Guilty as charged.........yes, I didn't post last week.
Oops.
It was one of those
weeks that just kinda got away from us......nah my fault:) So
anyways.....here's my attempt at make-up:
We were sitting in
district meeting this past week while our district leader taught about the
importance of obedience and submitting our will to the Lord's when one of the
elders from the back of the room raised his hand and said, "If I may, I'd
like to compare this to my favorite movie.......[PAUSE].......Princess
Diaries."
Did he really just say that??
Straight up
The look on our
district leader's face was p.r.i.c.e.l.e.s.s.....nuff
said. It was taking everything in
him not to burst out laughing but his contorting face just made it harder for
the rest of us to stay sober while the elder continued, "Y'know....the
whole obedience factor. The way he's always saying, 'as you wish'.....y'know it
just shows his willingness to obey her every command."
[awkward silence and confused glances]
Finally one of the
elders said, "Ummm....dude I think you're talking about the Princess Bride......NOT Princess Diaries...." and THAT'S when we all lost it!!!
bahahahaha oh my gosh.
funniest moment of. my. life.
geez elders......i worry about them sometimes:P
So anywhos...we've
been all over the map this week. On
Thursday we were finally able to meet with Dan, the one who said he wants to
serve a mission. We brought one of the young women in the ward with us and the
lesson went SO well! By the end, after we'd testified of the truthfulness of the
Book of Mormon and Joseph Smith, we asked him if he'd pray to know for himself.
He responded, "Yea, sure. You guys know it's true, so now I really want to find out if it is too!"
Golden
He took a Book of
Mormon and agreed to read and pray about it! I swear, these young people are so
incredible! They're actively seeking out truth and have such a willingness to
accept it when they find it! It's amazing!!
And talking about
young people, we also met with Allison, Dave's daughter, to answer her
questions in regards to religion and gospel doctrine. She's only a junior in
high school yet the questions she kept asking us were so profound and she was
so ready to listen and learn.....ah! it was almost too good to be true! We
spent nearly and hour and an half teaching her doctrine from almost every
lesson as she kept asking questions: "What's
the point of having trials?" "What happens to those who don't know
about God when they die?" "Why is smoking or drinking wrong?"
"Why is the Bible so hard to understand sometimes?" "Why don't
we have prophets now?" and on and on and on!!
We were BLOWN AWAY by
her dedicated search for truth! And there was no better feeling than when we'd
answer her questions and she'd sit back, wide eyed and say, "Yes! That makes sense! I get it! That totally
makes sense!!!"
Best. Feeling. EVER.
Basically....she's
incredible and we're SO lucky to be teaching her! The Lord really is preparing
hears to hear the truth and these young people are proving it!
.......ok....so........here's
more on why I didn't get a post up last week. My health issues began acting up
around Tuesday when I woke up completely
exhausted. I began losing my appetite and the exhaustion continued
throughout the week, meanwhile I fainted probably 2 or 3 times before the
weekend hit. Then, Saturday morning, I woke up after struggling to sleep and
started off the day, but had like zero energy so I eventually ended up back on
my bed before starting personal study. I stood up to get dressed before I knew
it, I'd passed out.
From what I'm told, I
had some type of seizure (muscle spasm thing...idk what) that lasted about 15
seconds and thoroughly terrified my companion. After I'd laid
there for 2-3 minutes, Sis Carroll called our ward mission leader and some
other members for help. Basically.....the rest of that morning was a blur. I
was completely WIPED. Our ward mission leader and his wife came
to our rescue and headed over to make sure I was ok. I ended up resting for the
morning, trying to regain some strength, but by noon I was plain stir crazy and
against my companion’s suggestions, we
went out to work.
Yea, idk if that was
the best idea physically, but
mentally I was content:) I HATE being
cooped up and especially as a missionary....its the WORST:] By that evening, we
made it to stake conference where I was accompanied three sisters from the
stake on a musical number and THEN.....Pres Woodbury also asked that James
Kumar, his brother, his dad, me, and a member who assisted in teaching James
come up and do a live case study complete with testimonies. James was
the first to speak, and he shared his complete conversion story.
Sitting there,
feeling SO physically weak and
drained, yet hearing him bear witness of the truth which he's found in the
gospel, testifying to how it has changed and continues to change his life, and
how he knows of himself that the church is undeniably true......AH!!! I've rarely had a happier moment in my life!! Watching him stand in
front of hundreds of people, bearing his testimony with such conviction......I
was SO proud! SO PROUD!!!
When his brother (our
current investigator) then got up to talk about the changes he's seen in his
brother since he's joined the church....man! The spirit was SO
strong!! You could just feel the power and love that surrounded all us on that stage!!
I then got the chance to talk about what it was like to teach James and that
was SUCH a precious moment for me! James really was a miracle in my life
and continues to be such a blessing!! Testifying of that to the world from that
podium.....PRICELESS!
After we'd all
finished our testimonies, President Woodbury got up and said only a few words,
"Brothers and sisters, do you feel that? Do you feel that love? Do you see
it? Remember what you've felt and seen tonight. The gospel is about love. In the name of Jesus Christ,
Amen."
Out with a bang! AH!!
It was one of those 2% moments that I LIVE FOR!!
I don't think I'll forget that
night for as long as I live!!!!!!! It was truly POWERFUL!!!! And we also
found out that night that......I'M
STAYING ANOTHER TRANSFER IN BG2!!!! That'll be half my mission in one area and I couldn't be happier to be
staying!!!!! It's almost unheard of for a sister to stay in one area this long,
so I know it's a miracle that I'm getting another 5 weeks here!!! yaaaaaaa!!!
The Lord is oh SO good to me:)
The health issues are
still a challenge and I don’t know yet what’s going to happen, but I know it’s
in His hands. Through it all, I've felt a powerful peace that it's all going
to be OK. As I've thought about what to do to deal with these trails, it's
been difficult to know what the best path to take is. The medical issues make
me feel like I'm incapable and weak….like I can't do as much as I think and
wish I could. And it's FRUSTRATING.
However, these trials
have been teaching me to rely more on the Lord, to seek His help more
earnestly, and to realize that I can’t do this work alone. I’m not meant to do
it on my own. And only with His help will I succeed in overcoming these
obstacles. I’ve come to realize that these
struggles are helping me prove myself to Him. Even when it’s tough, even
when it’s not easy, even when I’m exhausted, weak, and confused……do I still give Him my best, whatever that
may be? Do I recognize His answers to my pleas for help? Do I turn to Him
and say, “I can’t do this alone, so help
me do it with your strength”?
Yea, these challenges
aren’t easy. They’re not enjoyable. But they’re teaching me lessons I need
to learn, and through it all, my relationship with Him is growing stronger and
stronger.
I still don't know what’s
going to happen or what path I should take, but I DO feel a strong reassurance
that everything will be alright.
It’s in His hands.
So onward and upward!
<3 Sis Anna Parker
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| do whatchya gotta do when you only have 10 minutes to paint your toenails #sismishlife |
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| ok so we tried to make origami temples on night.....yea.....we followed the same instructions and ended up with two COMPLETELY different temples.....#howdoesthathappen |
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| Sweetie (the doll behind me in pink) said she wanted to take a selfie with us making "cool faces".......so we did;) #thatshowwedoit #2cool4school |
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| p-day shopping haul.....YES to F21 and BandBW #shopaholic #lotionaddict |
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| leave it to me to find this shirt in Bass Pro Shops;) Yea...we were like the only two girls in the store #noshame #cowgirlatheart #lovememyguns |
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| don't ask......last district photo #wthelders #strange |
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