Week 68: Find Him

Hello! 

First of all....MONTIE GOT BAPTIZED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! That actually happened. I only had to kill 2 spiders in the font...Before the baptism, he came up to me and asked me why he couldn't stop crying :). When he came up out of the water he said, "AMEN!"  He texted us that morning and here is a little insight: 

Montie: "March 28, 2015 11:30 am Baptized turned my will and my life over to the care of the Father in heaven asked the Father for forgiveness, and for the strength to live in his likeness. Knowledge to understand the path of which he lights, faith to follow!" 

Us: "On March 28th, 2015 at 11:30 am Montie Simpson will give his life over to Christ. He has the faith to follow. Because of his faith his life will be changed, as well as countless generations that came before and after."
Montie: "Suit is pressed, tie pressed, ready to go for a dunk I've been up since 4:00 am. I even put in my teeth today mark it on the calendar doesn't happen often...lol very special day 2 me." 

I GOT TO GO BACK TO DODGE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! For a few hours for a conference! When I found out that we were going, I could not stop talking about it! It felt like I had to wait years to finally get back there again. When I got there, 5 of my companions were there so it was a happy reunion! I ALMOST saw the Lira family....ALMOST. Of course the one day that I was in Dodge, they were in Wichita. Just my luck. 

A miracle of the week was most definitely seeing Noelle change more and more. Because of the baptism and the conference in Dodge, we didn't get to see her too much. Yesterday, we went over and she gave up coffee all on her own! She has not had any in a week MIRACLE!!!! She asked both of us why we decided to serve a mission. We compared our decision to serve a mission to her decision to get baptized, I have 3 months left and Sister Hartung has 3 days left. Lets just say that all 3 of us got emotional.

This week, I was praying and reviewing some events that have happened the last year or so. The good and the bad, the happy and the sad. The Spirit told me that Heavenly Father has allowed me to go through these things because before I left on my mission and throughout my mission, I asked Him to help me to understand how to access the atonement anytime. I then took a little inventory and realized that I have been carried by the atonement this entire time! I know that anytime that I need Him, he is there for me! I know that he is here for all of us whenever we need Him, our job is to find him. I love you all, Remember that God answers prayers! 

Sister Parry

The district

reunion!!

SIster Fairborn, Gabby, and me

DODGE CITY!!

Kinsley Kansas the middle of America!

Brother Yenser, Montie Simpson, Mackenzie Payton, Sister Hartung, Sister Parry

Poor Aiden fell asleep at church

                                     My best friend and my companion in the same choir 18 months ago!

Week 67: Will you hold my hand?

Hello dearest people! 

This week was so great, I don't even know where to start or how to help you understand so here it goes:

Montie. Is definitely getting baptized this Saturday. He is not going to let anything hold him back! We had another incredible lesson with him this week-one of the most powerful. We met him in a member's home to teach him the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the Spirit was SO STRONG. The member was testifying to him about repentance and Montie just wept. It was so tender. His life has turned around completely from the last few years, he knows that Jesus is his best friend and he is going to do anything that it takes to follow him. I tell him every day that he is teaching me the gospel; I have learned so much from him and I cannot wait to see what work the Lord has for him to do. He is going to be a powerhouse for the Lord's work!

One of my favorite things to be a part of is to watch the atonement carry someone right before my eyes. We got a text from an investigator with bad depression telling us that she was feeling really bad at that moment. We ran right over there and she looked like Satan had just beat her down and that is pretty much what he did to her. We had no idea what to say or how to help her to feel better. All that I knew was to help her to understand the atonement. We read Alma 7 with her and talked to her about how much Jesus loves her that he voluntarily went through everything that she would so he would know exactly how to help her to feel better. After talking for a while, she started smiling, and was even laughing by the time that we left. It was a complete turn-around. I was watching the atonement take action right before my eyes. 

My entire life, Sunday was a day of rest. For the last 15 months, Sunday is game day! Yesterday was the craziest and most productive hour and a half yet. 1st, we went to Summer's house to have breakfast with the family and to get them all pumped to go to church, from there, we left to go knock on a less-actives door to make sure that she was going, and lastly, we drove across town, to go wake Noelle up and help her to get ready for church. Typically, we are at least a half and hour early to church to wait for everyone, but yesterday, we walked in 2 minutes before Sacrament meeting started! The best news is: EVERYONE ACTUALLY CAME. That never happens!!!! It was awesome!! 

Going on a mission is hands-down, the best decision that I made besides getting baptized when I was 8 years old. I'm a completely different person now and I have grown so much! I absolutely love to be in the service of the Lord! 

Favorite moment of the week:

Sitting in sacrament meeting with Summer's family: 

1st of all, I walked in late with them so they wouldn't feel awkward. After everyone found a seat her 7 year-old whispered to me: "Will you hold my hand?"

Me: "Of course!"

Her:(a few minutes later...) "hold on, I gotta scratch my foot!"

(proceeds to do so and grabs my hand again) A few minutes later, she was asleep on her sisters lap and her sister was biting her fingernails and wiping the nail bit in her sister's hair. Not too long after that, they were both asleep and snoring. They fit right in. 

I love you all! Take care, and remember that God answers prayers!! 

Pday pool for dayzzzzz

Montie is the best.

2 houses...no...1 house...Welcome to Salina

This is what happens when we walk in late to Pday

My 1st day back in Salina, I found this above my bed....

We love nightly planning.

Left a love note for our sisters

KANSAS. 

Happy Birthday Sister Hartung!! 

Week 67: "Come Hell or High Water, I'm getting my butt baptized!"‏

Mi Familia! 

How was your week? I know that I say this every week, but I really cannot decide if this week was 2 hours long or 2 years long...time management...it's a struggle. 

So, this week, I went on exchanges back in Manhattan and we saw a total miracle! We knocked on a door and a woman that only speaks Spanish answers...uh oh. the 2 of us both served in the West, so combined, we were able to find out that she is a member from out of the country and she was visiting her non-member daughter that goes to college in Manhattan! Also, I met a man that is deaf and somehow committed him to go church(don't ask me how because he can't read words or lips and I can't sign) But it was so cool! 

Okay, I have to tell you all about Summer! We were trying to contact a former investigator from when I was serving here a year ago, when 2 little girls ran up to us and wanted us to meet their mom. We met her and she is so cool, she said that she is Agnostic, but believes in everything. I have never met someone who is so knowledgeable about so many religions. She was interested in learning more about the Book of Mormon, so we made an appointment for a few days later. When we came back, she had just picked up her brother who is a member from jail. He promised God that he would follow him if God would help him. When he saw us, he started crying and took that as a sign that he needs to go back to church. Summer had obviously had one of the worst days ever. She also started crying and literally asked every single question of the soul! We were blown away and that was the last thing that we were expecting to happen! We are going back over there and we really want to help her feel God's love for her. 

Montie is doing so great. I have never taught anyone that is planning their own baptism. We sat down to teach him(he pretty much teaches us the Gospel) and he told us that he had already asked a member in the ward to baptize him. He has people coming in from all over the country to see him get baptized! I'm so pumped. This last week, he got a blessing from the elders and has committed to live the Word of Wisdom! He is so determined to get baptized on the 28th and so are we! 

God is so good to us everyone! Miracles are happening, the atonement is real and God answers prayers! 

Lots of Love, 

Sister Parry

Week 66: I'M-POSSIBLE‏

Hi!

Another week, another time-warp. I seriously do not understand how quickly time flies. Last Monday feels like it just happened yesterday. I've come to realized that a mission does that to you, you don't realize if it has been 5 hours or 5 minutes. This week was exactly that. 

I've always wanted to have a companion who has a birthday while we're companions and it finally happened! Sister Hartung turned 21 yesterday and it was so fun. I kept whispering to everyone at church to go tell her "happy birthday" and she couldn't figure out how everyone knew, it was so funny! :) 

This was my first MLCs and I learned so much! I love to see how inspired goal-setting is. The entire time, we tried to find out what holds people back from getting baptized and what we can do to help them. The biggest thing that I took away was how to be personally acoountable and the importance of teaching people NOT lessons. 

Miracle! We have been desperately trying to get in contact with an investigator with no success, we decided to ask her neighbor if he had seen her lately. We ended up talking to him for a 1/2 hour on his doorstep! He is soooo cool! He is "searching" right now. I LOVE people that are "searching" He is also Native American and it was so much fun to tell him how the Book of Mormon is a record of his Ancestors coming to know Jesus Christ! We referred him to the elders and he is now planning on getting baptized! 

Montie, is doing so great. He is trying so hard to get baptized. He wants this so much. His daughter just joined the church, and she is SO EXCITED that her dad is finally getting baptized! He has helped so many people discover the church, and now he is seeing it change his life. 

This week, I gained another testimony of the atonement. I know now that I need the Savoir in every single aspect of my life. There is nothing too small nor too major that he has not overcome. I am so grateful that he has given me an entire year and a half to get to know him so much better. I love you all, I miss you, and remember that GOD ANSWERS PRAYERS!!!!!!! 

Much love, 

Sister Parry

Sister Jensen, Marzia, and me

The opportunity ALWAYS arises even in doughnut shops

Essen!

2 of my favorite things on a single lisence plate 

The secrets

MLCs

Reunited!! 

Week 65: "I'll crawl in your pocket"‏

Hello! 

Oh man, this week. Was packed. Packed full of exchanges, miracles, and solid investigators! 

Miracle number one: just 30 minutes ago while emailing, the church phone rang and it was a woman who wants to get married in our chuch and thier family is looking for a church!! WHAT. That never happens! I just stood there in shock for a few seconds before I responded! I'll keep you updated on how that goes :)

Miracle number two: while on exchanges, we were invited to go to mutual to help some of the teenagers in the ward answer their friend's questions about the Gospel. One of the girls brought her non-member friend that aparently has been coming for 2 months! 

Miracle number three: We were talking to the elders about how we really needed to find a few more investigators this week. As we were talking, a member called us to tell us that he was with someone right then that wants to meet with us and learn about the Gospel!! We met with her yesterday, and she has definitely been prepared to learn and to live the Gospel, we are meeting with her tonight to discuss and make plans for her baptism at the end of the month. 

Okay, we are working with this awesome investigator named Montie. He has known members of the church very well his entire life. Sometimes, I feel that he knows more about the Gospel than me! He has introduced several people to the Gospel and they were even baptized! I totally think that he is going to be a bishop some day. The only reason that he has not joined yet is because he did not feel ready to live the word of wisdom until now. His prayer was one of my favorite's of my mission. "God, I'm going to put you in my pocket, and you can put me in your pocket." He then promised Heavenly Father that he would be baptized on March 28th. I am so excited to work with him. 

I am so grateful for the Gospel of Jesus Christ, I had a moment this week that made me realize me deep love and devotion for the Gospel that the Savior has given us. I have so much to learn about it but I am grateful for the opportunity that Heavenly Father loves me enough to let me stretch and grow. I pray that you all are seeing miracles and feel the love that the Savior has for you! Love you lots! Remember that God answers prayers!

Sister Parry 

Week 64: Salina X2

Mi Famillia! 

Guess what! I'm back in Salina! I still don't know how I pulled that off! Being back in the area that I started is sureal. I was looking around at church yesterday and saw people blessing the sacrament that did not even believe in God a year ago! It's amazing to see how much the ward has grown and how the work has picked up here! The highlight was definitly seeing Shelley Griffeth! She is doing so great! In fact, she is planning on going to the temple for the 1st time in April and I might be able to go! (fingers crossed) 

My companion is Sister Hartung, I've known her a little bit on my mission and she is one of the sweetest people I've ever met! This is her last transfer and she is teaching me so much! I am so lucky to be companions with her! 

So a miracle this week: We called one of our investigators, Noelle, Saturday night making sure she was still planning on coming to church Sunday. When she picked up the phone she told us she was super stressed. We asked what had been going on and she proceeded to tell us that her sister was trying to sell her parents old house in hutch and that she didn't want her to and that her sister can't seem to get past their death. She started sobbing and crying out, "they're gone! And they're not coming back! they're never coming back.." We had never seen her have an emotional outburst like this. We could tell she had been holding her fears and feelings in about her parents death for a while. She told us she just felt alone and had felt alone most of her life. We asked her if she had ever heard that poem "footprints in the sand". She said she loved that story because she felt like this man was her at times. She bore her testimony of how God has never forsaken her (let me remind you this is still a phone conversation, we were not there in person) and that He has always been there. Then she said, "I feel Him right now. I feel so peaceful right now! I have never felt like this before.. I love this feeling." We then testified that when she is baptized and receives the gift of the Holy Ghost she can have that feeling all the time, that He becomes our constant companion. She said she was so excited for that and is preparing to be baptized March 21st! Satan made her son throw up all night so unfortunately she didn't come to church. But she definitely felt a confirming spirit and will be there next week!

Sorry that the letter is a bit short this week, but I am having a blast and growing more that I can keep up with! I hope that you all have a fantastic week and remember that God answers prayers! 

 

Lots of love, 

Sister Parry

Quote of the week: 

"My son was born by C-section so every year instead of telling him "Happy Birthday" we tell him "Happy Removal Day!!"" 

Week 63: Hugs and Kisses

TRANSFER WEEK!!!!!! 

I'm already being kicked out of Manhattan! So sad. The crazy news is that I'm going back to my first area Salina to be an Sister Training Leader(?!).

I hope that you all had a fantastic Valentines Day because we sure did! We were at a baptism for this guy that the elders are teaching and he is SUPER GOLDEN. Ever since I met him a few weeks ago, he already felt like a member! My favorite part of his baptism when he came up out of the water and was grinning from ear to ear! He started laughing and yelled, "YEAH! ALRIGHTTTTTTT!!!!" It was so funny! He already has the Aaronic priesthood and has a calling! I know that I didn't teach him at all, but I'm just as excited because there is another teammate on the Lord's team! 

So, we are teaching this girl from Equador, and she is a thinker. She likes what we teach her, but her thing is that she thinks that EVERY church that talks about Jesus in a good way is true. She told us this week that she wants to help all of the other exchange students come closer to Jesus so she decided to start her own church.  What's even more scary is when she told us that we were the ones that inspired her to do this, in fact, she assured us that she would tell EVERYONE in Equador that Sister Parry and Sister Jensen inspired her to start her own church. That is not exactly what we were going for! 

Miracles are happening in Manhappening! We were really tired from lots of meetings so we decided to walk around and talk to lots of people. We met a girl right outside of the Institute Building, gave her a church tour, and taught her the entire Restoration right on the spot! I really feel like she is a Kingdom Builder. she had amazing questions and is very open to learning! 

I have learned that Heavenly Father has a unique way of teaching me things. The other day, I was not discouraged, but knew that my work was missing something and I couldn't figure it out. We went to eat with some members that night and they started expressing my very same concerns about their own missionary work! Heavenly Father wanted me to help them and help myself at the very same time! As we talked, I think that we all learned what we needed to. As we left them with a commitment, I committed myself to do the same. 

We had Zone Conference this week and I learned SO MUCH! The last week, the Spirit reminded me a few times to prepare myself to receive some revelation and I sure did! The biggest thing that stood out to me was to love as Christ loves. One of the ways that He loves is to go to our level and then to bring us up higher and higher one step at a time. I have dedicated the entire month of February to learning about charity and love. 

I love and miss you all! Have a great week, go share the Gospel, and remember that God answers prayers! 

XOXO

Sister Parry

Happy Valentines Day! XOXOXO

#transfers

Happy Valentines Day <3

Week 62: God is so cool.

Helloooooooo from the Little Apple! AKA Manhappening Kansas! 

Almost every Monday night without fail, I see a miracle that I have to wait an entire week to tell you about! Last week, it was Olivia. We met her on exchanges last week and she is so cool! She opened up to us about how much she is going through right now. It makes my heart hurt to see how hard this last year has been for her. I just want her to realize how much God loves her! She told us that she knows that the Church and the Book of Mormon are true, and she has felt more peace by reading the Book of Mormon than by any other way. 

Another fun miracle happened this week. We were on our way back to the car and Sister Jensen felt impressed that we needed to take the long way back to the car. As we were walking, we stopped to talk to a girl named Taylor. Wow. Taylor told us that she has really been thinking lately that she wants to get baptized this year! Okay, how about this month?! She even asked us for a calender to help her get baptized! 

One of my favorite moments was when one of the STLs came with us for an hour or so. She could not believe how many people there are in Manhattan Kansas! It was a sad moment to her when she realized that there is no possible way to talk to every person you see. It was like watching a kid running up and down in a candy store. The best part was when we turned around to see her run across a busy street to give a man a Book of Mormon. He didn't want it, but he took a pamphlet. That's a start!

Oh man, I wish that I could just bottle all of the cool things that I learned about the Gospel this week and give it to all of you! I learned so much about acting on spiritual promptings ASAP and I also learned a lot about how not to be afraid and just trust God, he has a plan! And a backup plan! This week, I literally could not wrap my mind around how COOL GOD IS. 

Well, food needs to be eaten, an apartment needs to be cleaned, and money needs to be spent. I love and miss you all, Remember how much God loves you and that he answers prayers!! 

Sister Parry

Week 61: Catch-Up!

So, last week I ran out of time to email and I take soooo long to write these things so this week, I am going to START by writing this! 

The last 2 weeks were SO COOL. I learned a ton, and saw a lot of miracles. That's all you need to know, right? haha jokes! 

God's timing just blows my mind every day! He truly can be involved in every aspect of our lives if we let him. I have gotten the chance to meet people who God has been preparing for years to listen to our message now! 

We were able to see an awesome miracle last week. The other sisters were struggling to find people to teach so we decided to help them. I cannot even describe the excitement that we had! After praying about it, Sister Jensen and I decided that there was an elect family in this neighborhood that we were going to find for them within the 45 minutes that we had. It was not just a wish that there was, but we just knew that they were here. We literally talked to everyone that we could to find this family. Our 45 minutes were almost up when we knocked on one last door. The family that lives there turned out to be the sister of someone who is preparing to be baptized! She was really interested and the Spirit told us that these where the ones that we were looking for. 

Thomas S. Monson promises us that "The future is as bright as your faith" Just like our body uses food to give us energy, our faith is what Heavenly Father uses to give us blessings. 

This week, we went on exchanges with the STLs that serve in Salina!(My first area) No, I didn't get to visit, but I heard some great news! A convert that I taught there, is getting ready to go to the temple soon!!!!!!!! I cannot even begin to tell you how happy and at peace that makes me. 14 months ago, I had no idea what kind of adventures, challenges, people, and miracles that God had in store for me that would shape me so much. I know that I still have no idea what God has in store for me and all of us in the future! 

Lately, we have been having some pretty interesting conversations....here are some highlights: 

"I'm not racist, I don't like anyone!"(said by a 60 year-old black lady)

"Thank you for letting us contact so many spirits today. Haha, Heavenly Father, I didn't mean to say that!"(praying can be pretty exhausting)

(A conversation with members during dinner)

Them: "So, Sister Parry, how long have you been on your mission?"

Me: "Not quite 14 months"

Them: "(whistles) Wow, you're almost done! You know, I have a really hot little brother that you can marry! I can give you his email." 

Me: "UHHHH................" 

(The best conversation with an almost-deaf lady)

Her: "The book of what?"

Me: "The book of MORMON."

Her: "The book of WHAT??" 

Me: "The book of MORMON!!!! Do you think that God could give us more scripture?"

Her: "Yes! Over there!(points)" 

Sister Jensen: "What?"

Her: "Didn't you just ask me where I live?"

I hope that you all have a FANTASTIC week full of faith and miracles! I love you! Remember that God answers prayers! 

Sister Parry 

old comps reunited! 

name tag!

The district.

I looked out the window and what did I see? 2 Indian met smoking hookas. Kansas.