Tuesday, August 26, 2014

Upside Down



Where's my Jack Johnson jams when I need ‘em??  Seriously. This week’s been nothing but upside down.....#dayinthelife.


Saturday night.....we got "the call"......TRANSFERS........*sniff sniff*......Sis Bishop got the news that she'd be leaving to go to Indiana (booted to the boonies:) lols)  and I'd be staying and getting Sis Carroll as a new comp!! Sis B and I were kinda stunned by news even though we knew it was coming. It was REALLY tough saying goodbye. We've had SO much fun and success together, it felt like saying goodbye to my sister:(


We showed up for transfer meeting, met our new comps, and said our goodbyes, then loaded up in Sis R--'s (member who drove us to transfers) car and headed back home. We got back to the apartment, hauled all of Sis Carroll's stuff up to our 2nd story apartment, and had just finished unloading everything, when I started looking through my bag for our apartment keys......



Digging........digging.......uneasy digging.......frantic digging........panicked digging.........



Houston, we have a problem.




A BIG problem. We checked the car, the trunk, the bed of the truck....everywhere and couldn't fine our keys. I quickly called the AP's, got permission to call Sis Bishop, and the conversation went down:


"Heyya girl! It's Sis Parker!"
"Oh HEY!!!!"
"Soooooo....I have a question....do you know where our keys are??"

"......seriously?! Oh gosh.....I don't think I have them....I can check my ba..............aw crap!"




Yeeeeeeeeea. Thought so.


Turns out, Sis B had put the keys in her purse instead of mine.......and had taken them all the way back to Indiana with her. Smooth. Sometimes I wonder if she's actually a Brunette:) lol!!

Soooo.....Sis R had to run off to a doctors appt so Sis Carroll and I decided to eat lunch (take-out from sis R) in the backyard, until we could find a member who could drive us back to Willmette, etc.. Sis Carroll and I ended up have a great gtky sesh and I have a feeling it's gonna be a good transfer:)


#holla



The rest of our day was kinda a blur. Sis R eventually picked us back up, we loaded all the luggage back in her truck, got dropped off at her house to cool off while she ran errands, found out that sis Bishop went back to Wilmette and dropped the keys off to James who works in Wilmette, and he ended up bringing them back to us that night, all the while we crashed the R-- family's entire day since we didn't have our apartment or car keys so we were basically helpless. #whatdwedowithoutmembers<3


GEEZ LAWEEZ.


welcome to BG, sis Carroll. I'm sure she was traumatized:) lol! Definitely a mission memory of a day, right there.....#firstgoodimpressions #unforgettable

Sis Carroll and I are having fun though! She’s from Utah (2nd comp in a row….I know….I’m probably setting records;) BUT she’s got a hood side to her that I’m absolutely in love with! haha! I mean...it's Utah hood...with a bit of the Chicago thrown in there......but basically, it's adorable;) Real convo from last night:
https://ssl.gstatic.com/ui/v1/icons/mail/images/cleardot.gif


“Hey, Sis Carroll…..drop a beat!”
“Ehhhh…..idk if I can do that…well…actually a friend told me to just say ‘boots and cats’ fast… [and then she goes on to demonstrate….while I’m DYING on the floor laughing]”


Gawl……it’s gonna be a good transfer;) lol


After our rough start with having our apartment and car keys taken to Indiana (oh, and our phone died too…..#luckyas13), our week starting f.i.l.l.i.n.g. up with some of the most spiritual and incredible experiences I’ve had! Last week, the stake president had us over for dinner and their family invited a friend (who’s their daughter’s age). She came over, and we got to talking and turns out……we’re both equine junkies. 

Get out.

So we go off (like barn brats do) talking saddles, breeds, hunter jumper techniques, trainers and training, which didn’t end till dessert was brought out. No shame. S—then invited us to come see her ride at her next riding lesson. With some encouragement from the members (yea…you’re right…it didn’t take a lot) and some promptings, we decided to go.


We showed up, at right as S—was about to begin her lesson, her mom showed up and introduced herself to us. She’s the sweetest lady you’ll ever meet, and we got to sit together and chat for a half hour while S—rode. S—‘s mom told us that she doesn’t usually come to her daughter’s riding lessons, but felt like she should come that day.  SpiiiiiiiiiiiiiiRiiiiiiiiiiiiiiT……..;)

Bu’really.

By the end of the lesson, she’d invited us over to her house and offered to “adopt us as her two daughters since S—and her sister are leaving for college.”  Twist my arm:) we got a new momma (and a potential investigator)…it doesn’t get better than that!:)


Our next spiritual high was when we met with a less-active this week who we’ve been trying to get to come back to church. He has a lot of questions and doubts about the church, and we felt impressed to talk about God’s love for His children and about the Atonement. We kicked the lesson off, and it went  fllllllllllyyyyyyyyying …..like in ALL directions…..pizza, rap, dating, bishoprics, drinking, primary, aliens……..holy r.a.n.d.o.m.….it was a kinda a mess (and not a beautiful one). We kept trying to bring it back, bring it back, until we finally started getting onto the topic of the Atonement’s power to free us from any and all pain.


The spirit kept prompting me to just testify, testify, testify, and guided me to ask questions that I had never considered asking before. Suddenly, everything started changing. Our less-active, who usually can hardly sit still, make eye contact, or stay on-topic, seemed to freeze and his eyes were right on mine. He wouldn’t break contact for a second as I testified to him that I knew the Atonement could heal all his pain—regret, remorse, depression, sorrow for sin, abuse, anxiety, sadness, loneness, etc..


It was one of those world-stop lessons that all missionaries covet. And it was a.m.a.z.i.n.g.! After I’d finished, I asked him, “Do you want that? And do you have the faith in God that He can give that to you?” He responded, his voice cracking slightly, “yea…I do” and then asked if he could meet with the bishop!!!


ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!


I left that lesson realizing just how powerful the spirit can be. It can take a discussion headed for disaster and turn it into a mini sacred grove experience for a less-active wanting to find the truth. The spirit’s amazing. IDK what I would do without it! It’s EVERY missionary’s most powerful tool and I discovered the power of it that night!



Love it. Can’t get enough of it. Sharing the gospel is amazing. It’s banging. And it doesn’t take a black name tag to do it!





Onward and upward,




Sister Parker





first comp selfie <3




backyard lockout.....with Panera;) mmmmmm






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