Monday, December 28, 2015

Messejana, Brazil - Feliz Natal e Feliz Ano Novo

I don´t have much to say since I got to talk with you guys this week!!!! Butttt it was SO good to see you guys!!! I was really worried that afterwards I would be a wreck for weeks but it was just really good to see you guys - it was just what I needed!
Today before we headed to the lan house I sang Phantom of the Opera with my Erlangil (sorry I have no idea how to spell his name lolol) who played the flute! Christmas Eve was wonderful because it was overcast ALL DAY (literally a miracle) and was sprinkling on us off and on so I got to wear my red cardigan!!! But we´re headed into rainy season so hopefully I´ll be able to use my... 2 cardigans that I brought hahaha. Christmas Day was obviously the best because I got to talk to my family who I love with all my heart!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 

Feliz Natal and Feliz Ano Novo to you all!!!
I love you all so much! Thank you for your love, thank you for your prayers, and thank you for your emails and pictures! 


- Sister Parks


Monday, December 21, 2015

Messejana, Brazil - Feliz Natal and Merry Christmas!!!!!

Yeah, it means the same thing^

Hello family who I get to talk with 3 times this week!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This week has been filled of fun! 
Tuesday we had our Christmas Mission Conference which was great!! We had pancakes for breakfast (sadly no maple syrup but it was still yummy) and we got to watch a movie!!! It was Kung Fu Panda and I wasn´t looking forward to it because lesbehonest [let’s be honest] it´s really for children and kinda dumb but I put that out of my mind and just enjoyed it and was laughing and it actually had a good message which we all discussed afterwards! We have to believe in ourselves; there´s no secret recipe for greatness. It´s already in us!
Then Friday we had our Zone Christmas Conference which was also nice. We all shared an experience about the spirit of Christmas and such.
This week was also a week of miracles with my recent converts. Eleonardo is doing SO GREAT! He´s going through a treatment to help him stop drinking, and he´s doing so great! The other day we ran into Padua too and get this, after we closed with a prayer with him he saw his friend and he went over to him and started teaching him and inviting him to "our church" and omg it was the cutest thing!!!
Christmas time is great! We also had a Christmas dinner with the ward, and the kids did a performance which I’m sending to y’all! Then afterwards I got to sing Phantom of the Opera!!! Wooh!! The pianist and our friend who lives below us who plays the flute were playing some songs while everyone was in line getting food so I quickly ate and ran over to them in glee and they were like, “sing!!” So I sang a few songs haha - made my night!

I´m doing great! Christmas time is wonderful to think about the true meaning of Christmas, the true Christmas of Spirit. The birth of Jesus Christ! He was the greatest gift our Heavenly Father sent to us :) I´m so grateful to my Savior, I´m grateful for my family, and for the time I have here in Brasil. :)

TALK TO YOU GUYS IN 3 DAYS!!!!!

AMO VOCÊS!!

- Sister Parks









Monday, December 14, 2015

Messejana, Brazil - December 14, 2015

This week it rained longer than two minutes!!!!!! It rained for most of the morning which was awesome because we had to leave early to go to the clinic for Sister R. Santos (that´s not the awesome part) but we got to walk in the rain! But yeah, my poor companion has been sick for quite some time, even before she came here. So finally Sister Fusco told her to go to the clinic, and they told her to do some exams so now we´re just waiting for the results! Poor thing. She also got me a bit sick haha yesterday I had a fever of 100 degrees so we called President and he said to take medicine and rest so I got to sleep for a bit which was nice. I think my fever´s gone today. My nose is still having troubles, but that should go away soon. 
After not seeing Padua for a few days (because we obviously don´t meet at his house anymore and he doesn´t have a cell phone) we saw him the other day on the street! We were walking back from an appointment when we saw a crazy man waving at us from the bus that was stopped at the light on the other side of the road. After a few seconds I recognized it was Padua! So we shouted hello and quickly set up an appointment in the chapel for the next night. He´s still doing great and yesterday he received the Aaronic Priesthood!!!! It was awesome!!
Eleonardo has also been struggling this past week as he fell back into his routine of drinking but we´ve been stopping by and setting goals with him and the past few days he hasn´t drunk! (drank? drunken? Ugh.. English, man.) He came to church too, was a little late, but he wasn´t drunk! The Sunday before he showed up drunk... but that´s in the past!
We also encountered a Celestial Corner!!!! We needed new investigators, and we saw a group of 3 or 4 men sitting on a corner so we went to talk to them and by the end there were more than 10 men!!! They weren´t drinking or anything - they just like to sit there on the corner at night after a hard day’s work and they´re soo sweet and so great! Now every time we stop by they buy us ice cream and Coca-Cola hahaha it´s adorable! We´re trying to meet with each of them and their families in their houses now :)

GAHH NO TIME
I LOVE YOU ALL
CAN´T WAIT TO SEE Y’ALL SOON!!!!!!!
THANKS FOR EVERYTHING!!!

- Sister Parks













Monday, December 7, 2015

Messejana, Brazil - The Ups and Downs


You want the bad news or the good news first? I´ll start with the bad. But first, please don´t worry because I´m fine, okay? :)

Padua was confirmed this past week!!!!!!! It was awesome and he´s preparing to receive the priesthood! He´s so great! The other day as we were walking back from the chapel he said that what he really wants is to raise his granddaughter (that he loves to bring to church with him because she stays with him on the weekends) in the gospel and to teach her about the gospel. I wanted to cry! It was the cutest thing! I am so grateful to have met him and to have been a part of his journey in the church. Sooo the other day we were stopping by to see him and we had just arrived and were chatting outside with him when his wife (who has never liked us and never participated and never even really looked in our eyes when we say hello to her to be nice) comes up from behind him (and it was night so I didn´t see what she had) annnnd she throws a bucket of water on me. On us, but I received 95% of it. Oh man, it was horrible! Everyone on the street saw and Padua went inside and they were yelling and we stepped a little ways away from his house and I honestly couldn´t believe what had happened! Soo a few minutes later Padua came out and apologized for her and he was really upset but I assured him all was well and we agreed to meet at the chapel from now on. But yeah, I´m fine! It was the end of the night and so we walked home (I maybe shed a few tears then but I´m fine :) ) and I took a shower and we let our zone leaders know but all has calmed down now :) 
The good news is that we are teaching so many great people! Satan is really working on our investigators but we´re working harder!!! This just proves to me that this is the true Church because Satan is trying so hard to prevent those we´re teaching to progress but he won´t win! 

I LOVE YOU ALL SORRY I HAVE NO TIME
SORRY FOR THE SAD STORY BUT I’M DOING GREAT
I LOVE IT HERE AND I LOVE YOU GUYS
- Sister Parks