There are No Coincidences

Hello Everyone! It is getting so cold here!  I hope y'all are staying nice and warm! Things are going really good for the North 1 Zone! We have been so blessed. The sisters in the zone are amazing and they are such hard workers. We are more than halfway to reaching our baptismal goal this transfer. We have seen so many miracles lately. I love Sister Ma and I am learning a lot from her. There is always something to learn and work on even if you are in your last transfer.  I am very thankful for her.

I just gained a strong testimony of not giving up hope on investigators even when we have dropped them for one reason or another.  So a year ago I was in my third transfer and a lady called in looking for her Bishop's number. I just assumed she was a less active member so I kept her number and tried to contact her a few times after that but I was never able to get a hold of her. Well the other night I was prompted to look through some of my dropped contacts and decided to start calling a few of them. I called about ten people and no one answered. Then I got to Stephenie's name and I was about to delete her from the list.  I thought about it for a minute and received a prompting that I should call her. So I just dialed her and expected the line not to go through but it did and she answered. So I started talking to her and told her who I was and she told me that it was so weird that I called her because she has been feeling like she needs to go back to church lately. She got divorced last year and has been depressed. She keeps her Grandpa's scriptures right next to her bed and has been looking through them. We talked about her going to church on Sunday and then I brought up General Conference so she went on lds.org to look it up. For some reason it told her she couldn't log in without a record number. She said, "I don't think I have a membership record number." So I replied and told her that every baptized member of the church has one and she can ask the Bishopric or the ward clerk on Sunday. The she said, "Well, I have never been baptized. I was always waiting for my Grandpa to baptize me but he never made it to Rhode Island." She has been going to the church for years but fell less active when she got older. Her mom was baptized but stopped going when she was young. I asked her if she wanted to be baptized and she started crying and said yes! We had a good conversation and she was just crying because she said that it was not coincidence that I called her.  And I know that to be true because there are no coincidences!  Now she is planning to be baptized and is meeting with the missionaries. She already knows the church is true and is going to invite her boyfriend to learn about it from us. He is very open. I guess the point of the story is I learned that it is so important to never forget about the people we "drop". Heavenly Father will prepare them for the Gospel and they will accept it in their own time and in their own way. I am so thankful for the Holy Ghost and I know that we could never do this work without the spirit. I know this Gospel is true and it is the happiest way to live. I don't know what I would do if I didn't have it.  Remember that in order to really know whether it is true we must seek it out ourselves. Our own testimony is much stronger than relying on others.  It doesn't matter how good the missionary is or how good the Sunday School teacher is.  We must know of the truthfulness of this gospel on our own and through confirmation of the spirit. 

Moroni 10:5 "And by the power of the Holy Ghost ye may know the truth of all things."

Love you lots!

Sister Park

Six New Investigators!

Language Announcing after Music and The Spoken Word

 

I have had one of the greatest weeks of my whole mission. It was so good that I almost walked into President's office on Monday and asked to extend. I thought and prayed about it and my answer was "no" because I have a boy waiting for me at home...Jagger, my eight year old brother.

 

It was so great though and I just love missionary work so much. I don't even know where to begin. Let's first start with some of the wonderful people that I am teaching in Africa! I called President Harmon (branch pres in Liberia) and he asked me to teach four more people over there.  They have been coming to church for a couple of Sundays now. They are awesome and so humble. One of the ladies I teach is named Pressure Kuweh and she told me today that she loves the Book of Mormon and carries it with her everywhere.  She said she is so grateful to have the word of God. It's a miracle to her!  I have also started to teach a man named Phemy and he lives in Nigeria. He heard about the Book of Mormon on TV and wants to know more. He already wants to be baptized and is going to email us some of his friends and family to start teaching. He is the sweetest!

 

Then on Sunday, Sister Ma and I were able to receive six new investigators on the square and also through inbound calls. It is funny how you start to see all of the miracles at the very end of the mission but it motivates us even more. We were walking around on the square the other day and Sister Ma thought she saw some Chinese people so we walked over to talk to them. They ended up not being Asian but we were still going to talk to them until a young man walked by us and we both felt that we needed to talk to him. We said hello to him at the same time! His name was _____ and he was here for a medical residency interview at U of U. He is not a member but growing up his neighbors were missionaries over in Minnesota! We asked him how he feels about Salt Lake City and about the church. One of his friends served a mission. We extended an invitation to him to learn more and he said, "Yeah, actually I do want to learn more." Then Sister Ma jumped in and invited him to be baptized! He smiled and said, "If I find out this is true, then yes." We have been texting him and his interview at U of U went great so he will move here in a few weeks. We have an appointment and we are going to teach him the Restoration. He is golden!

So today was P-Day and it was filled with even more miracles! We went to Asian Market and we met a couple from Taiwan that just moved here. They are not members but they are related to a member present that Sister Ma uses a lot to teach lessons! She invited them to learn more and they said yes. We will call them this week. After that we went to Costco. Sister Ma saw a Chinese couple eating so she went over to contact them while I bought us hot dogs. We were within sight and sound, don't worry. While I was waiting in line I started talking to this Native American man. Since we are surrounded by Indian reservations in AZ I always think that they are my people for some reason. He was really nice. He is originally from Arizona about an hour away from my home. He moved to SLC to be close to family. When his brother and sister moved here they both joined the church. They both have invited him to be baptized but he just wasn't sure if it was for him. So I invited him to come and eat with us and he did. We had a great conversation. He knows a lot about the church. We invited him to learn more and he agreed. We will call him on Saturday night. He is also planning on attending church with us on Sunday morning. He was laughing at us because he said we are really persistent but he is willing to give it a shot. Hopefully he comes to church with us and then we will get him going to his ward over where he lives.

 

P-day with Sister Ma!

It has been such a good week! I am so excited to see what else Heavenly Father has in store for the rest of the transfer. I am sooo happy. I don't see any point in coming home to be honest. I love you all so very much and hope things are going okay... Remember, God loves you and has a plan for you!
 
Sister Park





Pray then Act

Brother and Sister Frost ended their mission today.  I will miss them!

Hello! Today was Transfer Day. Sister Taito and I are no longer companions. It went by so fast.  I am training a new Zone Leader named Sister Ma and she is from Taiwan. I am so happy because I began my mission with a sister from Taiwan and now I get to end my mission with a sister from Taiwan! We are already having so much fun together. I am in the same zone and in the same apartment. Life is so good over here at Temple Square. Thanks everyone for the amazing letters. I will send my letters to you when I get some stamps. I promise!

So let me tell you about my week. Let's start with the first eventful thing. I ate chicken feet. It was good but the texture was weird. They were drenched in teriyaki sauce. Sister Taito forced me to eat it and then President Poulsen walked in and saw and he told me I was admirable in his eyes because I ate chicken feet. So I guess if you want to be admired, eat chicken feet. I have a video so you can watch it when I get home. I gagged.

 

Chicken Feet!

So we are teaching some more lovely people in Liberia that are getting baptized in a couple of weeks. Their names are Dennis and Konah and I love them both so much! They speak Swahili and a little English. The language barrier is a struggle but Heavenly Father helps so much. I am so happy that even though the missionaries were shipped out we are still able to teach them through technology.

 

My lovely sisters!  Left to right, Sister Taito from Fiji,
Sister Sonku from South Africa, Sister Rhodes, and Sister Bailey

Today Sister Ma and I were walking through the square and we saw these two gentlemen standing over by the Reflection Pool. We went and talked to them and found out that they were curious about the Book of Mormon and why we need it. I love that question because I love the Book of Mormon so much. We bore our testimony of how the Book of Mormon contains the fullness of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. One of them lives by Adam-ondi-Ahman (can't spell) in Missouri and loves going there. We invited them to learn more and they both said yes. The Book of Mormon is so true. We will call them on Tuesday to begin teaching them. 

This transfer is going to be a good one. I just want to be 100,000% focused this transfer since it is my last. We made a goal to give everything to the Lord and to really strive to help the sisters in our zone.  We know that we can accomplish this by dedicating all our time to serving Him.

 

If we truly give ourselves to the Savior and use the atonement in our lives then all of the unfair things in life will be taken care of. Not that they all will disappear but we will know how to handle them much better. My goal is to walk with the Savior everyday. He is my bestest friend. I remember being 11 and I was having a really hard time but I decided to act as if the Savior was standing with me as I went throughout the week and I felt this overwhelming peace and warmth. It was the best feeling I have ever had and that is when I found out that Christ lives and He is there. Even when I wasn't doing everything I should have been doing He never ever left. I remember that everyday as I walk through the square and talk to the thousands of people I get to meet each week.  I can see all the pain in their eyes and that life hasn't been fair to them but I can also see that the Savior loves them so much.  He is at the door knocking.  It is up to us to let Him in.

 

Heavenly Father will guide us throughout our lives.  When we don't know what to do we just need to pray and listen to the spirit. And then ACT. When we act that's how we find out if it is the right or wrong thing to do.  Pray, act, and have faith and you will be guided as you go.

I love you all so much. Keep doing everything you can to be a missionary because we have such wonderful news that we can't keep to ourselves. I love that Heavenly Father truly does have a way for us to come back even if we think it's not possible. The atonement is so real. Love ya!

Sister Park

The Macro Plan

My current roommates. 

 

 

 

Bula Vinaka! I hope that everyone had a FANTASTIC week! I have had a great week but I don't really remember what happened! It has been such an amazing and FAST transfer and I can't believe that it is already coming to an end. Sister Taito and I want to stay together but we'll see what happens. 

 

SO last time I think I told you about our new investigator that we got because he loves David Archuleta's song "Glorious". Well.... He is getting baptized November 22nd! He is so so happy. He has been meeting with the missionaries over there in Massachusetts and loves it SO much! He was extremely prepared.

 

We are still teaching the lovely family in Liberia and they will be baptized next month. It is so sad what is happening over there in some parts of Africa. I feel bad for some of the missionaries that had to be sent out because I bet they really miss their investigators and the places they served. I am just happy that we can continue to teach these people over the phone.  It is such a blessing.

Great news! Okay lets be honest.. Russian people are a little stubborn and it is very rare that they get baptized. Well, Sister Bryuzgina just had two Russian baptisms! I am so happy for her. She is such a powerful missionary. It is such a blessing that we can teach these people from all over the world.

I am just so thankful to be out here serving a mission! We meet so many wonderful people with so many amazing stories.

 

I am learning a lot while I am out here.  Not only about teaching the gospel but many life skills as well and one of those is goal setting and how important it is to set goals for ourselves. President Poulsen has given us a plan to work off of called "The Macro Plan".  First we list our "desired outcomes". Then we write our "present situation", then the "imperatives" aka what we must do and last we list our action steps or how we are going to do it specifically. It has helped me a lot because I know what I want to do with my last transfer and also how I am going to help my investigators. I will send you one so you can do it mom. It will improve your life. A goal unwritten is only a wish. Heavenly Father wants us to achieve our goals and it is important that we are accountable to the Lord in all we do.

Elder Don Clarke of the Seventy came to our mission and told us to study chapter 8 from Preach My Gospel and apply it to our lives. If we do everything it says we reach our goals but most of all be happy. I invite everyone to study Preach My gospel chapter 8 and set goals for yourselves. Tell the Lord what your goals are and ask him to help you achieve them every night when you say your prayers. I promise you that you will find direction in your life and you will be a happier and a more successful person. Sometimes we set goals but we are not even accountable or don't even think about them... that does not take us anywhere. I have seen a change in my mission as I have set goals for myself.  Family, make a macro plan for yourself.  My Mom has the document if you want it.

I hope everyone is doing well. I miss yall a whole bunch! You all are such good examples to me.

I Love You!

 

Sister Macy Park

"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