Coming Home

Mother and Family,
Well mother this will be really short because I really have nothing to say. I am very nervous and very confused on what is going on. I have not really realized yet that I am going home and do not really know how to feel about it. On one hand I am very excited but on the other I am very nervous. I am however a little sad as well. I was blessed with the chance to be able to talk on Sunday. It was really great. I also was allowed to pick the last song in sacrament and then lead the song. Also a great experience. All and all life is great. We were blessed with three more baptisms this last Sunday. A great way to finish my mission. With those three baptisms I was able to complete a goal that I made with the Lord that I almost thought was impossible. With God all things are possible. That is one thing that I really believe in now.
Yes I messed up on what I wrote. I really did not mean to put 11:20 but 4:20 that is my bad. ha. Today I will have the chance to have my last interview with the President. It should be great and I am very excited to be able to talk with him again. Also tomorrow I will be going to Rio Grande da Serra again to visit a few families before I go home. I am very excited for these next few days. The ward here is really great and I was really blessed this last week and Sunday. All and all it was great.
Well I am going to get going. I will be able to tell you all about the mission here in a few days. I will just say sorry ahead of time if I happen to stay in my room a little more than normal. I will try my hardest to be normal when I get home but it will be hard. Jordan Maybon returned already? I cannot believe that he got home before me. You should have him and his family go with you to the airport. I would love to have his family with me when I get released etc....
The mission really is great. I love the mission so much. It was the best choice that I could have made. This is the true Church!!!!!! I know that it is. God really does love us and will always take care of us if we let him. Also the book of Mormon is true and I hope to keep the habit of reading the Book of Mormon and the New Testament daily. It is such strength and a help guide. Also I know that the temple is the house of the Lord. I am really excited to be able to go to the temple when I get home. It will be great. All and all I love you all so much and I am so grateful for you all and for my mission and for this amazing and true church in my life. This is the church of Christ. I will talk to you all soon. Love you all.
Elder Daniel J. Parkinson
P.s. I will ask early to be able to get your help. I will need all of your help to help me with the changes that I will face and the choices that I will need to make. Thank you so much for everything.

End of Mission

Well.................................................What do I say????? I will start off with a few things. The first thing is that next Monday I might actually use e-mail again but I do not know for sure. We received our schedules for the last few days and my last interview of the mission is on Monday. That will really be very very weird. I am looking forward to the interview but at the same time I also know that it will be a really really hard time for me. To say that I am sad about going home would be a lie. I am very very excited to be able to see you all again especially my mother whom I love, but I am, however, very sad that here pretty soon I will be leaving a mission that I love, a country that I love, people that I love, an area that I love and language that I love. I do hope however that I will not be as weird as Jason was when he got home. I will try my hardest to not be like that. I have been praying a lot lately that God would help me with the transition. I really hope that he does. I will need it. The work does not stop and that is how it should be. We are trying our hardest to be able to baptize three more people this coming Sunday. That would be so great. Those baptisms would help me to complete my goal that I made for my mission. Also the bishop is going to let me sing and talk on the last Sunday. I really hope that I do not cry. I never really thought that the mission would come to an end. I always thought that it would keep going on forever, but it is coming to an end and I do not know what to do. Sometimes I think.... Maybe I should start thinking about home but then I think to myself I cannot do that because I need to work till the very last moment of my mission. I think that God still has someone here in Brazil that needs to hear my voice. I will find that person and I will work my hardest this last week that I have.
Well just to make me a little more sad.. ha. The person sitting next to me (Mauro) turned to me this very instant and told me that I have a very beautiful (peaceful, loving) energy about me. That was a very great compliment. Something that I do not know will continue after I take this name tag off.
I am excited to be able to see good old grams again and to have dinner on Sunday nights. That will be very great. I know that it might be a little weird but it will still be great. Also I am very excited to see all of my nieces and nephews again. That will be a moment very special for me. I really love little kids and it will be great to be able to hold one in my arms again. I really believe that my nieces and nephews will be able to help me a lot in getting used to being home. Children really are angels here on earth.
It will be great to be able to go to Church again there in the United states. I still think that for a while I will be going to more than just one ward every Sunday just to settle into things. I think that is something that could really help me. I hope that you are OK with that. I will probably try to go to our new ward and one of the old wards.
Well let me talk about my mission. I mean I still am a missionary. This last week was great. We were able to see many many miracles. Thanks to the power of fasting and the power of God. We were really trying our hardest and the Lord did the rest. We were also blessed with a baptism last week. That made me really really happy. So the ward that I am in was now split(kind of split) it is hard to explain I will have to tell you about it later. I was able to do a division that I have wanted to do for my whole mission this last week. I was able to do a division with a missionary that I really love. He is a good man. I am excited to talk with him after he to gets done with his mission. It was such a great division and we were able to get so many great things done together. I have really realized that everything that we do on our mission is not because we are powerful but because God decided to bless us. If it were not for him we could really not do anything.
I really have nothing left to say. I am really speechless. Well I love you all. I know that this is the true church. It is not easy to be a member but it is definitely worth it. I know that God really does love us. I am so grateful that he let me be a representative of his son Jesus Christ. I really do not feel worthy of all the blessings that I have received on my mission. Sometimes I really forget all the blessings that happen on the mission but then when I remember it is so great. God is wonderful and God is a God of Miracles. The Book of Mormon is true. We need to be studying the scriptures every single day to be able to stay on the path. That is one thing that I really hope that I do not lose after the mission. I love to study the scriptures and I love to pray to God. I know that he is there. Sometimes it is hard to feel him there but I know that he does hear our prayers. I love you all so much and until next week.... I will try my hardest to not be sad when I get home like Jason. It will be really hard for me to leave Brazil but I am excited for the great things that are ahead of me. Love you all!!!
Elder Daniel James Parkinson
P.s. I think you already know what time I will be getting in but I will remind you. 11:20. Love you all. Do not forget to advise Bishop Gregory.

Going strong till the end

Well mother how are things going? It is really hard for me to believe that I only have two more weeks left. I do not really believe it. I will only use the Internet two more times after today to be able to talk with you and then I will be able to see you. It is really weird how time goes by so fast. It seems like yesterday that I was in the CTM or at home packing for the mission. Time really does go by really fast. It is because of this realization that I decided and came to the fact that we really need to take a lot of care of the time we are given. We really need to be doing the things that will help us to have Eternal life. I really loved the Talk about Desires. What really are our biggest desires? Do we all desire to have Eternal life, etc.? It really made me think about how important it is to have the desire to do good. I testify that the power of desire is great! According to our desires miracles can happen. I have realized these last few months that my desire to baptize and to save people have really made the difference. The more I desire to do good and to baptize the more elects I find and the more that the Lord helps me. We really need to have the desire to do good.
Well......... Sorry I will have to stop here. The Internet has fell through about 4 times and I do not have enough time now to be able to write you. It is kind of frustrating when the Internet falls through like that. Just know that all is going well. Conference was soooooo great! I was able to learn so many great things. Also so many miracles have happened this last week!!! It seems like these miracles will continue. I really hope so. I will keep trying my hardest until the very last minute. That is why I was called to serve two years not one year 11 months and 29 days. For Two years and so the work goes on. I love the mission so much. I love you all so much. Mother you are so great. Until next week.
Elder Daniel J. Parkinson
Ps. I still have not received your package. I hope that I receive you package before I leave if not I told Elder Fujimoto that he can keep the package for himself unless there is something inside that I will really need.