Hopping on a treadmill at full speed

Hey y'all!

This week was hectic. Being in the office feels like I'm back as a Student Body Officer but with more work and a lot more stress.

This week Elder Held (a 70 who spoke last conference) came to visit our mission. This was a special occasion for us because we rarely get visited by general authorities. This is the first time a general authority has visited in my 16 months here. Also just a fun fact for y'all that apostles aren't allowed to visit our mission because its in a "red zone" meaning the altitude is way to high for it to be safe for them to come. So we were running around all week trying to get ready for the conferences. It turned out pretty well except for the fact that the lunch got there over an hour late... But I can't get too mad because they had to make 110 plates and have it delivered by 10:30 in the morning. But we did order it about a week ago.

But the conference was really good and Elder Held and his wife are super cool people. My favorite talk was by Sister Held. I'm pretty sure she has a background in psychology and she talked about how the thoughts we think lead to how we feel. For example when we think about something sad that's happened in our lives, we tend to feel sad. And when we think on a happy moment we feel happy. So she talked about how our mind creates about 50-80 thousand thoughts every day and we need to be careful on which thoughts we give energy to or focus on. We can't think too far into the past or too far into the future but to be in tuned strong enough to feel the spirit we need to be focused on in the moment.

Outside of the conference there isn't a lot to mention. I've been super tired this week because we've had to wake up extra early a couple different times and also Thursday the day of the conference we woke up at 4:45 to finish the preparations, then after the conference President did interviews for a zone that traveled to the conference. Well he started the interviews at 4:30 and any returned missionary knows interviews always go over time so instead of ending at 9:30 he actually didn't get done with interviews until 12:30. Then that zone of missionaries took a bus back to their area at 1:30am. So I didn't get to bed until a little past 2. So we were up for 21ish hours straight and are definitely feeling it now. But as my dad would always tell me, "people die in their sleep" haha so I guess it's not a bad thing to not get a lot of sleep.

To end I want to share my thoughts on God's grace. In the past two weeks I have witnessed it in my life more than ever before. Nephi says in the Book of Mormon that we are saved by grace after all we can do. Basically we do our part and God does the rest that we can't. Well after running around stressed all week doing our part, God definitely helped us out. For example, I'm in charge of making hotel reservations and President and the assistants traveled to the other side of the mission for one of the conferences with Elder Held. Almost forgetting to make the reservations, I quickly called and ordered the rooms like normal. But I forgot that the assistants are in a trio temporarily with another elder. Well I definitely ordered a two bed room for them forgetting the third one and then somehow the hotel accidentally gave them a room with three beds. Coincidence? I think not. Then later the zone for the jungle had to travel for conferences but a big landslide happened blocking off the road. Luckily a member who owns a tourist business was able to go pick them up at 3 in the morning in one of his buses and bring them safely to conference. I don't want to bore you but there were many times where my companion and I would notice a mistake or problem of ours magically get fixed, look at each other and say that was the grace of god. As humans we aren't even close to being perfect but if we try our best God does the rest.

Photos:

1) Baptism of Noemi!

2) idk

3) Biggest gathering of missionaries in history of our mission. (About 2/3 of the mission)

4) Nice to meet you

Meh

Hey everyone!

Sorry this one is going to be short. This week was really uneventful. I was getting trained the entire week which meant that instead of only being in the office until lunch, we were there all day every day. But we've found ways to make it fun and not get bored which includes various stops to get Popeye's soft serve ice cream (the only good soft serve ice cream here), competitive rounds of a super fun game called "Sets" and we even got to play basketball for exercise one morning. So this week we didn't get any appointments and next week Elder Held in the area presidency is coming for conferences so we might not have too much proselytizing this upcoming week either. Also I'm now almost 100 pages behind in my reading goal so that's cool. But for a spiritual thought please click here for the new Nativity video that the church came out with. It super realistic and really cool! Anyways love you and see you next week!

Photos:

1: Welcome to the mission Elder Parks

2 & 3: Yes we registered for the famous Andes Marathon just for the free gear

4: Don't sleep in the office or you will get my name stamped on you

Let's get that Bread

Hey everyone!!!

My email subject is a new phrase all the people supposedly say back home. So we have been trying to integrate it here among missionaries without exactly knowing what it means haha. These past few days have been super busy and have flown by! Basically our new schedule is working in the office until lunch and then afterwards if we aren't busy we go out and have lessons. Our new area is huge and it will be really fun working in it. This week we had a couple zone conferences which took up basically all of our day and so I don't have a lot to report up on. Next week we have a baptism which will be really nice! I have only had one lesson with the girl but it will still be fun to see her get baptized! Also there is a family who recently came to church for the first time and loved it. We talked about baptism with them today and they said they would like to get baptized, but just want to think about it a little more. So hopefully within a few months they will get baptized! It's crazy to see how much more open the people are to the gospel, and even though we won't be able to proselyte as much we will probably have a lot more success than we had in my last area. So far I'm loving life and have no complaints!

For my spiritual thought i want to share the thought our president shared in the zone conferences. When thinking about mercy we always think of forgiveness but it can mean a lot more. In 1 Nephi 1:20 it says, And when the Jews heard these things they were angry with him; yea, even as with the prophets of old, whom they had cast out, and stoned, and slain; and they also sought his life, that they might take it away. But behold, I, Nephi, will show unto you that the tender mercies of the Lord are over all those whom he hath chosen, because of their faith, to make them mighty even unto the power of deliverance. Mercy can also have to do with the strength God can give us to deliver us from our problems. We all have the ability to pray and ask God to pour his tender mercy over us so we can have the faith, hope, strength, and spiritual gifts needed to overcome our daily problems. Pray and ask God for the help you need. Love y'all and have a good week!

P.S. shoutout to Ryan and Kylie for getting married today!

Photos (Carhuamayo my old area)

1) Bon appetit

2) Goodbye little goats (yes that is meat hanging from the door)

3) Goodbye to my pension and her family

4) Goodbye Hmo Antonio and his adorable kids

The Return

Hey everyone!

This week was pretty wild. Well the actual week was slow, but the weekend was crazy. Thursday was the feria in Carhuamayo which is the day where everyone puts tents in the road and sells stuff. We decided to put our own little table in the road and give out Books of Mormon. A member helped us which was good because after about an hour my companion got frustrated and went inside while the member and I stayed out. In the end we gave out about 30 books, which I don't know if any of them will be read, but I hope at least one life can be changed through our efforts and the power of the book.

Saturday morning we had a lesson with a kid named Jianpier who has a sister that is a member. In the lesson we challenged him to be baptized and he accepted! So in November there might be a baptism in Carhuamayo! Later Saturday we played sports with the branch which is always fun. But this weekend was Day of the Dead and also Day of the Saints so a lot of people were gone visiting cemeteries. That meant Saturday our branch president who has the keys was out of town. But luckily our church building is just a small unfinished house, so they had me climb over the 15 foot fence, and then from the unfinished 2nd floor I dropped a ladder down to the others to climb up so we could play sports. Haha, welcome to Carhuamayo.

Sunday night we had to travel to a different area to be able to help some elders move Monday. But as we were waiting in the rain for the bus to pick us up, a silver SUV pulled over by us which looked way too familiar. It turned out to be our mission president and his wife whom I thought would be mad at us, but were happy and offered us a ride. Later our president told me I had emergency transfers and after the move I would need to immediately pack my bags and head to my new area which is... Huancayo! Yes I've returned to the city and I will be living in one of the nicest areas, so it is definitely a big change from the small village of Carhuamayo. My new area will be a little different. I am in the office so my p-days will now be on Saturdays and I will be sitting behind a desk with a computer a lot more and be doing a lot less proselyting which is a little sad. Also I'm sad that I wont be able to see the baptism in Carhuamayo, after all the work that was put there, but also I know God's purposes are greater than mine.

Overall I'm stressed with a lot of responsibility, especially since I will be making lots of phone calls in Spanish, but through my mission I've really gained a testimony in the scripture Ether 12:27 and know I will receive the help needed. Also I will be able to enter into malls which means I will be able to eat Pizza Hut and Popeye's haha, so I'm hoping I will be able to gain some of the weight back which I've lost in the mission.

Anyways I love y'all and appreciate all of the prayers and support! Also shout out to my brother Ryan and Kylie for their wedding this upcoming Saturday!

The "Gas Man"

Hey everyone!

This week had lots of ups and downs. Like normal here this week was a lot of contacting. Which is good but also a little tiring. I've learned some different techniques from how my new companion contacts which I really like. They are a lot more direct which helps people know why we are here.

One night we went to teach one of our investigators who is 10 years old and his sister is the only member in her family. That night we ended up talking with the parents. The mom told us how they almost got married and baptized but her husband wasn't able to quit his drinking habits. Then soon after the missionary who taught them got injured and was emergency transferred. They had grown a deep love with that missionary so when the new ones arrived it wasn't the same and they soon quit going to church. But the mom just wants a unified family and she still wants to get married and baptized but her husband doesn't have the desires anymore. Later when we were about to end the appointment her husband happened to walk in and was super drunk. We asked him to accompany us in the prayer and he got mad and said he hates prayer because he always prays for that one missionary to come back to Carhuamayo, but that missionary served 3 years ago and now lives in Ecuador. But we kept talking with him and he started crying and said the only thing he asks of us is that we show him love like that one Elder did. Anyways this guy is a chef and we were talking about how one day he would need to teach me how to make some Peruvian dishes that I really like. Anyways being drunk he made some super funny inappropriate comments in front of his wife and daughter, which got them a little embarrassed, but in the end we were able to say a prayer with him.

Also this week I had my first encounter with the "gas man" who is a dude that sells gas for the town to cook with. Well this guy goes to a different church and his assignment in the church is to follow us around and destroy the work we do. Basically he goes to all of the members and recent converts or investigators and tells them all this bad stuff about the Book of Mormon and Joseph Smith, and how we are missionaries of the devil trying to trick or cheat them into joining our church. So yeah, he talks with everyone he sees and bashes us. Which makes contacting harder because I already stand out from everyone and now half the town thinks I'm the devil haha. But it's okay because seeing him at judgement day will be a different story. p.s. if any of you know a good scripture in the bible that call this man to repentance let me know ;)

To end with a more spiritual thought, this week had a lot of downs. But for some reason i feel really happy. Just yesterday our shower broke so we are back to cold showers, my stomach has had a bunch of problems, it's rainy and cold, the dry air has been killing my skin, if we have two appointments in a day it's a good day, and the list of negatives can go on and on. But after an appointment Sunday night I felt so happy. I was just so grateful for that appointment and that family who is always so nice to us. In church we sang the hymn count your many blessings and it really hit me. We can count the negatives and always result in thinking and feeling bad. But if we count our blessings we will realize how much we are actually blessed and there won't be any more room to feel bad.

"When upon life’s billows you are tempest-tossed, When you are discouraged, thinking all is lost, Count your many blessings; name them one by one, And it will surprise you what the Lord has done. Are you ever burdened with a load of care? Does the cross seem heavy you are called to bear? Count your many blessings; ev’ry doubt will fly, And you will be singing as the days go by. So amid the conflict, whether great or small, Do not be discouraged; God is over all. Count your many blessings; angels will attend, Help and comfort give you to your journey’s end."

Photos

1 and 4: I miss sunsets

2: Yes it is necessary to paint on multiple walls that it is prohibited to pee. So yes i did have to pose with the wall.

3: Good 'ol Carhuamayo