Blood, Bonding, and Believing

The nurse escorts me over to one of the chairs, sits me down, and starts doing whatever it is nurses do before sticking needles in you. I'm chilling there.....cool as a cucumber on the outside but kinda f.r.e.a.k..i.n.g. out (again) on the inside. Third time donating blood on the mission....... (yea for those of you who know me...this is HUGE;)..... and when you're the one hosting the drive (even if its main purpose is to bring people into the church building), ya kinda have to donate....... #needlephobia    #thestruggleisreal

Then she turns to me and asks me to state my name and birthdate. "Anna Parker, 9/27/93."

She responds, "So you have a birthday coming up! How old are you gonna be?"

"The big 2-1"

After finding that out, she just stared at me and then said, "Oh, really?? 

You look like you couldn't be over 17."

uuuummmmmmmmmmm.......... OK???

Just call me *baby face*........geez laweez. Just last week some guy was hitting on us, and asked me how old I was. When I told him I was 20, he got all freaked out and was like, "20?!

I thought you were at least 25 if not 30!!"

O__O

..........I'm clearly confused........ #agechallenged

So despite feeling like I now belong in a Pampers commercial, the blood drive went over pretty well. We didn't get as many donations as we were hoping, but I got to know the area director pretty well (we were there like all day) and she's agreed to come to church with us AND gave us another community service project!!

#2-4-1

 Prep for the blood drive took up a lot of our week (making posters and signs, hanging fliers all around town, and coordinating set up), but we did manage to visit quite a few of our peeps. We got invited to lunch with an investigator and it turned out really well! We got to know her better and just had some good girl bonding time over croissants and truffles<3....... elders are missing out:)

We dropped by another investigator on Tuesday, and right as we were wrapping up, a mini TORNADO hit......lightning, crazy strong winds, flooding....the whole deal. We just sat there, chatting for a bit, taking advantage of the extra time to spend with our investigator and hoping the power didn't go out, but we somehow got onto the topic of how Mormons pray. "I just don't get it," she said, "Why don't Mormons pray with their hands clasped....instead of their hands in their armpits??"

.........she's gotta point...........

she (and we) finally came to the conclusion that it was probably because it took kids longer to unfold their arms than their hands, so it kept them quite longer. That .9 seconds apparently makes a difference.

Sure.......whatever works;)

We also visited with another investigator this week and challenged him and his friend to baptism. They're praying about it this week, and it's been incredible to see the changes that he's gone through since I first got here. He used to avoid us if we were ever over at the house, and now, he's praying with such power and spirit, improving his life, and reading the Book of Mormon cover to cover!!!! It's true....the book changes lives!!

*and in case you're wondering.......the book is WAY better than the play*

We're also seeing Ally quite a bit now since she's decided she wants to be baptized!! It's been absolutely beautiful to see the way that the ward has wrapped their arms around her!! She's still going through some really tough stuff, but she's hanging in there, and told us on Sunday that Church is one of the only places where she feels at peace and knows that God is with her. It really is amazing to see young people like Ally and Bethany taking their own steps onto this path....despite the lack of family support! It makes me want to stand taller and walk bolder:) #taughtbymyconverts    #noshame

And last but not least, I was able to get a priesthood blessing this week from Elder Taggart that was absolutely b.e.a.u.t.i.f.u.l. ! Hitting my one year mark (YIKES) this week was kinda crazy. But that blessing reminded me again of just how well my Heavenly Father knows me.

Serving a mission is like an emotional roller coaster all. the. time.! And it can be SO easy to get overwhelmed or discouraged. But Heavenly Father never leaves His missionaries alone if they're trying their best. Yea, I fall short. I don't always get it right. But I'm coming to realize that The Lord knows how imperfect I am and He also knows how perfect I can become through Him.

You don't have to be perfect to be a missionary.  I can't recite all the scripture masteries. I don't know all the articles of faith. Geez, I can't remember even half of what they taught me in the MTC.  All I do know though is that I have a testimony that this gospel is undeniably true. And that's enough. 

 If you know it's true, you know enough. And if you don't know it already, find out!!!! Missions are hard. They're exhausting sometimes. But they can be SO empowering!! God gives us wings to fly when we trust in His strength and act on our testimony (or even the desire for a testimony)!! 

"Doubt not, but be believing" 

(Mormon 9:27)

Onward and upward,

Sister Anna Parker

set up

mormon pitch at the blood drive:) ...... yep, it's got a hint of the pinterest wedding look......#noshame

girl time <3

yep....TOTALLY gave into peer pressure and kissed him:) 

he looked bigger from the side....i swear;)

Stylin

Just a fair warning to any prospective missionaries: a mission will get you WAY outside your comfort zone, making you do stuff you'd NEVER dream of doing otherwise.

 It's great. Really.

Life's always an adventure.....

Example: Sis Bishop and I felt prompted to stop by the part-member family that we'd met in the park last week while doing tye dye shirts. We knocked, and the mom answered and readily let us in. We walked through the door and weren't two feet inside, when a large rat-looking creature scurried across the floor.

We just about hit. the. ceiling.

 Like heart-leap, friend-grab, scream-supress, jump-on-chair status.           FREAKS.

The mom then says, "Oh, there's Owen! We've been missing him....." and goes over and picks up this long scrawny FERRET, "wanna hold him??"

aghbaghlahgalgbalgha.........

"Uh.....bettah not........"

Instead........I had to reach out my hand and pet the thing with, "aw! how cute!".....which wasn't really a lie.....he had cute eyes......but that was about it;) She then goes to the back and brings out TWO more. By this point Sis Bishop and I are D.Y.I.N.G. And then.....she tells us that two more are wandering around the house somewhere......oh.....and that they love burrowing in the couch we're sitting on.

I just about came unscrewed. Throughout the remainder of the lesson, Sis Bishop kept eyeing the back of the couch and under her feet, expecting at any moment a "large rat" to start gnawing at us. Luckily, we didn't see any more of them during the lesson, and the lesson ended up being very open and powerful. Turns out, the mom told us that she'd unexpectedly decided to work from home that day, which she rarely does, so despite our ferret introduction, we'd landed a miracle. She said it herself;) By the end, she accepted the invitation to read the Book of Mormon and we're planning to stop by again soon!

Wednesday, we met up with the blood drive coordinator so she could tour the church building and approve it for the blood drive coming up. She came in, gave us our marketing flyers and posters, and then we showed her around the building. We ended up having an hour long conversation in the gym about our purpose and experiences as missionaries, religion, and her life story. She opened up to us, and told us about her background and experiences with different religions, and we invited her to attend our church meetings with us. She accepted!

It's truly amazing to watch the Lord put different people in our path, who are willing to "try it out" and accept this beautiful message we have to share. It's a total testimony to me that the gospel is true, because it innately attracts those with faith enough to give it a chance. It draws people closer to God and they can feel it! Ah! It's amazing!

Our zone also had it's monthly activity this week.......EXTREME TRAMPOLINE STYLE. 

Holy fun.

 It legit.....basically a hallway of trampolines, a foam pit, and a dodge ball room....gah! 

coolest. zone. activity. EVER.  And I can now to a front flip, back flip, round off, and wall flip......#stylin:)

On FB this week......yea the adventure never ends....I got messaged by an investigator who told me he's looking for a "good Christian wife" who can clean his dishes, do his laundry, and manage his household.......and I was the perfect candidate.......mmmmmkkkkkkk.

MAID.             

That's called a maid................Not a wife.....................And not me. lols

#singlestatus       #noshame

Finally.....the H.I.G.H.L.I.G.H.T. of our week was GOING TO THE TEMPLE WITH BETHANY!!!! Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!! It was absolutely amazing! It was the first time that I've been able to go the temple with an investigator for the first time, and I was ecstatic!!!! It was probably one of the happiest days of my life! Being there with her, dressed in white, and seeing her experience the joy and peace that is found in the House of The Lord.......AH! There is NO feeling more rewarding!!!! 

It opened my eyes to the eternal nature of this work! Success in missionary work doesn't end at baptism....it doesn't even end at the temple.....The Lord just continues to bless us with more and more and we continue to have an impact on others because of our actions. What started with Bethany's own baptism, will now become the baptism and temple work of those who have passed on. She's changing lives both here and in the eternities! It's beyond rewarding to know that I got to play a part in her conversion and being there with her in the temple......that feeling is indescribable!!! I wouldn't trade that for all the world!!

This work is true. It's powerful. It's fun. It's rewarding. And it's contagious:)

So share, invite, serve, REPEAT.

Onward and upward,

Sister Anna Parker

Sis bishop didn't believe me when I said to use a lid on the blender.......#fail;)  #lovemycomp

besties