They Just Kept On Coming In!

Dear Family,

 

So my mail is going to make it to Disneyland this week! Muy bien. I think that is closer to me than Bountiful. Did I tell you that the road I jog to in the mornings stretches all the way to Las Vegas! It has been the route for over six months. Change or no change, I am super excited for whatever is in store for me. There are pros and cons to leaving and going and--POR SI LAS MOSCAS--I have some fun things set up this week with friends in the area. Four dinners with some great people :) what can that hurt? I love it here and will miss it whenever I leave. I guess you will be hearing from me on Tuesday what happens!

 

This week was probably the quickest week of the whole mission. No clue why--maybe all the weeks here on out will be like that. It was a fantastic week. It started off slow but really picked up. Facebook was kind of slow. Thanks for the pick-up in the email, that was nice. I just feel like nothing ever gets through on there. Nothing. I absolutely loathe the newsfeed and other stuff that crosses my gaze. It is nothing like knocking on a door without knowing who is on the other side. Not as fun and rewarding. I also think I have that a lot more figured out than the Facebook garbage. I am trying hard and thinking hard and following the Spirit. We see a few small miracles every now and then on FB that keep us going in our companionship. It is just another phase of the work that we need to adapt to and apply the principles we already know to be useful. Nothing really happened at the beginning of the week and I kind of don't remember anything before yesterday because that was the craziest Sunday of the mission. It tops the one two weeks ago by a lot! I will give the beginning of the week a try though--We had dinner with the J. Family. Hermano J. still has a beard and hasn't left his house for about a month. We had homemade pizza and joked around a little like times of old. He says the peppermint oil feels good on his head and that he goes back to work soon. We talked to President Aguirre for an hour and a half on Wednesday. He has the drive, sacrifice, responsibilities, and expectations that any missionary would have it's just that he has a normal life, family, and work. So that makes him super amazing. He is very humble and a very outward person. He sacrifices countless hours a week to strengthen the members of the ward and take many repsonsibilities for himself. We talked about strengthening members so that they can be better missionaries and we agreed to a plan. We are going to teach a few active members every now and then and really help with their conversion and sacrifice so they help with the effort. It was a great plan. Friday we had three great lessons--Jose P., Jose H., and the R. family. Great member help too. When we invite them and they come out, I feel so backed up in lessons. The Spirit they bring is so genuine and simple too. It feels good. I wish I knew how people felt about the two 19-year-old awkward dudes and what they feel with them haha. Jose H. told us he had two dreams this week- One really bad and the other really good. There are countless posibilities. We are going back Tuesday to figure out what they were! That man is so close! Saturday we had a fantastic lesson! We went over to Cezar's house for Homemade chilean fish tacos and a lesson with the S. family. The C. family was there too so it was a really nice member packed night. Very necessary too-- for the retention and recent convert effort. We read from section 138 and talked about baptisms for the dead. I bore testimony about how I know that there are soldiers in the army on the other side of the veil preparing our ancestors and friends for the Gospel that they cannot embrace without our help. I shared a little about cousin Monte and about how him passing has really strengthened my testimony that there are people up there that need, want, and accept the Restored Gospel. Hermano C. felt 'chastened' so he committed to going through the temple with names and taking the S. family with him too by Christmas. It was a lovely night. Sunday was wild! I experienced the most investigators at church (aside from the first week in July when it was two areas in one) in my mission. They just KEPT ON COMING IN. Clemente stayed all three hours for the first time since I have been here. Jose came and heard a lesson on fasting and a talk on Patriarchal blessings which was perfect. The G. family keeps on coming and participating in everything. Jocelyn loves the classes and always participates. The S. family is still soaking in all learning. Jose P. finally came!!!! He is the wallet guy and we have been inviting him for a month but he came and 8 or 9 members talked with him after the meeting. Cristina C. finally started coming again. Gospel Principles was packed and everybody was listening and commenting. That has been one of the most fun parts about my mission so far. I love being around everyone when they are learning. All these new members and investigators with their questions and insights. And of course, Hermanos Zayas, Covarubbias, Miranda, and Cervantes were all in the class so they all used their high priest wisdom to help teach haha. It is just so fun for me to hear people ask simple questions that I have taken for granted my whole life. All these people want to learn and are so open to what is being taught about the Gospel every week. That is why I love Sundays and that is why I love lessons during the week--especially when members come out. As it says in D and C (50?)- we are all edified by the spirit and rejoice together. That is how I feel in these learning environments. It is so fun for me. It is also very different being one of the people who knows the most about the Gospel in a room. Most being returning members, recent converts, and investigators, I get to answer questions simply and the Spirit helps carry my answers, just as much as anyone else's, to the hearts of those that learn--which is all of us. Just to toot my own horn, in Gospel principles I said a few things that made everyone else laugh-- I said that I like to fast for certain people and think about them during the day because, if i didn't, I would be thinking about food all day which, for those of you who know me, know that I really love food. Haha. And I asked President Miranda if we could have certificates of graduation when we finish Gospel Principles.  Everyone laughed and agreed we should. I think he seriously might do that one haha.

Did you see the dates release for the Gilbert temple? Stake President Allen said that with these dates we can fully expect Phoenix temple dates to come out soon. It should open before President and Sister Taylor leave!

 

I learned something cool in my personal study this morning. I ordered the Book of Mormon Liahona--which I highly recommend!--and was reading what all the prophets have said about the Book. It includes President Benson's famous talk on the keystone. I was impressed by the great amount of application the prophets and normal people have made from the book to life itself. It honestly was written for our day and our time. It wasn't written for the lamanites or nephites to read it later down the line. It is for us. All the prophets who wrote it said they did it for us. There is so much to be applied. I absolutely love this book and am fascinated by everything that happens in it but I realized I can do better at applying it. That is the difference between conversion and testimony. I now begin to deepen my conversion by making that book applicable to me. In there we can read how people can prepare for the coming of the Savior, how to deal with pride(as if there wasn't enough of that in the book), how to give and accept correction, how to repent, what to repent for, what good advice would be to give to a son or receive from a parent, and, of course, anything Mormon or Moroni say is just rad.

 

At our last trainer/trainee meeting I realized something. The past transfer I felt like I have really had things figured out in the area. With contacts, investigators, and members. This has kind of made me run too fast and think less about Elder Dodd. I am thinking hard core 24/7 about the people in the area and just kind of accepting Elder Dodd to follow, understand everything, and agree with everything. That is not okay! I have repented and committed to including him more on everything, letting him decide, and paying more attention to his wants and needs. Together, we need to forget ourselves and invest ourselves in Estrella Sur, but my responisilbity as his companion is to help him to be the best missionary he can be and I can do a better job at that from here on out. He is a great Elder and I believe we have both learned a lot from each other. We are very tired at nights because we are biking and working A LOT. Dad- Remember that two weeks we had in Europe and how we felt at the end of each day? I bet that is how you felt on your mission too. I am so exhausted, and I just roll out of bed ready to go. It is nice.

 

Love you all. Elder Parry

 

PS  The Series sounds intense. I get goosebumps jsut reading about the play and everything that is happening. I have noticed people talking about Big Papi every now and then and all the work he is doing as an old man. That is a big deal to hear among the Mexicans!