yooooo whats up everyone. All's good here in Parral. I thought that I was gonna have changes, but nope hahaha I'm staying. I even packed all my stuff yesterday; that was a big waste of time.
I was in a trio here for awhile and it was actually super fun. I was with Elder Serrano and Elder Stead. We had so much fun here in Parral together.. it makes me way sad that they got transferred but it's all good because my new companion is Elder Lopez!! idk if anyone remembers but he was already my companion and we got along way good together. He's black and from the Dominican Republic and loves basketball.. looks like we are playing bball every Monday from now on!
Yesterday we brought 4 people to church. The familia Parra and Miriam Rubio. The familia Parra are way cool! The dad of the family wants a change in his life and wanted to go to church way bad yesterday. I'm so glad they made it.
Hermana Rubio has been thinking about getting baptized for so long now...she just needs a spiritual push lol.
I'm excited for this cycle and what it holds. I like I learning more about the power of prayer out here. I think that sometimes we all feel like saying a prayer is just expressing how we feel and shooting those feelings into heaven and hoping for a reply. I just want to testify to all you that when we pray God is attentively listening to every single one of our concerns, needs, problems and challenges. He answers every single one with a love for us that we cannot even understand.
Being able to communicate with him is one of the biggest blessings and tools in this world with so many problems.(3rd Nephi 18 -19,20,21)
Also something cool that happened was that we were riding in a taxi and I thought about speaking to the taxi driver about our church, but I thought, naaah, I'm tired and then all of a sudden I remembered something my mom told me before I left on my mission. She told me that I need to work hard so when I'm sitting on the plane heading home, I won't have any regrets. So I said to myself, okay, whatever, I'll invite him to church and he was was like hmmm, yeah going to church would be cool to do with my whole family and now they are reading the Book of Mormon and stuff together....and all of that happened because of the little thought that came into my head from my mom.
Also, I have a really cool poem that Chandler Hale sent me and I wanted to share it:
He's Been There Before
The alarm bell rings at 6:30, I stumble to my feet
I grab my companions bedding and pull off his sheets
A groan fills the room, is it already time to rise?
It seems like just a second ago, I was able to shut my eyes
The morning activities follow with study, prayer and such
When it’s time to leave the apartment, you feel you haven’t accomplished much
“We have a super day planned,”
My comp. says with a grin
I lowly utter a faithless breath,
“Yeah, if anyone lets us in.”
With the word of God and my faithful Schwinn, we ride off in the street
Prepared to face another day of humidity and heat
It’s 9:30 in the evening, the day is almost through
My companion and I are riding home not accomplishing what we thought to do
We ride up to the mailbox, hoping to receive a lot
Only to look inside and hear my echo reverberate “air box”
We go up to our apartment, the day is now complete
The only thing to show for our work is a case of blistery feet
It’s past 10:30 p.m. My companion is fast asleep
Silence engulfs me all about and I begin to weep
In the midst of sadness, I kneel down to pray
I need to talk to Father, but I’m not sure what to say
“Oh, Father” I begin, “What happened to us today?
I thought we’d teach somebody, but everyone was away
My hands, my aching hands- worn, hurt and beat;
If our area was any smaller, we’d have knocked the doors on every street”
“Why on missions are the days so much alike?
The only difference about today was the flat tire on my bike
Will you send some cooler weather? The heat is killing me
I sweat so bad, it gets in my eyes, it’s very hard to see”
“Why do I have to wear a helmet, isn’t your protection enough?
People always laugh at me, and call me stupid stuff
Please send us investigators so I may give them what they lack
I want to give them Book of Mormons, the weight of them hurts my back”
“And what about my family, They don’t have much to say
I’m sick of not hearing from home day after day after day
Oh Father, Why am I here am I just wasting time?
Sometimes I just want to go home, I’m sorry but that’s on my mind”
“My companion, Heavenly Father, what are you giving me?”
The way he rides his bicycle, I don’t think he can see
Now you have it, I can’t go on, I don’t know what to do
That, my Father in Heaven, is the prayer I have for you”
My prayer now finished, I stand up, then jump right into bed
I need my rest for tomorrow, we have another long day ahead
Sleep starts to overtake me, I seem to drift away
Then it seems a vision takes me to another time in another day
I’m standing alone on the hill, The view is very nice
A man walks towards me and says, “My name is Jesus Christ”
Tears of joy well up inside, I fall down to His feet
“Arise,” He states, “Follow me to the shade. You and I need to speak”
My attention’s towards my Savior, total and complete
He says, “Your mission is similar of what happened to me
I understand how you feel, I know what you’re going through
In fact, it would be fair to say I’ve felt the same as you”
“I even know how you felt when no one listened to you
At times I felt not quite sure what else that I could do
I know you don’t like to ride a bicycle, for you a car would be sweet
Just remember the donkey I rode wasn’t equipped with 21 speeds”
“I understand you don’t like sweating, in fact it’s something you hate
I remember when I sweat blood from every pore, oh the agony was great!
I see you don’t like your companion, you’d rather have someone else
I once had a companion named Judas who sold my life for wealth”
“It’s hard to wear a helmet and have people make fun of you
Much like when they put thorns on my head and called me King of the Jews
So you feel burdened down by the weight of your pack
I recall how heavy the cross was when they slammed it on my back”
“Your hands hurt from tracting and knocking on doors all day
I guess when they pounded nails into mine, I ached in a similar way
It’s hard not to hear from home when your family’s not there to see
I lost communication on the cross and cried, “Father, why hast Thou forsaken me?”
“We have a lot in common, but there’s a difference between us you see
I endured to the end and finished my mission, so follow and do like me”
He embraced me with His arms and His light filled me with His love
With tears in my eyes I watched as He ascended back to the Father above
I stood with awe and wonder when a beep rang in my head
Listening I heard the alarm, then realized I was in my bed
My companion let out a groan, “it’s 6:30 already, no way!”
I sat up and said, “Come on, I’ll even carry your scriptures today!”
No matter what we go through,
When we feel we can’t take more
Just stop and think about Jesus Christ,
He’s been there before!
Have a great week everyone!
