Pioneer Day

Hello!

Transfers are next week.  I am sad to send Sister Bryuzgina off on her own! I can't believe she is almost done being trained. We have become best friends! I never thought I would be such good friends with a Russian but they make great friends. 

Pioneer Day is a big holiday in Utah!  We were able to go watch the parade downtown and we saw President Monson.  He is so cute!  Some of the floats in the parade are pretty amazing!

Sister B helped me to have a really good birthday. As soon as I woke up she dumped a whole bunch of balloons on my face and sang to me! She put signs up all over our apartment that said Happy Birthday. Then some of the sisters came to my apartment and sang to me and made me brownies.  It was so sweet.

On my birthday we were slammed with Beehive House and Russian tours which was the perfect birthday present for me because I just love people and I love staying busy! That night we went out for cheesecake and it was just a really good day.

One of my investigators, "R", from Louisiana gets baptized on August 10th. I get to skype them so I can watch her get baptized! It'll be nice to see all the lovely faces of my New Iberia Branch. Oh! My branch president in New Iberia's daughters came to the Square on Saturday with their grandma so I got to see them! It was awesome.

I am just falling more in love with the Book of Mormon everyday! It is my favorite book and my new favorite hobby is relating Book of Mormon stories to me, investigators, and family and friends. That's how you can help people gain a testimony of the Book of Mormon.  The book itself is centuries old but the principles relate to us even today.  Keep reading it, everyone!

I just want to say thanks to everyone who sent me birthday gifts and cards! I really appreciate it!  Mom, Dad, Jeremy, Keli, Kendall, Jagger, Jersy, Grandma and Grandpa Wellman, Grams and Mac, Gigi, Great Grandma Slade, Aunt Tonya I loved it!  Aunt Tonya, I LOVE the rings so much!  All the other sisters are so jealous of them.  Thank you thank you!!  Grandma and Grandpa, I had Cheesecake Factory on my birthday.  Sister Bryuzgina got snickers cheesecake and I got Red Velvet!  You all made my birthday so good! I am so old now. I don't like being 21. I still tell people I am 20. 

Sorry I have to run so quick!

I love you all!

Sister Park

Russians, President Uchtdorf, and a Surprise Visit

It has been a good week! Today is exactly one year since I arrived at Temple Square. I remember what I was doing at this time. I was getting all settled in my new little yellow house with a perfect view of the Temple right outside the window by my bed.  That view really helped me to not be homesick at night. 

 

Last night we took a group of 40 Russians. All I can say is wow. There was one lady who talked like that scary old lady in the beginning of Anastasia with the low and nasally voice. I really felt like I was in that movie because she kept going behind me and talking softly in my ear. She would not stand in front of me and look me in the eye.

 

I am learning a lot of new Russian words and a lot of the Russians think I am fluent. I just pretend that I am with the little words that I know. If I don't understand then I just say "da" which means yes.

 

Some of us went to watch the Mormon Tabernacle Choir on Sunday and President Uchtdorf was there.  He was shaking the sisters' hands.  While I was standing there waiting to talk to him I glanced behind me and saw a little girl, about 8 years old, standing in the background watching us meet an Apostle.  Looking at her I just had the feeling that she really needed the opportunity to meet President Uchtdorf.  So I went and got her and walked her up to him and she got to shake his hand.  I didn't get to shake his hand or talk to him because I let the little girl take my turn.  I don't know why but I just felt like she needed that more than me.  It was an awesome experience!

 

Sorry for disappearing for a while, Mom.  Just after I sat down to write I got a phone call from another missionary who told me my investigator from Seattle was here to see me!  It was a surprise but I really wanted to go see him because we have been teaching him over the phone for a while and I can't believe he came here to see us.  He was in California for business and made a detour through Salt Lake on his way home to Seattle to surprise us.  He told us we have helped him so much and he really wanted to see us so we taught him a lesson before getting back on the computers.  He is an awesome man!

 

We took a quick picture with him before coming back to email!

Every missionary discovers at some point in the mission why they were called to that specific place.  This week three things came to me:

 

1) I love the restoration.  I think that before our generations came to this earth we all watched the Restoration of the gospel happening and I have a feeling I begged Heavenly Father to let me be part of it somehow.  So he sent me to serve in Zion!

 

2) It was meant to be. The Salt Lake City Temple site was dedicated on July 28th which is my birthday!

 

3)  I needed to gain a testimony of the Plan of Salvation and Eternal Families.  Serving at Temple Square has really helped me come to know the truthfulness and greatness of Heavenly Father's plan for us. I love being able to take families around and teach them about this amazing plan! The past couple of families I have given tours to were not members and not familiar with the church.  The moms of both families were so touched that they cried at the end of the tour! It wasn't what we said, it was the spirit they felt while they were here. Family is what the temple is all about and I am so happy that God loves us so much to provide us with temples. I am so thankful that I can serve here because now I know without a doubt that families are forever!!

 

Thanks to everyone who came to visit me! I loved seeing all of your beautiful faces- Christie, Trevor and baby Cash, Aunt Kim and the Merrill kids, Aunt Debbie and Uncle Dan.  I also got a nice note from the Schier's and the Pena's! And I went and had dinner with President Wall!  Heavenly Father sent me so many wonderful people! I guess he just felt like I needed it.

Sorry I need to go so soon.  We spent most of our email time visiting with our investigator.  It was totally worth it!  Well, I hope everyone has a great day! Dasvedana!

Sistra Park

Repelling

Preveit!



We went repelling!

How's the fam? Well, I am great and I have had a fantastic week! I love being at Temple Square. It is the best place because it is in the heart of downtown but it is so peaceful and you truly feel the spirit there. It is interesting to watch people as they walk on the square because outside the gates they can be laughing and loud but as soon as they enter the gates they are just automatically reverent.  The spirit really takes over here.  A lady who isn't a member of the church came into the Beehive House yesterday and said "I can't believe how peaceful this place is for being right in the middle of downtown! I just don't understand it!" Well, we understand it perfectly-- it's the spirit!  The spirit is always so strong here! 

 

The Beehive House has been crazy busy. Everyone wants to go in there and cool down because it has been so hot. We have given tours to some awesome people and some... interesting people... as always.  But we just rely on the spirit to guide us when we deal with them and it always turns out okay.  I think I could serve at the Beehive for the rest of my mission. I just love the spirit there. It really is such a special place.

 

We have been taking a lot of Russian tours! I am trying to memorize my testimony and Joseph Smith's First Vision in Russian. I recited the first vision in Russian yesterday on one of our tours and guess what.. they understood what I said except for 2 or 3 words! YAY! I was so excited. Russians are awesome and they make great friends but they are stubborn and bold!

I love serving with Sister Bryuzgina. We really make a great team. I love how bold she is.  The other day some investigators came into the Beehive House and were asking us if the Lion House Bakery tastes as good as it smells.  And Sister B said, "Come with me."  So we all went over to the Lion House and she walked up to the one of the cooks and said "I need some free samples for these investigators."  The cook didn't really know what to do so he just gave them some free bread.  Sister B is awesome like that!

 

This morning we were able to attend the Bountiful Temple since the SLC Temple is closed for a few weeks. It was incredible. I hope everyone can go inside there one day because it is so amazing. I think its one of my favorites. 

 

Our district at the Bountiful Temple this morning

Monday was the best day of my entire life. So every Monday at one we have something we call the flagpole tour. It's where we wait by the flagpole with a "tours" sign and people start flocking. So there we were standing at the flagpole when I hear my rainfall text ring.. I got a text from some sisters saying that my outbound mission president, President Wall, was looking for me! So I texted back and said, "Send him to the Flagpole!" and 10 seconds later I saw President and Sister Wall from my Baton Rouge mission! I was so happy that I almost died.  He gave me a big hug.  I love him and learned so much from him while I was in Louisiana.  He and Sister Wall are taking me to The Roof restaurant for dinner in a couple of days.  The best part of all was they told me the best news..... THE OPELOUSAS BRANCH BECAME A WARD! My heart just dropped and I had tears of joy. I can't even explain how happy I am! Those people are so amazing!

On Saturday we were able to take a short break and go up to the mountains! We are constantly busy and on our feet so the mission presidency let us have a five hour break to unwind since summers are INSANE. It was so much fun. We went to Brighton girl's camp like last year but this year was better because we got to go repelling. I LOVED it!  I think I will make a hobby of it when I come home.

 

I just want to say thank you to Grandma and Grandpa Wellman for the beautiful letter! It made my day and was a big help!  You are so kind!

 

Happy Birthday Aunt Rita and Aunt Debbie!

I just love what I am doing. I have never been so happy and I want everyone to experience this kind of happiness. There is nothing better than serving the Lord!

Sister Park

Be Bold in Sharing What You Have!



Happy 4th of July! 

What a week! Summer is so busy that I can barely remember what happened... but I do know that things are going great!   I love serving in the Beehive House. I have learned so much about Brigham Young and I know that he was truly a prophet of God. I think I was definitely meant to serve here this transfer. It has been crazy busy, we are giving 10 tours every 6 hours! There is not much time for sitting down and relaxing these days. I was always nervous about serving in the Beehive House because there are so many people that come in who really just want to question Brigham Young, but we have been able to see miracles! When we talk about the kind of servant of the Lord he was their hearts are just touched and they want to learn more.






Yesterday I was on exchanges with Sister Rhodes- a new sister from Vegas.  One of the tours we gave really impacted me. We took four individual guests and then a family from Houston. The mom and daughter were members and the husband was not. We ended the tour at the Christus and two ladies who were not members of the church were crying as we talked about the Savior's atonement.  The spirit was so powerful. No one referred but it was a good moment. At the end of the tour the family started walking away and I suddenly got a strong impression that I needed to take them to "God's Plan for the Family" which is a 12 minute presentation about a family. It is based on the Family Proclamation to the World and I LOVE IT! So I told Sister Rhodes we needed to take this family so we chased them down and asked them if they would like to watch it and they said yes! So at the end it shows the family outside the temple taking pictures after the daughter gets married. The music is beautiful and dramatic and makes everyone cry. The mom was crying after the movie and her husband had his arm around her. I asked her what she liked about it and she said, "This is just where I am trying to get." She talked about being sealed with her family. Her husband has met with missionaries four times but says he has a hard head and one day it'll crack. THEN he bore his testimony about the church and what it has done for his family and texted the stake president while he was with us to ask for general conference tickets. I don't know why but there are just some tours I'll never forget. I don't always know what happens to the people I meet but I'll never forget the spirit that was there.

The other day I was thinking about some of the good experiences I have had on my mission and how they have impacted me. There are some people that I still think about but I have no idea what happened to them. Then my thoughts turned to Abinidi. He stood there in front of wicked King Noah and the priests and testified of the truth. He did not hold back once, he just said what the spirit told him to say. Because he was bold in sharing his testimony, he made an impact on a priest named Alma and converted him to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Alma became a prophet and was responsible for converting many people. Abinidi never got to see the fruits of his labors; but if he hadn't gone and preached the gospel then Alma may have never been converted along with Ammon and Alma the Younger and so many others who changed lives.

I can't even explain how much I have learned. I learn a new thing every transfer whether its spiritual or not. I never thought I'd learn how to put up siding on a house or lay tile. Kendall, I am seriously so excited for what is ahead of you. Lately I meet a lot of people from the Dakotas and every time I ask  what advice I should give to my sister, they ALWAYS say, "bring a coat." GOOD LUCK SISTA! Next month you are GONE!

 

SISTER PARK

His ways are much better than our ways

WE LOVE WORKING IN THE BEEHIVE HOUSE!!

Hello Everyone! This has been such an amazing week! Sister Bryuzgina and I are doing great and we are having so much fun. Salt Lake City is the best and Temple Square is amazing during the summer. I forgot how much I love summer time. I have been out a year now! Time has gone by really fast. I am so happy that I ran into some fellow Avondale, Arizonians today!  Brother and Sister Burnett from Grandma's ward stopped by and got Grandma Slade on the phone for a quick second!  It was so nice to hear her sweet voice!


The sisters from Mongolia and Brazil are behind me. 
Don't even ask me to remember how to spell their names!

The Beehive House is amazing!  We are extremely busy because it's that season so the tours are only 10 to 20 minutes each.  Needless to say we have to make it quick and short but a powerful spiritual experience all at the same time. That is hard to do so we decided to teach the Restoration throughout most of the tour. We relate each of the rooms in the Beehive House to the Restoration and so far every time we do that people have wanted to learn more! It is really cool because I was really worried about the short amount of time we have with the guests but we have seen miracles!! Sister Bryuzgina and I found that as we share Brigham Young's conversion story the spirit is so strong and it really has an effect on people. Maybe he is helping us out :)
So awesome news of the week! Sister Bryuzgina and I have three investigators with baptismal dates! "E" who lives in Sunset, Utah! She is the sweetest lady. We found her in May and we absolutely love her. We got her with the sisters in the Ogden mission and now she is getting baptized! The ladies in Relief Society are a huge help! She loves enrichment. She will be baptized on July 19. Then we have "R" from New Iberia, Louisiana!  Sister Maxfield and I taught her before I left and now Sister B and I teach her over the phone. I am so proud of her. She quit smoking and is getting baptized on July 13! Then we have "C" from SLC! He was a member referral. His neighbor is a member and she just started taking him to church.  He is a sweet man in a wheelchair and he will get baptized in August! We are so happy! 

One of my goals has been to help a family learn about and accept the gospel. Today I went on exchanges with Sister Magidson from Maryland and we took a Chinese family on a tour. They live in Wisconsin and they are adorable. They were really quiet so we just taught them the whole restoration in the tabernacle. It was really cool and the spirit was there. After that we took them to the Christus and asked them if they had any questions. They decided they would like copies of the Book of Mormon and definitely wanted to learn more. I hope things go well for them!

Lately we have met many people who are struggling or are going through a hard time.  Some of them are already members... many of them aren't.  They don't always share what is going on in their lives with us but we know they are struggling.  We can see it and feel it.  Sometimes people come here because they want questions answered or they have been praying for something specific but nothing is happening.  I thought about this a lot during personal study this morning because I want to help these people the best way I can.  I decided to read in Mosiah Chapters 4 and 5 and I came across a few of my favorite scriptures. Mosiah 4:9:

"Believe in God; believe that he is, and that he created all things, both in heaven and in earth; believe that he has all wisdom, and all power, both in heaven and in earth; believe that man doth not comprehend all the things which the Lord can comprehend."
 

Grandma Slade, it was so good to talk to you this morning.  You are the best!

 

Christie and Trevor, congratulations on beautiful little Cash.  I can't wait to hold him!

Well, I love everyone lots! I hope everyone is good!

 

Sister Park