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.

New Baptism/Watch Conference

Well this week was just great!!! We were so blessed again. I cannot believe that we only have a few more weeks and I will be home. I do not know how I feel about that. I have so many things going through my head. I really do not think about home except for when the members start to ask about home. haha. I really do not like it when they do that. I really just want to focus on the mission. I love the mission and still have so much that I need to do in this short amount of time that I have left. My goal is to baptize at least four more people in these last three weeks that I have. I really think that if I try my hardest that God will do the rest and it is very possible to reach my goal.
I too am so grateful for the temple. It is such a blessing to us. I really want to also make a goal to go there at least one time every single week after the mission. That is my goal. I am praying for Walt and his family. I really hope that they do well. I know that God will be there for them if they search for him.
Well right now I will have to be really quick. I will just tell you a few highlights of this last week.
1. We were blessed with three for baptisms this week. It was so great. It was really neat because we found two of these people by asking my recent convert that I baptized if she had any friends for us to teach. She then started to look and found this family for us to teach. It is so great. I am so excited to do this work. I love the mission. Also the other person that was baptized was a little kid that a lot of other missionaries have already tried to baptize but finally decided it was his time. It was a great baptism.
2. Three of my recent converts received callings this last week!! It was great. One of them will be the secretary of the relief society. Also three more of my converts passed and blessed the sacrament!!! What a great sight that was.
3. We were blessed to find a new family. The family has 7 people in it. It was such a blessing. We found this family because a little girl decided to bring her little friend to church. We than talked to this little girl and went to her house and she had lots of brothers and sisters and great parents. It was great.
Well that is all I have time for now. I love you so much. Just know that all is great. I love you all.
Elder Daniel J. Parkinson

p.s.s really try to watch all of the sessions of conference!!

Update on Mission/Coming Home

Well the time is just flying by but just like you said I have not decided whether that is a good thing or a bad thing. ha. I really do love the mission and yesterday it finally hit me that I will not always be on the mission. I think yesterday was the first time that I really felt like someday my mission would come to an end. It is part of life and so I will deal with it. ha. There is only so much that I can grow on the mission the rest has to come through other things after the mission, and so I am at peace (At least for now). Well this week was a very strange week. It was just full of so many things. Also it was a week that I really learned a lot. Some of the things that I learned I do not know why it has to be this certain way but I know that it does have to be.
1. Well this last week I was able to go on a division with someone from Idaho. He is from Coeur´de´lene. He is really a good missionary. He is our district leader and kind of new on the mission but it was still great to go on a division with him. I was able to learn a lot with him. I just hope that he to was able to learn a few things.
2. On Friday we had the chance to go around with President and Sister Richardson for the whole day. We had to go to every single house in our zone to inspect their apartments and to let President interview them. It was great. I really do love President and Sister Richardson. They are really great. It is always good to do these kind of Interviews every once and a while because it helps you to get to know them a little better. Also they inspected our apartment and I was interviewed. It was really great they thought that our house was really clean and they liked it. Also the interview went great. The funny part is where we had the interview. President likes to do the interviews somewhere where he is able to shut the door and really be one on one with the person and the only place where that is possible in our house is the bathroom. Just to let you know our bathroom is very very tiny. Our bathroom is about the same size as the bathroom upstairs in the old house. Not the whole bathroom but if you take out the sinks and just talk about the shower and toilet area it is about the same size if not smaller. ha. So President sat on the toilet while I sat on a chair right in front of him. Both of our legs just jammed up against us because it was so tiny. ha. It was an interesting place to be interviewed that is for sure. Let me just tell you that the interview was great. Ever since I got on my mission I really wanted to be able to feel like Ammon and his brothers (Alma 26) when I finish my mission. I talked to him about it and he started to talk to me. He told me that if I continue to work like I am now he promised me those same feelings. He said that he cannot talk for God but he said that he knew that my President really is grateful and pleased with my work. That made me feel so good. As you all know I am kind of a perfectionist. I always feel as though I could do better. He talked me to about that and told me that when I get home and tell my stake President or my family that I tried my hardest on my mission he said that is when I will really know if that is true or not. He said that if I really tried my hardest he said that as I say these words to a family member it would turn into a spiritual experience. That is what I strive for. I really want to know from God if my mission has been acceptable in his eyes. It was such a great conversation that we had. He really helped me so much to know a few very important things. All I know is that I will keep trying my hardest and wait till after my mission to know whether God was pleased or not. I know however that I am really trying my hardest!! We will just have to see whether or not God thinks that I tried my hardest. I love my mission so much. It has been able to help me so much in almost everything. Well enough about that. Now it is time for other things that are more important.
3. This week I really learned a few things. We really tried our hardest and everything that we could do to have a baptism this past week. Unfortunately it did not happen. We really thought it would but I think God really wanted us to learn something from this experience. It was a great experience that is hard to explain. The lady will still be baptized but this week and not last week. It is actually a miracle that she will be baptized at all! For this I am so grateful to my Heavenly Father. We are trying our hardest and really hoping to be able to have 5 baptisms this week. We think it is really possible and hope that it will happen! We will try our hardest and put the rest into the Lord´s hands. I have 4 more weeks and 7 more baptisms to complete my goal that I made with my Heavenly Father. I will try my hardest until the very end so that I can complete the goal that I made with my Father in Heaven. I know that it is possible but it will not be easy, and I am fine with that. ha.
Well other than all these things I really do not have that much to say. I love my mission and I love my Father in Heaven. I know that he loves me. I know that Christ really did pay for my sins and that I can live with my Father in Heaven again if I do what is right. Thank you all so much for all of your support. I know that miracles are true and they happen almost every single day. God is a God of Miracles I know this is true. I feel so grateful that God has made so many miracles happen on my mission even though I am probably not even close to really deserve these miracles. I love you all. The key to staying on the path that leads us to eternal life are three or four very important things... Prayer, Scripture study, church attendance, and temple attendance. Please if someone who reads this is not doing these 4 things please start to do them. I love you all and until next week.
Elder Daniel J. Parkinson

Focusing on Mission

Points I would like to make this week about my Mission:
1. We were blessed with one more baptism this last week. That is just great. I do not have any idea why the Lord has been deciding to bless my companion and I. We are really trying our hardest to do our best and because of that sometimes we find ourselves stressed out but the stress all pays off in the end. We are really trying our hardest to have one more baptism this week as well. I really hope that this lady accepts to be baptized. She is really great and really needs to show her faith in God.
2. I am really starting to get more tired every single day. ha. I think that that just comes with time on the mission. I am actually starting to feel a little bit older and it is hard not to remember how much time I have on the mission with everyone constantly reminding me, but I have been able to stay pretty focused on the work. I still am nervous for the events that will come here in a few weeks. I try not to really think about it.
3. I was able to have an interview with the President to be able to renew my recommend. It was great. He is really such a great guy. Ha. I will be having one more interview with him this coming Friday as part of a normal interview schedule. Lots of interviews with the President! That is OK though I really do not mind.
4. We went to the temple today. I will just have to say that I had a great experience at the temple. I know that God´s presence really presides inside the temple. Today was one of the first times in the temple that I felt his presence so strong in my life. I will not really say everything that happened because it is kind of personal but it was great. I know that God loves me and is proud of me. I know that God will guide my path. The experience had a lot to do with what I was talking about earlier. While at the temple I really wanted to know what was expected of me after the mission and what I should be doing. I was told a few things that I should be doing but at the same time I really felt strongly... just focus on the work and have faith and after the mission I will guide thee. That is really how I felt the whole time. I wanted to know what to do exactly but every single time that I pushed harder to know exactly what to do I received the little advice and than just received over and over again just have faith and everything will work out after you finish the mission. I know that If I trust in God than I will be fine and so that is what I intend to do. I really will need his help after the mission because I have so many questions but I know that he will let me know what to do. As of right now I feel as though he told me to not try to play any college sports and to attend BYU-I for a little. To do what there or when I do not know but that will all come in the right time. For now I will finish my work here in Brazil and trust that the Lord will do the rest when I get home. I know that he will!! For he is my Father!
Well I got to get going. Just know that I love you all so very much. I know that this is the true church. I know that God loves me and I know that Christ suffered for everything that I have done and will do. I know that we all have great potential because we are sons and daughters of God. I love you all and until next week.
Elder Daniel J. Parkinson
P.s. I would just like to know who will all be at the airport. Also what did you think about the temple idea that I gave you last week?

God's Miracle this week

A Minha Querida Mãe!!
Well this letter will have to be short. I really feel as though every single week that passes gets shorter and shorter. I feel as though I do not have time to do anything. It is really just nuts. I am glad to hear that Grandma is getting taken care of. I really hope that she is doing great. I am very excited to see her here in a few weeks. I really do not like to think about home but I would just like to know who will all be there when I get home? So I will just give my homecoming talk the first week of May? I will have to advise Elder Guthrie who already went home. He is planning on visiting me and being at my homecoming the 19 - 24. I think that you should talk with Bishop Gregory if he would let me I would love to give a talk there as well. It would really be great. I really like giving talks remember?
I really do not have an opinion. If you would like to make the move before I get back because that is
I am excited to hear that Grandma is not drinking coffee. Now we just have to get her to not ever drink coffee again. How long has it been since she has not drunken coffee? I promise her blessings if she stops drinking coffee. Actually God promises her blessings if she stops. Not just blessings of health but blessings of an Eternal Family!!!
Well I got to get going. Just know that I know that God loves us so much and will always guide us if we let him. I love this gospel so much and I know that Christ is at the head of the Church. I know that the Book of Mormon is true. I love the scriptures. I am reading right now the New Testament and it has really been enlightening my mind so much. It is so great!!! I really love it. I also read Joseph Smith history one more time and it was so great. I love to hear about the Prophets because it testifies to me even more that God loves us. God really does hear our prayers.
Well I got to get going but I would like to let you know that God worked a great miracle this last week. Before I tell you about the miracle I would like to say that I will be staying in my area with my same companion. I will end my mission as a zone leader. I am pretty excited but also tired. haha. But the work must go on!!! I still have lots of time to do great things and for this I am excited. Just 6 more weeks of missionary work in the field and I really have to make the best of it, and I will!!!
The miracle really quick was like this. We were preparing a man named João Batista to be baptized this last Sunday. He was doing really good and was solid for baptism and then on Saturday morning when we passed by he said that he did not want to be baptized anymore. He said he would like to wait for like a few months. I felt that if was not baptized this last week he would never be baptized. We talked to him forever and nothing than a member talked to him for ever and nothing. We prayed that whole night for a miracle. We woke up and got ready for church and brought all of our stuff for a baptism. haha. We knew that God would make a miracle happen and so we were prepared for the baptism. We got to church and João batista did not have his extra clothes for the baptism a member went up and talked to him and he said I will be baptized and went home and grabbed his clothes and was baptized that day. It was such a miracle. I know that God made that Miracle happen. It was nothing that we did and that is the best part!!! I know that God is a God of Miracles. I am grateful for that. I love you all and I have to go. Until next week. Elder Daniel J. Parkinson

11 Baptisms this month

Well another short e-mail. ha. I really love you all so much. That kind of sucks that you got food poisoning. I really hope that you are both a lot better now. This last week was just full of surprises and full of ups and downs. Well I will have to just review my week really quick for you all. Sorry about that...
1. Well I and my companion were really blessed this last week and month. We finished the week will 4 baptisms, and the month with 11 baptisms. It was a great month and a great week. I really do not understand why the Lord decided to bless us so much. I know that it was nothing that I really deserved.
2. God really does work miracles!!!!! I know that this is true. I am so glad that he is a God of miracles. It also seems like the miracles never really come easy but they really do come. I think at times we start to think that things happen because of luck and forget that the hand of the Lord is in all things. I think that luck does not really exist in a lot of things but I believe that blessings and miracles happen and that the Lord just decides to bless us every once and a while and sometimes we mistake his hand in all things for luck.
3. Satan is real and if we do not prepare ourselves he will tear us down. We really need to be spiritually strong at all times. He works a lot with doubts. Lots of times when we are about to do something that is really great Satan then starts to work on us. That is what he did this week. 4 more sons and daughters of God were going to be baptized and man did he work to try to make these baptisms not happen, but when we work our hardest and trust in God we will always be stronger than the enemy. We have a Body and we have God on our side or in other words he has the winning combination!!! We will always come out on top if we try our hardest and trust in God, but if we start to doubt ourselves and God that is when the enemy will take control.
4. Well I really cannot believe it but next week I will be starting my last transfer on the mission. I will be able to tell you next week where it is that the Lord would have me be for my last 6 weeks of my mission. I really cannot believe that the mission is coming to an end. I have so many mixed feelings but the feeling that I have more than the rest is that I have to continue to work hard. I feel as though if I work my hardest these last few weeks I will be able to learn so many things that will be able to help me for after my mission. I need to work hard and I will work hard with the help of the Lord. I just hope and pray that you will all pray for me because I will have to admit that I am tired but I will not give in. I love my mission so much and my savior for this very reason I will try my hardest until the very end o my mission. After I finish my mission I will start to think about the things that I will do after the mission. One thing at a time! It will be hard for me to end my mission but at the same time I will be excited to see you all. I love you all so much.
I hope that all is well. I know that this is the true church here on the earth. None of us are perfect but with Christ all is possible and we can be made better. I love my savior Jesus Christ. I know that he died for me and loves me. I really hope and pray to become better. It is really hard but I know that I can become better. I need to become better and through Christ´s sacrifice I can. I love my Father in Heaven and I know he loves me and knows me. This is what God would have me do at this time in my life. I Love this church and gospel and know it is true. I love you all so much and know that we can all go back into the presence of God one day but to be able to do this we have to work as a team. This last week was filled with so many things but just let me see a few phrases to end. God sends angels to help us in our times of need (they can be visible or not visible angels), God loves us, the good will always beat the evil, and miracles can happen if we do our best!! I love you all and until next week..
Elder Daniel J. Parkinson

Goals for this month

Hi!!!!
Well this will be one more short e-mail. I would just like to fill you in on a few things that are happening.
1. This past week we had one more baptism of a girl named Maraiza. She is great and was really prepared by the Lord. In just one week she prepared herself to be baptized. It was such a great baptism. I never have seen someone so happy in my life. After her baptism she just could not stop smiling. It was great. Also because of her example we are now teaching her sister-in-law and brother and mother. What a great blessing of the Lord. We are planning on helping her brother and sister-in-law get married. It will be great. Maraiza really was a miracle.
2. This week we are going to try to baptize 5 more people. I really hope that we will be able to do so. We are really trying our hardest and still falling short but the Lord is so great and does the rest for us. I love this work so much. The Lord really does bless us so much when we do what he would have us do. All 5 of these people are miracles. God is so great. I think every single day that passes by I realize even more how much I really need him in my life and how useless I am without him.
3. The mission is so great. I really do not know what to think about it right now. I really do not want to leave but I know that that day will come when i will have to continue on with my life and go home. I am not excited for that day but at the same time I am excited for that day. I only have 2 months left on the mission. Here in 2 weeks we will find out whether I will finish my mission as a zone leader or weather I will train for my last transfer. I really want to stay here but we will let the Lord decide what is best.
4. I have been reading the book of Mormon in Spanish lately. It has been great. I can actually understand almost everything. I just cannot speak Spanish but understand and read it I can.
5. I have really decided that God really does love his sons. When we establish a goal and work our hardest to achieve that goal and really try our hardest and put our faith in God he helps us to reach our goals. My companion and I established a goal of 10 baptisms this month and we are trying our hardest to reach it. We need a few more and know that with God it is possible. I really know that God will help us if it is his will. The greatest thing is that we look at the success that we are having and we realize that it really is not us but it is the blessings of God.

I love my mission so much. I love you all as well. I hope you are all doing well. I love you. Tell grandma that I love her as well. Also tell her to stay strong. That is all for this week. Until next week. I love you all.
Elder Daniel J. Parkinson

P.s. Also please tell everyone to start to write there e-mails on Sunday because here pretty soon I think in 3 or 4 weeks we are going to start to have our p-days on Monday instead of Tuesday. OK? Thank you so much.

3 New Baptism

Mother,

Well it is good to hear that all is going well. Also good to hear that Brandon Lowder returned. I hope that he is doing well.. Well mother about the sending me things. You can send whatever you think that I would like. I mean by the time I get it I will be coming home almost. haha. So I really do not need anything. The only thing that would be great about this time would be money. haha. But I really do not need that either. Just let everyone know that if they would like something from Brazil they need to send me some money to get it for them. ( If you want anything send mom the money and I will put it in his checking account and he can just use his debt card.)
I did hear about Jason´s chickens. ha. I think that will be a very interesting experience. I should be great
The work has been great lately. I am really loving the mission so much each and every day. I do however; realize that I am getting really tired. ha. I think that after the mission I will need a week just to be able to sleep. I am really just dead. We were blessed last week with 3 more baptisms. The Lord really is so great. We just try our hardest and come short and he does the rest and makes the miracle happen. I am so grateful for the Lord and for the help that he is always giving me. This coming week we are planning on having at least one more baptism maybe two more. This young lady is great. She was really prepared by God for this day. I am the one that should be teaching her but she is teaching me. ha. The mission is so great because you can really see the changes that everyone is going through. It is great to see someone you taught change for the better. It brings you such a great feeling inside. Well the mission really is great. I really do not have words that describe the happiness that I have. I really do not think I have been so happy in my life. It is weird to see that I am very happy but at the same time very stressed. I never really thought that these two things could exist at the same time but I was wrong. I am so stress with things to do but I am also so happy with the things that have been going on and the things that I have to do. I love the mission field. I really do not know how I will feel leaving this area and Brazil. It has really turned into my home this last little while. I love the language and I love the people. I really do have a love for these people that I cannot describe. I finally understand what Justin meant when he said that he loved and loves the people in Indiana. Well I got to get going. I just want you all to know that I love you all and pray for you often. I love my Father and God. I know that he cares about me and helps me if I let him. I love my savior and Redeemer Jesus Christ. I know that he died for me so that I can live. I love this great plan that God made for us. As I say in Portuguese....Só alegria!!! or in English just happiness. hhaaha. I love this work. I know that God really does help me every single day. Thank you for everything that you are all doing for me. I love you all. Until next week.
Again mother I would like to say that I love you and am grateful for your example to me. Congrats on everything that you are doing and have done in your life. I love you.
Elder Daniel J. Parkinson

Baptism / Non-members at Church

Well I am so sorry but this letter will have to be short as well. I am really trying to run around so much. It seems like every single week I am getting more and busier. This week I have decided with my companion to do something that will help the zone. This thing that we are doing will unfortunately take up a little bit of the time that I have every single week but I think that it will be worth it in helping the zone and the kingdom of the Lord here on the earth.
I am sad to hear that everyone is getting sick and I hope that everyone starts to feel a little better. Well.... I had one more nail fall off on the mission. haha. That is 2 almost 3. It is really normal and they grow back just fine so don´t you worry.
Today I was able to play some soccer again and some basketball. It was really great. I was able to do a few cool things and impress the Brazilians. The young men in my ward think that I am pretty good at soccer they always tell everyone about it. Now it is pretty well known in the ward. ha. Now I am the American that plays soccer. ha.
This last week has been really great. We were so much more blessed than what we deserved. The Lord is so great. We were blessed with three baptisms. A couple and young man. Now that the young man has been baptized his younger brother also wants to be baptized. That is great!!!!! This coming week we are planning on baptizing 3 more people. The Lord is so great. We have so many great investigators and it is nothing that we are doing it is truly the Lord doing all the work and we are just trying to help out a little bit in the work that He is doing. Also I had a record this last week of investigators at church. We were able to have 17 investigators and 30 people that are not members of the church. It was great!!!!! I really do not know how that happened.
We are teaching an old man named Ideval. He is truly great and we were able to teach him about coffee the other day. We told him all about it and why we should not drink coffee and then at the end he said well if God does not want me to than I will stop!! He has been doing really well so far in not drinking coffee. I am so happy for him. As for Grandma... Grandma I do not want you to stop drinking coffee because I think you will have more happiness on this earth because I think you are already really happy. My desire is that you could stop drinking coffee to be able to have eternal happiness with your family. I firmly believe that God loves you Grandma and so do I. I want and so does God that you can have eternal happiness and not just a few more years of happiness. I know that it will not be easy but I know that it is possible. I do not really want you to do this because of me but because of the whole family and because of God. I challenge you to pray and ask God if you should stop and really listen and follow his answer. I know he wants you to stop drinking coffee. I know that if you do you will be able to have eternal happiness with the whole family and that is my desire. It has been hard enough to not be with you for 2 years I would not be able to imagine eternity without you by my side. Please Grandma stop drinking coffee! This is my invite for you. As a representative of Jesus Christ I ask you to stop drinking coffee because I love you!!!!!! You did lose the bet but I do not want you to stop drinking just because of that. I want to be with you for all eternity. I know that God would like you to stop as well. I will not stop preaching to you Grandma I mean you are a few years older than me so I hope that you do not get mad at me just know that I ask you these things because of my love towards you. Just ask God and let him tell you what he thinks.
That last message goes to everyone. If it were up to me I would love to live without a few things so that I could have eternal happiness and life. The only way to do this however is in keeping the commandments. I love you all so much. Sorry that this is short. Also Goooooo Green Bay!!!!! I love you all.
Elder Daniel J. Parkinson

Possible of 200 New Investigator's

Well just for everyone to know I stayed in the same area and I am still Zone leader and my new companion is Elder Ingersoll. He seems to be pretty cool. He is from Washington.
Well this week was really great. We were really blessed by the Lord so much. I will give you a few things that happened this week.
1. We had the visitation of the Chapel. It was great. Almost the whole day I was out on the street trying my hardest to get people to enter into the Chapel. So that was about 5 days of just contacts. It was great. It was really kind of funny the way that people would act when you stopped them on the street. The new Chapel is so beautiful and it will be great to start to use it. During the visitation we received about 200 people or more that would like to receive the Book of Mormon and that is just for my area. Within these 200 people we really found some great new investigators that I am excited to work with. One of them we taught yesterday and already marked him for to be baptized on the 20th of this month. He accepted with a willing heart. He is great!!! Also we were able to mark about 6 other people for baptism. This week we will have a baptism of a couple and a young man. The couple are really special and their son was already baptized about 1 year ago. So now we will complete the family. The Lord is really too great. I really feel so grateful to the Lord and everything that he that he is doing in my area. It also seems like we will be blessed with 3 more baptisms this next week. I really hope that I am worthy of such blessings. I will try my hardest and hope that the Lord will do the rest. What great time in my mission.
2. Well we left yesterday to go to lunch with one of our investigators. It was great.
Well I would keep writing because I have a lot more to say but the problem is that the Computer that I am using is really be slow. I am not being able to write anything. So I will have to fill you all in the next week. Sorry for this but I really do not have 2 hours to wait for the computer to be fixed. Just know that I love you so much and thank you so much for everything that you are doing for me. I know that this is the true church her on the earth. I love you all so much. Until next week. Love you and sorry.
Elder Daniel J. Parkinson

Visitation

Well this will be I think by far the shortest e-mail that I have written you ever. I will really make it short because I am running really late. I was not able to use the Internet yesterday because it was a holiday here in São Paulo. Also I really do not have that much time today because of the fact that I need to go to church to help out on the visitation that is happening today. The visitation has really been such a great thing. We have found some really great people while doing it. All and all it has been a great experience that I think I will never forget. This last week was really great. We were blessed by a baptism of a person named Claudiane. She is really such a great person. It was really such a blessing and I don't know if I have ever been so happy to see someone is baptized. I really was so pumped. She really needed this in her life and you can already see the difference that it has made in her life and the life of her friend (Marla), who is a member. It really helped Marla become even stronger in the church and will help Claudiane have the chance to live with our father in heaven again. I am very so excited for her baptism. We were going to have one more baptism this week but it seems like it will not happen. We moved his baptism for the next week so that he could prepare a little more and feel a little better about not drinking coffee anymore. He is, however, very excited and willing to stop drinking coffee. this last week I went on one more division. It was really great. I actually did a division with someone from Idaho. He is from northern Idaho but he loves Idaho just as much as I do. It was really great. The Lord really blessed us so much on the days that we were on division. We found so many great people while on the division. To tell the truth all of last week was great. We were able to find and to teach so many great new people. At times I really feel as though I am not worthy of all the blessings that the Lord is giving me.
I cannot even explain to you how excited I am with this visitation that is going on. The new chapel is so gorgeous and we are finding so many great new investigators that I am just out of my mind excited. The Lord is great!!!! This is my companion´s last week on the mission. This next Tuesday I will find out whether or not I will stay in this area and as Zone Leader or not. We will just have to find out. It is really weird to see someone who is my companion go home. I really cannot believe it. Well I really have to get going.
Also I really do think that the Pitts. Steelers will win but I really do not want that to happen so I will pick the Green Bay Packers to win the whole thing. I don't like the packers either but what do you do? Lets Go Packers!!!!!!! Well before I go I would just like you all to know that I am doing great. I love my mission so much. Everything single day it seems to get better. I know that this is the true church of God here on the earth today. I am so grateful that I am a member of Christ´s true church. I am grateful to have such a great family and I am grateful to have a prophet of the Lord here on the Earth today. I love this gospel with all my heart. I really hope to become better. I have so many things that I need to get better at. I hope that pray that I can become better and better each and every single day. I love you all . This is my testimony in the name of Jesus Christ amen. I love you all. Until next week.
Elder Daniel J. Parkinson

Great week but hard/Email me Sunday next week

Well I will have to be really fast this week. I am in the middle of a nice rain storm. haha. It is really great. The whole floods and mudslides however have been more in Rio DE Janeiro and not in my part of the mission. There have been however a few parts of my mission that have had a few floods but there is nothing really bad in my mission and not in my area. The only thing that is happening my area is that we have had a ton of rain and I have been very wet almost every single day. haha. That is normal though. They say that the more rain that falls on you during the mission the better looking your wife will be. I really hope that is true because I think I have had enough rain to receive one of the best looking girls in the world. haha. I do not think my wife will be able to get any better looking I have received so much rain. ha. Also the other reason why I will have to be fast is that the power has been out the whole day on the street that has the computers and so I have not been able to use the computer until right now.
Before I forget I will not be able to use the computer next Tuesday but instead will use the computer on Monday and so if you could write your e-mail a little earlier that would be great. Also advise who- ever else might write me to write me a little earlier.
Well I will for sure be praying for Grandma and the surgery. I believe that everything will go just right. The surgery that she is having done is supposed to be a very easy surgery. Yes I am very excited for the Super bowl and this time I will win and the coffee will go. At least that is what I hope. I really do want Grandma to stop drinking coffee so much.
Well this last week was a great week. It was not easy but it was great. I was able to do a division this week. It was a great division and while on the division I was able to stay in the same house as one of my old companions again ( Elder Arêas). That was really great. I love that man so much. We had lots of fun remembering the good times. He said that some day he will for sure be coming to the USA to visit me and his sister and you mother. He is a great young man. I really can say that I love him as my brother. We had a good time together in São Bernardo. Also we had a lot of doors slammed in our face this last week but it helped me to learn patience and to learn how to accept the Lords will. The week was a little hard in the beginning because of that but that it started to get a lot better because in the end of the week we really found some miracles. Also on Sunday not as many people as we would like went to church but then out of nowhere one lady went to Church. One lady that we never taught but had the desire to know how our church worked, etc.. We than taught her on Sunday and it was such a great experience. It was a lesson that I will never forget. She said after we got done teaching that she knows that this is the true church. I was so grateful that the Lord gave us his spirit during that lesson and that he helped us to teach according to his will and not our will. A few things that we taught and the way we taught I had never done before but that is what the Lord wanted us to do and it all worked out for the best. The Lord is amazing and really will help us be affective servants in his hands if we let ourselves do so. I love this work so much and I know that God loves us so much. We are his children and he cares about us. I know that this is the true church. What a great blessing it is for the people to come to know these truths for themselves. We do have a prophet of God. I love you all so much. Thank you so much for everything that you are all doing for me. Sorry that this e-mail had to be so short. Just know that I love you a lot, and that all is well. We are hoping to be able to have a baptism this weekend. I hope that all goes well. She is a great lady that really needs this gospel. I love you.
Elder Daniel J. Parkinson
P.s. I played soccer today and it was great. I love playing soccer with Brazilians. ha.

Love/Prayer

Well I am sad to say that I have even less time than normal today and will have a little less time until the end of my mission. Today I have a lot less time because I had a meeting today that just got over about like 40 minutes ago or so and so I had to run to an Internet place to be able to write you an e-mail. Even though this e-mail will be short I want you to know that I love you and I love the family and pray about you and the family always. I have been thinking a lot lately about prayer. I decided that prayer (real sincere prayer) is the key to having the spirit and Christ´s love with me even more. I have really been trying to pray even more lately. I have made a goal to pray for at least 10 minutes every single night. It has really been hard because it seems that at night I am very very tired, but I have realized that in so doing I have really been able to feel the spirit even better in my prayers. I have been really trying to talk with my father in heaven and not just talk at him. It has been great!!!!
The mission has really been talking a lot about love lately. We have noticed that the only real way for the spirit to be with us is if we really love our investigators. If we love them (our investigators) they will really feel our love and the love of the Savior. It is so true. I have been working really hard lately in trying to listen to the investigator more than just talking. It helps so much. Most of the time the investigators tells you exactly what they are needing or what you need to say and they do not even realize it. I think by really listening to them I have been able to really feel a greater love for those that I am teaching. Love really is the key to success!!!! (Success in this life and in the mission). We all need to love God, Christ, and others. If we really love God we will do what he asks and if we do what he asks we will have his Spirit. What a simple but difficult theory.
Well I would just like to end letting you know that I love my mission and I love this Gospel. I want you all to know that I am doing great. I get more tired every single day but the Lord helps me to keep going. I know without any doubts that this is the true church here on the Earth. I am so grateful to all of you that have helped me be the person that I am now. I love you all so much. I KNOW THAT THIS IS THE TRUE CHURCH AND THAT GOD LOVES US ALL!!!! THE BOOK OF MORMON IS TRUE AND THE LITTLE THINGS REALLY DO BRING HAPPINESS ON THIS EARTH AND SALVATION. WE ALL NEED TO DO THE LITTLE THINGS. I would just like to finish with a quote that I made. I really believe a lot in this phrase.
"Everything that happens in your life could be for your spiritual growth or destruction... YOU MAKE THE CHOICE!!!!! "
It is really so true. So many things happen during our life and we have to choose whether it will be for our spiritual growth or for our eternal destruction. I know that if we could all forgive a little more, love a little more, and really do the things that God would have us do we will all have success and one day we will be able to live with God again as a family. I love you all so very much. Thank you for everything that you are doing for me. Mother I really love you and thank you again for your great example. Until next week and sorry that this letter is kinda different and short.
Elder Daniel J. Parkinson
P.s. God really does work miracles but in his time and in his way!!!!!!

New Year/Working Hard

Well mother I really cannot believe that 2011 arrived. I remember that when I first got on my mission everyone joked around with me saying you will not go home this year nor the next year just the year after that. That was always so fun to hear. haha. Now the year finally arrived and I do not know how to feel about it. I really love the mission so much and really do not have a great desire to go home but at the same time I really would love to go home to see family. The end of the mission is just full of so many mixed feelings. One feeling that is a constant is the feeling of being tired. ha. I think the 10 flight from Brazil to Texas will be spent sleeping. ha. Maybe after that I will feel all rested up. I just want you to know that you do not have to worry. Even though I am tired I will not stop giving it my all. I think by now you all know me pretty well and know that I am pretty competitive. Because of that I really cannot let myself just stop working and so the work goes on with the same pace that it started or maybe a harder pace. The scriptures say that we do not have to run faster than we can. I do like that scripture but I find that maybe people use that as an excuse to stop working. I think that this scripture is true but I feel as though many people can go a lot harder than they think they can. As for us being alone it would be impossible but with God on our side I feel as though we can run forever.
Good to hear that you were able to spend the new year with family. I bet that was great. You should send everyone my new year’s wishes and love. I am very excited to see you all again. It will be great to see my buddy Uncle Ron and sit down and watch a game with him. I hope that he is doing well. I bet the trip to Grandmas this weekend will be great. Send her my love and keep telling her how much it would mean to me if she stopped drinking coffee. ha
As for the package I did receive it. I think everything was inside of it. The only reason why they seized it was that its value was so much. Inside it had two shirts, two pairs of garments, two jars of peanut butter (thank you/ I had a peanut butter sand wish this morning), and two packages of recess peanut butter cups. Oh yea! I cannot forget the ties. Thank you for everything. It will really help. I will be fine now until the end of the mission.
Now here are a few updates:
1. Thank you for the money. I will get Justin a Jersey for sure. I will have to get him matching jerseys. haha. I mean it really is not that expensive here in Brazil. If anyone else would like something just let me know. Mother I also think that I will be trying to send you a package here pretty soon. I really need to get rid of a few things to have more space.
2. This week was interesting because of new years. Everyone here in Brazil sure does like to party. The great thing is the New Year passed by a lot better this year than the last year. Last year I was on the beach and it was nuts but this year I was far away from the beach and so there was no one in my area because everyone was at the beach. My bishop however ,who lives in front of us or should I say we live behind him in part of his house, came and woke us up to give us food and cake at midnight. haha. They really do enjoy eating big meals at midnight. It was so good!!!! What a good bishop! The New Year made Sacrament meeting pretty neat. I think that was the all time low that I have seen in this ward and many other wards that I have been in. Also it was hard to bring our investigators to church because they were all on the beach. ha. Still the Lord blessed us with two investigators at church. That was so great.
3. The zone is doing very well. My companion are doing our best to help the zone and are still arriving really short from the bar we need but then the Lord has decided to bless us and the Zone. I am very excited about this. I really love the Lord so much. My zone is way good. I have so many good missionaries and it always helps to have 6 sister missionaries. They really do help quite a bit.
4. This week I do not think we will be having a baptism but the next week it is very possible for us to have a few baptisms. I will just keep trying my hardest and see whether the Lord thinks that I deserve these blessings.
5. I have been trying to study a little more lately. It is really hard with everything I need to do for the Zone but I realize that as I study the day really just goes by so much better. I love the scriptures and am excited to study them even better after the mission.
6. It has been very awkward. This last week I received many compliments of being very gorgeous. haha. Thank you mother for those genes. ha. I just told them that it runs in the family. ha. It is so awkward when someone says that to you. Especially in front of a lot of people that afterward agree. ha. Well life goes on.
7. I was able to do a division with an Elder this past week. It was really such a great experience. I really love divisions and the chance that I have to help other elders.
8. We had interviews this last week. Those were also great. I love talking with President. He help me with a few things and we were able to just talk with each other for a little bit. He really is a great guy and a man called of God. We talked and joked around and all and all it was a great conversation.
Well that is about all for this week. Just know that I love you all. I know that this is the true church. I am so excited for the chance that I am having and have had to be a missionary. It is amazing. I just hope that I am being the servant that God would have me be. I love you all so much. Keep strong and always do the little things. Love you.
Oh really quick I am so grateful for the Lord. It is true and prayer and fasting makes miracles happen. We have really been trying to find some great new investigators lately and as we have been praying and fasting finally some great new investigators appeared out of nowhere. I know that God really does hear our prayers and responds to them but in his time.
Love you.
Elder Daniel J. Parkinson

Baptism Christmas Day

Well again I will have to be quick. It really seems as though all I do lately is run from place to place. All and all Christmas passed by really great. Let me just say that the Lord blessed me with a white Christmas..... YEEEEEEAAAAAAAAA!!!!!! But just wait a minute. It is not the white Christmas that you are thinking. I was able to baptize someone on Christmas Day. It was really such a great blessing. The person that we baptized is named Rose. She is such a great lady and it was really such a blessing to be able to find her. The Lord really put her in our path. We were teaching her for just about 2 weeks or so. She accepted all the lessons really well and really did not have any problem with any of the commandments. Everything we invited her to do she did. She said that she really realized that God was showing her what she needed to do in her life. She said that she asked God a while ago that he would show her the path that she needed to follow. She said that after she did that she married someone that is a member of the Church. Unfortunately her husband died but after that she found herself passing by our Church almost every single day. Every time that she passed by she said she really had a desire to enter and to see what it was all about. Then she was found by two missionaries while she was getting off the Bus. After that we arrived at her house to teach her. She said that it has been a while now that God was showing her where she needed to go and what she needed to do, and so when we started to teach her she prayed and received her answer and from there on out she followed her answer with 100% of Faith and effort. She is really such a great person and it was a blessing to get to know her. Now we are working with her little son and her sister. We hope to be able to baptize the whole family. Let us see what God decides to do with us and this family.
Well it was great to speak with all of you. I really love you all so much. It is weird for me to think that next week when I speak with you it will be 2011. Or in other words it will be the year that I will return back home. That is so weird for me. I remember when I got in the mission everyone said you will not be going home this year nor the next year but only on the next year. haha. That was always hard to hear but that last year has arrived. I am filled with mixed emotions. I really want to go home to be able to do the rest of the things that the Lord has for me but at the same time I really do not want to leave a country I now love and people that I love and a mission that is so amazing. It will be hard for me but I know that the Lord will always be with me if I let him be.
Just a few things really quick:
1. Thank you for the things that you sent mother. It was really great. My companion really enjoyed it as well. He wanted to say thank you for everything that you gave him. Everything you sent mom was really great. The pen is way good and the recess.... well you know how much I like them. ha.
2. It seems like this transfer will be a little harder in the zone. They took out all of our district leaders and made them zone leaders in other areas. So now we are training three new district leaders and received a lot of new missionaries. It will be challenging but I think that all of you that really know me should know that I really enjoy a good challenge.
3. Christmas in Brazil is really different than it is in the USA. Here it is a time that everyone gets together just to get drunk. They all stay up until about 3 in the morning on Christmas eve because and midnight they eat a huge dinner. It is really a strange thing but that is OK. There are also many other things that make Christmas here a little different than in the USA. Another big factor is the whole thing about Snow. I would really love to see some good old snow. ha.
Well just so you all know I am doing great. I really love you all. I will have to admit that I am starting to really get tired, but I know that as I look to God he will always give me strength to keep walking, etc... I really cannot do it on my own I really need his help every single day of my life. I know that as we look to him always we will be able to accomplish anything that we need to. God is the key to success. Christ is the key to salvation. We really need to do the little things so that we can have success and salvation. If we do the little things we will show to God and Christ that we are trusting in them and not our own strength. I love you all and invite you all to make goals for this next year. Think of things that will really help you to become closer to God and then really try your hardest to complete those goals. I know without any doubts that this is the true church of God. I love you all and wish that you all have a great new year and that you all can be safe and always do the little things. I love you.
Elder Daniel J. Parkinson

Events of the Week

A few things that have happened this week:
1. The musical went great on Sunday. A few of our investigators were able to go and watch me sing. It was really great. Again I will be singing for our Zone Conference tomorrow. I really do not think that I sing that well but they just keep letting me sing. Thank you mother for giving me your musical ability. I am excited to practice this talent a little more after the mission. I will also be trying to learn how to play the piano a little better as well. I realized that music and playing instruments are really great. I love it.
2. Well I stayed in my area with my companion. I will be killing him (he will be going home at the end of this transfer). It should be interesting
3. We were blessed with two baptisms this last weekend. It was really great and a great miracle happened before the baptism started. I would love to tell you all about it just remind me on Saturday. It was really a great blessing in my life. To this day I do not understand how I deserved that great blessing, and how it all happened. It is a mystery to me but not to God.
4. God blessed us with one more amazing investigator. A member brought her to church. That is really the greatest thing that could ever happen to a missionary. I encourage you all to invite your non-member friends to go to church with you. It is really so great. Just invite them to come and see for themselves.
5. We are really trying our hardest and praying that God will help us to help a lady come unto Christ this week through baptism. We are really trying our hardest to be able to baptize her on Christmas. It would be so great. We will have to see what happens.
6. Thursday was a day very nuts. The whole day I was running back and forth trying to help my zone. it was a great day. A day that completely killed me but it was all worth it in the end.
7. Fasting really is a great thing. It does bring about miracles and more knowledge.
I love you so much mother. I know that this is the true church of God. I know that God loves us so much. I am so grateful for Christ´s sacrifice that made it possible for me to live with God again. I love you so much. Until this weekend! Love you.
Elder Daniel J. Parkinson

Great Week Teaching and Baptism

This week was really great and stressful. But again I was able to see the blessings in my life. I am really blessed and the Lord really does love me and take care of me so much. I will talk about a few things that happened and will happen this week.
1. I will have a baptism of some man (Alcides). He is really great. He is getting kind of old and does not understand very well but still really needs to be baptized because the truth is that everyone needs to be baptized. His family has been waiting for him to be baptized for some time now. Also we might be able to baptize one other person. A young man (Bruno) that is really great. I really hope that all goes well for these two baptisms.
2. This last week we were able to baptize two little kids. One is 10(Jennifer) and the other is 8(Gabriel). The 10 year old has been wanting to be baptized for about 2 years now but no one would let her be baptized. She has been going to church for about 3 to 5 years now and was just barely baptized. I feel very blessed that the Lord put me and my companion here to be able to open the heart of her family to let her be baptized.
3. Last Friday we had a play and a choir for Christmas. It was really great and we had a few investigators there. They really enjoyed it and I was able to sing again and to lead the Choir. haha. I have no clue how to lead a choir but it was a learning experience. ha. It all turned out pretty well. We had some great food after the whole choir and play. It was good. Also while on division I taught two ladies in our area. They are really so great. I am very glad that God put them into our way. The lesson with them was amazing and they really have a strong desire to follow Christ. They are marked to be baptized on Christmas but let us see if all goes well with that. I think that maybe one of them will be able to be baptized but the other I do not know. I really hope they will both be baptized.
4. We taught a lesson the other day to a family. It was a very interesting lesson. We tried to show them that every single time that they decide not to do what God would have them do they make Christ suffer. So during our lesson every single time they made an excuse to not do something me and my companion did a few push-ups until finally the pushups became a little hard. They finally understood that they really need to do the right things so that they make it so Christ does not suffer and so that they too will not suffer. It was a little different but also a pretty cool lesson. I have been really trying to teach the people I am teaching lately instead of just teaching lessons. It is so much better and the spirit is so much stronger when we do that.
5. While at Church the speaker said a phrase that I will not forget. He said to know is not to practice. Many times we know how to do things but we decide not to do them. It is so true in our lives. We cannot just know how to do things but we need to know and then do them.
6. Also I was able to go to the temple today. The temple is really such a great place. It had been about 6 months since the last time that I went to the temple. It was really great to be there again. I really love it so much.
7. In reading the book of Mormon I have really gained a stronger testimony of our savior Jesus Christ. I have really found some amazing scriptures that are slowly changing my life little by little. I love this gospel and the chance we have to learn continually and to grown and become better. I love this gospel so much.
8. We really need to obey the little things and look to the word of God. Like Nephi and Lehi looked to the liahona for help we to must do this and look to the words of God and pray to God to know what we need to do and where we need to go. I love this gospel so much.
Elder Daniel J. Parkinson

My Week/Testimony

Mother of Mine,
Well this week was really interesting and great. It had lots of great things that happened and also a lot of stress, but the stress is what keeps me going and animated. I think you know me pretty well. I always did like the tough situations. It makes life more interesting. Just know that all is well. I really love my mission each day. Each day there are more things for me to learn and more trials for me to learn how the pass with the Lords help. I just love the mission because it has really helped me learn that I really do need God every single hour of my life. I am nothing without him. Well I will now fill you in a little about my week.
1. Well this actually happened two weeks ago. I received the best comment in my life. I was sitting down with a young lady to interview her for baptism. In the middle of the interview she said, I would like you to know something. I have never felt so much peace and comfort as I did when I entered this room and starting talking with you. ha I really was shocked. I really am nothing and I feel grateful that she felt God next to her.
2. This week I was on a division with Elder Hair. He is really a great missionary. It was a great experience. We talked and we joked around and we learned together. I am also grateful to have a great District leader like him. He is a new district leader and is learning really quick. He is doing some great work in his area. I also ate real pizza for the first time in 1 year and 7 months while I was with him. Also I was able to eat pizza for 6 meals in 4 days. It was a great experience.
3. Miracles happened in our area. We found a few new investigators that are amazing. They really enjoyed our first visit and really are great young ladies. I am really excited to continue to teach them and their family. The Lord is really blessing us so much. I still feel as though I need to do a little more so that he can bless us even more. I am trying to do my best each and every day but I still feel as though i can do a little more.
4. This coming week we will have for sure one baptism maybe three. I really hope the other two people will pass the interview and will have the desire to follow Christ. They are great. This couple that I hope will get married is the couple that I told you about already.(They are the coffee story couple). The other person is a little girl that is 10 years old. A lot of other missionaries already tried to baptize her but for some reason which i really do not know the grandma now let her be baptized. They are such a great family.
5. I was able to watch the dance festival of the stake. It was a great experience. The young men and woman here are very talented. I also met a British person while there. He started to come and speak to me in English and his accent was very thick British accent and I told I was born there. It was a good conversation. The dances were great and our investigators loved it. I really helped a mom and dad that are thinking about getting married and baptized. Their son danced and that really touched them. The Lord is great!!!! Again it as nothing that I did.
6. Well I was not supposed to sing until the 19 but we got called to sing early at another musical in another place. I was only going to sing in São Paulo not the ABC but they called us four to help them sing in the ABC as well. It was such a great performance. The choir sang amazingly and the investigators that were there really loved it. Also I got to see a lot of the members from my old areas. One of those people wrote me a really touching letter that someday i will read to you all. We sang Oh how lovely was the morning, this is the Christ, and Oh come all ye faithful. It was a success. That was the first time I sang in Parts and it actually sounded pretty good. Everybody loved our part a lot. It was very powerful. The best one was oh how lovely was the morning. It was very strong. In the middle of the song we stopped singing and let one missionary say the first vision. That part was really strong. When we do it in São Paulo I will be the one saying the first vision in the middle of the song. I am way nervous. haha. It was a really great experience that I will never forget and neither will any of you because they are going to make a CD of it. Yea!!!!
7. Yesterday we had our leader council. It was really good and again me and Elder Loveland (one of my favorite missionaries, a big buddy of mine who plays for BYU football) sang a special hymn for everyone. I think I am really starting to find out how much I love to sing and play instruments. I will probably be doing a lot more of these kind of things later. I really love it.

Well I got to go. Just know that I am grateful for each one of you. I love you all so much. Also could you tell Shane happy late birthday. Also mother happy birthday this next Monday. I love you all so much. Thank you again for everything that you have done for me. Just know that all is well on the mission field. I am not perfect but I am trying to get there. I love you all. Mother you are great and never let anyone tell you different.
Also always remember to be happy because you are and we are all members of the true church Of Jesus Christ. That should give us all a reason to be happy. I know this is the true church and I know that God loves us so much. He really is our father and will be here for us in our times of need. I know that Christ Lives and loves and dies for us this is my testimony that I leave with you in the name of Jesus Christ amen. I love you and until next week.
Elder Daniel J. Parkinson