"Are we not all beggars?"



Me and Sister Taito after all the craziness of General Conference died down

This week has been so good I don't even know where to start... Well, I will start with Sunday! It was a lovely day because our new investigator came to church with us at 7:30 AM. That is dedication. We watched Music and the Spoken word with him after Sacrament meeting. After church Elder Howell (senior elder) made a special announcement. He announced that David Archuleta would be coming that night to have a mission fireside with us! The fireside was so good. He sang some songs for us first and then answered our questions. He is so great because you can tell that he was so converted on his mission. He gave us really good advice and told us some good tips for after the mission. He is a great example to me! He is so kind and pure and has a lovely voice. After he returned home from his mission he flew out to LA and he was going to start back into the Hollywood thing even though he wasn't sure he wanted to. He said people kept making everything about him him him and money to the point where he just wanted to leave. He is back in Utah and wants to do something different with his career now. He is going to use it to spread the gospel like missionary work. He said he might put out an album in a year but it is not going to be a huge career for him. He just wants to spread the gospel and live a good non-worldly life. At the end we all took pictures. Sisters were fighting over who could stand next to him... It was such a wonderful evening!

 

Here we are with David Archuleta! 

The next day Sister Taito and I received a new investigator from Massachusetts. He actually called into mormon.org and asked if he could talk to the people who put on the production for David Archuleta's song "Glorious". This guy is 66 and he is a Viet Nam War veteran. He was on the internet one day when the "Glorious" music video popped up. He didn't know who David Archuleta was. He thought he might be a preacher or a pastor because he sang with so much conviction. That led him to lds.org where he researched Joseph Smith and read the whole restoration. He has not attended a church in a long time and never thought he would even think about God again in his life. Well, it is funny how a simple song can change a person's life.  Music is powerful! I hope Kendall always remembers that.  She was sent to the South Dakota Rapid City Mission because there are people there who will be touched by her music-- like the former area 70 she has been working with.  Anyway, this man took it upon himself to find out where the nearest church building is and he got the Bishop's number. He was going to call him today. We are going to continue to teach him and will call him on Friday. It was such a miracle!

 

Today we had our zone activity at the Beehive Homes assisted living center here in Salt Lake City! They were so excited to learn that I worked at the one in AZ. I went inside and I felt like I was home again. I love old people. I think they are my passion. Most of the sisters went and painted pumpkins with them. I took a couple of the sisters to the rooms of people who couldn't come out to paint because they were too old, weak, or sick. Sister Heuea (Tahiti) and Jamito (Philippines) and I went and visited a lady who is 103! Is that even possible? She is not doing so well and was crying when we walked in. We tried talking to her for a minute but it was not working and she just kept crying so we sang "Our Saviors Love" and she stopped crying.  But then when we stopped she started to cry again so we sang more songs. After Silent Night she said "I love it! I love it!" so we continued to sing to her until she fell asleep. As I was singing I was just looking at her and I began to cry. The plan of salvation is so real. I know that soon enough she will return to Heavenly Father and learn about the gospel. Maybe we were supposed to be there today to prepare her before she learns more from the missionaries in Heaven.

 

After she fell asleep I went and talked to another lady that the workers warned us about. Apparently she is grouchy all the time and is not nice. I just started talking to her and I was able to get her to laugh and before I knew it she was holding my hand, telling me her life story, and asking me to come back and visit. I am going to go see her again sometime before I go home. I just had the most wonderful day.

 

This morning I was watching Elder Holland's talk called, "Are we not all Beggars". It was so good! I realized how important service really was and it made me even more excited to go and visit the lovely people at the Beehive Homes. There are people all around us who need us in some way or another. I want to invite everyone to do an act of service for someone this week! Whether it is stopping to rake some leaves or taking cookies to someone. It just feels so good to serve others especially when an apostle of the Lord asks us to give up a little bit of time and money to help those in need. I will do the same thing! The holiday season is a great time to start.

 

Mosiah 2:17-

"And behold, I tell you these things that ye may learn wisdom; that ye may learn that when ye are in the service of your fellow beings ye are only in the service of your God."

 

Do you want to show your love for Heavenly Father?  Go and serve someone!

I love you ALL!!! I hope everyone is having a spirit filled week!
 

-Sister Park

P.S. On Sunday I am going to give my "farewell" talk in sacrament meeting. We give our talks the transfer before our last transfer. I can't believe it is already time. I was asked to speak on how our decisions in life effect where we end up and how righteous decisions are so important.

"Which Way Do You Face?"



Me and Sister Cueves ready for
the long conference weekend 

Sister Ho is so fun! 
When I tease her she sits on me
or puts me in a headlock.
 

 

Wow what a crazy week! General Conference was amazing. We were able to attend the Saturday Morning session. I can't wait to go and listen to the other three sessions. I really loved conference this year because there was just such a special spirit. I know there always is but this year seemed even better than before.  We actually met some non-members and took them on a tour. We taught them the Restoration and they wanted to learn more. Conference Miracles, let me tell you. When conference was over we had a big mission meeting in one of the theaters.  We talked about the miracles and experiences we had during the weekend and then we got to watch "Meet the Mormons".  I hope everyone watches it. It was awesome!

 

Guess what! Andrew, a convert that I was blessed to be able to teach, came down from BYU Idaho for conference and we met for the first time! It was way cool!

 

On Monday, Sister Taito and I were just doing our thing and scheduling some stuff for our Zone activity. You know how I used to work at Beehive Homes the assisted living center? Well, they have one in Utah so I told them how I used to work there and asked if our zone could come and do a service project with the elderly people and they were so excited. They even offered me a job after my mission so that was cool. We are going next week to go sing and paint pumpkins with the older people. I am SO EXCITED because they are my passion. So we got all that set up but then a sister in our zone got sick so Sister Taito went to go take care of her and I stayed on the Square and was on exchanges with Sister Jamito from the Philippines. We had a hospitality tour with a large group of people from the UK. Wales, England, Ireland, and Scotland. Some of them were so sweet and the others were.... funny. So we were in the Assembly Hall teaching about the Restoration. I shared the First Vision and cried... again. I am so embarrassed that I always do that but I just know that Joseph Smith was a prophet of God. Anyway, as that was happening I saw a very familiar man standing behind our tour with a woman and he was just listening in... I was thinking "I know this guy from somewhere.." and I totally did because it was Marshall from "How I Met Your Mother".. my favorite TV show.. I couldn't believe that Heavenly Father would send him to Salt Lake City.  He left before I was able to talk to him so that was sad but it was so cool that he came to Temple Square. Only a couple of us good old American sisters recognized him.

 

I don't know if you have heard about the Ebola outbreak in Liberia? Well, there are no missionaries in Liberia so one of the branch presidents called in and asked us to teach a whole bunch of Liberians the lessons and the branch will take care of the baptizing. So Sister Taito and I are teaching four people from Liberia right now and two of them are getting baptized. It is awesome because they are SO ready and SO prepared. They are such humble people that love the gospel.

 

I am just loving life right now. So many good things are happening and I just want to thank everyone for their prayers and letters!

 

I loved Elder Lynn G. Robbins talk "Which way do you face?".  It was so good.  Think about why prophets and apostles are often criticized by the world.  Why are members of the church sometimes persecuted for their beliefs?  Why has righteousness become so hated?  When we are pleasing our Heavenly Father we are not always pleasing the world.  Doing what is popular isn't the goal.  Don't forget whose disciples we are!

 

Thanks Mac, Kim, and Tonya for the beautiful letters. Thanks Inmans for tracking me down at Conference. I am sorry I am so hard to find. I love everyone!

 

 

Sister Park

A Testimony of Prophets

HELLO! Happy Birthday Momma!  This is an exciting week because General Conference is coming up!  I am trying to prep my self for it. The schedule is a bit insane. 7 30 AM to 10 30 PM all on our feet and rushing around and eating very little.  I might die but that's okay.  This was a great week in which I gained an even stronger testimony of latter-day prophets.

 

Speaking of that.. the other day Sister Taito and I had an awesome encounter.  We saw the First Presidency and the entire quorum of the twelve!  President Monson was in his wheelchair looking so cute.  President Monson said "Good afternoon Sisters!"  It was so sweet.  President Monson is looking very old these days but he carries such a strong and powerful spirit with him.  It is an incredible experience to be around these men.  There is no denying that President Monson is a prophet called of God. 

 

We have also met a lot of members of the 70 lately too.   One of them told us to do two things:  Read the Book of Mormon every day and never forget that the First Vision happened.  So Mom, to answer your question about what book you should read as a family next.... read the First Vision and then read The Book of Mormon all over again.  

 

Friday was so good but so embarrassing. We did a tour for a big group of old people. We had just begun teaching the Restoration in the Tabernacle and as I was reciting the First Vision I started to cry! I have never done that! The spirit was there and it was so strong but it was still embarrassing because these old New Yorkers were saying "It's ok Honey". It was a great tour and more of a learning experience for me than the people I was teaching. Right then and there the spirit confirmed to me once again that Joseph Smith is a prophet. Heavenly Father continues to call prophets and this church is the true church that Jesus Christ set up on the earth when he was here. Isn't it amazing to know that Heavenly Father loves us enough to call a prophet to bring back Christ's church? 

General Conference is coming so I am going to leave everyone with an invitation. Watch General Conference with specific questions in mind. Say a prayer before hand to get answers. Heavenly Father will answer our prayers and questions. All we have to do is listen. He will tell us what we need to hear. In April my prayers and questions were answered with President Uchtdorf's talk on being grateful in any circumstances. General Conference is for everyone but it is also specifically for us as individuals.  He has a message for you.  Watch conference!

I love everyone so very much! I will leave one more invitation. Read Joseph Smith History and pray to ask whether or not he really was a prophet of God. Do it even if you already have. I will follow up with a few of you next week so I can hear your thoughts.

I love all of you! 
 

VINAKA,

Sister Park



Bula!

Sister Park and Sister Taito from Fiji

Bula! That is hello in Fijian.  Sister Taito and I are great friends.  Today we will be planning our next zone activity and our zone training meeting.  So tell me what you think... most of the sisters in our zone are from a different country and have never had a s'more. So.. we want to find some type of park or go up to the mountains and show them how to make s'mores!  I have wanted to do this my whole mission.  Hopefully it happens!

For Zone Training Meeting we are planning to focus on the missionary purpose. Sometimes there are things that distract us on our missions and keep us from putting all of our heart and effort into the work of salvation. We want the sisters to burn those boats and just let everything go because we have noticed that as missionaries we are much happier when we are not focused on boyfriends, fears, inadequacies, home, and other things that can hold us back. If we give it all to Heavenly Father he will take care of the rest. There have been so many times on my mission that I was worried about different things that didn't matter right now.  But I realized that if I could forget myself and go straight to work I would be happy and effective as a missionary.  The key is simply work and consecration. I think that goes along with anything in life. If we keep the commandments and give everything to the Lord, we will find that the things of the world really don't make us as happy as serving him with everything in us. Everyone can apply this.

Good news! M and P were baptized on Friday! We are so happy for them. They are amazing and it has been so great to be able to work with these awesome and humble people. They are ready and willing to give it all to the Lord and that's what makes me happy. I love them both SO much!

For some reason lately Sister Taito and I have had the opportunity to teach a lot of families here on the Square. It has been a good experience. I just look at these people and realize how much God must love all of his children to give us families. Each family has been designed by God and we are given these people for specific reasons. How cool is that? Heavenly Father knew I needed the exact family I have-- my parents, siblings, grandparents, aunts, uncles cousins, everyone. We all need each other so we can get back to our Father in Heaven. I just love families so much!

Sister Park

Transfers!

Hello Everyone!  Short letter today because we have a lot going on!  That is a good thing though.  What a wonderful week! It was my last week with Sister Tsang. I am going to miss that little Asian princess so much. Heavenly Father has called us to different places.  I was called to be a zone leader in the North 1 zone which means I am out of the Beehive House and I am ALL SQUARE. No assignments, just find, teach, and baptize and help guide the sisters of course. I have a new companion and she is awesome! Her name is Sister Taito (Ty-To) and she is from FIJI. She has been out about the same amount of time as I have. We were called to be zone leaders together and guess what! Sister Bryuzgina is in my zone! I am excited to be able to work with my little Ruski again. She is already planning a 24 hour exchange for us and she is also planning our next zone activity haha!  Sister Taito is so wonderful. She was my roommate last transfer and we had a blast together. General Conference is coming in just a couple of weeks. Can you believe it? I can't. It will be a weekend of craziness and spiritual upliftment. So exciting!

I have some wonderful news! One of my investigators, "R", was baptized on Saturday! It has been a long and wonderful journey being able to work with her. She sent pictures and she looked so beautiful at her baptism. I wish I could have been there. She has overcome so much and I am so proud of her. She just has this whole new glow about her. I love seeing what the gospel can do for people.

This coming Saturday I have two baptisms coming up as well which is exciting. They live in Ogden but recently moved here from Vegas. I met them a couple of weeks ago at my desk assignment. "M's" husband is a returning member. They plan on being married in the temple in a year.

Today Sister Taito and I were at our desk assignment and I met this wonderful man from Milan, Italy.  We talked for a bit and he said he has seen missionaries in Milan a few times and they gave him a Book of Mormon. He has never actually sat down and talked with them. He is Catholic but came specifically to Utah to see the temple. We talked about Temples and the Book of Mormon and I invited him to learn more. He was so excited and said he would like to meet with the elders that he always sees riding bikes around his house. We will continue to teach him over the phone when he goes back to Milan. He was so funny. I have never taught a Catholic Italian before so this should be fun!

I read in my Book of Mormon about the stripling warriors this morning and it made me think about mothers and how awesome you all are.  Even when you feel like you aren't doing everything right, you are the rock that holds us together.  Your faith makes ours stronger! 

 

The square has been busy because tons of women are here for an essential oils convention. It smells like Doterra everywhere you turn. I miss everyone a lot and I hope y'all are doing well!! Love you a ton.
 

Sister Park

Faith is a Power

This is Bob.  I LOVE HIM!  He is an angel.  He might be a real angel. He was in a car accident years ago which is why he is in a wheelchair now.  He is at temple square every day except Sunday.  He has been doing this same routine for YEARS!  He calls me the Missionary in Red because I always wear red.   

 

 

Hello! Before I begin, lets take care of a matter of business. I may not email next week due to transfers and I don't know when my P-Day is going to be.  Ok, anyway...Today is Sister Tsang's 21st birthday. We are going to celebrate by taking the train to the Planetarium and then to go get some cheesecake.  Now that summer is ending it is finally starting to slow down.  Not for long though because General Conference is in a few weeks.  It is also getting colder outside and they are working hard on the Christmas lights which is always exciting. I love autumn at Temple Square. It is the best time of the year.

I have exciting news! Remember when I told you last time how I was at the Jerusalem desk at the North Visitor's Center and I met a lady named Michele?  Well, I also met her Mother and taught her at the desk as well. They were so amazed by the temple.  Well, since then she has met with the elders and has gone to church and said she loves the feeling she gets when she's at church. Her mom loves church also. I have also been teaching Michele's husband who is a member of the church but hasn't been in years.  He is so excited to come back to church!  Today I called them and they were thanking me but I had to remind them it's not me at all. Heavenly Father put me in their path. Michele and her mom will be getting baptized on September 20th! I am so excited because all three of them are so happy. It was so nice to be able to talk to them today. They live in Ogden, Utah so I'm hoping to be able to go to the baptism.

 

I met a Spanish man who did not speak any Rnglish today that needed help. I told him I speak "poquito espanol."  I don't know why I said that because I totally made it up.  I mean I have had Spanish speaking roommates and I picked up a little from them but that's it.  Well he totally took it seriously!  Anyway, somehow I was able to understand everything he said perfectly and I helped him find what he was looking for.  Heavenly Father knew this man needed guidance so He gave me the gift of tongues and the gift of interpretation of tongues so I could help him to get to his destination. It was amazing! I don't even know what happened! I obviously wasn't fluent but I used a few Spanish words that I picked up I guess???  A few minutes later, a non-member lady who was nearby listening to our whole conversation came up to me and said "Wow! You don't speak Spanish? I have no idea how you did that but it was incredible!"  She was astounded and amazed.  But I knew that it was Heavenly Father.  Miracles happen.

 

 

Well, one thing I have learned on my mission is that faith is not just a virtue.  It is literally a power. If we have strong and true faith in something we will see miracles. Something that you can do to help with this is to really study and exercise your faith. Find a lot of scriptures concerning faith and pray every single morning and night that Heavenly Father will strengthen your faith. If you have a Preach my Gospel (if you don't, then get one) study the Christ-like attribute section and specifically Faith and Hope. I have seen miracles by studying and praying and constantly striving to have those attributes. Faith truly is an actual power that we all can have!
Just remember a chapter a day will lighten your way! This week I encourage you to study D & C section 121.  In verses 7-8 it says:

7 "My son, peace be unto thy soul; thine adversity and thine afflictions shall be but a small moment;

 8 And then, if thou endure it well, God shall exalt thee on high; thou shalt triumph over all thy foes."

 

Your trials and afflictions are only a small moment!  It might not seem like when you're in the middle of them but you really will find peace and happiness again.  And if we endure these trials well we will be greatly rewarded!

 

For the wonderful ladies in my life, read D & C 25.  In verse 3 it says:

 

 "Behold, thy sins are forgiven thee, and thou art an elect lady, whom I have called."

 

You are all elect ladies!  Don't forget to watch the General Women's session.  Those talks are inspired and are specifically for you!

 

Gigi-  Thank you so much for the beautiful letter!  You are one special lady!

I love everyone so so so much!

Sister Park!

I turned into a nerd!

HELLO! How is everyone doing?  Things have been great over here. The weather is beautiful and the people are just peachy. Sister Tsang and I are having a lot of fun. Right now she is going crazy because she just found out about "Yo Mama" jokes and that's all that is coming out of her mouth. I keep telling her that they are so twenty years ago but she LOVES them and says them to EVERYONE haha. She calls me Mama all the time and accidentally called me Mama in one of our tours! I just laughed really hard. She didn't even notice she did it because she does it so much. I love her!
 

On Saturday, our investigator from Ohio was baptized.  He is such a wonderful person and you can feel he has this glow even over the phone. We have three more on date this transfer! It is amazing to be able to see how much they have changed and progressed. The atonement truly puts light inside of those who finally embrace it.  My district is the highest baptizing district in the mission this transfer. President can't even believe it. We went way over our baptisimal goal already.  It's not us missionaries though; it is the Spirit converting these people.  We are only delivering the message.

Ok mom, I am so nerdy now! I used to daydream about falling in love and now I daydream about investigators. I used to sing Taylor Swift but now all I have in my head is church songs and I sing them all the time. I experimented and tried to sing a Taylor Swift song in the shower last night but it felt weird and boring so I went back to singing "Did you think to pray?" I am such a nerd now!!

Every day during our Mandarin tours I look out at those big groups of people and I try to see them how Heavenly Father sees them.  Most of them have never heard of Jesus Christ (Yeah Su Jee Do).  They do not know that someone died for their sins so they could have eternal life.  They don't know who to lean on when they hurt the most.  I have realized how blessed we are to have this knowledge.  The Savior knows exactly how we feel.  Alma 7:11-13!

I just love my mission. I am so exhausted so I find it weird that I am so happy all the time. It is weird that the gospel can do this to you! I really needed to be out here and specifically here at Temple Square. Missions are hard sometimes but it is so wonderful to be a part of this work. I know that God really must love us a lot to let us do this. One of my favorite scriptures is in D&C Chapter 4 and it says "If you have desires to serve God, you are called to the work". I know that everyone who has the desire to serve Heavenly Father was foreordained in the pre-earth life to serve missions now. I just love missionary work!

I hope that everyone has a good week and remember that Jesus loves you! Even Ryan!

Thanks to Harley, Daycee, and Christie for the beautiful letters!  I just loved the pictures of Baby Cash! He is so cute. I showed everyone.

Thanks to Grandma and Grandpa for the beautiful letter! I miss you SO MUCH! 

I am SO excited that Kendall is in Minnesota. Now she is going to get a weird accent. She better have an accent by the time Christmas comes so I can hear it when we Skype!
Sister Park