Bearing Burdens with Ease

Hey Y'all! Greetings from New Iberia! Today is a lovely day with gray skies. I heard that Rulon had a tornado!  I'm glad he's safe.  

GUESS WHAT! I WAS KNOCKED OVER BY A ST. BERNARD! I am not exaggerating when I say I WAS SOAKED FROM SLOBBER. Then it smacked me in the face with its paw. It kept sitting on my lap. I wish I had a picture. Next time I go to that family's house I am sending you a picture with it on my lap.

One of the best parts of the week was that Sister Harvey, a lady in our branch with three daughters, asked Sister Maxfield and I to come over and have a make-over party with her girls.  We had fun and the girls loved how they turned out.

Me, Sister Maxfield, and the Harvey girls

I have had such an amazing and incredible week. On Tuesday we had zone conference and it was awesome except the assistants made me do a role play with President Wall. That was so intimidating! He is President Wall!  After zone conference I went on exchanges with Sister Faulk in Opelousas.  I wanted to be able to see everyone but only got to see a few people. That was an incredible exchange. The spirit was so strong and we had so much fun. Sister Faulk taught me so much when we were serving together. I definitely gained a testimony of my missionary purpose while serving with Sister Faulk. 
While in Opelousas I was able to attend a memorial service for Brother Prescott as his ashes were spread.  It was a beautiful service and good closure for his family.

Here is some exciting news from this past week! We got two new investigators on Friday. The first guy's name is Jamal. We went into an area referred to as "the projects" in search of a less active member named Jaworski Welcome.  But when we got there we found that he no longer lived there.  But a man named Jamal and his family live in the house Jaworski used to live in.  They are an amazing family!  Jamal's girlfriend didn't participate but I think she will eventually.  On Friday we taught them the Restoration and Jamal loved it! He said he could really relate to Joseph Smith because he goes from church to church trying to find the right one and that is what Jamal had been doing before we found him.  It was obvious that Heavenly Father has been preparing this man to receive the gospel.  We are going back this week and will be taking a recent convert named Rico with us.  Rico and Jamal will be best friends.  We just know it!  The other new investigator we have is Miss Caretta! She is Rico's mother-in-law. We also taught her the Restoration and it made complete sense to her.  She already wants to join the church but is afraid she will struggle with the Word of Wisdom.  I am confident she can do it though. She is so excited for us to go back on Friday! We will be teaching the Plan of Salvation and eating fried chicken and pizza.  Miss Caretta said "It's going to be a party!"

 

We have really focused on teaching the Restoration lately and I am just loving it! My testimony of Joseph Smith's purpose and role in restoring the gospel to the earth just keeps growing. I know that the Book of Mormon is the word of God and that Joseph Smith was called of God to restore Jesus Christ's church to the earth.  If we pray to know these things, the Holy Ghost will let us know they are true.  Lately I have been trying to pray daily to know whether the Book of Mormon is true and whether or not Joseph Smith was a true prophet. Even though I already know these things it is so amazing to get a confirmation from the Holy Ghost again and again.  It only strengthens my testimony and has helped me become a better teacher and bear stronger testimony of the restoration.  

 

President Wall is so inspired.  At Zone Conference last week he spoke a lot on Elder Bednar's General Conference talk about the load. He talked to us about our individual loads and how a load consists of happy times and difficult times.  Everyone has a load.  What is important is that our load is helping us to draw nearer to Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ.  Elder Bednar reminds us that our "loads" must be sufficient enough for us to grow.  When we have it easy with no bumps in the road and put focus on things that are nice but not important, we tend to forget about the things that matter most.

 

The Savior is there to lighten our loads and ease our burdens.  Like Elder Bednar said, He doesn't always take our burdens away immediately.  Sometimes they are there to help us grow.  But He will strengthen us so that we are able to "bear up our burdens with ease."

I am sad because I only have two more weeks serving in this wonderful state! I have grown to love Louisiana so much. I know I am going to cry A LOT when I have to leave. Southern people are the best. Everyone is so nice here. I do miss Utah though. Last night we were watching that Thomas S. Monson biography "On the Lord's Errand" and it really made me miss Salt Lake City. I miss all the beautiful things I saw everyday. I miss the cute neighborhoods and the temple! Everyone always has such a big place in their heart for wherever they served their mission. Utah is definitely my second home and I am excited to get back and see what the Lord has in store for me over there. I just feel so blessed to be able to serve in the two BEST places in the whole world. Cajun Land and Mormon Land. I love my mission so much!! 

Sister Park

 

 

Happy Easter

How is life back home? It was so weird to have my first Easter away from home. It was my first Easter without an Easter basket! It was ok though because some of the members were so nice and loaded us up with Easter gifts! They are way too kind to us. They gave us Subway gift cards, Visa gift cards, and lots of treats. I almost cried because I couldn't believe how much they did for us.




Me and Kelani, one of the young women in our branch in New Iberia

Jeremy, you will be proud of me. I painted a ceiling and I also learned how to lay tile. I know all the technical stuff. We helped a couple in our branch paint their house and then after that we went and helped another guy lay some tile. I am pretty sure I can start my own business after my mission. I was thinking about all of the stuff I have learned to do since I have been out and I might as well be certified in gardening, tile laying, painting, cooking, landscaping, housekeeping.... in addition, I am a good secretary, teacher, counselor, psychologist, lawn mower, motivational speaker, personal assistant, professional organizer, housekeeper, CNA, addiction recovery therapist, occupational therapist, and librarian. I have got it all. I can't believe how much I am learning from my mission. I also am learning how to work with different personality types. I am pretty sure that my mission saved my future marriage. I can't imagine growing up without this mission!

On Saturday morning our branch had an Easter breakfast followed by an Easter egg hunt for the kids. Sister Maxfield, Sister Thompson, and I hid all of the eggs. We were seriously overflowing with Easter eggs.  There were so many that eventually we just started chucking them out on the field. It was fun to see all of the kids go crazy and run after all of those eggs. It made me miss the twins and all of the crazy cousins. One of the boys reminded me of Clayton and Carson when they were little because he kept doing these tricks and weird crawls when he was hunting for the eggs like he was Spiderman or something. It was so cute!

Easter Sunday was wonderful! After church we went to one of our former potential investigators (<--- yeah, don't ask) son's home and ate an Easter lunch! It was us two Mormon girls with a whole bunch of Italian Catholics! They had a crawfish boil. Those are fun. I personally do not care for crawfish but I like the whole experience. I was holding one of them before they killed and boiled it and I could not believe we were about to eat it. They are mud bugs. They literally live in the mud. CRAZY! It was fun though and everything else was delicious. We had meatballs, fudge, crawfish, and banana pudding. It was such a good day. They live in our neighborhood and told us that there has been an alligator problem in our neighborhood. There is an alligator that has been eating people's pets! We go running there every morning!


Me and Sister Maxfield with some of the kids on Easter

Remember sweet old Stanley?  I've talked about him a few times.  Last night we went to his house to eat pizza and he told us that he is considering serving a mission! He just came back to church a couple of months ago after being inactive for over 40 years! The gospel is changing his life and he is so happy! We are excited for him because he has been very lonely since his wife passed away in October. We just love this man so so so much and want him to be happy! 

 

I am sure everyone has seen this short two minute video called "Because of Him".  If you haven't seen it, watch it and share it.  I love this video!  Here is the link:  http://easter.mormon.org/?cid=HPTU041514694

 

 Family, please read Moroni Chapter 7 this week.  It teaches us about Faith, Hope, and Charity.  After all that the Savior has done for us, how can we not have Charity?  In verses 45-47, it says:

 

45 "And charity suffereth long, and is kind, and envieth not, and is not puffed up, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil, and rejoiceth not in iniquity but rejoiceth in the truth, beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.

 

 46 Wherefore, my beloved brethren, if ye have not charity, ye are nothing, for charity never faileth. Wherefore, cleave unto charity, which is the greatest of all, for all things must fail—

 

 47 But charity is the pure love of Christ, and it endureth forever; and whoso is found possessed of it at the last day, it shall be well with him."

 

Keep reading the Book of Mormon.  It will bless your life! 

 

Love Y'all! 

Sister Park

Never too late

Hi!  To answer your question Mom, the tornado did hit New Iberia but just barely. A family from our branch lost their shed.  First the roof ripped off then it was destroyed completely.  We were driving through that storm!  The hail was unreal but we had appointments and couldn't miss them. 

I can't believe that I only have four more weeks here in the south! I know I am going to cry when I have to leave but I am also excited to get back to Temple Square. I missed out on five months already. There will be lots of new faces, that's for sure! Summer is coming so bring on my beautiful Asian guests that I have missed so much! 

Today will be busy because we have been asked to do several acts of service.  First we have to go to the hospital and take a lady her pillow because the hospital one hurts her neck. Then this morning, one of our investigators texted us and asked us to clean her bedroom for her.  We are happy to clean it for her-- that's missionary work! 

Remember sweet old Stanley?  Well he is about 85 years old and just getting a patriarchal blessing for the first time.  He didn't want to get one at first because he is so old that he just figured 'what is the point?  He thought Heavenly Father wouldn't have much to say since he has already lived most of his life.  But one thing we reminded him of and something we should all remember is that Patriarchal blessings are eternal.  They are not just for this earth life.  They are literally given to us by God.  He sees our entire life.  Not just our earth life.


I am so excited for Easter on Sunday because it is such a happy holiday! On Saturday the branch is having an Easter breakfast/ Easter egg hunt. I can't wait to see all the cute little kids so excited about finding eggs and all of the little girls' Easter dresses on Sunday!
I love that we have a holiday that focuses on the Resurrection. When I think of Easter two words comes to mind- Gratitude and Hope. The atonement can bring hope into our lives and that is what Easter is all about. 

 

One of my favorite scriptures is John 16:33:  "These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace.  In the world ye shall have tribulation; but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world."  That scripture always gives me so much hope! 

 

The resurrection reminds us that this life is not the end. If we just live the gospel and follow in the footsteps of our Savior we can be with our families and with him for eternity! I can't think of anything better than that! It makes me want to do everything I can in this life to get there one day! 

 

That is why I love Easter so much! Of course I love the flowers, pastel colors, and the dresses but most of all I just love the way I feel when I remember what he accomplished for all of us.

 

I love you all and I hope you have a great Easter! Eat lots of Reese's eggs for me! Those are my most favorite!

 

Thanks Aunt Tonya for the beautiful letter and the money! I am going to treat myself to a nice lunch today!  

 

Thanks Sterling for the letter and the beautiful dress.  You are so good to me! 

 

Thank you Merrill family for the sweet letters.  I love you guys! 

Sister Park

"What are you thinking?"

Sister Maxfield and Me!  Just out for a little lunch in a Southern Café!

Hey! So what did you all think of General Conference?  I loved the sessions on Saturday because it was like a smack down on keeping the commandments. Wow!  Did you feel the love from Elder Holland?  That man is amazing and powerful! The commandments are so good.  I am always amazed that people see them as restrictive.  The freedom we feel when we live the commandments is the best feeling in the world.

We had Mission Leadership Conference (MLC) on Wednesday and it was awesome. President Wall is SO spiritual. I always learn so much from him.  Now we get to take what we learned and instruct the other missionaries at Zone training.  Sister Maxfield and I called dibs on teaching the referral process since I am a Temple Square sister and that is kind of my specialty.  Here is some advice for future missionaries.... Pass along cards are the key!  Everyone wants a free bible or Jesus DVD. They call in and the Temple Square sisters send their info to you so you can deliver the item and visit them. Use the pass along cards. The Finding Faith in Christ one is the most popular of them all!

On April 29th guess who is coming to Baton Rouge? GLADYS KNIGHT! She is going to be putting on a show in our stake center and she will also be sharing her testimony and conversion story. All the missionaries in our mission get free tickets for ourselves and as many investigators as we want to bring. Our investigator Miss Pat is SO excited. When we told her last night she called all of her friends and family right then and there and said, "My two Mormon sisters got me free tickets to Gladys Knight! Gladys Knight is a Mormon!" She is making great progress and is taking us out to breakfast on Friday! We just adore that woman!

Okay this is also VERY good news. We have some investigators who have really embraced the gospel but they have been trying to quit smoking.  They are doing so good!  We got them signed up for the LDS Stop Smoking workshop which they will be finished with on Friday.  For those of you who don't know, the LDS Stop Smoking program was started by a return missionary who served in Ireland and encountered many investigators who wanted to join the church but needed to quit smoking.  It's not an official church program but all of the English-speaking missions use it for investigators.  People in the class have to follow 15 steps in 7 days.  I'm sure there is a lot of relapse but the program is pretty successful.

That's a picture of me playing guitar with Brother Fenene. He is a Samoan guy in our branch.  He taught me some Samoan songs and I taught him some Taylor Swift songs. We had an awesome time! He rocked out with his bass guitar. We made up an awesome version of the song "Fearless".

Remember Elder Zwick, the seventy who spoke on Saturday?  Well, he and I go way back.  Just kidding, but we used to work together in the Church Office Building when I was doing the fleet assignment at Temple Square.  He works in the missionary department.  Mom, I told you about him.  He is the guy who talked to us for about 30 minutes and then gave me and Sister Stephen his card and said to call him if we ever have questions or need anything.  I never imagined I would be watching him give a conference talk less than 6 months later.  His talk just so happened to be one of my favorites.

Elder Zwick quoted Ephesians 4:29- "Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers."  He reminds us that we need to keep our anger and tempers in check and treat others with love and kindness even when we disagree.  He also shared Proverbs 15:1, “A soft answer turneth away wrath: but grievous words stir up anger."  We are so much more effective when we speak lovingly.  We can still be firm, but do it with love.  Elder Zwick said that when we encounter these situations we should ask in our minds "What are you thinking?"  And really try to understand the other person and what they have experienced in their lives that led them to where they are. 

Thank you so much Grams and Mac, Christie, and Grandma and Grandpa Wellman!  I love you all!

I have been feeling great lately! Good studies and good exercise can go along away! We run a mile everyday in a beautiful neighborhood and everyday I pick out my future home. I love it here. I am depressed about having to leave Louisiana in a month.  But I'm also kind of excited to get back to Utah and see what else Heavenly Father has in store for me!

As Jersy would say, "Love is Everywhere." Goodbye!

Love,

Sister Park