This week was bittersweet for Elder Salguero and I! Manuel, who was progressing so much and was ready to be baptized, basically did a 180 and is heading in the opposite direction. We have taught him really clearly many times, but the problem is that he doesn´t want to do his part to find out if what we are teaching is true. Whenever we teach an investigator, we always ask them to do one thing to find out if what we are teaching is true...PRAY. In the past Manuel had prayed and felt like he had received an answer that the church is true and that he should be baptized. However, after talking to a few preachers and a few of his friends he has hardened his heart a little bit. We have taught him again and asked him to pray, but he refuses to do it. At this point there´s not a whole lot we can do for him except pray and encourage him! In order for him to find his answer he has to search for it on his own. It has been a little frustrating, but missionary work is that way sometimes!
The good part of the week was that we have been preparing two sisters for their baptism this upcoming Saturday! I think I may have talked a little bit about this family in my past letters. The mom of the family is named Elia. She wants to be baptized and consistently comes to church but still needs to finalize her divorce and then get married to her current spouse. The problem is that she has to travel about an hour to the place where she needs to sign the papers and she doesn´t have enough money right now to go. (The family is pretty poor.) The father of the family doesn´t really want a lot to do with the church but he is super nice and supports his family 100% in going to church and being baptized. We hope that when he sees the examples of his wife and kids that he too will open his heart. Elia also has 3 kids who are named Carla (18), Joseling (12), and Job (7). Elia kept telling Carla and Joseling that they didn´t need to wait for her in order to get baptized! Carla and Joseling have been reading the Book of Mormon and praying, and decided that they wanted to get baptized right away instead of waiting for their mom. Our mission president always talks about finding the "chosen investigators." A chosen investigator is someone who has been prepared by the Lord before we even get there. There is not a doubt in my mind that these 3 girls (Elia, Carla, and Joseling) were prepared by the Lord, and that we were meant to find them!
One day Elder Real and I had been contacting a ton of houses in town to try and find new investigators and we saw a girl walking up the road alone. We started to talk to her and explained to her who we are and what we do as missionaries. She was super nice and told us that her name was Carla and gave us her address and everything so that we could visit her and her family. A couple days later we decided to search for Carla´s house. We soon found out that they lived extremely far away from the town. After walking for about an hour in what we thought was the right direction we had no idea where their house was. We decided to ask a lady who was walking towards us on the trail. By a miracle she new exactly who Carla was and pointed us in the right direction to find their house. We finally found the house clear up in the mountains. When we got there only Carla´s mom Elia was there and she invited us in with a big smile on her face...which usually doesn´t happen. We taught her a short lesson and from that time on her, Carla, Joseling, and Job have come to church nearly every Sunday and have just soaked everything in! It really is incredible.
The other day Elder Salguero and I were teaching a lesson with them and we asked them if they had received an answer to their prayers that the church was true. All 3 of them nodded their heads and said yes. Then, Elia looked at us and said, "all of my life I´ve never really been religious...every time some pastor or Jehovah´s witness came to visit us I just told them to go away. But when I saw you (talking to me) and Elder Real walking up the trail to my house that very first day, something inside of me told me that I should let you in...I just had this feeling in my heart like I needed to listen to what you had to say. Ever since that very first day I have felt that the church is true...and every time I pray, go to church, or listen to you guys teach I feel that same feeling in my heart all over again." I nearly started crying for joy when she said that!! That has got to be what every missionary wants to hear. I know without a doubt that the Lord prepared the hearts of this family. Needless to say, I cannot wait for Saturday!! :) WHOO-HOO!
This past Friday we had a huge conference in Managua with both of the Nicaragua missions. Elder Richard J. Maynes from the Presidency of the Seventy spoke to us and it was a great talk. I learned a lot about how I can improve personally! He shared a scripture with us that I have always loved...it is Jacob 1:19. This scripture is powerful and helped remind me of the responsibility we have as missionaries and in any calling we might hold within the church.
I attached a few pictures that we took at our dinner appointment the other day! I had a fun time playing with the little parrots as you can see. I promise it´s not against the rules to kiss a parrot... :)
I hope all is well! I love and miss you all.
Until next week,
Love, Elder Parrish
