Let's see.. this week:

Elder Trujillo got super sick.

We went to the temple.

I saw a guy on a bike get hit by a car.

F--- stood up for us, and got punched by a guy.

We had our first baptism.

It's transfers and I get a new companion: Elder Griffin.

 

My companion was sick in bed for 24 hours and I made him some fancy Ecuadorian tea and beckoned to his every call. We had to stay in the apartment all day, and I read like 50 chapters in the Book of Mormon.

 

The chance to go to the temple this week was absolutely amazing.  I feel so blessed to have had the blessings of the temple in our home growing up.  I can see the difference it makes in our lives when I see those who don't have it here in Santa Barbara.  Sometimes I think If everyone could just go inside the temple, our work would be easy. (Haha.)

 



Los Angeles Temple Visitors' Center

Some guy ran a red light and smashed a guy on a bike.  He just laid there screaming for a few minutes, but was able to eventually stand up and walk away.  We were stopped at the light with Felipe and got front row seats to the whole thing.  We were ready to run in there and raise him from the dead, but it turned out he was ok.

 

We were teaching an old woman, and her son started swearing at us, trying to start trouble.  Felipe just told him to have some respect, and the guy punched him in the collar bone out of nowhere.  So obviously it was time to leave, so as we were walking away the guy swung again and hit him in the shoulder.  I was pumped and hoped Felipe would beat the tar out of him... but of course he's much too Christ-like for that. so we just left.  But if the guy would have punched me... I'm not so sure I would be able to restrain from busting his face...

 

 

Elder Trujillo baptized Alphonso on Saturday, and that was an awesome experience to be a part of, as I was able to participate in the confirmation. 

 

Tomorrow, I get my new companion Elder Griffin. Elder Trujillo is getting transfered to Ventura.  I'm staying here in Santa Barbara, and I'm kind of nervous because basically I'm going to have to take the lead on everything that I have been relying on Elder Trujillo for, because he isn't going to know the people or area.  But I'm really glad I get to stay here, and Felipe is too.  (Haha.)  And I should see Thatcher tomorrow!!!  

 

Me and Roberto

And Ma, we had a lot of earthquakes when I was in Mexico.  I guess one was pretty bad, but it still wasn't nearly as strong for us in the MTC.

 

 

 

This week was great. We have been trying our best to strive for the standards of excellence with the key indicators, specific lessons and things that our planner outlines for us to teach that we set weekly and daily goals for.  (President Castro gives us a standard of excellence that he feels we are capable of.)  At first the standards seemed insanely impossible and exaggerated. but as we just work hard and do our best, I can tell the difference it makes in our success, and just in the confidence that we know we are using our time efficiently and not wasting a minute of the Lord's time. We have plans to set a few baptismal dates this week, specifically with one woman named L---. We are really excited for her.

 

I had the opportunity to go on exchanges with Elder Robison on Wednesday, and that was an awesome experience.  We went to Isla Vista on the campus of UCSB.  ENGLISH speaking :) Elder Robison is from Montana and likes to ski.  He was home-schooled, so he didnt play any sports, but he is surprisingly a really normal cool guy for being home-schooled.  I look up to him so much, and he taught me a lot through out the day. It's weird-he reminds me exactly of Mitch, and looks like him too.  There were a bunch of times throughout the day when I had to do a double-take, because it felt like Mitch and I were walking talking and teaching together. Haha, kind of weird.  

 

Our day on exchanges was full of miracles. The very first person we stopped to talk to and declare on the street, we ended up teaching him the Restoration right there on the sidewalk. He was a baseball player, and looks like Mike K. He started crying when he saw the picture in the pamphlet of Jesus with his hands on the apostles.  It was kind of weird to see a 20-something year-old cool college kid just start crying like that in the streets of Isla Vista.  But I guess that is what the Spirit can do to a person. :)  Then, after we told him about the First Vision, he said he believes it is true, and said that no body could make that up. We invited him to be baptized, and he said yes.  I was like, "What the heck, that was so easy!" and Elder Robison said, "Trust me, they don't all go that good.

After that, we went to a lesson with a girl named S---. We taught her the restoration in the Institute building. I still can't believe how prepared she was. She read the entire book of First Nephi, including the Introduction and Testimony of the Three Witnesses the day before, and looked up basically all of our beliefs online. After everything we taught, she just kept saying, "Yeah, that makes so much sense!" She said she will pray and ask to know if this is true, and I invited her to be baptized.  She said "I definitely want to get baptized!"  After she left, I felt pretty positive that Elder Robison just got members that he paid to act like random people for the day, but Elder Robison was just as confused as I was. Haha.  We don't know why everything went so well, but it did.  We went 2 for 2 on baptismal challenges and acceptances and it was so easy, but it was nothing that we did. The rest of the day was full of more miracles.  And we got invited to play beer pong with a fraternity, too, so that was funny.  I learned basically two things.  1- I want to be a missionary just like Elder Robison, and 2- I love English.

 

The Spanish is going rough.  Everyone says I'm really good, but I'm not stupid, I know they're just being nice.  No one's gonna tell me that my Spanish is bad.  I bore my testimony in Sacrament Meeting yesterday in Spanish, and I feel like I can talk ok, but I still can't understand what they say, especially when they ask me questions specifically.  There are 2 Spanish-speaking sisters in our branch, too, two white girls.  I asked them how long it took them to feel comfortable with the language, and they both said 6 months.... sheesh.

 

Mom, they forward packages or send them with zone leaders on their rounds.  And I get to go to the temple on Wednesday!     

General Conference was amazing.  I cant even explain the gratitude I have right now at the close of conference.  I fasted and prayed that I might be able to receive specific revelation that I could apply to me.  Obviously this is something that occurs every time in my studies, instruction from leaders, and especially conference, but I was truly humbled as nearly every single talk said something that hit me hard and touched my heart. There are so many exciting things happening as the Lord is hastening his work, and I am so grateful to have the chance to be a part of it as a full time missionary!

One cool miracle we experienced was as we were on our way to a meeting.  We saw R---...  I feel like I've talked about him a lot, but we meet with him almost every day, and we have seen so many cool things with him.  Over these past 4 weeks, he has gone from a homeless man with no job to a clean-cut working man, who has attended church with out fail.  That is an intense battle with his alcohol addiction.  As we rode past, we saw him enter a liquor store. Our hearts sank.  All the progress he had made, all the work put in, was about to be shattered.  As he came out of the liquor store, we rode over to talk to him as he carried his bag with a bottle inside. He greeted us calmly and said, "Hey elders!" He then pulled out a bottle of water from the bag--just regular plain old drinking water.  We were so relieved and proud. We feared for the worst, but we thank our Father in Heaven for the strength he has given R--- to continue to battle. Even though he is a less-active member, and we don't get to participate in a baptism with him, it still feels amazing to be an instrument in helping him become converted and grow closer to his Father in Heaven.

My birthday was great! It was not quite the same as playing a football game on Friday night and catching the 4th down conversion that set me up to kick the game winning field goal, like last years birthday... But a B-day in the mission field on the same day as conference was amazing! :)  Haha.  I'm pretty sure I had more presents than I usually do at home. 

One of the members, F----, is my new best friend.  He's an awesome, 57 year-old, short, chubby man.  He is going to move to Utah in two years, and were gonna be best friends forever.  He took really good care of me.  He got me an amazing Oreo cake, and the gift he gave me was a digital Spanish-English translator thing with all these learning materials on it.  It talks Spanish to me. It's so cool.  I get mad at him, because he spends so much money on Elder Trujillo and me, but he says he likes to, because the more he helps the missionaries, the more the Lord helps him. 

It's so cool to see how involved the members are here and makes me sad when I realize how tough it would be to be a missionary in Brigham City, Utah. But I'm sure all is going to change with the announcements and challenges of the work of salvation for members. My companion can't eat chocolate, so I ate the entire cake myself, and tons of food and candy that I got too... I'm getting so out of shape. Haha.   

Hola! Hola!  I realized I didn't answer any of the questions I was asked last week, so I'll do my best. The weather- beautiful every single day all year long. When I got here, they asked me if I remembered to bring my umbrella.  I said yes and they said, "Good, because you are going to use it exactly one time on your whole mission. Sooo ya, I do not need a jacket or boots.  I don't know why they are on the call packet.

And you asked what I wanted for my birthday.  I guess it's too late, because you already sent the package, but I would like one of this year's Box Elder football shirts. I'm sure Gunter would be glad to give you a deal on one.  

 

On Friday night, we rode our bikes past the local high school and saw the football game going on. Elder Trujillo wouldn't let me stop and watch it, of course, but I was going crazy.  I definitely miss football.  I read the article the other day in the September Ensign about how important it is to have good role models, but more importantly worthy priesthood holders as role models, and I couldn't help but think about all my coaches that I've had over the years, what a big impact they played on my up- bringing.  Box Elder is lucky enough to have coaches that not only train good athletes, but train young men how to be men. Every week in football, we had an area of focus or an attribute that we were going to learn about that week. This focus always was something that applied both on and off the field.  I don't know, words can't describe how grateful I am to Gunter.  Obviously because of sports, I know that I can do anything, and nothing is ever going to be too hard or impossible to acheive.  Even more than being a role model, Coach Gunter could teach us about these attributes, because he lived them.  He cared about us beyond the field, and wanted us to have success our whole lives, not just on Friday nights. ....keep me updated on the team :)

  

Another thing I was wondering!  I'm not sure the exact date when I get to go to the temple, but if Grandma and Taina could just so happen go to the temple at the same time... that would be really cool.  I'm not sure if that's allowed, but I can find out, and if they could, that'd be sweet.

 

This week was good.  Our numbers are improving, but we can still do better.  Our investigator Araceli who had a baptismal date for Oct. 12, called us and told us that she has received her confirmation that these things are indeed true, but she doesn't want to be baptized anymore.  She has kind of fallen off the map for a bit, and we can't seem to get a hold of her. That is disappointing, but we are still going to do our best to find out what happened and help her. She is an amazing lady and we want nothing more than to see her receive the blessings that this church brings.

Last week, we found a lady that seemed interested named Sandra.  She gave us her address and told us we could stop by. When we went to her house to see her, it turns out that she really wasn't that interested, but her friend, Carmen who was there said "Hey, you can talk to me!"  We had a great lesson with her, and left her with a Book of Mormon.  She was really excited to read it and learn more. We have high hopes for her, and it was interesting to see how the Lord used Sandra as his vessel for us to be able to see Carmen, who otherwise we never would have met.

 

We also found another potential investigator that looks promising, named Marisol. She used to live in Mexico, and said that she attended church with her friend in Mexico, but since she moved here, she has lost contact and hasn't known about the church here. So we have a scheduled appointment with her this week that we are excited for.

Lorena is a lady that we have had a few lessons with, and all of them were with members present. She attended church yesterday, and we are planning to set her with a baptismal date this week.

I am really excited for this week, and I think we are going to see some really cool things happen. Our focus this week is going to be on having members present in our lessons, and of course invite everyone to General Conference.




The words of the prophet and apostles are so powerful.  It is going to be an incredible chance for them to feel the Spirit.  And to top it all off, Conference this Saturday is on my birthday! I can't get a better birthday present than that. I can't wait!

Sincerely,

Elder Parrish

Santa Barbara Independent article from September 26, 2013

Elders Robison, Parrish, Trujillo, and Pentz (from left) pause on their rounds downtown while serving the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints on their traditional two-year missions. “My favorite part [of S.B.] is the diversity; it’s cool to see so many different people, different beliefs, and find things in common with them,” said Robison, who took time off from college in Utah to serve. “I like how everyone here is spiritual; they might not believe in god, but they are spiritual,” said Elder Pentz.

View from the top of the Santa Barbara Courthouse

We taught a lot of lessons this week, and things are looking more and more positive each day.  The Spanish is still obviously a struggle, but it is slowly coming along, and I find myself being able to understand and say a little more everyday. But all is well.

We found some new people this week, and we have really good feelings about a couple of them. A lot of our existing investigators have somewhat stopped progressing. They have had all the lessons, and want to be baptized, but there are just one or two little things holding them back.  One, Sister Roman has the desire, but she is an 80 year old woman, and has been living with a 70 year old man for 50 years now.  She cannot be baptized until they are married, and he doesn't want to.  Gabriella is in the same situation.  She knows everything, but is living with her boyfriend, who doesn't want to get married. A girl named Alma accepted baptism, but there's nothing we can do about it until she either moves out from her boyfriend or they get married. Araceli's husband is holding her back from coming to church as well.  

 

We found another man named Carlos, who is an alcoholic. We went to visit him and he was drunk. We started talking about his addiction, and he just broke down crying, because he knows he needs to change and wants to set a good example for his children, but just doesn't think he can stop.  We shared with him our simple testimonies that we know this gospel is the pathway that he needs to be on to help his family and also himself, and he just kept crying and said that that is what he wants.  We set a return appointment for Tuesday. He's such a nice man, and I want nothing more than to see him change his life for the better and receive the blessings that only the gospel can give.  

 

We also had a 30 minute talk with a homeless man that obviously hadn't eaten in days, so I bought him a piece of chicken for a dollar and it was like he'd just gotten a million dollars. It was cool to see.  Haha.

 

The members have been great, and we have been going out teaching lessons with one, Felipe Perez. He's great, always willing to help and be bold, sharing his testimony. We love him.

 

Elder Trujillo is continuing to set a great example for me, and throwing me right in the mix of this great work. 

Elder Trujillo and I have started a small money laundering and printing business in our apartment on the side. (haha)
I'll be rich in no time. 

 

First week in California

So, I sent a letter in the mail, but I don't know if you've gotten it yet.  The first night here, I spent the night at a member's home in Ventura.  It was huge! It was the nicest house I've ever been in, and it overlooked the ocean.  Anyway, so then on Tuesday, we went back and received our companions and assignments.
 

 

My companion is Elder Trujillo.  He is from Ecuador, and is fluent in Spanish, but he moved to Canada by himself when he was 16 and lived there for 8 years on his own.  He is 24. but he looks 18.  He has graduated from college, and is a certified fitness trainer, which I find a little odd, because he doesn't ever want to exercise.  But  he is a great example to me, and is working us hard. I do feel a little bad for him, because my Spanish is still far from adequate, so he ends up carrying most of the weight in our lessons, because I do not understand most of what the conversing is about.    

We live in a small apartment, but its clean and not too shabby. We are serving in Santa Barbara in the LOS OLIVOS area.  So basically, I went from the nicest part of rich Ventura to the poorest part of Santa Barbara, and the difference is crazy. People here have nothing, and they all live in either tiny apartments or most of them in trailer parks. I got a bike, and I love riding it.  I ride wheelies all over Santa Barbara.  It cost about 400 dollars for the bike, helmet, front and back lights, kickstand, and a lock. 

 

Our area is like 5 minutes from the beach, and we can go look at it, but not go near it... It just so happens that this is one of the most strict missions in the world. Haha... perfect for me.

 

The members here are amazing and so nice.  They all try to help me with my Spanish, and always insist on giving us something to eat, as well.  They feed us a ton!  A lot of the members are always looking for opportunities to come serve with us, and participate in lessons with us.

 

Cali is a lot different than Utah, that's for sure.  The other day, we taught a lesson at the library literally 10 ft away from some 12-13 year olds smoking pot.  It was like watching Marshall do drugs.  It was so weird. 

 

Anyway, we have had a lot of lessons this week, and have seen some miracles already! One man, Roberto was baptized years ago, but never went back to church, because he only got baptized in hopes that his ex wife would take him back.  Now, he has many problems including an addiction to alcohol, and recently got kicked out of his apartment, because he doesn't have a job and has no money. We talked with him several times this week, one of which he had been drinking.  But he is truly looking for a change in his life, and is really trying to understand everything we teach. He attended church yesterday, and he said that he could really feel the Spirit, and knows that this is what he needs to be doing for his life to change.

 

The second miracle was with a lady named Araceli.  On Saturday, she called us, and said that she believes everything about the Church, but that she doesn't want to be baptized because she feels satisfied with a life of glory in the terrestrial kingdom after she dies.  We felt really bad, and didn't know what to do, but Elder Trujillo just said we need to go see her. We went to her house and she expressed to us her concerns.  We ended up having a really great lesson on her porch, and explained that God loves her and that these feelings of doubt can only come from one place, and it is not from God.  She committed to pray and ask Heavenly Father if these things are true, and committed to us that if she receives an answer, she will be baptized on October 12th!  So that was a miracle. She really does already know that the gospel is true, but I think her husband is just holding her back.  It would be great if he could understand and give her some support. We talked to him a little on Saturday, as well, and he is a nice guy.  He just doesn't seem to have very much interest in the Church.

 

All in all, it has been a great week, and we are looking to have even better this week. I want the Spanish to be better than it is, but I guess it is slowly coming along...  Line upon line, precept upon precept, right?  

 

We only get an hour for emails (We had 2 hours in the MTC) and 30 minutes of it is designated for us to email President Castro, so really I only have 30 minutes... so that might be hard.

 

Adios!

Elder Parrish