July 22, 2013

Well first I want to say thank you for the emails. I loved moms and I loved dads. They both made me cry and I loved them both .Thanks sooooo much. I am grateful to have such great parents. In fact yesterday at church there was a talk about eternal families. I felt the spirit soooo strong. The lady was saying that our parents are not ours yet. That we have to treat them good and obey them so that we can have them for eternity. I was thinking hard about that and I always want to strive to treat my parents the very best that I can so that I can have you FOREVER. Also while I was in church I was a little sad because we haven't found families to teach and we are having a hard time finding people that want to progress. Then while I was listening to one of the talks I heard a voice that said... You are completing your purpose... I know that My Father in Heaven was listening to my heart and prayers. I know that He loves me and that through the spirit I felt comfort. I have been a little bit more stressed than normal because this week I got sick and then once I got better my comp got sick so we couldn't go out to work for 2 days and I just felt bad about that. Our week wasn't the greatest.


Anyways, good news. We did divisions this week and I got to work with my hija again. She's soooo great. She came to my area and we worked really hard and it was fun. She always helps me to feel better. My companion and I are getting along really well and I am now understanding all of her Argentinian talk hahaha. She's great and we have fun together. This Saturday we will be having a baptism of a little girl named Itza. She is soooo cute and when we asked her to be baptized she was sooooo excited. She is adorable and went to church with her grandpa these past 2 Sundays... her grandpa is our convert.


Well. So I heard that kevin had a birthday... what the heck Kev! You are not supposed to have birthdays without me there giving you a noogie. Next year it will be double, ok! hahaha. Happy birthday I hope it was a good one for a great uncle! I love you Kev. Also it was sad to hear about what happened to Nathan, tell him to be careful and its true, I sure pray hard for the family every single moment possible. Oh and happy 24th soon!!! I love the pics that you guys sent. Our puppy is sooo cute. Give him a hug for me. And even cuter those 2 handsome young men with a sign saying we love you. (Josh and Nath). Ahhhhh so cute. That's awesome that you had the missionaries over. They must have loved you guys. How lucky are they.


Well there are a few members that want to come see us in December for 2 days while they are in the states. They were wondering what plane tickets would cost to like Miami or Atlanta. If you have time, let me know. But don't worry too much it was just a question. We actually reactived a family about 2 months back and they are getting ready to go to the temple for the first time in Aug. We are sooooo excited for them. Today I went to the Distribution Center and bought them a big poster of the temple so that they can put it up in their house. I am so proud of them. The other night when my comp was sick we went and watched Charly with them, we all were crying and they were saying how much they want all their family to be members. It was so cute. We have a plan to do family prayer every night with them and all of their family. Well I love you soooo much. Dad, I LOVED your talk, am going to print your email off. Thanks soooo much. I love you all soooo much. Tell everyone hi. Hasta la vista baby

July 15, 2013

Hey!!!!! Well this week was crazy! MY COMP LEFT ME!!!!!!! ahhhhh. Yep, we had changes and it was really sad because I really got along with my comp and we got so close and we were working so well together but such is life sometimes right. It was hard but now I am with my new companion and she is way cool too. Her name is Hermana Puyol and she is from Argentina. She speaks a little different than all the Central American people. She uses some words that I do not know but we always laugh about it and I tell her that her Spanish is really bad hahahaha. She tells me that mine is good because I talk like everyone else in Nicaragua... super funny. So that is our challenge right now... understanding words from Argentina. hahahah. No but she is awesome and we are teaching a ton. This week we taught over 30 lessons and it was amazing!!!!! We are not seeing a lot of people progressing and this alone is teaching us a lot of things. Like patience, humility, diligence, obedience, charity, love, faith. We are studying hard so that we can help this area. Our ward is very weak as well and so we are trying to help with a little of everything.


Yesterday during our class of gospel principles the Relief Society teacher came up and was like hey could you help me with the class today. I said sure how long do you want me to talk and about what.... hahahahahah she got all serious and was like no, what I meant to say is will you give the class today. BAHHHHHHH I was like um sure what is it on. Tithing she told me. Well I had one minute literally to plan my hour long lesson on tithing. THAT was cool. hahahah. But it actually worked out really well and I was able to make it last the whole hour. The mission really has helped me to be a better teacher. Even though it was hard I felt the influence of the spirit.


Last week we had that guy come to church and I really felt like he was ready to make the covenant of baptism... we visited him yesterday and I was soooo sad because he was laughing in our faces as we taught about Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon. It was hard and I was getting really fired up as dad would say... but then we just decided to leave. It was one of the hardest lessons I have ever been in. But I know that we did our part and now he will be judged for rejecting Jesus Christ. Because like it says in the scriptures. when people reject the word of God they are rejecting Jesus Christ himself. But even though the area is very hard and we are barely finding anyone who wants to progress I know that there are people out there waiting to hear our message. I know that we will be blessed. I know that I am meant to be here. We are still Sister Leaders and there are still four of us. We are in charge of 11 companionships. It's all going well. Not sure if I will end the mission here or if I will have one more area. We will see. I hope all is well. I love you all soooo much!!!! LOVE COURT... aka Hermana Parker

July 8, 2013

Well this week was great. Yesterday a man came to church that we met on Saturday. We only invited him to church and then gave him a pamphlet of the restoration and he showed up to church yesterday. It was awesome. And it shows a lot of obedience and faith on his part. We were very happy to see this in our area. Sometimes I get so sad and think that no matter how hard we try we just are not having a lot of success in my area. It's a rough area but I know we should never get down, just keep working hard. Like dad said in his email, after much tribulation comes the blessings. It's so true. It's just a small moment. 


How was your fourth of July. I sang a few songs to the US . Hope some of you heard me. Also I was so pumped for Tays birthday and his year mark. So awesome. This week I received a package!!!! It was so great to get it. Thanks sooooooo much. It was a cute missionary teddy bear with the poster with all the hands on it and then all the snacks. So cute! I LOVE IT ALL!!!!!! On Friday I receive my trunky paper is what they call it. hahaha It has all the information on it like bishops name and mom and dads names and all that stuff becuase they are preparing me to come home. Sadly I have mixed feelings but I really am excited to see everyone. Even though it will be hard to leave here. So I was right, I will be leaving October 2 and I think you guys will be receiving some kind of letter or something from the mission office. Today I had to go get my police record, that was a pain. But I have to go pick it up on Wednesday so it should all be fine.


Well we had a great week. Changes are this Wednesday but I don't know if my comp will leave or not. We are hoping that we can stay together another change but who knows. I am pretty sure I will stay in my area. Many prayers will be needed this week. Thanks for all that you do and for always supporting me and helping me along this journey. So proud of little Nate and his baseball game he has today. Good luck buddy. Also, Haley's baby completes 5 months today. Congrats!!! Oh and Chan, I have a letter coming your way! Congrats on the baby!!!! So pumped for November to see your new baby! Sorry I haven't written for a while! Well. Have a great week and know that I love you all and am always praying for you. love Hermana Parker

July 1, 2013

So this week was crazy!!!!! On Tuesday we had a huge activity with the whole mission and we said bye to President and his family. It was very sad actually and when we were all singing "God be with you until we meet again" the whole mission was crying. It was super sad but he did a very great job and we had fun there. We all had lunch and we just got to go around and catch up with everyone and take pics with Pres. and everything. It was awesome. But then it was awesome because on Friday night we got a call and the new Mission Presidents wife wanted to work with us. So it was awesome and she doesn't know a lot of Spanish but we went and taught a family with her and I translated for her and the spirit was soooo strong. We invited them to be baptized and they accepted so fast. It was intense. But yeah the new President and his wife are AMAZING people and I really feel their love for us. So cute!!!! I can totally see my parents in their shoes someday soon.


Well we had another stake baptism and it was fun because we had it with my old zone and I got to see 2 of my converts there and it was awesome. Soooo great to see them active in the church. The 16 year old is so pumped for his mission. So exciting. Well today we actually moved out of our house. None of the elders were able to help us, so we asked some members and so that was good. And our new house is super cute. Obviously a bit cheaper because that is why we moved, but it's soooo homey and we actually have a couch now... yeah I feel real spoiled ha.


Ok so there is a lady that is from Cedar that is going to bring a bunch of my stuff to you guys this week. I gave her your numbers and our address. Please look out for her call. She is doing me a huge favor. But most of the things we can go through all together when I get home, so please keep it in a safe place. And then there are a few letters for you guys and Laurens birthday card. But Sister Rasmussen will tell you guys what bag you can open. They had us over for dinner again yesterday and they are awesome. Also, she knows all of the good hotels and everything for when you guys come. She says she can come get you at the airport even. Just talk to her. She is great.


So yesterday at church an American family came and the lady came up to me and gave me stickers and 20 dollars. I was about to cry, it was soooo nice. She said lunch is on me thanks for all you do. Soooo awesome. We ate at Burger King today with the money. Well this week we did divisions in Granada and it went really well. We had a lot of fun. We are having fun. I love the mission still and am looking forward to many more spiritual experiences. I love you all and hope you are doing great!!!! love always Courtney

June 24, 2013

 This is like my family in my old area! Amazing!!

 Marcela!! A little girl from my old area and Yami!!

 Divisions with my hija!!

 What I found today when I opened the door...I did scream!

 So cute!

Madelin's Baptism

Well my emails seem to just be shorter and shorter. I like to send pics but then its harder to write because it takes forever to load them! But I am soooo glad that you all had fun at the cabin. I loved looking at the pictures and don't worry mom,I am not trunky yet... who knows when that time will come, I hope never. I want to work hard until the end. Anyways I got my AMAZING páckage!!!!!!!!! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHh it was amazing!!!!! Thank you thank you thank you!!!!! As you can tell I loved the skirt and sweater.I wore them right away. So great. Also all the snacks and the bracelet and chapstick and book and the cute bee story and the make up thank you!!!!!!! I LOVED IT! I am soooo blessed. 

Well tomorrow we have a conference with the whole mission to say goodbye to our President. It will be really hard but I am excited for the new one to come too. It should be a new adventure. We have 6 families that we are teaching right now but I got really discouraged yesterday when not even one of them showed up to church. It was hard and I about started crying because we worked so hard during the week but then I felt comfort and know that God was telling me I had done my part. I love the mission. So on tuesday we had a reunion with all the leaders and we played a game where we had to see how many marshmellows we could fit in our mouth. I was really embarrassed when they said Hermana Parker go for it. So I competed against another sister and I won with 5 hahahahah. They were big. They were taking pics and everything... not cool but so funny. Well I want to wish Lauren a very very happy birthday!!!!! I LOVE YOU SIS! You are the greatest. I love you family. Thank you soooo much for all that you do for me. I feel your prayers. I LOVE YOU!!!!!!!

June 17, 2013

This week was really good. We are working hard with our converts and we are having fun while working. We went on two divisions this week and we worked hard
with the sisters. I got to visit my old area and there were a few people in tears, it was soooo cute just to see how much they really have missed me. I still haven't seen my first area because now there are elders there but its all good.
Today I got the package so I cannot wait to open it. Our district leader had emergency changes so that was really hard on us, he was a GREAT elder from Guatemala. Now I actually have the same district leader that was my DL in Altagracia in my old area. S'o its all good. today we played soccer and went out to eat as a district it was way fun. 
Well I have to get going, I will write more next week!!!! I hope all is well at the cabin. Have fun!!!!! Love Hermana Parker. Also thanks family and Nat and Holly and the Relief Society for sending letters. I love you all.