Dear Family,
This week was good. I feel like this week, like a few of the previous,
has been more driving than teaching, and our whole District is putting
hard core focus on street contacting; talking with every person we see
in between every appointment and visit. It is a lot of fun because I
feel like all 11 of us are fearless in doing it. We all have
testimonies that people are found in this way too. Thanks Elder
Pollmeier! By the way, Facebook told me that He is engaged to be
married in August. Crazy stuff! And poor girl too because he is one
hard-core dude haha.
We had our last Zone Conferences with President and Sister Taylor this
week. On Wednesday we will be having a Spanish missionary meeting
which is the last time I will see them. Supposedly we will get super
spoiled by all the stuff they are cleaning out of the mission home.
Also-- I heard that President Griffin gets here mid-way through this
week so President and Sister T are staying in their daughter's
apartment, running the mission, until Monday when PG takes over. I
cannot wait to meet him and sister Griffin. They seem like the
sweetest people. As soon as I saw their picture in an email I knew
that they were going to be legit. I know they are going to bring a lot
of love and patience to the mission. I also feel that with the current
mission leadership we have, the mission will stay strongly obedient to
the Book of Blessings like we have for the past 3 years. The meeting
was very good though. We talked about staying "weird" and "peculiar"
our whole lives. One of President and Sister T's greatest desires for
us is that we come home and share with them how things haven't really
changed in the transition; that we are comfortable being weird. Elder
Bednar told them (in addition to other quotes such as; "don't repeat
that or I will kill you," "that's stupid," "family history work is
simply not an option for any of you," "if you quote me on that I will
take away your church membership.") this: "decide now to be weird."
That is how it needs to be! Why not be weird? We aren't trying to
impress the world. Probably the easiest, most blessed, and most
natural way to be weird is keep all the commandments. So keep it up!!
We also talked about style vs. substance when it comes to change in
leadership. Substance is transfers and the Restoration (we will STILL
change companions, and we will STILL teach the Restoration). Style is
having transfer meetings, a transfer bus etc. President and Sister T
left us all with powerful and loving testimonies and we were also all
given 15 minutes to share our :60 testimony focused on the Savior. It
was a spiritual meeting. And I got to hug my car friend Elder Rogers
one last time! I know he will miss me and all the good I did to his
cars! 6 days left and President Griffin is in charge!
I am having a lot of Spiritual experiences out here and I know I won't
have any problems keeping it up when I get home. I will strive to keep
it up! Most of it has come as I have read the scriptures; mainly the
Book of Mormon (95% of my scripture reading haha). I am growing to
love some very ordinary things that I read in the BOM. Anything I read
in there invites the Spirit. It is a powerful book. I am making a lot
of personal connections as I read it. One of my favorite things to
read in there are the prayers. Those prophets really prayed like it
all depended on God and worked like it all depended on them. They
surely did pray as if it were a wrestle with God, until their prayers
reached the heavens, and with all the energy of their hearts. My
favorite chapters of these are Mosiah 26, Ether 3, 12, Alma 8, 29, 31,
Christ praying in 3 Nephi, 2 Ne 4, Enos and some others. Elder Reid
from the apartment is a very Spiritual man so we love talking about
our experiences from reading the scriptures and teaching. It is a
great apartment atmosphere because I have been in others and--I love
the missionaries--but I hate the sin of un-focused missionary work.
Something that I feel is going well for Elder Castro and I is that I
can be blunt with him. It is interesting. I love him and he is a great
missionary, but he can improve to so much better. I am never blunt out
of self-righteousness or pride, but I am here to tell him what he can
do better and I know I am fine saying it to him because my motive is
love. I have no fear just saying to him what I think and he takes it
as something to improve on if he would like. For example, he told me
one of his first days with me that he is not very focused, and it is
true; he gets distracted very easily, and the moment I heard that I
made it my personal mission to make sure he is on task in the
companionship haha. If he is talking about something unrelated to
missionary work ( a lot) then I will interrupt him with something
about the work in our area. It doesn't bother him, it helps us. I like
this because it is much more fun focusing on others' growth than my
own.
I am doing my best out here. I am honestly working so hard. It is not
the former hard-worker me; stressing my companions out, focusing too
much on obedience, beating myself down when I mess up. It is more of a
newer hard-worker me. We don't miss a minute of proselyting, I mess up
a lot but I feel like I have learned how to repent on the spot and
move forward. I don't miss a single person to contact when we are out
working because I know how important it is to let everyone know. I am
working on testifying and leaving all I have to offer as a
Representative of Christ out on the line while I have a chance; while
there is still time, because time is running out and we don't need to
waste time in lessons talking down the doctrine, leaving commitments
that aren't important, or being satisfied with no growth or no
commitment from others; I have done a lot better at laying it all out
on the line for these people to accept or reject. The ward is awesome.
I love Barrio Estrella. I love it so much! I just sit here and think
of it and all the faces of the wonderful, faithful members come to my
mind. I don't really want to go anywhere. I would love to stay here
two or three more transfers then spend the last two at a more remote
ward that I haven't served in here in the valley. I don't want to go
north at all, it is too cold up there and it is for weenies! I fear
that I will be serving in the La Joya ward soon, which is in the stake
and really close to here. I feel like I know how it has been over
there and how it will be, and it is just a bunch of stuff I don't want
to have to deal with. I could be wrong; I hope I am, but The Lord
knows best!
You are all in my prayers and I think about you a lot. Thanks for your
wonderful examples and prayers sent my way. I am sorry I am not good
at keeping a tab on writing to and about you all specifically, but I
love you and it excites me to hear what goes on (except for when
people get bit by dogs). Keep living the Doctrine of Christ!
Love, Elder Jacob Parry
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