I loooooved the email you sent! Very entertaining. Clay
Buchholz is my man, Jackie Robinson sounds like my kind of movie, and it sounds
like everyone is working their behinds off with everything that is going on
back at home. Bien hecho! Go Isaac for making it to Millcreek. He will love it.
The Communism math though-not so cool. Sounds like you avoided that though.
Make sure you are all treating Caroline like a queen. She is doing some really
wild and really hard things right now in school and life! Glad to hear things,
and baseball, are going well for everyone.
Dear Family,
The past seven days have been very crazy for me!
Basically to sum it all up, I left my first area of six weeks--which I was just
kind of getting the hang off-- for my new area in Surprise (I'm in El Mirage
and Youngtown which is south of Surprise to be exact), to be trained for my
second half by a new companion in an area that is not only new to me, but new
to Elder Cardoso, AND new to the mission. It should not come as a surprise to
anyone that they are making new areas all over to accommodate the influx. I'm
positive all missions are doing that. At transfer meeting I went up to
President Taylor and asked him if he needed any help preparing, he said no,
then he said, "Do you trust the Spirit?" I said something like, yes.
Then he said something along the lines of; "the Spirit has called you to another
place after just getting settled into your first one. Do you trust the
Spirit?" It was pretty neat. President Taylor is an inspired man. I know
that I am in good hands with him and Sister Taylor. Now it is time to see what
this area has in store for me!
Getting started on the area is hard... There is so much
to do, so many people to meet, and just little or no head start on how to do
it. It has been good though. Working hard is really the only solution haha. We
have received immense help from the other Spanish Elders in the rama (branch)
that we are serving in. We split their area. They got Estrella North and we got
Estrella South. They have Surprise and north up to Wickenburg which includes
many guerros (white people haha) and we have a few square miles of many
hispanos. It is awesome. We are on bike. Elder Cardoso has been on a bike for
all 13 months of his mission. Every now and then I tell him about something I'm
feeling, not to complain, just for fun. I told him my butt hurt. He said that
is the first symptom. Then I said my back hurt. "That is the second
symptom." Then neck; third symptom. Then I said I was getting very tan. He
said "cool, you can start to look like me now." He is very funny. I
love being around him and serving with him. He is from Sao Paulo. He just
started learning English in the MTC last March. He speaks it very well. It is
fun to help him the few times he needs it though. He is dedicated and a good
teacher and example to me. We haven't had a whole lot of time to talk or get to
know each other though. It kind of makes me sad! We are pretty caught up making
sure we're doing everything right though. Planning usually ends around 10:05
because we don't know where to go exactly during the day. So not a lot of time
to talk.
It is fun being thrust into a completely new place
though! The rama is SO AWESOME! They are dang fired up about missionary work.
President Aguierre is ON THE BALL and ahead of the game when it comes to
missionary work. When your bishop/branch president is missionary minded the
ward/branch is too. It is really showing. Our two companionships had six
investigators at church combined and all the testimonies were about Jesus Christ
and the Gospel. That is what EVERY testimony should be about. Not sob stories
or whatever. But the members looked at the investigators during their
testimonies and shared with conviction. Some of the investigators got
emotional. And the classes included very basic teachings of the Gospel. Good
stuff. Anyway, Mario and Glenda are two investigators that were given to us
with baptismal dates for May 11 and they are solid!! Really funny/cool story
though: The other Elders dropped the ball and didn't know they weren't
married... "for some reason" we brought up marriage in one of our
lessons. They were like, nahhh we've been together for 30 years- don't need
marriage. We were like, oh no.... But we talked to president at church, he had
an interview with them then president came up to me during priesthood and said
they are getting married in six days so they can keep their baptismal date.
Haha wow! It was neat. Then he got up in Priesthood and R.S. and basically
said, they are getting married, come Saturday, bring non-member friends and
food. Just one example of our great rama. We need to live up to all this help
though. I am kind of feeling the pressure to find people. We will do it though!
Yesterday Elder Cardoso and I "happened" to pick the same thing to
fast for: To find people in our area to teach that are prepared to be taught.
It was cool. I fasted for 24 hours for the first time. I can't believe I hadn't
done that before. Embarrassing... but it went well! The fast was awesome
though. We contacted A LOT of people. Bike is great. Oh and by the way I am
logging how many ounces of peanut butter I eat on my mission. I am not telling
you what I am at, but I can't wait to tell you what I get to in the end.
I feel like there are a million more things to say but I
can't think of any. I know the Holy Ghost is real. I can talk about this. On Thursday
we were taking our lunch break and I was sitting at the table thinking about
all that laid ahead, all that needed to be done, and how it all needed to be
done. I kind of let myself get a little overwhelmed again, which is not good.
Right then though, The Spirit poured down my body. I am not going to say
anything cliche about how it felt, It's just one of those things you know when
you're feeling it. I knew it was the Spirit telling me I am going to be okay
and that I wouldn't have been called here, placed here, and given these
challenges if I couldn't do them. I know right then and there that things would
work out. It'll take work. But I know we can do it. I hadn't prayed, fasted, or
even thought of positive thoughts, but I am obedient and diligent and know that
I have the Spirit because of that. So the Spirit could bear witness to me that
I can do it. Si Puedo!
I love you all. I don't know if you take advice or scripture suggestions from an un-experienced teenager nearing three months in the mission but I thought of something:
You
sound super super busy. I have been thinking- amongst all the running in and
out of the house, changing into uniforms, driving down to the school, doing
homework, preparing for tests, and fulfilling church callings and all else I
believe there is an added importance in FHE and Family Prayer. It is something
I have seen with families in my mission already. Do everything you can to have
these two things. As a family we NEED the protection and strength with these
two things. We cannot go without it. Helaman 5:12! Be ready for when things get
hard. Things get harder when things get busier.
Love, Elder Parry
PS I just want you to know that I know the S family will
be baptized. I have already seen several little miracles with them--miracles
that are hard to recognize if you're not paying attention, but miracles that
happen because they are prepared to hear the Gospel and the Lord is not going
to let little things stop that from happening. There is a sister threesome in
my apartment now (a trainer, trainee and a regular missionary, kind of crazy
haha), and I know they'll be able to do it. But frankly, it doesn't matter
which missionaries. I was very lucky to have found them through a member
referral with Elder Pollmeier and taught them. But they will be baptized and I
will see them again one day. I miss them, but was happy to have been a part of
their progress.
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