Dear Family,
Life in the Estrella Branch is
awesome! I will start off with the highlight of my day yesterday.. We got five
investigators at church! It was spectacular. Letecia game with 3 of her 10 kids
and she decided to invite her friend for some reason who lives by her. We made
follow-up appointments for both of them so that was sweet :) Also--Jose
Hernandez finally came! He is a very bright, happy, and very caring person. His
family is against the church but he is very open to it. He has been trying to
please both us and his family so it has been hard for him, but he came! Someone
bore their testimony about Helaman 5:12 and he felt so bad cause he thought he
needed to read it before the meeting so he was frantically flipping through the
book, looking for the passage so he could read it. It was special! And I helped
Letecia and her friend sing the hymns during sacrament. That was special too.
Cinco de Mayo was interesting haha.
We had to be in our apartments two hours earlier than usual in case there was
mucha gente borracha, but the truth is that Mexicans don't really celebrate it.
It is an American excuse holiday kind of a thing. Their independence day is September
16. Anyway, we got in at 7:00 yesterday, worked on our area book, cooked some
spaghetti, did other productive things, and got in bed at 9:30! It was actually
a really special night for me and hopefully Elder Cardoso too because we just
laid there for an hour and talked. We talked about a lot which was so nice. We
know each other well now I love it. That is key to being able to have the
Spirit guide you. You have to be in it and tuned-in as a companionship to have
the Spirit. He has really been helping me to loosen up, enjoy my mission, and
be satisfied with my efforts. I am seeing habits change for the better. He is a
great teacher.
It is crazy, I am trying to think of
a specific happening to tell you about from my week but it went sooooooooo
fast. I cannot believe how quick that week went. We didn't have a lot of
lessons because people just keep canceling. So we did the work as best as we
could do it for seven days and definitely had a few good spiritual experiences.
One of them: We were biking to an inactive's house to contact him and we
stopped to talk to a lady on a jog. We ended up talking for 35 minutes in the
street. I tried to understand as much as possible, but basically we just
listened. she talked for 30 of the minutes, with a little crying in between,
while we basically testified during the five minutes we had. I learned that
sometimes all people need is someone to listen to them. That is exactly what
Julia needed. She had been praying to run into someone to talk to that night
and so we testified to her that God was looking out for her and that things
will get better in her life. It was a special experience. We have something
scheduled with her so I will let you know how that goes. Never forget the
importance of listening! It is one of the most selfless things you can do for
others! Genuinely listening and caring about the person speaking can open up
their heart and allow you to enter. That is how the Gospel first needs to be
preached; listening and caring.
We set a goal as a zone for the
month of June: 20 baptisms. 19 is the APM record. We are all pretty stoked, but
we understand that the task we are undertaking is a big one. Elder Cardoso and
I are working and fervently praying toward this goal now. There are ten
companionships so to do our part we need to prepare and baptize two people. We
can do more than that in June, but we are REALLY focusing and praying for some
people we have in mind. I am excited, because I know we will do it. Yesterday
during my fast I prayed and promised the Lord that I would do absolutely
everything in my power to bring about this goal. I mentioned that I obviously
cannot do it without the Lord's help, but that whatever needed to be done by
me, would be. I was 'wrestling' with the Lord like Alma! I am now really
looking forward to the month ahead, and as I keep my promise to do all that I
need to and all that is placed before me, it is going to be a really tough
month, but I want it to be.
Two more weeks and I'm done with
training. I cannot believe it! I'd like to say I'm not exactly ready for all
that the future holds and all the Lord has prepared for me to do but then
again, was anybody in church history? Haha President Joseph Smith would
probably laugh at that comment. I hope all is well in Bountiful. La tierra
prometida!!! Love you all and I look forward to talking to you next week :)
Love, Elder Parry
PS I just remembered about a dinner I wanted to tell you about. On Thursday, we had a dinner at an inactive's (Who Elder Cardoso got to come to church yesterday--like a boss). They fed us carne asada, rice, menudo (cow intestine soup; it's actually pretty good), and a bunch of avocados. It was so much food and we ate it ALL. I am getting fed really well down here don't worry :) I would be gaining a lot more weight than I already am if it weren't for the bike rides in the boiling sun haha
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