Never Before

Hello everyone!!

Another week has passed already?! Springtime is just around the Corner

and I could not be happier! Yay for sunshine!! No more cold and

sickness. So on Friday night sister Patterson started getting sick. On

Saturday morning she woke up annnnd it was no Bueno. The poor girl had

golf balls for tonsils and a fever of 100.5. I looked in her throat

and it was covered in white patches. We went to the doctor and sure

enough it was strep. Thank goodness for modern day medicine! However

we have been quarantined to our apartment for a few days. She slept

all day long and all night.... So pretty much I was a loner stuck in

the apartment for three days. Ha it is a real struggle, but I have

enjoyed the time to do lots of personal study. Sister Patterson is

still really sick sooo kinda a bummer of a Pday. Just praying that I

don't get it... The doctor said the incubation period is a week for

strep. So yup, that sums my weekend! It was brutal because the weather

was soooooooo nice it got up to 65 degrees! I feel selfish saying

that.... I was way sad for sister Patterson. Thankfully we have ice

cream and a Jamba Juice near by to hold us through it! (;

Other than being sick we have had a couple of great lessons! Alright,

so remember the girl named Brianna that we contacted on the train last

week? Well, we had our follow up appointment with her on Tuesday and

it was awesome. Brianna is a freshman at DePaul and is absolutely

adorable! We met with her and got to know her better. She shared with

us her story about how she came to believe in and trust in God. She

attends a Christian church here in Chicago and is actively involved.

We discussed many of her beliefs and found out that they are extremely

similar to our church! We taught her about the restoration of the

gospel and it was extremely powerful. When I testified about Joseph

smiths first vision word for word I felt the spirit so strong! It was

really cool because sister Patterson and I had just been working on

memorizing it earlier this week. Brianna had so many questions and was

very interested in the Book of Mormon. We read through the

introduction page together and committed her to read and pray about

the Book of Mormon and Joseph smith. We taught her about modern day

prophets and testified that we were sent to her to share this

important message. The spirit was so incredibly strong I can't even

describe it. I felt so much love for her instantly, and I started

tearing up in the lesson. Being able to catch a glimpse for the love

God has for one of his children is one of the sweetest experiences. I

know this gospel is true. I cannot deny it, nor will I ever. There are

so many good people the Lord is preparing to hear the gospel. He will

lead and guide us to them as we follow the promptings of the spirit. I

am so grateful I listened to the prompting I had to open my mouth and

speak to Brianna on the train last week. We are meeting with her on

Tuesday to have a follow up appointment!

On Thursday we had an appointment with our new investigator Brie. She

is from Michigan is currently on the basketball and track team as a

sophomore at north park university. She dated a member of the church

and he is currently on a mission. Interested she referred herself to

the missionaries.., and YAAAAAAYY. Missionary dream come true. Brie is

super awesome. She grew up Lutheran, however since she has been at

school she hasn't really been attending church. She is looking for a

new church to join around this area and is becoming more interested in

the Lds faith. We were able to teach her about the restoration and the

Book of Mormon. It was a lot for her to take in at first... But the

spirit was so strong and it's almost as if the dots all started to

connect! Thankfully we were able to have an amazing member join us and

she was able to testify how the Book of Mormon has changed her life. I

think that really helped Brie understand and allowed the Holy Ghost to

testify to her. We committed her to pray and read to know if the Book

of Mormon was true.  She is coming to church on Sunday! I am very

excited for her to meet the ward!

So, kinda a funny story. I was having a rough day..and just needed to

take a little break. So sister Patterson and I decided we would take a

short walk to the lake. It really was quite beautiful although the

lake was frozen over! We thought it was so cool! Being the super

genius missionary that I am I said, "hey! I'm going to try walking on

it!" Sister Patterson just looked at me like I was crazy and said go

for it. So everything was great and the ice didn't break through ha

how could it? It was freezing. So we both were standing there on the

ice thinking hey this is great! Walking on water! Annnnd then... Of

course.. I slipped and fell. And the ice broke. Thankfully only my leg

fell in and we were able to hurry back to the shore. talk about scary

moment. I wasn't too hurt just wet a lot of scraped knees and hands.

But needless to say... I won't be walking on the ice anymore.

Friday we had an appointment schedules with one of our less active

members in the YSA. A few weeks ago while looking through our area

book I felt the strong prompting that we needed to contact her. So

last week we set up an appointment and we had the wrong address! So we

had to reschedule for this week and thankfully we were able to meet

today. This was our first time meeting with her and we for to know her

a little bit better. She didn't go to college but jumped right into

her career. Her family is active in the church however her testimony

has been struggling but we know that she knows it is true. We had a

great lesson with her about strengthening our testimony of Christ and

the power of his Atonement and the importance of the sacrament each

week. It was very spiritual and she really started to open up to us.

She started to cry and I could just feel heavenly fathers love for

her. We testified to her that she was a daughter of God and that he

loved her no matter what. It was in that moment I know that the lord

was using me as a mouth piece to comfort his child. We invited her to

receive a priesthood blessing of comfort and counsel. I will never

forget tonight, and the importance of heeding spiritual promptings.

The lord is ever so aware of his children.

So after all that has been said and done, This week was a particularly

more difficult for sister Patterson and I. We were feeling frustrated

and tired because it felt like anything we planned NEVER went the way

we planned it or it always falls through... Because of this I have

been doubting myself And have been feeling quite inadequate as a

missionary. As to, why did the Lord call me? It is so easy to feel

overwhelmed and because of the many expectations and almost feel as if

sometimes they are dragging me down instead of building me up. It

seems nearly impossible to reach and fulfill them all. Striving

towards perfection is something that is so hard for me because

naturally my desire is to be perfect and be the perfect example of

Jesus Christ. What I really struggle with is my own weaknesses that

keep me from attaining perfection and cause me to fall into a

bitterness of self-pity and despair. This past week I have been

pondering as to how to overcome this and increase my faith and desire

to keep going.

As we were driving on the way to an appointment, sister Patterson and

I had a really good discussion that helped to strengthen our faith.

"How are we supposed to know that we are doing this right? How can we

be a successful missionaries?" Thank heavens for my wonderful

companion who always seems to have a better perspective than me....

She Pulled out Preach my Gospel and started reading the behaviors of

successful missionaries. It was then that I realized that the only

part of success I control in the aspect of missionary work is the type

of missionary I choose to be. It was as if I lightbulb went off in my

head. I need to have more faith! The reason for my discouragement was

that I had been measuring my success in all of the wrong ways as a

missionary, which made me feel more bitter about the work and my

purpose. Instead of focusing on the miracles we witness each day I was

focusing on what I was lacking. This was a turning point for me as a

missionary. I need to be more grateful and acknowledge the ways we are

being blessed each day! What I really struggle with is being so

focused on a specific type of blessing that I forget to look around me

and notice the other miracles. I love the quote by President Hinckley,

"Do your best, your very very best. Say your prayers and work hard and

leave the harvest to the Lord."  I tend to get so caught up in what I

need to be doing and how I should be doing it.. And if I don't get it

done in that exact particular way then it will fail. It puts a lot of

pressure on myself and a lot of doubt in my mind. I am continually

striving to recognize that this work is so much greater than myself

and that God is ultimately in charge and at the end of the day it will

always be his will that will be done. This isn't only relatable to

missionary work, the same is true in life. I love the scripture 2

nephi 3:8 "And I will give unto him a commandment that he shall do

none other work, save the work which I shall command him. And I will

make him great in mine eyes; for he shall do my work."  The Lord only

expects us to do our best... And he also didn't design us to fail...

As we work hard and place our trust in him we are able to succeed, and

he always makes up the difference.

I hope you all have a wonderful week! Thank you for all of your love

and support! I sure love you!

Love,

Sister Rachel Parke

I found this article in this months new era, very similar emotions

about how I feel as my service as a missionary.

"Never before had I experienced the joy of helping someone attend

church. Never before had I felt the thrill of hearing someone say,

“Sure, come on in” so that they could hear the restored gospel. Never

before had I sensed the reality of the power that came as we declared

repentance. Never before had I prayed with such real intent. Never

before had an hour of scripture study gone by so fast. Never before

had I been brought to tears by the realization of my imperfections.

Never before had I experienced the devastation that comes with the

words, “Elders, please don’t come by my house anymore.” Never before

had I gotten a blister on my foot the size of my thumb. Never before

had I felt so protected. Never before had I felt so much

responsibility for my actions because I wore the name “Jesus Christ”

on my chest.

Never before had I been so close to my Heavenly Father as I came to be

during my full-time mission."

Pictures Obedience = Blessings

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY! LOVE YOU ALL!

Thanks for the new clothes for my bday Pam!

Heading to get sushi with Joe

Hello Morgan!

Being washed clean Ketchup lesson with Morgan! :)

Ahh i love this stuff!

My hidden chocolate stash especially helpful at 9:30 at night!

Love Jimmy John's!

New birthday outfits! Thanks Aunt Pam!

Oh we were stressed waiting for this text! Yay together for another transfer!!

Celebrating single awareness day here in the mission! ;)

Thanks for the goo Emi! helped so much with the stress!

"Ok I'm ready to go out!" Seriously cold here!!

Obedience=Blessings

Hello Everyone!

What a week! Sister Patterson and I found out we are staying together

for another transfer!!! YAY!!! I am so grateful, because heaven knows

I am not quite ready to navigate my way around this crazy town myself.

(; We are very excited to work hard together in this area because

there is so much to be done! We are meeting with the bishop and the

AP's tonight to discuss how we can come together as members and

missionaries to hasten the work! (the new and the current AP are both

also from Layton-so it is all three of us laytonites serving together

in the same ward!) Which honestly is very helpful since I know both of

them we are able to work well together in unity to get things done!

Working in a YSA ward is pretty much the greatest thing ever. So yes,

we have our work cut out for us.. But we are trying not to become too

overwhelmed and remember small and simple things. We decided to start

it this transfer off right by deep cleaning our apartment this

morning. It's harder to feel the spirit in a cluttered environment.

Time is just flying by.  On Monday night we had a lesson with one of

our new investigators Carleen. We met her at the church, however we

were unable to get in because the keys weren't in the lockbox. It was

freezing cold & snowing!! I said a quick prayer in my heart and then

we started trying to think of what missionaries  lived close by that

might have keys to the building. Then I realized president Woodbury

lived right down the street! We tried calling both him and sister

Woodbury....no answer. With nothing to lose we drove down to the

mission home and knocked.... And there comes sister Woodbury!!!

#miracle! She had just gotten home 2 mins before and was waiting for

president to get home and then they were leaving.  We literally had

like a 10 min gap of them being home to let us in so we could have a

lesson. I know the Lord was looking out for us because we ended up

being early and so was Carleen, so if we had all been on time we would

have missed the Woodburys and had no where to go. It was cool the

lesson was Awesome!!! I'm so excited to teach Carleen she is amazing.

She grew up Catholic and has been dating one of the members in the

Buffalo Grove ward for a little over a year. She has been to church a

couple of times with his family and now they are starting to attend

the singles ward together. She has been interested in the Book of

Mormon and has been reading it on her own. At first she held back from

taking the missionary lessons because she wanted to make sure it was

for herself and not for her boyfriend. The past few months she has

been drawn to the church and now desires to take the missionary

lessons to learn more. Carleen is awesome and has definitely been

prepared by the Lord to hear about the gospel. I testify the spirit of

the Lord works on those who are prepared!

On Wednesday we taught at zone training about who we are and what our

purpose is. We also discussed patriarchal blessings. That night we had

an appointment with a less active member ( Kristina) and we invited

her visiting teacher (Sister Wallace) to come. Sister Wallace and

Kristina got along right away and we barely had time to squeeze in a

spiritual thought! Haha but when we did we talked about patriarchal

blessings. It was amazing because Sister Wallace had just had a cool

experience with her Patriarchal blessing that she was able to share

and it touched Kristina! We never got the chance to tell Sister

Wallace what we planned on teaching Kristina so again I know the

spirit was directing us to teach the message Kristina needed to hear!

We met with Katie this week. We have been talking a lot to her about

the priesthood and encouraged her to receive a blessing of comfort and

counsel. So yesterday the elders came and gave her a blessing. It was

very inspiring for her and she is faithfully pressing forward towards

getting baptized. However, it will not be as soon as we hoped because

she is facing some personal challenges right now that must first be

resolved before she can be baptized. So we are working with her

towards her baptism and maintaining faith, Sometimes I really just

don't like how people choose to use their agency... But then I

remember how Heavenly Father feels about each one of his children and

I am reminded to have patience and compassion. Many of our

investigators this week are struggling with some sort of issue, with

is insanely frustrating as missionaries because you just want shake

them and make them realize that this is the MOST IMPORTANT thing they

should be worried about and striving towards. But agency is a real

thing.... To which I am very grateful. I know the Lord is most

definitely testing my love and patience this week.

On a happier note! We had an AWESOME lesson with Morgan! I have gained

a more clear understanding of the atonement this week. We taught our

Morgan the importance of Jesus Christ and the role he played in Gods

plan for us. We used an object lesson with Ketchup... (Yes it sounds

silly... But it helped him understand). So we poured ketchup in hands

and then asked him to pick up his phone. Of course he wouldn't do

it... So they we scraped off the ketchup and then asked him to pick of

his phone. He still wouldn't do it because his hands were still

sticky! We then told him to go wash his hands and then he was able to

pick up his phone. Sister Patterson and I then explained how each one

of us are covered in Ketchup *figuratively* and how we can try to do

our best to not make mistakes and to repent... To wipe the ketchup off

ourselves... But without the atonement and baptism... We will never be

able to be fully washed clean. It was then that Morgan recognized the

true importance of baptism. We asked him if it was something we still

wanted to work towards and he said yes!! He is progressing VERY WELL,

however He is not quite ready to be baptized YET.. because there are

still many things we are helping him come to understand... Especially

his faith in Jesus Christ. But his desire to know more intrigues me,

and helps to increase my faith and my testimony!  I know that in order

to feel true faith we NEED the atonement. I testify that it is through

the atonement of Jesus Christ we can be cleansed. As we cleanse

ourselves by applying the blessings of the atonement- such as baptism-

we are able to be forgiven of our sins and become pure and clean!

I know that faith and testimonies are strengthened as we strive to do

the little things on a daily basis. God loves us and wants us to

succeed. By obeying and keeping the commandments the lord will guide

our life and we are never alone. It stake conference this weekend they

really focused on obeying the commandments of the Lord. Something that

really stood out to me is-- if the lord wants to give his children

blessings, he must also give them commandments. It makes sense doesn't

it? The Lord desires to bless us and he does so according to our

faith.  The church asks a lot of its members... But what a great

opportunity to demonstrate more faith... Which means more blessings!

Think about it... That's why missionaries are so blessed! Because we

have SO many rules and have to rely on faith! But as we are obedient,

the Lord showers us with blessings and we witness miracles. I testify

that obedience brings happiness and demonstrates our love to Heavenly

Father. There are some days that are harder than others, but as we

have faith and do all we can to live the commandments and submit our

will to the Lords we will be blessed beyond measure. We really aren't

sacrificing much, I was studying in Omni 1:26 this morning and it

states to "offer your whole souls as an offering unto him." Elder Neil

Maxwell said "As you submit your wills to God, you are giving Him the

only thing you can actually give Him that is really yours to give”

Sacrificing our will for Gods through obedience to his laws and

commandments is truly the only way to find everlasting happiness.

There is joy that comes from living the gospel of Jesus Christ. My

challenge to each of you this week is to read alma 32. Compare the

seed to obedience and faith with happiness. Substitute knowledge for

joy. What a cool analogy! I testify that The gospel of Jesus Christ is

a gospel of love and forgiveness. Jesus is the Son of God. He stands

at the head of this church. His representative today is President

Monson. If we follow and OBEY the teachings of the prophet and his

apostles we will not be lead astray.

I hope you all have a wonderful week and I am looking forward to

hearing from you! Thank you for your thoughts and your prayers! I love

you!

Love,

Sister Parke

Pictures Happy Missionary

Romeo's Baptism!

Exchanges!

Elder Soares and Elder Scott speak at Missionary Training

Trump Tower

Love lunch out with my "sisters"!

Dinner with Brother Lowder

This is what happens to a missionary at 10pm:) Bedtime!!

Love this day!

Setting up for Romeo's Baptim

Baptism Accomplished! ;)

uhh so many stairs while contacting!

Happy Missionary

Hello Everyone!

What an eventful week! I am telling you what, the Lord is blessing us

in so many ways... Especially the weather. It has been so warm this

past week! So much has happened and the past couple days have just

FLOWN by. We went on two exchanges this week with the sisters in our

zone, so that made the time seem to disappear! There have been so many

countless miracles, especially as I took over the area for a day and

had to navigate our way downtown to get to our appointments when

taking the "L". Thank goodness for maps.

We met with a member of the branch presidency this week, and he took

us out to dinner and we were able to discuss the needs of the branch.

We went to this restaurant called "big bowl" and it literally was just

that... There was a whole VEGGIE counter where you picked all your

veggies put them in a huge bowl... Handed it to the chef and he fried

them up for ya...Heaven on earth. Yum. Anyways that's beside the

actual point here. We discussed a lot of ways to help the branch and

increase the member missionary work and reaching out to those

individuals in the ward who may be struggling. It was extremely

helpful to get some insight on how to effectively hasten the work by

strengthening the ward!

Anyways after that we hopped on the trains to head home. We were all

crammed into the train car like sardines... Big poofy coats and all...

I'm sure you can imagine how awkward we must have been feeling. I

looked down and see this girl (Brianna) reading a book about God. I

start talking with her and asking her questions about her book and get

to know her better. Well, she is a freshman at DePaul and has been

questioning her current religion because of the foundational doctrine,

so she has been doing a lot of study and research of different

religions. She told me about the questions she has about God and how

she is seeking to know answers. Coolest part of being a missionary. So

I started to tell her about the Book of Mormon and she wanted to know

more! We exchanged information and were able to get in contact and we

are meeting with her on Tuesday and teach her about the gospel to

answer her questions!

Now, this is another good part of being crammed On the train. The man

standing next to us was eavesdropping the whole time and after the

young woman got up and left he approached us and said "I've never

heard of the church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints before? I

grew up Catholic is it the same?" Ha so then we had the amazing

opportunity to tell him more about the church. He was extremely

interested and actually contacted us (this never happens!) to set up

an appointment to meet with him and teach him more! I am a firm

believer that the Lord places people in our path whose hearts are

being prepared to hear and learn about the gospel. Amazing miracles...

Each and every day!

So Wednesday morning was kinda difficult cause we always have so much

to do and keep track of, and it was finally getting to us. I may have

had a slight anxiety attack haha, thank goodness for my amazing

companion who reassured me and helped me to focus on all the things we

are doing well. Then we get to district meeting and guess what they

decided to talk about?! All about what love is and how we love our

family, friends, investigators, companions, and ourselves. It was so

inspired after what Sister Patterson and I had been talking about that

morning! How did our district leader know? What boy decides to sit

down and teach for an hour about love haha? It's because he was

praying to know our needs and so Heavenly Father directed him to know

what to share that would help us. And it did. Super cool experience.

On Saturday morning we had an appointment with Morgan at his apartment

which happens to be right smack dab in the middle of downtown. Long

story short, we ended up getting lost because it's quite difficult to

navigate Chicago without Siri... So  somehow  we wandered down to a

dark and scary street-- lower wacker ha which is the street batman

where batman was filmed. Needless to say.. It was a little sketch,

however we did run into batman and tried to convert him. Just kidding.

Thankfully we were able to be rescued by Morgan and finally make it

back to his apartment. The lesson was great and and he had many good

questions about the Book of Mormon. We taught him the restoration and

talked a lot about prophets and revelation. He prayed for the first

time and we committed him to pray to know if the Book of Mormon is

true. AWESOME...

Sunday was a busy busy day. We had three investigators come to church

which was awesome! We also met with the relief society presidency and

visiting teacher coordinators to discern the needs of the sisters

within our ward and those who are no longer in contact with the

church... Seeking out the lost sheep! So yes, that was wonderful,

annnnd extremely helpful.

So Morgan showed up and stayed the whole time.. He even came to the

linger longer after church and then he came to the baptism and brought

his girlfriend! He spent ALL DAY with the ward, this ward is

incredible and has just soaked him up. He kept asking, "what makes you

all so happy? How are you so happy all the time?" Morgan is

progressing very well, and hopefully we can begin to start teaching

his girlfriend too! Now, for the BEST part of my Sunday... And whole

week.... ROMEO WAS BAPTIZED. It was absolutely amazing. There was so

much support from the ward... President and sister Woodbury... and

ALSO his girlfriend who does not support his decision to be baptized

even showed up. Everything went very smoothly, and the spirit was so

strong. I played a piano piece for a special musical number, which was

a Tender mercy  and definitely was helped by the Lord because I had

ZERO time to practice at all this week. Romeo received the Holy Ghost

and was confirmed a member the same night because of circumstances

that we will be having stake conference next week. At the end Romeo

stood up and bore his testimony and told his conversion story. Wow. It

was incredibly powerful. The lord is gathering his elect... To stand

and to bear witness of him in the last days. Romeo has been prepared

by the lord to receive this gospel so that he may accomplish the great

work and divine plan God had for him. It is such a neat experience to

watch someone change their heart and turn their will to God. I

couldn't stop smiling at Romeos baptism. I am so happy for him..l am

so happy to be a missionary and for moments like last night where I

just know... Without a doubt in my mind... This is the Lords work. I

am so happy to be a missionary.

On Saturday evening we traveled out of our mission to meet as a

mission council with the leaders of our mission and the Illinois

Chicago west mission. We had the unique and sacred opportunity to hear

from a member of presidency of the seventy, Elder Soares and an area

of the seventy Elder Scott. They taught us more about the teachings

from the worldwide missionary training we had two weeks ago about

teaching repentance and baptizing converts. It was incredible being

able to learn and seek counsel from Elder Soares and Elder Scott. I am

very inspired to become a more consecrated missionary. I am also very

humbled that the Lord would call me to participate in this very

important work. Elder Soares talked a lot about who we were before

this life and our responsibility to share the gospel and assist in the

Lords work. It was a very special experience, one that I will never

forget. The spirit was incredibly strong as I looked among the small

group of missionaries.. Recognizing that we all chose before this life

to defend and teach the gospel to help our brothers and sisters make

it back to live with God. We studied D&C 138: 29-31; 56-57, and it is

interesting to think that my purpose was the same before my mission...

As it is now on the mission... And will be after my mission.  To bring

souls unto Christ, and to teach and proclaim this gospel. How easy it

is to get caught up in the distractions of life that cause us to

forget who we are, and who God needs us to become. Now, more than ever

The Lord needs us to rise up and defend his word! One of the most

important things I have learned on my mission is that... It is not

good enough to only believe... We must act on our faith.

I know this gospel is true. Jesus Christ is the source for true and

everlasting happiness. I know that through him our efforts are able to

be made whole. I am striving daily to rely more on the Lord for

strength. I am so grateful for the Lords patience with me, he helps me

to see beyond myself.

I hope you have a fantastic week! And a happy Valentine's Day! ❤️❤️ I

will be spending my Valentine's Day with the young SINGLE adults and

the SINGLE adults... Celebrating SINGLE awareness day! Best ward to be

in. Thank you so much for all of your prayers, love, and support!

Love,

Sister Parke

Pictures The Lord is my Light

First Worldwide Missionary Training January 20, 2016

It's offical...I'm 20!!

Oh Happy Day!

Lunch appointment with Munah from Liberia and of course Deep Dish Chicago Style Pizza!

Birthday Celebration Dinner with Senior Missionaries!

Out for Sushi on my Birthday thanks to one of the generous members!

Yum!

Thanks sweet Aunt Pam!!

Love my packages for my special day!

Baptism interview appointment with Romeo! February 7th!! yippee!

The Lord is my Light

Hello everyone!

What an incredible week!  No longer in a trio which was sad to see

sister stringham go, but we haven't had too much time to think about

it because we have been so busy! Such an unforgettable birthday

teaching people about the most important gift! We had a few lessons on

my birthday, one was with our investigator Connor. He is going to

school here in Chicago and was interested in learning more about the

Mormon religion. So he referred himself... Because he was studying

religion and was "naturally drawn to Mormonism" (in other words... The

spirit) and we have been teaching him ever since! He is progressing

very well and has been doing a lot of studying in the Book of

Mormon.... He actually proved to himself that it was true while trying

to discover if Joseph smith was a prophet of God. SO. COOL. Anyways,

he has a lot of hard questions which are difficult to answer...

However I have a testimony that the spirit is the teacher and I

absolutely am not! Connor is coming to institute tomorrow night and

hopefully he will find some answers to what he is seeking. I love his

lessons because they help to teach me so much!

I also had a special experience on my birthday in a lesson with Romeo.

So we met him in the Harold Washington library -So cool biggest

library ever- and we had a lesson all planned out for him. We started

the lesson and felt the need to teach him about temples. So we started

teaching him about the importance of temples and the sacred covenants

that we make with Heavenly Father. This was extra special to me

because I had been reflecting all morning about the temple... Because

It just so happens that I had the opportunity to go through the temple

ON my birthday LAST YEAR. Coincidence? absolutely not. It was such a

neat experience to be teaching Romeo about the temple and helping him

understand the importance of making those sacred promises with God. He

is exercising so much faith as he prepares for his baptism which will

now be on the 7th (this Sunday). There are is so much opposition

leading up to his baptism, however he is holding strong to his

testimony and faith in God.

On Wednesday we had 4 lessons and taught at district meeting. It was a

little crazy.. But awesome! We had Chicago deep dish pizza with Munah,

a member from Liberia. She has such a powerful testimony! She told us

about her childhood and how she grew up during the civil war. Her

family walked for hundreds of miles after her dad was found dead and

they got kicked out of their home by the rebels. You always see these

things on movies, but it is real life! I am so grateful to live in

this country! It may have its struggles, but we are so blessed with a

safe home to stay in and the assurance of always having something to

eat! There are so many people from all over the world here.. I

absolutely love it! I get to meet so many interesting people and hear

so many stories! Speaking of which...  On Sunday we had a man named

Morgan come to church he is from China and travels back and forth

quite a bit for work. About a month ago he just showed up at church

and wanted to learn more. We gave him a Book of Mormon and he FINISHED

all of it in the past three weeks when he was in China. He came to

church this week and had so many questions! How exciting! We have an

appointment with him on Saturday!

Also, another miracle moment... After sacrament meeting I was

surprised when a son of a member up in buffalo grove (my old ward) who

I knew quite well, came to the YSA ward and brought his girlfriend.

They came up to us, and he introduced us to his girlfriend Carleen and

said she wanted to start taking the lessons! Yay! We have an

appointment with her this week! Finding through the members is the

BEST. Member missionary work is the key! The ward and the branch are

soooo awesome! Sunday night was very fun. The branch president of the

SA ward invited us and the AP's over for dinner. They have a beautiful

home here in Chicago and dinner was so yummy. It was awesome to talk

with them and to get to know them better while discussing the needs of

the branch. Currently we have 60 active people attending... Our goal

is to help this branch strengthen and become unified so that they can

grow and expand. We are very busy seeking out those who may have

fallen away and bringing them back to church.

This week I have been pondering on faith... And the will of God. As a

missionary I am constantly trying to align my efforts in accordance to

the Lords so that I may be an effective instrument in his hands in

blessing others. The tricky part is sometimes I feel overwhelmed and

get stuck in the mindset that it is too hard and I begin to lack in

faith.   This is when it is easy for me to feel discouraged and gives

me feelings of self doubt and disappointment. However, God has blessed

all of his children with the gift of the spirit, and so long as we are

faithful to him, he has promised blessings and guidance!

So as I have been studying I have really wanted to know how I can best

prepare myself to know what God would have me do. Of course the first

thing do to in order to receive revelation from Heavenly Father is

Prayer. The power of a faithful prayer will offer answers and

encouragement that bring peace and hope.  The next thing I have

recognized is the need to follow the promptings of the spirit, and act

upon them...even if it doesn't make sense. It seems logical to always

follow the spirit... But it is easy to get caught up in personal

desires and forget that God is ultimately in charge! One of the things

I have found helps to see gods hand in this work and in my own life is

to review daily miracles-tender mercies and gifts from God.

I have reflected upon the Army of Helaman and I am inspired by their

faith and power in prayer. They took the leap of faith when it seemed

impossible. That is probably what stuck out to me the most....When we

take the leap of faith the Lord blesses us, with God nothing is

impossible. He blesses us with the comforting power of the spirit.

Just as the army of Helaman, I'm sure the sistuation was not

necessarily ideal as they were surrounded by lamanites and starving.

But the lord blessed them with peace beyond their circumstances... And

I know he will do the same for us as we exercise faith in him.

Even when things do not go the way we want or expect.... That is when

the real test of faith comes in. LEARNING TO PUT TRUST IN HIM. I came

across my favorite scripture which happens to be my mission scripture

in my studies yesterday.... "2 nephi 22:2" I was then prompted to turn

to a hymn  "the Lord is My Light"

The Lord is my light; then why should I fear?

By day and by night his presence is near.

He is my salvation from sorrow and sin;

This blessed assurance the Spirit doth bring.

The Lord is my light; tho clouds may arise,

Faith, stronger than sight, looks up thru the skies

Where Jesus forever in glory doth reign.

Then how can I ever in darkness remain?

The Lord is my light; the Lord is my strength.

I know in his might I’ll conquer at length.

My weakness in mercy he covers with pow’r,

And, walking by faith, I am blest ev’ry hour.

The Lord is my light, my all and in all.

There is in his sight no darkness at all.

He is my Redeemer, my Savior, and King.

With Saints and with angels his praises I’ll sing.

The Lord is my light;

He is my joy and my song.

By day and by night

He leads, he leads me along.

God is ultimately in charge.  I know he has a plan for each one of us.

I have a testimony of this gospel. I know it is true with no doubt.

The more I read the Book of Mormon the more I find it applies to my

life. The Lord is and always will be MY LIGHT.

I love and miss you all! Have a wonderful week!

Love,

Sister Parke