Farewell, Temple Square

I can't believe that I am writing to you for the last time as a full-time missionary.  The last year and a half has taught me so much and I don't know how I could possibly summarize my whole experience in one blog post.  The thought of removing my name badge next week makes my heart feel like it is literally breaking.  My name badge has been more than just a piece of identification. It is a reminder that I am His representative--my name and His name on the same plastic square for 18 months.  This hasn't been my mission or my work.  It is His mission and His work and I am so honored that He allowed me to serve Him as a missionary.

 

 

First I will just give a quick update of the last week. The lights are up and the square is packed. It is my favorite time of year here at Temple Square. Christmas brings such a special spirit. We had a lovely Thanksgiving. We celebrated with the Moon Family over in Bountiful. They had a beautiful home and it was so nice to have real home cooked food. Mom, they even made the loaded sweet potatoes like you do so I was very happy! The next night the Christmas lights were turned on. We spent some time with our investigator Ling Ling from China.  She currently lives here and she even took us out to dinner so it was a lot of fun! We have been teaching a lot of people who are originally from China and we are still teaching several from Africa. I will miss these people so much. On Saturday we get to attend our investigator Robbin's baptism! We only met him a few weeks ago but he is so amazing. He has strengthened my faith so much. He also speaks English very well so he understands me when we teach him and that makes me really happy! I am so happy to be able to see that before I go home.

This morning we had a fun zone activity! We went to a special needs school and sang Christmas songs to the students.  The kids were sweethearts and they got so into the songs. I brought a cute little guy up to sing with me and gave him some maracas. He was so adorable and so happy. I wanted to squeeze him!  Then we attended seminary with the kids for a short amount of time and it was the sweetest thing when they sang the hymns and did scripture mastery. I was in HEAVEN this morning.

I have had the best experiences here at Temple Square. Millions of people come to Temple Square each year which means I have been able to meet a lot of Heavenly Father's children in these last 18 months. That is absolutely amazing to me! 

The Temple Square mission motto is "The World is our Mission."  I have talked to people in Nigeria, Liberia, China, Ireland, England, Pakistan and many other countries.  I have met people from all over the world face to face.  I have had the privilege of teaching people from all over the United States.  I was able to serve the beautiful people of Louisiana for four months-- part of me will always be there.  But part of me will always be here at Temple Square too.  This is my home away from home. I feel so blessed to have been able to walk these grounds every day for the last year and a half.  The temple square mission is actually very small compared to others when you compare how many miles it covers.  Our mission is ten square miles yet the testimony I have of the Savior and of his gospel has reached all over the globe.  I have learned that the world is small and we are all God's children.  He cares for each one of us as individuals and wants us to be happy.

While on my mission I have witnessed some really big miracles but mostly a lot of small miracles.  Many days I would be rushing across the square to one location only to be stopped in my tracks as I had a prompting to turn around and talk to a person standing a few feet away. Or I would begin teaching one thing only to feel like I should stop and teach something else instead.  I got to see an elderly woman cry because she was happy when I helped her find a family blanket she had lost.  I had the amazing experience of seeing the pain in a person's eyes disappear as I shared a message of hope about the Savior.  All of these things are small but they are miracles because they are proof that God is there and He is watching out for each of us.  Sometimes being a Temple Square missionary is hard because we have conversations with people and we can look at them and just see how much Heavenly Father loves them.  We can literally feel His love for them. But then they leave and we  never know what happens with them or how they are doing now.  We just need to have faith that we did everything we could in the few moments we had with them and trust in Heavenly Father to take care of the rest in His own time. The scriptures that help me in these moments and that keep me wanting to reach out even when I might not witness the big miracles are in Alma 37:6-7-

"6 Now ye may suppose that this is foolishness in me; but behold I say unto you, that by small and simple things are great things brought to pass; and small means in many instances doth confound the wise.

 7 And the Lord God doth work by means to bring about his great and eternal purposes; and by very small means the Lord doth confound the wise and bringeth about the salvation of many souls."

 

We never know how far one small act of faith will go... charity never fails.  I am so happy I decided to serve a mission because now I know where I can find true happiness. I am so happy I was called to Temple Square. Heavenly Father really does give us what we need to learn and grow. I have learned so much here. This is where I needed to serve to become converted and to gain a strong testimony of the gospel of Jesus Christ. My faith was strengthened but it was also tried so many times.  I had people approach me and attack my faith.  I had people chat with me online or call me to tell me horrible things about what I believe.  I had people try to prove me wrong almost every day.  I have been called some very bad names.  There have been times when I had very angry people with hate in their eyes come face to face with me.  It was those times that I had to rely on the Lord and I could literally feel Him by my side standing with me until I was no longer afraid. I never fasted, prayed, and studied so much in my life. I don't know if I would have had to do this if I had served anywhere else. I think Heavenly Father wanted to make sure I would stand strong in the faith or something because these past 18 months have really stretched me; but they have been so sweet at the same time!

I can't imagine my life without my mission. I have learned so much and I know that it is just preparing me for things that I could not have dealt with correctly if I had not served a mission. Out of everything I have learned on my mission the plain and simple truths are what stand out the most.  That God is our loving Heavenly Father who wants us to be happy.  The Gospel has truly been restored through a prophet named Joseph Smith.  And that the atonement of Jesus Christ applies to every one of us no matter who we are or where we have been. If we gain testimonies of those simple truths, life gets a little easier and we become happier.

I am sad that this is my last letter to you all but thank you for everything! I could not have done this without you. I love you!

Signing off from Temple Square,

Sister Park

"Yea, I know that I am nothing"

Hello Family!!!

Is everyone so excited for Thanksgiving! I am! We will be going to a member's home in Bountiful. It is so nice of them to host Sister Ma and I.

This next picture is with Stanley Dickens from New Iberia, LA.  He came to Salt Lake City for the holidays and took me out to lunch!  Sister Weidmann from Switzerland also served her outbound in New Iberia and she came with us.  We also got to take him on a tour. What a special day!


So at the very beginning of the transfer I was on exchanges with Sister Hsu for a short period of time one night. We were at the EF Desk and I met a young man who said he just moved from NYC. He said he had friends who were members of the church so he was interested to see what it was all about. We were talking about the faith and values and I began to teach the Restoration. I had an extremely strong feeling to share the First Vision. As I recited the First Vision, he started to laugh a little bit. I was a little taken back. He said it was sort of bizarre. I just bore my testimony and invited him to learn more. He gave me his email and accepted a Book of Mormon. After we left, I was so hurt! I felt like maybe I could have done better. No one had ever laughed as I recited the First Vision before so I didn't understand. I was a little bit dramatic that night and I went in the bathroom and I cried because I felt like I didn't do a good job. After our shift was over I dragged Sister Hsu throughout the whole entire square to see if we could find him so I could help him to see how important this was! I am the type of person that won't rest until I feel like I've done everything I could do. If I don't do as much as I can then I have a hard time forgiving myself. I am strange, I know. Anyways, we did not find him so I sent him an email. Well, a few days later I finally received a reply from him and it said:

"Hi Sister Park! I’m sorry that it’s taken me so long to respond to you. I’ll explain why my response was so delayed a little later on in this email. First of all, I wanted to thank you. The things you told me in Temple Square really inspired me. I have read the Book of Mormon, prayed about it, and know without any doubt that it is true. Second of all, I need to apologize to you. Not everything that I told you in Temple Square was completely true. I told you that I’m from New York. Well, to be honest, I’ve lived in Utah my whole life and have never stepped foot in New York. I’ve also been a member of the church since I was baptized when I was eight years old. However, I was not completely sure of the truthfulness of the church. I went to Temple Square that night to try to find out better if the church was true. So, I decided to use some of the acting skills I learned in high school (clearly I didn’t do very well because I was wearing a CTR ring when we were speaking) to see how missionaries teach and what they say. So, I walked around Temple Square for about an hour just waiting for the first missionary to talk to me. Eventually, I came across you. I wanted to see how missionaries teach and how I felt as I was taught. While you were telling me about Joseph Smith, I felt something I haven't felt in years; the Holy Ghost. I read the Book of Mormon you gave me in less than 3 weeks. I now know that it and the church as a whole are absolutely true. I do hope you’ll forgive me for telling you a little white lie. I just wanted to see how missionaries work toward non-members. So, the reason that I have taken so long to respond is… That I've been very busy working on my Mission Papers. I decided that I want all people to know of the happiness of the church. I want to thank you for talking to me that night in Temple Square, as I don't know if I would have the faith and knowledge that I now have if we hadn’t spoken that night. Thank you so much for helping me. You’ve done more for my life than you can even imagine. You’ve helped me become completely converted to the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and I will be eternally grateful to you for that. You are a truly amazing missionary, and you should know that you have helped to convert someone who is now preparing to go and help others be converted. Thank you so much. Again, I’m sorry for the little lie that I told you. But, hey, it helped me see how things are done and it helped out a lot. All my gratitude, Jacob Yorgason.

It wasn't me that helped this young man at all.  I am so happy to be a servant of the Lord and he chooses to use me to reach one of his children, what a privilege!

Alma 26:12: "Yea, I know that I am nothing; as to my strength I am weak; therefore I will not boast of myself, but I will boast of my God, for in his strength I can do all things; yea, behold, many mighty miracles we have wrought in this land, for which we will praise his name forever."

The point of this story is that I am so thankful for the spirit. Temple Square can be a little bit difficult because us sisters have such a short amount of time to really listen to the spirit and say what the guests really need to hear. It doesn't matter if they are members or not. When I received that email I felt such a big peaceful feeling. I realized that we sisters don't really know the good that we do. I just hope the sisters know what an impact they are making. I think Temple Square is the best mission in the world. I am biased.  

I can't believe my mission is almost over.  Here is a picture of all the sisters who are departing next transfer.


Departing Sisters!

Oh! Very exciting news! One of our investigators, Ken, was baptized on Sunday at stake conference. It wasn't even planned! It just happened because he was ready! He lives in the Arkansas Little Rock Mission!  Elder Tate baptized him.  We are so happy for him and he is so happy as well. I just love how much the Gospel of Jesus Christ can affect us if we let it. The church is true. No doubt!

Sister Park

His Love is Infinite

Hello Everyone!
 

This week has been awesome but I don't remember what happened really because it was so busy.  It is getting so cold here, sometimes I think I will die but we are getting ready for Christmas. We had our Christmas training on Thursday and we went over how to handle "lost children" and all that other good stuff. They turn on the lights every once in awhile to test them out and it is just going to be so gorgeous.

Sister Ma and I are doing wonderful! Tonight we are going to have a "Hot Pot" party. It is an Asian tradition. You boil really hot water and put seasoning in it and then you put food in it and it cooks really fast and then.. you eat it. So we will do that with our other Asian friends.

We are still teaching the lovely people in Africa! We taught Phemy from Nigeria today and he is the sweetest. The people over there are so humble and they have so much faith. They teach me more than we could ever teach them.  I love my people. I don't know if I can go home because I will miss my Africans too much.  It just stresses me out.  I got a Liberia flag name tag since I am teaching the Liberians right now.

Oh! One more exciting thing: The other night I met an RM that used to go and visit Grandpa Park every week when he served in Ephrata! It was so cool because he loved Grandpa so much. He said he saw all of his antiques and guns and his collections. It made me so happy. He said Grandpa has the sweetest heart. I love you Grandpa!

Last night we attended the play "The Savior of the World" and it was so good! I loved it because it reminded me of all that the Savior has done for us. I think I take it for granted sometimes.  But I just love the Savior so much! If it wasn't for Him, I would never be here at Temple Square. He truly does live and he loves all of us so much that He died for us. Since I have come on my mission the Sacrament has meant much more to me then ever before. If we include Jesus Christ in our daily lives we will find that sense of peace and direction that we all want. It is simple but we tend to make it difficult.  Our part is really not that had though!  He performed the hardest task for all of us by suffering for our sins and pain because his love is infinite!

Ok gotta run!

Sister Park

There are No Coincidences

Hello Everyone! It is getting so cold here!  I hope y'all are staying nice and warm! Things are going really good for the North 1 Zone! We have been so blessed. The sisters in the zone are amazing and they are such hard workers. We are more than halfway to reaching our baptismal goal this transfer. We have seen so many miracles lately. I love Sister Ma and I am learning a lot from her. There is always something to learn and work on even if you are in your last transfer.  I am very thankful for her.

I just gained a strong testimony of not giving up hope on investigators even when we have dropped them for one reason or another.  So a year ago I was in my third transfer and a lady called in looking for her Bishop's number. I just assumed she was a less active member so I kept her number and tried to contact her a few times after that but I was never able to get a hold of her. Well the other night I was prompted to look through some of my dropped contacts and decided to start calling a few of them. I called about ten people and no one answered. Then I got to Stephenie's name and I was about to delete her from the list.  I thought about it for a minute and received a prompting that I should call her. So I just dialed her and expected the line not to go through but it did and she answered. So I started talking to her and told her who I was and she told me that it was so weird that I called her because she has been feeling like she needs to go back to church lately. She got divorced last year and has been depressed. She keeps her Grandpa's scriptures right next to her bed and has been looking through them. We talked about her going to church on Sunday and then I brought up General Conference so she went on lds.org to look it up. For some reason it told her she couldn't log in without a record number. She said, "I don't think I have a membership record number." So I replied and told her that every baptized member of the church has one and she can ask the Bishopric or the ward clerk on Sunday. The she said, "Well, I have never been baptized. I was always waiting for my Grandpa to baptize me but he never made it to Rhode Island." She has been going to the church for years but fell less active when she got older. Her mom was baptized but stopped going when she was young. I asked her if she wanted to be baptized and she started crying and said yes! We had a good conversation and she was just crying because she said that it was not coincidence that I called her.  And I know that to be true because there are no coincidences!  Now she is planning to be baptized and is meeting with the missionaries. She already knows the church is true and is going to invite her boyfriend to learn about it from us. He is very open. I guess the point of the story is I learned that it is so important to never forget about the people we "drop". Heavenly Father will prepare them for the Gospel and they will accept it in their own time and in their own way. I am so thankful for the Holy Ghost and I know that we could never do this work without the spirit. I know this Gospel is true and it is the happiest way to live. I don't know what I would do if I didn't have it.  Remember that in order to really know whether it is true we must seek it out ourselves. Our own testimony is much stronger than relying on others.  It doesn't matter how good the missionary is or how good the Sunday School teacher is.  We must know of the truthfulness of this gospel on our own and through confirmation of the spirit. 

Moroni 10:5 "And by the power of the Holy Ghost ye may know the truth of all things."

Love you lots!

Sister Park

Six New Investigators!

Language Announcing after Music and The Spoken Word

 

I have had one of the greatest weeks of my whole mission. It was so good that I almost walked into President's office on Monday and asked to extend. I thought and prayed about it and my answer was "no" because I have a boy waiting for me at home...Jagger, my eight year old brother.

 

It was so great though and I just love missionary work so much. I don't even know where to begin. Let's first start with some of the wonderful people that I am teaching in Africa! I called President Harmon (branch pres in Liberia) and he asked me to teach four more people over there.  They have been coming to church for a couple of Sundays now. They are awesome and so humble. One of the ladies I teach is named Pressure Kuweh and she told me today that she loves the Book of Mormon and carries it with her everywhere.  She said she is so grateful to have the word of God. It's a miracle to her!  I have also started to teach a man named Phemy and he lives in Nigeria. He heard about the Book of Mormon on TV and wants to know more. He already wants to be baptized and is going to email us some of his friends and family to start teaching. He is the sweetest!

 

Then on Sunday, Sister Ma and I were able to receive six new investigators on the square and also through inbound calls. It is funny how you start to see all of the miracles at the very end of the mission but it motivates us even more. We were walking around on the square the other day and Sister Ma thought she saw some Chinese people so we walked over to talk to them. They ended up not being Asian but we were still going to talk to them until a young man walked by us and we both felt that we needed to talk to him. We said hello to him at the same time! His name was _____ and he was here for a medical residency interview at U of U. He is not a member but growing up his neighbors were missionaries over in Minnesota! We asked him how he feels about Salt Lake City and about the church. One of his friends served a mission. We extended an invitation to him to learn more and he said, "Yeah, actually I do want to learn more." Then Sister Ma jumped in and invited him to be baptized! He smiled and said, "If I find out this is true, then yes." We have been texting him and his interview at U of U went great so he will move here in a few weeks. We have an appointment and we are going to teach him the Restoration. He is golden!

So today was P-Day and it was filled with even more miracles! We went to Asian Market and we met a couple from Taiwan that just moved here. They are not members but they are related to a member present that Sister Ma uses a lot to teach lessons! She invited them to learn more and they said yes. We will call them this week. After that we went to Costco. Sister Ma saw a Chinese couple eating so she went over to contact them while I bought us hot dogs. We were within sight and sound, don't worry. While I was waiting in line I started talking to this Native American man. Since we are surrounded by Indian reservations in AZ I always think that they are my people for some reason. He was really nice. He is originally from Arizona about an hour away from my home. He moved to SLC to be close to family. When his brother and sister moved here they both joined the church. They both have invited him to be baptized but he just wasn't sure if it was for him. So I invited him to come and eat with us and he did. We had a great conversation. He knows a lot about the church. We invited him to learn more and he agreed. We will call him on Saturday night. He is also planning on attending church with us on Sunday morning. He was laughing at us because he said we are really persistent but he is willing to give it a shot. Hopefully he comes to church with us and then we will get him going to his ward over where he lives.

 

P-day with Sister Ma!

It has been such a good week! I am so excited to see what else Heavenly Father has in store for the rest of the transfer. I am sooo happy. I don't see any point in coming home to be honest. I love you all so very much and hope things are going okay... Remember, God loves you and has a plan for you!
 
Sister Park





Pray then Act

Brother and Sister Frost ended their mission today.  I will miss them!

Hello! Today was Transfer Day. Sister Taito and I are no longer companions. It went by so fast.  I am training a new Zone Leader named Sister Ma and she is from Taiwan. I am so happy because I began my mission with a sister from Taiwan and now I get to end my mission with a sister from Taiwan! We are already having so much fun together. I am in the same zone and in the same apartment. Life is so good over here at Temple Square. Thanks everyone for the amazing letters. I will send my letters to you when I get some stamps. I promise!

So let me tell you about my week. Let's start with the first eventful thing. I ate chicken feet. It was good but the texture was weird. They were drenched in teriyaki sauce. Sister Taito forced me to eat it and then President Poulsen walked in and saw and he told me I was admirable in his eyes because I ate chicken feet. So I guess if you want to be admired, eat chicken feet. I have a video so you can watch it when I get home. I gagged.

 

Chicken Feet!

So we are teaching some more lovely people in Liberia that are getting baptized in a couple of weeks. Their names are Dennis and Konah and I love them both so much! They speak Swahili and a little English. The language barrier is a struggle but Heavenly Father helps so much. I am so happy that even though the missionaries were shipped out we are still able to teach them through technology.

 

My lovely sisters!  Left to right, Sister Taito from Fiji,
Sister Sonku from South Africa, Sister Rhodes, and Sister Bailey

Today Sister Ma and I were walking through the square and we saw these two gentlemen standing over by the Reflection Pool. We went and talked to them and found out that they were curious about the Book of Mormon and why we need it. I love that question because I love the Book of Mormon so much. We bore our testimony of how the Book of Mormon contains the fullness of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. One of them lives by Adam-ondi-Ahman (can't spell) in Missouri and loves going there. We invited them to learn more and they both said yes. The Book of Mormon is so true. We will call them on Tuesday to begin teaching them. 

This transfer is going to be a good one. I just want to be 100,000% focused this transfer since it is my last. We made a goal to give everything to the Lord and to really strive to help the sisters in our zone.  We know that we can accomplish this by dedicating all our time to serving Him.

 

If we truly give ourselves to the Savior and use the atonement in our lives then all of the unfair things in life will be taken care of. Not that they all will disappear but we will know how to handle them much better. My goal is to walk with the Savior everyday. He is my bestest friend. I remember being 11 and I was having a really hard time but I decided to act as if the Savior was standing with me as I went throughout the week and I felt this overwhelming peace and warmth. It was the best feeling I have ever had and that is when I found out that Christ lives and He is there. Even when I wasn't doing everything I should have been doing He never ever left. I remember that everyday as I walk through the square and talk to the thousands of people I get to meet each week.  I can see all the pain in their eyes and that life hasn't been fair to them but I can also see that the Savior loves them so much.  He is at the door knocking.  It is up to us to let Him in.

 

Heavenly Father will guide us throughout our lives.  When we don't know what to do we just need to pray and listen to the spirit. And then ACT. When we act that's how we find out if it is the right or wrong thing to do.  Pray, act, and have faith and you will be guided as you go.

I love you all so much. Keep doing everything you can to be a missionary because we have such wonderful news that we can't keep to ourselves. I love that Heavenly Father truly does have a way for us to come back even if we think it's not possible. The atonement is so real. Love ya!

Sister Park

The Macro Plan

My current roommates. 

 

 

 

Bula Vinaka! I hope that everyone had a FANTASTIC week! I have had a great week but I don't really remember what happened! It has been such an amazing and FAST transfer and I can't believe that it is already coming to an end. Sister Taito and I want to stay together but we'll see what happens. 

 

SO last time I think I told you about our new investigator that we got because he loves David Archuleta's song "Glorious". Well.... He is getting baptized November 22nd! He is so so happy. He has been meeting with the missionaries over there in Massachusetts and loves it SO much! He was extremely prepared.

 

We are still teaching the lovely family in Liberia and they will be baptized next month. It is so sad what is happening over there in some parts of Africa. I feel bad for some of the missionaries that had to be sent out because I bet they really miss their investigators and the places they served. I am just happy that we can continue to teach these people over the phone.  It is such a blessing.

Great news! Okay lets be honest.. Russian people are a little stubborn and it is very rare that they get baptized. Well, Sister Bryuzgina just had two Russian baptisms! I am so happy for her. She is such a powerful missionary. It is such a blessing that we can teach these people from all over the world.

I am just so thankful to be out here serving a mission! We meet so many wonderful people with so many amazing stories.

 

I am learning a lot while I am out here.  Not only about teaching the gospel but many life skills as well and one of those is goal setting and how important it is to set goals for ourselves. President Poulsen has given us a plan to work off of called "The Macro Plan".  First we list our "desired outcomes". Then we write our "present situation", then the "imperatives" aka what we must do and last we list our action steps or how we are going to do it specifically. It has helped me a lot because I know what I want to do with my last transfer and also how I am going to help my investigators. I will send you one so you can do it mom. It will improve your life. A goal unwritten is only a wish. Heavenly Father wants us to achieve our goals and it is important that we are accountable to the Lord in all we do.

Elder Don Clarke of the Seventy came to our mission and told us to study chapter 8 from Preach My Gospel and apply it to our lives. If we do everything it says we reach our goals but most of all be happy. I invite everyone to study Preach My gospel chapter 8 and set goals for yourselves. Tell the Lord what your goals are and ask him to help you achieve them every night when you say your prayers. I promise you that you will find direction in your life and you will be a happier and a more successful person. Sometimes we set goals but we are not even accountable or don't even think about them... that does not take us anywhere. I have seen a change in my mission as I have set goals for myself.  Family, make a macro plan for yourself.  My Mom has the document if you want it.

I hope everyone is doing well. I miss yall a whole bunch! You all are such good examples to me.

I Love You!

 

Sister Macy Park

"Are we not all beggars?"



Me and Sister Taito after all the craziness of General Conference died down

This week has been so good I don't even know where to start... Well, I will start with Sunday! It was a lovely day because our new investigator came to church with us at 7:30 AM. That is dedication. We watched Music and the Spoken word with him after Sacrament meeting. After church Elder Howell (senior elder) made a special announcement. He announced that David Archuleta would be coming that night to have a mission fireside with us! The fireside was so good. He sang some songs for us first and then answered our questions. He is so great because you can tell that he was so converted on his mission. He gave us really good advice and told us some good tips for after the mission. He is a great example to me! He is so kind and pure and has a lovely voice. After he returned home from his mission he flew out to LA and he was going to start back into the Hollywood thing even though he wasn't sure he wanted to. He said people kept making everything about him him him and money to the point where he just wanted to leave. He is back in Utah and wants to do something different with his career now. He is going to use it to spread the gospel like missionary work. He said he might put out an album in a year but it is not going to be a huge career for him. He just wants to spread the gospel and live a good non-worldly life. At the end we all took pictures. Sisters were fighting over who could stand next to him... It was such a wonderful evening!

 

Here we are with David Archuleta! 

The next day Sister Taito and I received a new investigator from Massachusetts. He actually called into mormon.org and asked if he could talk to the people who put on the production for David Archuleta's song "Glorious". This guy is 66 and he is a Viet Nam War veteran. He was on the internet one day when the "Glorious" music video popped up. He didn't know who David Archuleta was. He thought he might be a preacher or a pastor because he sang with so much conviction. That led him to lds.org where he researched Joseph Smith and read the whole restoration. He has not attended a church in a long time and never thought he would even think about God again in his life. Well, it is funny how a simple song can change a person's life.  Music is powerful! I hope Kendall always remembers that.  She was sent to the South Dakota Rapid City Mission because there are people there who will be touched by her music-- like the former area 70 she has been working with.  Anyway, this man took it upon himself to find out where the nearest church building is and he got the Bishop's number. He was going to call him today. We are going to continue to teach him and will call him on Friday. It was such a miracle!

 

Today we had our zone activity at the Beehive Homes assisted living center here in Salt Lake City! They were so excited to learn that I worked at the one in AZ. I went inside and I felt like I was home again. I love old people. I think they are my passion. Most of the sisters went and painted pumpkins with them. I took a couple of the sisters to the rooms of people who couldn't come out to paint because they were too old, weak, or sick. Sister Heuea (Tahiti) and Jamito (Philippines) and I went and visited a lady who is 103! Is that even possible? She is not doing so well and was crying when we walked in. We tried talking to her for a minute but it was not working and she just kept crying so we sang "Our Saviors Love" and she stopped crying.  But then when we stopped she started to cry again so we sang more songs. After Silent Night she said "I love it! I love it!" so we continued to sing to her until she fell asleep. As I was singing I was just looking at her and I began to cry. The plan of salvation is so real. I know that soon enough she will return to Heavenly Father and learn about the gospel. Maybe we were supposed to be there today to prepare her before she learns more from the missionaries in Heaven.

 

After she fell asleep I went and talked to another lady that the workers warned us about. Apparently she is grouchy all the time and is not nice. I just started talking to her and I was able to get her to laugh and before I knew it she was holding my hand, telling me her life story, and asking me to come back and visit. I am going to go see her again sometime before I go home. I just had the most wonderful day.

 

This morning I was watching Elder Holland's talk called, "Are we not all Beggars". It was so good! I realized how important service really was and it made me even more excited to go and visit the lovely people at the Beehive Homes. There are people all around us who need us in some way or another. I want to invite everyone to do an act of service for someone this week! Whether it is stopping to rake some leaves or taking cookies to someone. It just feels so good to serve others especially when an apostle of the Lord asks us to give up a little bit of time and money to help those in need. I will do the same thing! The holiday season is a great time to start.

 

Mosiah 2:17-

"And behold, I tell you these things that ye may learn wisdom; that ye may learn that when ye are in the service of your fellow beings ye are only in the service of your God."

 

Do you want to show your love for Heavenly Father?  Go and serve someone!

I love you ALL!!! I hope everyone is having a spirit filled week!
 

-Sister Park

P.S. On Sunday I am going to give my "farewell" talk in sacrament meeting. We give our talks the transfer before our last transfer. I can't believe it is already time. I was asked to speak on how our decisions in life effect where we end up and how righteous decisions are so important.

"Which Way Do You Face?"



Me and Sister Cueves ready for
the long conference weekend 

Sister Ho is so fun! 
When I tease her she sits on me
or puts me in a headlock.
 

 

Wow what a crazy week! General Conference was amazing. We were able to attend the Saturday Morning session. I can't wait to go and listen to the other three sessions. I really loved conference this year because there was just such a special spirit. I know there always is but this year seemed even better than before.  We actually met some non-members and took them on a tour. We taught them the Restoration and they wanted to learn more. Conference Miracles, let me tell you. When conference was over we had a big mission meeting in one of the theaters.  We talked about the miracles and experiences we had during the weekend and then we got to watch "Meet the Mormons".  I hope everyone watches it. It was awesome!

 

Guess what! Andrew, a convert that I was blessed to be able to teach, came down from BYU Idaho for conference and we met for the first time! It was way cool!

 

On Monday, Sister Taito and I were just doing our thing and scheduling some stuff for our Zone activity. You know how I used to work at Beehive Homes the assisted living center? Well, they have one in Utah so I told them how I used to work there and asked if our zone could come and do a service project with the elderly people and they were so excited. They even offered me a job after my mission so that was cool. We are going next week to go sing and paint pumpkins with the older people. I am SO EXCITED because they are my passion. So we got all that set up but then a sister in our zone got sick so Sister Taito went to go take care of her and I stayed on the Square and was on exchanges with Sister Jamito from the Philippines. We had a hospitality tour with a large group of people from the UK. Wales, England, Ireland, and Scotland. Some of them were so sweet and the others were.... funny. So we were in the Assembly Hall teaching about the Restoration. I shared the First Vision and cried... again. I am so embarrassed that I always do that but I just know that Joseph Smith was a prophet of God. Anyway, as that was happening I saw a very familiar man standing behind our tour with a woman and he was just listening in... I was thinking "I know this guy from somewhere.." and I totally did because it was Marshall from "How I Met Your Mother".. my favorite TV show.. I couldn't believe that Heavenly Father would send him to Salt Lake City.  He left before I was able to talk to him so that was sad but it was so cool that he came to Temple Square. Only a couple of us good old American sisters recognized him.

 

I don't know if you have heard about the Ebola outbreak in Liberia? Well, there are no missionaries in Liberia so one of the branch presidents called in and asked us to teach a whole bunch of Liberians the lessons and the branch will take care of the baptizing. So Sister Taito and I are teaching four people from Liberia right now and two of them are getting baptized. It is awesome because they are SO ready and SO prepared. They are such humble people that love the gospel.

 

I am just loving life right now. So many good things are happening and I just want to thank everyone for their prayers and letters!

 

I loved Elder Lynn G. Robbins talk "Which way do you face?".  It was so good.  Think about why prophets and apostles are often criticized by the world.  Why are members of the church sometimes persecuted for their beliefs?  Why has righteousness become so hated?  When we are pleasing our Heavenly Father we are not always pleasing the world.  Doing what is popular isn't the goal.  Don't forget whose disciples we are!

 

Thanks Mac, Kim, and Tonya for the beautiful letters. Thanks Inmans for tracking me down at Conference. I am sorry I am so hard to find. I love everyone!

 

 

Sister Park

A Testimony of Prophets

HELLO! Happy Birthday Momma!  This is an exciting week because General Conference is coming up!  I am trying to prep my self for it. The schedule is a bit insane. 7 30 AM to 10 30 PM all on our feet and rushing around and eating very little.  I might die but that's okay.  This was a great week in which I gained an even stronger testimony of latter-day prophets.

 

Speaking of that.. the other day Sister Taito and I had an awesome encounter.  We saw the First Presidency and the entire quorum of the twelve!  President Monson was in his wheelchair looking so cute.  President Monson said "Good afternoon Sisters!"  It was so sweet.  President Monson is looking very old these days but he carries such a strong and powerful spirit with him.  It is an incredible experience to be around these men.  There is no denying that President Monson is a prophet called of God. 

 

We have also met a lot of members of the 70 lately too.   One of them told us to do two things:  Read the Book of Mormon every day and never forget that the First Vision happened.  So Mom, to answer your question about what book you should read as a family next.... read the First Vision and then read The Book of Mormon all over again.  

 

Friday was so good but so embarrassing. We did a tour for a big group of old people. We had just begun teaching the Restoration in the Tabernacle and as I was reciting the First Vision I started to cry! I have never done that! The spirit was there and it was so strong but it was still embarrassing because these old New Yorkers were saying "It's ok Honey". It was a great tour and more of a learning experience for me than the people I was teaching. Right then and there the spirit confirmed to me once again that Joseph Smith is a prophet. Heavenly Father continues to call prophets and this church is the true church that Jesus Christ set up on the earth when he was here. Isn't it amazing to know that Heavenly Father loves us enough to call a prophet to bring back Christ's church? 

General Conference is coming so I am going to leave everyone with an invitation. Watch General Conference with specific questions in mind. Say a prayer before hand to get answers. Heavenly Father will answer our prayers and questions. All we have to do is listen. He will tell us what we need to hear. In April my prayers and questions were answered with President Uchtdorf's talk on being grateful in any circumstances. General Conference is for everyone but it is also specifically for us as individuals.  He has a message for you.  Watch conference!

I love everyone so very much! I will leave one more invitation. Read Joseph Smith History and pray to ask whether or not he really was a prophet of God. Do it even if you already have. I will follow up with a few of you next week so I can hear your thoughts.

I love all of you! 
 

VINAKA,

Sister Park



Bula!

Sister Park and Sister Taito from Fiji

Bula! That is hello in Fijian.  Sister Taito and I are great friends.  Today we will be planning our next zone activity and our zone training meeting.  So tell me what you think... most of the sisters in our zone are from a different country and have never had a s'more. So.. we want to find some type of park or go up to the mountains and show them how to make s'mores!  I have wanted to do this my whole mission.  Hopefully it happens!

For Zone Training Meeting we are planning to focus on the missionary purpose. Sometimes there are things that distract us on our missions and keep us from putting all of our heart and effort into the work of salvation. We want the sisters to burn those boats and just let everything go because we have noticed that as missionaries we are much happier when we are not focused on boyfriends, fears, inadequacies, home, and other things that can hold us back. If we give it all to Heavenly Father he will take care of the rest. There have been so many times on my mission that I was worried about different things that didn't matter right now.  But I realized that if I could forget myself and go straight to work I would be happy and effective as a missionary.  The key is simply work and consecration. I think that goes along with anything in life. If we keep the commandments and give everything to the Lord, we will find that the things of the world really don't make us as happy as serving him with everything in us. Everyone can apply this.

Good news! M and P were baptized on Friday! We are so happy for them. They are amazing and it has been so great to be able to work with these awesome and humble people. They are ready and willing to give it all to the Lord and that's what makes me happy. I love them both SO much!

For some reason lately Sister Taito and I have had the opportunity to teach a lot of families here on the Square. It has been a good experience. I just look at these people and realize how much God must love all of his children to give us families. Each family has been designed by God and we are given these people for specific reasons. How cool is that? Heavenly Father knew I needed the exact family I have-- my parents, siblings, grandparents, aunts, uncles cousins, everyone. We all need each other so we can get back to our Father in Heaven. I just love families so much!

Sister Park

Transfers!

Hello Everyone!  Short letter today because we have a lot going on!  That is a good thing though.  What a wonderful week! It was my last week with Sister Tsang. I am going to miss that little Asian princess so much. Heavenly Father has called us to different places.  I was called to be a zone leader in the North 1 zone which means I am out of the Beehive House and I am ALL SQUARE. No assignments, just find, teach, and baptize and help guide the sisters of course. I have a new companion and she is awesome! Her name is Sister Taito (Ty-To) and she is from FIJI. She has been out about the same amount of time as I have. We were called to be zone leaders together and guess what! Sister Bryuzgina is in my zone! I am excited to be able to work with my little Ruski again. She is already planning a 24 hour exchange for us and she is also planning our next zone activity haha!  Sister Taito is so wonderful. She was my roommate last transfer and we had a blast together. General Conference is coming in just a couple of weeks. Can you believe it? I can't. It will be a weekend of craziness and spiritual upliftment. So exciting!

I have some wonderful news! One of my investigators, "R", was baptized on Saturday! It has been a long and wonderful journey being able to work with her. She sent pictures and she looked so beautiful at her baptism. I wish I could have been there. She has overcome so much and I am so proud of her. She just has this whole new glow about her. I love seeing what the gospel can do for people.

This coming Saturday I have two baptisms coming up as well which is exciting. They live in Ogden but recently moved here from Vegas. I met them a couple of weeks ago at my desk assignment. "M's" husband is a returning member. They plan on being married in the temple in a year.

Today Sister Taito and I were at our desk assignment and I met this wonderful man from Milan, Italy.  We talked for a bit and he said he has seen missionaries in Milan a few times and they gave him a Book of Mormon. He has never actually sat down and talked with them. He is Catholic but came specifically to Utah to see the temple. We talked about Temples and the Book of Mormon and I invited him to learn more. He was so excited and said he would like to meet with the elders that he always sees riding bikes around his house. We will continue to teach him over the phone when he goes back to Milan. He was so funny. I have never taught a Catholic Italian before so this should be fun!

I read in my Book of Mormon about the stripling warriors this morning and it made me think about mothers and how awesome you all are.  Even when you feel like you aren't doing everything right, you are the rock that holds us together.  Your faith makes ours stronger! 

 

The square has been busy because tons of women are here for an essential oils convention. It smells like Doterra everywhere you turn. I miss everyone a lot and I hope y'all are doing well!! Love you a ton.
 

Sister Park

Faith is a Power

This is Bob.  I LOVE HIM!  He is an angel.  He might be a real angel. He was in a car accident years ago which is why he is in a wheelchair now.  He is at temple square every day except Sunday.  He has been doing this same routine for YEARS!  He calls me the Missionary in Red because I always wear red.   

 

 

Hello! Before I begin, lets take care of a matter of business. I may not email next week due to transfers and I don't know when my P-Day is going to be.  Ok, anyway...Today is Sister Tsang's 21st birthday. We are going to celebrate by taking the train to the Planetarium and then to go get some cheesecake.  Now that summer is ending it is finally starting to slow down.  Not for long though because General Conference is in a few weeks.  It is also getting colder outside and they are working hard on the Christmas lights which is always exciting. I love autumn at Temple Square. It is the best time of the year.

I have exciting news! Remember when I told you last time how I was at the Jerusalem desk at the North Visitor's Center and I met a lady named Michele?  Well, I also met her Mother and taught her at the desk as well. They were so amazed by the temple.  Well, since then she has met with the elders and has gone to church and said she loves the feeling she gets when she's at church. Her mom loves church also. I have also been teaching Michele's husband who is a member of the church but hasn't been in years.  He is so excited to come back to church!  Today I called them and they were thanking me but I had to remind them it's not me at all. Heavenly Father put me in their path. Michele and her mom will be getting baptized on September 20th! I am so excited because all three of them are so happy. It was so nice to be able to talk to them today. They live in Ogden, Utah so I'm hoping to be able to go to the baptism.

 

I met a Spanish man who did not speak any Rnglish today that needed help. I told him I speak "poquito espanol."  I don't know why I said that because I totally made it up.  I mean I have had Spanish speaking roommates and I picked up a little from them but that's it.  Well he totally took it seriously!  Anyway, somehow I was able to understand everything he said perfectly and I helped him find what he was looking for.  Heavenly Father knew this man needed guidance so He gave me the gift of tongues and the gift of interpretation of tongues so I could help him to get to his destination. It was amazing! I don't even know what happened! I obviously wasn't fluent but I used a few Spanish words that I picked up I guess???  A few minutes later, a non-member lady who was nearby listening to our whole conversation came up to me and said "Wow! You don't speak Spanish? I have no idea how you did that but it was incredible!"  She was astounded and amazed.  But I knew that it was Heavenly Father.  Miracles happen.

 

 

Well, one thing I have learned on my mission is that faith is not just a virtue.  It is literally a power. If we have strong and true faith in something we will see miracles. Something that you can do to help with this is to really study and exercise your faith. Find a lot of scriptures concerning faith and pray every single morning and night that Heavenly Father will strengthen your faith. If you have a Preach my Gospel (if you don't, then get one) study the Christ-like attribute section and specifically Faith and Hope. I have seen miracles by studying and praying and constantly striving to have those attributes. Faith truly is an actual power that we all can have!
Just remember a chapter a day will lighten your way! This week I encourage you to study D & C section 121.  In verses 7-8 it says:

7 "My son, peace be unto thy soul; thine adversity and thine afflictions shall be but a small moment;

 8 And then, if thou endure it well, God shall exalt thee on high; thou shalt triumph over all thy foes."

 

Your trials and afflictions are only a small moment!  It might not seem like when you're in the middle of them but you really will find peace and happiness again.  And if we endure these trials well we will be greatly rewarded!

 

For the wonderful ladies in my life, read D & C 25.  In verse 3 it says:

 

 "Behold, thy sins are forgiven thee, and thou art an elect lady, whom I have called."

 

You are all elect ladies!  Don't forget to watch the General Women's session.  Those talks are inspired and are specifically for you!

 

Gigi-  Thank you so much for the beautiful letter!  You are one special lady!

I love everyone so so so much!

Sister Park!

I turned into a nerd!

HELLO! How is everyone doing?  Things have been great over here. The weather is beautiful and the people are just peachy. Sister Tsang and I are having a lot of fun. Right now she is going crazy because she just found out about "Yo Mama" jokes and that's all that is coming out of her mouth. I keep telling her that they are so twenty years ago but she LOVES them and says them to EVERYONE haha. She calls me Mama all the time and accidentally called me Mama in one of our tours! I just laughed really hard. She didn't even notice she did it because she does it so much. I love her!
 

On Saturday, our investigator from Ohio was baptized.  He is such a wonderful person and you can feel he has this glow even over the phone. We have three more on date this transfer! It is amazing to be able to see how much they have changed and progressed. The atonement truly puts light inside of those who finally embrace it.  My district is the highest baptizing district in the mission this transfer. President can't even believe it. We went way over our baptisimal goal already.  It's not us missionaries though; it is the Spirit converting these people.  We are only delivering the message.

Ok mom, I am so nerdy now! I used to daydream about falling in love and now I daydream about investigators. I used to sing Taylor Swift but now all I have in my head is church songs and I sing them all the time. I experimented and tried to sing a Taylor Swift song in the shower last night but it felt weird and boring so I went back to singing "Did you think to pray?" I am such a nerd now!!

Every day during our Mandarin tours I look out at those big groups of people and I try to see them how Heavenly Father sees them.  Most of them have never heard of Jesus Christ (Yeah Su Jee Do).  They do not know that someone died for their sins so they could have eternal life.  They don't know who to lean on when they hurt the most.  I have realized how blessed we are to have this knowledge.  The Savior knows exactly how we feel.  Alma 7:11-13!

I just love my mission. I am so exhausted so I find it weird that I am so happy all the time. It is weird that the gospel can do this to you! I really needed to be out here and specifically here at Temple Square. Missions are hard sometimes but it is so wonderful to be a part of this work. I know that God really must love us a lot to let us do this. One of my favorite scriptures is in D&C Chapter 4 and it says "If you have desires to serve God, you are called to the work". I know that everyone who has the desire to serve Heavenly Father was foreordained in the pre-earth life to serve missions now. I just love missionary work!

I hope that everyone has a good week and remember that Jesus loves you! Even Ryan!

Thanks to Harley, Daycee, and Christie for the beautiful letters!  I just loved the pictures of Baby Cash! He is so cute. I showed everyone.

Thanks to Grandma and Grandpa for the beautiful letter! I miss you SO MUCH! 

I am SO excited that Kendall is in Minnesota. Now she is going to get a weird accent. She better have an accent by the time Christmas comes so I can hear it when we Skype!
Sister Park

Staying Close to the Spirit

Le-Ho! That is hello in Cantonese! This has been a great but very fast week! We have been running around crazy taking tons of mandarin tours and going on exchanges all the time! I finished seven exchanges by week 3 of the transfer so I am patting myself on the back! I learn so much from all of the sisters and I love spending time with them. I am learning so much not only about the missionaries work but also about how the Lord works. I have had the opportunity to help some sisters with different issues.  It is amazing to see that if we trust the Lord he is always there even in the toughest and darkest moments in our lives.

I was standing over by the Jerusalem Desk and a lady walked in so I went over to talk to her. She just moved here from Vegas with her husband. She is not a member but her husband is a less active member.  I started talking to her about the Temple and she was just loving it! She said she loves the family values we have in the church so I invited her to learn more and she was so excited that I asked! She wants to talk to me again and also wants the local missionaries in Ogden to come visit her as well! It is not everyday that golden people just show up and we consider it a small miracle when they do!

We have three baptisms coming up!  It is such an amazing thing when your investigators experience the atonement and realize that God's plan of happiness is truly for them! I am teaching an old man named Melvin Sr. from Ohio. He is so sweet and just accepted the baptismal invite! He said he just HAS to be baptized! I love that man.

I prayed a lot about what I would share with you today.  I want to make my letters home as meaningful as I can so I hope that I will always listen to the spirit as I write to you and I hope this message helps you all in some way.

I was reading in Alma Chapter 24 the other day.  In this chapter some of the Anti-Nephi-Lehis rejoice in Christ and some of the Lamanites are converted to the gospel! That chapter really stood out to me and reminded me of the atonement of Jesus Christ. Verses 14 to 16 especially.

14 "And the great God has had mercy on us, and made these things known unto us that we might not perish; yea, and he has made these things known unto us beforehand, because he loveth our souls as well as he loveth our children; therefore, in his mercy he doth visit us by his angels, that the plan of salvation might be made known unto us as well as unto future generations.  

15 Oh, how merciful is our God! And now behold, since it has been as much as we could do to get our stains taken away from us, and our swords are made bright, let us hide them away that they may be kept bright, as a testimony to our God at the last day, or at the day that we shall be brought to stand before him to be judged, that we have not stained our swords in the blood of our brethren since he imparted his word unto us and has made us clean thereby.

16 And now, my brethren, if our brethren seek to destroy us, behold, we will hide away our swords, yea, even we will bury them deep in the earth, that they may be kept bright, as a testimony that we have never used them, at the last day; and if our brethren destroy us, behold, we shall go to our God and shall be saved."

To me those verses show true conversion. They saw how happy they were when they gave up their swords or in other words their weaknesses and sins. They saw how happy they were when they decided to repent and follow Jesus Christ. They hid away their swords or in other words repented of their sins and did them no more. In verse 16, they said they hid them away but kept them as a testimony, a testimony of the atonement.

We all make mistakes in our lives and sometimes it is hard to forgive ourselves. We may think we are burying up our "swords" but they are not buried if we can't forgive ourselves first. While we need to put them away we should also keep those experiences as a testimony.  Of course they are nothing to be proud of but they can remind us of the feeling we had when we felt that the Savior was trying to bring us back towards him. They can remind us of the healing power of the atonement and help us not to make those same mistakes again. I love this chapter because they were converted. They experienced the love of God and put the past behind them. They humbled themselves and fought temptations and weaknesses. That is what God wants for us, to just trust him and follow him.

One of my favorite talks is called, "Hitting the Mark" by Elder F. Enzio Busche from Germany. In his talk he shared some tips to help us to stay close to the spirit and to access the power of the atonement. If you read it, it will change your LIFE!

Elder Busche tells us that there are only two elements that separate us from the Holy Spirit: first, our lack of desire to repent, and second, our lack of desire to forgive.  Then he gives us a list of things that can help us stay close to the spirit:  

1. Embrace each day, no matter how it looks, with an enthusiastic welcome.
2. Steer your thoughts away from yourself and direct them, in gratitude and love, toward your Savior and your Heavenly Father. This will help you overcome fatigue, despair, and physical sickness.
3. Choose to accept the challenges that must be part of life. They can draw you closer to Heavenly Father and make you stronger.
4. Feed your own spirit. It needs constant nourishment.
5. Sacrifice your selfishness. Meekness prepares you to receive the Spirit.
6. Put all frustrations, hurt feelings, and grumblings into the perspective of your eternal hope.
7. Pause to ponder the suffering Christ felt in the Garden of Gethsemane.
8. Realize that Heavenly Father knows you are not perfect. He will give you comfort and suggestions of where to improve.
9. Understand that your Father in Heaven knows better than you what you need. Listen, and follow the suggestions he makes, even the uncomfortable ones. Over time everything will fall into place.
10. Fear the consequences of sin. Flee the very appearance of evil.
11. Look into the eyes of those who are hard to love, long enough to see them as children of God.
12. Forgive and you will be free again.
13. Avoid pessimistic, negative, or criticizing thoughts. On the road toward salvation let questions arise, but never doubts.
14. Avoid rush and haste and uncontrolled words. Divine light develops in places of peace and quiet.
15. Serve with all your heart, might, mind, and strength.
16. Be grateful for every opportunity to serve.
17. Realize when you are asked to sacrifice that Heavenly Father wants to give you something better.

Those points have helped me a lot throughout my mission so as I prayed about what I should write today that's what came to my mind.

 

 I just love you all! I hope you have an amazing day! Remember to start the day off with a scripture each day!

 

Love,

Sister Park

Obedience with Exactness

Sister B and I matched on accident today so we
just had to take a picture!

HI!

I am so sad that Kendall and I are not going to see each other for a year and a half. It breaks my heart but I am so happy for her and all of the amazing experiences she is going to have in South Dakota. She is such a beautiful sister missionary. I am so proud of all of my missionary family!

 

Temple Square has been great. We have been stuck at home for the past couple of days because Sister Tsang caught a cold. She has been miserable so I have been living up to my MTC nick name "Nurse Macy".  Anyway, it was fun to take care of her but I was so ready to just get out of the apartment and work! So today we went and covered the Beehive house and it was a lot of fun.

 

The girls at Temple Square are so funny, especially the foreign girls with the culture barrier and everything.  The other day I was on exchanges with another sister and she called one of her investigators to check his progress.  She discovered he wasn't keeping his commitments like reading the scriptures and going to church.  So this sister said,  "Jesus is crying because you didn't read the scriptures. Do you want to make Jesus cry?" I was laughing to myself sooooooo hard!

Sister Tsang is also very funny.  This morning we were in the store and two returned missionaries walked up to us and started talking.  One of them came across a little flirtatious with me and it made Sister Tsang SO MAD.  She called him a pighead.  I couldn't believe it.  I walked away laughing.

 

This week in district meeting I decided to focus the instruction on goal setting. I have gained a testimony of setting goals on my mission. I feel like goals prepare us for the rest of our lives and we will be so much more successful if we set inspired goals. So we talked all about that and role played and made our own district macro plan of some goals we want to achieve this transfer and how we are going to do it. First we list our goals and desired outcomes.  Next we write our present situation on paper.  Finally we discuss action steps that we will take in order to reach our goals. We are going to have a great transfer. My district has already surpassed our baptism goal which is 6 baptisms. We have already had 8 and we are only in week three of the transfer.

Lately some our sisters, mostly companionships, have struggled.  Either things are not going as planned or they are struggling with understanding each other and getting along.  A couple of days ago I was asked to meet with one of those companionships to discuss what was wrong and see if I could help. Well I was able to help a little-- and the spirit was able to help a lot! I sat and talked with them for a long time.  I wasn't sure how to handle the situation so I said a little prayer in my heart.  Then I had a feeling that I should get up and leave for a few minutes.  So I instructed them to talk to each other and I walked into the bathroom.  When I got to the bathroom I cried because I didn't know what to do so I prayed and as soon as I finished the prayer I heard the spirit say "Disobedience".   Right then I knew what the problem was.  So when I walked back in I asked them if they were being obedient to the rules.  I asked them if they were doing companionship studies and they said they hadn't.  Companionship studies help us to be unified with our companions.  If we don't have them, we don't have the spirit.  Disobedience destroys companionships.  We talked about that for a while and they were so happy because we figured it out.  There is a reason we are told to practice obedience with exactness on our missions and throughout life.

After we figured out the problem, I told them they needed to share two things they love about each other and we were all laughing by the end. Now they are doing amazing because they are being obedient. I am so thankful for the spirit!  I could not have dealt with that situation on my own!  Every transfer Heavenly Father stretches me a little more and I learn something new.

I was having kind of a hard day the other day so I read my scriptures. One of my favorite chapters in D&C is Chapter 58. It has helped me so many times in different parts of my life. It has helped me realize that even when things are tough, God is always there and his hand is in every detail of our lives. I just love that he knows so well what is going on.  We all have to go through hard times but there is always light at the end of the tunnel. It is so comforting to know that God has a plan for every single one of us and all we need to do is trust him, be faithful, and enjoy the journey. I think I am bad at enjoying the journey sometimes. But the scriptures tell us that there is always good to come.

 3 "Ye cannot behold with your natural eyes, for the present time, the design of your God concerning those things which shall come hereafter, and the glory which shall follow after much tribulation."

 4 "For after much tribulation come the blessings. Wherefore the day cometh that ye shall be crowned with much glory; the hour is not yet, but is nigh at hand."

 

Those verses have helped me a lot in the past couple of days. I just know that Heavenly Father loves all of his children so much and that he has provided a way for us to be happy. He knew that this life wouldn't be easy but he has blessed us with so many things to help us get through it. I love that! I am learning that when things seem like they are going wrong, that is usually Heavenly Father doing something right. We will never really understand the way he works or why he works the way he does but it is always the better way. I am so thankful for a mission that has taught me these things.I love you all!

Sister Park


 

 

Receiving Personal Revelation

Hello Everyone! This has been such a wonderful week! Sister Tsang & I are doing great doing our best to save China.  "Save China" is something we say in this mission because our church is not allowed in China yet even though there are several Chinese people who want to be members and be free to practice the religion.  Most sisters here on Temple Square end up with companions from many different countries and I have only served with Americans, a Russian, and two Chinese speaking companions.  But I was thinking about how blessed I am to be able to teach some of these people who know nothing about Christ.

This morning I went to the temple and it was incredible. I love the peace and comfort I feel when I go inside. Yesterday was also a great day because I saw Aunt Kathy, Renee, Rachelle, and Alyssa! I am  so happy I was able to see them and take them on a tour in the Beehive House. It made my night!

 

Yesterday morning we had Missionary Leadership Council and that was fun. It was a little bit different than when I had it in Louisiana because there were no elders and it was in the Joseph Smith Memorial Building. It was a great experience and I learned a lot of things that I can bring to my missionary work. I have learned so much about goal setting and planning on my mission and just how important it really is. My mission is preparing me for the rest of my life because I am learning so many skills that I never had before my mission. I can't believe how irresponsible I used to be!

A couple of days ago I was looking back to the past and thinking about myself right before my mission and some of the things I struggled with. One thing I really had a hard time with was recognizing answers to my prayers. I always thought that God just didn't answer me and that I just needed to figure things out on my own; but looking back I was so wrong!  I learned that God answers us several times. Every time we pray He answers us but it's up to us to listen and have faith in Him. I was lacking faith in the answers I received and could not tell if the feelings I had were coming from myself or from Heavenly Father. Then I was thinking about some of the things I have learned on my mission and one of the biggest thing I have learned is how Heavenly Father communicates with me personally.

 

I have been reading a lot in D&C 9 and really trying to understand it.  Oliver Cowdery wanted to do more than be a scribe.  He wanted to translate. In this section Heavenly Father is teaching Oliver Cowdery how to recognize answers and to know when something is right.  In verses 8 and 9 it says:

 

8 "But, behold, I say unto you, that you must study it out in your mind; then you must ask me if it be right, and if it is right I will cause that your bosom shall burn within you; therefore, you shall feel that it is right."

 

 9 "But if it be not right you shall have no such feelings, but you shall have a stupor of thought that shall cause you to forget the thing which is wrong; therefore, you cannot write that which is sacred save it be given you from me."  Then in the final verse, Heavenly Father reminds him to be faithful in fulfilling the things Heavenly Father has asked of him and he will be blessed: 

 

14 "Stand fast in the work wherewith I have called you, and a hair of your head shall not be lost, and you shall be lifted up at the last day. Amen."

 

Revelation is available to all of us when we exercise faith.  Revelation is the rock that Christ built His church upon and it is such a blessing that we have it! Joseph Smith said that without the Book of Mormon and revelation we have no religion and that is so true!

I am having a great time here at Temple Square. It is getting cooler outside and they are already putting up all of the Christmas lights which tells me that fall is coming! I am SO EXCITED because Fall is my favorite time on Temple Square. Things are going great here. LOVE YOU! And sorry I did not take any pictures this week. I'll be better next week!

 

Grandpa and Terry, thank you so much for the sweet birthday card! 

 

Alyssa, good luck you will do great!

 

Kendall, see you next week!

 

Jagger and Jersy, I love you!

 

Love,

 

Sister Park