What I Wished I'd Known Before Coming Home

Ok....the title says it all. As promised....here's everything I'd wished I would've known before coming home .....and other tips, suggestions, and things I just happened to get right my first go at it:)

Some of these are things I did before I even left the field and some are things I did (or wish I did:) during the 3-9 weeks months of limbo following the awkward see-the-family-for-the-first-time-while-coming-down-the-escalator-but-can't-go-any-faster-to-meet-them moment.

Admit it...we've all thought how awkward that 12.8 seconds is.....

:]

So here goes:

WHAT I WISHED I'D KNOWN BEFORE COMING HOME

(Before leaving the field)

- Start eliminate unwanted or extra clothing/items 2-3 weeks before you go home...it cuts down on packing (aka STRESS/CRAMMING) time towards the end 

- It's ok to feel tired;)...it means you're working hard! (Read about Alma and Moroni's "rest" after their hard efforts)....just know that your rest comes later...work hard NOW!

- Satan will try hard those last few weeks in EVERY way...don't let him win! Work hard, be obedient, stay focused, pray harder than you ever have before, and give it ALL to the Lord!

- Send on packages home if need be/possible 1-2 weeks before coming home. I sent home bulky items/mission keepsakes in a box to save on luggage space and avoid fees at the airport. 

- Mission debit cards for departing missionaries are loaded based on the number of days in the month (vs the whole month's worth) that you have left to serve. So for instance, I came home on the 16th so I got 16 days worth of funds (about $5 a day). Budget out your last cycle's worth of mission funds in case unexpected expenses come up as you start planning to go home. 

- Because it's practically impossible to say goodbye to everyone (esp converts) from old areas (or even from you current area) before you go home, consider writing "farewell" letters to them before you leave the mission. 

- Ask to bear your testimony your last Sunday (or take advantage of Fast and Testimony meeting) on the mission in your last ward! Trust me, it's an AMAZING experience!!

- KEEP A JOURNAL. Seriously...write down EVERYTHING you can! Those last few weeks are filled with some of the most precious/interesting/life-changing/

- Building off that last one...in your last interview with your mission president, remember everything you can and then the minute you get out....WRITE DOWN EVERYTHING YOU REMEMBER!!! Trust me......you're going to want/need it later...more like forever:) 

(When you get home)

- The ABSOLUTE BEST ADVICE I CAN GIVE ANY RM: KEEP THE MORNING SCHEDULE!! I can't stress this enough. At first, I didn't really think it was that big of a deal, but now I realize that it's CRITICAL. Rise up early, exercise, put the Lord first and really study your scriptures. Ponder, pray, and have your personal time with the Savior. 

- Have a plan before coming home. Plan on getting a calling, a job, starting school, volunteering in the community....ANYTHING. Just get busy doing the RIGHT things. You know where I'm going with this..... "be anxiously engaged in a good cause:)" 

- Write down everything. Yes.....I'll say it again....KEEP A JOURNAL. It will keep you on track, close to the Lord, thinking things through, and aware of the guidance of the spirit in your life. Just do it...ok....trust me:)

- Stay connected with investigators, LA's, members, etc.! Write them, message them, connect with them on social media, call them, FaceTime them! You will ALWAYS be their missionary! Don't EVER give that up!! 

- Stay involved with missionary work!!  That badge on your heart NEVER comes off! Go out with the missionaries, always keep a BoM and mormon.org cards on you to give away, post mormon messages on social media, build your own investigator pool of friends and neighbors, get a calling and work with less actives! 

- "You don't have to lose [the spirit]!" One of our AP's told us that the last night in the field and it has totally stuck with me. When you come home, you DON'T have to lose the "spiritual high"  everyone talks about if you don't want to. And it is ABSOLUTELY true. It is completely up to you. If you put in your work, time, effort, desire, and heart....you can keep that spiritual high. The Lord will NOT take that away from you!!

- Re-find "investigators" (family members, youth, friends, neighbors, etc.)! This work doesn't stay in the field! The world is your field!! (you've just been re-located:) 

- Get a routine down. I HATED routine before the mission...but now I can't live without it. Get your own post-mish routine down and stick with it. 

- Elder Perry visited our mission the week before I left and told us, "If I ever meet you after your missions, I'm going to ask you if you're using a calendar all the time to effectively budget your time.....and if you're not than you are wasting the knowledge and training you have received here on your mission!" USE A CALENDAR!! BUDGET YOUR TIME!! 

-  Give yourself time to adjust. Don't feel like you have to rush it, but also don't feel like you have to take it slow. Just let things happen the way they happen, and as long as your close to the spirit, let yourself get back into your hobbies, relationships, interests, etc. 

- BREATHE....don't take life too seriously at first...it'll all come with time:) 

- My mission president told us, "Elders and sisters, going home from a mission isn't death...life goes on;)" Yes.....yes...it does:) Forge on in faith!

And now for some 10 second summary advice.....just remember to put your relationship with the Lord above ALL ELSE in your life. He is your best friend and will be at your side through it all if you will stay next to His. Yes, it will take time, and yes, it will take effort. Coming home from a mission can and will be a bit rocky at first. It's not the most graceful experience of your life. but hey....it's all part of the ride:) 

Really, though, if you can keep your faith firm and your hope bright, everything else in your sometimes tailspin-of-an-RM life will come together. Dedicate yourself to your spiritual life, first and foremost. Those spiritual muscles have been worked day in and day out for the past 18-24 months and yea, they might be bone tired.....but you DO NOT want to wake up one day and realize that all that strength...all that power...that might...and that conviction...that was so painstakingly built and fortified, has been lost due to negligence and apathy. 

Your work life, your school life, your dating life, your family life, your financial life, your social life....it will all work together for your good and the Lord will be at the helm to guide you if you will but put your SPIRITUAL life FIRST. 

STUDY your scriptures daily. 

PRAY always.

Attend the temple.

Fast.

Ask for priesthood blessings.

Serve faithfully in your calling.

Continue to share the gospel.

Counsel with the Lord in EVERYTHING.

The so-called "adjusting" back to "normal" life should NOT be a spiritual one!!! 

Maintain the spiritual practices, habits, and gifts you've developed on your mission. Don't slack off! It can be SOOOO tempting sometimes, but don't even think about it:) Keep your sights high and remember that you're not alone....the Lord has promised, "I will go before your face. I will be on your right hand and on your left, and my Spirit shall be in your hearts, and mine angels round about you, to bear you up" (D&C 84:88)

That promise doesn't end at the completion of a mission! 

He is with you.....ALWAYS!!!

Onward and upward....you got this:)

You Don't Say....

Note to self: Don't believe anyone who says anything is "free" in Chicago. Especially when it comes to parking.....and museums.

We decided on another adventure for P-day this past week, and carpooled down with the Hermanas to visit the "free" science and industry museum together. It took us over an hour to get down there (I swear....rush hour is like a 24/7 thing in Chicago) and when we finally found the place, come to find, parking is $22 an HOUR.

Dad, forget residential real estate.....we need to buy a parking garage in Chicago.

We'll make it RAIN.
Instead, being the broke missionaries that we are, we spent the next half hour trying to find "free" parking and eventually landed ourselves a spot after awkwardly stalking people walking down the street who even looked like they might be going to their car to leave.

<<welcome to my life>>

By the time we got into the museum, it was closing in an hour and a half, and as soon as we get to the front desk, our conversation with the receptionist goes like so:

"Hey, can we get 4 free passes?"
"Sorry, what?"
"Y'know, like the free February passes?....a friend told us all museums in Chicago were free this month....."
"Yea, no. Not this one...."


[if only it was appropriate for adults to throw tantrums.....]

Instead: "Oh ok...well....sorry to bother.....thanks anyways..." (and then awkwardly walk out)

So yep. THAT was our P-day. Lesson learned: Freedom isn't free...and neither is sightseeing in Chicago.



Other than that memorable start to our week, we've been SO busy this week! It's been AMAZING!! Seriously, I'm never happier than when I'm so busy that dinner hour seems like a nuisance:)

#livinthedream

We had a miraculous moment this week, when Sis Green and I were planning and she started trying to clean up our phone (we have SO many contacts in our phone that neither of us know and there's no record from past missionaries on who they are). She started calling everyone and ended up calling a former investigator, Armando, who said he'd met with missionaries a year back and had never really heard back from them, but was still interested. We set up an appointment and met with him on Saturday.

Gosh, is he prepared!!! We were both SO impressed by his thoughts, desires, and his active search for truth! We were about thirty minutes into the lesson, and he was going off about how the universe reflects God's hand and power, when he said, "Here's what I think....we need to ask ourselves three or four simple but important questions:

“Where did we come from?

Why are we here?

Where are we going after this life?

And who created us?"

………….

You don't say.

Yea, that's a moment when I was inwardly having a Buddy the Elf "Santa's coming!!" reaction, but outwardly we're both like, "Mmmhmmm....yea....we totally agree.....uhhuh...."

hahaha! Gosh....mission life:) We extended a baptismal invitation to him at the end of the lesson and he accepted!! He is so receptive to the truth we have to share with him, and it's incredible to see the
light of Christ within him resonate with the message that we have to share! I am just SOOOOO excited to see him start down this path to so much more light, truth, and knowledge!



Last-minute highlights of the week:

-Sister's conference!! I got to see all my comps again!! Sis Bishop, Sis Teare, and Sis Carroll...gosh we could hardly stop cracking our inside jokes again just like old times!! Gosh, have i missed them! Oh
and the messages and workshops were also FANTASTIC!! The elders should be jealous:)

- Taught mutual this week on using Preach My Gospel as member missionaries!!! I get as excited and passionate talking about that as I do about the Red Sox vs the Yankees....no shame. #mytwoaddictions #PMG #sports

- Got "cold quarantined" again this week. Gosh, Chicago. Can't a girl just preach the word for her last three weeks in the mission...?? hahaha

We're sacrificing. We're serving. And we're saving! And I wouldn't have it any other way! I'm becoming keenly aware just how short of a time I have left, and while I'm excited to see family and friends again and forge on with life, I can't help but feel like my heart is being broken.


This is the experience of a LIFETIME. It's exhausting and it's challenging, but it is priceless! I am FILLED with gratitude every night as I kneel to talk with Him--SO grateful for the chance He's given me to take His hand in this work, to walk alongside Him for 18 months of my life, to bear that burden and to feel that joy--the joy of being HIS servant!!



Onward and upward,



Sister Parker

Heading downtown.....we're suh cute....

found this epic mural on the way home..... good ol' chicago  

Aaaaaaaand.....then we passed this:) If drugs weren't illegal before...they are now;)

valentine's day flowers from my daddy!!!  #sweetheart

Cheers....

Question of the century.....did you know that there's a lego comic book edition of the Bible??? Yea, didn't know either until a couple days ago when we were at a members home and their two boys brought it out to show us. They were so absorbed in reading it, that their parents had to keep telling them to shut it and be sociable.

And word on the street has it that there's a Book of Mormon version too.

Someone is brilliant. Expect convert baptisms to soar.

hahaha! Hey...if it works, it works. Those members' kids now know the bible better than I do:)

Anyways....gosh, this week was something else! Tuesday morning kicked off with loud banging on our front door and, "It's your neighbor, let me in!" We opened the door and let our 5 ft african american neighbor, Jamie, into our kitchen. She had her dog in one arm, and a water bottle and ding dongs in the other.

"Girls....i just heard from my agent...and I'm finally going to be able to move into my new apartment! So we're gonna have a toast....with water...since that's all you guys drink.....and then i need to you brush my hair since I'm going out today...."

Mmmmkkkkkkk.

So at 8:15am on a Tuesday morning, we had a water toast, brushed our neighbor's hair (while she kept saying she was "tipsy from that shot so early in the morning":), and ate ding dongs. Hey, at least she now knows how we celebrate Mormon style.

Yep, this is my life.

One of the highlights of my week, though, happened on Wednesday when we were dropping by some less-actives. We'd finished visiting them and made our way back to the car just as I saw a woman walking her dog on the other side of the street.

[Spirit to Sis Parker moment]

.......and I knew I was supposed to talk to her. I drove down the street, still doubting the prompting, but by the time I'd hit the stop sign, I knew I needed to go back. So we flipped around, drove up, and we tried engaging in a conversation, but it ended up not going anywhere. We drove off again, and I was stumped.

Anyone who's been a missionary knows what that feels like....following a "prompting" only to have it go absolutely nowhere and then subsequently feeling confused and a bit defeated. I eventually brushed it off and we went on with our day. By the evening, we had one more less-active to visit, and they turned out to have no interest in the church. As we were walking away from their house, though, the spirit prompted me to go and tract their neighbor's house. I was SO close to brushing it off since it was cold and dark, and I already felt beaten, but at the last moment, I was reminded of my willingness to follow promptings earlier that day, even if they didn't amount to much, "If you can do that, you can knock on this door..."

So I made my feet turn and up to the door we went.

We knocked just as a guy with his 5 year old daughter came to the door. The spirit filled my mouth with words about eternal families, Christ' ability to strengthen those relationships, etc. and Mike, the dad, responded as soon as I'd finished, "I'm actually VERY interested in this. I've been looking for a church for a long time now, and I'm looking for answers and opportunities for my family."

He gave us a return appointment on the doorstep, and promised to read the pamphlet we gave him. We were both ecstatic walking back to the car after that!! As we got in, the spirit spoke to me, "You received that prompting to knock on his door, because you were willing to follow seemingly unfruitful promptings before."

In that moment, I was SO grateful that I had listened to the spirit that day, even when it seemed awkward and even when nothing came of my efforts. Those other promptings were preparing me to receive and follow a prompting that mattered MUCH more.

I believe the Lord was testing me to see if I would follow His instructions, even if I didn't know the results of those actions. Since that first initial contact, we've met with Mike once more, and after answering his many questions and giving him an overview of our beliefs, he looked us in the eye and said, "Where do I go from here? What do I need to do to take this a step further? Can I come to church? Do I need to meet with your pastor or someone? How can my girls get involved too?"

Oh my gosh! We were floored!! We gave him a book of mormon, and he agreed to come to church, and our plan is to extend a baptismal invitation to him next time we meet! By the end, he also told us, "I can promise you guys, I will give this [holding up the Book of Mormon] a sincere try. I really want to know...."

What if I hadn't listened to that prompting?? Ah! I don't even want to know! I am just eternally grateful for the Lord's quiet promptings and for my ability to follow them and show my faith! NEVER ignore promptings! Even if they don't seem to yield immediate results, perhaps the Lord is preparing you for something greater!

Mike is golden and his heart is sincere! We are SO excited to start helping him down this path to find his answers, peace, and happiness with his family!!

Last minute moments of the week:

- My little hometown of Merrimack NH was trending on FB this week for issuing a warrant for the groundhog who said 6 more weeks of winter. REPRESENT. #merrimackhomies #atleastitwasn'ttrendingforsomethingworse:)

- On P-day we braved the transit system with the Hermanas and went DOWNTOWN!!! We visited the Shedd Aquarium and managed to get two potential investigators along the way:) #ballin

- We had a Linger Longer social after church on Sunday, and I'd just sat down to eat when I heard someone come up next to me and ask, "That looks really good. Can I have some??" I turned to see JAMES KUMAR!!!! Oh my gosh!!! No girl was ever more surprised and never more HAPPY!!!! Turns out, he was dropping off his son at his mom's house in Westchester and popped on over to the church to see if I was there by chance! Ahhhh!!!! I felt like I was home in BG again and it felt SO good to reconnect, talk, and laugh like we used to!! That was definitely a tender mercy for me and a HIGHLIGHT of my entire WEEK!!!!!! It's crazy how you realize how much you care about and love people when you see them again after being away for so long!! Ah!!! James told me he's now received the Melchizedek Priesthood and has been made a 7/8 yr old primary teacher and I couldn't be more proud! And then, like good old times, his phone went off when we were talking and of course....his ringtone is Mo Tab:) My convert is still the coolest convert out there:)! hahaha! #feelingproud #feelingblessed

Anyways.....so yes, it's been a week. I still can't believe that my time is running out. It's kinda terrifying actually. But like Elder Holland said, "It's not over till it's over." So here we go.........another week of living the dream:)

Onward and upward,

Sister Parker

I'll Take it as Change

I'm starting to think that witnessing drug busts is just anther part of life in this area. We visited a less-active on Friday, and passed a group of guys hanging around their building. We cut through the crowd (and smoke), made our visit, and came out to find them still clustered together. We'd barely made it back to our car before a black sedan swerved into the parking lot, and we watched as two officers sprang from the car and started searching and handcuffing the guys one by one. 

Some things never change:)

Oh well....moving on.....

I translated for my first time an entire sacrament meeting in ASL! Yea....I'm pretty sure I was shaking like a leaf for the first 15 minutes and I won't say that everything said from that pulpit made it's way into my hands but....I tried:) One of the speakers mentioned that he served his mission in Japan, and I'm pretty sure I accidentally signed "moon" instead of Japan. No joke:) That's Brian Regan material right there...."I served on the moon..."

We also helped out at the food pantry again this week, but this time we were assigned to stock and organize the storage room. I don't think I've handled more boxes of Cheez-its in MY LIFE. But hey, in case your wondering, I now know how many boxes of Cheez-its come in a cardboard flat, and how to stack them just right so that they fit on a converted utility shelf. I can now go home. Learned what I needed to learn out here:) 

Finally, we had an amazing night with the Villegas family this week! Before our lesson, they sat us down to dinner and filled our glasses with juice and our plates with authentic mexican food (my fav). I was so thirsty, I gulped almost all of my "juice" (that's what he called it) before beginning to eat. They saw that my glass was almost empty and filled me up again, as I commented, "That juice is really good! What kind is it??" "Oh, it's not juice...it's from the container above you on the fridge." I looked up and expected to see koolaid or something of that nature.....but no. Nope. 

LIPTON ICED TEA. 

Snap.

I didn't have the heart to say anything, so Sis Green and I just looked at each other wide-eyed and went through the rest of (spicy mexican) dinner without drinking the rest:). THAT'S a feat, just saying:) hahaha! 

Our lesson went well, though:) We shared the Mormon message, "The Hope of God's Light" with them and then the story of Naaman's healing and talked about how receiving blessing from the Lord requires our action. It went SO well and the spirit was strong!! They're reading the scriptures now and said they're going to start praying more as well. 

(side note: right after we' finished our BOMB lesson with them, their daughter and her husband came over to drop their kids off before heading out to get TATTOOS. But not before meeting us and then showing us pictures of what they wanted to get and asking us our opinion of "this color rose, or this color of rose? Should the shield be over the vines, or kind of behind? I think I'd like it too start here on my shoulder....what do you think??" "Uhhhh.... ummmmm ....well...... ehhhhh....."......yea try wiggling out of that one:) it was an interesting conversation:) hahaha!)

Anyways...so the next day (Sunday) I was sitting at the front signing the whole meeting, and didn't get the chance to look for our investigators. But afterwards, I turned to see Ricardo making his way up to the front to meet us!!!! THAT is one of those moments when my hear just SOARED as a missionary! Here he was.....in church for the first time in "more years than he could count," smelling thick of smoke, and with multiple earrings and gages, wearing his black leather, and yet all of that just made that moment all the sweeter for me, because I knew....and I believe that he knew....that he was RIGHT where he needed to be. And NOTHING else mattered! 

I've found myself sitting in church on my mission, smelling the residue of smoke or even weed on others, seeing people covered in tattoos or piercings, hearing them disrupt the silence of the meeting with their questions about what's taking place, or wearing clothes that haven't been washed in weeks or that don't conform to the Mormon expectation of "Sunday best," and yet I LOVE it. I love it because I KNOW that if the Savior were there, THOSE are the ones that He would single out, wrap in a hug, and welcome back with tears of joy. I love it because THAT is what the gospel is about. It's about acceptance. It's about growth. And it's about change. I love it because it's an opportunity for me to love. 

While some might roll their eyes, cover their noses, avoid any contact, or scoff and scorn.....I love it because of what it means: it means that they are coming home. It means that they are finding hope. It means they are looking for love. It means they need help. And it means that I can play a part in that. It means that I can choose to look past the image, the smells, or the sounds and see them as He sees them. They are His, and my greatest joy comes in showing them that love through my love. 

The gospel is about change.....continual change.....and it's a path we all walk whether we're sitting on the stand at General Conference every year, or in a sacrament meeting for the first time after years of addictive habits and serious sin. THAT'S what the gospel does for each of us. Ah! This gospel is glorious!!! It just fills my WHOLE heart and these short 5 weeks left of my mission will NEVER be enough time for me to express that to everyone here! 

The gospel is hope. It's love. And it's HAPPINESS!!!

Onward and upward,

Sister Anna Parker 

(our video from the first snowstorm last week.....this was taken at the beginning of the snowstorm....by the end we gave up the idea of doing a before and after video....brrrrrrr;) haha

I'm Dying in Westchester

(ok ok...i know i know....i forgot to post my last two weeks worth of letters. what a jerk. sorry. but they're up now...so go enjoy all three posts:)

I’m dying in Westchester.

We got transfer calls on Saturday, and it’s official: I’m staying in Westchester for my last 6 weeks. Basically…...I’m “dying” here.

p.s. I really don’t get why missionaries call it that. Like why can’t we call it “getting translated” or “receiving exaltation” or something cool like that?? But no…instead I feel like I’ve been black-listed.

#missionaryproblems

And members and missionaries are now continually asking me if I’m getting TRUNKY. I just refer them to my companion who can tell stories about me randomly bursting into tears, having anxiety attacks, and manically tripping head over heels when I realize I don’t have enough time to do everything I need to do before I get thrown back into the “real world.”

SOML

(confession session: the only time I got trunky for 1.4 seconds this week was when a member texted me last night, “Your Patriots won the Super Bowl. Congrats!” Yep…...there it is:)

Honestly, I’m still trying to wrap my pretty little mind around the fact that this is MY last transfer. It doesn’t feel real. So I don’t try to think about it:) Instead, we’re determined to get CRAZY busy, work like our lives depended on it, and leave it all on the field:)

See you in the locker room.

On to our week!

-        February entered with a bang by dumping over a foot of snow on us in less than 5 hours. I’m having PTSD moments to last winter here……it’s bad.

-        We found a community food pantry to volunteer at every week and ended up hauling cans, boxes, bags, and birds the size of my head out to people’s cars for 4 hours and being asked if we were nuns, if we were planning on never marrying, or if we were from “The Sisterhood” by Lifetime TV. Gosh, I know I shouldn’t say it…..but I get so tired of explaining the whole “we’re not catholic” thing….that sometimes I wonder if it’d be easier to just say “yes…I’m a nun” haha! jk;)

-        We were snowed in yesterday, and per suggestion from our mission president, decided to try baking cookies for service. We were shy a freakin 1 ingredient for EVERY recipe in the book, so I got “creative” and……yea, we all know how that ends every time. Our neighbor dropped by to sample the goods, took one bite, and said, “Um….do you have anything else I could try?” Thanks, Jamie. Hahaha!

-        I’ve been feeling for a while that I should actively brush up on my signing skills more and then…..we show up for a dinner appointment this week……and lo and behold, she’s deaf! I was in ASL HEAVEN. What a nerd;) Turns out, she (the member) has had other members type what’s being said for her every Sunday for all 3 hours, but she’s been praying that an ASL missionary would be sent to her area!!!! As soon as she found out I was an ASL missionary, she just kept signing, “Really?? Really?? I’ve wanted this for so long!” By the end of the night, she enlisted me as her Sunday interpreter and yes….I’m TERRIFIED…but also excited! The Lord has a plan:)

-        One night this week when we didn’t have a dinner appointment and had endured a long day, we decided to go all out for dinner and chose a hole-in-the-wall Puerto Rican restaurant. After we’d finished, Sis Green and I turned to go, but before we left, Sis Green gave the typical thank you we usually give to members, “Thanks for having us over!”……[hand slap to forhead]…..gosh, what a missionary:)! I’m still not letting her forget that one…hahaha!

-        We met with Sherman this week and OH MY GOSH!!!! “Golden investigator” got it’s name from him!! We got a call from him Thursday night, and he explained, “I know….we’ve tried to arrange to meet now for the past month and that devil, Satan….he just doesn’t want us to meet! But that’s it! I’m not letting him get away with it! We’re meeting tomorrow, and that’s a promise that Lucifer himself can’t break! Well alright then. We showed up, and come to find, he’d waited at the library for 3 hours previous, “just to be on the safe side.”

Oh my gosh. I love the guy.

We sat down in a study room, and he immediately extended his hands to us, “Let us pray, and start this scripture study off with the Lord’s blessing.” He then opened the bible and book of Mormon we gave him and we began teaching him. He ABSORBED it, asking us lots of questions, nodding, taking notes, and then when we’d finished, he said, “I have an idea. How bout you give me weekly reading assignments out of the book of Mormon so I can learn more from it, I can come to your church it that’s alright, and if the Lord tells me to join your church, I will.” We were BLOWN AWAY by how prepared he was!!! He said he’s active in his church, but recently he’s been feeling some “discord in his heart” about going there. He then told me, “I’d actually been praying that the Lord would bring me more of His word, and then you two young ladies came into Panera the very next day. I think God has a part in all of this!” AHHHHHHH!!!!! He’s basically the most legit investigator EVER and he’s rekindled my testimony that God is actively preparing people to receive the gospel! We CAN’T wait to meet with him again!! Please pray that he’ll receive of witness of the truth as we teach him!

Our mission impossible program for the members is coming together and we are SO excited to see it take off! I’ve included pictures of our first “Secret mission” (see below). It’s SO rewarding to see members become engaged and not only that, but excited about sharing the gospel! The Lord is hastening His work, and it’s most powerful and achievable through the members!! We’re out to convert, and we’re in this together!

So here’s to my last transfer. Sis Green keeps slipping “Anna” into normal conversation to “help me adjust to non-mission life” and yes….it just about gives me a heart attack every time. I’m gonna be the most awkward RM….fair warning.

So until then, I’m living up these last 6 weeks, recommitting daily, getting creative, working hard, loving lots, and trying not to think about the moment when I’ll be asked to take my tag off…..oh gosh….here I go…..about to cry in the library…..again. Ok, not gonna think about it….

Onward and upward till the end,

Sister Anna Parker

Our winter blizzard........