Torture Chambers and Soccer Fields

When the neurologist ordered a tilt table test for me last week, I really didn't know what to expect. She just said that it'd probably give us the answers we were looking for, as to why I keep fainting.

Sounds like a plan.

So Thursday morning, I head to the hospital and the nurse takes me to this room where a bed with large straps attached on either side, monitors and IV hangers, and "emergency equipment" (like oxygen masks, alert buttons, and defibrillators) are all chilling in one room.

Ummmmmmm.......

And then she has to go and say, "Yea, it looks like a torture chamber, I know."

Thanks.............now I feel SO much less nervous:)

She then explains how it goes......I get strapped to this bed for 2 minutes lying down and then 30 minutes standing up to see if I faint. And then she says, "So you and I will get to chat for 30 minutes about whatever you want to talk about!"

Way to make a missionary's day:)   You don't know what you just got yourself into.......

And it was WAY easier than contacting......or tracting. Basically, I should get tests like this taken more often:)

After getting strapped in......don't ask......yes it was REALLY weird.......they stand me up, and then...........30 minute discussion.......GO.

When she finds out I'm a Mormon missionary, she says, "Ok.....so I have some questions.....mostly just things I've heard and  I don't know if they are misconceptions or not......"

(I'm thinking: multiple wives.......gold bible......horns........anti-Bible.......y'know....all the crazy questions we get asked as Mormons)

She then starts dishing them out:

"Mormon's can't wear makeup, right?"         Pretty sure I'm living proof that they can:)

"Mormons can't chew gum, right?"                Wouldn't be Mormon if we couldn't:)

"Mormons don't dance, right?"                       Depends on whether or not you call the Deacon Shuffle dancing:) lol

"Were the Osmonds like legit Mormons, or not really?"    "Legit Mormons"?? Not sure how to answer that question.....;)

We had a really good conversation (despite the fact that I was awkwardly tied to a table) and she told me afterwards, that she was really glad to know the truth about Mormons.......and she also mentioned that she had a son my same age who shared similar interests in sports, business management, and working out.....and he wasn't currently dating anyone soooooooooo........

Sooooooooooo...............I'm a missionary, see.........

It was worth a shot, though:)

By the end of the test, everything came back NORMAL......AGAIN. I was torn between disappointed and relieved. I just want answers, but looks like now they'll have to wait till after the mission, when I can get more extensive tests done. I'm content, though, and I'm actually glad that now I can just focus solely on the work, without dealing with doctor's appointments, tests, and more doctor's appointments on the side.

Basically, it's in His hands. And I'm good with that:)

We got a phone call Wednesday night from the director of the Relay for Life (the one that got oblivionated because of the tornado:) who told us it'd been rescheduled.......for tomorrow......and asked if we could help out for 4-8 hours.

Suuuuuuuuure.

So whatever plans we had scheduled for Thursday got postponed and we pitched in at the relay. Our first assignment was to take over 400 paper bags filled with a glow stick and stand them up in a l.o.n.g. ring down the entire. soccer. field.

0_0

In case you're wondering....400 paper bags.......yea....that's A LOT of paper bags. Just sayin. It looked SO good by the time it was done, though, and the relay staff was impressed......#missionaccomplished

At the end of the night, one of the staff members offered us a bunch of free swag-bag stuff......cups, pencils, magnets, t-shirts, snap bracelets....y'know the kind. And then she pulls out a collapsable ice chest and says, "Oh, girls, you gotta take one of these! Just look at how many beers you could fit in that!!"

We tried to explain that we didn't drink but it just ended in, "Oh, well you're not 21 yet, but you're outta high school sooooooooo....[wink, wink]"

No really.

I don't drink............like at all.

Oh well.....what are ya gonna do?? We ended up taking it to make her happy, and one of these days, we'll find out how many IBC’s we can fit in it:) lol

Oh....and we also got our FISH this week!!!! Feels SO weird having a pet, but good news: He's not gone belly-up yet! And that's saying a lot:)

 #proudparents       #justkeepswimming

We went and visited an investigator this week that's been a bit tough to get in contact with. We knock on the door and hear her two dogs inside going B.I.Z.E.R.K.....and then we hear her, "Boys, boys....is it someone you don't know? If it is....you tear them to shreds, ok? Tear them to shreds!"

Uhhhhhhhhhhhuhuh.........should we leave now? or later??

She eventually peeked out the window with, "Oh hi!!.....Wait, I have to go put my dogs away....they can be kinda vicious."

Kinda  vicious??

After the dogs were "put away" she let us in and we got to talk for a while about the Book of Mormon and the Restoration. She was a bit skeptical and cross-checked us a couple times using Bible verses and probing questions......so it was an interesting lesson, but at the end, she said, "Well, I can't join the Mormon church without going to it, so I'll have to be allowed to come to your services."

I think we could arrange that......

We left with a standing offer to come to church, and she agreed to come, "just maybe not for the whole 3 hours.....that might kill me."   No worries......the death rate's been on the decline ever since refreshments during Relief Society was suggested........

#survivor       #RStotherescue

So….we’re teaching, preaching, and up-reaching! The work is hastening, and I’m continually amazed at how blessed I am to be a part of it!

Yea, the days can be hard and long sometimes, but what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger………. (lemme guess…….. K Clarkson just started blaring in your head:) lol

But anyways…….being a missionary is SO rewarding and the lesson’s I’m learning and the person I’m becoming because of it is unbelievable sometimes.

And I wouldn’t trade that for the world!!

Onward and upward,

Sister Anna Parker

Easy Come, Easy Go

Transfer week is the full-time missionary version of receiving a mission call...all over again.

Stress levels are through. the. roof.

So we usually receive a text around 10am Saturday morning, telling us whether or not we will be receiving a transfer call. Then, at around 9pm, we'll get the call from President.

Only this time around, Saturday morning rolls by.....no txt.

1 pm........one or two texts from other companionships start popping up: "let us know when you hear about transfers!"

2 pm.........by now almost every compship has sent out a text underlined by paranoia: "has anyone gotten transfer texts yet???"

3 pm...........panic starts setting in and the text messages start flying: "have you heard anything??? What's going on??!!"

FINALLY, at 4:30 pm....."You WILL be receiving a transfer call tonight!"

Stress levels have arrived at Pluto.

Then we're forced to wait for 4 hours for "THE CALL", all the while my mind is going BIZERK.

Possibilities....possibilities....possibilities......

Totally lost my appetite, and resorted to being an introvert for those longest 4 hours of my life.....THAT'S how stressed I was (Sis. Houghton, see where I'm at? :)!

THEN...President called. At 8:30 pm. "Sister Parker.......(and of course, there's a long pause......"ah, you're killing me, smalls!")

"We would like for you to TRAIN ANOTHER NEW MISSIONARY!"

Happiness levels to the sun and back!!!!!!        Yup!! I'm gonna train AGAIN!!!!

With only 17 new missionaries coming in, and so many trainers available who have done this much longer than I have, I have NO idea why they've picked me to train again!

"Well, she failed at it once, maybe we should give her a second try:)" (I know its gotta have come up in SOME meeting!)

Hahahahaha!

For reals though, I'm SO excited to train again! Training really does motivate me to do my best, pushes me to grow, and teaches me to be efficient and hardworking. It's a HUGE responsibility, but I'm excited for the challenge!

So, tomorrow, I become a new momma:)                 #take2                #superstoked

Sis Stradling is going to be transferring to North Shore 2nd where my MTC companion and bestie, Sis Butler is currently serving with her greenie, Sis Raccuia. (They are the closest set of missionaries to us,

and even meet in our same chapel). 

Sis Butler is going home for medical reasons, and my heart is breaking seeing her go!! She has been my best friend ever since the MTC (and even before that, actually, thanks to FB:) and I feel like I'm saying

goodbye to my sister! I will miss her with all my heart, but this is God's will for her, and she has been an inspiration to me of trusting the Lord and facing challenge with faith and hope.

She and I were talking on Tuesday about Chicago accents, and realized that it's spreading to us.....YIKES.

SO....Chicagoans have this way of saying "yea, yea, yea" at the end of their phrases, and sure enough........IM SAYING IT!!!!

#killerrealization             #imbecomingoneofthem                   #headsupbwoston               #chigirlnow

This past Thursday, we got to go downtown [insert raise the roof motion!] for a night of Christmas music that the YSA ward put on. We missionaries were asked to perform for one of the numbers. 

After a painful attempt at coming in together, we managed to get through "Still, Still, Still"  as the last musical number, before joining in with the audience for "Silent Night."

It was all going well till we realized we were singing the the 2nd verse while the audience was singing the 1st and the conductor was singing the 3rd.

SILENT NIGHT MASHUP.                

#inthehouse

We were all so clearly confused, mixed up, and exchanging desperate "what are you singing??" looks that if nothing else, we passed as comic relief for night.

#lol

Speaking of Christmas........Chi town is decked!! Makes me SO happy! I love love love the lights, nativities, and music!!

AND....we got SNOW yesterday!!!! (The elders couldn't resist.....flipping donuts in the parking lot MAY have occurred.......#iaintguilty)

My winter driving, shoveling, and un-stucking car skills are coming in handy with a companion from desert-dry Arizzony:) It's crazy how fast Christmas it coming up!!!! WEIRD!!! EXCITING!!!!

Oh and wasn't the Christmas devotional SO good!!!! Elder Uchtdorf's talk was my favorite.                            

#mormonidol

The Lord has a special way of bringing you to points in your life where you feel like you can't find assurance or peace anywhere....and then an inspired message from church leaders come, and you're convinced that they wrote it just for you.

#SOML

His words totally hit home for me. I left that devotional feeling recharged, comforted, and inspired.

This church must be true or something!!

And now for the weekly health update you've all been waiting for:

My consultation with the EP went well, he was a really good doctor and assured me that there's nothing seriously wrong with my heart. WHEW.  Yea, my heart beats weird, but it's nothing to be concerned

about...that's just the way its decided to tick for the rest of my life.

[insert "Just the Way You Are" lyrics.... (James, don't hate!)]

However, he said I should continue to try and figure out the whole dizziness, shakiness, exhaustion, etc, stuff going on. Sooooooo.........back to the GP I go. More doctors appointments.....

JOY.

For good news though, the heart problems don't seem to be problems any more:) He thinks it could be a brain thing, though, so he suggested getting a neuro consult.

Stay tuned.........

Work wise, this week has been slow. Depressing slow. I feel like all but maybe two of our investigators can be classified as non-bipolar investigators. All the rest, it's hit-or-miss, up-and-down, progressing-to-failing status every. other. week.

It's kinda exhausting trying to keep up with all of them. We're thinking of dropping a few of them to be able to focus our efforts more effectively on new investigators.

#sadday

But, even during weeks like this, The Lord is helping us become better missionaries, breaking us down, so He can build us back up.

Missions are amazing things. They're hard....not gonna lie. But they make and mold you into someone you could never be without it.

There are times when I feel like I've hit rock bottom. Like I can't keep going. Like I've failed. Like I'm not enough.

But The Lord knows that. He knows when we are spent and I'm gaining a testimony of why He pushes us to our limits: because when He pushes us to the point where we can go no further, THAT is when we find Him--on our knees in awe of His ability to take the wheel and lift us out of our pain.

A friend out here texted me this morning after we talked about the difficulties of our lives, 

"Take pride in how far you have come. Have faith in how far you can go. Trust in the work you put in."

I love it.

As missionaries, sometimes we feel like we're expected to be perfect. Perfectly obedient, perfectly dressed, perfectly versed, perfectly successful, perfectly spiritual........it's exhausting sometimes:)

Truth is, we're not. And we'll never be.

But as long as we try our best, learn from our mistakes, have faith in His strength, and trust in our abilities, The Lord will make up for the rest.

I'm so far from being the missionary I want to be. SO FAR. But letting that get to me is a tool of Satan's and is totally destructive.

Let it go. Do your best, leave the rest to HIM.

If I'm doing my best, then I can rest assured that I'm being the missionary The Lord wants me to be.

SIMPLE AS THAT.

Keep it real. Keep it tight. But not real tight;)

(Ok, so now that I've pep talked myself.......hahaha!)

I love you all a million! Letters mean the world to me! Prayers keep me going!

Onward and upward,

Sister Anna Parker

Yea, yea, yea:)

Oh JOY

Last night, at our dinner appointment, we were playing the "Family Dinner Game of Questions" with a family, when the card was drawn, 

"Would you like your life to be made into a reality TV show?"

I probably SCARED the poor kid, because "NO" came pouring out of my mouth before he'd even finished. haha!

Why? Cause my life could actually be a reality TV show. Seriously. 

Drama...check.
Adventure....check.
Mystery...check.
Comedy...check.
Crime...check.
Action...check.

And a new season would be out e.v.e.r.y. week.                                       #lifeofasismish

For reals, this week has been another type of crazy. Honestly, probably one of the hardest weeks of my mission thus far. JOY.

First up, WE GOT OUR iPADS!!!! 

#JOYRUSH

Uber exciting. It still feels kinda weird having one, but it's a good weird. Basically, e.v.e.r.y.t.h.i.n.g. we do now, is with our ipads:

Weekly planners                                #oldschool

Area book binders                            #oldschool

Paper-copy ward directories       #oldschool

Whiteboard goals                              #oldschool

Monthly calendars                           #oldschool

Flip-chart visual aids                       #oldschool

We're in the know now. 

We even got them delivered by Santa (see pics below)! #missionarychristmas #iwasntkidding

We're still in the process of figuring out how to use the Church-issued software, updating our digital area books, adding contacts, setting up area emails, etc. but it's a JOY RIDE!

#FEELINGBLESSED

On the down.....

So, I went in to the cardiologists on Thursday and after sitting in a waiting room as the only person under 80 years old there to see a cardiologist and an hour long appointment, they set me up for chest x-rays, a stress test, and a "rushed referral" appointment with a Cardiac Electrophysiologist. Whatever that is. 

Basically, I don't have an arrhythmia, its just an irregular heart beat that beats regularly. However, I feel like there's more to the story than their telling me (probably because they could already tell I was FREAKING out about the whole thing), so.......more doctors appointments. JOY.

They were able to get me in for the stress test the next day, and after hooking me up with a million different wires to the point where I looked like a WALKING SOCKET STRIP, they had me walk and then run on the treadmill.

So the nurse explains to me how it all works: 7 stages to the test--7 speeds along with 7 inclines.

Here's how it went:

         Stage 1: "Pshhhh....this is nothing. Just a stroll through the park...."         

         Stage 2: "Mmmmm....Life is good, spirits are up, feelin good..." 
         
         Stage 3:  The Cardiologist comes in and says, "Man, you're not even breaking a sweat! Nice! Keep going!" "Gee thanks! Still feelin' good....."          

         Stage 4:  Start running. And running 4.5 mph at a 16 incline. And "Ok, time to get this workout going!"   

         Stage 5:  Nurse: "Now you'll be running at 5.4 mph at a 22 incline." "Gah! For serious!? I didn't even know they made machines with inclines that tall!!"           

        Stage 6: Somebody shoot me. Then the dizziness set in. Duh, I'm basically being asked to run up a wall--6 mph at a 24 incline!!!

No wonder they call it a STRESS test. Geez laweez. 

(I was glad when it was all over, even though it felt good to be able to work out that hard since mission life makes it difficult to get in a blaster workout like that!)

They made me stay there till my heart rate was down, and then said I could leave. I took a quick run to the restroom to freshen up and, lo and behold, I

PASS OUT.

Yea. In the Cardiologists bathroom. Swell. Try explaining that one to the nurse. Awkward maybe?

"So I just passed out in your bathroom after you put me on a treadmill and asked me to run my heart out....."

I did learn though that if you want to get help from anyone ASAP at a doctor's office, just drop the "I fainted" bomb, and the hive'll start buzzing. So off I go:

More wires. More monitoring. More juice and crackers. More heart rate print-outs. More nurses. More doctors....

Eventually, the cardiologist said nothing looked out of the norm, so they let me go, still unsure why I passed out. SO, my next appointment is on the 9th of December, and till then, I'm supposed to do the best I can with the dizziness, fatigue, shakiness, and possible fainting. JOY.

 
On the up side, we got a former investigator upgraded to current investigator!! We met with him, and he's agreed to keep meeting with us, attend church, and start reading the Book of Mormon again. JOY!

We also had three of our favorite investigators (they're all our favorites, actually:) go Where's Waldo on us this week. No answered phone calls, texts, and even when we dropped by one night with all the lights in the house on.....no answer. JOY. 

"We know you're in there!" 

Been tempted SO many times to say it. 

It was a really hard blow losing them. Really hard. Its times like this that you feel like you've failed, and you have continually remind yourself that others have their agency and that despite whether or not they accept the gospel, you've planted seeds of faith, and perhaps one day they'll grow into something! 

KEEP CALM. PREACH ON. 

Our other investigators are slowly, but surely making progress, though! We've had 3 in-member's-home lessons within the past 2 weeks! It's incredible, the difference in the spirit that comes when you bring investigators into a home where there's already such a spiritual atmosphere--it's noticeably more powerful! 

Y-- and N-- are taking steps towards baptism. It's slow at times, but they've got their sights set, and their goal is the font! It's priceless seeing how the gospel is beginning to change their lives, their hearts, and even their desires. 

#JOY

This week we also got to go on exchanges, so I got to work for a day in DOWNTOWN. We also got to do some service in SOUTH CHICAGO where (I kid you not) nearly e.v.e.r.y. window has a 

"WE CALL THE POLICE"
"MY DOG KILLS INTRUDERS"
"EXTENSIVE SECURITY ON PREMISES"
"MY PHONE SPEED-DIALS 911"
"PROPERTY UNDER SURVEILLANCE"
"GUNS ON HAND"
"I PROTECT MY OWN"

or some other type of similar sign, posted in broad sight for all to see. #feelinsafe #feelinscared

Needless to say, I haven't stopped itching for more of So-Chi since:) Gonna be back.....


This week the Lord's also really been teaching me more about His love. With all the struggles I'm facing, there are times when I get home from teaching an investigator "God loves you and has a plan for you to become happy" and yet I kneel down at night, thinking, "Where are you?" However, this week, I've learned just how close He is, in the same moment when He seems so far away. 

He is always there. 

He always answers prayer.

And He always sends help when we need it.

It's completely true, our trials may not be taken from us or our struggles dissipate entirely. We're here to learn how to endure well. However, if we need help in order to endure, HE SENDS IT.
It's our job to recognize that help when it comes. THAT is how I've begun to notice how close the Lord truly is. He's sent me angels--others around me--to administer to me. He's sent me small packages of joy in little moments throughout the day. He's answered the small and seemingly insignificant desires of my heart--desires I didn't even bother to pray about, they seemed so unimportant. But He knew they were there. And He knows how to help us, if we but ask. 

ASK HIM.

Even for the small things. Pray for tender mercies. Pray to recognize them too. They're there. Daily, I'm coming to understand and recognize them better. He is at our side, His hand istruly at work all around us. If we but have the faith to see, we will know. 


Don't be afraid to ask Him for anything.

Don't hesitate to tell Him everything. 

"If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him?" (Matthew 7:11)

He may not take all our pain and struggle away, but He will ALWAYS send us help and assistance. ALWAYS. 

There is true JOY to be found in that!

Onward and upward,

Sister Anna Parker

 #missionarychristmas

So-Chi Service Team! (Don't worry, the three on the left are not breaking the Missionary No-Contact Zone 'cause they're not missionaries:) 

 #stoplightselfies

#lovemygreeny