05 June 2012

Ninety Three! - June 4, 2012

Dear Friends and Family,

It´s June! Where does time go?

On Wednesday we had zone conference. At every zone conference we watch a video with mission pictures. I am not in any of the photos (I didnt send any in) but it gives you a good idea of what my mission’s like (including lots of sweet photos of Iguazu Falls and baptisms in rivers and stuff). So check it out if you want. Search on youtube: "La Mision Argentina Resistencia May 2012" (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cCo8Y7lNEN4).

Anyways, conference was good. Our mission president had some very profound insights about relying on the Holy Ghost in our missionary work. He also spoke on Mark 8:22-25. I don´t think I had ever paid much attention to the story before. We talked about how there are three types of vision in the story: blind, partial vision and full sight. We discussed that as missionaries we can have one of those 3 types of vision. It also relates to how we see the people we encounter on a day-to-day basis. Do we see them clearly, as real people of great worth and potential? Children of God? Or do we see them only partially, as objects or obstacles--like "trees that walk."

I am still loving Posadas and my area. I am feeling all at once challenged and filled by this work. When I was struggling in Resistencia Jared sent me an email once and it said something simple like "just remember you´re not there not to make a difference in the lives of people." and I have been trying to take that to heart and this last week we have been focusing more than ever on filling every moment with meaningful work. It is not the easiest just to walk around and find new investigators here like it was in past areas. But there are pages and pages and pages of names and addresses of people who once belonged to the church and who we have been working on finding and getting back. Through these efforts we have found people who have been long estranged and just needed a visit or a word of encouragement. We have also found spouses and children and cousins and neighbors that are not members of the church but who are interested in listening. As I have found and worked with these people I have tried to remember what Jared told me and remind myself that even though, right now, I don´t have scores of amazing progressing investigators (right now)--that doesn't mean I am here just to sit around and not make any difference in the lives of these people and in this ward. Every night my prayers have filled up with the names of these people and with concerns for the ward and I find myself thinking about them and worrying about them and trying to find ways to help them all the time. I have felt great meaning and happiness as I have done so.

One short anecdote: Last night we came to the house of an inactive member. We stood hovering outside the open door for a moment because we were uncertain if it was the right place, but then, all of a sudden this old toothless woman wearing a skirt and a red beanie came out to greet us. We said hello and she grabbed us and slobbered all over our cheeks in greeting (two kisses are traditional, but with no teeth it got a little wet). She cried "hermanas! hermanas!" with tears and invited us in. Then she sat down with us and babbled and babbled and babbled mostly incomprehensibly for 10 minutes straight as we tried our hardest to understand her. I did catch several enthusiastic "I am NINETY THREE!"s Finally her granddaughter, whom we had come to visit, came home and we had a great lesson with her. We are going to start teaching her daughter because she is almost 9 and not baptized.

That’s all for this week. I love you all and you are in my prayers.

Love,

Hna Parker

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