This week was very enjoyable, mainly because I was able to work in my area a lot more! I really have grown to love teaching the gospel and helping people grow closer to Christ. Things are a lot more relaxed now that transfer week is over. My companion and I are in the process of finding a lot of new investigators to teach. Pedro and Virginia didn´t come to watch General Conference last Sunday. We were a little frustrated and confused because every week they are SO excited to come to church. On Wednesday we taught them a lesson about the atonement of Christ and all that He did for us. We related the atonement with attending church and the importance that attending church has in allowing Christ to cleanse us. They committed to come to church this Sunday. I have the faith that they will be there!!!!
Last night we taught a lesson with a mom and daughter who live alone and that past missionaries had visited. Their names are Marina and Maria. They have come to church a lot of times in the past but never really had the desire to be baptized. Well, last night we had a great lesson with them and they both accepted baptismal dates! We invited them to continue praying about it and come to church with us this Sunday. The spirit was so strong in the lesson and it was amazing to see how the spirit touched them. At the beginning of the lesson they were both very nice but a little stubborn. They said that the other missionaries had already taught them everything but we were welcome to just come by and talk with them. But as we taught them about the gospel of Jesus Christ and testified they really began to feel the spirit. We really tried to apply it to them so that they could see the importance of it in their own personal lives. By the end of the lesson the daughter was teary eyed and the mom was on the edge of her seat all excited! It was definitely one of the most spiritual lessons I´ve been able to be a part of. I´m excited to see how Marina and Maria progress.
I realized that I haven´t really explained a whole lot about my companion, Elder Rivera! He is from the south part of Argentina. He says that he lives about an hour away from where all the penguins live! From what he tells me it sounds like Brigham City´s climate is really similar to the climate where he lives, but I really have no idea. All his family members are members of the church. He is the oldest child in his family. He has 4 younger sisters, one of which is now preparing to go on a mission with the new mission age change! Before the mission he played in a few rock bands and is pretty good at guitar. He loves music and knows a lot more about American rock music than I do. We get along pretty well for the most part. Our personalities are very different but we work well together.
Today for Pday, President Monestel and his wife invited us to their house to watch a movie and eat lunch! And of course I forgot to bring my camera to take pictures. I always love being able to hang out with President and his family. President Monestel is a very formal and hard working man. I have been able to learn a lot from him so far about the way that he carries himself and the love he has for all of the missionaries and his family.
I love and miss you all, have a good week!
Love, Elder Mitch Parrish
