I'm going outbound!

Hello Family!  This week has been a wonderful week. Another one of our investigators was baptized! I am so happy. He is just this kid we met on chat but we have never met anyone so sincere! He is a great person!

So it is a New Year! On New Year's Eve our mission got together and had a short little New Year's Eve Party. We ate chips and salsa and had a countdown. It was 10:00 so we pretended that we were NYC time. During our New Year's Eve Party President Gillette got out this mini transfer board and announced who is going outbound! I did not expect to be on the list. He went through all of the names and then the very last name that he said was mine!



There I am in the second to last row!

I was so scared! I just started to really love my mission and now I am leaving!  I found out where I am going but I am keeping it a secret for now... I will give you one little hint: Bible Belt. I think. I am so excited because I have always wanted to visit there. I do not know how long I will be serving there. I will find that out on Monday. So this blog will not be too exciting because I have barely had contact with any human being. It's been nothing but computers and cars for me and Sister Steenhoek. I have less than a week left of fleet and even though I will miss Sister Steenhoek I am so happy to be done with fleet!  The last week is the toughest because we have to figure out all the flight info and transportation for the new sisters and the outbound sisters and it's so much more work than you can imagine. This is also a stressful week because I have transfers to figure out on top of getting ready to leave for a few months and move across the country. I have a lot of packing to do.
So last night we had to take the Trax (which is just like the lightrail in Phoenix) to see if we should just have the sisters going outbound ride that to the airport. We wanted to make sure everything worked out the way we wanted it to. Well, on the way back to Temple Square we had a little experience that was probably meant to prepare me for my next destination. We were sitting down discussing transfers and I looked across from us and a man would not stop staring at us. I couldn't even focus on our conversation because he was kind of freaking me out. And when people stare at me I tend to stare at them until they stop and look away so I just kept staring at him. So this guy and I basically had a staring contest for awhile. But he won because he wouldn't stop staring! So I looked down and pulled out the phone so I could write a fake text and tell Sister Steenhoek that he was freaking me out. So as I began typing it out, he stood up and sat across from us and introduced himself. He asked us if he could ask us a couple of questions about our beliefs. So of course we said yes! And of course he went straight to the typical questions that we usually get from people who are antagonistic rather than sincere... like polygamy and then racism. Racism questions will really prepare me for my outbound so as he was expressing his concerns I was thanking Heavenly Father for preparing me but also asking for his help in responding to this man.

We explained both situations to him and told him that racism had nothing to do with anything that has happened in the church. I don't really remember what we said because the conversation was not my own words but was completely led by the spirit.  Thankfully, the spirit was very strong during our conversation and the man surprisingly seemed very sincere.

Come to find out, he grew up as a member but could never get past those two issues. He said that he had always received different answers but had only talked to friends and had never thought about asking a missionary until he saw us sitting on the train.  He seemed happy with the explanations that we gave him. After we answered his questions we could tell he didn't want the conversation to be over so we had him read Moroni 10: 4-5:

"4 And when ye shall receive these things, I would exhort you that ye would ask God, the Eternal Father, in the name of Christ, if these things are not true; and if ye shall ask with a sincere heart, with real intent, having faith in Christ, he will manifest the truth of it unto you, by the power of the Holy Ghost.

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

 

We proceeded to tell this man that he needs to pray with real intent. He is sincere. But if he sincerely wants to know then he needs to pray with faith that he will receive an answer. The whole meeting was a miracle for so many reasons but the best part of all was that he gave us his contact information and said he wanted us to call and teach him.  Unfortunately I will be leaving for ....................... but Sister Steenhoek will continue to teach him while I am in.............!

 

Next cool thing to happen! So the other day we had some free time and decided that we wanted to give a few tours. So we were asked to do a VIP tour and headed upstairs to go meet the people we would be showing around. It was two nice gentlemen from Burbank, CA. They were sooo California. They even said "totally." So we took them around on a Preach My Gospel walk. (I do not like the term "tour" because our tours are actually lessons but the people we are taking just don't know it.) So we were talking with the guys and then come to find out... we were with the writers and producers of the Jay Leno Show! It was no surprise. They seemed like they were something big! That was a neat experience. It was our first VIP tour!

 

And the best thing to happen this week is that I was able to see the Udall family. Kylie had a missionary glow and I know she will do so great! I was really hoping to go outbound in Portland so that I could take care of her and if she had a bossy companion then I could set her straight but that is ok!  It was so good to see the Udall family.  I missed those people!

So for my outbound assignment I am kind of close to Rulon...  I am in the south...  It is warmer than Salt Lake...  And I might just be teaching the cast of Duck Dynasty!!  On Wednesday at 3:40 a.m. I will be flying out to serve for a few months in the Louisiana, Baton Rouge Mission!  I can't wait to serve and come to love the people of Louisiana!  I am happy to experience the next chapter in my mission and I can't wait to find out what Heavenly Father has in store for me.  Baton Rouge, here I come! 

 

Don't forget, life will be hard at times and you will have trials but the Savior was, is, and will always be there for you. D&C 90:24- "Search diligently, pray always, and be believing, and all things shall work together for your good...".

 

Love you all, Sister Park