Week February 8, 2010
I am so grateful to be on my mission. The time actually goes by so much quicker than what I thought. I am loving it so much. It is not an easy thing to do but it is defiantly worth it. Well that is great news that the Saints won. So does that mean the Grandma will be going to church? I told you the Saints would win. You were all surprised I picked that team. I knew what I was doing. I really hope it was a great game to watch. Was it as good as last year’s game?
Remind grandma she could live even longer without the coffee and a new set of teeth. Also it would be great to have her enter the temple with me when I get back. I cannot believe she really is 89 years old. That is amazing. Well
I am loving the sun I have not put on sun block yet here in Brazil. Maybe I should it has been 103 with about 80% humidity the whole last week. It has been so tempting to jump in the ocean. He uses sunscreen (a ton) everyday. But he kinda needs to I think. Even with 70% protection sunscreen he gets burnt. Ha-ha. I don’t understand. My comp tried to leave on me the other day. But I am glad to know that I talked him out of it and he will stay now. I love our President also who helped him so much. The mission is really hard but it is the way to go. Just pray and God will listen.
I love this Gospel so much. I just want as all to run that last mile, jump that last log, and dive into the pool of happiness and eternal life with our family. Never give up. Use your talents and your gifts. God will always make a way for us to accomplish all things
Elder Parkinson

February 2, 2010
Yes I would say that time goes by really quick. I now have 9 months in the mission. I really cannot believe it. I feel like I just left yesterday. The great thing is that I am speaking the language a lot better. It feels great to be able to talk with just about anyone in the street. I am really loving each minute of it. I am also loving the chance that I have to teach the gospel with the people here in Brazil. It has been a little hard the last transfer. We had a lot of Baptisms fall through. That was hard to see someone going so strong for so long and then giving up or having the mom or dad not let them be baptized. I really love this church so much.
Yea I bet it surprised you all a lot when I decided to chose the Saints and not the Colts. I love the Colts so much I really would just love to see a new team win it you know?
Today we climbed a 2400 foot mountain. That was not good in the heat. It was so hard and just strait up. For the first time I felt like I was in Brazil. Going through all the trees. The forest here is a little thicker than in Idaho and with a few different spiders etc.. It was way cool. When we got to the top we took some really sweet photos. So it is about 90 degrees today with about 80 or 90 percent humidity. That is pretty hard to work in. The week was really hot. That was not very good. I am really burning alive but not as bad as my comp. I am already kinda used to it. I would love to have some snow here. It would be such a blessing.Also my shoes are already starting to break about. The bottoms are pretty destroyed but I will get them fixed here in Brazil I think. We will see how much it is.

I am doing great. My new comp is pretty cool. Yea my week was pretty different. It is really different having a new missionary. I would have to say that training is not as easy as I thought it would be. I am just glad that my companion is pretty great. He is learning really quickly. The only thing that is bad is that he is really going through some hard times. We like most of the same things. I think here in a little while he will speak very well. Also I just hope that I can help him out with a few problems that he is passing through. I know that the Lord is always waiting to help us in anything. No matter if it be homesickness or other things. I really hope he can understand that. He is from Washington and is burning alive here in the hot weather. He will get used to it here pretty soon. Well that is all for now. Elder ParkinsonP.s. also thanks for the good looks it is funny to walk in the street with the girls here in Brazil. haha.

Trials

Daniel asked me to post this message as is:

Well this week was a challenge. Just had hot wet weather the whole week. But that is ok the work must go on. It has really been so hot everyday. The days that we do not have sun it is raining like no other but still hot. I love brazil. The new area is going good. IT has been a little hard with two areas combined in one. We have two wards and they are challenges at times but that is ok. I love a good challenge. I also know that the Lord will always help us when we need him. We have found some good investigators in these past few days that i am really excited to teach. The only weird thing is that i am really learning a lot here these past few days as a senior. I have to talk more. So the language is getting better and the lord has really blessed me to increase my knowledge of the scriptures. My companion and i are really different but that is ok i like him. We are having a good time serving the lord. These past few days i have been reading about some people in the bible who really had some difficulties. Man they had some tough times. The great thing is that everytime they had a hard time they counted on the lord and were freed from there trial. That is really how the world works. In helaman 12:3 it talks about trials. Unfortunantly one of the reasons why we have trials and difficulties is so that God can test our faith and that we could remember him again. How easy it is to forget our father in heaven when we dont have any problems. He put the opportunity for trials on the earth to grow and to really know who wants to live with him again. This life is a test. In Alma 34:32-34 says that this life is the time to prepare to meet God. A time for us to have trials and repent and have trials and repent and have trials and repent. It is that way. The church is a place for people that are making mistakes everyday but that want to change. A place for people to remember God and come unto him. The people in the church are not perfect but that church is perfect because it is Jesus Christs church. We can repent in alma 5:33 says that his arms are open for us. And also 3 Nephi 9:13-14 talk about repentance. How great of a blessing to repent and be cleaned and remember our God and our blessgings and be clean again. I glory in my trials as did Paul. yes they are hard. Yes they hurt and yes we can get through them. I want you to read about the church history and than tell me if our trials are hard. I want you to read about Christ and than tell me if our life is hard. I want you to read the Book of Mormon but not just read ponder and than pray and than tell me if this church is not true. After you have done this think.... Can Jesus really help me? If you have a doubt after you did all this read the book of mormon again and than read Doctrine and Covenants 121:1-11 and after you read that read Doctrine and Covenants 127 and see how much Joseph Smith changed. And than ask yourself. Can Jesus Really help me? Can i be forgiven? Can i do what is right? And can i live with my family and my father again? Once you have done this think really think. I will answer these for you. Yes Jesus Christ can really help you. He did not just suffer for nothing. Read Alma 7:11-12 and than read Doctrine and Covenants 76: 22-24. Jesus lives and can help. next questions yes you can be forgiven. Read about christ and what he suffered read miracle of forgiveness and read alma 5:33. or read about the story of the lady that commited adultery and went unto christ. HE wants to forgive us we have to want to be forgiven. That is the key. next question. Yes you can do what is right. Read Nephi 3:7. we can do all things. and than read almost about any prophet or in the bible that he will not give us anything unless we can pass through it to live with him again. Next question. Yes we can live as a family again. Christ died for us and lives again. We have the priesthood authority(Gods power). Yes i do not have one doubt in my mind that i will live with you all and megan and Grandma and God again. I know that God is just he would not take you away from me and nor could he. I love you all so much. He is so just all mankind will know Christ what a blessing. I know i will live with you again. We have to work together in this world. We were not sent here alone. I have brothers i have sisters and have a mom and a dad. But not all i have God and Christ. We need to use all our instruments to stay together. Satans goal is to tear us apart. Christ goal is the bring us together and that is my goal to. LIft where you stand an apostle of the lord said that. Dad lift where you are to bring us closer together, mom lift where you are to bring us closer together, and brothers and sisters lift where you are to bring us together. If one person stops lifting it gets hard. But if we all lift we can lift each other to live for all eternity together. All of us need to really think and repent and try our hardest to live with one another again. This world is tough. Satan wants to destroy our family and the families of the world. Buy why? Through a strong family comes strong warriors and through a strong family comes a whole family to God again. DOnt forget this. Do what you need to do. All of you. Christ didnt do his work alone he had apostles. He was Christ and he needed help. Are we better than he? We all need one another to get back in the presence of our father again. Without you justin, without you krystal with out Jason and without you Shane and without megan i can not make it to heaven again. But most important without you Dad and without you Mom i cannot and will not leave this life to live without you. We are one big eternal family. We are brothers and sisters. Lift where you stand. Take pride out of your life. Humble yourself and give the Lord and broken heart and contrite spirit and a want to change and he will take that and make a great man. Not just a great man or woman but a son and daughter that can live with our father again. The trick to this life is doing the little things. How many times in my life i fell into the arms of satan and was tricked to not do the things that i need. How many times now i have realized that without scriptures and without praying(personal and family), and without church and temple it is impossible for us to live with God again. Do the simple things that is my challege for you. Satan wants to teach us we dont need to pray just read 2 nephi 32 the last two verses. We need to pray. Read Doctrine and Covenants 64:9-11 we need to forgive others. i Will finish this with three scriptures and my testimony. First scripture. in Doctrine and Covenants 103:36 says the only way to win is to be diligent and faithful and pray with what? with Faith. I ask you all to do this. Next talking about blessings listen to what is said in Doctrine and Covenants 82:10 about blessings. YOu can not gain help or blessing with out trying your hardest to do what is right. I love you all so much. i know you can all do this so easy. The last scripture in 2 Nephi 31:17-20 talks about endure to the end. After baptisms and temple and holy ghost we can not stop there. We have to keep going and do the little things not almost do them. Put the word almost in front of the words(i dont know exactly becuase i only have a book of mormon in portuguese) i think the words are endure(continue), perfect, all men, enduring(continuing), feasting, endure, (after behold says the father). Put almost in this scipture and it kinda stinks. You will be in front of you father in heaven and he will say you almost recieved eternal life with me. But why? Becuase you almost did all the things you needed to do. We can not almost do the things we have to do them. Especially the little things. i will finish this just saying. That all is well in the mission. I know that God loves me and i know that i need to be here in the mission. There are so many broken families in brazil and so many sad families. i have a message to brighten there day if they do the little things. I know that Joseph smith was a prophet and he restored this church. I love this gospel with all my heart. I know that we can be forgiven i know that God wants us to talk to him, and i know that the Book of Mormon and the scriptures have the power to change lives if we read them. I love you all so much. I know that we can be an eternal family. Stay strong and do the little thing. I love you all. Until next week.

Elder Parkinson

Help from the Mission President

Well, this week has been great. I had the great chance to have an interview with our mission President. That went so well. You can really feel his love for you. Before that interview I was having some challenges but he really helped me out and I feel so great now.

Again I will say to help you all out who maybe have a doubt -- families are forever through the temple. I have no doubt in my mind about this. I know that God sent us here in families so that we can learn and grow and help each other. In the family is the place that all learning needs to begin. I have really seen this the past few days.

This last week started out slow with numbers. We weren’t teaching a lot of people and finding many people in the street. Everyone was gone I felt like and all of our appointments fell through. In the interview, our mission president helped us to find new ways to find new people and to teach better. We tried it Saturday and Sunday and I can really tell you he is an inspired man. We had great numbers Saturday and Sunday and finished the week great. We had one baptism. Her name is Jaine. She is so great. She is 11 years old and I see Ashley every time I look at her. I am so glad that I was here to help her join the church and come unto Christ. She is such a great example for her family. Now I think we have the chance to marry her father and mother. They accepted marriage and after great time for baptism I am so excited for that family.

Saturday we taught a family that we have taught for a long time. They already turned us down one time for baptism but our mission president said if we plan hard great things could happen. He also told us to focus on this family so we went to work. Planned a great lesson for this family about baptism we took about an hour and a half to plan. When we got there they had a lot of doubts and so our lesson changed so much. The incredible thing is that lesson was the best lesson I have ever had. My companion and I were talking but it was not like me to talk. Our whole lesson was completely different than the one we planned we didn’t use anything we chose to use before. I don’t know what happened. When I was talking I felt so comfortable it was not me talking. The best Portuguese I have ever had and my companion said that I was almost screaming I was talking so loud. I said things I never thought to say. I used Joseph Smith testimony about how he knew he saw a vision. Afterword I bore my testimony. When I was talking my whole body was warm and pulsing extremely fast. When we said amen to finish the lesson my normal Portuguese started again. I know that it was because of the preparation that we had that gave us the spirit. The Lord knew how much we prepared for that lesson and he talked through us.

On Sunday we talked again with the family. Again we planned like crazy. And again we didn’t use our lesson when we got there. And again the Lord talked through us. I spoke bold and powerful my companion spoke clear and to the point. The Lord really helped us. I know that when we do all that we can the Lord is just waiting to bless us. This time they didn’t turn down our baptism invite they accepted. I really hope they go through with it. Their family is amazing.

I know that this is the true church. Like Elder Holland the Book of Mormon is the word of God. Joseph Smith was the prophet who restored the church to the earth with the power of God. I know that we have all the knowledge and tools we need to live with God again. All we have to do is study and prayer to receive them. I love this gospel so much. I love you all. I really hope you all keep doing all the things you need to live with me and Megan and grandma and God again. I will try my hardest to live with God again and I hope you all will to. Just do all the little things. I love you all so much. I have to go -- just know that I pray for you every day.