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:
“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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