Cute Conversation About Elder Park's Little Sister....

Me: Leah’s PTC went great! I pray that she stays this way all through school!!

The teachers love her! She is helpful and so smart. She is getting a 4.0 as of right now. Last quarter she got a 3.95, but one of her teachers found some work that she had forgotten to enter. She got it corrected and it updated her GPA to 4.0. Leah is really happy about that. One teacher wants her to try out for Debate next year and the other wants her to do Choir. She does have a pretty voice, it would be nice for her to learn how to use it better.

Elder Park: ... NOT DEBATE... we will never be able to tell her she is wrong that's like giving her lessons on arguing!!!! Choir sounds like a great idea!

Me: HAHAHA!!

She already won’t let anyone tell her she is wrong!

Elder Park: so don't let her get better at doing so!

Me: Now come on, let’s look at it this way… She needs to be able to stand up for herself when it comes to boys. ;)

Garret won’t let us even talk about those kinds of things, he is not ok with the “boy” conversation.

Elder Park: what do you mean "boys" she only has "girls" from now on.

Me: Well, you are two years older and shockingly, so is your little sister! And, your younger brother!

 

Elder Park: Garret can grow up all he wants but Leah is always 11 to me...

I thought about that a lot I am always surprised by how much she has grown, Garret meh, I knew he would, but I thought I would come home to my ittie bittie little sister! I never planned on her growing!

Me: It is kinda weird, isn’t it? She is becoming a beautiful young lady! She is smart and kind and wants to help others. She still does argue with us and Garret. She is responsible and makes sure that she does what is asked of her. With her calling in church, Beehive Pres, she has meetings almost every Sunday after church. She never misses her meetings and is always prepared.

Elder Park: wow she is growing up! is she eating vegetables yet?

Me: Hahaha!! No!

Proof that she still isn't as grown up as she wants to be!

Week 74 In Ft. Lauderdale....

I have met some people here that I know I was supposed to meet and that I am here to help come closer to our Heavenly Father. This week was an incredible week here for us in the Belle Glade area. We left the Zone Conference with full intentions of finding a family. But by the end of the day... we found 3 and those 3 lead us to others. We are working with 1 J*** family (7 in total Father, Mother, and children) that are very excited about the Gospel and have had many encounters with "Mormons" before. We are also teaching 2 other "J***" families all Haitian and none related. (I find that weird). But then we are also teaching 2 English families (mom and dad need to get married) but they are wonderful as well. The interesting thing about all of these families is that they have been leading us to others to teach! And the "investigator pool" is filling its self.

I also really love the members here in Belle Glade they all have their own quirks and plans for missionary work but they all are trying their best. Bro. P****** and I have really gotten along. He is the new 2nd Counselor in the Branch Presidency and he is really stepping up to the plate and trying to do his very best. He asked me to help him review the words for a Melchizedek Priesthood Ordination, and he has been following up with us on our investigators that he has taught with us!

This week in my studies I was really trying to figure out what I am really here for. I couldn't help but notice that some of the same difficulties I was having last transfer in the Okeechobee/Vero Beach District were happening here in the Zone as well, so I know that I have been prepared to do this, but I was wondering what makes me unique and why I was sent here. And it dawned on me. I can help because I have served in similar area, I know that I am in Belle Glade to Find, teach and Baptize. But I am here in the Royal Glades Zone to TEACH how to do those things and most importantly how to TEACH to be responsible and active in the F, T, B, RT, and RA effort. And I realized as I looked over my personal performance this month I realized that I was lacking and therefore my stewardship did as well. I was focused on things that were unimportant and unrelated and indulgent. I indulged in the fact that I didn't understand the language, that I was new to the area, that I didn't know how to Zone Lead. And there for my stewardship indulged in similar things. So I committed that this month is going to be different that I am going to take a more active role and step up.

When it comes to birthday things all went well. I got the package on my birthday we had to go to wellington as well so we ate at Buffalo Wild Wings it was real good. then as we were proselyting another Investigator family invited us in to have dinner with them! And as we did we found more and more of them were excited about the gospel, 7 of them in total!! I really enjoyed the ties and the brownies I will send a pic next week because my camera is in Belle Glade and I am in Wellington. There wasn't too much that was super special about my birthday, but it is a birthday I will never forget!

This week we also had a Zone conference and it went really well! Pres. trained on Preach My Gospel and the APs trained on finding and working with only the elect. and there were some real improvements throughout the mission because of it. The training was a real faith booster and was sorely needed. I have seen some definite changes in the mission culture just in my time here. Both for the good and for the worse. But I know that we will continue to improve if we still keep on listening to our leaders.

Well I want to bear you all my testimony that I know that this is the Lord's work and that it is up to all of us to help it move along! I know that Jesus Christ lived and still lives for us to improve and change. And I know that we can live with him. And I say this in His name, Jesus Christ's amen.

I love you all

Stay strong, push on

Elder Parque

Week 73 In Ft. Lauderdale....

HE IS FIGURING IT OUT!! THE LAST PARAGRAPH WAS AWESOME TO READ!! HEHE!


Well this week was a boring week! There was no extraordinary trips to take not mishaps with the car. (other than I think someone tried to break in). We were able to have a regular (for the most part) week!!! It was so nice! This week we were able to find 3 new families to teach and they are all incredible. And most of them are English so I can teach!.

I am starting to get the gist of the conversations in Creole but I am still hopelessly lost. But there is improvement in sight! 

Miracles of this week! E**** (that's a first name) came to church. He is a Haitian man new to the are a and he was on FaceBook and mentioned that he needed to find a church to go to and one of his friends saw it and it reminded her that she hasn't been to church in a long time so she told him that she was going to church and that he could go with her. So he came we were like "who you is" and he didn't understand so we said "komunman ou rele" (how you called) and he said E****, we set up an appointment for that night. on our way to the appointment we were delayed so we got there 30 mins late. We apologized but he said it didn't matter because we represent Jesus and if we say we are coming we are coming. we taught him and a friend a great lesson (or my companion did...haha) and all went well. Then after after they told us how excited they had been, when E**** told his friend I******* that we were coming they realized they didn't have chairs for us to sit in, so they ran around town looking for chairs and found some for us and cleaned them and covered them with a sheet for us. They are great guys.

Another thing that I wanted to tell you is that Haitians have weird jokes, one that they love is translated to "its supposed to be black but it is really white..." ... ... ... ... MICHEAL JACKSON!!! ohahahAHAHAHA they get so cracked up over that.

Some things are getting more stressful with the new assignment, the same sort of things that were happening last time. These kind of problems always seem to be near me... there are very few of them in the mission but they are always near me. I think God is telling me that I should have caused my parents less problems... Parents are leaders assigned by God so their advice is good and should be followed and it will be better for you. I think I will write a talk on that and send it to Bishop Richins and have him give it to the youth. 

I WISH I WAS A BETTER CHILD... especially now that I am kinda an adult...

Welp. People seem excited that I am turning 20 so yay! It's great! 

Love yall babye!

Stay Strong Push ON!!

ELDER PARQUE

Week 72 In Ft. Lauderdale....

Well, Elder Park neglected to mention in today's email that his bike vanished. From what we understand, they strapped it to the bike rack on the car and drove to "who knows where", when they arrived his bike was gone. We only have 5 months left!! I didn't want to purchase a new bike for such a short period of time. So... THANK GOODNESS for CTR BIKES!! I am so glad that we bought his bike through them! They will be replacing the bike with a brand new, same model bike! It was worth the extra $79 that we paid 18 months ago!!

Belle Glade...Stinks... literally. At night they "burn the corn" and it smells like death, dog crap, and corn. Because that's how they farm out here and produce corn products. With FIRE!!! I still am not exactly sure how it works but they light whole fields on fire an acre at a time! They grow a field then light it on fire, just to do it again because cane grows quick, I haven't been able to see how they harvest the cane after it is burnt. It just appears to me like they create a wasteland.

About everybody speaks Creole but I did find some Spanish hovels to hang in and teach a little, its funny because, I will sit and twiddle my thumbs for one lesson and then my companion will do the same the next, then we will see some English ghetto lady and we will speak some English and then do it again. (That is why I would really like a Haitian Creole work book) But I am already beginning to understand A LOT and it is sounding more like a language and less like a food processor.

Most of the people here work in something related to corn or sugar cane production, and its "the season" and the men tend to work well into the night. So that  makes it difficult but it just has to be dealt with.

The people around here also do not move fast. they mosie (?) across the streets making traffic stop. If they don't have anything to do they play a gruesome game of dominoes that involves clothes pins on their face or they just sit in the middle of no where... doing nothing. This place is the definition of Ghetto. It's not the Hood this is just a terrible contradiction, full of  tough hard-workers, and Lazy bums. People trying to make dreams come true, and people content bumming for cigarettes. Its inspiring and excruciating.

But people love us Jesus boys.

That is why we are able to find a ton of people and teach a lot, the Haitians really love that my companion speaks creole, but they love even more that I don't but am trying. I have already been offered 2 daughters and 3 grand daughters. (So I know that getting married after the mission will be easy if I can't find anyone at home I can come here!) Unfortunately Creole is an extremely vague language, it is french spoken in a caveman like grammar, and so some of the more intricate parts of the gospel have to be VERY blunt or they are misunderstood. (we have had to correct a few Chastity issues with members)

But otherwise everything is going well save mike bike falling of the back of the car and either being beamed up by aliens or snatched by a Haitian before we could turn around...

But this trippin' place nothin' to throw round here. Just gotta tighten up and all will be 'ight.

Stay Strong, Push on.

Elder Parque

P.S. we were also called some hoodrats n-word- translation: we are their brothers. That was a proud moment.

P.P.S. "neg" in creole translates directly to ''Black Man" but its connotation is dude so a common salute is Saka Fet Neg or whats up black man to everybody white or black

We had a baptism lined up for Saturday but Satan of his boss cheats and called him to Miami to work over the weekend.

Week 71 In Ft. Lauderdale....

Elder K*** T***** F******

6 foot 1

Blue eyes

Music Major in College 

SINGS very well

Roosevelt Is his home town

Union High School they were the Cougars

yeah that's enough...

Welp, I got transferred... to a little place called Belle Glade, its sole and only purpose for existing is to supply the Cane Fields with workers... there isn't much out here. And better yet I have not met very many Spanish speaking people... or English people for that matter. The Large majority is Haitian.

 President told me... "your Spanish is good, keep studying it but learn Creole..."

Also I received a new assignment as a leader I no longer am District leader, I do less training and even more "administration" meaning so far I have spent A LOT of time in the car this week. In fact we made 4 trips to Ft. Lauderdale since Wednesday. One of them I will tell you about it was awesome! BUT all this traveling left us with NO proselyting time. So not much happened in our area specifically this week. But everyone that I have met so far has been Haitian, I feel like a greenie again. I sit in lessons not understanding a word that is being said. But I am going to learn some more so that I can at least participate. My companion is FLUENT in creole and is a great missionary.

A great benefit of getting here at the right time was that Saturday there was a temple trip lined up for 5 members of our branch (oh year this is a branch) to reciebir their endowments. 3 of them are the first Haitians from the branch to receive them and they needed Creole speaking escorts... My companion was one of them and so I got to go to the TEMPLE again! it was amazing and a great experience. The Spirit was so strong! and then yesterday in sacrament meeting the Branch President had them bear their Testimonies and they were SO POWERFUL I loved it!

This week we also received a training from President Richardson this week about aligning our visions and working together towards a common goal. I am excited to see how this new path and take on things will go and I am excited to be a part of it.

I promise that there will be more funny stories in letters to come especially because I am serving in SUPER GHETTO!

singing off Elder Parque

Stay Strong Push On!

Week 70 In Ft. Lauderdale....

I am transferring I don't know where, but it is happening, and I must accept it. It is true that I have not had the same type of "success" here. But I have really come to love my companion and this area. I will really miss J*** S******. This area has taught me a lot and helped me learn a variety of new skills and methods of finding and teaching people.

There are also some incredible members here that I have made friends with. And have taught me alot. This week one of those families (the A****** Family) gave us an incredible referral. They are a "Haitian Fam" which is the 1 classic south Florida family type I have not been able to teach and baptize... (gotta catch them all... sarcasm that's not how missionary work goes). But I will be leaving!

This week in my studies I was preparing myself to train (because I thought that I was going to but am not!) and I was studying "Missionary Purpose" and it talks a lot about how Christ was purpose driven and that NOTHING he ever did was contrary to that purpose. And I thought how awesome it is to be a missionary. That I know exactly what my purpose is, it is to "find, teach, Baptize & Confirm, Retain, and Reactivate" and I CAN focus completely on those things and I will! It was a re dedication type of thing! 

I am not sure what else to talk about... we hit up plantation 2 time this week because of Physical therapy for Elder Hunt but now he is doing better.

Stay strong and push on!

ELDER PARK

Week 69 In Ft. Lauderdale...

This was an interesting week because we didn't have a lot of time here. And this coming week will be a little more difficult because Elder Hunt is having a few knee problems so we have to borrow a car from somebody in the district (30-45min drive to get it and drop them where they need to be) then drive down to Plantation (2 hour drive) then return the car (30-45 more) and still in all that he has his appointments and we gotta eat!

But good things are happening! We have been working with the Quinonez family, a part member family and progress has been made! He came to church and accepted a date! It was good to see our efforts pay off and to see the change in their family. Hermana Quinonez has an incredible testimony. And soon her husband will too!

Also we had interviews with President Richardson this week and they went really well and I really learned to love that man even more, he is an inspired leader and a great Mission President I couldn't ask for anyone better to serve under. He and President Anderson have changed my life!

This week we had the opportunity to see truth change the very countenance of an individual, we went to visit a potential investigator, Ronnel, and when we got there another man started acting like a fool, trying to interrupt us and cause problems, but then as a snide comment he asked, "how much they pay you for this anyway" and when we said nothing there was an obvious change. Then he asked what we wanted to do after this and we told him, go to school, get a job he realized that all this was sacrifice and he really changed his attitude and became interested in learning more. That was a really cool moment. It was just amazing to see the spirit and truth work on him.

I wish there was more I could tell you but I don't know what else to say.

Stay Strong, Push on!

LOVE YOU 

ELDER PARQUE