Week 80: The Last Letter from Kansas

Just so you know, I have written and re-written this email several times now and I have NO IDEA what to say. 

So this week was probably the craziest weeks of my mission but also the most rewarding! By Tuesday night, I was emotionally exhausted and by Sunday night, I could barely stay awake! Fortunately, Heavenly Father kept me busy enough all week long that there was not enough time to even think! 

This week was INSANE but Erika and Will got baptized and that is all that matters. Seeing them all dressed in white was just so perfect. They looked like they belonged in white. We're taking Erika on team-ups with us tonight and I am so excited!!

Favorite moments of the week: 

-Going to fill the font up and there are 6 BROWN RECLUSE SPIDERS IN THE FONT. 

-Waiting for Erika and William to come to sacrament meeting to be confirmed. They were running late and still not there as the other converts were being confirmed. I was praying SO HARD. They pulled up and I ran outside yelling, "QUICK!!! THEY ARE GOING TO CONFIRM YOU RIGHT NOW! RUUUUUUUUUUN!!!!!" The 3 of us booked it inside the chapel just as they were announcing for them to come up.....it was stressful. 

-We were on exchanges all week long. I love exchanges! It takes me out of my element a little and I absolutely love all of the sisters that we work with. In all, I spent a total of 2 1/2 days with my actual companion. 

-We lost contact with Jessica for a few days and we were off our rockers! After we did all that we could think of to get a hold of her, we tried to think "what would Jesus Do?" we  decided that Jesus would leave a Dr. Pepper on her doorstep. When we finally talked to her, she said that it made her laugh so much and now she laughs every time she sees a Dr. Pepper. it pretty much saved everything with Jessica.

-a few minutes ago when PAM FROM EMPORIA walked into the church to say hi and goodbye to me!! Then I got to teach her one last lesson as a missionary. :'(

Going home just does not seem real to me. People keep telling me that this week, I am going to get on an airplane, and people keep telling me goodbye but it really has not sunk in yet. 

I want you all to know that my mission has meant and will always mean the world to me. I have never had more fun than I have walking the streets of Kansas talking about Jesus all day, every day. I am forever grateful for this marvelous opportunity to share my testimony with everyone that I meet. I want to thank each one of you for all the support and the impact that you all have had on me. I have learned to love the Gospel so much. Faith, repentance, baptism, the Holy Ghost, and enduring to the end are the way to lead a happy life-it's the way that Jesus Christ led his own life. I love Kansas and my Savior with all of my heart. My life has forever been changed because of this past year and a half. I cannot believe how fast it has gone. I love you all and I want you to know that I know with all of my heart that God really, truly answers prayers! 

Sister Parry

The district! Sister McClees, Me, Elder Yardly, Elder Brown, Elder Gunnell, Elder Merrifield

 long hair problems

Kansas wind...

THRASH IT LIKE COMBINES!!!

Week 79: "Ya know, corn? The fruit?"‏

This week is going to be SO BUSY. We are going to be on exchanges all week long and on Saturday, Erika, William, Jessica, Jayla, Janiya, Christopher, and Sierra are ALL getting baptized! Don't you hate it when your worst problem is not having enough jumpsuits because the Salina Ward is exploding?! The Lord sure is hastening his work and it is going with or without us to so jump on board! I feel so grateful for such a busy week because it gives me less time to think about myself and more time to think about Heavenly Father's other children..he is so good to me. 

God has an interesting sense of humor. Yesterday, I was sitting in sacrament meeting squished in between the most solid investigators, and recent converts-Life could not get any better. THEN sacrament meeting started and it was a mission farewell! All of sacrament meeting was focused on going on a mission and I just about died. 

JESSICA. I can't get enough of that family! THEY ARE GETTING BAPTIZED THIS WEEKEND!! She gets more and more solid every time that we see them! She NEEDED to be at church this week in order to be baptized but she was scheduled to work! She and we did everything that we could but we needed a miracle... there are few times that I have prayed that hard for anything in my life. Her co-worker asked her to trade shifts with her and she got to come to church!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! God is so good to us! Last night, we had a lesson with her and she brought her super solid friend that she has been sharing the gospel with and they both LOVED the Plan of Salvation! 

FUNNIES:

Here in Salina, there are thousands of locusts and they are SO LOUD. We were driving in a neighborhood and I rolled down my window to listen to them. Sister McClees saw one flying towards the window and started screaming for me to roll up the window. Instead, I started to drive away and we both thought that it flew IN THE CAR!! Sister McClees almost jump out of the car, and I almost ran into a rose bush. We almost peed our pants but lo and behold, the car was free of any locusts. We managed to survive the attack. 

"You CAN'T wear boots and shorts! It's a walking contradiction" 

"they're British...So what? Sherlock Holmes man!"

"Ya know how veins are red and blue, Ya...mine are black and John Deere green."

"I think that the Lord called me to be a brown missionary so I can teach black people."

"Ya know, corn? The fruit?"

(in coordination meeting, the elders were talking about a recent convert)"He wants to marry a good Mormon girl" 

Bishop:"I vote Sister Parry!" 

(later)

"Sister Parry, you should move back to Salina and get a job as a nurse at the hospital here! 

Perfect. My life has been planned out by the Salina Ward Council. 

We had zone conference this week and it was SO GREAT. I was looking back and realized that my mission has really taught me how to BE a missionary-not just be on a mission. When I go home, I don't want others to have to look at a name tag to see a representative of Jesus Christ. This has changed my life forever. Jesus Christ is my best friend and I will do anything for my best friend. I am so grateful that Heavenly Father sent me on a mission. It will always amaze me how much He taught me in 18 short months and how much I will continue to learn. I hope that you all have a great week and remember that God really does answer prayers! 

Sista Parry

Our McDonalds has a permanent owl on it...

KANSAS

We're in the heartland

How many elders can you fit in Olive Garden?

There's a storm a brewing! 

Team-ups with Breanah! 

Week 78: Real Life

Happy 18 months to me! Excuse me while I go cry in a corner for a while in denial.....

One thing that Elder Holland taught us when he was here is that THIS is real life. Missionary work, the gospel, Jesus...is all REAL LIFE. At first, I had no idea what he meant until I started paying more attention. I realize that there is nothing that I love/want to do more than talk about Jesus all the time. On days that we have a lot of long-distance driving or meetings, I find myself longing to get out and talk to anyone and everyone about Jesus. Everything just makes sense. Even the small, seemingly insignificant parts of life just makes sense with the Gospel. 

For example teaching Jessica and her kids(get ready for these names:) Jayla, Janiya, Jakye, and Jashadrey has been some of the best times of my mission. We were having a lesson with her and she told us that we have a light about us, and that we seem at peace and actually happy. she told us that she wants that for herself and also she wants to be a light for other people as well. She is so amazing! Most people don't just say things like that! We also taught her the Word of Wisdom AND the Law of Chastidy at the same time and her only question was: "Is there anything else that I need to know before I get baptized?"

One thing that stuck out me again and again this week was the Christlike character of turning outwards instead of inwards. The Savior's natural character is to pay attention to helping others instead of Himself. The Spirit has pointed out to me everytime that I selfishly turn inwards this week and let me tell you that I have A LOT of work to do. 

Classic moments of the week:

-The time that I lathered HORSERADISH on my sandwich instead of mayonnaise at a recent convert's and I was almost sweating! 

-The time when our mission FINALLY got ipads...except for me and 13 other missionaries. That's okay, I'm already over it. 

-That time when we were teaching 2 less-active teenagers and I started singing a rap about the Restoration that another missionary wrote and they areSTILL convinced that I can drop a beat whenever I want! 

-That time when I woke up to the CRAZIEST thunderstorm that I have ever seen and I thought that we were going to die. 

-That time when within 10 minutes we watched a funnel cloud start to form, smoothed out, saw a rainbow, down poured with rain and hail, and then dispersed as if nothing had happened. 

Quotes of the week:

"Those are the UGLIEST socks that I've ever seen!"(President Bell to the zone leaders) 

"I ain't even mad!" 

"Somethings wrong Shadrey', he either pooped or farted"

"Doing gooooooooooooooooooooooooooood"

"I like these guys better than Elder Merrifield and Brown" 

"Shoulda had a V8" 

"I'm full of black blood, that means I'm black on the inside!" 

"Sometimes that's just how the cookie crumbles you know" 

"Satan was tempting me with this marvelous and majestic man in front of me" 

I'm so grateful for this time that the Savior has given me to be a missionary in Kansas, it really is the best thing that I have ever done! I hope that you all have a fantastic week and remember that God answers prayers! 

Lots of love, 

Sister Parry

We think we're cool

You can't really tell, but a member bought me a 44oz drink at Sonic and it was HUGE!

 Technology these days

We found him like this

Families forever!! 

June MLC

June MLC

Stake P-Day 

Week 77: Spiritually Rebuked

Happy Monday everyone!

Okay, expressing my emotions into words is like Laman and Lemuel's attempt to not complain and murmur. 

This week was a whirlwind again. We had a mission-wide conference and I THOUGHT that we were going to be trained on how to use ipads. Honestly, I wasn't expecting much at all because I will not be using them for very long anyways. I was very, very wrong. We spent maybe 20 minutes talking about ipads, the other 4 1/2 hours was spent by Elder Clarke teaching us life skills. It was like God shining a neon flashing sign that said: "SISTER PARRY THIS IS WHAT YOU NEED TO DO WITH YOUR LIFE" I did not come prepared to receive so much revelation....I didn't even bring a notebook, so I took up 4 pages of my planner writing notes! 

After the conference, We had a few sets of exchanges so I didn't even spend time in Salina or see my companion until Saturday. Apparently while I was gone, Salina ALMOST had a tornado and someone accidentally ran their car into the church! I miss all of the good stuff! 

We saw so many miracles on Sunday. We somehow managed to hit all of our weekly goals within the last 20 minutes of the night. God is looking out for us. We have been so blessed to find 3 families to teach! I LOVE teaching families! There are few things that make me as happy as watching families come together. 

Here are some of my favorite quotes from Elder Clarke: 

"Basketball is the sport of the Celestial Kingdom." -Elder Clarke

"Sacrament meeting is a celebration of the atonement of Jesus Christ." -Elder Clark

"Happy always, content, never."-Elder Clark

"The ultimate expression of moral agency is in choosing God in in being Good." -Elder Bednar

Thank you so much for all of the love, support and prayers! I hope that you all have a fantastic week! LOVE you all!! Remember that God answers prayers!!

Sister Parry

Kansas

Reunited!!

Road trip to Wichita!

This is the 2nd most friendliest yarn store in the universe.....welcome to Kansas

As promised: The World's largest Czech egg is coming along quite nicely! 

Kansas sunset

Missionary look-alikes: Elder Hughes

Just for Dad: more olives than I have ever seen in my life

Week 76: Time Warp

Woah.

This transfer just FLEW by! I was sitting at the transfer devotional and it felt like I was still at the last one! Everyone couldn't believe how fast the 7 week transfer seemed to be and I don't even want to think about how fast a 5-week transfer will go! Sister McClees is awesome! She is going to be so great for Salina! She loves Erica and William, therefore, we have a lot in common, so there is always loads to talk about! :)

The best moment of the week also turned out to be the worst as well. President and Sister Bell came to a baptism and took all of the missionaries out for lunch. He had a question about the Lira family back in Dodge, and I jokingly said that I could call them. Before I knew it, President Bell's phone was in my hand calling Beatriz! An elder that was in Dodge at the same time that I was looked at me and whispered to President Bell, "This is like calling home for her" he is absolutely right! Sadly, it was the wrong phone number so I didn't get to talk to them.... :'(

There was a recurring theme this week. That was that I have SO MANY weaknesses and shortcomings, there is absolutely no way that I could do this work on my own. Every time this week that I fell short, the Savior would deliver us and provide us with more miracles than we could handle. At the end of every day, I look back and realize that we have been carried by the atonement the entire time.

Most of the miracles that the Lord gave us was helping us find some of those that are very prepared to learn about and live the Gospel of Jesus Christ! Jessica and her 4 kids: Jaylah, Janiya, Jakye, and Jashadrey is one of the greatest families ever! They tell us over and over again how much they can relate to Joseph Smith's experience when he was seeking to learn the truth in his life. I told Jessica that we have a prophet on the Earth today and her eyes went wide. She told us that if that was true, her and her family had a lot of changing to do to follow him! Can you believe that? I love people. 

Maybe this was just funny to me, but I'll tell you anyways. This morning, we were doing our laundry at a member's home and decided to take a quick nap. Yeah. that "quick nap" turned into a 2-hour nap! We had no idea how tired we were, but our bodies were pretty grateful! There's nothing like taking a nap for the 1st time in 6 months. 

I can't wait for this upcoming week, we have a lot in store and a TON of work to do! I love you all! Take care, and remember that God answers prayers! 

Sister Parry

Week 75: We Talk about Miracles

Happy Monday everyone! 

It's transfer week and It's official! I am ending my mission right where I started it in good ol' Salina Kansas! One eternal round! My companion is going home this week and my new companion is named Sister McClees. I am sooo excited to be companions with her! She seems like a great missionary, I can tell that the best transfer is about to be here! Because it's Sister Forsgren's last week, we basically just thrashed it all week long. We went on 2 exchanges which helps keep me extra motivated and working extra hard. 

Miracle of the week: 

We really needed to find more people to teach in a major time-crunch, so we prayed and promised Heavenly Father that we would talk to 5 new people and pleaded that we would find someone who has been prepared to hear and live the Gospel. God found us 2. After talking to 3 people that barely spoke any English, and someone that was in the middle of a family party, the 5th person that we talked to was so cool! She is 21 and is looking to have God more involved in her life. It never ceases to amaze me how nice God is to us. I feel so grateful to be a part of this great work of the Salvation of the human soul. 

You know what I love? The Atonement. While I was on exchanges, I don't know what was wrong with me, but I could barely form sentences in a way that made any sense to someone that is a non-member. It was rough. Miraculously, the Spirit was there and taught everyone despite my shortcomings. We talked to tonnnns of new people that day and found a few new people to work with! All because God has got our backs!

Lines of the week: 

"I am in a state of rebellion right now." 

"I can't go on team-ups on Thursdays. That is when I golf, and I plan on golfing someone into the church."

I want you all to know how much I love the Gospel and how much I love my mission. I have changed a lot here, and I can't wait to continue to change even more. This is the best thing that I could be doing right now. I love you all and miss you! Remember that God answers prayers!! 

Sister Parry

Week 74: Reunited with the Temple

First of all: 

HAPPY LATE MOTHER'S DAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I hope that every mother out there was spoiled yesterday(especially my own) I had a realization this week about why God gave us moms. Here are just a few woman that have have a big impact on my life: MOM, Grandma Barbara, Gramma, Heather Oakman, Corinne Pontius, Carmen Shirk, Kelly Kocherhans, Tia Parry, Auntie Karen, Dominique Allen, Ashley Harmon, and Courtney Gay. 

I actually just tried to type all of the names out, but there are so many woman that have impacted my life so much that I could not have room or time to list them all. Basically, if you are a female and reading this, I can almost guarantee that you have impacted my life so much. 

I was so stinking close to seeing a tornado last Monday! We spend Pday in Manhattan and played kickball until it was raining so hard that we couldn't see. Before we drove back to Salina, we prayed about it and felt that we needed to drive back despite the weather. and boy, did Mother Nature just go all out. There were 2 1/2 foot flash-floods that cars were getting stuck in, rain that you couldn't see through, hail, wind, and my personal favorite: a dark rotating cloud directly above us as we were driving! So, I experienced all of the symptoms of a tornado without the actual tornado. :( 

Going to the temple with Shelley was definitely one of the highlights of my life. There are few moments that I can compare to siting in the Celestial Room with someone that has fully embraced the Gospel in just a year. Every time that I go to the temple, I feel that it is so worth every battle and effort to get there. The Spirit there cannot be compared to anything else that I have experienced. It took a long time, but I finally got to go back to the temple and I am so grateful for that sacred opportunity. I have thanked Heavenly Father for that every single day for at least 3 weeks now. 

 These last 6 weeks, I have a goal to solidify everything that I have learned these last 17 months into who I am. I can't emphasize enough how much Kansas means to me. I feel so blessed to take the Lord's name upon myself each and every single day. I know that all of us can have that same opportunity. I love and miss you all! Take care, and remember that God answers prayers! 

Lots of Love, 

Sister Parry

Exchanges with Sister Gelabert! 

Sundays with Cheyanne! I love recent converts as team-ups!

closed for remodeling or demolishing? I can't tell. 

Comp dates are important too. 

Sometimes we can't see out of the windshield because of all the dead bugs

Once upon a time we played kickball in the rain and ALMOST saw a tornado 

Kansas City Missouri Temple!! (taken as the tornado sirens were blaring)

Kansas City Missouri Temple 

May MLC