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

The Gospel Unites Us All

Ni Hau!

 

Transfers happened and I am so sad that Sister Bryuzgina and I were separated. I can't even imagine life without that little Ruski. Well... this summer will be a repeat of last summer.  I will be doing Mandarin tours again!  I am now a district leader and my new companion is Sister Tsang from Hong Kong.  She was actually born and lived much of her childhood in New Castle, England so she is an Asian with a British accent-- way cool. We just got together a couple of hours ago and we have already taken a Cantonese tour and a Mandarin tour.



 

This has been a good and crazy week and I just keep getting more and more tired. I am still in the Beehive House this transfer and I am really excited.  It is my most favorite assignment so far. We see awesome miracles in the Beehive House. I am really going to miss taking Russian tours. Sister Bryuzgina's new companion is from Switzerland. She actually took over New Iberia when I left to come back to the Square.  First she took over my area and now my trainee so I trust her a lot and I know Heavenly Father does as well!

This morning we did a Cantonese tour for a sweet family from Calgary, Canada. The grandma doesn't speak English so that's why it was a Chinese speaking tour. During the tour we focused on families and the temple. The spirit was present throughout the tour and it was such a good feeling! They were so excited about everything they were learning and were so prepared. We asked them if they were interested in learning more and without hesitation they said yes! I just fell in love with the family throughout the tour and can't wait to teach them over the phone.

Yesterday Sister Bryuzgina and I had a miracle! We met a couple from San Diego who came to Utah specifically to see the different temples here! They have some distant relatives who were members of the church. We took them around in the Beehive and they loved learning about the family values of the church and they both felt that it was so important! Both Sister B and I felt impressed to focus the lesson on the Book of Mormon.  We talked about it and bore our testimony and they said, "We really want to have a copy." So.. we gave it to them and they also wanted to learn more about the church. They are excited to get a call from us. We just need to get them with missionaries and they will be golden!

We also met an amazing Native American family from the Farmington, NM area this week! I just  loved being with them because it made me feel at home.  They were excited when I told them I have family there.  I was able to relate to them a lot since I am familiar with that area and they are familiar with Eagar.  The family consisted of a single mother and her five kids. When she was younger she was in foster care and lived with an LDS family in Salt Lake City. So she came here with her kids to try and find them. She went to our church for a few years but didn't end up staying active in the church as an adult. But she and her kids loved the tour and fell in love with Temple Square.  They even ended up referring and wanting to learn more. They can't wait to meet with the local missionaries. There were just so many miracles in mine and Sister Bryuzgina's last week together.

 

I am loving Temple Square. The summer is just getting busier and I am starting to feel the stress of it all! Mandarin tours are very demanding but I love it! I can't wait to see the fam in two weeks. It is  going to make my day.

 

Thank you so much for the birthday cards and letters everyone! Y'all know how to brighten my day.

Love, Sister Park