E-mail Week 54: July 31, 2017. New Investigators.

So after realizing that my last emails have been bad, I am going to try and change so that this email is a little bit better.  First off, I am doing AWESOME!  The mission is still the best and my companion is such a stud and it going to keep being the best.  This week has been great!  We were able to find some more people and they are awesome!  I am constantly being amazed by the faith that people have.  But to start off, I would like to thank everyone for emailing me.  I love  your emails and I love you guys.  I am sorry if I don't answer all of you individually. 

So let's start off with the best part of this email, the investigators!!!

This week we were able to teach someone that came to church for the first time.  When we talked to her the first thing that she said was "Well I'm here to keep progressing in the gospel and get baptized".  My comp and I immediately started doing a "finger snap" (which I have no idea how to explain) because it was awesome.  She told us that she had been coming to church three years ago and was going to be baptized but couldn't because she left and couldn't find the church.  She told us that she has changed so much and it is really cool to see this change that comes from the gospel of Christ.  Whe now has a baptismal date for August 12th.

We also found someone else touching doors and it was something that really humbled me.  When he was younger, he got involved in narcotrafficking because he needed to provide for his family.  This happened in the jungle and someone ended up shooting him and he was left in a wheelchair for 20 years.  And then his wife left him because he was in a wheelchair.  Now, he's only able to walk using crutches.  We began teaching him and he wants to feel the love of God in his life and thank him more. It was incredible to see his faith.  On Sunday, he walked a mile to church using his crutches--this was very painful and it took him 45 minutes.  But he came 😀 it was awesome.

Finally, Felix, our convert of one month, introduced us to his mom and we were able to teach her!

  

So all in all, a great week.  Also we were focusing a lot on how the Book of Mormon can change peoples' lives.  It really is one of God's greatest gifts to man, another testament of His glory and His divine power to change our lives.  And I have also learned about service--service through the application of gospel knowledge. It is really the greatest thing. I am not talking about service projects, but rather, allowing everyone to feel of our love--and this changes lives. 

Well, that's it until next week.

I love you all.

Elder Parson

E-mail Week 53: July 24, 2017. Norma's Faith to Obey The Word of Wisdom.

So this email is going to be quick, because I don't have time, but this week was great. 

We had 4 interchanges and I got to know all of our Zone.  I was in Melgar, which is a party city, but also looks like a jungle and is way pretty.  I also got to go to Espinal which is one of the hottest places in the mission.  It was way awesome to be in these intercambios.  I love all the Elders of our Zone and am so grateful to be with them and to learn from them.

 

Also we had a great experience with an investigador, Norma. She has been drinking coffee all her life, 4 times every day.  And we explained to her about the Word of Wisdom and she was quite surprised but she accepted so that she could be more in line with God. It was amazing to see her faith--that just to live God's commandments she was willing to change all the culture of her family. And I am so grateful for these amazing blessings that God has given me to know these people.

And that's it. 

I love you guys.

Elder Parson

This is Melgar, a baptism that we had in the District.

Our group of Elders after transfers.

E-mail Week 52: July 17, 2107

Buenas tardes, como vamos?

How is everyone doing?  I hope that you are all doing well.  I am doing fantastic!!!! 

So this week we were able to go on a lot of visits thanks to a convert whose name is Camilo.  It is incredible to see how much the gospel has changed him.  His life before was crazy, he lived in a really dangerous part of Bogota and has had a fair amount of difficulties but now he is devoted to the gospel.  We were able to visit a lot of people and it was so cool to hear him bear his testimony. Also we had a multizone conference in Ibague, an awesome city two hours away.  It was so awesome to see some friends that I have been with and to also hear President Baquerizo and his wife talk to us.  I love them so much. We also gave a training to the Zones about the Restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ.  I have realized that many times I teach a lesson just focusing on faith or repentance without mentioning one of the greatest stories known to man, about God and Jesus Christ appearing to a young boy to answer his question and about Christ revealing more of His word to a young boy, to a darkened world to help us improve more in the Doctrine of Christ and to teach us how we can obtain every answer to our questions. It is truly incredible. I hope to be able  to testify to all of this amazing story that has brought such joy to me and my family.

Also another part of the training was focused on how we obtain the power of Christ in our lives.  He has all power and we can obtain this power.  Hermana Baquerizo told us the first part to obtain this power is to learn about Christ.  It is so true.  I was studying all the topics on Christ in the topical guide (a reference guide for the Book of Mormon and the Bible) and it was amazing how much I learned.  I learned how I can follow his example better and I am so much happier as well.

Well that's all the time I have.  I hope all of you have a great week and remember, Christ loves you!

Con mucho amor,

Elder Parson

Ward Mission Leader

The Girardot Zone

Elder Palma (Ibague Zone Leader) and Elder Ribeiro

E-mail Week 51. July 10, 2017.

So this week has flown by but it's been really good. I am sorry, I never have enough time because P-day goes by so fast. But this week we had the opportunity to go up to Bogota and have intercambios with the Assistentes which was awesome!  I was with Elder Valverde from Ecuador and we had a blast. Although we were kind of sick, we were able to go out and proselyte. It is quite interesting--in Bogota, the people are quite closed off and it is difficult to try and talk to them. And they also think that we are thieves so they get scared and often jump away.  But we talked with so many people.  It was quite funny, we got rejected and rejected, chased by someone who told us that what we were doing was awful, and the rejected some more, but it was a way funny experience. I used to think when we are getting rejected it is because we are doing something wrong, but now I realize that when we are rejected, it is just another way to testify of Jesus Christ.  Needless to say, I love Elder Valverde.  We had a great time. 

Also we had an Open House at the church this week that was way successful. We had a ton of people that came to learn more about the gospel and about the church. It was awesome to see that when members invite their friends to learn about the gospel, many love the message. It was super fun!

For P-day today, we went to a different town called Chicoral and hiked. I got fried but it was way fun. 

Well my friends, that's all the time I've got.  

Have a fantastic week!

E-mail Week 50: July 3, 2017. Felix Sneider's Baptism.

So this week was another great week.  We had the amazing opportunity to go up to Bogota and receive training from our awesome Mission Presidente, Presidente Baquerizo. He has helped me so much in the mission and I was so happy to hear him. He talked a lot about goals, that sometimes we plan to find many investigators or to baptize three people in a month, but then after making those plans we never go back to review them. I realized that I am struggling with this. But we made the effort to always plan for our goals. We have put the goal of 6 baptisms in the next 3 months, which I have never had happen, but when we started to always plan for our goals, about who we needed to work with, or who we needed to find, we were blessed with a baptism!!!!!  It was an amazing opportunity to see the blessings of the Lord in my life. 

Felix Sneider was baptized and he is one of the most prepared persons that I have seen for baptism. He had been coming to church since January but the missionaries didn't visit him until my companion found out that he wasn't a member of the church. He was ready to make some changes  in his life and was so excited for his baptism. We were going to plan it for the next week and we asked him what he thought but he said "No, I am ready now."  And then he got baptized on Saturday.  It was such a neat experience and it all came from his friend inviting him to learn more about the gospel. We can never know when someone is ready, all we have to do is do our part so that they know about the gospel. 

I love you guys so much.  Thank you for your prayers.  This week I definitely felt lifted up by them. Please keep sharing the amazing light of Christ that I know you have to brighten a darkened world.

With a lot of love,

Elder Parson

Felix Sneider Baptism