I love my mission. I wouldn't change it for the world.

This week was sweet. Elder Berg and Elder Lopez moved in with us, so now we are in a 4 man apartment, which is fine, because our apartment is huge.  Except now I have to share a bathroom with big old Elder MacKay.  Elder Lopez was my companion in Carpinteria, so I have been companions with all three of them.  We have a blast in the apartment. It’ll be a miracle if we make it through the transfer without getting the cops called on us.  Our neighbors like to call the cops on the missionaries if the floorboard creaks the wrong way.  

So B---- is super pumped to get baptized, and he really wants to get baptized in a river like Jesus did.  Unfortunately, we are in a drought and all the rivers are bone dry.. but there is Lake Piru.  So we went to go scout it out with our ward mission leader and found an awesome little pool that would be perfect.  We took pictures and everything, and are going to try and get permission.  Odds are pretty against us getting it approved, but it is worth a shot. Bernard has really righteous desires, and his motives are simply because he wants to do it in the way closest to Christ's baptism, so we had to at least try.   We’ve done a lot of service this week.  We changed the oil on B---'s new car too.  He came to church for all three hours yesterday again. He’s awesome. He got sick because of all the perfume the women wear, but his health is seriously 20 times better since 2 weeks ago when we gave him a priesthood blessing, and he knows it. It was the missionary farewell talk of S---, who has been B---'s fellowship and coming with us to help teach him. He really enjoyed it. We have taught all the lessons to him and gone over the baptismal interview questions with him, which he passed with flying colors, and now this week we will start to review all the lessons again. He wants to come to the church this Wednesday and meet with our ward family history consultant to start his family history work too!  I have never had an investigator that was so willing and eager in every aspect of the gospel.

 E-- is still non-committal, and we don’t know if her insistence to push her baptismal date back until after her oral surgery has just been a way to avoid it and lower the pressure from her family and the ward.  Her dental work is happening next week, so we have faith that she will be ready to finally join the church with her family. She has been to church every week for over a year and has no reasons not to become a member other than she is struggling to give up her Catholic traditions.

We have done a lot of service this week as well for investigators and also for members. We have mowed lawns, changed oil, cleaned carpets, dug holes, and moved furniture.  You name it, we do it.

Missionaries and Mechanics

The district is doing great, and everyone is super excited for the miracles this transfer will bring.

Our District

I love my mission. I wouldn’t trade it for the world. Every day is mind-blowing, blasting me with perspective that I know couldn’t have come any other way. 

 Love,

Elder Parrish

Elder "Pear-ish"

 

It was a good week. We’ve continued to see miracles with the less-active R--- family and especially their daughter, L--. She sang in the stake choir yesterday! Last night, we stopped by and she was so excited to tell us about how she did some missionary work! She helped a homeless man Saturday night by getting him some food, and then invited him to Stake Conference, and he came and loved it.  So the Ventura elders invited him to come back for the Sunday session, and he showed up for that as well, and now has scheduled appointments to meet with them and take the lessons. L-- was so excited.  She started crying talking about it and how good it feels to possibly help someone find the truth.  Then, last night she told us she wants to meet with the bishop to see what she needs to do in order to go to the temple and take out her endowments!! That’s the best thing a missionary can hear from their recently-activated member! 

Speaking of the temple, our investigator B---- is doing wonderfully. We have taught him all the lessons, including the Laws and Ordinances from chapter 5 of Preach My Gospel, which went really good! It makes me wonder why we haven’t always taught chapter 5 before baptism...(they recently changed that).  When we taught him about the temple and vicarious work for the dead, it just really helped him look at everything with a completely different perspective, and help him realize that we truly do have what no other church has. It seems to me like that could/SHOULD be the driving force behind so many more people's desire to be baptized, so there’s no use in waiting till after baptism to teach it! He did have some trouble accepting tithing at first, but after a couple days he told us that he wanted us to know, even though he doesn’t necessarily understand all the why's behind tithing or agree with it one hundred percent, he still wants to pay it, because if that is what God has commanded then he will do it, because he knows obedience is the most important thing. I love him! He really wants it! So I am extremely grateful Elder MacKay and I have 6 more weeks here to help him.

Unfortunately B---- was not able to attend Stake Conference in Ventura, but we have had lessons with him every single day this week, and a couple of those inside the church building with members present. He is absolutely loving the gospel and it shows. You can see it in his face. Plus... he really wants to be baptized in the ocean or a river... fingers crossed:) thats my dream!!

B---- is our only really solid investigator at the moment.  His mom and sister are on the verge of investigating the church  as well, and we are still working with a couple part member families as well, but we definitely need to step it up when it comes to finding new investigators. That will be our main focus this transfer. 

Love,

"Elder Perez"

Methodist church next to our investigator's home.
It was in the movie, the Waterboy.

We had an incredible week. Yesterday was one of the best days of my mission. We had 5 investigators at church. B--- has a baptismal date for the 30th of August.  His case is nothing short of a miracle! He wants to be baptized and is so sincere, but since he has been sick the last 4 years.  He told us it would be impossible for him to attend church, let alone at 10 in the morning. So we had a great lesson and committed him at the beginning of this week to come to church, but then he was doubtful all week long whether or not he would be able to make it, just because of his health problems that cause him to not sleep until 4 am and not wake up before 2 or 3 in the afternoon. We have daily contact with him usually around 4 o'clock, and we pushed him through out the week by meeting with him earlier and earlier each day. We met with him one day at around 1 o'clock, and it was all he could do.  He just was super sick and looked terrible. On Saturday, we picked  him up with a member and took him to the church with his family. We gave his mom and sisters a tour of the church, and then we gave him a priesthood blessing.  It was a blessing of healing, and also that he would be able to attend sacrament meeting tomorrow.  He still felt sick after the blessing, but was hopeful and has a lot of faith.  We called him yesterday morning to wake him up, and then went with a member to pick him up. He was super nervous and not feeling well, so the goal was just to have him stay for the sacrament and 1 or 2 testimonies, and then take him home.  He got sick and we had to walk out of the chapel into the foyer a couple times, but he stayed the whole meeting and really listened intently to the testimonies (which were amazing).  I felt the spirit in every single testimony that was shared yesterday and I know B---- did as well.  He said he can't wait until he is baptized, so he can get up and bear his testimony of that day exactly, how we gave him a blessing and his prayers were answered, and he was able to come to church and learn the truth. I think every single testimony literally praised and thanked us 4 missionaries, (mostly Elder MacKay and I, but we'll give the other elders some credit too.)  It felt really good, and I think it just established an entire common feeling of trust between members and missionaries.  After Sacrament Meeting, B---- was greeted and welcomed by ALOT of the members, and it made him want to stay for Gospel Principles class too. Gospel Principles class went amazing and B---- really liked it.  He was answering questions about the plan of salvation and participating left and right. He ended up staying for all 3 hours and absolutely loved it, even though he wasn't feeling too well, and he wants to come every week!  He is definitely an elect son of God, and his sickness these last 4 years have just been preparing him to receive the gospel and he knows it. 

 

Exploring the River Bottom

L-- is a less active member we are working with, and she got up and bore her testimony for the first time in 10 years yesterday! She was just balling thanking Elder MacKay and Elder Parrish for changing her life and showing up at her door 10 minutes after she prayed for help. :) It really humbled me.  There were a lot of wet eyes in the chapel.

 

The district is excellent as well.  For district meeting last week I was able to arrange for Bishop Jared Lee from Santa Paula to come and talk to us about how we can be a "blessing not a burden" to the bishop, and also work more effectively with the ward council and members.  It was highly successful. I loved it and learned a lot that was great to apply in our ward council meeting yesterday.  We also arranged for Garrett Medley (one of Hermana Wallace and Hermana Halliday's recent converts to come to district meeting and help us practice teaching, and he actually gave the other hermanas a real life referral in the role-play. He is going to be a great missionary some day.  All is well in Fillmore and Santa Paula, and I am extremely grateful to my Father in Heaven for the chance to serve here.

Love, Elder Parrish

******

Oh, and we sang a song in the ward summer music festival, "I'm glad they called me on a mission."   ayayay, I still hate all that musical artsy drama garbage. I about strangled the lady that was running it. But we performed really good  and everybody loved it. You might get some emails from our ward mission leader with pics/video.

We had an awesome week. We met the "standards of excellence."  Ya'all dont know what that is, but it's 7 member present lessons, 10 other lessons, 5 less active/recent converts, 20 declares, 4 people at church, and a bunch of other stuff like that.  We met all of them!  So it was a perfect week!  Also, we set Bernardo with a baptismal date for the 30th of August!  Sorry no time..  Love, Elder Parrish :)

Well, it’s hot here.... 90s.. We went down to Ventura for interviews with the mission president this week, and it’s like 20 degrees cooler by the beach.  President and Sister Felix are awesome, though!!!!!!  I love them.  

We had a really good week. B---- is showing really good progress. He is 29, and has an awesome desire to come to church, but has been so sick that for the last 4-5 years he hardly leaves the house.  Just walking around his house tires him out and he has to rest, so we have been walking with him almost every day to build up his stamina. He can only make it to the end of the street before he has to rest and we can walk back. We teach him as we walk, and then we teach him when we get back to the house as well.  This week, we taught about church, the word of wisdom, the restoration, the priesthood and baptism.  Bernardo loves what we teach, is already living the word of wisdom, and accepted baptism, but is hesitant to set a date, just because he doesn’t know when his health will be good enough that he would be able to attend church and everything else that goes along with baptism. He has great faith, though, and read the first 17 chapters of the Book of Mormon this week!  He’s so cool and humble.  I feel so bad for him.  He can’t even leave his house.  He just has to lay down all day every day.  Another testimony builder of the word of wisdom.  So we are really excited for him to get better through the gospel and through faith.  Also his sister, C--- is reading in the Book of Mormon, as well, and his mother C--- sits in on the lessons too. 

We did some more service for F--- this week.  All I do is dig!  We are digging post holes... which I have some experience, thanks to the back fence I built....  :) but not regular post holes.... massive 4 foot deep post holes.   We needed to dig 4... I dug 3  and I dug this huge trench, as well, in the time it took Elder MacKay to dig one hole :) (haha)  Elder MacKay gets so mad, cuz I can dig faster than him. :)  We were able to discuss the Bible and some Biblical prophecies, including Ezekiel 37, which F--- found really interesting and was excited to look into the "sticks" of Judah and Joseph/Ephraim some more.

Ditch I dug, along with 3 monster holes

Our investigator, S--- has been to church like 5 times and has gotten an answer that she needs to be baptized, but is still in denial and not really progressing any more.  She still loves the missionaries, though, and made very generous donation to the church this week, just because she loves us so much. Her daughters (Who TWEET about me during church.......) are also in and out of interest in the church, but non-committal.  It’s really hard to teach them, cuz they’re just like every other high school girl and only want to hang out and talk to us.   So that’s going nowhere fast, but I know someday it will click with S---, just in the Lord's timing is all. 

We also had another really good lesson with R--- and M--- this week.  They are the ones from Fillmore, Utah.  They have been totally inactive for the past 40 years, but still continue to read the Book of Mormon and the Ensign, and watch conference and do everything they are supposed to do, menos que asistir a la iglesia.  We taught about geneology and family history work, and had a member present who helped them set up familysearch.org accounts, and taught them how to index.  They showed us some of their family history, including a book that has all of the pioneer settlement stories of their families, and we even found some Parrishes in the book!  It’s amazing how much the gospel ties us all together.

L--- is another less active member we have been working with, who just a couple months ago was very against the church, and now she has come to church twice in a row.  Yesterday she stayed for all 3 hours! Her dad is Brother R----, who I have made pretty good friends with. He’s like 70, but were pretty tight.  He always just talks about hunting stories and makes fun of Jehova’s Witnesses.  There are tons of Jehovah’s Witnesses here.  I never even knew who they were until my mission.  We’ve had a few opportunities to talk to them when they knock our apartment door :)  I found I REALLY love to “Bible bash”....  I usually do pretty good at avoiding it, but that doesn’t mean I still don’t want to!

Elder MacKay’s mom sends me more mail than I have gotten my whole mission from my own family.... :) 

Love,

Elder Parrish

Lake Piru

 

 

I hope you are doing well.  I am doing fantastic here in Fillmore with Elder Mackay. We had a good week and saw some miracles. One of them is that our investigator, E---, who has been reluctantly coming to church with her member husband and son for over a year now, said she wants to be baptized! Finally! She was kind of feeling pressured by the missionaries for quite a while, so we had started to give her some space for a couple weeks and then when we went last week we found out that she really liked the Gospel Principles class we started, and finally feels like it’s time to get baptized. She has some upcoming dental work apparently that she wants to get done first, so we haven’t set a date with her yet. Hopefully it won’t be put off for too long.  The ward is super excited for her and so are we.  We also taught J---, who is dating a less active member.  We have been meeting with him for a while and he wants to be baptized as soon as possible.  He is doing well and continues to progress.

C--- and B--- are brother and sister.  They are new investigators from this week and have great potential. C--- accepted to read and pray about the Book of Mormon and also accepted baptism when she gets an answer. She also wants to come to our English class on Wednesday.  They both want to come to church as well, but unfortunately B--- has some serious health problems that prevent him from leaving the house.  He has asked us to come and work with him, though, and really has a desire to recover to the point with his health that he can come to church.

L--- is less active, and we see her nearly every day.  She’s is very old and has very poor health.  She wants nothing more than to receive her temple blessings before she dies.  We stop by daily, or call and share scriptures with her over the phone. She was scheduled to receive an epidural this week for her back pain that radiates down her leg, and asked for a blessing. We gave her the blessing with her home teacher on Thursday night, and I was the one who said the blessing.  She went in on Friday and the clinic wasn’t ready for her and pushed her appointment back all the way until the end of the month. So we were disappointed she wasn’t able to get the epidural, because we know how much pain she is in.  She was in high spirits, though, and was totally fine with it, because she said the blessing helped her so much and took all of the pain out of her leg! She has great faith. 

In my studies this week, I have been especially impressed with the importance of consecrating ourselves. In Matthew 8, there are two of his followers that come to Jesus and say they want to be his disciples and travel with him. To the first man, (a scribe of good reputation among men) he says "the foxes have holes and the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man hath not where to lay his head." I have always known that scripture, because it says foxes... but I never understood what that meant until this week and never attempted to find the doctrine behind the passage. Christ took no thought for food or where he was going to be sleeping or how his physical needs were going to be met, and anyone who thinks they want to follow him, better be willing to do the same.  Apparently, the scribe wasn’t able to give up his good reputation to make that sacrifice.  It helps to look at the next man who also wants to follow Jesus, but asks that he first be permitted to go bury his dead father. Jesus replies: "Follow me, and let the dead bury their dead," so it means that the service of the Lord, especially in Christ's ministry, is superior to all other earthly duties.  It requires such a high level of consecration that even important family matters must come second. (Sorry familia.)  Another instance in Luke 9:62, when Christ tells His would-be follower that "no man, having put his hand to the plow and looking back is fit for the kingdom of heaven".  This led me to study his parables of the hidden treasure and the pearl of great price- no amount will ever be good enough to purchase the parcel of land or the pearl of great price unless it is "all that he hath."  We can’t receive a celestial glory with a partial surrender.  We must renounce everything.  I love that, even though it’s a slap across the face as I realize all of the many areas of my life that need improvement and that I ought to do so much better.

We had exchanges this week with the elders in my district. I went with Elder Hernandez in his area on the other side of Fillmore, so I got to dust off the cobwebs on “ol' Legion” (my bike) (see Mark 5:1-13) and ride it again. It felt great.  Oh, and I had a wheelie contest with some guy that said "Joseph Smith vs. Yahue of Armies".. and then he rode a wheelie for like 20 yards... so then I rode a wheelie for 30 yards... and then he pedaled away. nbd

Love, Elder Parrish

We had a great week.  I love the Fourth of July and celebrating our great country.  In my personal studies on Friday, I read 2 Nephi 1:6-9, which is Lehi's prophecy about the Promised land and how it will be a choice nation and a land of liberty so long as we serve God. Doctrine and Covenants sections 98, 101, and 134 also have awesome scriptures about the constitution and the importance of supporting our rights and privileges, especially the freedom of religion.  I gave Elder Mackay a real hard time since he’s from Canada :))

We taught some good lessons this week, and had 4 investigators at church yesterday!  Two of them come every week and are part of the Z--- family, but the other two were regular investigators.  J-- really wants to get baptized but there are some hangups, so we are figuring out what we can do there, and the other was a girl named D--- who is the friend of a less-active member we have been trying to get to come to church since I first got here to Fillmore, and yesterday they both came! 

My favorite part of the week, though, was with A---.  He is 15 years old, his mom has been less active for his whole life. But he is a great athlete, and already has a few different D-1 schools offering him football scholarships. We got him to come to mutual/scouts with the young men on Wednesday and he had a blast playing basketball with them. He is reading in the Book of Mormon, and said he believes it is true. We invited him to be baptized and he said yes!  He really wants to come to church, but so far he hasn’t been able to come, because he has basketball practice at 5:30 am on Sunday mornings, so we are still working with him to get him to church.

We also did quite a bit of service this week.  We helped F--- pour some concrete in his yard we have been digging up for him, and also pulled some weeds for H---.  Service is one of my favorite parts of missionary work.  I've come to know that it’s also one of the most successful ways to earn trust with investigators.   We are also teaching an English class to 2 women, who are friends of a member  here, and she is a great fellowship for them. This is another great way to serve and build trust.

Well, last week in Sacrament Meeting, we sang the national anthem and as it closed, Brother R---, the less active we brought to church yelled "PLAY BALL!!" Haha.  It was super funny, but some of the old ladies in the ward thought it was me, so I kind of got chewed out.  Then, yesterday for Fast and Testimony Meeting, he stood up and apologized for saying that and then bore his testimony and then he said the @$$ word in his testimony.... Hahahaa, ole Brother Ramirez.   He tells hunting stories for days just like Grampa Parrish :)

Love, Elder P