SEPTEMBER 29, 2014

Dear Family,

It was a great week here in South Philly, we saw Thianxu and An Hua a few times. Taught about the life of Jesus Christ the first time, then we waited around for a Comcast guy the second time (to translate) then the third time is when the Su family had them over for dinner and invited us. It was awesome! Good Chinese food and listening to everyone around us speak mandarin is fun. Then Thianxu played songs out of the children's song book, the spirit was really strong the whole time, they should be at general conference this week.

We started teaching a woman named Pricilla this week, she has a baptismal date for in November and she came to church this week. We still have a long ways to go with her, but it looks promising.

Seems like everyone else is still at about the same place, we get to do service this week for a less active, we are washing their cat.... Yay.

Should be a great week with General Conference and all, always a good time of the year.

Forgot to frankly state that both Elder Pintor and I are staying for 6 more weeks. So there it is.

I will now try to put some thoughts I have had recently into text...

I have had some pretty good studies recently, I hope it all makes sense.

12 And as I partook of the fruit thereof it filled my soul with exceedingly great joy; wherefore, I began to be desirous that my family should partake of it also; for I knew that it was desirable above all other fruit.
-1 Nephi 8:12

5 The one raised to happiness according to his desires of happiness, or good according to his desires of good; and the other to evil according to his desires of evil; for as he has desired to do evil all the day long even so shall he have his reward of evil when the night cometh.

6 And so it is on the other hand. If he hath repented of his sins, and desired righteousness until the end of his days, even so he shall be rewarded unto righteousness.
-Alma 41:5-6


4 I ought not to harrow up in my desires the firm decree of a just God, for I know that he granteth unto men according to their desire, whether it be unto death or unto life; yea, I know that he allotteth unto men, yea, decreeth unto them decrees which are unalterable, according to their wills, whether they be unto salvation or unto destruction.
-Alma 29:4


9 For I, the Lord, will judge all men according to their works, according to the desire of their hearts.
-D&C 137:9


By now you have probably put the pieces together, DESIRE. It’s so important that we have righteous desires. I find it interesting though that Lehi says that the fruit was the most desirable, why then would we desire anything else?

Satan desires that we are miserable like he is. (2 Nephi 2:27)

This quote from a talk by Elder Maxwell, (Which I encourage everyone to read) talks about how we can slowly change our desires.


“Do you,” President Young asked, “think that people will obey the truth because it is true, unless they love it? No, they will not” (in Journal of Discourses, 7:55). Thus knowing gospel truths and doctrines is profoundly important, but we must also come to love them. When we love them, they will move us and help our desires and outward works to become more holy.

Each assertion of a righteous desire, each act of service, and each act of worship, however small and incremental, adds to our spiritual momentum. Like Newton’s Second Law, there is a transmitting of acceleration as well as a contagiousness associated with even the small acts of goodness.
“According to the Desire of [Our] Hearts”
http://www.lds.org/ensign/1996/11/according-to-the-desire-of-our-hearts?lang=eng



Thank you for everything you do! Love you all!

Love,
Elder Parker

SEPTEMBER 22, 2014

Dear Family,

Well, it has been a great week here in South Philly, we were pretty

busy this week teaching a lot of different and new people.

All the members we are working with are still doing about the same.

It’s crazy how fast time is going by now, it’s just crazy to think that

October is almost here. Seems like every week goes by faster than the

one before.

Thanks for all that you do! Love you all!

Love,

Elder Parker

SEPTEMBER 15, 2014

Dear Family,

Another great week here in South Philly! It was a little off the norm
because we had a Mission Tour with Elder Anderson from the seventy. It
was good, he talked about 3 kinds of knowledge. Head - just
information. Heart - things we 'feel', motivates us to act. Soul -
When we act, take things into our life and change.

We also had stake conference this weekend. Hua An and Tianxu An came
to the Sunday meeting and also stayed after for a baptismal service.
It was pretty awesome that it worked out so well.

Well not too much really happened this week other than that, lots of
meetings and traveling to Broomall. It’s been good though, weird to
think that this is week 5 of the transfer already though, and that
October is right around the corner.... So strange. Time flies!

Man, this feels like a short email... So a quote from Brother Gibson
on the ride home from the Saturday Evening Session of Stake
Conference. "If you go your entire life learning one thing a day, you
will die an idiot." It was sooo straight faced as well! Such a funny
man.

I love you all, have a great week!

Love,
Elder Parker

SEPTEMBER 8, 2014

Dear Family,

This week was soooo amazing! Just thought I would get that out
there... The Lord's hands are in this work and it was very evident
this week here in South Philly. A scripture comes to mind when I have
reflected on this week:

8 For behold, the Lord doth grant unto all nations, of their own
nation and tongue, to teach his word, yea, in wisdom, all that he
seeth fit that they should have; therefore we see that the Lord doth
counsel in wisdom, according to that which is just and true.

9 I know that which the Lord hath commanded me, and I glory in it. I
do not glory of myself, but I glory in that which the Lord hath
commanded me; yea, and this is my glory, that perhaps I may be an
instrument in the hands of God to bring some soul to repentance; and
this is my joy.

10 And behold, when I see many of my brethren truly penitent, and
coming to the Lord their God, then is my soul filled with joy; then do
I remember what the Lord has done

Alma 29:8-10


It started off with what I shared in my last email about Anita's
friends. We have a return appointment with them this week. But that
was just a taste of what this week would bring. We had a pretty good
week going but then on Thursday night our assistants called and wanted
to do a hand off of some investigators they had received a referral
for. So we went with them to contact these two people.

Tinshu is 15 and has been here for 1 month with his father Anwa. They
are both from Beijing and are here so that Tinshu can audition to go
to the Curtis institute for music, the number one music school in the
world. So they live in center city above a Chinese place where they
have very little furniture but they have a baby grand in the living
room where Tinshu practices about 6 hours a day. He is the number 1
piano player in China and turned down lots of schools to come to
Philly. They have friends in China who are members and they sent in
the referral so we could help temporally, they didn't realize it would
come with spiritual assistance as well ;) So we met them on Thursday
night, Tinshu speaks English, kinda.. but Anwa doesn't speak any
English. We decided that it would be really hard to teach without a
translator, so we reached out to a Chinese member of the branch,
Sister Su, and she was able to come to our appointment the next day!
The lesson went pretty well, we were able to get all kinds of info
about Chinese culture and their back story and things like that. Well
Anwa didn't really want us to come by anymore or to come to church
because he thought it would distract his son from music. We couldn't
even do anything because we cannot communicate with him! We bore
testimony and Sister Su persuaded him to come to church on Sunday and
then to go from there.

So they came to church! It was a little bit of a crazy fast and
testimony meeting, but Sister Su translated all 3 hours for Anwa and
they both really loved church. Tinshu loved the music at church and was
able to go to young mens and exchanged numbers with the Young Men’s
President, who just returned from a trip to Beijing! After the
meetings, we talked with them and Sister Su for a little bit and
Anwa's concerns changed from taking up time to being able to honor
baptismal covenants once he returns to China! What a change 3 hours of
the spirit makes! Now we have a return appointment and they want to
keep coming because they have some friends in the branch.


13 Yea, and that same God did establish his church among them; yea,
and that same God hath called me by a holy calling, to preach the word
unto this people, and hath given me much success, in the which my joy
is full.

Alma 29:13


I can say that right now my joy is pretty full. It’s overwhelming
sometimes to look back and see all that Heavenly Father has done for
me and those we are working with.

I hope everyone takes every moment they can to allow our Heavenly
Father to work miracles through them for those around us, you might be
surprised by what could happen.

Have a great week everyone! I love you, God loves you!

love,
Elder Parker

SEPTEMBER 2, 2014

Dear Family and Friends,
This week has been so crazy! I am not even sure how I can write this
letter to express all the thoughts I am having at this time, Agh! So
crazy to think that I am already at my year mark... I have just been
having all these flash backs to previous parts of my mission and it’s
scaring me! Never really thought I would be here at this point in my
mission the way I am. I have just been looking back and seeing all
that has changed, it’s really weird. In the beginning I was just trying
to survive the mission and to make it through and while I am still
doing that to some extent, now I feel really different. It’s hard to
explain, but I am sure you see it.

Well this week has just been so awesome! If you would have asked me
yesterday I would have said it was slow, but man it’s so great that
P-day was moved to today. Monday - Sunday really was pretty rough
though... Highlights were an awesome day of doing service at the
Ronald McDonald house and prepping a ton of Christmas lights for them.
Also going to a wedding for a branch member and one of the East Elders
investigators, it was a TON of fun! So much awesome.

Monday was just such an amazing day though, it really just trumps all
of last week. We had a branch picnic for Labor Day and it was a lot of
fun. It’s great to be able to get to know the members all a little bit
better and have some fun with them. Then we had a lesson with Anita
(Less active), Mary (Less active), Arlene (Investigator), as well as
two of Anita's non member friends, Britton and Tramell. Brother
Harrison, who is a recent convert of about 2 years and just got
married and moved out here from California, was with us. The spirit
was so strong in the lesson! It was so amazing to just see the way the
spirit touched Britton and Tramell. They both accepted copies of the
Book of Mormon and said they would read it together and pray about it.
Then Brother Harrison took us out to dinner real quick and we had a
lesson with the Tomlins. They introduced us to one of their friends
who came in during sacrament on Sunday then left before it ended.
Turns out she is pretty interested in coming next week as well and is
going to bring her two kids.

As I have been able to sit back and ponder on this last 8 days or so
and really the last year, I have really seen a lot, one scripture that
stands out is this:

12 And they did land upon the shore of the promised land. And when
they had set their feet upon the shores of the promised land they
bowed themselves down upon the face of the land, and did humble
themselves before the Lord, and did shed tears of joy before the Lord,
because of the multitude of his tender mercies over them.

13 And it came to pass that they went forth upon the face of the land,
and began to till the earth.

Ether 6:12-13


I have seen so many tender mercies as I have served. Newark, Milford
and Philly did not feel like the "Promised Land" when I got here, but
as I have seen the tender mercies of The Lord, I know this is where I am
needed and that he is preparing the way before me. When we humble our
selves The Lord raises us up to where he needs us to be, the only
thing that gets in the way is our own pride.

17 He saith unto him the third time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou
me? Peter was grieved because he said unto him the third time, Lovest
thou me? And he said unto him, Lord, thou knowest all things; thou
knowest that I love thee. Jesus saith unto him, Feed my sheep.

John 21:17

Any time I feel like I can’t do it any more or that I have done enough,
this scripture has come into my mind and I have to ask myself, How
much to I love my Savior? Does he know? Do I show my love? That's what
helps me to continue on some days.

Thank you all for all the love and support you have given me! I love
you all so much!

Love,
Elder Parker