MERRY CHRISMTAS

Monday, December 23, 2013

Have you ever heard of the parable of the prospector? Because I honestly hadn’t until a few days ago and wow, it is amazing. We had our Christmas Conference on Friday and one of the speakers summarized the parable and invited us to reflect on our individual ministries here in Houston with the parable in mind. He talked about how each of us try to go about and find the BIG NUGGETS of gold and in turn we pass over the small little flecks of gold. In the parable, the little flecks of gold in the bag of the prospector appear to be big nuggets of gold to this little boy and the little boy is surprised to find out that the bag is nothing more but specks. The point of him sharing this was to tell us that our missions will be made up of the little tiny specks of gold and we have to gather every single one of those specks. I really loved that parable. You should go read it! It helped remind me too that I am just a gather. God prepares all these people and creates all these encounters and I am the one that has to learn to recognize them and take advantage of them. 

Okay now that that shpeel is out of the way. THIS WEEK WAS AWESOME! There were some very big events and I am so grateful for those moments when God lets me see a little bit of the rewards of my service. 

1. Teresa went to the temple for the first time this past week and Hna Tanner and I got to go as well! We actually went with all the youth in the ward. It was wonderful to see her in the temple. She even had someone do the name of her grandfather! It was a really special spirit. Teresa also gave her first talk in Sacrament meeting. She is on fire! She talked about testimonies and enduring to the end. She shared her experience about wanting to be baptized and how at first her mom wouldn’t let her but she never lost her faith but just prayed even harder that her mom's heart would be softened. It was so tender. 

2. Alejandra Collete Acuna was baptized! Her mom came in from Mexico to see it! At the beginning of the service, you could see that her mom was breathing heavy and that she felt something because her face completely changed. The spirit was so strong in that room. I love that little girl so much! Preparing for that baptism was really neat too because you could feel a really sweet spirit in the baptismal font. I know that the decision that Collete made on Saturday was the right one. I know that God was so very pleased with her because she is on the right path to make it back to Him one day. 

3. Last night all the auxiliary leaders and the missionaries split up into three groups to go caroling to menos activos and investigadores. Our group was the best! We started at 4 and they didn’t want to stop so we went until 8! It was nice to get to know the bishop a little bit better because he doesn’t live in our area so we rarely see him. We also had Hna. Gaytan and her husband and they are the sweetest. We actually went to their house after because we told them we were starving and needed food. She made us a huge fajitas feast at 8:30 last night. We also got an invite to go for noche buena!  The singing last night though was fabulous. My voice today really hurts because we went for so long but it was so worth it. Everyone just kept throwing out names of people they wanted to visit and so we went. We stopped by Emilze Barrera’s house. That is the first time I have seen her since she has dropped us! Hna Tanner and I feel very strongly we need to go back there tomorrow and try to pick her back up. I am excited! 

4. H5 crashed our Christmas party on Saturday and performed! It was the best Christmas surprise ever. I love how everyone here is just friends with everyone! Hermana Escobar and I just talked and talked for a good hour at the party. She came in this super high heels and this fur coat. She is awesome! Hermana Sandoval was there too and she was raving about how proud she was of all her little primary kids. 

5. I received a blessing from Hno. Arroyo and he blessed me that I am here to remind people of the gift of Christ and that I radiate Christmas spirit. I thought that was really cute! But there is definitely something different about this Christmas than all the rest. I really love being out here and baring testimony that Christ was the first offering of Christmas and that it is only through Him that we can return to our Father in Heaven. I know that Christ loves us and that even before Christ was born He was ensuring that there were means for us to make it back to our Heavenly Father. I am so grateful for His birth to make those means possible for each of us! He also counseled me to really see these people as my brothers and sisters, because they are! I thought that was interesting because I really do love these people with my whole heart but I guess there is always room for more love. There isn’t a happier feeling than love so I cant complain. 

6. As a said before, this week we had our Christmas conference. The APs gave stats and they said that at the beginning of last year they had 164 missionaries and now we have 280- 130 sisters and 150 elders. If that doesn’t prove D&C88:73 I don’t know what will. 

7. I know that God intercedes and makes miracles happen! Luke 1:30 proves that. The Holy Ghost makes all things possible. We had a lesson this week with a menos activa and the Holy Ghost totally swayed us from our original lesson plan into exactly what this hermana needed to hear. I know that it got her thinking about returning back to church because it was a bold plan of salvation lesson. It felt so good! The spirit was helping us answer all her questions and you could see the light bulb turning on. I am excited to see what happens with her!

8. Also during the Christmas conference I had a huge tender mercy. I don’t know if I will be able to explain it as well I would like but I will try. We were singing the final song- This is the Christ and in the first verse when I it talks about Christ's wounds I look up to my mission president and he shoots me a smile and in that moment I just lost it. I literally felt like Christ was looking at me and I literally felt his love in that moment. President Pingree exudes charity. He makes others feels Christ’s love. It is my goal to be like that one day because the way I felt in that moment is indescribable. 

Sorry that definitely just turned into a huge list. These are just a few of my highlights this week. It was a good week! 

I just want to end saying that I love my Savior. I am so grateful for this time of year because EVERYONE is thinking of Him. I pray that we really do try to make His birth a part of our everyday life. I know that He was born to save us. He literally allowed himself to become vulnerable to each and every one of us. He felt all of our pains and joys and because of that He is the only one that can judge us perfectly. He knows each of our experiences. I am grateful that He did it! He actually accomplished all that His Father asked for us. He did His Father's will in every single aspect. He is the way. It is only through Him and by Him that we can be exalted. I am so grateful for Him. I am grateful to represent Him and help people remember Him. I know that we are each so very loved and that we are each so very important to God. It is a huge blessing and privileged to me to be the instrument by which God can help remind these Texans of this. 

FELIZ NAVIDAD!!!! 

Keep smiling, 

Hermana Parry

senti padre

First things first. I have to give a shout out to the YW! Thanks so much for the package. I was leaving the apartment today and right as we opened the door the FedEx lady was standing there getting ready to knock. It was a pleasant surprise and I can’t wait to open it!! Love you all so very much!

I am just going to skip right to why this is titled "senti padre" because it is literally the cutest story ever. Yesterday we were teaching Alejandra about profetas and Presidente Thomas S Monson and fortunately we were able to watch a Mormon message by Presidente Monson. Afterwards she immediately said, "senti padre." In that moment we were able to help her recognize the Spirit and tell her that God was confirming to her that Presidente Thomas S. Monson is literally His mensajero hoy dia. The cute part is that padre is slang for cool/awesome in Spanish. So padre is now considered a fruit of the spirit according to Alejandra. 

Also her baptism is this Saturday! Her whole family is coming in from Mexico to come see it! Que emocion!! 

This week was really great. We had a specialized training from President Pingree. He is amazing. He shared this scripture with us: "Where there is no vision, the people perish" (Proverbs 29:18). Now the whole training was directed to us as missionaries truly internalizing our purpose to bring others to Christ. He discussed how the activities that we do, the key indicators that we keep tract of, etc., they are all means that help us reach this end goal. It was a really good reminder for all of us to be more focused on bringing others closer to Christ rather than just trying to get numbers. However, this training really got me thinking about a lot of different things. For example, 

Do we as human beings have a vision? Do we understand our purpose and do we have the understanding of what we need to do right now? 

The vision is that we return back to our Heavenly Father. The means to return to Him is the Gospel of Jesus Christ in fullness. It really is that simple. It is so important to recommit ourselves to having that vision because if we don't, we lose time in our path of progression. It really hit me yesterday in church how there are consequences for all of our actions. All the emotions of Florencio and Maria came back because I just thought about how their decision to stop progressing in the truth has an eternal consequence. And I am not by any means saying that they are not going to have more opportunities but in that moment, I felt a little bit of the sorrow that awaited those people who don’t choose to accept Christ. I know that the gospel swallows up all sorrow and that we just need to learn of the standards that God has set for us. He is the same today, tomorrow, and forever. It is my prayer that we recommit to wanting to live with Him and that we are always obedient. Read the scriptures because they teach us what we need to do. Have faith that everything will be recompensed for if we endure well here. 

I know Jesus Christ is the Savior of the world. He provides us with mercy. This gives me a feeling of padre. I know that mercy is available to all of us if we will but turn to Him. I love my Heavenly Father for providing this plan for us. 

I have to go because the library is closing but I want you to know that I am trying so hard to bring this good news to everyone here in Houston. I am so happy doing it because I know that I am planting the seeds. God never gives up on anyone. He wants all of us to return to Him. I pray that we all use our free agency so that we please our Father in Heaven. Remember that we have promised Him that we will come back to Him. Remind your loved ones that they have too. Help them remember. 

I hope this email sounds urgent. It is meant to be! This is eternal life. 

I love you all!

Keep smiling, 

Hermana Parry

We are God's

Hope you all had a great Thanksgiving!!! Mine was full with food- and surprisingly it wasn’t tacos! We met with a lot of different families and Thanksgiving and it was really neat to be able to be in their homes and talk about gratitude. That morning for personal study I was reading in Alma 26 and and verse 35 hit me hard. "Now have we not reason to rejoice? Yea, I say unto you, there never were men that had so great reason to rejoice as we..." That was kind of the theme of the day and I can't explain the joy and gratitude I felt- It was as if my soul had been carried away because of my overflowing joy! I am extremely grateful for Ammon and the scriptures to help make my Thanksgiving the best. Also all the families we went to eat with. Yes having 4 meals (and not just any meals, but thanksgiving meals) back to back was SO HARD but I can honestly say I am so grateful for the love I felt from all these families. We first went to Hna Morales- her husband actually passed away on Tuesday, and had a great time with her and a lot of her extended family. I love eating with her because it really brings her so much joy to feed us. We then rushed to the Melendez family's home. They have a daughter serving in Brazil so it was a little sad being in their house because they were really missing her. Reminded me of all of you missing me and matt though haha Then we went to the Rodrigues family. By that time Hermana Tanner and I were already wanting to barf. We then ended the night with a menos activa. We were busy and it was so fun to visit with a bunch of different people. Lots of funny stories but I figure I'll just save them for you in 8 months. 

On Saturday we met with this amazing man named Ramiro. He is an old investigator of about 4 years. We brought a member with us so that we could go in. It was one of the most powerful lessons of my life. We was crying because he really just wants to change. He kept telling us how in the past there never was a good time for him to get baptized but he has a goal that before the end of this year he will get baptized. We then set a date for the 28th of December. He has such a broken heart and I know that by being baptized he will have full access to the atonement and be able to find peace with himself again and prepare to meet his mother again. Pray for him. Ramiro Solache. Is that not the best name you have ever heard? 

Also on Saturday was Emily Castillo's baptism. This is Teresa's younger sister. There was such a pure and special spirit throughout the whole service. Teresa gave the first talk and it was the most tender talk I have ever heard. This was a really special baptism for many reasons but I think it was so special because when Teresa's was giving her talk, I had a flashback of when Kayla and I went to the Del Mar Stake Girls camp right before my senior year and she was baring her testimony. Teresa and Emily are 5 years apart and their relationship really is similar to mine and Kayla's so it was special to see Teresa get all emotional and then have Emily laughing at Teresa's because that is totally a Kayla move. I loved Teresa's talk though because she talked about what a big step Emily was making to get baptized and how proud she was of Emily. It really brought a sweet spirit in the room. We then had a testimony meeting right before I got up to speak. There was one Elder who said that Emily's decision to get baptized says a lot about the kind of person that she is. And it is so true. Emily's desire to follow Christ is pure. I don’t have any other word to describe her. She is amazing and I am so blessed to know and teach these elect daughters of our Heavenly Father. This morning I actually was reading in Alma and there was a promise given to all missionaries that work diligently. The promise was that God would grant that we may sit down in Heaven with the fruits of our labors and praise God together forever. As a missionary, there is nothing sweeter than that promise. I am so glad I get to be with Emily and Teresa FOREVER! They bring me so much joy and literally radiate light. They are beautiful. 

I am really happy. I love being a missionary still! I am pretty sure that is something that will never change. As hard as it is, there isn't anything that can compare to the joy that you feel. I am grateful for the prayers you send to this mission. Miracles are happening and lives are changing. God is preparing His children in ways that are sometimes hard for us as humans to recognize and appreciate but I know that he has us in the palms of his hand as he gives us challenges. My companion is amazing. I love that we are both just willing to change everything and relearn how to do missionary work sin pena. We were talking the other night because we really felt like we have lost ourselves. We cant say who we are. But we both find comfort in the scripture that says those who lose themselves for my cause, find themselves. We know one day we will know who we are and right now we just need to keep focusing on the people here. God will take care of us and there is no need to freak out when you feel like you don’t know who you are. You are God's. The mission is a constant progression and it is amazing. I am so grateful for this opportunity to grow and serve. I love these people. 

I love you all!

Keep smiling. 

Hermana Parry

La Hermana Tanner!!!

So Hermana Tanner just saw that she was the title of my email and got really embarrassed but I can't think of any better topic. She is awesome and deserves it haha 

Anyways, Hermana Tanner is my new companion and she is amazing. Hermana Pedersen trained her so that is a little tender mercy! She has been serving down in Katy for 7 months and is just a fireball. Honestly, I have never met someone who has so much love for people and such a pure desire to serve. It is exactly what Louetta and I need! Last night we actually had the opportunity to get blessings from President Pingree and in her blessing- she is waiting to get her visa for Argentina, he pronounced that the Lord is very mindful with where she is and with who she is with- there is a very important reason. We are both very excited to find out! We feed off each other really well. We had appointments right when we got together and they were so awesome. I am really, really excited about what is going to happen. We have found a lot of really prepared people this week too. God just keeps putting people in our path!! This truly is His work and when we do everything His way, miracles happen. My hand hurts so much because of how much I haven been having to write in my journal this week! That is just evidence about how amazing it has been! We are happy and I really know that we are here for a divine reason. 

My favorite thing about Hermana Tanner is that we have all the same favorites- even down to the families in this area! haha that might not be good to say but its true. We have had a really great week with menos activos and I know that they realized that God is intervening in their lives! This is their time to come back- its exciting! 

Exhibit A: Hermana Morales is a chef and for some reason I had the impression to go see her last night. Now, the impression wasn’t strong so I could have easily just passed over it but I am so glad that I didn’t. When we showed up we saw that Hermana Morales had grocery bags galore EVERYWHERE! For work, she has to prepare 8 turkeys and all the other Thanksgiving goods. Immediately we got to work and helped her. I can't even tell you how fast we peeled, cut, chopped, and cooked. We got a ton done. There were times throughout the night when she would just turn to us and hug us and say God has answered my prayers. She was so stressed and we were able to help relieve her a little bit. It felt so good! She is making us our very own turkey on Friday because she claims hers are the best and she doesn’t want to feed us Thursday because we already are going to have too much food that day. How kind right? Also, I don’t think I have ever laughed as hard as I did that night at her house. We had so much fun. She is one of my best friends. I love Hermana Morales! 

Exhibit B: Hermana Espinosa. I can’t say that there was a specific event with her this week except for the fact that we bonded a lot with her over pupusas. We are going to teach her how to make that pan de elote recipe that I sent you a few weeks ago. I hope she will go back to church. I know she will one day. For now, we are just serving her and loving her. I love going there because we just laugh, and its not the kind of laughing that I do because I don’t know what is going on, it is laughing because we are legit having the best times of our lives together. The El Salvadorians somehow always end up as my best friends, I LOVE IT! 

Exhibit C: Martita Garcia. To be honest, I have no idea how we even ended up at her house this week. We were driving and talking and then next thing you know we were in front of her house. The crazy thing is was that Martita was home! She is hardly ever home because she works at Herbalife all the time! When we answered the door she even proclaimed that it was a miracle! She then sat us down and said that she needed to talk to us. She went on to tell us everything that has been going on and how she feels an absence of God's presence. That broke her down to tears. We talked with her and than invited her to get a blessing the next day from Hermana Galvan. We planned everything for the next day. When we came back, it was amazing. We talked a lot about Ester 12:6 and how we will always have a trial of our faith before we receive our testimony. We also talked about how just because we are members of the true church doesn’t mean that we are exempt from hardships and temptations. If anything, it is a lot worse because we are closer to God and Satan is going to work harder on us so that we wont be happy. The blessing that Hermano gave was beautiful. She said that she feels like something has been taken away. I know that the power of God is on the earth today so that we can be blessed. We are His children and He loves us. 

I guess I will just end with saying that I love this work. I love these people. I know that God is intimately aware of each of us. I know that when our Savior suffered, He didn’t just see each of our lives and He felt everything that we would feel. We can turn to Him. He is our best friend. I love Him and I am eternally grateful for Him and His sacrifice, which enables us to be happy now and for eternities. I know that all we need to do is have faith and that faith comes from being obedient. I love you all so much and I hope that you have a fabulous Thanksgiving. Eat plenty of stuffing for me!!! I am so grateful to be a missionary and spend my holidays here in Louetta East. 

Keep smiling! 

Hermana Parry 

This is my favorite little guatemalteca- Martita Garcia. She bought her own turkey so that she would have a fresh turkey on thanksgiving. How cute is that? she is a recent convert and i just adore her. Yesterday she was so touched by one of the talks that she starting crying and just snuggled into me. Cutest moment of my mission! She then was just kissing my hand and saying how much she loves us and how grateful she is to have us to teach her.

We learned a lot from each other!

Transfers

2 muchachas y un gato

What a stellar week. We are finally reaping what we have been sowing! This week we set 3 baptismal dates. We really have been having to demonstrate our faith these past couple of weeks because we have felt very strongly to drop certain investigators- Emilze, and give other investigators to different missionaries- Alfonsa. As a result, we have been trying to be creative, praying differently, working a lot with members for referrals, etc. so that we could have people to teach. It times it was really depressing but everything is changing. Louetta Este has totally done a 180. I cannot tell you about how God is just placing people in our paths were it was once impossible to find them. I think we passed a test that we had given us because He is blessing us so much. 

First off, Teresa's little sister, by some miracle, now has permission from her mom to get baptized! This is a huge miracle because before she was so against it. But now Emily will be getting on the 30 of November. Emily is so excited. She is my best little friend. She reminds a little bit of Monson because she is my little basketball buddy! It’s so cute. 

There is also this girl named Maria Rosario who has completely had a change of heart. She is a referral hace 3 transfers. No one has been able to get in with her and when we were on exchanges two weeks ago, Hna Deloya got in with her. She told them that she doesn’t believe in God and all these other really depressing things. But this week we had a powerful first lesson with her about the Restoration and she was totally receptive. We had it in a member’s home-, which is how we have to teach her because her mom is very catholic. The lesson was so powerful that she prayed and said she would get baptized! She is 25 and super awesome. 

Our other top investigator is a referral from a family in the English ward. They both served in the DF- shout out to Elder Mac. It is there niece who is living with them for the year and she is from Mexico. She doesn’t speak English yet so we get the opportunity to teach her and our lesson with her yesterday was amazing. She is so smart. She repeated everything back to us and was just beaming. Her name is Alejandra- 9 years old. I love teaching in a member's home because the spirit is so strong!!!! Everyone befriend your missionary’s investigators, or better yet, bring your friends to meet the missionaries so that they can feel of the spirit and have amazing experiences. 

Honestly, I can’t even begin to describe everything that is going on. There is a lot! I hope I am not jinxing anything by saying all this. I just wanted to let you know that your prayers for this area are being heard! Our ward is actually doing a 40-day fast right now for missionary work and I have to think that a lot of the miracles that are occurring are directly correlated to that! I love missionary work. When else do you get to talk about Christ 24/7 and be His representative. It’s the best! There is never any other time when people will randomly invite you in to learn how to make tamales, sing and teach them how to play piano, buy you pan dulce and tacos, etc. This is such an amazing experience in so many different aspects. 

Also, Hermana Deloya will be leaving tomorrow morning. She is getting transferred. It is really sad actually because of all the growth and progress of the area and of us individually and as a companionship. But she has more people to go help and save. She is an incredible missionary and I will really miss quoting nacho libre with her. 

I am happy and really excited about what it going on. This is going to be a great holiday season!

Sending all my love!

Keep smiling. 

Hermana Parry