside the ward boundaries and attends the Agua Fria ward by invite from Bishop Denoso. The result is a very laid back, chill, fun, Spanish-speaking ward of friends. They are fairly supportive of missionary work so that has been good. Oh and by the way, Bishop and Scoutmaster are the only two callings in a ward where you have to be a legal citizen to hold. So that is why our bishop is Chilean. You don't find too many Mexican bishops haha. Anyway, our area is HUGE. Inconveniently huge. So our miles are high. Elder Pollmeier came up with a great idea to park our car at the end of the freeway (101) that we take every day and bike there, park our bikes, and take our car for the day. We haven't done it yet, but it should save 20 miles a day! The hard part is that is twenty miles of bike... We haven't done it, but we did try it out this morning. It was so hard. We woke up at 5:30 and biked for an hour and a half. I was so tired and my behind is so sore. I feel like such a wimp! But this is what vintage missionary work has always looked like to me in my head so I love it haha: sore butt, sweaty, tired, biking, tired, sore butt, sweaty, sore behind. HAHA. All the above. We haven't done it in proselyting clothes yet, so that'll be a challenge. I shall let you know how this experience goes this week as we try it out.

Running out of time. I need to get better at budgeting this time. I love you all. Caroline: be strong. Realize that officer is dumb in the long run and in the short run if you don't make it too haha. But don't have a sour attitude. Support and love everyone around you. CHARITY. I'll try to write more next time. Let me know what else you would like to know more about if you see something specific. I think I will be sending a letter home today too. We'll see.

Love you! Hey did Anquan Boldin go to the 9ers!? I heard that and it startled me. Go Red Sox.

Love, Elder Parry

Time is Weird

March 11, 2013

If you have time can you send me some easy recipes for some delicious plates that we have had before at home? :) I am not a very good shopper or cooker so I need some advice. All your meals were great so send me some stuff if you have time, please. :)

Family- Time is weird on the mission. Everyone says it goes by fast. I don't doubt their perspective for a second. However,  I see time moving a little bit slow. But I am enjoying the mission, remaining obedient, learning new things and applying them every day, meeting all kinds of fun people in the ward and elsewhere, "running into" people that need to hear about the Gospel, and taking my days and weeks one hour at a time. I am working on growing a love for the people here. I love them, but I need to strengthen that love and express it as well. I know that once I have a perfect love for the Savior, my companion, my mission president, and everyone out here that I am serving then the time will start flying by. How could the time not fly when you're around everyone you love? I love them all, but I am going to develop that perfect love for them.

I miss you all very much. I love you and hope for the best. Thank you for all the love and prayers. The package was fun--you KNOW I love Reese's--and all else in there was useful and fun. Dad's and Mom's emails and letters are wonderful. Thank you for keeping me in the loop in Bountiful, spiritually and temporally. But I have missed you all. I was reading the bottom of Page 5 in Preach My Gospel and it says that you have power and authority as a missionary when you love your family. That made me really happy. I have always loved my family but it wasn't until I was a month or two into my mission that I have realized how much you all mean to me. Thank you. You don't even know what a support and love you have been with me through the years. Keep being that light on a hill for all to see. I miss you all.

That was CRAZY that you were here. You were pretty close to me at many times I'm sure. One of my best friends in the ward went to a Dodgers/Rangers game and we talked about it. It was the one that ended at like an 11-11tie (Note from Becky:  That is the Dodgers/Rangers game we went to) I think. Anyway, that could be a connection somehow. I was weeding an inactive member's backyard all through the storm on Friday. It was dirty, dirty work. Very fun though, and the weeds are easy to pull out of soft ground. The family said that dirt is hard as rock when it's dry! The rain was freezing, and yes it has been freezing here for three days over the weekend although I have a hard time understanding why it has been freezing for you? Haha. I have "warmed up" to Arizona weather, so I was cold. But isn't Utah cold? Haha. Side note- I have never missed baseball more in my life than I do now! I pass the Peoria Sports Complex every day to get to my area and I see people all around me playing. The part I miss most is watching Evan, Sam, and Isaac play. I love baseball! I wish I could take some part in it now, but alas, no. Have a great, fun season and take advantage of everything baseball that you can: MPBB, eating hot dogs, sitting in the shade watching, base hits, MLB. Everything.

March 23rd is still the date for Hilda. She has gone to church both Sundays so far and everything seems to be going great. The only possible bump in the road as of right now could be the law of chastity because she has an "esposo" in the carcel (jail) right now and when he gets out in Octubre they can't live together. Anyway, we are actually teaching this tonight so I am excited! She is such an awesome person though. She told us that she thinks God sent us to her door that random night when she needed something translated in Spanish. It was definitely not a random night and she is definitely right. Dad- thank you for the letter. I actually just read that this morning. There was a lot on "coincidences" that I really enjoyed reading. I am excited to see more of the Hand of God in my life and the lives of my investigators as the time moves along.

I am convinced that every Mexican here can speak English haha. It is funny, but also frustrating. I feel like it doesn't improve my Spanish for the times when I really will need it. But it really helps for ward member relationships! I am close to the ward. They are so fun and so supportive of missionary work. And I can talk to most of them in English. Learning Spanish is frustrating, but I am trying every day and that gift of tongues has got to kick in sometime I'm sure!

The investigator pool is a bit ambiguous, for lack of a better word to describe it. It includes Jose, Hilda, and three families. Families are so golden to teach and baptize for obvious reasons, but all three are hard to reach and connect with. They all seem interested, but it's been frustrating to try to coordinate. My favorite, the S family, is awesome. We are going there tonight! There are four kids and a single mom, three of the kids play baseball. The one that is 15 reminds me exactly of Sam. He is humble, quiet, athletic, interested in the missionaries, and a pretty sharp kid. Like all people under 25 here, he speaks English, so I have found some cool ways to connect with him. We talk about baseball and what not. I found some fathead stickers of his favorite team that I "happened" to have so I am going to give them to him tonight! Israel is such a cool kid. I want to see the whole family baptized, or at least be a part of that process for them. I have felt the Spirit in their home and I saw it in the Mom's and Israel's eyes during one of our lessons. Anyway, I said the pool is ambiguous because it has so much potential (possible 19 baptisms), but Jose still has doubts of making a "commitment" to be baptized because he claims to have never made one in his life before. He has been to church 11 times since he was taught a few months ago and he loves reading the scriptures. And like I said the other families are hard to contact. But the work moves forward no matter what and we are finding more people. It's exciting.

2 more things...

Okay, Dad, I have your friend's cell and his home number.  I don't know where he lives though. Probably not in my area and maybe not even in the mission. We aren't really allowed to teach or have meals with any English speakers which is kind of lame. Anyways, I want to find and teach him but I don't see it happening. I love him and love the fact that the Lord put him at the mission office when I was there. I don't want to refer him to anyone else. I want to share with him my testimony and see him more so I will put my faith in the Lord that He will find a way for this to happen.  He is so awesome and the bike is pretty dang awesome too! haha.

 

I wanted to say a little on my companion Elder Pollmeier. President and Sister Taylor were right: he is spectacular. I am in such good hands. He is perfectly obedient, such an experienced and able missionary and leader to me and all. He is not a great missionary because he is experienced though. He is great because of everything that he does. I feel so behind out here in the field with him as my trainer. He knows what to do all the time. Sorry my thoughts are so scrambled, I am running out of time.. Anyway. Elder Pollmeier is my trainer for a reason. It is rare to have your training split up by two trainers, and he could have more likely been a trainer to a zone leader or just the Sr. comp. on his way out of the mission, but he was put with me. I learn un monton of skills from him every day. He one of the most revered missionaries in this mission for a reason. Everybody knows him and talks to him. I consider myself very blessed to have him.

 

Yes, President Taylor is a bit... I don't know grumpy? Yes business-like. He is great though and I love him. I know that he loves us too. Sister Taylor is a gem isn't she? Never have I missed Mom more on the mission then when I first met her. Seriously! I am glad you met them. And the Temple looks cool. Can't wait until next July. Well I feel like this email was fully void of testimony or anything specifically spiritual. I love this work. I love being a missionary, I know that it is only going to get better as the time goes on. I know that Jesus Christ paid the ultimate sacrifice through His infinite Atonement and that my job is to experience that for myself so that I can show the world this everlasting gift given to all. I know that the Spirit is with my always as I am diligent, obedient, and faithful. I know that I am guided every day by angels, the Spirit, and loved ones on the other side. I have no reason to waste this guidance with a single minute not spent on the work. I miss you all. I love you all!

Love, Elder Parry

Meeting the Taylors

Isaac and his team, the Davis Dawgs, played in a tournament this weekend in Phoenix.  When President Taylor called us last week to say that Jake had arrived safely in the field, he invited us to the mission home to meet him and his wife.  We had a great time visiting with them for about half an hour.  Even though President Taylor didn't agree with me that missionaries in the Phoenix mission should be allowed to attend Spring Training games on P-Day, Jake appears to be in good hands.  Sam and Isaac left with an armload of snacks from the mission home.

Then we drove a few short miles and we were treated to a look at the new Phoenix temple under construction:

It was hard to leave Spring Training, the beautiful desert landscape and Jake behind when we went home.

Peoria

March 4, 2013

Well, I am a week into the field and it is going great! My companion, Elder Pollmeier, is a very great missionary. I look up to him very much. He was an assistant for 6 months and he is currently spending his final transfer with me. I look up to him and follow his example in every way. He is so obedient. I prayed for an obedient companion who could get me on track in the best way right off the bat, and that is exactly what I have in Elder Pollmeier. He is obedient down to its most detailed form. It is taking a little getting used to for some of the things, but for the most part, I am happy to say that our obedience is exact and will remain that way. Elder Pollmeier is from Georgia. He was converted to the church and baptized 4 years ago, his parents are separated and non-members, he loves outdoor stuff, he is a very good cook, and he loves being a missionary. He HATES talking about "last transfer" stuff. He tells people he's "over a year" into his mission. It is interesting to see in him. I imagine Elder Hamilton was a lot like this on his mission and even now that he is home too.  It's kind of hard for me to think of him as having his last transfer though. I'm going to be honest, I have felt a little trapped this week. Right now, I can't imagine being out here a whole two years. I have had a plethora of flashbacks and distracting thoughts and memories such as home, Lake Powell, baseball trips, family, the MP5, hanging out on the boulevard, playing video games and being in the basement with the siblings, and trying to imagine what Evan and all my friends are currently doing on their missions. I am trying so hard right now to get lost in the work because that is what I want my mission to be all about, but right now, I am a little distracted and don't have the best perspective on my mission. I know that once I start losing myself in the work then the time will fly by and I'll be able to appropriately wonder where the time went. As for right now, I can't really fathom the thought of "wondering where the time went" in my future. I found myself looking forward to checkpoints in time along my mission but then I remembered what Dad said to me about not looking forward to the next transfer, companion etc. I need to enjoy the time I have right here right now with Elder Pollmeier in Peoria here at the beginning of my mission. I'll wish I had if I don't. Well, I may be acting a little melodramatic, but I know I'll start to get into some habits, and I'll start seeing great success and before I know it I'll have served an honorable full-time mission!

Guess what!? We have a car, we drive about 48 miles a day in it, and..I am the driver!!! Haha I hope that makes you laugh because I was never a great driver even though I did a lot of it, and because my record would seem to signify that I shouldn't be the driver. We have a 2012 Toyota Corolla and I am being a good driver. We are following all the rules of the car, and I am a very temperate, patient, and safe
driver. Crazy how things change huh? Haha. We cycle through my three MoTab CDs quite frequently throughout the day.

I LOVE President and Sister Taylor. I don't really know why I love them so much. They are such beautiful and wonderful people. At first, I thought that President Taylor was grumpy and a little strict, but I have since realized that he is neither and that he really does love us. I know that his strictness will bless me as I serve. Then there is Sister Taylor. She is one great big giant shiny beam of sunlight and happiness! I love just seeing her smile and talking to her. That may sound weird, but she radiates and she fills the void, somewhat, of not seeing Mom. I hope that I have more opportunities to interact with both of them as my mission carries on.

My ward is the Agua Fria ward in the Peoria Stake. So that is where I am serving for at least (and probably the next) transfer. It is hard to find Mexicans to teach. Spanish stateside has its difficulties. We are obviously doing a lot of talking to people in English, which doesn't help my Spanish, but our main goal is to find Spanish Speakers to talk with. And we did find one. My second day here we came across Hilda. What a miracle she already is here in my life as a missionary.  Elder Pollmeier is a great example and leader to me, and I want to serve an honorable full-time mission, but Hilda is the big and maybe the only reason I am staying alive out here. She is wonderful. She needed help translating a letter at her apartment as we were leaving our appointment with Jose. We went in, helped her, and offered a prayer. She cried after the prayer and wanted us to come back. BOOM!  Just like that haha. The Spirit was there. Next lesson we talked about the doctrine of Christ and we extended.... the invitation! I DID! My heart was pounding out of my throat, I was sweating, and the Spirit was there. I asked her to be baptized as she came to know that these things were true. She said yes--enthusiastically. We are so excited for her. The Lord has gone to great lengths for her to be prepared.  She is set for the 23rd of March and she went to Stake Conference yesterday. It was three days after meeting her! It was a tender mercy to meet her from the Lord to me and to her obviously. Not much other success has been had so far (five days in).

Stake conference was fun. The meeting was about as big as a MP5 meeting in a normal meeting house haha. But it was cool. President and Sister Taylor spoke for a little so it was a welcome relief to see them. I think Sister Taylor teared up when she was talking to me for a minute before church just because she was so happy to see me? I don't know, but I think about those two a lot! Not as much as the family at home though. Anyway, I had to sit in the relief society room to listen to the translation of Stake conference. I would have rather listen to Elder Schwitzer of the Seventy in English (fun fact: he spoke in the MTC when I was there a few weeks ago so I got to hear him again give a similar talk haha.) but Spanish was okay too. My Spanish is coming. Esuna procesa. At times I feel like I am improving, and at times I feel like I am going backwards haha. But I have faith it'll come according to my work, diligence, and when the Lord needs it to. No problem.

The ward is SO AWESOME! All the Mexicans are great, fun to talk to and get to know. And they speak English for the most part so it is nice to relate to them in my tongue. They speak English pretty fine actually.  Spanish is second for most. They are so supportive. Several members accompany us in lessons, ask how things are going, and are united in the work with us! They are so helpful! AND... The WML has hooked us up with a schedule of meals through the weeks! We have already had three dinners and they are so delicious. Real Mexican food is all that it is cracked up to be for sure!!! One dinner I politely ate like nine little Mexican burrito things smothered in homemade green salsa. One of the members, and this doesn't even count as a member dinner, MAKES US go to his taco stand once a week for a real Mexican food dinner for free.  It was delicious. Yesterday, at Bishop Denoso's house we had a real Chilean meal. It was very good. Carne Asada, Empanadas, homemade rice, salad, ice cream, and some Mexican soda. I am getting spoiled here. As long as I am polite, I will be eating a lot at member dinners, but I need to work on budgeting and planning things out for the food I need to buy and prepare myself for my other meals throughout the week. For as long as I can remember I have eaten out, Mom's cooking, Dad's cooking, from a cafeteria, peanut butter sandwiches, or cereal. Those are all great things, but I need to start learning how to actually make food myself. So thus, I have only eaten member dinners and PBJ sandwiches so far haha.

I love you all very much. I think about home, Bountiful, and family and friends A LOT. I need to focus more on the work and not be so nostalgic. But I love you and pray for you. Thanks for all the teaching and reaching out to me even when you hadn't known it through the years. I have an hour per Monday to email you and President Taylor. I don't know the best way to do it, so let me know if you have any suggestions. I may not have a lot of time to do any "conversations." But I want you to hear about me in the way you want to hear it. Let me know if I should shorten my one email so that we can talk. Thanks for the prayers, I know they are coming. Good luck with baseball to the tournament-goers, and good luck to Caroline with the puppies. The weather is nice down here; be excited for that. I love you family. Hasta ver.

Elder Jacob Parry