Tuesday, October 16, 2012

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

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