Many Reasons To Be Grateful

Macy's Grandparents, Bob and Marsha Wellman and her cousins, Christie and Trevor Shelton were able to spend time with Macy and Sister Steenhoek this morning at Temple Square.  Here are some of the pictures they took:



Christie, Grandma Wellman, Sister Park, Sister Steenhoek, Grandpa Wellman

Hello Hello! How was Thanksgiving? Mine was wonderful but it definitely was not like Thanksgiving at home. Our mission went to a big event center called Noah's. We were able to make crafts for the Children’s Hospital, ice skate, watch Monsters University and Princess Bride, sing karaoke, and dance. It was really cool!  Thanksgiving dinner was provided by a place called Apple Spice. They are a catering company and they made us an awesome turkey dinner. It was my first Thanksgiving without pumpkin pie but it's ok…I made it through the night.

 

All of the brand new sisters came in on Wednesday so I'm curious to hear what they think about this mission so far since Thursday was their first real day with us. Welcome to America! We had all foreign girls and no Americans this transfer. They probably think we’re crazy!

I have a new companion! She is so cute and fun! Her name is Sister Steenhoek and she is from Houston, Texas. She is really tall with long blonde hair. She is the closest thing I have to Taylor Swift on my mission. She is also a really good singer. We have a lot of fun together. She is doing so wonderful in Fleet. I barely even have to train her so that's been nice.

 

Wednesday being transfer day was CRAZY. All the flights were delayed so all our girls arrived at the airport much later than we expected. One of the cars died on the way to the airport so we had to go jump it. Pretty much anything that could go wrong was going wrong. It was so stressful! Everything worked out in the end though.

Today, things are still crazy. Right now one of the cars is missing so I need to find whoever took it without asking and have a discussion with them…. that should be awkward. I haven't been to the square this whole week because it has been so busy. I basically live in the garage!

With fleet being so busy I haven’t been able to do much teaching. My whole life right now is women and cars. Most men would love it but I promise you guys it is not that great! Haha, just kidding, it’s not all that bad. I am looking forward to getting back to the Square so I can teach though!
 

After crazy transfers on Wednesday, Sister Steenhoek and I really needed a break so we went to this awesome little hamburger joint in downtown Salt Lake City called Hire's Big H. Dad and Jeremy would love it! Our meal was great and so was the atmosphere. There were lots of families in there and some of the kids were taking pictures of us and whispering, pointing at us- we felt famous! During our meal we had two different families approach us and ask if they could pay for us. At first we said no but they were so persistent so we said yes to the family with the little boys who were taking pictures of us. But then at the end of the night the waiter came over to us and said that someone paid for our food so we went to thank the family with the little boys and they said someone had beat them to it. So then we went to thank the other family and they said they didn't do it either! So someone we didn't even see or talk to paid for our meal. There are just such wonderful people in this world. That was our little miracle of the night and I know it was Heavenly Father helping us out because we were broke.  

There are so many things to be thankful for! Good people are definitely some of them! Last night I was writing in my journal and began looking back at all of my journal entries from the past year and I was just amazed! I have been through so much! There were so many life-changing events in 2013 that really helped me grow as a person and as a missionary. I was thinking about all of the blessings, happy moments, and sad moments. I am thankful for every single one of them! Every little moment whether happy or sad has led me to where I am at right now. Every person that I have met has played a big part in my life for one reason or another. So last night when I knelt down to pray I decided just to say a prayer of gratitude to Heavenly Father. As I was praying I realized that I had so much more to be thankful for than I even realized and I felt so good afterwards! Sometimes in life we feel like we are alone or that we are just running in place but Heavenly Father is there every step of the way! It's such a comforting feeling to know that he has such a great plan for every single one of us. All we need to do is act and have faith and everything will work out. It is so important to reflect and recognize what he has done for us in our lives. Rather than praying like we are ordering fast food or blessings, we should really take a look at what Heavenly Father has blessed us with. He is so involved and sometimes we don't even realize it!  I think that we are the most happy in our lives when we realize what he has done and when we are truly grateful for our Heavenly Father and Savior, Jesus Christ. That is when we see the most blessings in our lives and when we have the most joy.

 

I love you family and friends!

Sister Macy Park

 

Blessings at Temple Square

Hello Family! How was everyone's week? My week was great! We have not been able to get very much real missionary time because transfers are coming up and we do a lot for that. We are in charge of getting all of the sisters to the airport on time and picking the incoming sisters up from the airport.  I feel like it was just  the other day that I was in FLEET for the first time and now I will be in charge. My poor new companion will have no idea how crazy it is! This week we have to be in the garage from 4:00 in the morning until late at night. It's fun though. I find out who the new fleet is tomorrow because Sister Stephen and I are having our own little transfer conference with the APs. We have to find out our new companionships before everyone else because we have to plan the Thanksgiving Day trip!! Wooooo! So exciting! I am so excited for the holidays. Temple Square is looking so beautiful with all of the lights that are going up. I feel like a New Yorker because I wear beautiful coats in the city. It's so great!

Yesterday was a wonderful day. Why? Well, we were doing car reports in the Church Office Building Garage and when we finished we started chatting with a security guard. He was standing by the underground Temple Entrance. They typically don't just stand there so we knew something was up.  In the middle of the conversation he pointed to the side and said "Sisters, could you stand over there just a minute?" So we went to the side and before we knew it, there was a line of golf carts coming our way and out comes President Monson, President Uchtdorf, and President Eyring! President Uchtdorf saw us and said "Hi Sisters!" President Monson looked like he wasn't feeling very well. He was so cute though! The spirit overtook the entire room! I can't really describe it.  President Eyring was preoccupied.  After they went inside, the rest of the Apostles showed up! Boyd K. Packer was so cute. He was being pushed in a wheel chair. Elder Perry and Elder Bednar also said hi to us! Elder Perry is so tall! He was so excited and said "Hey Sisters!!!" Elder Bednar is all tough and just did a sophisticated wave. It was an awesome experience! We were spiritually fed for the entire day! It's funny because that morning I was hoping I would be able to see Elder Bednar one day.

On Monday, I was able to do some Temple Service! Occasionally a few of us are able to go in and clean the temple.  It's an awesome experience because we get to go inside rooms that members are not typically able to go into.  We went into the Assembly Room where the prophet and other church leaders hold occasional meetings.  It was absolutely beautiful! I sat in the prophet's chair and relaxed for a few seconds! The spirit was so overwhelmingly strong in there. We also accidentally walked into the General Authorities locker room! We were not supposed to go inside that room but ended up in there somehow! Monday was just a good day for me because I was able to receive a lot of help and answers to questions from Heavenly Father.

Okay so last time I emailed we talked about receiving revelation through prayer.  If you look below I sent you three links. There are three parts to this video. I heard this talk a couple of months before I turned in my mission papers and it really helped me out so much!

Sometimes I don't listen to the spirit as well as I should or I get really impatient and think that I am not receiving any answers at all. I have always had a really hard time understanding revelation but in this Mormon Message, Elder Bednar explains it so perfectly! That is why I wanted to see him yesterday because I just wanted to say thanks or something!

http://www.lds.org/pages/mormon-messages#patterns-of-light-spirit-of-revelation
http://www.lds.org/pages/mormon-messages#patterns-of-light-discerning-light
http://www.lds.org/pages/mormon-messages#patterns-of-light-the-light-of-christ

Sometimes when I am going through a hard time and I don't know what else to do I just think of President Monson's favorite scripture.

D&C 84:88- "And whoso receiveth you, there I will be also, for I will go before your face. I will be on your right hand and on your left, and my Spirit shall be in your hearts, and mine angels round about you, to bear you up."

I know you probably already know this and I'm sure you have probably heard it before but even when we're feeling depressed or lonely we are NEVER EVER alone. I forget that sometimes. Heavenly Father is right there and he knows how we are feeling! I love this scripture so much because it's Heavenly Father telling us that he is right there! He knows what we can do to make our situations better. 

Some more exciting news this week is that I have two investigators getting baptized in December! My sweet kid from Iowa and my awesome guy in Salt Lake City! I am so excited for them.

It is so cool to be able to see the atonement work in other people's lives! My investigator in Salt Lake City just has this new glow about him. He has given up smoking and is a completely different person than he was when I first met him in September. I used to be sad about being called to Temple Square because we can't be there with our investigators and physically see how they progress but with him I can. But even with my investigators on the phone I can tell a difference after a while. My investigator in Iowa is absolutely amazing!

On Saturday we went and closed up the Joseph Smith movie in the JS building and I met a man in his mid forties. I stopped him and asked him how he liked the movie and he said he loved it a lot. I got to know him a little bit and found out he is divorced and has daughters around mine and Kendall's ages. He is originally from Arizona but moved to Florida when his kids got older. He isn't a member of the church but his parents are and he is currently investigating the church. He was going through a very hard time on this night so I read him my favorite scripture that I probably share too much- 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."

After I read it, he started to cry. I knew what he was going through because I thought of dad and me and Kendall. He only got to see his kids on the weekends and it was hard so we just talked about that kind of lifestyle for a long time.  I wish I had more to say that would comfort him but my point is that I was able to relate to him.  Heavenly Father sends us people that only we can help and on this night I was right where He needed me.

Love you all!

Sister Park

Trust in the Lord

Hi Family! How is life? I miss everyone so much! Thanks to everyone who has written me letters, it really brightens up my day! I love letters so much. So what is happening? I would love to hear about everyone's life!

Temple Square is starting to look even more amazing because they are really getting ready for Christmas. No offense but I think the Mesa lights might be better; but I'll just wait and judge once I see it all finished. They have the nativity out already and it is huge and beautiful and realistic! I love when they test the lights- it makes me smile so much.

These next couple of weeks are going to be very busy for fleet. It is almost at the end of the transfer so we need a lot of cars to go to and from the airport. My brain is fried! A lot of the vehicles are not functioning as well as I would like them to so we are constantly going into the Church Office Building Garage to try and get everything resolved. This assignment is making me really cautious and protective of cars so my Grandpas and Dad and Jeremy will be so proud of me. I am becoming very assertive too!

Other than the car issues, this week has been a good one! We have had downfalls as well as miracles but overall the week was great!

Music and the Spoken Word is such a wonderful way for people to feel the spirit! It's on TV so you should watch it. We get to watch it once every transfer. This transfer we got to go twice because we invited our investigator "J" that lives in SLC to go and check it out. He went and he loved it! He loved it so much that he is planning on coming every Sunday with his friends. After Music and the Spoken Word we talked to him for a while and the next day we met with him again.  This time he was with the elders that we referred him to.

We took them on a tour and taught the Plan of Salvation with the elders. He has had a hard life and the Plan of Salvation was absolutely perfect for him. He has been going to church for the past few weeks and really feels like he is finally on the right path. He was a very strong Catholic but he was confused about the trinity so that is why he decided to come and visit Temple Square to see what our religion is all about. It was really cool because we showed him the Temple Model and he said, "I'm going to go in there one day!" He is a good kid! Sister Stephen and I have a lot of fun with him because he is around our age and he has so much energy.

We also got to go watch Savior of the World.  It's a musical production about the life of Christ and is held in the Conference Center Theater.  They show it every Christmas season from mid-November til the end of December.  Act 1 is about the birth of Christ and Act 2 is about the Resurrection.  We get to go watch it again tonight if we want to.

On Tuesday night we had our Missionary Fireside! At this fireside the Temple Square Mission Choir put on a performance for all of the Salt Lake City Missionaries and their investigators. At first I thought it was going to be embarrassing but it turned out to be so good! The spirit there was so strong. Our investigator "J" also came to the fireside and brought his less active friend. It really was such a great experience just seeing all of those people who are currently investigating the church. I have become really emotional on my mission so I cried during every song and looked so weird. I feel the spirit so strong with music! I hope Kendall gets called here because the sisters have opportunities to try out for solo performances or duets or groups or whatever. They are welcome to play their instruments and it is amazing. There is so much talent here!

Wednesday was an up and down kind of day. I started off the day with a really hard phone conversation with an anti-mormon man. I knew right when he called that he wasn't calling for the right reasons.  He was asking really hard questions that I didn't know answers to and I could tell he was trying to break my testimony. It has been a while since I have had one of these calls because usually we are so busy doing work with the cars and I just didn't know what to do or how to handle it. He kept twisting everything I said and would come back at me with false information about our church and really difficult questions about church doctrine. I had no idea what to do so I just said a quick prayer in my mind. Then something that Aunt Jamie said to me before my mission came to me. She said whenever things get tough and there is nothing else you can do, just bear your testimony. So that is what I decided to do!  After that it started getting better and I could tell he didn't want to be mean to me anymore.  He said that I am very knowledgeable for someone my age and that he respects me and everything that I am doing. And then it ended... Thankfully.

After that we ran into the Church Office Building garage to do more work with the cars and we saw Dallin H. Oaks and Neil L. Andersen.  They are so cute!  Then on Thursday we were walking through the tunnel to the Square and I heard someone walking behind us I turned around and Russell M. Nelson and some other guys were walking about 10 feet behind us.  We just stared at him looking like dorks but luckily he was very busy and involved in something so he didn't notice that we were just staring, thank goodness!  Then we hurried and walked to Temple Square.

A few hours later we went to the Church Office Building to eat lunch. We were walking up the stairs and ran into Neil L. Andersen who was talking with someone who looked very important.  The spirit is so strong around these guys and I love Elder Andersen so I just stared in awe and with my eyes all wide and knowing me my mouth was probably wide open. Well, he caught me! He stopped his conversation and started laughing and said hi to me. I turned around to see if he was saying hi to someone else and he wasn't! I slowly just put my hand up and did this weird still wave thing. It was so embarrassing!

Our investigator in Iowa is doing so well!  He is planning to get baptized soon.  He is 18 years old and is such a good kid!

Another one of our investigators is having a very hard time right now and I just don't know what to do to get him back on his feet!  He was supposed to get baptized next Saturday and everything was going great.  But now he is struggling and things are starting to fall through and I just don't understand why.   I have done everything I can do and I know that the elders are doing a great job. But things are just not working out the way I think they should. I have been praying and fasting for him for so long.  I guess all I can do is trust in Heavenly Father. 

If you know me well then you know that I like things a specific way and I get frustrated when they don't happen like I think they should. I love my investigators so much and it breaks my heart when something goes wrong. The other day I was sad because I felt like my prayers were not being answered. I kept thinking about my investigator and wondered what I should be doing.  Then yesterday in our zone meeting my Zone Leader read the scripture D&C 123:17

 

"Therefore, dearly beloved brethren, let us cheerfully do all things that lie in our power; and then may we stand still, with the utmost assurance, to see the salvation of God, and for his arm to be revealed."

This scripture made me realize that not everything is in my power. I just need to keep doing what I am doing and try my very best. But most importantly, I need to do it cheerfully because this is the Lord's work! He doesn't even need my help. He can do this by himself but he loves me enough to allow me to assist him! It's really hard to just keep the faith sometimes but I know that if I do everything is going to work out!

 

One of the greatest comforts to me is that Heavenly Father is a loving and just God.  He only wants what is best for us and no matter how discouraged we get sometimes, everything will work out in the end if we are faithful.  It's just hard to see that sometimes when we are going through the refining fire.  But in Mosiah 4:9 it says:

 

"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 things which the Lord can comprehend."

 

TODAY IS CHARMING CHARLIE'S GRAND OPENING! It is the first and only one in Utah and I need a new watch! WOOOOOOOOO!  Should I go there or to Savior of the World again??  What to do!

Well, either way I have to go now.  Sorry so short!  This new transfer is just so busy that I don't get as much email time.

Until next week!

Sister Park

Apostles, Potato Bars, and Miracles

Hi! How is everyone? How are the missionaries over in the Philippines?  I hope Chantz and the other missionaries over there are doing ok.  We have over a dozen sisters here from the Philippines and we are hoping everything is ok with all their families!

 

Sorry no pictures this week.  My batteries died and Sister Stephen's camera broke :(

 

I have had the best week ever! I fasted and prayed that I would start seeing some miracles and it really happened for me. Ok so here is my week!
 

Monday was an extremely busy day for Fleet. We had a lot of things we were doing for the vehicles. We had to make sure everything worked and ran right. By the way I am really good at parking cars in tight spaces, well not really...Only when I pray about it.. I never thought I would pray for help to park a car in between pillars but it really works.

 

Anyways, when we finished with that we went down to our office so that we could do some paperwork and then we got a call from one of the sister's here and she said that our investigator and his friend showed up and he was looking for us! His name is "J". Well, it's not really "J" but I believe in HIPAA. I met him during my second transfer. So Sister Stephen and I ran up to the top of the South Visitors Center so that we could find him and take him around. He is a very loud person. He is in his early 20's and he is just a ball of energy but we get along really well! We could hear him from far away so we knew he was still there. When we got up there we met him and his friend "D". We asked if we could talk to them and take them around the square for a tour and "D" said no because they wanted to go out to eat. I decided that I wasn't going to take no for an answer for some reason so I just said, "no, it's ok we will just go and show you around the conference center first". And they obeyed me so it was great!

 

We walked over to the Conference Center and told them a little about prophets because that's what we have been feeling we need to talk to them about. We walked over to the Book of Mormon paintings and kind of split up but don't worry we were within sight and sound of each other. Sister Stephen talked to "J" a little bit. This was her first time meeting him and they really connected. She went over the Restoration with him and he asked her, "When can I get baptized?" It was great!  I decided to talk to "D" and come to find out he was baptized about a year ago but fell away due to some things that happened. We talked about how he felt when he got baptized and why he decided to make that big decision at age 18. He said that he knew that it was something he needed to do and that was the time when he was the most happy he had ever been in his life. But then he had some trials that led to inactivity so I felt like I should pull out a very popular chapter in the Book of Mormon which is Ether Chapter 12.  I asked him to read verses 6 and 12 and the spirit was so strong it was incredible.

 

Verse 6- "And now, I, Moroni, would speak somewhat concerning these things; I would show unto the world that faith is things which are hoped for and not seen; wherefore, dispute not because ye see not, for ye receive no witness until after the trial of your faith."

 

Verse 12- "For if there be no faith among the children of men God can do no miracle among them; wherefore, he showed not himself until after their faith."

 

God will work miracles in our lives but first we must have faith!

After "D" read these verses he told me that he originally didn't want to come to Temple Square because he has a smoking addiction very badly and he didn't want to be without a cigarette for a long time. But then (this is one of those miracles I was talking about) he said that he does not want to leave here because as soon as he walked inside the gates of Temple Square, he completely lost the need and desire to smoke. Smoking is something he has been struggling with for the past few months. He said that a year ago he would have never done this and he doesn't know how he got here. The spirit is so strong at Temple Square. I hear all the time that Miracles happen here and it is true.  This is truly an incredible place!  "D" ended up referring himself to us so that we can call him and teach him. He is also going to start making appointments with us so he can come to the Square so that we can teach him in person as well. It made me so happy!

 

"J" is meeting with the elders and he is referring all of his friends. He is so funny. He makes commitments with Sister Stephen and I and follows up with us. He is just a funny, crazy kid. "J" and the elders are coming to the square to watch Music and the Spoken Word with us on Sunday.  We get to go to Music and the Spoken Word once per transfer and we already went last Sunday but since we have investigators coming we get to go again.  It's awesome!  After Music and the Spoken Word we will take them on a tour and teach them with the elders.
 

Tuesday was also a busy day. We decided to wash Sister Gillette's car for her since we always wash President's. She needs to be pampered too! So we had just finished washing it and I said to Sister Stephen, "I bet we will see an apostle today since we are down here so much!" and she said, "No, it's not going to happen." Yeah, well Heavenly Father has a good sense of humor. Not even a minute later we saw a couple of gold carts with flashing blue and red lights drive by and there was Richard G. Scott and Dallin H. Oaks waving at us. It was an awesome moment!  It was so funny because I just looked at her and said "it's never gonna happen huh?" It was the best day ever.
 

Right after that we got a text from the AP's saying to hurry and get to their office because they have a surprise for us. On Halloween we had a potato bar and there wasn't enough potatoes so Sister Stephens and I gave ours to two other sisters. Well, somehow people found out and made a big deal out of it so President and one of his counselors President Harmon decided to make a personal potato bar for the eight of us who didn't get a potato on Halloween.  We all went downtown to President Harmon's fancy law office and had an awesome potato bar! It was so nice of them to put all that work and effort into it for us.

 

After eating I walked over and was staring out the window because the view was so pretty and President Gillette walked up and stood next to me and we just talked for a little bit and then he spilled out a secret. We are having another apostle come to see us soon!  President Gillette asked him if he would come and speak to us sisters and I know who it is (I'm not telling you until after he comes) and he is one of my favorites so I can't wait!

 

I have to go soon and don't have enough time to write everything about the rest of the week but here is something short...

 

On Wednesday I got to talk to my sweet girl in Los Angeles who is a member of the church but has been struggling. She is 21 and I feel like I was meant to talk to her. She hasn't been to church since she was 14 and lately she feels that she needs to go back to Utah to be with her family. I asked her to pray so she did and moving back was the answer she got! She is so sweet. She is Polynesian so I love her but I especially love the Polynesian people. She has come so far since we first started talking! She even bought a skirt to wear to church on Sunday! This will be the first time she is going to church in years and she is doing this all by herself! She is so incredible.

On Thursday we just did some fleet stuff. We did a lot of testing which is where we take missionary sisters who are in their first or second transfers out driving and then either pass them off so they can drive or fail them. I might be a little too laid back about the testing so I am working on that... I just want to pass everyone because I feel so bad if I don't!  We had to fail someone two days ago. It was so sad but we had her do it again yesterday and we passed her so I was happy.

This morning we did some office work and now I am emailing you and then going grocery shopping!

I have been amazed by the miracles I see on this mission when I lead my day by prayer.  I want to be even better about this so right now I am studying receiving revelation through prayer.  Mom, you study it too and then we'll talk about it next week.

Thanks Kendall for all of the ugly pictures of me and the pretty pictures of you. It really boosted up my confidence so thank you. Just joking! I loved it so much but you can't tell me that Taylor Swift has a new single! I'm feeling way unconsecrated because now I am constantly wishing I could hear it! That has been my trial of the week.

Thanks so much Aunt Tonya! I loved your letter! And thank you so much for the money.  I was able to eat some good food this week. I truly appreciate it and I love you so much! Next time you meet a famous person, tell them they need to come to Temple Square so I can meet them!

Grandma Wellman! Thanks so much for that sweet letter. I really appreciate it and I am so so so excited to see you this month. I'll send the info to my mom!

Tyler Goldsmith!  Congratulations on your mission call to London, England.  I am so proud of you!  Write to me and tell me how you're doing.

Aunt Jamie, congrats on having a little girl!  She will be so cute!

I love you all so much!

Sister Macy Park

The Will of God

Hi everyone! How is life? I am good but I was hoping to go grocery shopping today.  We didn't end up getting a P-day because there were so many issues with cars which is why I am emailing you so late.  In addition to not having time to shop, Sister Stephen and I both ran out of money early this month so we have been scavenging for food.  Our little miracle for the week was that we had nothing for breakfast and then we found an opened, abandoned box of rice krispies by our apartment door.  So we ate them :)

 

Monday was the highlight of my week! DALLIN H. OAKS came and spoke to us with his wife! They are the cutest and funniest couple. I never knew an apostle would be so funny and sarcastic. He spoke to us about a few different topics but mainly answered some questions for anyone who had them. He talked a lot about staying active after our mission through spiritual maintenance. That's something I never thought of and something I never really did before my mission. He told us that we will be most happy if we keep doing everything that we are doing now- scripture study, a lot of praying, and serving the Lord. At the end of the meeting, he met each one of us at the door so he could shake our hand on the way out. When I got to the door I hugged his wife and talked to her for a few minutes because she has come to our mission before. I didn't realize I kept Elder Oaks waiting but he was being so patient. When I turned around to shake his hand he said, "Sister Park, thanks so much for everything you do." He was so sincere and I was just so excited that he said my name! When I shook his hand I just felt this warmth overcome me like Disneyland or Pumpkin Pie on Christmas. I can't really describe it but it's powerful. It was seriously the best thing ever and it totally jump started my day and made everything good!

So I am learning a lot this transfer. I am a very independent person and I love doing things by myself  and my own way.  I don't usually like when people try to help me or tell me what to do.  Sister Stephen is helping me out with that. We are sharing and splitting groceries and doing everything together because she is trying to get me prepared for a future husband and this has been a big trial on my mission but I am learning and getting better! We get along so well. I love her so much and she is just really helpful to me. I am grateful to have her for a companion. She even helps me with my parking. We practiced yesterday.
 

Today was just a stressful day for fleet so we decided to relieve some stress. We have shopping carts in our garage and I was about to cry so she made me get in one of the baskets and she just sprinted through the halls and pushed me.  We felt so immature but we needed the break and we had so much fun.  We didn't get in trouble because they let us do whatever we want in there.  They love us.

Sister Stephen is much more serious than me and she isn't used to my sense of humor so sometimes she laughs so hard at the things I say because she has never heard anyone say something like it before.  I just love President Gillette.  He is the cutest old man.  When Elder Oaks was here, President Gillette got up and spoke to us for a couple of minutes first and said that he knows our mission is hard and that at some point every missionary wants to go home but if we even try we will be shot.  We all laughed about it all night because he is so cute and old.  So we were talking about it later and I said "He is so cute I just want to punch him in the stomach."  Sister Stephen thought it was so funny that she had to write it on the white board in our office.  Here is a picture of it.

When I first got to Temple Square, President Gillette called me to sing in the Temple Square Missionary Choir. I tried to go to practice but since I was doing Mandarin tours there wasn't any time. Fleet is pretty busy too but I am allowed to leave to go to choir practice. I can't even sing because I just cry so hard throughout the songs! Especially because one of the songs we are practicing right now is that one that goes "Whenever I hear the song of a bird". Mom, I remember you singing that to me every night when I was little and it makes me miss you so much! Anyway, we are having a big Sister Missionary concert at the Assembly Hall on November 12th. Everyone is invited but I might cry instead of sing. Just warning you!

Mom, even though I miss you and there have been times that I wished I could go home, I don't want to come home anymore. I had a hard day on Tuesday for a few different reasons and I just laid in my bed and cried and cried; and then I prayed and I looked up and saw a picture I hung up on my wall of Jesus wiping the tears of a little dark hair blue eyed girl. At that moment I literally felt like Jesus was
right there with me and I have been happy ever since.

Fleet has been really busy. I am learning more about cars and working at my parking skills. I'm really proud of myself. Everyone that we work with in fleet is awesome. I love everyone in the Church Office Building Car Department. I wish Dad would work there, he would love it!

I hung the twins pictures up in my office! (I have an office, woo!)

So it has been quite a week! On Sunday I spoke in a ward in Magna, Utah. It is a cute little town and the ward was small but the people were so kind. I spoke on strengthening your testimony; I was so stressed out because that's a broad topic.  I decided to find just one thing to focus on so I decided to speak about what helped me personally gain a testimony.  I spoke on how I was able to strengthen my testimony through the power of the Atonement of Jesus Christ.

 

The atonement is something I have always had such a strong testimony of. Throughout this week I was able to feel the Savior's love for me even stronger than ever before.  The other night we were able to watch The Chronicles of Narnia as a mission. It sounds stupid and the last time I saw that movie was in the theaters and I hated my life every minute of it because I thought it was so boring. But after I watched it this time I thought it was so good!  The lion in this movie reminds me of the Savior and his role in our lives.  I cried so hard when the lion died! 

 

This whole week I pondered on how much the atonement has changed my life and blessed me. I was sitting in Theatre 1 at Temple Square last night and as I sat I thought about last Halloween (so fun, I miss Taylor) and that time has gone by so fast. I feel like throughout the past couple of years I have been up and down and have gone through many struggles but also some really good times. I thought about each experience and how grateful I am for all of them. I can pick out the little things that really helped me and at the time that I was experiencing those things I didn't even know that those were blessings from Heavenly Father.  He gave me those experiences just to lift me up and bring me back. I feel like a couple of those little blessings were people that came into my life. Like Grandma and Grandpa Wellman for example. I was able to go and live with them at a time that I needed them most.  I was going through a really hard time and one night Grandpa offered me a blessing without even knowing why I was struggling- but he just knew!

 

I feel like I finally am recognizing that Heavenly Father sent me these little things to help get me here. It just reminds me again that he never gives up. He always reaches out to us and all we need to do is let him in so that the power of the atonement can work for us. We have to trust in Heavenly Father because he knows what is best for us. One of my favorite scriptures is Alma 24:15 and it says:

"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."

I love this scripture because it can relate to any of us. We all have weaknesses and trials but if we just recognize He who knows better than the rest of us and trust in Him, we will be able to finally see a change. I was finally able to experience true happiness as I let God be my first priority. Change is so hard though. It was so hard on me but that is why trust is so important. There was a time when I was too afraid to even say a prayer. I just didn't want to do it but that is when I needed it most. Just remember to "counsel the Lord in all your doings and you will be lifted up at the last day"- Alma 37:37.

Here is one of my favorite videos from LDS.org that goes along with what I am saying.  Mom, maybe you can use it in your Relief Society lesson on Sunday. It's short.  Here is the link: http://www.lds.org/media-library/video/2012-01-014-the-will-of-god?lang=eng#2012-01-014-the-will-of-god

Mom, I remember sitting with you last New Years Eve and talking about Life. I just wanted to have a really good year.  I remember praying to Heavenly Father to help me be happy and make all my wishes come true.  Now I am happier than I ever thought I would be. His plans were different than mine but I am so glad I'm here.  That's why I like the video I just told you about.  I feel like God has corrected me so much and he has better plans for me than I have for myself. 

My goal on this mission is to understand people better. I feel like this specific mission is preparing me for something big and I don't know what it is. I'm just learning a lot of new things and finding out new things about myself. I am learning good communication and thinking skills as well and it's all a little overwhelming. I already have matured and changed so much. When I saw Colton, he just kept saying how different I was and I know that I am. I never realized how cool my patriarchal blessing was. I never realized it talked about missionary work but it does. I am so excited to leave this mission as a better person than when I got here.

 

Sister Park

"For My Yoke is Easy and My Burden is Light"

Hello Hello Hello!

How is everyone? It is so wonderful here at Temple Square! 

 

I just got off the phone with my wonderful investigator "L" from North Carolina! He is so great. He has had such a hard life for a few different reasons and I always worry about him so much.  But we have been praying and fasting for him and guess what! After months of searching he finally got an awesome job!!!!  He owes it all to prayer and he understands that- it's so amazing. He is getting baptized in November. He'll be meeting with the bishop this Sunday and I am just SO HAPPY! I introduced him to Sister Stephen this morning. I am so thankful that I had her on the phone because what she studied in personal study this morning is EXACTLY what he needed at the moment. He was so grateful and amazed at how the Lord is working in his life.

 

I love all of my investigators so much. I just want to hug each of them. I also still have my adorable little 18 year old "A" and he is so sweet! He has been going to church the past few weeks and he absolutely loves it. I am so thankful for the missionaries over there in Des Moines, IA because they treat him like he's their best friend! They talk football with him and help him feel comfortable. That is such an important thing for us as missionaries to do for our investigators!  To get on their level and befriend them! The ward that he is in has really done a great job fellowshipping him as well and I am so thankful. This kid is incredible. His roommates were not the best examples but they were his really good friends.  But he wanted to make good choices so he moved out of his dorm so that he could make sure that he was living righteously and being the best he could be. He is such a good example to me. He is progressing so quickly and his prayers are so sweet. I am so happy that I get to talk to him. This kid has so much faith and trust in God. The first time we met was on mormon.org chat and he said that he wants to do whatever God wants him to do.  I have been able to witness him  gain such a strong relationship with the Savior! 
 

I also have an investigator who lives in Salt Lake City! He is so funny. He is so weird but in a cool way- I guess he is a lot like Rulon. He has been reading the Book of Mormon and he highlights it and everything! He will be going to church this Sunday and staying for all three hours. I am so excited. I met him here at Temple Square a few weeks ago! He moved out to Salt Lake City and wanted to see what this Mormon thing was all about so he came to Temple Square and took a tour hosted by yours truly and Sister Weng.  I talk to him on the phone regularly and he is doing so awesome. He is already being a missionary. He brings his non-member friends to Temple Square and says things like, "What would it mean to you if we had a living prophet on the earth?"  He is so great. He's already asking others inspired questions! 
 

This mission has been really hard but the thing that gets me going are the amazingly wonderful people I get to teach on the phone! I was having a hard day the other day and realized the thing that makes me the most happy is my investigators. I know that Heavenly Father sent these people to me for a reason. They are helping me more than I am helping them!
 

At General Conference, Sister Weng and I were walking outside around the conference center waiting for the session to get out when three awesome Polynesian girls ran up to us and started talking to us. They had just returned from their missions and they were SO funny. I felt like I was just sitting there talking to my best friends. One of them referred one of her best friends to us that has been less active for about 8 years ever since she was 14. I called her the other day and I seriously felt like I was talking to myself just about a year ago! She has been going through a hard time and her parents were divorced as well. We got to talking for awhile and it was one of the best conversations I have ever had. I knew what she was going through because I had felt all of it. She knows in her heart that Heavenly Father is aware of her and she wants to make those steps toward embracing the gospel so she can show her love to Him again. She has been away from the church for a long time now but I know just from talking to her that God has never ever left her- not once. She may not know this but He has truly been there along the way. She is trying to get herself in a better place right now. Sometimes when you're in that state of mind and away from the gospel for so long you just hit a breaking point and it is so hard. I know that God never leaves us EVER.

 

Sometimes on my mission I see everyone, especially investigators, around me so happy and having all of these miracles and I'm just like ok... what about me? What do I need to do to reach that point? I have come to realize that I just trust the Lord's timing. He knows what is best for us. All we need to do is listen and act in faith.
 

I know that I met this girl for a reason. I already love her so much. I know that God never forgets us and he knows us individually and personally! He will always answer our questions. For some reason I used to be afraid to pray. I thought I wouldn't receive an answer or wouldn't get the answer I wanted. When we receive answers will know what's right because we are going to feel it!  It's also just nice to communicate with our Father in Heaven because he loves us! He wants to help us and hear from us! It's just like a long distance phone call to our parents. He is always there and His love never changes.

 

One thing I feel impressed to share with all of you is that God loves each of us perfectly and sees us as we can become.  He knows that challenges and trials we face will only help us grow and make us stronger.  Sometimes it is hard to accept though.  One day I was having the worst day.  I felt helpless and inadequate and I just wanted to go back to my apartment and lay down because I didn't know what else to do.  When I get that way I have a hard time sleeping and eating because of all the stress.  But instead of letting it get the best of me I turned to the scriptures for help.  Sometimes that is all we can do.  I love knowing that through the Bible and Book of Mormon, God is truly reaching out to his children.  The scriptures are where I receive the most personal revelation.  Some of the scriptures that help me the most are Matthew 11:28-30 which read:

 

28 "Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.

 

29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.

 

30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light."
 

Remember that the Savior has felt everything that you are going through. He knows what you are feeling and for you He did the greatest thing of all- He overcame death! So just lean on Christ. For me, the way I lean on the Savior is through the scriptures. They teach us so much! He knows what to do to comfort you and knows that you can overcome whatever you are suffering from.

 

In Doctrine & Covenants section 121 verse 7 it says "peace be unto thy soul; thine adversity and thine afflictions shall be but a small moment."   We are here to learn and grow and experience hardships that will only make us stronger.  But I promise that if you just put your whole trust into God, He is going to help you through this and you will be lifted up. In Alma 36:3 it says that "whoseover shall put their trust in God shall be supported in their trials, and their troubles, and their afflictions, and shall be lifted up at the last day." 

 

Remember that the Lord wants to be there for you and hear from each of you every day.  In Alma 37:37 it says:

"Counsel with Lord in all thy doings, and he will direct thee for good."  Remember to include Him in your daily life.  Allow Him to heal you and comfort you.

If I am still having a hard time after praying I just eat cheesecake like Sister Stephen and I are doing in this picture.  We had a really long hard day so we went to Cheesecake Factory and rewarded ourselves with dessert.  Mine is the Oreo one.

My new roommates (besides Sister Stephen) are Sister Bahr from Washington, D.C. and Sister Magidson from Maryland. They are both so great. They are the office assistants. The OA's, Fleet, and the AP's are always placed in the same apartments. The AP's are right next to us and we hang out a lot and just talk about life. Sister Bahr is a lot like me. She is crazy and loves talking about love.  Sister Magidson is more like Sister Stephen, more reserved and shy. Our conversations are really funny because Sister Bahr and I are just loud and outspoken and then our companions are trying to be more reserved over there. I like it. We have a lot of fun. 

As Temple Square sisters we are sent out on speaking assignments in family wards in the Salt Lake City area.  This Sunday I am assigned to speak in a ward in Magna on Strengthening Your Testimony.  Christie, you should come! I am so nervous!

 

Madison, congratulations on your mission call to the Salt Lake City West mission!  You will come to Temple Square a lot with your investigators. We have great spanish speakers here who will teach along side you and your companion.  All the Salt Lake City Sisters and Elders spend a lot of time at Temple Square so I will run in to you a lot.  

 

Speaking of Elders in Salt Lake City, I saw Elder Edwards a couple of days ago.  He has changed so much- in a good way! 

 

Grandma- thanks for the letter! You always make me cry but in a good way.

Christie- thanks for the letter!

Mom, thanks for the letter and package.

It was so good to see Codi! It always makes me happy to see family!

I need letters!  Sister Stephen and I really LOVE letters.  Thanks!

Well, thanks everyone for the love and support. I love you all.

 

Ciao!

Sister Park

New Companion, New Assignment!



Hi Family! How is everyone is doing? I miss ALL of you so so so so much! I have really been missing the twins more than usual because my new companion has little siblings too so we always talk about them.

On Wednesday we had transfers! I have a new companion named Sister Stephen and she is from Nebraska! I live with three Americans now! My new assignment is FLEET.  We are the mission vehicle coordinators. It's one of the busiest callings in the mission so today we get to have an all day p-day.  This new assignment is so hard but I am learning so much about cars already.

First let me say that most of the time we drive mini vans so I just want to apologize to everyone I have made fun of for having a mini van- especially Christie and Cammie Udall. I love you.

So basically our whole lives are devoted to these vehicles. We also have to wash and fill up President's car every week. We work beneath the church office building a lot so we get to see the apostles more often on this assignment. We have regular meetings in the church office building with the Church's head vehicle coordinator, Brother Ott. He is in charge of all of the cars in every mission in the entire world. He is so cool and funny and he loves to feed us! We are in charge of passing off all of the sisters so that they can drive.  If any battery dies or anything like that happens then we have to stop what we are doing and go rescue them. We have our own office too so that is kind of cool.

I'm not really sure why Heavenly Father gave me this calling. I drive too fast and then when I'm nervous I drive like 20 under and now I have to teach sisters to drive the speed limit!  I have ran into a few poles and fences in the past and now I have to suspend driving privileges if any of the missionaries do that. I can't even tell you how nervous I am right now!

Right now, Sister Stephen is training me.  I will have this assignment until January 8th so next transfer I will be in charge of fleet and training someone.   I have to drive in the snow!! Heavenly Father is really stretching me right now. I mean seriously. It'll be ok though. I am so nervous but I just have to have faith. It'll be ok.

I am no longer in a trio with Sister Lee and Sister Vargas and I miss them soooo much too. We had some good experiences together and I laughed so much with them. Our last night together was awesome... It was Sister Lee's birthday and she turned 24! She will kill me if she ever finds out I wrote her age, haha.

So we decided that we needed to celebrate by going out to eat.  For some strange reason we chose McDonald's... not my choice.. I was gagging; but it was all meant to be!

We waited in line for about 10 to 15 minutes because I couldn't decide what I wanted to eat because I didn't want any of it. I'm a pain in the butt, I know. So after a while, three business men behind us said, "Sisters! Make a decision, do you want us to pick for you?" They were joking around and laughing about it but they looked really high class and important. Then they cut in front of us in the line and they said, "What do you want, we're paying."  And of course we did the whole "Oh, don't pay for us, we feel bad" thing because we're girls and girls do that (Rulon would never do that).  Since I couldn't decide, they chose for us and bought all three of us Happy Meals. So we started talking to them for a few minutes and found out that one of them has lived in Utah for a long time but he is not a member of the church.  Once we got our Happy Meals we decided to go and invite ourselves to sit down with him. Poor Sister Vargas...she had to be companions with two rowdy Americans who just do things like that.

We sat down with the men and told them a little about ourselves and then got to know them a little too. They work for the government and one of them was a big boss of something (I forgot what it was). They reminded me so much of dad and his friends. They were all sarcastic and just hilarious.

Eating our Happy Meals!

Sister Lee ended up bringing the discussion to religion so we talked to Chris (the non-member) for a little bit about it. He has been to church a few times and he feels like he will join one day but he says it's not his time yet. So I said, "Well, have you read the Book of Mormon?" and he said he has read parts of it. And then I asked him about his relationship with Heavenly Father and if he has ever prayed to know the truth. And then Sister Vargas pulled out Moroni 10:3-5 and had him read it. We were so excited she did that because we all had the feeling to do that! He responded, "I have prayed and I'm not sure that God has given me an answer yet."  He was tough because he just wasn't open to it and really there wasn't much that we could about that. But Aunt Jamie once told me that when all else fails, bear your testimony. So that's exactly what I did. He ended up giving us his card with his number and email on it so we are soooooo calling him. The other two business men have been trying to convert him for years!  So they gave us their cards as well! I'm not a good story teller so I left out a lot of detail but they were AWESOME!  After we finished our Happy Meals they bought us Mexican dessert and put a straw on top of it and pretended it was a candle and made Sister Lee blow it.  They sang "Happy Birthday" to her really loud. It was embarrassing! Nothing major happened from that experience yet but it was great because the spirit was there!

Sometimes I wonder.. some people, especially here in Utah, have been around the truth for so long and I know that they have felt the spirit at times in their lives so why doesn't Heavenly Father just make them recognize it!  He could but he doesn't because we have our agency and whether or not we are open to feeling his spirit is all up to us.  We all have our own individual experiences with unique timing.  We can't always comprehend how Heavenly Father works and why he makes things work out the way they do- (Mosiah 4:9 one of the best scriptures). It was such a good experience though!

Last night, Sister Stephen and I were planning our week and we were talking about a less active member that she has been working with for a couple weeks. We were discussing ways that we could help him and then all of a sudden in the middle of our discussion he texted us and said "Hi Sisters!" It was so cool. We asked him what is the best time we could give him a call and he said right then! So we did! We just visited with him and then we felt impressed to remind him of his testimony and of the experiences that he had on his own mission. He thought about them for a few minutes and then started crying. He remembered some of the experiences when the spirit just took over and he truly helped people. He said "I can't believe I let myself get here. I had such good experiences and I brought such great people into the gospel and now I am here." We reminded him that its not too late! Heavenly Father's hand is in his life right now reminding him of these things and bringing the spirit into his life. He decided that he needed to change. We were able to commit him to church this Sunday and it works perfect because he has a friend who has a missionary farewell on Sunday! The spirit was so strong during our conversation. All three of us were crying on the phone.

That experience was exactly what I needed. Earlier I was having a hard day and sort of felt like I was abandoned in a way.  But my conversation with him reminded me that Heavenly Father is always there. He really is. I have been praying a lot and last night I realized how aware Heavenly Father is of me- of all of us!  Think about that!  He is right there! When I think about it, it's ridiculous that I was feeling otherwise because nothing could be further from the truth! His love never ever changes even when we think we don't deserve it.

I have been stressed about this new calling. I said a prayer last week and asked Him if He could help me be better for this next transfer.  And then when I was called to Fleet I was like "Oh my gosh! Now even more of my weaknesses are going to show and this transfer is going to be a disaster!"  But then I remembered that I was called to serve in this mission and I was chosen for this calling for a reason. (By the way, Fleet might seem easy but I already want to pull out my hair and crawl in a cave.)   But this new calling may just make me stronger. We have to meet with President and the AP's a lot to discuss any issues with the cars and I HATE getting people in trouble so I am seriously so nervous for what's ahead. But I can do it because Heavenly Father is right there- always! One thing I have to be better about is trusting. If I just have faith and trust then it will all be ok and I think that is one of the reasons I have this calling.

Love, Sister Park