WEEK 26!!!!

Que tal, mi familia y amigos queridos? Elder Parke aqui con mas historias y otras cosas fantasticas acerca de mi tiempo aqui en mi mision en Ecuador! Probablemente casi cada persona que esta leyendo este entrada de mi blog necesita utilizar Google para entender, jajaja! But, that's enough Spanish for one entry. Onto the good stuff that everyone's been anticipating to hear about all week, right? Am I right?!?!

So, through some digging around and talking to the right people, my companion and I have found out that, out of the 80 people that attended Church last week, the records of our ward (in other words, our Ward Directory of each and every one of our members of our perspective ward) show that there are around 300 PEOPLE that SHOULD be attending Church here in our ward of Las Americas. Finally, I understand why our bishop has been (and probably will be for a long while) so against us wanting to bring investigators to Church, and further yet, baptizing. I find it personally a little funny, because our bishop here, Obispo Quiroz, makes the most disgusted look when he talks to us (and the rest of our Ward Council) about Baptisms. Which is why, starting today, the obligations of my companion and I are to Rescue and Retain (and off to the side Baptize, haha)

I  made this joke with my companion that we weren't assigned here as a companionship to "rescue" this sector/ward and its members; we're here to completely RESURRECT this sector, hahahahaha! We both got a kick out of that, especially the fact that that's going to be the only surefire way that we will be able to officially win back the trust and confidence that our ward's bishop should have in us bring any and all closer to Christ. That means both through Rescuing Less Active members, as well as Baptizing Investigators, who truly have the intentions of joining our Church, for they KNOW (or at least really want to) that this Church is the one AND ONLY true Church of Jesus Christ that resides on the Earth.

I know it's going to be hard, and like I said in my last entry, I have no doubt that it's only going to get harder until I'm finally able to kneel down on my knees, and be grateful for the chance that my Heavenly Father gave me to devote 2 years of my life here on Earth to help bring others, others who I can't help but from this point on see as my brothers and sisters Come Unto Christ through any and all means necessary. Before I go, I would just like to leave you guys with a famous quote that our Mission President, Presidente Riggins told us about Change. It goes like this: "If you always do what you have always did, then you will always get what you have always got." In other words, just like it says in the Scriptures, you got to "lose your life to find it" through means of Service, especially out here in the "ever-wonderful" Mission Field. I love you all, and may God be with you until next week. Until then, take care, and pray always!!

Con Sinceridad y Amor,

Elder Conner Duane Parke