Service, Service, and More Service!!

It's been a wild week! But before I start, last week a lot of people didn't get my weekly, so please let me know if you do so I know it's working again haha. Tuesday was Zone Conference! As usual, it was way awesome! Sister and President Johnson are so inspired and truly are called of God. I received a lot of answers to my prayers. We talked a lot about extending commitments and promising blessings which is probably one of my week points haha. We also got to watch a sneak peek of this year's easter initiative, and it's awesome! You guys are in for a real treat so watch out for it this Friday! Right after Zone Conference Sister Roper got really sick so we stayed in just about all of Wednesday and then went to a Nonmembers home and helped her paint her bathroom. BJ is so funny and really loves God and the church she goes to. She said that her church says a lot of bad stuff about the Mormon church and the missionaries but Sister Roper and I proved them wrong! Haha she said the next time she hears someone talking bad about our church she will yell at them. She even said when we come it's like family coming over. Friday and Saturday we went and painted again, and also helped Trudy and the Booth family clean their houses. So if you didn't guess already, we did a ton of service! But it was good, the people really needed it and sister roper and I got a good work out from it! I've noticed on my mission thus far that people take advantage of me for being tall (wink wink mom). When we painted my whole job was to do the ceiling and edges, so needless to say my back and shoulders will probably be hurting me till next week. Sunday we were literally with Dylan the whole day. We had a lesson with him after church, then he came with us to a members house for lunch, and a members house for dinner. It was so crazy! But we are so proud of the ward for stepping up and inviting him into the ward, we know it helps a ton! HIGHLIGHTS 1. Sister Blazina's mother-in-law, Grammy, swears she will die a Methodist. But lately she has been coming to church and even has a calling now in the primary. She told us that she is a MM, A Methodist Mormon! 2. BJ sent us home with a giant pan of monkey bread.... BLESSINGS. #Sugarcoma 3. Sister Roper chugged a coke, best moment of my life. Video will be on my Google Drive. 4. Last but most certainly not least......... DYLAN ACCEPTED A BAPTISMAL DATE. Yeah, you read that right. This week he is going to be praying about it and we are now helping him take the steps for baptism on April 22. SO EXCITED. This week is week 11 which means I am in charge of everything, basically a senior companion. Pray for me! Haha Quote of the week, "Never let the truth get in the way of a good story" - Billy Ellis

The Storm of the Century!!

Hello everyone! Yes I am alive, I didn't get snowed in or buried in, though it was a close one! This week was a pretty low key week. Monday and Tuesday we were stuck inside due to the snow, so we did a lot of cleaning, studying, and calling people haha. We did do a TON of shoveling, and I think my back is still recovering from that haha. But over the space of two days we got a near 18 inches of snow! Pretty insane haha. This week we did a lot of service for members and that was good. The coming week is going to be full of a lot of service too, but we love it. I know that service really does soften people's hearts to the message of the gospel and have seen it many times already on my mission. I also had a lot of time this week to do family history and it was very cool! I found out that I am related to the girl in "13 Miracles" who prayed for her mother who had given up, to continue going as they pulled handcarts to Utah, and found a pie sitting at her feet when she was done praying. Pretty awesome stuff! It's really cool to find out things about your ancestors and where you come from. One of my highlights from this week was Friday, we had our second lesson with Dylan. We taught the Plan of Salvation and it was just so awesome. He is so humble and ready to learn. I swear every time we meet with him he teaches us more than we teach him. This week he is determined to have his own experiences with the book of mormon and finding out for himself if what we have taught him is true. He was at church again this Sunday, and it is the coolest thing to have an investigator there. I love seeing the ward really stepping up and welcoming him to the family :) Another highlight was Saturday when we went to Lewisberry for a baptism. The sisters in my district and I sang a musical number which went really well. I was just so happy to be there and to be apart of someone coming into the waters of baptism and seeing the happiness on his face when it was over. My final highlight is this week I finished The Book of Mormon for the first time on my mission. At the end of the book there is an amazing promise for those who read it. It says, " And when ye shall receive these things, I would exhort you that ye would ask God, the Eternal Father, in the name of Christ, if these things are not true; and if ye shall ask with a sincere heart, with real intent, having faith in Christ, he will manifest the truth of it unto you, by the power of the Holy Ghost. And by the power of the Holy Ghost ye may know the truth of all things". I would like to let you all know that I have prayed for myself to know if the book of mormon is the word of God and I testify to you that it is. It is the most correct book on this earth and tells us exactly how we should live to have happiness in this life and in the life to come. I know Jesus lives. I know he came to the people of Ancient America and taught amongst them. Because The Book of Mormon is true, I know that Joseph Smith is a prophet and I know this church is true. I am sure you guys are tired of hearing it, but I LOVE being a missionary. I love being in Pennsylvania and I love the people. This is the best thing I have ever done! I love you all and I'm so grateful for your letters and prayers. Keep them coming! Don't forget I love pictures and just getting updates on life. Don't hesitate to send them! Haha

Good Things Come to Those Who Wait!!!

Hello everyone! It has been one busy week! I don't have a whole lot to say about this week, but I will fill you in on the highlights! Tuesday we went and had a lesson with our investigator, Asia, and it was really good! We taught the restoration and invited her to be baptized at the end and she said if she came to know it was true for herself she would! So that was awesome. The spirit was very powerful and I hope she could feel that. On Wednesday we got to have a lesson with trinity, our recent convert, and we watched the restoration movie. It was really good and she had a greater desire to read the scriptures and share the gospel, it was awesome. It was super windy that day, but we were determined to hand out three copies of the Book of Mormon. Of course, this was one of the days where people were especially stubborn and unfriendly, but we handed them out! So that's good haha. Thursday was crazy. We went to Liverpool and went knocking. Literally everyone we met slammed a door in our face or rejected us very quickly. So, we went and looked through our area book for people who were listed as potentials. We came to one house and aan came out. He started cussing like crazy and saying Joseph smith was not a prophet, and there were no such thing as prophets besides Jesus. He went as far as to compare Joseph Smith to a murderer and was just saying awful things. We asked him if he had prayed to know if Joseph smith was a prophet and it got quiet. Of course, he said no and immediately tried to give us excuses and prove us ignorant for believing in modern day prophets, but the battle was over. I want you guys to know that I have prayed and I know for myself that Joseph Smith was a prophet, that this is the one true church on the earth today, and the Book of Mormon is the most correct book of God's word to men. No one is going to change how I feel about that. And no matter how many men I might just like this one, I will always know in my heart that this church is true. We also got to go to sister Galluccis and she made bath salts, perfume, lip balm, and tooth powder with us and it was way fun. She knows a lot about home remedies and essential oils, so it was fun to pick her brain. I learned a lot! Sister Gallucci just recently found out she is allergic to gluten, so all the food she's been feeding us lately is gluten free, and it's actually way good! Friday...... best day ever. And let me tell you why. So last Sunday we had someone we didn't know come to church and his name is Dylan Naugle. He is not a member, but his grandparents are. He's 24. We went and introduced ourselves and he was awesome. On Tuesday we ran into him again and he told us he wanted to know more about our church and was interested in becoming a member. A SELF REFERRAL. That NEVER happens. He got our number, and everyday after Tuesday he sent us a text telling us when we could come over to teach him and what days he was available, and kept trying to meet earlier. It was unbelievable! So Friday we had our first lesson with us and he told us he had found a Book of Mormon in his house and had already read 6 chapters and loved what he felt when he read it. He also said that after church on Sunday he went out to go smoke and he couldn't do it. He said it tasted nasty in his mouth and awkward in his fingers, and that was proof to him that he needed to investigate what made this church so special. He has had a way difficult life and has a lot of challenges, but he has turned his life completely around and is finding God in every aspect of his life. He is absolutely AMAZING and came to church on Sunday again and just told us how much he loved it. He will be coming to a baptism for another companionship in our district. He is so great and we know that the only reason we know him and get to teach him is because God put him in our path. We were meant to meet him. I am so excited to see how he progresses and know he is the reason why I am in New Bloomfield! I love you guys and am so grateful for the love you've been sending my way in prayers, letters, emails, etc. You are awesome! Until next week!

2 Months and 1,200 Movies!

Hello Everyone! It's been a long week and I am just glad it is PDay. But here is what we did this week! Tuesday we went to Newport, per usual, and had an extremely full day planned. Literally everything we had planned fell through, except our dinner appointment. Satan works really hard on some people to keep them from hearing the gospel. That is for sure. But, God provided! We were able to have a lot of experiences we wouldn't have had if we didn't have our plans drop. Probably my highlight of the day was we went to Brother Himes and he came out with his guitar and started playing tunes for us, it was awesome! While we were talking to him, his nonmember granddaughter, Asia, came out because it was smoky in the trailer from her burning her grilled cheese. She never comes out! We taught a lesson and she stayed out the whole time and said at the end she wanted us to come back and teach her the lessons, so we are going back tomorrow! Talk about a tender mercy, and it all started with a grilled cheese! Also, I hit my two month mark! Time flies on the mission haha. Wednesday, again, every plan and lesson we had fell through, so we didn't have anything to do again. So, we just decided to go out and do some finding. Literally no one was home that we tried to contact, and if they were, they looked through the window and didn't answer the door. So we decided to go to this one apartment building and knock a little. Again, no one answered, and as we were about to head home and call it a day, a lady came out of her door to smoke. Both sister roper and I felt really nagged by the spirit to go over and talk to her. So we did, and it turns out she was taught by missionaries before and lost contact with them when she had moved. Her Name is Angie, and she is very nice, and listened intently to our message and said she would like us to come back. Tender Mercy number 2! We also got to go to Kayla's On Friday and Saturday we went to the Boothe's and did a ton of service for them. Joan, the grandma, is really awesome at painting, and she was painting vases and jars to sell for a fundraiser to help her church build a new building. So both days we were in there arranging fake flower bouquets and wrapping lights to put inside the glass. The whole time we joked about us building the wrong church. It was pretty funny haha. We also helped clean their basement. Sister and brother Boothe are huge movie watchers, and by huge movie watchers I mean they own about 1,250 movies! So we spent about an hour and a half arranging all the movies in alphabetical order. Did I mention Sister Boothe is a bit OCD? 😂😂. Gotta love her though. She said if after my mission I am ever back in Pennsylvania that she will let me stay in the spare bedroom and watch movies to my hearts content. It's just awesome to be around them and to help them build back up. Every time I go over there I wish more and more I had known Dawn, their daughter, cause she sounds amazing. Sunday we had a lesson with a couple named the Specks, who three years ago lost their 19 year old daughter to cancer. We shared the Plan of Salvation with them and they loved it. They are very strong in their own faith, but it was so refreshing to be around people who love Jesus Christ as much as I do. They are so awesome at just rejoicing their daughters life, even though God took her back so soon. I have no doubt in my mind where she is. Unfortunately, Sunday I got hit really hard with some sort of physical ailment. I thought I was going to hurl everywhere and I felt weak, and experienced what I think was my first migraine. I hurt so much I was in tears, and Elder Thompson took us to Bishop Coopers home so That I could receive a blessing. I didn't feel better immediately, but I felt comforted and maybe that was the thing I really needed most. Sister Cooper was very motherly and fussy over me, and helped nurse me back to health I guess you'd say haha. I felt pretty useless and upset with myself for not being at full capacity, but I think it's important to slow down when you need to and to know when you need help. I definitely learned that. I am just so thankful for loving leaders and for men all around me who are worthy of the priesthood and can exercise it when called upon. I love you all and I am so thankful for the love you guys have shown me and the thoughtful emails, they mean a lot. Please keep them coming, I love to hear how people are doing and what you are up to. I hope everything is well and you are always in my prayers! Sister Parry 418 West Main Street Unit C New Bloomfield, PA 17068

Rainstorms, Cat's Blood, and Mexico

Hello from smelly New Bloomfield! It's spreading season here in the boonies! Who doesn't love the smell of fresh manure on the fields? 😂 the joys of a farm land mission! This week has been one one crazy week! But definitely one of the best on my mission thus far. There were some crazy things that happened and we witnessed a lot of tender mercies. On Tuesday we went to Newport as we normally do. We are always busy on Tuesdays, because there are so many people to see there. We went and visited an investigator named Dee, and she's the best. She up until this point has been what we call "an eternal investigator" because she's been learning for quite some time, but keeps no commitments😬. Well, Sister Roper decided her lesson was going to be the first lesson I would lead out on since being in the field. I invited her to be baptized without fear, which I was totally terrified of doing before. She didn't say no, but not right now. We made a ton of progress with her and found out how we can help her better and how to get her to the point of baptism. She knows she needs to be baptized, she is just letting a lot of fear hold her back. One of her greatest fears is that her husband Andy will never accept the church and come unto christ. Immediately I promised her that he may not accept it in this life, but he would in the next. Me promising that to her really surprised me. I know that that promise wasn't my words, but the Holy Ghost working through me. We left the lesson overwhelmed with the spirit and I was truly reminded that we are truly not the teachers, but the Holy Ghost is. 💓 On Wednesday we had the last lesson of Preach My Gospel with our girl Trinity. Next month she will hit her one year mark since baptism and we won't be teaching her anymore. It was bittersweet, and she's came a long way even since I have been here. We will continue to meet with her until that point, but we are going to start getting creative with our lessons haha. 😜 Thursday was a very interesting day. We had what was probably our last lesson with our investigator Christy. Onward and upward right?! We went up to Mifflintown to meet with some less actives, and stopped in Mexico on the way 😂 hahaha. Just Mexico, Pennsylvania, don't worry. Anyways, we saw a sign that said hand dipped ice cream and we stopped at it of course. It was a tiny little market that sold Homemade Amish Ice cream! It was $1.50 a cone and it was a TON of ice cream, and it was the best Ice cream I have EVER HAD. Such an awesome find! So that was Sister Roper and I's little Road trip adventure for the week haha. We also had another lesson with Linda Stoke which was awesome as always. She didn't have a full grasp of what the atonement is and we had a powerful lesson with her Friday we went out with Sister Boothe to a drive up diner named Red Rabbit, and YUM. It was so good and it was awesome to spend time with Sister Boothe and help her let her hair down during this hard time. She is doing so much better, and she even came to the Valentines Day Ward Party on Saturday and had a great time. We are so proud of her and the strength she is showing after Dawn's passing. She gets better and better every day. BTW the ward party was so fun and we played a lot of fun games. It was a good time for fellowshipping 😀. Saturday we had our first Pennsylvania rain storm and man did it POUR. It was awesome though. I love the rain and it reminded me of home. It's been really sunny this week, sunny and 70 almost everyday, and we have absolutely loved it. The sunshine was much need. My Girl Emily also opened her own mission call Saturday and she is going to............. OGDEN UTAH! Kind of made me laugh but she'd going to be so awesome. Sunday we went out with our Senior couple the Thompsons, to the Noss home. Sister Noss is such a funny lady. Every time we go over she doesn't have her teeth in, but she's very loud and spunky. Her and her husband do not attend ever, but they have a very strong testimony of the church. The Thompsons connected with them on a level we never have, and I am so grateful for them! Sister Noss' cat has a tumor on its tummy about the size of a grapefruit, and while we were there it opened up and started bleeding everywhere and the cat started crying. Elder Thompson immediately said he would give the cat a priesthood blessing, and so he did. A little crazy haha, but I noticed almost immediately after, the cat stopped bleeding. It was pretty cool! And poor sister Roper, she was in the splash zone and got some blood all over her, and I cleaned up whatever was on the floor. You don't see that everyday do ya? Hahaha😂😂 As always, I am thankful for all of you and the support you have given me, it means everything. I truly love being a missionary more than I can express, and the thought of going home breaks my heart, but luckily I have some time before that. I love you, and look forward to hearing from you all! D&C 6:34-37

Stop, Drop, and Pray!

Friends and family, hello from New Bloomfield, Pennsylvania! This week has been... a week haha. No doubt about that. You can't expect in the mission field to always have good weeks. There is a saying in the mission field that says that "in the field there are not bad days and bad weeks, just hard days and hard weeks, and there can be happiness found in every day". I have been trying to keep that in mind this week haha. Tuesday we went to Newport and it was an interesting experience. Last week we inherited 4 new investigators in Newport alone, and Tuesday we dropped down to 2 haha. Onward and upward right? We went to dinner at the Gallucci family's home and I always love that. Sister Gallucci gave us one of my first real pennsylvania-Dutch delicacies... Beet eggs! Basically what they are is an egg that is pickled in beets, vinagar, and a little bit of herbs and sugar. The egg is totally purple and it looks very questionable when you first see it. But, of course I was down to try and they were so good! I was surprised how much I liked them. Rant over haha. Thursday was a crazy day. We went to visit Christy, who is on date for baptism, and needless to say she probably won't be by the end of this week. Hopefully the Lord chastises me and proves me wrong, but as of now it's not looking good. We gave a really good lesson and tried to help her as much as we could, but unfortunately you can't force someone to take the help. Some people just refuse to change. But, that was definitely the first time I've taught a lesson where the investigator smoked the entire time haha. We also visited a less active, Sister Lyons, who is progressing very well. She loves to read from the prophets and loves the gospel library app. I taught her how to use it and the resources more effectively and she loved it. She has three daughters, two of the age of baptism, so hopefully we can open some doors and get their family back to church. We also met with Sister Pham, who is a small Vietnamese lady. She's so funny, haha. Her accent is really heavy but she's just about the most giving lady you'll ever meet. She gave us three boxes of crackers and a giant papaya to take home. She's awesome! That night we went and taught my favorite person in the world, Linda Stoke! Linda is a less active we have been working with since before I got here. When they first met her she was drinking 15 beers a night, smoking like a chimney, drank loads of coffee, and loved the occasional joint. She had no real desire to read the scriptures or go to church. Since then, she has gone absolutely cold turkey on any alcohol with no relapses, is cutting back her smoking and doesn't do any more joints, and is almost completely weaned off of coffee. She has been loyal to reading her scriptures everyday and always has questions for us to answer. It is just so awesome to watch her progress and watch her countenance change. She has totally done a complete 180 as she has found true joy in the gospel. Everyday when she makes coffee she puts on tablespoon less and by the end of the week she will be down to just hit water, so we are having a hot chocolate party haha! Saturday night and Sunday morning we had Stake Conference. It was probably the best stake conference I have ever been to. I received so many answers to prayers and insight on things I was struggling with. Our Stake president, President Giles, is just a powerhouse of spiritual insight. He is so blunt and in your face about things and I think that's why I love him so much. He is battling two different liver diseases, and probably doesn't have a whole lot of time left on this earth, but he's incredible. President and Sister Johnson, my mission president couple, were there and I just love them so much. They gave fabulous talks and are just the most kind and caring people you will ever meet. We had interviews with them this week to and it is so nice to have a one on one with President Johnson to talk about the trials I am going through. Unfortunately, their years of missionary service in the PPM will conclude in July. I'm pretty darn sad about that, but I know the next president is called of God. Today I feel very prompted by the spirit to share my simple testimony with you who read these letters. I know that this church, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, is the only church on this earth with the whole truth of God. I know that in 1820, God and Jesus Christ themselves appeared to a young boy named Joseph Smith who just wanted to know which church was true. Through him, they restored Jesus Christ's True Church and God's power on the earth for today. Because of this we have the Book of Mormon, another testament of Jesus Christ, with more truths in it about how to make it back to heaven than any other book of this earth. It has stories and morals that can help us lead better lives and find greater peace and joy. I know that families can be together forever through what we call the Plan of Salvation. I know my Savior, Jesus Christ lives. I know that he died for our sins, pains, and trials, so that we could be forgiven of the mistakes we all inevitably make. I know he was resurrected, and we will be too. I know he loves me more than I can comprehend, and I hope to show even a portion of that love to others. I know that there is no other way on earth to recieve everlasting joy and peace than through living the true, simple principle this church teaches. I know all of these things are true, without a doubt in my mind. If you don't, I challenge you to pray about them. I know and I promise you that God answers prayers, and wants us to know for ourselves. I love being a missionary. This week I forgot why I loved being a missionary and why I was even here. But I remember now. I pray I never forget again. I am honored to where Christ's name on my chest everyday and to be a representative of his one, true church. I love you all and thank you for all of your prayers. God be with you!