9.21.2015

I love the Book of Mormon too. I have been thinking about how to help one of our investigators develop greater faith to be absolutely committed to getting married soon, and I was reminded while reading in chapter 5 of Preach My Gospel that one of the primary purposes that we invite investigators to read the Book of Mormon is so that they can increase their faith in Christ. I will be training again and they have split the Zone leaders so that the other Zone leader will be in another area. It's going to be a lot of responsibility but I think that that spurs growth and reliance upon the Lord. I always think of you guys when I watch conference. I remember that you are also listening to the words of the Lord at the same time I am. Sure do love you and mom and the whole family! 

Love, Elder Parker

9.14.2015

The family that we are teaching are doing well. We taught them about the law of chastity and committed the parents to marriage. C readily accepted, but D wanted to wait longer. After talking to him about it, and also inviting him to pray and ask Heavenly Father what His will is, D also decided that a sooner marriage would be the best thing to do. We will be calling the stake president (who has a license to marry) this week, and hopefully they will be married before the end of the month. We set a date with them for September 26 to be married. That was exciting. However, C had some KFC that didn't agree with her Saturday night into Sunday morning so they didn't come to church, but they have come the 3 week prior to this Sunday. They also love watching the Joseph Smith: Prophet of the Restoration movie. They found it on their own and watched it at least 3 or 4 times last week. So they are doing well. A baptismal date should be forthcoming this week. I got Grandma's email and was glad to have it. We had 10 new investigators this week. The coolest one is named Ch, but there is also another family (with married parents!) that also seem to have good potential. There is an older sister in the ward named sister J who we have been taking teaching a lot. She is like a grandma to everyone she meets, and is also the new seminary teacher. We have been teaching one of her friends named Je. With the help of sister J, Je has been progressing well and is planning on attending church this Sunday. I have been praying for things to work out with the move, maybe I'll pray more specifically for the house to sell. Glad to hear that sports are going well and that everyone is adjusting to the move well. Elder Grimm goes home next Wednesday, so I will find out who my new companion will be Saturday. I have been learning how leaders do the most teaching through their own example. Elder Martinez of the second quorum of the seventy taught that if I want to help my zone to work better with members, I should be able to bring them to my area and show them how I work with members. It's been a good week. 

Love, Elder Parker  

9.7.2015

This week had its ups and its downs, but overall it was good. My birthday was good. I happened to be at the mission home for a mission leadership council so it was a good way to start of my 20's. The council was about leadership and developing some of the skills that a leader needs, like giving correction and counselling with other leaders. There was a lot that I learned from Elder Hugo Martinez of the 2nd quorum of the Seventy about counselling. He taught from D&C 107:27,29-31 and how the purpose of counselling together is to find out the will of the Lord. When church leaders, husbands and wives, or companionships are unified in their decision, that decision has great power. The key, he said while quoting from the late President Packer, is to have the spirit. So that was what I did on my birthday. While meeting with the Branch President this Sunday after stake conference, I also got a birthday cake. Tell grandma thanks for me please. We had 2 investigators come to church this week. They have come 3 weeks in a row and have come more on time each time! They also are doing great on reading in the Book of Mormon and the tracts that we leave with them. They even read together as a family at night! We are going to teach them about the law of chastity this week to help them get married and then baptised. Our branch President and his wife are planning on coming with us, so hopefully that will be a powerful lesson. Our other investigators understand a little about the sacrament, but we had to drop a few investigators this last week. They had stopped progressing. Tell Grandpa and Dad, happy birthday.

Love, Elder Parker

8.30.2015

I'll see if I can go get something good to eat this week for my Birthday. The people we are teaching are doing well, however they have been coming too church late and have missed the sacrament so we had to push their dates back. They like church and have been understanding well. There is a family that we have been teaching that I am excited about. Our next lessons will be critical with them though because they aren't married and we will be teaching them about the law of chastity. We have explained a little about temples in the restoration and they would like to be married there, so maybe They will se the importance of getting married so they can get to the temple. Zone conference was great this week. Elder Hugo Martinez of the 2nd quorum was there with sister Martinez. I got to be interviewed by Elder Martinez and one of the things that he said that stuck out to me was the times that he has been able to feel the spirit the most has been when he reads the scriptures with his family. That reminded me of when we would do that on Sunday evenings at home. It's been a good week and I am getting excited for general conference! Thanks for the birthday greetings!

Love, Elder Parker

8.24.2015

This week went well, but with a lot of appointment cancellations. A good week consists of about 27-32 lessons, but this week we only had 24. WE did see some great successes with a reactivation of Brother S. We have been working with him for a little bit and he is excited to be back at church. N is also doing well. She came to church and is progressing towards baptism on September 12. We had to push it back a week from September 5 because she consistently comes a little late to church so she misses the sacrament, but she comes to church none the less. There was also another lady that Elder Grimm and I met while contacting named K. She recently moved into the area and was really taken back when we offered to help her do some yard work for free. I think that she thought it was a little weird that two people she had just met would want to help her out. We had a great lesson with her and a member about the restoration and she understood the blessings and clarity that would come from having living prophets. She accepted a baptismal invitation for September 19!  She was supposed to come to church on Sunday, but she got a really bad migraine where she could barely walk so hopefully she comes next week. We have a couple other people that are showing some good promise, but those are the most progressive people we are teaching right now. I gained some more light this week while reading the Book of Mormon in a lesson. We were reading 3 Nephi 12 and the beatitude that stuck out to me was blessed are they who hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they shall be filled with the Holy Ghost. I have been thinking about enduring to the end and how to successfully endure. One of the things that I learned is the importance of the Holy Ghost and how enduring is not the same as just hanging in there. Enduring is a forward and upward motion that requires constant improvement. Being anxiously engaged in a good cause is essential to enduring. Anxious engagement in good causes can also be described as hungering and thirsting  invites the Holy Ghost to be with us.

8.17.2015

Our investigators are doing well. N went to church in Port of Spain since she was over there this weekend, so she is still progressing towards September 5th. She is doing well, and I can see that she is being changed. Her priorities are shifting more towards the things of eternal significance. She is reading the Book of Mormon a lot and we have good spiritual lessons with her. The L are also doing well. P came to church. L was sick, but she woke up her dad to make sure that he came to church. Elder Grimm and I had a great lesson with P this week as we read Alma 32. The spirit was there, and I'm excited to see him continue to progress. I think that his heart has softened enough so that he will accept a new baptismal date. This week showed me how effective reading the Book of Mormon is with people. It invites the spirit so that they learn the lesson they needed to and it leaves minimal room for mistakes since we are just reading instead of talking. Micron should be receiving his mission call soon. I'll let you know when that happens. Other than that I don't know too much about what is happening there. I have been enjoying the work a lot lately and I  believe that it has to do with my increased obedience and really trying to help bring about real growth. Not just having lessons to fill in my schedule, but to help others come closer to Christ. It is those details that make the difference. I believe that the Lord sends his prepared people to his prepared servants. Sarah seems to be having a hard time adjusting. I look forward to having so many temples so close to home.