Because of Him

 

This week was eventful like all the weeks before. It was nice to see the Jenkins again. They are loco but a lot of fun! They keep trying to line me up with women which is weird because.. Well for obvious reasons. They told me (you told me too) that you are already lining up everything for school (You're trunky) and that I am going to school 4 days after I get home. Ughhhhhhhhhhhh. It took two days to accept that. But it is kind of a weight off my shoulders to having accepted that. I guess it is nice to know that I won't have time to think before going. Who knows? Maybe I will be married next April!  Jajajajajajaja Ojala que NO. Elder Ramos and I have visited the doctor this week. We had adventures. I would have to let him approve the telling to you of what the adventures actually were. But he is getting his stomach checked a lot. In two weeks he has an appointment in Phoenix.  So if we stay together; ROAD TRIP!!   Thanks for the package; it is wonderful. We shared all the chocolate with the great Estrella members.

Rosa Machuka accepted a baptismal date for May 4th! Remember her? I asked for her on the prayer list a couple weeks ago. I appreciate your Faith in Christ in making it happen and her for her Faith too! we are very excited for her and working as close as we can with her. We went to her house on Thursday with Hermana Sepulveda to give her a birthday cake and more support. It was perfect. She is sponging in what we are teaching and she wants her 10-year-old son, Johan, to be baptized with
her. The only doubt is that Sergio is FLOJO (LAZY). So we need to get the less-active husband to catch the wave or something. It is a very wonderful family and I would love to see her and her son make covenants with the intentions of keeping them for all eternity. Whether I am here for it or not, it matters not to me, just that we see her there in Heaven one day! I will introduce you to her there.
Jessica is so on board for the 27th still. We had a great conversation yesterday with her mom, sister, and brother-in-law when she had to leave. A year ago when her parents got baptized, she said that she had to work so she couldn't go to the baptism and that she would never be a mormon. She actually pointed her finger at her mom and said that very emphatically. Then she told her mom a few months ago that her prayers are getting answered and that she knows she should be baptized. Then a week later we knocked on the door to ask to borrow some utensils to eat our takeout food. Here we are! The only doubt is that she works Sundays. We are working hard on that. And we need Leo, her boyfriend, to catch fire soon too. The investigators are doing well. Our district has 14 people preparing for baptism. Most I have seen since coming out here. The names are much more important though; Victor, Victor Jr, Rosa, Jessica, Johan, Melissa, Maria, Ben, Mickey, Rusty, Mow, Ramon, Eric, and Margarito! The work is hastening mis amigos!

The Easter Pageant was a blast! Our plans actually all fell through around 3 that afternoon and we started getting sad. Then we called Hermano Barrera and asked Hermana Tienda if she had any non-members going. She said that she did and that she (Mariana) needed a ride! We all went together with Hermana Vega too (Recent Convert from last year who read the Book of Mormon in 8 days!). It was so fun. Mariana loved it and Hermana Vega cried the whole time. Hermano Barrera actually dropped her off at her house and shared a scripture on tithing with her because she had some doubts about. I saw ALL the Spanish missionaries! It was a good reunion. We had waxed strong in the service of The Lord so it was good to catch up with people and make fun of them for gaining weight. I got a picture with Elders Dodd and Fife. Good old friends. I suspect that Elder Ramos will be leaving in
8 days. But I don't speculate haha and it really doesn't matter. I sincerely pray and hope that the Lord's will for me is that I am in a smaller role and I can do hard, loving, respectful work far away from too many missionaries and what not haha. But I am ready and willing to do whatever the Lord's will is and I won't try to change it!

The Open House was....slow. But you know it, with all the time and money put into it (even though the Mayor, city council, fireman, and others cancelled) it could still be worth it for the few nonmembers that went. There was a man named Cecilio who came and said that he wants to take his daughters to young women and church and that he felt very good there and he loved it. We were happy to give him some supplies after he walked through. He could not make it to church the
next day but he sent his 9-year-old daughter with some members. She wanted an English BOM, a children's version, a second one for her sister, pictures of Christ, and many more things. She loved it. The Hermanas that cover that area will visit them soon. Wouldn't that make the open house worth it?! Speaking of worth it--maybe we all learned a lesson about church activities and ideas (especially those kind of out-there stake-wide activities): They don't just appear out of thin air. They are all willing to put in work to make sure that it happens. But people don't just come because they post about it on facebook or leave invitations on doors or hope the missionaries invite enough
people. It takes serious commitment by everyone. Kudos to the Stake President; he brought someone! Another key learning; just because people say yes they will go doesn't mean they will; especially latinos ay caray. But it was worth it!!

You want to hear about the next big thing going on with the Church if you haven't heard about it yet? It is the video that I put on my Facebook wall; "Because of Him." It is VERY powerful. Personally, it
is very powerful to me because I have felt the Spirit almost every time I watch it. I am sure you will all love it too and feel inspired to share it with someone! The Church is hitting the video, along with
the Mormon.org page they want people to see, very hard before Easter on Sunday. They bought the rites to Youtube's homepage for that day so they could advertise the video hard core. They want millions of people to see it. So I would like to encourage you all to take a part in it!!!! Check out the video and think of the people throughout the week that would benefit (Everyone right?)!!!!!!

Love, Elder Jacob Parry