It has been a great week in New Iberia. We went on exchanges with the Morgan City sisters, I almost fell off my bike, we got dropped by some of our awesome investigators, personal and companionship studies have been awesome, we made life goals and mission goals, and seriously we laugh all the time. This week has been full of ups and downs but we are doing our best to stay positive!
When we were on exchanges, I was with a sister from the Marshall Islands in Morgan City and we were riding bikes. Well, we decided that we were going to talk to everyone we saw about the gospel. So we were riding along and then all of a sudden Sister Baraka shouted really loud. "Sister Park!!!! There's a boy!!!! Lets get him!!!!!!!!!" And he was only like 15 feet in front of us and she started riding her bike super fast behind him until she was basically on his tail. Then she said "I have something for youuuuu!" And she gave him a mormon.org card and then sped away. It was so funny!
I love the New Iberia branch! Everyone is so nice and hospitable. Sister Maxfield and I teach the 5-7 year olds in primary. That might be my favorite part of this mission!
I gave a talk yesterday in sacrament meeting on Hastening the Work of Salvation but I changed it up a little bit. I really do not like speaking too much about missionary work because I don't like telling people how to do their jobs or make them feeling like I'm calling them to repentance or anything...so I focused my talk on how we can do missionary work in our own families by encouraging family unity. In 1 Nephi Chapter 8, Lehi describes his vision of the Tree of Life. He had partaken of the fruit and desired the same for the people that he loved.
"And as I partook of the fruit thereof it filled my soul with exceedingly great joy; wherefore, I began to be desirous that my family should partake of it also; for I knew that it was desirable above all other fruit."
Missionary work is most effective when we do it out of love. It made me feel kind of bad because I could do a much better job about reaching out to my close family and friends and helping them remember God's love for them. It made me realize the importance of Family Home Evening and the importance of always being an example to those in your family. Elder King, one of the New Iberia elders, spoke after me and he was asked to speak on the same thing but he focused his talk on being a good neighbor. It was a great combination because I spoke on the immediate family and he spoke on our worldly family.
Sister Maxfield and I have been having so much fun together! We have focused most of our time on doing service for members and investigators. I am learning so many things. I am learning how to garden! It is so much fun! We have been gardening, doing yard work, pulling weeds, mowing lawns, decorating houses for Easter, painting, cleaning out sheds, and cleaning houses. I enjoy it because I get to wear pants. I tell everyone we see to put us to work so that I can wear pants.
Each week we have to bike at least one day which means no driving whatsoever. Well, I do not have a bike here in New Iberia so that meant we were going to have to walk really far because no one lives around us. But then on a sunny day a miracle happened. One of our investigators, AKA the coolest woman ever, told me I can borrow her bike while I am here since she never rides it! So now I have a beautiful light blue bike. I didn't have a helmet though and can't ride without one; so one morning, the elders went to Wal-Mart and bought me a light blue helmet to match my bike and brought it over to our apartment. I was so so happy! We had bike day on Saturday and it was a lot of fun. We rode our bikes to meet this cute elderly man in our branch named Stanley at a little cafe called "A cake to remember". We ate with him and then went and sat with him by the Bayou and just talked about life. He is the sweetest.
Today we are going to go to the church to beat the elders in volleyball. We always win. We are far from all the other missionaries in this mission so on p-days it's just the four of us.
One night when we were planning we decided we wanted to share the parable of the sower with one of our less active members. So the next morning during personal studies, I was reading in the New Testament. I read through the parable and I wasn't excited about it so I just kept on reading and then got to the part where Jesus walked on the water. Mom, I don't know if you remember but when I was very little I asked you how Jesus walked on the water because I have always been so amazed by that story. You told me it was because he had faith. I believed you and I knew that was true so I was determined to put that to the test. So anytime we went swimming when I was little I said a little prayer in my heart and said "Heavenly Father, I have faith. Please help me to be able to walk on the water." And I always attempted to walk on the water but could never do it.
When we got into companionship studies I shared with Sister Maxfield what I read and also how it made me think of that experience I had when I was little. She laughed and told me a similar experience. She once learned in primary that if she had faith the size of a mustard seed then she could move mountains. So she did the same thing as me and experimented! She was never able to move a mountain. So we laughed and then both pondered on it for awhile. Then we came up with a conclusion. Why would Heavenly Father allow us to do those things if it isn't necessary? Why would Heavenly Father let me walk on water? So I could go and tell my friends and then get made fun of? Why would he let Sister Maxfield move a mountain? It would destroy homes and probably hurt a lot of people.
In Helaman, chapter 10, the Lord speaks to Nephi and lets him know that he trusts him and will grant whatever Nephi asks for because he knows that Nephi would not ask for anything that is contrary to the Lord's will. So it wasn't that Sister Maxfield and I we didn't have faith as little girls; but sometimes the things that we ask for are not needed. Heavenly Father sometimes has other and greater things in store for us. I have had similar experiences in my life where I truly had faith in something and I would ask Heavenly Father to please help me to attain it but it didn't happen. I used to think well, maybe I just didn't have enough faith. But then I realized if Heavenly Father did give me what I wanted then, I wouldn't be where I am now. My family wouldn't be where they are now. I would not have had the strong testimony of the gospel that I have now. Whatever I wanted before wasn't necessary. This is what I need and Heavenly Father saw that. He sees the bigger picture and knows what is best for us in the end. Because he loves us, he will not grant us those things that he knows will stop our growth. So it is very important to trust in God and keep enduring. I always like the phrase, "Come what may and love it!" God's plan is much better than our plan.
Instead of sharing the parable of the sower with our investigator, we were led to share our experiences of faith. It ended up being one of our best lessons! It is cool how the spirit works sometimes...
I love you all! Have a good week!
Sister Macy Park
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