Missionaries at the Movies

We were in a lesson with Katy this week, and told her we'd take some time to answer her questions about the Book of Mormon (since she's reading it cover to cover.....whaaaaaat:). She immediately whipped out her Mickey Mouse notebook with, "Alright.....let's see......ok first
question: What's a 'seraphim'???'"

o_O

Well THAT escalated quickly......

yea........didn't see that one coming but apparently I was actually paying attention in seminary three years ago when we covered 2 Nephi 16 cause we pulled out an answer from somewhere, and Katy was satisfied. John 14:26.....it's a real thing.

"Ok.....next question: What's the 'Millennial Day'??"

Geez laweez girllll.

Luckily, her 15 year-old fellowshipper (member) came to the rescue after we’d tried to explain that it was related to Christ’ 2^ndComing, a thousand years, no Satan, and all that jazz by saying,

“Basically, Katy….not to be a downer….but you’re probably not even going to be alive for it so…..it’s not really that important.”

She’s gotta point.

hahaha! Every lesson with them is sporadic, hyper, tangent-crazed, hysterical, and somehow way deep into doctrine……and weLOVE it;) teaching teenagers is a joy <3 and katy is reading her scriptures and attending seminary daily, coming to church, and actively forging her testimony! It’s incredible to watch!!

Later this week, we were at the library, messaging our investigators and blogging away, when the lady across the counter from me leans over and says, “I thought you’d just like to know that there’s a guy here who’s stalking you.”

I’m sorry…..what???

She continues to go on to describe him, telling me that he just left the computer area, but that for the entire time since we got there, he’d been spying on me from across the room. I’m officially freaked out now.  And then she has to go and say…..“I have two daughters…..so I know a stalker when I see one…..watch your back.”

*nervous laughs silence blink blink “ok thanks” *

……..honestly I had NO idea what to say or do….so instead we just wrapped up quick and then played “Where in the library is Carmen Sandiego?” trying to avoid a guy in “a blue hoodie with dark hair and black eyes”…..

We haven’t spotted him yet….but we’re staying on the lookout for suspicious characters. Ah……#sismishlife

We got a referral a week or so ago that we’ve been trying to contact via phone for a while now, and we finally decided to stop by. The background info indicated that the referral’s dad had referred him. So we hit the road determined to find this referral and we ended up driving for about 10 minutes until we finally reached the address:

A  GRAVEYARD

Now that’s just mean.

I was just waiting for some candid camera crew to come running out of the bushes and for us to turn into the next youtube episode…..BUT….they didn’t. Darn it. Instead, I turned to sis Carroll with, “Maybe we should’ve contacted him sooner???”hahaha! Guess he’ll end up as a family history referral;)

This week, I swear, the e.n.t.i.r.e. ward and all of our investigators have decided to move. Ok not really….but one after another we keep being told that everyone and their dog needs help packing, moving, and unpacking. We’re LOVING the opportunities to serve and have become experts in tape gunning and dish wrapping;) Luckily….most of the people moving are just relocating in the area, but there are some (namely James!!)  that are moving for good and it’s gonna be SO hard to say goodbye.

I hate goodbyes:/

Anyways…..we also got the chance as a district to caravan to different members and investigators houses this week to offer to rake their leaves and mow their lawns. We got to help out an investigator of ours who’s recently been through some family tragedies and it was b.e.a.u.t.i.f.u.l. to see the difference that we made in her life! Ah! It’s indescribable the satisfaction that we get to enjoy as missionaries as we get to go out and make a difference in people’s lives EVERY DAY. #cantcompare #thepowerisreal

The other service we got involved in this week was at a community recycling event. We get there, pull on gloves and reflective vests, and then get stationed at a table where a woman instructs us, “Ok…..so we need you two girls to count all the wine corks that get donated.”

Uhhhhhhh……can we do that???

Apparently we didn’t have a choice. So as the cars started rolling in and donations started getting dropped off, we went to town tallying every. single. cork. that got donated.

get on our level

By the end of the day, we had over 1,600 corks we’d individually counted….and our hands smelled NASTY. What was weird was seeing these little old ladies handing over bags and boxes FULL of corks. Grandma…….easy does it;) haha! We enjoyed getting the community image though, and at the end, the event coordinator spilled her life history about how she dated a Mormon in HS, and how she went to his farewell, and how they never actually ended up together, but he’s “still very Mormon and very married.”

Yep….sounds about right…..that’s how we do it:)

AND speaking of Mormons…….. on Wednesday we got a special pre-screening of

-------- MEET THE MORMONS! -------

I can honestly say it’s the >BEST< movie I’ve seen in the past year….oh wait…..it’s the <only> movie I’ve seen in the past year…..hahaha. SOML. It's probably the only time missionaries have been allowed to watch a legit showing-in-theaters movie.......YOLO. watching it somehow felt slightly (very slightly:) wrong but oh so good...

And it was A.M.A.Z.I.N.G.!

……basically…..

I’m part of the THE coolest church EVER.

We got to watch it as a zone and you could totally tell by who laughed at the South Park reference who actually got it;) haha! By the end, I was BAWLING though!! AH!! Moms are legit. So are missionaries<3. Sitting there watching this full-length movie produced by the church and being shown across the country….I couldn’t help but sit back amazed. ALL of it was incredible, so well done, and honestly informative. It was a strong reminder to me that the God of Israel leads this church. 

It’s not the prophet. 

It’s not elected leaders.

 It’s not highly-educated individuals. 

It’s not Joseph Smith.

 It’s not any earthly person. 

God himself leads this church. 

He directs it’s affairs through those He inspires and calls, and He is the One who is hastening His work to find those who will receive Him.

I get to be a part of that!

I was struck by the simpleness of each of the “Mormon’s” testimony…..we’re just ordinary people trying to follow the example of Jesus Christ, to be more like Him, and we’re just “perfect in one thing: trying to be perfect.”

That’s all God expects of us. And with the restored gospel of Jesus Christ available on the earth today, we can come closer to reaching that potential than by any other way! I’m BEYOND grateful for that knowledge! For the path that I’ve found through the teachings and doctrines of Christ, I will FOREVER be grateful!

Onward and upward,

Sister Anna Parker

We had a NASTY HUGE DISGUSTING bug on the ceiling of our shower this week. Oh my gross. aaaaaaannnnd.....of course.....my comp pulled the whole "you're the senior companion" card on me while handing me the vacuum.....

 

hecka nasty......yea me too #nomakeup #ijustwannashower

we figured he'd eventually die in there if we taped the top off.......YES.....we are whimps. #suchgirls

ally wanted to match me on Sunday so she went and bought my exact same outfit online.......freaking. love. that. girl:) #practicallysisters #lovemyinvestigators 

Love me a BIRTHDAY

Gosh.

It's been a week. The big 2-1 crept up on me.......and apparently now I have to officially act like an adult. crap. No promises there. I was reminded by multiple wardies, though, that I can now be legally arrested and imprisoned.........

mmmmmkkkkk......gtk

FYI, birthdays on the mish are TOTALLY bizarre. Especially if you're turning 21. Every other normal 21 year-old in the world on their birthday, is out drinking, hanging with friends, partying hard, and playing it loose.......

And then there's me……

dang straight and stone sober

waiting for birthday packages in the mail

awake at 6 am

taping up hand-drawn paper balloons to the wall

and wondering what to make myself for breakfast in bed

…..living the dream……

In all honesty, though, my birthday celebration lasted a whole week thanks to my champ wardies. On wednesday night, we had our weekly missionary correlation meeting, and after we'd finished, I was asked to go to the garage with one of the ward missionary's wife to see about a future service project. Then randomly, we wrap up the toolbox tour and I'm taken back inside to find a

SURPRISE PARTY

Yea. talk about speechless. I haven't had a surprise birthday party since i was 16 and thought I was going over to babysit the neighbor kids.

I felt SO loved and remembered.......two things that are sometimes hard to come by on the mish! They even brought me gifts and the cake was to. die. for. By the end of the evening, I suggested we get a photo, so I set my ipad to video (since there's no timer option.....Apple, take a hint) and after a few awkward poses and "1-2-3-cheese", someone (who will go unnamed) had the brilliant idea of

…..smashing my face in the cake…..

Yes, it's on film.......No, you can't watch it now. I'm saving it for the awkward RM slideshow:) March 2015.....be there.....it's goin down.

Lez just say it's pretty epic tho. lol pretty sure they picked THE most greasy thick frosting to smother me with, btw. It took like 3 lather-rinse-repeats of Pantene and a whole lotta Bare Minerals face wash to get that stuff off.

#sweetmercy

Hahaha! still love the wardies<3

On my actually birthday, three days later, I woke up SICK....yes.....AGAIN. And on the b-day of all days. So basically my birthday morning went something like this:

Wake up after a miserable night of heat packs on my head and Nyquil that DIDN’T work

Clamber out of bed…...barely able to breath and sounding like a heaving rhino

Find my birthday package in the living room

Manage not to kill myself slicing the packaging with a pair of scissors….

dig dig dig: …chocolate…..shirts…..flashdrive….goodies…..letters……

TISSUES and EMERGEN-C!!!

Never been more happy to see Klenex in. my. life.

 I got one inspired momma;)

We then rushed out the door to go to a service project called Be the Match (helping people register to be bone marrow donors). We got there, set up camp (all the while I'm downing airborne and ricola drops like nobody's business), and then work the table till noon when the fire and police department showed up to barbecue lunch for the donors.

Needless to say, the elders were the first to drop shift and get food. They came back with pulled pork, ribs, and brisket (yea like wow), sat down, started eating, and then the elder next to me pauses and says, "Sis Parker...try this sauce [pointing to the bbq sauce]."

I leaned over, sampled the stuff and just about d.i.e.d......hecka NASTY.

He smiled a bit then asked, "know what that taste is??"

uuuuuuummmmm......don't tell me it’s......dude are you serious?? Yep.

WHISKY

....straight up whisky...

I didn't believe him at first, but after trying it again, i was ready to puke. Gosh, there's times I'm SO glad I'm mormon. Who on earth would voluntarily choose to drink that stuff?? ugh. come to find, the cops had put the sauce on AFTER cooking the meat, so none of the alcohol had been cooked off. Basically......it was more than just "flavored" with the stuff.

and THAT'S the closest i got to drinking on my 21st.

YOLO

For the rest of the day, we helped donors fill out forms (which required reviewing medical histories.....yea.....it's all fine till the elders get assigned to work with a woman on birth control......and they don't know what to do or say.....yea awko taco) AND we also got an earful from one of the organization directors that she thought it should be required by law for "all juvies and inmates to become bone marrow donors"..................uuuuuuuhhhhhkkkkkkkkkk.

THAT would put a spin on Orange is the New Black..........

hahaha

Ok so anyways....we eventually finished off the birthday with dinner at Portillo's with one of my fav member families......AND.....half the women in the ward were there for pre-women's conference dinner so it turned into party #2 for the week. AND because I was sick...the same member went out and bought me a birthday package of cough drops, chicken noodle soup, and herbal tea.

#bigelowblessing   #cantbebeat   #bestwardieaward

Yea....I was like a 2 year old with Christmas candy....but instead.... a 21 year old with Hals.......no shame.

The women's conference that night, though, was an absolutely perfect finale to the birthday!! Ah! I can't get over Pres Uchtdorf. Every time......he nails it.

Future hubby......I expect you to be all that when you're 75.

Just before heading off to women's conference, though, we were invited by a ward member to drop by the home of one of her friends who she'd met at the grocery store (member missionary much??:). We went in to find a frail 67 year old French woman who's eyes were red and filled with tears. Turns out, her son--who she's given all her money, time, and attention to--has decided to cut off all communication with her (for whatever reason).

She was absolute HEARTBROKEN and told us she didn't know if life was even worth living now.

The member turned to us and asked us to share a message. THAT’S when all your preparation, study, learning, understanding, practice, testimony and reliance on the spirit HAS to come into play.

And it did!

I opened the scriptures and read to her Alma 26:37 and then boldly testified to her that God was aware of her, that He would never leave her side during her difficulties, and that He was ready and anxious to hear her prayers. The spirit was strong and tears streamed down Fransoise's face.

When we eventually turned to go, I took the opporunity to wrap my arms around her small frame and told her, "We love you, Fransoise!! And God loves you too!" She struggled for words, but wiping her eyes, eventually whispered back, 

"Thank you! Thank you for loving me!"

Fransoise wasn't able to attend the women's conference with us, but sitting there hearing President Uchtdorf's address, I was reminded again just how much God loves each and every one of his daughters! His message was a powerful reminder to me that I'm not alone. That I'm not perfect, but that God still loves me. I have purpose, value, and potential.

And that while I may not understand everything, I can understand that He loves and cherishes me no.matter.what.

Sometimes, as a missionary you find yourself being taught by yourself as you're teaching you’re investigators. I felt that as we listened, love, and testified to Fransoise of God's love for her. I was filled with love for her--almost a complete stranger--and in that gift of that love, I re-discovered the Lord's love for ME.

His love is real. It's unconditional. And it's empowering!

Go out and love someone.  In doing so....you'll find how much God loves YOU.

Onward and upward,

Sister Anna Parker

more from our comp photo shoot.....

before.......

and after........

saying goodbye to our district leader, elder pavlovsky, who just got his visa! You'll be missed brother!!

best we could do at a district selfie;)

ACCA-scuse me??

Some things never change.......like the fact that I H.A.T.E. going to the dentist. It's just awkward and painful all around. Now try going to the dentist on a mission when you're in the sister missionary bubble…...arms-length from every male...... and in talkaholic mode, trying to spark gospel conversation......

It. Doesn't. Work.

So about 4 months ago I had another one of my old cavity fillings pop out (the SAME day I had the other one filled.......shoot me), and I'd put off going in to get it fixed (ain't nobody got time for that) till it started getting sensitive, so I called up one of our favorite wardies, Bro R--, who happens to be a dentist (in addition to almost as big of a tease as I am), and got an appointment.

I walk into the office on Tuesday morning, and right off the bat, the receptionist calls me Sister Parker. Ok this is weird. Turns out, Bro R--'s done a tooth or two for missionaries in the past and the nurses know the drill:)

I finally get in, get x-rays (hate those too), and then Bro R-- comes in, checks out my massive cavity (the thing was HUGE) and then pulls out the anesthetic needle (and knowing that I'm a pansy when it comes to needles) he starts waving the thing in front of me, squirting and flicking it, and getting a good laugh out of me coming apart in the chair. Sometimes being a tease comes back to bite chya:)

Half way through getting that sucker filled, Bro R-- casually mentions that my companion is waiting in the "massage chair room".....

ACCA-scuse me???

Sure nuff.....I get done with hands, needles, drills, and even freakin LASERS (yea, no joke) in my mouth, to find Sister B chilling in a massage chair waiting for my appointment to be over.....

Gawl…....... some people have it rough.....

So now I'm trying to pump Sister Bishop with candy and sweets so she can end up in Bro R--'s op chair and I can take a turn getting pampered…….#dope. I spent the rest of the day feeling like half my face was going to fall off…..and definitely discovered the far-reaching effects of ibuprofen…… wooooooo….

 That same night we headed over to a near-by park to help out with another community even that the Mundelein Police Dept. had invited us to. We show up, ready to work, and the officer in charge comes up to us and says,

“How good are you at tie dye??”

Oh, ya know…..summer camp champ, right here……

Yea not really. But despite not having a clue what we were doing, we got sent off with 5 buckets to fill with water at the local MCDONALDS downs the street. Luckily, they sent two of their officers with us so it made for the perfectly awkward procession walking down Main. YOLO.

Eventually we got the buckets filled, hauled them back to the park, poured blue and red dye in the water, and set up camp, prepared for the 100 KIDS that were expected to come…..

NBD

We spent the next two hours tying aprons on kids, bobbing for sunk t-shirts in buckets, and getting splattered with purplish water from kids who just happened to wring out their sopping wet shirts…..on my shoes…..

Yea…I’m jake with that….

When we were close to being done, a woman and her kids sat down at one of the tables and recognized my companion’s name tag. She asked, “Oh, Mormons, right? Yea, my husband’s a member of your church…but he doesn’t attend…”

Ya don’t say….

So we obviously start chatting with her, and she tells us that they’re “on-the-side Catholics,” but they welcomed us to stop by and visit their family.   Deal.   She even gave us her number and address and best time to come over. ….even better.

The Lord really does put people in our path when we’re out working and serving. It’s incredible to see how He orchestrates everything, especially when we’re not looking for it. Right time, right place=good stuff.

After the event finished, the officer came up to us, thanked us for our help, and asked, “So, you guys are like nuns in training, right??”  Ehhhhhhhh…….kinda not. We got to explain our role as sister missionaries more, and pulled the whole Mormon card…..oh wait…..we do that every time…..and then told her we’d love to share more about our religion with her.

Lez just say she’s getting a BoM dropped off at her place this week…….#stylin

We also tapped into our genius side (wasn’t sure if we had one previously haha) this this week, plotting what to get our ward mission leader and his wife who both had birthdays on the weekend. We finally came up with the idea of a a CANDY BAR POSTER and went bonkers in Wal-Mart picking out a dozen candy bars.

Yea, we should’ve gone incognito….it totally looked like one of us was going through the WORST breakup e.v.e.r and needed to chocolate spree it out……..awko taco….

Whatever. Turns out, they loved it and had never gotten one before……tragic. Aaaaaand…the elders have yet to one-up us (which they insist they will……who are we kidding;)

Now for the big dawg news……Wonder got baptized on Saturday!!! It was one of the most b.e.a.u.t.i.f.u.l. baptismal services I’ve ever been to!!   6 of her 13 siblings got to attend and they all showed up in their lava lava’s and seeing them all back together was SO sweet!

They sang together at the service one of their traditional Samoan hymns and it BLEW ME AWAY!! They all just glowed, Wonder especially, and the Spirit was so strong!!

I was reminded again just how powerful and unique this gospel is. It brings families together like nothing else. And the blessings that the Lord has in store for us when we embrace the gospel are not bound by time or age.

Those blessings can be ours if we but reach out and accept them.

Being a missionary can be SO hard sometimes. But it’s teaching me to look for and embrace the blessing of the gospel more fully. The Lord always has more to give us, if we but ask in faith, and trust His will.

Keep on keepin on!

Onward and upward,

Sister Anna Parker

the finished product....

<3

towel #7;)

luv me some free stuff....even if it means going to the dentist :P

dentist office haul