The Loneliest Walk

Happy Easter y'all!

We had a fantastic week here in Pokey (despite the stinky weather). I LOVE THIS AREA. SO MUCH. We are so busy!

So I started this thing about two weeks ago. It has been the biggest blessing and one of the best things I have ever done. I got this little notebook that I take with me everywhere that I call my Revelation/Prayers Answered/Spiritual Moments Notebook. So basically every time I recognize an answer to a prayer, a spiritual prompting, or receive revelation, I write it down. This notebook has honestly changed my life and has helped me combat doubts about God or even about myself. In the past, I have struggled to remember times when I have received an answer to a prayer or when I have felt the spirit. I doubt that these experiences really happened and I question myself. 

Soooo.. I decided to write these experiences down right when they happen and then I can't forget them or distort them over time. I would encourage all of you to do this! Get a little notebook that you can carry around in your pocket or in your purse and record all the experiences you have that confirm God's reality to you. I can promise that your faith will grow stronger. 

I wanted to quickly share one of the many experiences that I've had this week.

So we are teaching a girl named L. L is highly addicted to meth and she uses almost everyday. She can't function normally; even after a few hours after using, her body begins withdrawals and she is miserable. She is 5'4 and weighs around 80 pounds. She is depressed, suicidal and needs serious help. 

This week, L wanted us to come with her to her rehab assessment. This assessment was basically her counselor asking her a ton of questions about her addiction to see if she qualifies for rehab. It was so sad. As he asked L about the withdrawal symptoms, about her fears, about things she had done in the past, she opened up about how difficult her life has been and still is. I just wanted to cry the entire time. 

After the evaluation we were driving back to her house and  the song, "The Loneliest Walk" by David Osmond came on. If you haven't heard this song: GO LISTEN TO IT! It tells the story of some people going through some rough stuff and how they felt completely alone. Then it talks about  the real loneliest walk, which was the walk of the Savior as he underwent the Atonement and the Crucifixion. The song ends by saying that we all must keep pushing through because someone has walked the walk we have walked before. 

I couldn't hold back my tears as I listened. I had the distinct impression that the Savior knows L perfectly. He has felt what she has felt. He has walked a lonelier walk even than the one she is walking. And he loves her. 

I was filled with the spirit as I had this realization. The Savior knows exactly what we are going through. He loves us. 

I love you all! Hope you have a great week! 

Until next time, 

Sister Park

P.S. The picture is of us and L :)

Another week has come and gone! And spring is here!! It was like 60 degrees yesterday and it felt like summer!! 

We had a pretty awesome week. N is still going strong. He is like the most amazing person ever. He has so much faith and really believes the gospel is true with all his heart. Definitely the most prepared person I've taught thus far on my mission. 

We took him to something called the "Walk with Christ" which is like a tour through a church building which they decorate to make it look like Jerusalem. They take you from room to room and you basically go through Christ's life starting from the nativity and ending with the Resurrection. There are live actors telling stories from Christ's life as though they had been there.

Man it was such a powerful experience. N was fine until we got to the Crucifixion part. For the Crucifixion, we were lead into a dark room with a cross set up and the Crucifixion scene from The Passion movie playing. After watching the people make fun of Jesus, whip him, and ultimately nail him to the cross, N had tears streaming down his face and he wouldn't look at us.

After the walk was over we talked to N about it. He couldn't contain himself and burst out, "How could they do that to Him? Why did He have to suffer like that?". We explained that although it was terrible and unfair that he had to suffer, it was a necessary part of Heavenly Father's plan. He willingly accepted the Father's will and gave himself as a sacrifice for us. 

But we need not focus on His death. We must remember is that He lives again! He overcame death and because of Him, we will be able to as well. 

The next day we took N to the Temple Visitors Center in Idaho Falls and he loved that too! He just wants to soak every bit of information in that he can. He wants to go to the temple so badly! Its going to be awesome to do baptisms for the dead with him after he gets baptized. 

Oh! Also his baptism date is for April 9! We are so excited for him! 

We have a ton of promising new investigators too so we will be super busy during the next couple weeks! 

I am so grateful for this Easter season and that we are able to remember and celebrate our Savior's glorious triumph over the grave. I am grateful for the beautiful and perfect plan that God has for mankind as well as the individual plan he has for each one of us. Sometimes we may not understand why certain things are happening in our life. Maybe we don't feel as close to God as we would like to. Maybe we feel alone. Maybe we are unsure about a decision we must make. Maybe we want to be happy but we don't know how. 

I can testify that the answer to all of these concerns can be found through having faith in Jesus Christ and living the principles of His gospel. Hope and lasting happiness come through Christ. I have seen this over and over on my mission thus far and I think that is one of the biggest lessons I was supposed to learn out here. I love my Savior and will be forever indebted to Him for all that He has done for me. 

I love all of you. Remember the Savior this week! (And every week) :)

Until next time,

Sister Park

P.s. If you haven't seen this, watch it: 

www.mormon.org/easter/hallelujah

Paige is ACTUALLY in Poky!!

Hey!! Hope you all are having a fantastic week! 

I am now in Pocatello! Pretty crazy right? This transfer was totally unexpected but I know there must be a reason for it. 

This area is awesome. We cover almost all of the young single adult wards in Pocatello (which includes ISU campus). Serving over YSA is very weird. Its a bunch of kids my own age which is super cool because I feel like I can relate with them a lot more but at the same time its strange because I can't like "hang out" and just be friends with them. Doing missionary work on a college campus is definitely TOTALLY different than anything I've done thus far on my mission. Most cities in Eastern Idaho are predominantly LDS (or know about Mormons) but serving at ISU is completely different. There are people here from all over the world who have never heard of the church before! Its so freakin' COOL!

So just to give you a taste of the diversity here... We are teaching a guy from Nigeria, a guy from Kenya, a girl from Ghana, and three guys from Saudi Arabia. Its kinda like I'm serving a foreign mission :) We are teaching a TON of people. Most promising right now though are N and R. 

N is going to ISU but he is from all over the place (he's a military brat too). He was actually introduced to the church on a plane ride to Salt Lake. He was sitting next to a returned missionary girl and she gave him a Book of Mormon and talked to him a little bit about it. He decided to start reading it and praying about it. He stayed in contact with the girl and she sort of started teaching him more. He had several really cool experiences with the Spirit and he knew he needed to get baptized. So he gave us a call and told us he needed the lessons so he could get baptized! It was seriously such a miracle. 

R is a super cute girl from Northern Idaho. She is rooming with a member of the church and has been coming to church with her and stuff all year and decided to start meeting with us a couple months ago. She got to go through the Provo Temple open house a couple weeks ago and had a really neat spiritual experience. She has not committed to a baptismal date yet, mostly because her family isn't very supportive. She is awesome though and I definitely see a lot of potential in her!

My companion is Sister Gilbert and she is super awesome! We are VERY similar. We are both very organized, hard-working, and obedient. We both like to workout and clean. But most importantly we both LOVE our missions! This is going to be an awesome transfer and I am so excited! 

I love you all so much! 

Until next time,

Sister Park

 1: The Raffettos (Sabrina and Sophia's family)

 

 2. Kari and Jeanine

Baptisms:) and Transfers:(

Hello everyone! 

So this has been a pretty crazy week. 

First of all, the baptisms were great! Sophie and Sabrina were baptized and it was awesome. Sabrina (the 13 year old) is SUPER SUPER shy and she was so nervous to be up in front of people. When she walked in and saw how many people had come to support her she just started crying and saying she didn't want to do it. We finally calmed her down and proceeded with the baptism. Then the girls were confirmed yesterday by a member of the stake presidency and he gave them both beautiful blessings. I love those girls (and the rest of their family) so much. I know it was not a coincidence that I met and taught them. 

So big news! I'm being transferred to Pocatello :( It came as a big shock to both me and Sister Brough. When we found out we were both really upset and confused. We had been working so well together and we LOVE this area. But the more I have thought and prayed about it, the better I feel. President Hancock must have been inspired to make this unexpected change. So yeah I am heading down to Poky on Wednesday! My new companion is Sister Gilbert from Utah. I know a little bit about her and she is really sweet and I think we will have a lot of fun together. 

I'm going to miss Sister Brough a lot! We have had a lot of fun together but I'm excited for a new adventure in Pocatello. We will be over all of the young single adults at Idaho State and really all over Poky. Sister Gilbert says its really awesome and she loves it so I'm super excited! 

Tomorrow is Sister Brough's birthday and our last day together so we are going to party it up and have so much fun (pictures of B-day fun will come next week). 

Well I love you all! Have the best week!

Until next time,

Sister Park

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