It'sTrue in Spanish, Tambien- La Fama- La Fama- Week 1

Okay everybody. I'm in an area called "La Fama" with a companion called Elder Mijes. Elder Mijes is from Mexico, the state. I'm killing him. Which is mission talk for I'm going to be his last companion. He is good. He isn't dead or anything, and I think he is kind of freaked out that he is going home, so he is working harder. He is also a district leader, so he has a lot more responsibilities and sometimes he has me do stuff so I am learning a lot more. Now about my area. In English it is "The Fame". And it is mostly in the municipality of San Pedro Garza Garcia or something like that. Which is where all the rich people live. But we are in the poor side of La Fama, so it isn't too fresa, which means rich. But everybody here is flippin nuts. We got here and one of the people the last missionaries had been working with went to the temple and tried to help the angels fight off the bad spirits trying to enter. Another lady is a magnetism doctor, and there are a lot of really religious drunk people that want us to talk to them. It is more in the city. It is right by the Cerro de las Mitras. Which looks really cool. We are actually on the side of the mountain, so we go up and down hills all day. We can also see the saddle mountain thing that is really cool.
I'm glad you all made it up to McCall safe, and I hope you all have a fun time up there. I think it is really cool that you went to temple square, and I bet it was awesome. That is funny about the missionaries, because we were just talking about it one day and about how we think the American missions have it made, because they have cars and stuff like that. But Elder Gonzalez said that the missionaries in countries in Africa probably say the same thing about missionaries in Mexico. And honestly at this point I feel like I've been living in the U.S. this last week. It was my first time going to a ward for 18 weeks I realized, because even in the MTC it was a branch, so it was good, because I could be more of a spectator at church. Which is nice when I am expected to teach everything in every other moment of the week.
It sounds like Maddie's driving is awesome. And Maddie, Drive more and don't be mad at the family. I remember times when I almost killed them all, and they got mad at me too.
We are teaching a lot of people. Elder Mijes and I are opening La Fama A, because they split it and the old missionaries took La Fama B, so we don't really know what's going on so this week was a lot of getting to know the members and contacting. Everything is good, and I am participating more because Elder Mijes makes me talk. He tells me "speak" in English, and I am learning a lot more Spanish, and everything is going really well. We don't really have any progressing investigators in this week, but there are a few people that we could be teaching a lot more in this coming week.
Okay, I know I'm supposed to share more spiritual stuff, so I think I might share this thought. Before the mission I didn't really think too much about the priesthood. Like I knew it was important and stuff like that and that it was important that we had it and that it was good, but I don't think I had any experiences with it really. In these past few days we have been giving a few blessings to members that ask, and really throughout my mission we have been doing this. And the more we do it, the stronger my testimony grows in the power of the priesthood. And the more I read the scriptures and study, the more important I realize the priesthood is. Because it is really important that we have it, because really without it we couldn't be baptized or confirmed or do any of the other ordinances that we do, and without those ordinances we are totally lost. So it is really important that we have the priesthood and that we use it, so there is that. I also finished reading the Book of Mormon in Spanish. And I would like to tell you that I know the Book of Mormon is true in Spanish, tambien (too).
Also, everybody asks me if Maddie is going to serve a mission. Not by name or anything, but when I tell them I have a 16 year old sister, they all ask if she is going to go on a mission. I guess that is still 3 years away and all, but yesterday we found an inactive son of the bishop that is 19 and asked if he was going on a mission, and he said we was afraid, and we told him all about how great being a missionary is. I did anyway, Elder Mijes was warming up the planch (?) and telling him about what happens when we choose our will over God's. But ya, maybe that is something Maddie wants to think about. Because missions are awesome and all of the sister missionaries that are here are doing a lot of good things and working really hard and they are really awesome, and Maddie could be awesome like them.
That is just about everything I have to say for this week. I hope you all have a fun time in McCall without me and Gregory there, which won't be possible, because we were the life of the party. But try anyway. And I love you guys, and and I hope you are all having fun and doing good things, because it is important to have fun and do good things. So yep, that is just about everything. I love you guys and I will keep doing good missionary work here. Bye!!!

Love, Elder Parkes