Skinny "P"

Mom,

      hurray for logan and jenaye! congratulations for your temple wedding!!! i wish i was there for the Halloween party and karaoke. . . . . tupac anyone..., return of the Skinny...

      no but seriously though something crazy happened this week! me and elder schenewark were walking down this street and when we turning the corner and i heard someone yelling something. but i couldnt make out what they were saying and plus it was from far away so i thought it was other people yelling to one another. we kept going but whoever it was kept yelling it out, "Magro!" "ay Magro!" "Magrinho!" then i finally realized they were yelling out to me, so i turned around and looked and this kid just said, " e ai Magro!" then gave me the thumbs up and went back in his house. Magro in portuguese means SKINNY!!!  that kid was calling out to me, " ay skinny!" and when i looked he just said, " whats up skinny!" gave me the thumbs up and left. elder schenewark said to me, who is that kid. i told him i dont know. he said what did he want. i said, "people recognize me anywhere i go and in whatever language." end of the convo.

         halloween parties are fun huh, they dont celebrate halloween here. candy is a national thing, wherever theres candy, theres gotta be halloween.

        i dont know why Gods putting so much old people in our paths. i think elder schenewarks gonna be known as some old person baptizer. were teaching this old couple that is going to baptize this sunday. haha this week we almost baptized this middle aged lady but when we passed by there to get her and teach her, her aunt came out and said, she doesnt follow anything. then i said, well shes gonna follow Jesus Christ being baptized this weekend. then the aunt told me that this lady we were teaching is a drunk and cant get off of pinga. pinga is a highly addictive brazilian drink. i looked at elder schenewark and was like, dang we almost baptized a pinga drinking drunk. got out of there and never went back. but if she hadnt have drank pinga in the last 4 days, i still would have baptized her that very night! só batiza!

                     me and elder schenewark are starting something new, operation baptize children. were gonna carry candy in our pockets and walk around and throw them out to all the little kids on the streets, that way they love us and its easy to get in with the parents and we can baptize some families. were gonna be the creepiest elders in town.  " hay kids, you like candy?" "YA!YA!YA!"  " Elder Parkerll give ya some candy if you jump in the baptismal font!" or heres my new question when i roll up into favelas (ghettos), " goodness its hot,... who wants to go swimming?!"

       welcome to missionary work.   ;D  Totally joking, calm down, don’t take everything I say so serious! Gotta have some humor now! We will baptize anyone the Lord puts in our path, we are just hoping for a family!

-          Elder Parker

Dad, (asked who is Gaspar that keeps appearing on Parkers bank register)

     ya gaspar is this guy that basically owns this town. he owns the local market that we all go to. hes also the mayor here, he basically runs everything. ya weve got everything now except for the kitchen table.

               thanks for the words of wisdom dad. thats very surreal that logan and jenaye were sealed in the temple. as a church we need to be more of a temple going people. im grateful that my city has a temple. i was thinking about where im going to live when i get my family and everything going and then the thought popped into my head, wherever the temple is. so i dont have to leave, fresno will have to do.

          That’s really great though that they got sealed, i feel very blessed that i have two more older siblings that have taken upon themselves the higher covenants even the covenants of exaltation, i hope he understands the full responsibilities that come with everything that he’s just done, it will be pivotal for him and his family in the coming years huh.

          well, tupã is a far far way away from zion, but were giving it all weve got. we did an activity that the brazil area presidency made for all branches and wards in brazil to do. we had the activity on saturday, we had a whole 9 members, 8 missionaries and 3 of my investigators im teaching go to the activity. sometimes i feel like these people actually dont want a solution to there problems cause they are used to losing to satan so theyve just given up. weve got new missionaries here so the work should be able to go by faster. to tell you the truth, if i was a member here, a common brazilian person 20 years old and i lived in tupã, id fall away from the church. but im a missionary, and i know the potential this place has that they cannot see, so work, work, work is what we will do!

                o ya that lady we baptized last week, i confirmed her yesterday, can you believe that im doing most of these priesthood ordinances for the first time in a foreign land, speaking a foreign language. its crazy how far someone can come in such short time with the help of the Lord. feels like yesterday i didnt understand people when they asked me my name.

                                                                    love ya dad!

                              - Elder Parker

Let us all SHINE on!!

Mom,

    ya we moved out, its been an adventure this whole week. 4 missionaries one house, and four mattresses. we have no furniture, no fridge, microwave, no nothing. no washing machine, my garments i have on right now ive been wearing for 3 days now!!! all we have is running water and we cant even drink the water from the sink. we have been sitting on the floor to eat and do everything, study, plan, dress, sleep. hahaha me and elder schenewark had to carry our mattresses to the new house which is about a mile away from the house and it was like nine fifteen at night and theres just two white mormon missionaries carrying mattresses down a busy avenue at nine fifteen at night. we walked in front of this church and the pastor looked at us like what is going on in this world. the other two are elder anderson and elder sander. there both brazilian and they both have a lot of time. one has 1 year and 8 months and the other 1 year and 4 months. they dance alot. i bought some bread, mustard, and hot sauce and someone else bought saltine crackers. mmm ive had saltine crackers with hot sauce for breakfast the last 3 days. and i just steadily munch on bread. and elder chambers lives in the other house about a fifteen minute walk away. and the guy to put the beds, desks and dressers together has marked to come here like 3 times and he never comes! its really impeded the work though cause if he comes then one set has to stay and let him in and show him where to put stuff and where to build it and just make sure that nothing goes wrong and he never comes! so this week he stole like 3 days from us, one being pday which you just dont do. but they just brought the washing machine finally, got the guys reference that brought it to us, he seems baptizable. he seemed pretty interested.

     tyler Haroldsen needs to get called to brazil londrina so i can be comps with him and we baptize everyone!

     CONGRATULATIONS TO LOGAN AND JENAYE BENNETT!!!!!!!! im so excited for them to enter the temple, they can be blessed much more in there lives because of this decision. i wish i could have been there for there REAL wedding. Dear logan and jenaye, welcome to the Big Leagues.

    kayson knows how to talk?! he probably speaks better english then me, although i do speak some mean pirate.

     well we baptized this week!!!! we baptized this really funny old lady. haha i think shes like 76 or something. her names natalina! elder schenewark put  her in the water like a pro! i was so proud! hes got a little kick in his step ever since he cleaned 76 years worth of sins. Priesthood Powerzão!!!! Natalina was telling a member about us meeting her and it almost brought me to tears. last saturday we were knocking on this guys door that we taught and he wasnt answering. then this old lady from across the street came out from her house and said hes probably not home. we said thanks! then we sat there and kept clapping at his door. he wasnt coming but the old lady was watching us from the otherside of the street. then i said to elder schenewark, what does this old lady want man?! we clapped again. nobody, but she was still there. so i said lets just talk to her then. so we went over there all excited and what not and just told her to go to church tomorrow and that wed be there to pick her up. she agreed. miracle she was there the next day waiting in the doorway, i was like, alright ill take an old lady to church then.( No disrespect just because old people usually are really hard to baptize). so we took her to church and the next day when i went to teach her with another elder, it was a division, we taught the restoration to her and at the end elder abreu said to her, sister natalina we have a very special invite for you. (invitation of baptism) but she said, " before the invite can i ask a question." we said yes. she asked us how long does she have to wait to be baptized in this church!!!!!!!!! i almost jumped out of my seat! i was like sister natalina, you can be baptized this sunday! she said you think i can be prepared for this sunday? i was like, Yes you can! you already agreed to be baptized this sunday and then i just yelled over all her doubts she had and she started laughing and it was smooth sailing from there. haha while preparing her we taught her the law of chastity. she said, " well my husband died 20 years ago. then when we invited her to live the law of chastity she said i dont know what if i meet a nice man in the church of the mormons. i was like natalina can i build a time machine and go back in  time and marry you. i love her to death. shes hilarious! shes like the grandma recent convert i always wanted! o ya but heres the best part, she was telling the member about meeting us and she said that she saw two young men knocking the door across the street and that she came out to see them. i called to them that he wasnt home but they kept knocking, so i sat there and watched them. because while i was watching them knock the door, they were shining. i saw a light illuminating from them. and when they came to talk to me, i saw that they had a light that was illuminating from them so when they invited me to go to church, i had to agree. she said, " i wanted to be a member of this church before they talked to me, because of the light that left from them and the way that made me feel." they were like two angels across the street and now i have two angels in my home with me.

thats the second person thats told me that here in Tupã. like i said to the first, im just so white that the sun is reflecting off of me that makes me appear like i shine. i shall shine on then!!!!

BLESSINGS FROM THE MISSION!

let us all SHINE on!!!! I LOVE YOU ALL!!!!

- Elder Parker

 Dad,

    man 7000 missionaries coming into the field. were makin the last serge for the second coming. VAMOS LÁ!!! ya it was super exciting when they announced that in general conference. Elder Schenewark is coming along just fine. he got his first little baptism this week. it was very special, youll see it in moms email. the works going but the members arent. i hope the Lord answers my prayers and wakes them up.

ya about Presidente Gelwixs talk he gave, one thing that we learned the other day is that they call missionaries based on there mission president. they have a picture of you, and they decide where youll go based on the revelation they get from which mission president you should be assigned to. pretty cool huh. Elder Cook of the Twelve said that, he also said its a more profound doctrine that happens in the mission choosing process that nobody knows much about. so i was assigned to serve the Lord, but i was assigned to serve with His servant Presidente Tavares. pretty cool huh.

hurraay for logan and jenaye getting sealed in the temple. thats pretty monumental to think that there getting sealed in the temple considering where logan was 3 years ago. onto the next ones, landon and chad.

tell cambria i said to get better. she still is that little baby in the stocking to me.

utah? i still havent had a comp that is from utah and i dont think ill ever be like utanians. i live with brazilians, i just forgot english so hoot is a good, mild mannered word to use for him. you dont have to worry about me, ill always be a cali boy. did i mention we got a new house, nothing else inside or anything, just a new house, with 4 mattresses.

- Elder Parker

Pressing Forward with Faith

Dad, 

      ive learned first hand that people in the church are not perfect. i know why this is known as the toughest district in the mission. it really is. not just the members struggle but the leadership also. when men dont serve missions and then get called as leaders, im sorry to sound biased but there just not as good. they dont have as much faith, granted there can be some that dont serve missions and still turn out great, President Monson, but the majority are weaker. Im learning that missions are vital to your spirituality and teach you so much.

                      so the family is all doing well then huh? its nice that riley keeps busy cause theres nothing good for teenagers to be doing at this time of the year. hes a sophomore right?

               i hope cambria is doing well, i miss her a lot. she likes folding paper now? thats so random haha. tell her i said to have spongebob ready for me when i get home.

              i cant to hear about the marriage of logan and jenaye in the temple. should be awesome!

                dont worry dad im taking care of elder schenewark, hes just going through the whole new missionary transition, ya know shy and timid at times. hell break out of it and we will start baptizing here pretty soon.

                         wanna know something funny, all my life ive loved serving in quorum presidencies like in deacons quorum and teachers but here on the mission, i do not like responsibility. the zone leaders and district leaders have to work much more with the other missionaries making sure there ok or there area is good and ive seen what its like, and ive decided that its not for me and i dont like it. i like very much to just keep to myself and worry about my companionship and my area and my investigators. we had interviews with president tavares and he said to me that God has revealed to him that i am ready and capable of having any calling and serving in any area in the mission. i dont like where this is going.

                                                   love ya a ton dad!

                                        - Elder Parker

Mom, 

     we dont move into the new house until this thursday. the other two sets of missionaries havent gotten here yet. there waiting for the house in a city close by. the works gonna really start going now once these others show up. now me and elder schenewark wont have to cover as much and it should give us more time to focalize the Lords work in a more concentrated area. the address for packages is still the same at sister ana´s house but for letters its changed. the new address is:

           

             Elder Parker

             Rua Macús 273

             Centro

            CEP: 17600-310      Tupã-SP

                          Brazil

     thats exciting with the new house coming. i hope you buy me a house when i get home.

        its getting hot here. it rained though the other day so thats nice cause it cleans the air and cools the city down for a couple days.

      where is alex wood going to serve? curitiba, florianopolis, or porto alegre? i think you said he was going to serve close to the ocean in the south right?

         thats so crazy that emersons back already. time flies!

      if they get any crazier with the musical practices there gonna have to start paying the youth. 3 times a week is ridiculous. remember when i was heleman and larry was in it and we had a part together with dakota in the background. the musical hasnt been the same since that performance.

          where is aunt sheryl gonna move to? is she going to stay in clovis?

       ya the gospel is nice in our lives but im trying to baptize people here! elder schenewark is coming along, its not that hes timid its just that for being a missionary he is. when your a missionary you just gotta own it. you have to arrive in someones house and just your demeanor has to say, "im here to baptize you all."  haha i was talking to him about how we have to be like a spiritual drug to these people. we need to get in and get out and they need to miss us and our visits. then i said they have to be addicted to us. haha he said, " ya i got cha, lets just roll up to people and say, hi my name is elder cocaine and this is my comp elder heroine." ...now hes gettin it!

            the other day we were walking in the street and he dropped the book of mormon and it hit the ground. then he looked at me and said, " does that mean my wife just got uglier?" this elders a hoot!

         but you cant really blame us, these last two weeks have been really difficult with the whole split, and us getting a house and what nots, it hasnt really given us any time to just focus on the work. and plus we spent this whole week on the other side of the city trying to find people to teach for the other missionaries when they arrive so when they get here they wont be completely lost, yes were just that nice. a weeks worth of work for another set of missionaries. we found some really good people though. this one guy named monoel who has already been to church 8 years ago. met him on saturday at 4 and we taught him in the street about being baptized yesterday. haha almost pulled out a miracle and baptized a man in less then 24 hours! the only problem is that he drives diesels for a living so he had to prepare to leave and wasnt able to go to church for the second time. but well prepare him for the other missionaries when they get here on thursday so they can baptize him this sunday. hes got a family also! ya know how one rule is that someone cant drink coffee or drink, or smoke for 4 days before there baptism so i asked him if hed already been to church and he said yes. then i asked him if he drinks coffee and he said no, then without me asking him he said i dont drink or smoke either cause its all bad for your body. i said to him, "sir, you just told me youre an elect and one of the chosen of God and you need to follow the example of Jesus Christ being baptized by someone holding the priesthood authority of God, tomorrow." he laughed but after 5 minutes of talking he saw that me and elder schenewark dont play no games!

   i want to baptize everyone, elder schenewark is beginning to become one of us, as much as he does not want to, its only inevitable. welcome to the world of baptism. new rule, we can only talk about things if they have any correlation to baptism.

    example: " thats such a nice car... ya we could totally baptize so many chicks if we had a car."

     example: " im hungry... for some baptisms!"

                         itll be fun!!!!

                                                love you all, hope that dakota gets called to londrina and i train him.

      - Elder Parker

New Companion, Elder Schenewark

mom,    

     ya that was so crazy when they announced the new age limit for missionaries. elder schenerwark started shouting and clapping his hands like it was a football game. i think the wierdest thing is going to be sisters that are 19. most of the sisters in our mission are all like 23 and already graduated from college. its wierd thinking that some sisters will arrive younger then me. i could training elders straight out of high school here in a few months.

     ya my comp is elder schenewark! i dont know where he is from cause hes lived all over the country. he tells people he is from boston but he says he lives in ohio so i dont know how that works out. when i told elder chambers on the phone that my comp was from boston, elder chambers said, " hes from boston texas!" i love him :D but elder schenewark is fine, he speaks portuguese really well for only two months, but hes like a little baby missionary and has lot to learn. im super bummed i didnt get a baptism lined up for him in the first week, our investigator didnt show up for her interview, ill see what happens tonight when we visit her but i think were gonna cut her.

      did aunty sheryl like conference...

        dang, if brazil didnt take so long to get a passport and stuff dakoty could get called to brasil londrina and i could train him. thatd be cool.

        o ya i got an email from tyler haroldson but pres. tavares made a new rule that we cant even recieve emails from anyone besides grandparents, parents and brothers and sisters. so i erased it on the spot but could you tell him to just write me a letter instead, its the only way i can recieve it.

            the wheat pics were with elder luchmun, my 5th comp. after elder zioli.

            how am i supposed to return and marry some young summer flower if they can leave at 19 now. so much for blessings from the mission. ill probably wind up marrying one of the older ones that already served, graduated from college and is like 25, then again she could work and just take care of me for the rest of my life... blessings from the mission. :D 

              why do all you moms stay in contact with each other, its wierd. because were not there so what do 4 moms talk about to each other on the computer, im just confused at the relationships that are forming and how rapidly they are forming.

           jared metcalf wanted to know what the missionary work was like here in brazil and how do we proselyte, i hope the bus video answered his questions cause i dont know if i have time to answer all of them. sorry jared.

            elder schenewark is super funny, i told him that my last comp was transferred  cause he thought this area was dangerous. then i said to him dont be scared, and he said, " o im not scared! my dad grew up in compton man, i can take anything!" i was like alright calm down Compton now your just getting crazy.

         when i was watching conference i couldnt help but remember about my last conference before i went into the field and thinking about how i only watched 1 of the 4 sessions as usually was every year but then i thought to myself what is it that is so much different now then 10 months ago. why is this conference making such an impact on me that other conferences never could. its because i came to this conference with a humble heart, meek as a little child ready to learn. the name tag i wear and the title of elder before my name dont change the person that i am and never will. this conference wasnt the best conference of my life because im a missionary, it was the best because i made it the best and i hope i can strive to make every conference the best for the rest of my life.                    

                                     Te Amo!

                             - Elder Parker

Elder Parker is now a trainer

mom,

     baptize some people. if you keep taking more people to church im gonna pay for a flight, come home and baptize them then return to brazil. gee goly jimminey what a marvelous work that is happening in fresno.

  

  my birthday party was awesome! i filmed it all youll probably get it in a month. i spent it with some random brazilian family i met while knocking doors.

    

    President Tavares, seeing the need,  has sent two more groups of missionaries to tupã. One for elder chambers ward and one for mine.  The people of Tupa wonder why the church has been here for 33 years and they still aren’t a stake and they have 1300 members here in this city but still in sacrament meeting only 61 were there. Which is a huge win. the branch had 42 when i showed up. im not whining, im just showing you why tupã is one of the hardest areas  in my mission. The people here really struggle with keeping the commandments of God.

       

o ya ala 2 my old area in Londrina, it got closed because some drug dealer showed up and told the missionaries if he sees them again, hes going to kill them. i served there! i got robbed there! ive got street cred on the mission. o believe me ive got street cred.

     

    and better yet i got called to train! im gonna train! ive got a little baby missionary waiting for me in the ctm. hes sitting there right now shaking in his little suit not knowing what hes getting in to! im so excited!!! im staying in tupã! but im gonna move my house so dont send anything, ill give you the info on my new house next week. o ya that reminds me, elder chambers and i went house shopping in brazil, it was very boring, difficult and frustrating. how are two americans gonna know how to get a house, ive never even lived out of my parents house before in my life. My companion elder saraiva got transfered, im not sure where though. . im gonna train an american, i think hes from provo, i dont know for sure yet because i only saw that really quickly but ill find out tomorrow. elder freitas will be so happy!

 HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO CAMBRIA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    i love you so much cambria. just think i was your age when we first got you as a little baby. i was just ten years old when i first held you in my arms. you had big eyes and a bald head! :D

           me and elder chambers are changing tupã. one soul at a time!

                     - Elder Parker

    

 Elder Chambers and Elder Parker on his birthday.

 Random Brazilian family they celebrated with.

 Not sure about this one, but Elder Parker looks happy!