May 27, 2013

Well well well, this week has been awesome. First off, on Tuesday we had to give our presentation in the meeting with all the Zone leaders and President and his wife. It went really well. I was a little nervous and I was probably shaking.... I dont remember well but it went well. President was very happy with my companion and I. Also, I saw my little child, Hermana Fuentes!!!! She was there because her companion had an interview with President before we started and the next day she called me saying that her companion went home because she was sick. Soooo sad. So now she is working with a member until Wednesday... Wednesday are those changes and we will see what happens here with my comp and I. I am pretty sure we will stay here together at least one more change. 


So our week went well. We were busy but it all went well. The biggest miracle was on Friday it was raining a lot and we didn't really feel like visiting one of our investigators but we went anyways because we just felt like we should. We hadn't seen him for about 2 weeks or maybe even more because everytime we went he was never there and he hadn't gone to church and so I was thinking he wasn't interested. We got there and he was home and invited us in with his family. We prayed and then he was like Hermanas, what do I need to do to get baptized. We were like what!!!!!! He said yeah, I want to get baptized. He said how are the baptisms in the church, what do I need to know. So I asked him to go get his Book of Mormon and we were going to read a bit about baptism and explain it better to him. He got the book and came back and said I am right here and showed us where he was reading... he was in 3 Nephi!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Our jaws were completely dropped at this point. My comp and I looked at each other like, is this for real? Yes, it was for real. And so we called our district leader and he came over right away. Mauricio got his interview and the next morning was baptized. Yesterday he got confirmed and it was all soooo amazing. I knew the Book of Mormon was powerful, but this built my testimony even more. Because my companion and I did nothing. He did his part and the Book of Mormon and the spirit did the rest. It was such a wonderful experience that I will NEVER forget. Honestly, the Book of Mormon is powerful and we really need to read it more and study it and share it with others.


Anyways, Monday we are having a huge activity with the whole mission for the last pday with President before he leaves. It will be fun. I am excited to see all my friends and have a good time. Oh, today I took out some money and we went shopping at the nice mall. I hope thats ok. There is still a lot in there so don't worry about putting more in or anything. Just wanted you to know that I took some out. Thanks for everything. I got a new shirt and some new shoes. So awesome. I am soooo excited to wear them. Thanks for everything. Pray for you all everyday. Thanks for everything!!!!!!!! I LOVE YOU ALL AND MISS YOU ALL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Talk to you soon!!!!! Love Court

May 20, 2013

So this week was a bit stressful but we made it through. After tomorrow I think things will slow down a bit and I will be able to take a few breaths or so. We have been traveling to every place and on Thursday we traveled 4 hours to get to this little town. It was actually a really cute place but the sister missionaries we worked with were a little rough. A little dramatic so that was fun. My companion and one of the sisters got in a fight and they wouldn't let us in their house for a while... hahahaha that was fun. Not! I had nothing to do with anything, we went on divisions and the sister that went with my comp got mad about something and so we had to talk to their district leaders so that they would let us in to sleep for the night. We left at 4 in the morning the next morning and then we had to talk to President because the girl called him and said a few things about my comp so we had to straighten it all out. Such drama. I felt like I was in middle school again. soooo funny. But don't worry now its all settled. 


Then we got home that next day at 9 30 and had to be at our district reunion at 10 30 and its a half hour away. I jumped in the shower and there wasn't any water. hahahahaha. We ran outside and filled up a few buckets and then I jumped back in and then my comp jumped in. I did my make up and hair in 5 minutes and we were back out the door until 9 that night. It was such a crazy day. But really great news... the kid who is 16 in my last area who we were teaching just got baptized yesterday... my daughter called me and said that it was so great and that she knows he will serve a mission and that he kept asking if I could go but we are not allowed to so they took a bunch of pictures for me. Also, that family that we helped by giving them money by secret... remember them... we gave the money to a member and we went to their house and she started crying and all that stuff. Well yeah, their divorce papers went through and they are getting baptized Saturday in my old area too. I am soooo happy for them. Even though I cannot be there and I am not the missionary who can be in their baptism. I know that I did my part and that they can be an eternal family and just by knowing that I helped a bit, with the help of the Lord, I am happy.


Well...today we gave a half hour presentation and it went well. My knees were wobbling and I was a little scared but it turned out really well and I was surprised with how successful it was. It was all the spirit. We were not teaching that is for sure. President and his wife loved it, they were taking pictures of our activities and everything. We had a video to watch but the internet wasn't working so I made up an activity to do with 2 minutes to go and it worked out well and everyone liked it. phew!!!! hahahaha. Well tomorrow we have another presentation and I am sooo excited for it. We worked really hard on this one... like all day on Saturday. oh! This Saturday we are supposed to be baptizing a family! PRAY FOR US! We have been working really hard with them. They have came to church a bunch of times and are super awesome.


Saturday in the morning my whole district we all went and did service. It was soooo fun. We dug holes and planted trees and got all wet and it was fun. Then today we went to the zoo but it was closed but we might go next week! I was so excited when I heard a lion but I couldn't see it. So sad. Yesterday we got invited to eat Cafe Rio salads. It was soooo good. The cool family from the states invited us... the same fam that let me use their phone for mothers day. I know that dad gave an amazing talk. He has such a great testimony. I am proud of Lauren for graduating semanary. sooooo awesome. Sorry I cannot spell anymore. But I love you alllll sooooo much. Thanks for everything. I miss you and love you. With all my love. Hermana Parker

May 13, 2013 From Corinna

What a great Mothers Day this was!! We got to hear from our 2 wonderful missionaries!! First we got a phone call from Sister Parker and we got to talk to her for awhile. We even sang "Families Can Be Together Forever" in English and then she sang it back to us in Spanish. We all had tears in our eyes by the end of it, then towards the end of her phone call we got a skype from our other amazing missionary--Elder Parker!! So for the last of Sister Parkers phone call, and the beginning of Elder Parkers skype, we all got to talk to each other at the same time!! Before Sister Parker had to leave, we got to hear an exchange in Spanish between her and Elder Parker!! It was absolutely amazing and their Spanish was incredible. We could only understand a few words, but were just so enthralled and excited to hear them speak to each other in Spanish, that we just listened to their exchange in amazement. We didn't want it to end. They even had such an incredible accent. Nathan said they sounded just like Mexicans. He recorded some of their conversation and listens to it over and over. It is so neat, how just a little while back, neither of them knew much Spanish, and now to see how much they have grown and learned in the short amount of time that they have been out in the field. When Sister Parker was about to hang up, we were all in tears because we could feel of their wonderful spirits and are so proud of their hard work and growth and desire to serve others. We are so grateful for our missionaries and for the choice they have made to be hands for the Lord and to move this amazing Gospel along!!! We know it can be difficult to be away from home, and to be in other countries and different cultures, but we know the rewards far outweigh the hard times. And they both say they love their missions!! What a blessing!! We know they are where they are supposed to be at this time, and we couldn't be happier for them and for those they are serving. (We have always loved the song "Feliz Navidad" at Christmas time, even before they were called to Spanish speaking missions, so we made up our own words to it and attempted to sing it to them in Spanish. We must have done ok because they understood most of it... at least they got a good laugh out of it. Josh played the guitar and we wore sombreros and fake mustaches. This is what we sang... "Feliz dia...Feliz dia....Feliz dia....de su familia eterna. Llegamos a saber de nuestros misioneros, tenemos que saber de nuestros misioneros, tenemos que saber de nuestros misioneros....quien amamos mucho!!! Here it is in English for those of us that don't know Spanish:) "Happy day...Happy day....Happy day... from your eternal family!....We get to hear from our missionaries, we get to hear from our missionaries, we get to hear from our missionaries....who we love very much!!!) We do love our missionaries very much! They bring so many blessings to our lives and others:) Love, their mom (Corinna)

May 13, 2013

Wow!!!! So how great was that to talk to you all yesterday!!!!! You guys all sound so happy and just still so full of life. I felt so special and so loved. Thanks for all that you do for me. It was SUCH a great phone call. And then also to get to talk to Tay was so awesome too!!!! What a great day!

So this week was a bit long. On Tuesday night we were experiencing a few weird things going on in our new house that we just moved into (which is beautiful by the way) but yeah the Elders came over the next day to bless the house... and so my companion and I were so scared that she jumped in my bed and we slept in the same bed that night. In the morning I woke up with a kinked neck and it still is kinked today. We have tried everything to get it to go away but nothing has worked. Hopefully this week it will go away sometime. I cannot go left. hahahahaha.

Well we went on two divisions this week and we got to go to Granada the first day. That was fun but it´s super hot there. I saw a huge pig the size of a baby elephant and so that was weird. I took a picture but sadly I don´t have my camera with me today... same mistake I seem to always make every Monday. I am soooo sorry. They will all come at once soon!!!!! But don´t worry we are still taking pictures. Well on Thursday night we had a huge ward get together and we had it at the family´s house that is from the United States. It was so great because it has AC and all that cool stuff. 22 people showed up so it was a great time and my comp and I planned the lesson and I had the game and then the family fed us refreshments. It was a lot of fun and we all had a great time. Then yesterday after I called my wonderful family we had a fun taco salad and brownies for dinner and it was way fun!!!! Today we had a meeting with President, the other sister leaders and my companion and I. And next Monday we have to give a training for a group of missionaries. Then next Tuesday we have to give a powerpoint presentation in our meeting with the zone leaders and assistents. So there are a few things that are making me a little stressed out but I know that I will get through it and that I will learn from it all. I couldn´t believe how great Tay´s Spanish was. I am sooo proud of him. It was awesome talking to everyone. I love you all soooooo much!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! love your sister missionary Hermana Parker

May 6, 2013

Entonces.... this week has been super crazy but SOOOOO great. First, something way funny, my district leader called last night and said their power went out because the Catholic church was having a huge throw down and so the whole city didn't have power because the power at the church was so huge... it's like in the movie Christmas Vacation when all the power of the whole town goes out when the christmas lights are on at the house. Anyways, that was just something I thought was funny. Well this week I traveled to 2 different areas to work with the other sisters. On Tuesday I went to Monte Fresco. It's an area that is actually pretty cold and I really liked it. I actually like the city a lot more than the country and it was more country but my area I am in is the city mostly and my old area as well. My first area was like Monte Fresco, it was country and colder. But yeah, I went with Sister Watson, she is from Nicaragua and we are really great friends so we had a lot of fun together and we worked really hard and threw a few sticks at the Chiuaua dog that was chasing us. hahahah.
Anyways, then on Thursday I got to go back to my old area ALTAGRACIA and work with my very own Hija!!!! Hermana Fuentes. That was sooooo FUN! She was sooo cute. When I got there she had grape juice that she had bought for me and grapes and grape candies (she knows that I love all the grape stuff here) also she bought me a huge sticker of Belle the princess because she knows I love disney movies and that I love Beauty and the Beast. Then she opened up a little package and she bought me this way nice keychain that is of Minnie Mouse. It was SOOOO cute. And then I really like gardettos (its like the chex mix) but she knows that I only like the giant brown things in them and so she gave me a big plastic ziploc bag with just the giant brown things that she had carefully picked out from the 2 big bags that she bought of gardettos. I almost cried. It was the cutest thing ever. So thoughtful. She is the best, I love that girl. Then we went out to work and I got to see some of my old investigadores and all. It was sooooo great. I even saw the guy we were teaching who is 16 and now he is going to semanary every night and he is so full of light and has changed so much. I was so proud of him and kept telling him how proud I was. He invited me to his baptism but I cannot go because its against the rules but it was nice of him. Anyways it was a great day. Then we stayed up all night just talking and laughing and it was so fun to see her again. I love Hermana Fuentes. I think we were like best friends in the preexistance. She is amazing. My best friend in the mission besides Creel for sure.
Then on Saturday we had a wedding and a baptism!!!! Gonzalo and Dionicia got married and then Gonzalo got baptized. We are hoping to baptize Dionicia in 2 weeks, she needs to prepare a bit more before her baptism. But it was awesome. I will try to send pictures. If I cannot send pics today I will next week! I miss you all. Sorry this email is so short. But we had a great week and we are working hard!!!!! Thanks for everything. I miss you all so much! OH! Today we went to the rich mall in my area! WOWWWWWWW I have never seen such a rich thing in this country. hahaha. Everything there is expensive so obviously I didnt buy anything but it was so fun to go and look around and have some air conditioner. Then I went to a little used clothes shop afterwards and bought 3 skirts for 5 bucks. They are cute. hahahaha. At least I bought something right!!!! hahaha. I am having such a great time and loving the mission. Hope you have a great week. I am always praying for you all. Love you. Talk to you on SUNDAY!!!!! Mothers day!!!!! YEAH!!!!!!!! CANNOT WAIT! love you. Love Sister Parker