It's August!

It is August! This time last year I had already had 4 companions. It is going by fast, right? A lot of cool things happened this week. Saturday we had it planned to go to the Mesa Temple Visitors' Center with a couple investigators, some members, and some returning members. It kind of got destroyed in our face so we didn't go and that stunk. #nocommitmentproblems. The Spirit was at work though! An Elder called us the afternoon that we didn't go and he wanted to come over and talk because he was thinking about going home. We did a split the rest of the day with that companionship to be able to talk to both and shake things up from the regular routine for them. It worked out very well! I went with Elder Yoxtheimer and Elder McFarland went with Elder Dart. It was just what we all needed. It is cool to see the Spirit working through the situation. I have loved being with other missionaries and trying to help them see what they can achieve. I have been working hard on "the triangle" that President taught us before he left. It has to do with helping others create a strong relationship with the Godhead so that I can put myself out of business. O sea, making sure people aren't attached to me or other little things of little importance, but rather that they grow to depend on God. I am working hard on that. I am trying not to get to close with the members of this ward. I want it to be the ward out of the 4 I serve in that I have the least strong relationships with the members. It involves a lot of trying to motivate and inspire through the spirit and celebrating the good they are doing and helping them discover for themselves ways they can repent. A common byproduct of this is loving the missionaries that helped; I just do my best to tell them that it was all them and that they are drawing close to God in the process :) I am trying that with missionaries and members. It worked this week! We are working on getting these members converted because that is a problem in La Joya; so we went and taught a strong member Galarza family the First a Vision and talked about some things they could do while we felt the Spirit strong. It went great and we challenged them to bear testimony in sacrament meeting so they could grow and so the rest of the barrio could get animated about the work of salvation! The mom, dad, and daughter went up and shared their conversion stories and how they feel about missionary work. #trueconversion. I love working with these members. I have definitely grown in love for this people down here. I will never forget how I feel for this people. The nonmembers are a little harder to love, but these saints down here are FAITHFUL. It has been a process. I read a journal entry from last year about loving the people and I feel so happy for how much I love them now. Elders Dart and Arave are holding strong. Elder Arave is from Layton so I am telling him to visit you too! They are so solid. No trunkiness. Puro Trabajo. They are actually great companions for me and very excellent leaders. I love being around them. I am honored to be with them at the end of their service. They will do great things. I have been reflecting a lot with Elder Arave too because he took me on my first exchange and we have served in the same wards all mission. We have a lot in common and we have already decided to be bros after the mission! I have too many bros now and no time to hangout with them haha. I will have to put off marriage a little I guess, but I am super excited to get married! I will be engaged before the end of the semester! Haha just kidding no rush. Am I your baby my whole life mom or do I get to spread my wings? Haha jk. Elder Dart is a boss though. Him and Arave have helped and taught me quite a bit actually. I am certainly soaking in this time I have to learn and follow until I am back to a little more leading at this next transfer :-/ I will be the oldest serving in La Joya, in the apartment, the second oldest elder in the zone, the oldest Spanish in the mission, and elder fife will be out a year. Ay caray. I am hooked to one of the videos on my iPad. I practically have it memorized in Spanish. It is the Elder Christofferson one on the will of god. I feel the Spirit exceptionally strong every time it watch it and I watch it several times a week. It is very powerful for me. I am not exactly sure why. I don't feel like I have had a mountain to climb or a drastic change that I have had to adapt to, in fact, I see that happening a lot to missionaries around me with their families and situations and I feel like I am ministering to a few of them. I surely have been blessed with a great and faithful family. But I feel like I have understood the will of God for me up until now in my life. I have grown to agree with it, but I haven't had an huge challenges with adjusting to it. Anyway, the message is very strong for me. I would just want The Lord to know that I am totally willing to do what he needs done and to accept it. I think that is why the message is so powerful to me. I pray often expressing my acceptance of His will and, more than anything, willingness to do what needs to be done. I love it because it makes me feel like a true instrument in His hands. I will keep doing it. I hope to encounter a mountain to climb or some kind of challenge to face that can shape me. It's what I'm looking for :-) pray that I can have the right challenges and the sufficient faith to endure and conquer it. It will help me! Love, Elder Parry PS--->Hermano Carcamo told us last night that he is in charge of La Joya's participation in the PHX Temple cultural celebration. He is excited but super confused because he doesn't know what to do. We had stake correlation Sunday too and President Griffin came and told us what we will be doing for the temple. The sisters will be doing tours, playing movies, and getting their faces seen (I asked president Griffin if we were pretty enough to do that and he said of course not). Elders will be......... The FIRST people (along with the workers) in the temple after it is dedicated to carry the furniture in to furnish the whole place!! I am pumped. We will be in white and everything. The whole mission will be singing at the cultural celebration too. Called to Serve and one other song. It will be so sweet. I bet President Eyring will come too. He always goes to those! Hermano Carcamo said he's pretty sure the open house will be no earlier than in two months and no later than in 3 months! So November or October :)