Hermana Parry in Houston: How could life get any better? I just want to live like this forever

I know, I start all my emails like this but I can't help it. It’s just the simple truth. Mission life is the best! I AM SO HAPPY!!!!

So the other night one of the Elders asked me, “How important the people here are?” I immediately started balling. He didn’t ask how important the people are to me, but rather just how important are the people here in Gulfbank. I can't quite explain what I felt when he asked me that but I think it was a little piece of the love that God has for each and every person here. These people are amazing. I know that I was sent here to them because we both needed each other. I mean right now my best friend is this 45 year old man named Pedro who has the best bigote I have ever seen. He was baptized 2 years ago and rides his bike to avoid falling into his bad habits of drinking. My favorite thing is to be tracting around his neighborhood and seeing him on his bike because I know that he is just trying to be a good guy. I literally could talk to him for hours. I also have so much joy just sitting with Hermana Negrete eating ice cream at her kitchen table while she tells us some of her crazy life stories. This week I had a heart to heart with her because she is getting ready to move to an assisted living home in San Antonio. She is so funny. She kept complaining how our favorite ice cream went up from 2.50$ to 5$. I told her its because we keep buying the stores out clean. I also love when we leave Hermana Trujillos’s home and her mother gives me a big kiss on my cheek and says te amo!

Quick update on Omar, we randomly stopped by his house this past week and Omar called us out about how we always just randomly come to their house. We apologized and he said "no, IT’S AWESOME!" He also told us that he was planning on coming to church again this week. He was inviting his friend to join him again but the friend said to Omar that they should try this other church that is way nicer. Omar responded back to him and said, "dude, its not what it looks like but its what you feel." Amen to that right! The spirit is essential in conversion.

We finally were able to teach Ana and Eddenilson the Restauracion. She flat out said that she feels the spirit- like something that can’t fit in her heart, just complete joy. The spirit was so strong during that lesson. I know that Joseph Smith was a prophet and por medio del cual se restauro el evangelio verdadero. Its amazing when people come to that knowledge too because it completely changes your life. I love when people feel spirit. It’s the best part of the mission! And that is when I know that I am being a successful missionary. It’s not at all about the numbers or baptisms but about the spiritual experiences. As a missionary I am suppose to do everything I can to help create and allow for these people to have spiritual experiences in order for them to come closer to Christ. What better job could there be?

This is an awesome scripture that President Pingree pointed out to me in our interview/meeting on Friday- D&C 117:12-13. Y Ademas, os digo que tengo presente a mi siervo- Hermana Parry. He aqui, de cierto le digo que se nombre guardara en memoria sagrada de generacion en generacion para siempre jamas, dice el senor. Por tanto, luche seriamente por la redencion de la Primera Presidencia de mi Iglesia, dice el Senor; y cuando caiga, se levantara nuevamente, porque se sacrificio sera mas sagrado para mi que se ganancia, dice el Senor. Just remember that the sacrifice is so much more important than what you gain! But the ironic thing is that you always gain so much after you sacrifice. That is just how God works. He loves us so much and when we truly have a desire to sacrifice everything for Him, He is so happy and just fills us with happiness everlasting because He can't contain how happy he is for our righteous doing. I'm not sure if that makes sense. I just have a really strong testimony that God wants us to be happy. I know that is the purpose of this life and the life to come. The only way we can reach full happiness is through living the gospel. THATS WHY IM HERE! I need to make sure everyone knows that and has a glimpse of how incredibly loving our Heavenly Father is.

It was a really amazing week. I love serving. I love our Savior. I love my companions. I literally am a better person because of the mission. So grateful to be a missionary right now- fyi, there are 75,000 missionaries serving right now!! If you haven’t gotten the hint by now, then here you go, PEOPLE NEED THE GOSPEL NOW MORE THAN EVER! Go share it.

Keep smiling.

xoxo,

Hermana Parry

PS. Sang in the Pulga again this Saturday. Hermana Koch y Elder Cobabe placed a book of Mormon with the man in the booth across from us and 10 minutes after they placed it, he sat down and started reading it. Somehow we always end up exactly where we need to be!

PLEASE ADD THIS TO MY EMAIL!!! Coolest story ever.

So we were tracting last week because all of our citas fell through. But we were finally able to tract in this trailer park area that we have been wanting to tract but haven’t been able to because of killer dogs that live there. When we saw that the killer dogs weren’t there we bolted at the opportunity to go knock the doors. The first lady rejected us but the second trailer was this cute, young mom who attends Lakewood church. Everyone here attends Lakewood. Anyways, we got talking to her and ended up setting a return appointment. The tender mercy was that when we were leaving she asked if we wanted water!! Clearly we said yes. When she came back, she was carrying 4 drinks. Mind you there are only 3 of us. I definitely think that there was an angel that was with us on her doorstep.