BEST DAY EVER!!!

Wow this week was awesome!! And kind of crazy!

We got to do more exchanges this week which was... interesting. The first exchange was with Sister Kimber. She is really sweet and we had a pretty good day together! Then I went on an exchange with Sister Bueno. It was really weird to be with a previous companion but Sister Brough and I both felt like that was where we needed to be. Sister Bueno has been struggling this transfer with her companion and kind of let it all out. So last night we were the mediators/therapists and we helped them resolve their issues :)

So then on Saturday we had the best day ever! K AND C GOT MARRIED! Their wedding was so awesome. The ward members really stepped up and all the decorations were donated. They didn't have to spend a penny on the wedding (besides K's dress). K looked beautiful and they were so happy. Kate wanted me and Sis Bueno to be part of the wedding party (as bridesmaids) so we got to walk down the aisle and stand up front as they got married. It was such a neat experience to see how happy they were.

After the ceremony we ate some food and celebrated for a little bit. BUT... not for long because C had to be ordained with the priesthood! Bishop ordained him to the office of a priest so that he could baptize his new wife! Shortly following this, K was baptized into the restored Church of Jesus Christ. It was a spiritually jam-packed day!! 

The whole day I couldn't help but think back to the first time I met their little family about 4 months ago. Both C and K were heavy smokers, big coffee drinkers, unmarried, no relationship with God, sad, stressed, and friendless. Something crucial was missing from their lives. They were both very hesitant to start meeting with us. It was only after we showed them how much we loved them and how much their Heavenly Father loves them that they even wanted to listen. 

Now the next step for them is to get sealed in the temple. I will be off my mission at that point and will hopefully be able to see that happen. 

I love that family SO MUCH. They have taught me what the Atonement of Jesus Christ is really all about and how He can change lives. I feel like K and C have taught me WAY more than I could have ever taught them.

So I forgot to mention our sweet girls that are getting baptized this week! I mentioned them in my email last week and this week is the big day! So and Sa are getting baptized on March 2nd because it is Sa's 13th birthday and she thought a baptism would be the perfect way to celebrate. I have so much love for these girls and can't wait for Wednesday!! 

So yeah. Pretty awesome day and awesome week. 

Love y'all. 

Until next time,

Sister Park

The Church Needs Us All!

Well another week has come and gone. And this one was pretty great. 

This area is AMAZING. We are so busy all the time with so many appointments and a ton of investigators. Being busy on a mission is the best. You feel like you are actually fulfilling your purpose instead of knocking on doors and getting nowhere.

So I went on my first exchange with one of the sisters, Sister Kaious! It was kinda nerve-wracking. If you didn't know I'm kind of a perfectionist :). So I wanted to have the perfect exchange and be the perfect STL but then I remembered that perfect people don't exist! And all I really have to do as a leader is to love the people I serve.

So we are having a baptism next week! S and S are two sisters that we are teaching. Their mom (K) has been less active for like 20-30 years and just a couple weeks ago, after the death of her mother, decided to come back to church. Her mom was super active in the church and served 4 missions. After she died, K had an experience that prompted her to come back to church. She knows that if she wants to be with her mom again she has to change the way she is living. So their family has come to church for two weeks in a row and the kids are getting baptized! They are such an awesome family! 

I'm finally starting to really love the people here. I never thought I could love any one as much as I loved my Eagle Rock people but I do! Speaking of Eagle Rock people... K and C are getting married on Saturday!! And then K is getting baptized! I am so excited!! I miss them so much and I can't wait to see them again! 

Okay I had a cool realization/experience this week that I felt like I should share. While we were on exchanges, I had some neat experiences. First of all, we met this guy, J, who was a referral from someone in his ward. He was super friendly and talked to us for like 20 minutes. He explained that he used to be a member of the church, a very active member in fact. He served a mission, was an institute teacher, and was sealed to his wife in the temple. He explained that he decided to get his records removed from the church about 5 years ago. We asked why and he told us that he was "too liberal and intellectual" to be a member. He didn't agree with women not having the priesthood, the church's stance on gay marriage, and he had a lot of concerns with early church history. He basically told us that he just didn't fit in with the conservative, faith-not-logic-based Mormon crowd.

After we left I thought a lot about what he had said about not fitting into the "Mormon mold". Its really frustrating to encounter people who think that members of the church are just blind followers with the same opinions and ideas as the next person. I probably don't fit the cliche "Mormon mold" either (if there is such a thing). Of course I started to worry and question things. How could I be out serving a mission when I have a lot of the same questions as Jake? I don't understand these things fully either! Should I revoke my church membership?! (I obviously have a serious problem with panicking about EVERYTHING)

Then I got to stake conference. Elder Sexton, one of the general authorities of the church spoke. His remarks were definitely an answer to my prayers of worry and confusion. He spoke about the analogy Paul gives in 1 Corinthians about each of us being a part of the body of Christ. Some of us are the eyes, some are the ears, some are the arms. We are all different but we are ALL needed. The church can't be made up of all legs or that would be one weird looking body! The church needs all kinds of people. Liberal and conservative, male and female, some more intellectual, some more spiritual. We all have different strengths and weaknesses, different interests, and different ideas about some major issues, but we are all united in the body of Christ. We become one with God as we use our talents to build up His kingdom. We are all different and that's okay!! 

Anyways, I learned a lot this week about myself. And I was reminded why I'm out here serving a mission. I'm here with the sole hope of making life better for others. I don't have to have the answer to every difficult question to have a testimony of the restored gospel. When it comes down to it we really do have to cling to the things we have faith in. I firmly believe that I have a Heavenly Father who knows me VERY well. He is in the details of my life and He knows what I need. Jesus Christ was in fact a real man who walked this Earth performing miracles and spreading the gospel. And He died for us so that we can live eternally with our Heavenly family. The Book of Mormon is the word of God and it will help us draw closer to Him. Joseph Smith was a prophet of God and we have a living prophet today.

Its difficult to describe how I know these things. The Holy Ghost has confirmed these truths to me through experiences I have everyday as I study and teach. I feel happiest and most at peace when I acknowledge and act on the things I have come to know. I feel happiest when I choose to believe. 

Well sorry this is so long but I had a lot to share today! I love you all! Please continue to write me and let me know what is going on in your lives! 

Until next time,

Sister Park

Awkward Date Night. . .

Hello!!

How are things out in the real world? Hope you all had a fantastic love day!

Our week was pretty good for the most part. We taught a lot of lessons and were pretty busy so that is always good. 

So...to start... funny story... Sister Brough and I went on a double date yesterday. A DOUBLE DATE!! It was one of the most uncomfortable moments I've had thus far on my mission. And I've had a lot of those so that's saying something! So we cover the young single adult branch here and (of course) it was the branch's night to feed us on Valentine's Day. So we show up to our dinner appointment and its two brothers in their early 20s. Their parents were there but they decided not to join us for dinner and they just sat in the other room!! (What the heck?) So we ate a very awkward meal that felt very much like an uncomfortable first date. So that will be a Valentines day to remember!

Unfortunately we got some bad news this week. Sister Brough's mom was diagnosed with breast cancer and she is starting chemotherapy later this week. I can't believe how well Sister Brough is handling the news. She cried for like 20 minutes, wiped her tears, and got back to work. She is choosing to let this trial make her better, not bitter. If you all could keep the Brough family in your prayers that would be much appreciated!

The work here is going great! Kari is still really progressing and gaining a stronger testimony of the gospel everyday! She is awesome! 

I am so grateful for the opportunity I have been given to serve here and to see the Atonement of Jesus Christ in action. Repentance is such a beautiful principle of the gospel. It brings hope and peace like nothing else and I would not have gained such a strong testimony of it without serving a mission and seeing the full effects of repentance in action. 

I love you all! 

Until next time,

Sister Park

 Hi Momma Park,

This is Sister Brough! Your daughter's companion who she beats every night! (at card games...)

Your daughter is incredible! She is by far one of the most amazing individuals I have had the privilege of serving with on my mission. 

She has helped me so much with various things. I don't know how much background she has given you about me but here is a little:

In March of 2015 on my mission I has struck as a pedestrian with my companion at the time. I suffered many injuries that should have taken my life. I have suffered some PTSD from this event and continue to struggle with it on occasion. This past week I also received news that my mom has been diagnosed with Breast Cancer.

So a lot has happened on my mission. But it has been bearable and made a lot easier because of your wonderful daughter. She's always there for me, and her light has helped me to stay positive. Y'all must be incredible parents because you have raised an incredible daughter with such a strong testimony!

Hopefully I'll get to meet y'all and your family someday!

Love,

Sister Brough

Choose Faith!

Hey everyone!

I hope you all had a great week and enjoyed the Superbowl yesterday :)

We had a pretty good week! I don't know why but I was starting to feel a little homesick for my last area this week. I LOVED Eagle Rock stake so much. I had all these people I cared so much about and I felt like I had a family there. My first week in this area was awesome. The members were great and we got to meet all of the people the previous sisters were teaching. This week it slowed down a lot and I started to miss Eagle Rock. I know this is where I'm supposed to be though and Ammon is a really great area too. :)

Holy snow!! It snowed like another foot this week! WHEN WILL IT STOP?! It is pretty cold but I just feel so grateful that we have a car and we aren't walking around in the snow all the time.

So we are teaching this awesome lady named Kari. Kari loves the teachings of the gospel. She knows the things we've taught are true. She wants to get baptized so bad but she is on probation right now and still has to overcome a couple of addictions before that can happen. She is progressing so much though and she came to all three hours of church yesterday! We are going to see her tonight and I can't wait to see how she liked it. 

Sister Brough and I are still going strong! We have a lot of fun together but we also work really hard. 

I have a testimony of how the gospel changes lives. Having faith in Jesus Christ and in the scriptures brings a lasting peace and joy that couldn't come any other way. I am a much happier person when I choose faith over doubt. Its interesting because I thought I would be immune from having doubts and questions at this point in my mission but I'm not! None of us are ever really immune from that. We have to continue to choose faith throughout our lives. And when we do choose faith we are much happier! 

I love you guys! I love my Savior!

Until next time,

Sister Park

Change Is Good:)

Hey err'body!

This week has been crazy but super awesome! Transfers were on Wednesday and I got to meet my new companion, Sister Brough. Sister Brough is awesome and we clicked really fast. WE LOVE AMMON! The members here are so involved in missionary work, it's awesome! We seriously haven't knocked like any doors. Basically all appointments are set up by members and we don't have to do any finding! I am feeling the love for sure! 

My new zone is a lot of fun too! Our zone leaders are hilarious and we are going to have a great transfer- I can feel it! 

So we are whitewashing our area. Its a pretty interesting experience. Basically we've just been going around meeting all the people the previous missionaries were working with and meeting some members of the stake. We cover 8 wards and the young single adult branch so a pretty similar size to my last area. We have no idea where we are going most of the time. We don't have a GPS or a smart phone so we had to print out a map and we have to try to find things the old school way :) 

One responsibility of sister training leaders is to attend missionary leadership council so we got to go there on Friday. Its cool to participate in the behind the scenes parts of the mission. We also found out which sisters we will be over and We get to be over Sister Bueno and her new companion so I'll get to go on exchanges back to my old area! 

Things are good here and I'm excited for this new phase of my mission! I miss Eagle Rock stake of course but I think I was getting a little burnt out there. Heavenly Father knew I needed a change and I can't wait to see who I am supposed to meet here in Ammon.

I love you all so much. 

Until next time,

Sister Park