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
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