Can´t believe another week has already gone by! I am loving my mission so much. After our zone meeting this week and thinking a lot about how I can improve as a missionary, I made a goal to talk with everyone. God has prepared so many people to hear the gospel and as it says in Preach My Gospel, he will either send me to them or them to me. How am I going to find those people unless I am talking to everyone he puts in my path? This has been a little challenging considering that I am not completely confident in the language, but with the encouragement of my companion, and strength from prayers, I have definitely increased the numbers of my contacts. We have a lot of appointments set for this coming week and I am excited to hopefully have a lot of new investigators.
This week we have been working a lot with less active members. During one lesson we showed the picture of Christ holding the lamb in his arms. We explained how Jesus is like our Shephard and we are his sheep. Sometimes we get lost, but he will always come to find us if we turn to him. His arms are outstretched, we just need to allow him to hold us in his arms of love. I then shared D&C 6:20 with them. I like sharing this scripture and replacing the name oliver with the name of the person I am teaching. It is such a beautiful scripture!
I have been feeling a little bit discouraged because a lot of our investigators dont seem to be keeping thier commitments. On Sunday we called all the people who said they would come to church and they either didn´t answer or made up an excuse why they couldnt come. We were disappointed, but while we were walking to church one of the non active members called us back and said she would come with her kids! They walked in during the meeting and I got emotionally as I watched them sit down as a family. The blessings that come from attending church are so important to have in our lives and I am grateful they chose to make the effort and come. I know their family will be blessed for it.
Today we had a Zone activity and played soccer! Chileans are obsessed with soccer so I get to practice a lot! I`m not very good, but hey at least I scored two goals! Afterwards we ate lunch and I got to try my very first completo! YUMMY! It was fun talking with all of the people from the two zones that came. I love meeting as a zone because that means I get to see Hermana Prettyman! I miss her so much. It was good to get caught up with her today.
The time changed this week so we are now 3 hours ahead of Utah time. It has been rough adjusting, but hopefully I can take a nap today.
Elder Scholes became the new Branch President this week. It will be temporary of course because they are going home in 10 months, but I think that will be great for our branch.
I am understanding Chilean Spanish more every day and am becoming more comfortable with speaking. I know this gospel is true! I know it is not always easy to do everything that is expected of us, but God knows every sacrifice we make and we will be blessed for our obedience.
Thank you all for your love and prayers! I feel them every single day. Prayers are often the only thing helping me remain positive and excited about the work. I hope you all have a wonderful week!!
Con amor,
Hermana Parkin
p.s. here are some pics this one is at our zone activity