Find Your Role However Small

Things are going really well in Surprise! One thing that I have noticed about Christmas so far this month is that we are teaching a lot of lessons, the other Elders are teaching a lot of lessons too, and we are teaching a lot of FAMILIES! It is something that I hold near and dear to my heart this month. I am very grateful for this special opportunity. The Lord has put genuine, loving, sweet, interested, prepared families into the area that we are being 100% led to. Mainly by members! We got 2 Mesa Temple light referrals this week of families that signed up to learn more. We taught one (Jorge, Armando, and Patti) yesterday. We taught them about prayer and committed them to doing a family prayer every night. They said yes! They also fed us dinner on the spot, sent us home with more, and used a plant in their yard to help with some blisters I have one my hand! You will hear more about them soon. A LOT MORE! They are cool. Yesterday we taught the Restoration to Lala, her daughter, and her granddaughter. A family found by Hermano Puente. We SPIRITUALLY PLOWED through that lesson--I say that because the Spirit was there, we covered every point, we helped her with a lot of doubts, we did our best to teach to understanding, and we taught PEOPLE and not lessons. When I say we I say Elder Fife and I did out best to follow the lead of our senior companion THE SPIRIT. My testimony of the Spirit grew very large this week. I KNOW for a fact that the missionaries can't do it without the Spirit. The Spirit helps them keep commitments, listen, ask questions, be taught, understand what is in it for them with this Gospel, and to feel the love of God. I have been in lessons where I have felt like everything is on my shoulders and it is up to me. They were bad lessons... Bad. When we go in, with confidence and faith in the Spirit, and do our best, and LOVE these people. Things go well. I need to work on not trying to change the whole world in one lesson. God knows how to help these people. We must enlist His help. We also taught Madai, Genado, and their 3 kids this week. They missed church which was sad but they said yes to baptism--just not soon. Hermana Armida bore powerful testimony of her own baptism and how they need not fear or worry. The Lord provides the preparation they need. They are the sweetest family. They may not be the best and doing the things we invite them to do but I love them so much! They are so sincere and grateful and willing to change. They have a lot of those "unchecked" baptism qualities that will really get them there. I say unchecked because it is the stuff written in DandC 20 and Mosiah 18 that we can't check off in an interview, but things that will take them to baptism and eternity with our Heavenly Father. They are humble and have the broken heart and a contrite spirit. The Covos family is kind of dragging along. We are not giving up. The Spirit isn't either because I feel it when we are there. We had a great lesson on Monday with them. Hermano Handley was bold. I followed his lead. He bore strong testimony of the Book of Mormon and why they need to be more diligent in reading. I learned a lot about being bold, loving, and reflecting the seriousness of these things we need to be doing to learn and grow. It has been a great blessing in my mission to see so many families. The Lord is preparing hearts. Another family (Virginia) finally got home from Mexico and said they would come to church, but didn't. We are going to keep teaching them. They live in Waddell so it is a 20 minute road trip every time. How fun! Alejandra and her two kids didn't come to church either but we will see them there soon. They are a prepared family.

 

I have seen some of the most growth in Elder Fife as we have taught together. I am doing better at not being such a chatterbox in the lessons and he has more opportunities to teach--especially in English when we have them. We had 3 invitations from the 12-week program for him to take the lead in a certain part of the teaching and he did ALL 3 TIMES. He did it twice yesterday! He is becoming a great missionary and his potencial is through the roof. I want him to keep pushing himself--and he can get little pushes from me too :) 

 

We taught a lesson to a less active couple that got baptized in Mexico 45 years ago. My testimony in teaching less-actives is weaker than I thought... She said stuff like "It shouldn't be the church of Joseph Smith," "there are just too many hypocrites at church," and "I am fine worshipping God how I am." I thought of a billion things to say to her, not many of them were very nice though. The lesson with them just sent me on a giant mind race as I was thinking about everything to be done and what could possibly be done to help them. I know that love is the answer. I know they love us because they love missionaries and we love them too and they know that. So we just need to keep inviting and visiting. In the lesson I got out of my comfortable, apologetic sphere to tell them that they need to go to Church because they are losing blessings of the Priesthood and the Sacrament. We told them it wasn't okay not to go because it was a commandment to go. I wanted to tell them that it really shouldn't matter if they have been offended (See Elder Bednar "and none shall offend them" EPIC TALK. I think that talk made him close to my favorite apostle....) but I did not. We left with our love. Hay que tener PACIENCIA!

 

Yesterday in my journal I was writing about all that I have learned from the Rama Estrella members. Hermanos Zayas, and Covarrubias, and President Aguirre have taught me more than anyone else in my life about how the church should be run (how it should be lived? No, of course not because of the home I grew up in where I learned that; but as I have paid attention to callings, administration, working together, and all the good church stuff there is to learn on the mission that blesses us for the rest of our lives, I have learned how it should be done by watching their examples.) This branch may be small in numbers, and even smaller in willingness to help at times, but the leaders want to get it done right, and it took until my mission to actually see the sacrifice and 24/7 work put into callings and running a branch down here. The Surprise, Arizona Saints have taught me so much about the church and the work of Salvation! I really admire them. These Saints have such strong faith and diligence here in the Estrella Branch! Brother Hammond ("returning-member") spoke on God's physical nature and the Spirit really hit me; I never really understood the importance of explaining that. That means that we are like God? We have the same physical characteristics as our all-knowing God? How could we compare? It was some interesting thinking.

 

Jennifer and Janet (Jocelyn's sisters) were baptized this weekend! It was very special and it went really well. The Spirit was strong there and at their confirmations. Elderes Jones y Nelson finished up the teaching and did the baptizing. It was a great team (Spirit, Missionaries, family) effort for it to happen. Jocelyn spoke (2 month recent convert) and gave a great talk. Seeing growth; now that is one of the most fun parts of the mission!!!

 

I love you and know you are all doing great things. Mother- Hang in there! You are doing a great work for the family.   Thanks for the mail--in all its forms. I am really feeling the love and support of my family from all over as I enjoy the time here on my mission thank you. PS-Stacey's letter was very very funny. I have loved them all. Does Grandpa know his was the longest? Haha I joke, but really thank you Grandpa-- it was inspiring and informative. Brought the Spirit. I have had some very nice things sent my way. Tell Grandma I have worn the Red and Green Tie she got me 4 or 5 days in the past two weeks! 

 

The Lord is opening up the hearts and preparing millions! Find your place in this great Work of Salvation. Did you know it is not even called missionary work anymore? This is the Lord's great work that is only speeding up because there is a lot to do before it is done. I know it is real because I feel it every day. It is so much bigger than each one of us, but we all play key roles. Families are becoming more united and the cream of the crop is raising to the top! All the Success in baptisms we are seeing are coming because of members' efforts, the hastening, and families being open to the Gospel. This work is so much bigger than Elder Fife and I and everyone else. Find your role however small :) Love you. Merry Christmas.

 

Elder Parry