Newsletter Week 23

Hey Ya'll! How was your week?

 
This week was a really awesome week for us here in Waller TX:) 

This week I went to MLC (Missionary Leadership Council) and it was awesome! I learned so much stuff to help me to be a better missionary:) Our Mission President and his wife spoke to us, and there was also 2 Men from Salt Lake come and help us grow as a mission. One of the things they said that really stuck out to me was "A good leader is a good learner" I was really thinking about that and realized how true it is. In order to be a good leader, we need to be humble and teachable. 

 
They also talked to us about the new initiative "He Lives" It is a new Easter Video the church put out, and it is INCREDIBLE! The video can be found at HeLives.Mormon.Org, and they started a new hashtag #BecauseHeLives so if you post anything about it, you can use this hashtag and people investigating the church or struggling could search that hashtag and read your post!

 
Some Missionary Highlights of the Week:
*We set Baptismal Dates with 2 of our investigators!

*Also we went out with a member this week, and found out that she used to live in our apartment, so when she got there she was like " hey I want to see if it still looks the same!" So we went to go let her in, and couldn't find the house key anywhere. We literally searched everywhere. We didn't find it, but the member said that she would go back track with us to all the places we had been that morning to go and find it. First we went to the house of the investigator we had just left, but had no luck finding it. Then we went to the local college and looked all over there, still no luck. We decided to search one more place, that morning we had met with the Rodriguez family from the spanish branch, who lives in Hempstead, about 20 minutes away. My companion called her and asked her to go look outside in the road where we parked to see if we had dropped it there, and she found it! So we were headed to go get the key at there house, when I looked over and saw Brother Rodriguez walking on the side of the road. We called out to him and told him we were headed to his house because we had left our key there, he asked for a ride and explained that his truck just got a flat tire and he left his phone at home so he was planning on walking ALL the way home. So we got to give him a ride and get our key back. This experience really strengthened all of our testimonies so much, the Lord's timing is perfect!

*Favorite quote from my comp. Sister Clement this week "God gave us families to strengthen us and give us guidance, so we're not like a dog without an owner or a golf ball without a hole"

* I experienced my first "Crawfish Boil" haha so Crawfish is like a little... well I think it's like a bug.. because it lives in the dirt in swampy areas, but I guess it's like a Shrimp Lobster like thing. Anyways so I tried my first one this week! They just like boil the whole thing whole, and then you take it out, pull it in half, suck out the head, and then pull out the meat in the tail... take in to mind that I don't even like any sorts of seafood... haha it was quite the experience. They have a saying that goes with it that goes something along the lines of "Pull it, suck it, shuck it, eat it... Yummmm" It tastes really fishy.. but it honestly wasn't that bad:) The people here like rave over how great crawfish is.. haha so I had to try it:)

This week was also General Women's Conference as I'm sure you know. But I just wanted to share some of my favorite parts. "Heavenly Father only has 2 desires: Immortality and Eternal Life for his children" Because he wants this for us, he has given us families. I loved when the children sang the song "The Family is of God" I was so blessed with such an incredible family. Thank you for your love and support you have given me all of my life. Thank you guys for everything! This week I hope you all have a great Easter and Conference weekend and remember the wise words from President Eyring "Joy always comes after sorrow".

-Hermana Parslow

Newsletter Week 22

Hey everyone! :) This week was good, we did a ton of tracting!

In the Texas Houston Mission we have a rule that you have to go tracting every night from 6-8. So this week we made it a goal to really focus on trying to be exactly obedient in this and tract for those hours. And we had tons of miracles! My amazing comp is so awesome at following the Spirit to help lead us where to go:) Tracting is always really interesting.. some people have very unique ideas about what we believe. But we found a family who we are going to start teaching, which was such a blessing, because we were praying for a family who would be ready for the Gospel:)

Also this week we had the opportunity to teach Relief Society in the Spanish Branch. The lesson this week was "Examina la senda de tus pies" Which means Examine the Path of your Feet.

I learned so much from this talk by Thomas S. Monson. Life is not about walking where Christ walked, but walking HOW Christ walked. Are we doing the type of things He did? Or acting how He acted? I loved this so much, there are so many ways Jesus Christ set an example for us and there is so much I have to learn from Him.

If we Examine the path of our feet, where are we going? Are we following the path Jesus set for an example for us to bring us safely home to our Father in Heaven. If we all make little adjustments day by day we will be closer and closer.

In John 14:6 Jesus says "I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me." This Gospel is the way we learn how to follow our Savior, it teaches us the way. I am so grateful to have it in my life and to have the opportunity to share it with others. I love you all! Hope you all have a great week!

Love, Hermana Parslow

Newsletter Week 21

A week of a lot of service! :)

This week was really good, and really wet and cold.. haha.

I have really loved and learned a lot from doing service this week. One thing I learned, is that I am happiest when I am more focused on other peoples happiness than on my own. We have been volunteering at thrift shops of all sorts and focusing families places, and then saturday morning we gave out food again:) So that was awesome to have the opportunity a little bit of service:)

We also went to a Relief Society Night and learned all about Emma Smith. I learned so much from her! She is truly such an amazing example of being strong during difficult times. When the hard times came, which she had many, she always turned outward to help others, she didn't turn inward and think about herself. There is so much I can learn from her, and I am grateful for her amazing example to all women:)

This Sunday there was the Temple Tours again:) The Spirit is so strong at the temple. Some of our Recent Converts came, and there is no denying the special feeling that you get at the Temple that bares testimony that it is the House of The Lord. Well I hope you all have an awesome week this week! I love you all!

Ps. I saved this turtle from the road:) haha

Love Hermana Parslow

Newsletter Week 20

Hey! So this week was good, it rained a ton!!

We went to get to know a lot more of the English Ward members, they are all so kind and all have such a great spirit. Some of them told us about some of the trials they have faced in their life with death and sickness. While listening to their story I was so touched by them. It really put into perspective how small my problems and worries are. It amazed me how just a different view could make my problems seem so small. I truly was reminded how very blessed I am this week. I have been given so much and have so much to be grateful for:) 

Also this week we got involved with all kinds of service activities! Now several times a week we are going to do service at local locations. This Saturday we got to pass out food to struggling families, it was such a blast! and then we have 3 more service activities planned for this coming week working at non-profit thrift shops. We get to organize clothes and all kinds of stuff, I am so excited! :)
So this week we had Zone meeting and we were reading in Alma 58 and there were some things that really stuck out to me:) 

So in this part of the scripture the 2000 Stripling Warriors are fighting against an innumerable amount of Lamanites. It talks in verse 9 how they were embarrassed because they were such few. We know the story how they fought the Lamanites and the Lord gave them a great victory.
Sometimes I think we often feel like a raindrop of good fighting off an ocean of evil, but just as the Stripling Warriors had a great victory so can we. And the Lord has told us how, in chapter 57:21 it talks about them obeying every commandment with exactness. Can you imagine what kind of blessings we would receive if we obeyed every commandment with exactness?? That would be pretty awesome I think:) And then I love 58:10-13; if we pour out our heart to the Lord, he will give us strength, peace to our souls, hope for our deliverance in Him, courage, determination, and might:) I love the scriptures so much! :) This scripture helped me a ton:) I hope it can help you guys too.

So ya.. life is pretty great here in the field:) I love it here in Waller and Sister Clement is the BOMB.COM!!!

Love, Hermana Parslow

Newsletter Week 19

Well another great week has gone by, and I have more great experiences to share.

So this week was transfers and I got Hermana Clement!! She is the sweetest thing I have ever met and has such a strong testimony! I really am so blessed to have her as my companion! she is awesome:) She is from a town near San Diego, CA and has been on her mission for 14 months! :) She's pretty much the best thing ever. 

Annd we also got some crazy news about our area. So the Texas Houston mission had like 270 missionaries when I got here, but so I've been told that they are capping all missions off at 200 missionaries. So as our missionaries are completing their missions, they aren't being replaced with as many new missionaries. And over the next months our mission is going to go down to around 180 missionaries. 

The area of Waller had 2 setsf Spanish missionaries.. (Hermanas and Elders) and a set of English missionaries. But because of the lack of missionaries they dissolved the English Area and put the Spanish Missionaries over it. So we now work with both the English and the Spanish Wards. Which is awesome! So I can now teach in Spanish and English, when before I only taught in Spanish.
So this week we spent a lot of time meeting with the English Members and trying to figure out their needs and how we can help them. So this week has been a lot of meeting new people and getting to know them.

This week we were planning on visiting a lady who had just lost a loved one. We were looking for scriptures that could give her peace and decided to share Mosiah 16:8-9. I love this scripture so much, it talks about how because of Jesus Christ, death has no victory or sting. Because we know the Plan that our Loving Father in Heaven has prepared for us we can all find comfort in times of difficulty. How blessed are we to know that life doesn't end here, that this is only a probationary state. But with that knowledge brings great responsibility. We learn of the things we must do to return to live with our Father. Sometimes doing those things isn't easy, but if we look at the eternal prospective of things it makes it so worth it.

It was a blessing to be able to share this incredible plan Father has for us with her, and strengthened my testimony so much. I am super grateful for this opportunity.

The people here are so so so nice! They really make you feel so at home and loved. I love it here so much. I hope you all have a great week and remember to have an Eternal Prospective this week. Love you all!

Ps. One day we got super lost.. and looked over and saw Zebras... so that was pretty cool.

Tiffany's fourth companion Hermana Cement

Zebras!!

Tiffany's First Companion Hermana Hammer.

Tiffany's third Companion Hermana Coley

Love, Hermana Parslow