Take It Away

Take aways from the week:

- My birthday is in two weeks

- Apple released the iPhone 6......without me

- It is SO wrong for temperatures to be in the 30's in September

- My companion told me I "laugh WAY too much in my sleep"

- Living across the street from the High School during football
season is t.o.r.t.u.r.e.  #sportsjunkie

- Now that I'm past my year mark, multiple ward members are setting me
up with post-mish "potentials".....like the eternal type....YIKES.

--- CHRISTMAS IS IN 100 DAYS!!!!!! i. can. not. wait.---

So we showed up at a member’s house this week to help her prep for a birthday party she was having for her son, and she asks us to take food to the tables. We take the pans of tamales, fajitas, and tortillas (yep…it was a Hispanic partay) down to the serving table, and then her non-member daughter in law hands us two lighters and tells us to light the under-pan oil burners to keep the food warm.

Shouldn’t be too hard, right??

That is….unless you’ve never smoked a cigarette in your life and therefore have had no need to use a lighter. THAT was awkward. #mormonstatus

After several epic fails, trying to spin, click, and spark with no success….we finally had to ask her to show us how to do it with, "well....we clearly don't smoke...."     Yeeeeeeaaaaaa. 

Moving on……

The only thing less sacred to a missionary than their testimony and the gospel is SLEEP. Staying up till 1 or 2am at college and then waking up at 6 to go to class was somehow WAY easier than going to bed as a missionary at 10:30pm and waking up at 6:30am. SOML.

First off, we got asked to teach D&C 4 in seminary this week (which meant getting up at 5am......not gonna lie....I don't miss those blurry-eyed and sub-degree weather days;). We had a blast with the
youth though! And then I realized that I was like 5 years older than them......#feelingancient #tbt

Then we had the first (and maybe only) mission-wide conference with Elder Hamula visiting from the 70!! We got up at4:30am and carpooled down to Wilmette (yea...my old area!!) and we showed up just as early morning seminary was getting out. AND guess who was there????

ABASS!!!

Ah!! I have missed him SO much and my heart was SO happy when I saw him for the first time since I left 5 months ago!! He came out of the classroom and both of our faces LIT UP!!! AH! He's growing so strong in the gospel and told me, "I'm going to serve a mission!!!" There is nothing in the world that could've made me happier than to hear him say that! He's apparently studying Preach My Gospel and going out
teaching and serving with the elders in the ward! AH!! #immaproudmama

After he left for school, we all (like ALL the missionaries in the mission....all 200+ of us) filed into the chapel for our meeting. And THEN.....Sis Bishop walked in!!! Oh. my. gosh.! We went screeeeeeaming at
each other, laughing and just about crying, and hugged more times in 4 minutes than we did in the 4 months we were together! haha! Gosh, I miss that girl!!!! It was SO good being back together again!

If that reunion is anything like heaven's going to be.....I'm all in.

The conference went really well....we got called to repentance to have more faith, reach our goals, and improve ourselves....and lez just say, we're "recommitted!" I'm excited to see the change in myself and
the mission now!

After that 6 hour meeting, we then all carpooled down to another meeting in Hyde Park (yep.....south side……whaaaaat:) for investigators, less-actives, recent converts, and their missionaries. All of our peeps from Buffalo Grove cancelled on us, but we still got to attend the meeting. Before it started, though, we had half an hour to kill so we decided to go contacting near the chapel and pull people in off the streets. It seemed like a long shot, but we went for it. The first two or three people turned us down, but then we got a woman who unexpectedly and readily accepted our invitation!!! MIRACLE. The rest of the people we contacted brushed us off with, "no thanks ladies....we drink, we smoke, we fornicate, we cheat...."

*blink blink*

ok ok didn't need to know that......

So anyways......the meeting went really well and the testimonies of the converts who shared their stories were phenomenal!! (Gosh I just love being a member of this church:). We finished the day on a spiritual high and then drove home late, getting back to the apartment at 11pm......#legalrebels:) 

more lost sleep.....but so worth it!


We also went on exchanges this week and I got to be with Sis Michelson who came out with me....and gosh, I love that girl!!! Our day together was a B.L.A.S.T. and it was so good to be able learn from and relate to each other! The night of our exchange, we offered to cook dinner for a member of our ward, so I decided to make thai coconut chicken (a Parker family favorite.....SO bad for you but oh SO good:).

We had to run out and get cream of coconut which.....turns out.....is used as a margarita mixer SOOOOO.....we had to go to the wine ROOM (yea.....of all the grocery stores we could have picked to go to ..... we happened to end up at the one with one of the biggest wine rooms......#smooth) where......they even have "wine specialists" walking around helping customers select wines.

joy

We tried using hair, purse straps, and hands to cover our tags while dodging around isles avoiding the wine specialists and frantically looking for the cream of coconut. Yea.....all those rounds of lazer tag in high school....they payed off. We finally found it, and managed to slip around corners till we were out of the wine isles........

#ninjmormons    #missionpossible



That same day, we got a call from one of the office missionaries, telling us that we'd been "prayerfully selected" to be personally interviewed by Elder Hamula.

GULP.

Suuuuure…..no problem. That's not nerve-wracking at all.

YIKES.

Sis Carroll and I spent the next two days sweating bullets, not sure what to expect, until we finally got into our interviews and realized just how special this opportunity was. It was incredible being there with such a powerful servant of God, just talking with him about our missions and getting to ask him questions about the gospel and missionary work! You could just feel the love and testimony he had for this gospel and it was contagious! I left feeling uplifted and committed to give my best to this work! It was definitely a priceless experience!

I got to ask him about the meaning of grace....a topic he'd touched on lightly the day before at mission conference. He and I talked for a while about how God is the creator of the Plan, Christ makes the Plan possible through the Atonement, and yet the Holy Ghost is the one who administers the power and effects of the Atonement in our lives. I sat there, in awe of the spirit we were both feeling, and know that the Lord was aware of me! It's truly incredible....the love He offers me!! 

I stand all amazed!!! 

Onward and upward,

Sister Anna Parker

Me and Anna, our soon-to-be baptized 8 year old:) 

getting our paint on.....literally;)

service with a smile :D

driving back from hyde park.....the only legal late-nighter on the mish;) lol

making "BOYFRIEND" cookies for service.....mmmmm.....add that to the dating application;)

reunion with Abass!!! <3 that kid!

#tbt.......sorry, i didn't post this picture back when.....we had a YW basketball tourney on a P-day..... #ballersgottaball

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