I AM VERY HAPPY. And why? Because we baptized our first family this Saturday!!
There is no better feeling than to see a young family progress so much. Erick and Bernarda were about to get a divorce when the missionaries first contacted them. Erick was jobless taxi driver and he and his wife had been fighting like crazy over all of their money problems. They were not happy. My testimony has grown so much of the HAPPINESS that the gospel of Jesus Christ brings. So many people don`t even give the gospel a chance because they think it is too simple and it could never possibly help them overcome their challenges. But I know without a doubt that it does just that! As we become closer to our Heavenly Father, it doesn`t mean all of our problems will go away...it means that we`ll be able to overcome them when they come. Erick and Bernarda were days away from splitting up...but as they started praying, going to church, and reading their scriptures together, they began to see just how much the gospel of Jesus Christ could help them. Their problems didn`t go away. Erick is still jobless. They are living off of borrowed food from their family members. But they continue to tell us that they have never been more happy and more lovingly united as a couple in their lives! Happiness in this life comes in many ways. But the happiness that the world brings is only for a brief moment. I know that our loving Heavenly Father is the only one who offers us eternal happiness. He gave His own Son so that we can be happy through Him and his gospel. It doesn`t matter who you are, where you`re from, or what challenges you have...if you want to be happy live the gospel of Jesus Christ :)Everything is going great here in our area! We have put baptismal dates with a couple more families and have been working like crazy. Elder Chacaj is without a doubt my favorite companion so far! He`s a huge goofball just like me... ;) So we get along really well.
We were also supposed to baptize a lady named Rosa this past Saturday. However, she had to go to the hospital with her son so she wasn`t able to get baptized on Saturday. But yesterday after church we invited her to be baptized this next Saturday (4th) and she accepted! She is really excited and I`m pretty sure things will go smoothly.
I miss you all very much! I can`t tell you how grateful I am for the chance to be a missionary and representative of the Lord. I know that this church is the true church of Jesus Christ and that it has power to change peoples lives forever. I know that this gospel brings ETERNAL happiness!
Love, Elder Parrish
