IT'SSSSS MY BERPHDAYYYYYYYY!!!

Sorry it's taken me so long to email y'all! Y'all probably thought I forgot about y'all :/ Trust me I didn't, I've just been celebrating my birthday! I AM definitely lucky to be celebrating my birthday on p-day. Started out at 6:20 am when we ate breakfast with one of my favorite families here, so far! Actually their 14 year old son just pulled his ac joint out as well last week like Preston! But they made me french toast and bacon :) MMMM ...It was awesome! Then Sister T made me a homemade Huckleberry cheesecake and I ate a slice for breakfast as well ;) She said I had to eat the entire thing soon! I couldn't pass it up! haha Of course we did our cleaning and what not and hung our laundry out on the line which I LOVE doing! I don't know why though...Then a member took us to the musuem here and it was AWESOME! I realized I don't do good in museums because I like to touch everything...I had to just keep my hands in my pockets! haha They took us to the Pizza Hut buffett which was GREAT because I haven't had pizza in FOREVER, but also bad, because we went down to the main part of the reservation in Pablo and played basketball for about 2 hours straight! It was SO much fun! Interesting as well, because at first they wouldn't give me the ball or nothin', so what did I do? I DID WORK and what do you know, they gave it to me left and right ;) It was just a blast! So that's my explanation for taking so long to email. But tonight we're having ribs and more homemade cheesecake at another AWESOME families home :)

 

This week has been amazing! I felt we could have done more but over all we had a blast and DID WORK! It was filled with meeting new people and providing service...my favorite thing to do! :) One thing that has been reaffirmed to me is that EVERYTHING that happens to us happens for a specific reason. So Thursday we were volunteered to help in the soup kitchen and guess what they had us do?! Bus and wash dishes. I now know why I took that cheesy job working at Spring Creek BBQ for a cheap $5.25 an hour! It was so I could rock at washin' dishes!! :) haha It was so much fun and we were flyin' through those dishes!

 

I also learned to follow the promptings of the spirit again. We went and visited this family, turned out they were active and I found out they were down in Bozeman when Elder Christofferson came for their stake conference. Well, the questions I asked her were to prepare her for her talk she gave in church yesterday! It was REALLY cool!

 

We had the opportunity to go to Kalispell on Friday for Zone Training which is ALWAYS a pleasure to be around President Gardner! Learned so much and found ways I want to become better and do even more! If I haven't mentioned lately, my mission is AMAZING! There was something I heard the other day that hit me as well. Everyone always tells me about how this is a great experience for me and how much I will learn and what not, but what I heard hit a lot deeper than any of those comments. It was, "You don't go on a mission for yourself, you go on a mission to bless others lives!" It's so true, too! I didn't come on my mission for me, I came out here for the people in Montana! To serve, to bless, to support, to lift, to encourage and pick up those who are down. Not so I could learn more or have a good experience. I could have done that somewhere else or some other way. I LOVE MY MISSION AND THE PEOPLE IN IT :)

 

So funny story, we helped the youth clean up a section of the highway they have adopted and in the process 2 young men wanted to look at this truck over a 3 railed fence. Well, before that I had slipped and fell down the hill a bit and a piece of grass went straight through my hand!  (that stretchy piece between your thumb and pointer finger) It went SO deep and I was bleeding like crazy already. haha! So as we were going over this fence... WHAM! I broke the top post and fell through the next 2 and broke the fence! Whoopsie! The youth were laughing so hard! I've got to admit it probably looked pretty funny! haha Needless to say, the human body is amazing and my hand is fine and my self confidence is back ;) haha

 

As we were tracting this week we saw this guy out smokin'. Thought we should go talk to him. Come to find out he is trying to get a record deal rappin'. So of course I told him to spit some and he just started flowin'! haha Made me feel like I was back home with some of my brothas, but he has no belief in God or nothin' really. We had a good conversation with him and he told us to come back. I love finding people who are struggling in life and then when we teach them the gospel, they begin to shine, they lighten up as they accept our message :) I know the gospel of Jesus Christ really can bless our lives. It surely has for mine! :)

 

Church this week was AMAZING! We did SOO much! We passed the sacrament, sang a hymn too, taught sunday school, taught sharing time and then helped stack all the chairs up after church! The members are embracing us here and LOVE that we're here! It's SO much fun to work with all of them :) In sunday school we talked about sharing what we know and getting to know new people! So many of us get used to hangin' out and doing stuff with the same old people. Who said you can't have more friends and do stuff with other people? We talked about being that PERFECT neighbor we want and expanding our comfort zone. We will just say we definitely got people out of there comfort zone in class and they liked it! haha I would encourage all to branch out and actually get to know your neighbors! Talk to someone new and offer to help in some way. It's amazing the reponses we will receive as we are seeking to love and serve our fellow men :)

 

"Love one another, as I have loved you!"

 

I LOVE y'all so very much! Thank you SOOO much for all the birthday gifts and wishes! :) Felt like y'all are here with me singin' and havin' a good ole' time with me! :)

 

-Elder Parr

Can't Get Enough!

Today is September 19th!!!! One day before my 11 month mark! It's ridiculous how fast time goes by! I wish it would just stop for awhile...Anyways, today is a nice, gloomy and rainy morning! It's been awhile since they've had rain here, but I'm sure y'all are in much more need then here! How is everything there? Everyone asks me if y'all have been affected by it and I tell them no. I hope I'm right? I hear the fires are mad down there.

 

Well, we visited this man this week which was interesting. He is hard of hearing and after a surgery can't remember a thing. Couldn't even remember what he ate for breakfast :/ He told us he hadn't had ANYONE come and visit him since he had been there which was in the beginning of the summer. His wife passed away and he is all alone with his fat little dog. We talked with him awhile and then I saw that he had a piano. I asked him if we could play a song for him. Well, I looked in his piano bench and guess what I found?! The EXACT SAME piano book I took lessons from!! It was wild! So I played him a few songs and then Elder White sang while I played Nearer My God To Thee! He loved it and invited us back. Music is such a powerful tool! I can't wait to get home and play duets with Allie on her Oboe! I believe music invites the spirit as fast as a prayer or anything else can :) Thanks for making me practice mom ;)

 

Also last night, we were out tractin' the outskirts of town and ran into this gentleman and his sister. We stood on his front porch for over an HOUR talking to him! He eventually let us in to take a seat. He told us his sister was a concert pianist. So she played a little bit, and then made me play. We eventually got to the point where we were playing together and it was AWESOME! He has the coolest story and the greatest amount of faith I've EVER seen in anyone. He was a huge weight lifter/body builder until he found out he had throat cancer. After multiple surgeries, he was ready to die. He told us of his experience and that he put all his faith in God. His story is amazing and he is now living his life helping others :) There are truly some amazing and inspiring people in the world today :)

 

I had a cool experience listening to the spirit this week which was awesome! I felt we needed to go see this couple in the church. Well, he was sleeping and she was busy. I was confused because I thought they were the ones we were supposed to see. We drove around and I looked for anything that would catch my eye. Nuthin'. I knew there was someone to see though. I went down on some other street and called bishop to find out who else lived over there. He told me of this fellow and I was like, "Yeah! That's him!" So we drove to his home and knocked on his door. Nuthin'. Wasn't home. I was stumped. Then, as we walked back to the truck I saw a home with the t.v. and just thought, "Maybe that's the house?" We knocked on this door and this lady answered it with the THICKEST SOUTHERN ACCENT I've ever heard! I said, "You're from the south! Where at?" And come to find out she's from Louisiana. She had been thinking about our church with Mit Romney running for president and wanted to learn more. It was awesome and when I left I told Elder White, "I knew there was someone here waiting for us!" It was great :) Makes me realize God is mindful of us every moment in our life!

 

Did some GREAT yard work for a family this week which was great! Even got to use a weed eater again! Boy has it been a LONG time since I used one! haha! We fixed up their lawn SO nice and it was exactly what I needed, too :)

 

Had the wonderful opportunity to go to GLACIER NATIONAL PARK! Got approval from President to go with the youth! The youth went and did baptisms for the dead at the temple in Canada and we just met them at the Park afterwards, since we couldn't leave the US. Haha! It was an awesome experience to take a mile and a half hike with all of them and talk to them all the way up about things they are going through, how to prepare for a mission, and all that good stuff. When we got to the top we gave a short lesson about God's creations which was great! Saw tons of wildlife too! Mountain goats, had a chipmunk in my hand and a ton of marmets! It was a blast and the youth LOVED it!

Elder White and Elder Parr

 

The mission is awesome and I'm lovin' every second of it! 

When you're in the service of your God, it's truly the greatest thing anybody could ever do! :)

 

I love and miss each of you!

 

-Elder Parr

I pick up dimes ;)

I would say this week has been WONDERFUL!! :) I've driven SOOO much though this week; all over the place! I've realized how similiar Montana is to Texas, even in distances! haha So Tuesday night I left Polson and drove to Kalispell and got there about 9pm. Then took a shower in this bath tub which was CRAZY! haha No shower curtain or anything (attached a picture) and had to use half a water bottle to shower with. Had to be on my knees the whole time or my head would be in the ceiling! haha Then slept on a wood floor and had to be up at 5 in the morning to drive the 3 and a half hour drive to Helena for Leadership Meeting! Good thing leadership is AWESOME! Learned so much and found ways to make my district even better! Very uplifting :) Then headed back the 3 and half hours and then another hour back to Polson and got home late. haha One thing I learned, I'll probably never have fast food again. Had Wendy's for dinner on the way home and it made my stomach hurt so bad! 

 

Earlier on Tuesday was an awesome experience! Visited this couple in their home and began teaching them. His wife began to tell us how these big black spirits would always follow her around in her home and would make her feel bad and that it wasn't a good feeling. It made me really uncomfortable and uneasy and I asked if we could leave a blessing on her home. She agreed and we proceeded and cast out all of those evil spirits in her home. The peace that came after that was tremendous! There is NO doubt in my mind that all things can be done through Christ! It was much better after that :)

 

We had a baptism on Saturday which was amazing! It was for this young girl who was so excited to be baptized! The service was great and a lot of her family came out to support her! After she was baptized she was grinning SOOOO big! I don't know if I've ever seen a smile so big! haha It was awesome!

 

We had stake conference this weekend and guess what?! I sang in the choir! Yeah, can you believe it, me singing in the choir?!!! haha It was actually all the missionaries in the Kalispell Stake :) We sang "Hark All Ye Nations" which was perfect for us :) Very enjoyable and fun! Great messages about how the gospel blesses lives and such :) Made me contemplate how grateful I am for having the gospel in my life as I've grown up and how it's blessed my life for good! There was one quote that I got that was perfect! It goes like this,

 

"Dont step over the dimes to pick up the dollars. Pick up the dimes and the dollars will take care of themselves."

 

Make sure you do the small things in life and the bigger things will come along the way :) I loved it!

 

Yesterday was another long car ride too as we went to Thompson Falls about 2 hours away. Went over there to do a baptism interview for this young man. He is SOO excited to be baptized and to follow God's commandments :) I think he made me more excited than I was as I met with him! His friends who introduced him to the church actually just moved here to Polson and are awesome! As we returned home we visited a part member family. I don't know if I've told yall, but Polson is actually part of the indian reservation here! So the family was part native and had a huge birthday party for their son that we were invited to! It was lots of fun and I spent most the time talking to the great grandpa who is native! Very cool man indeed :) After the party we visited this older lady, who is the sweetest lady in the world! I love grandmas :) haha but her husband passed away back in April and she was getting rid of some of his clothes. She gave me one of his cowboy hats!! I've been wanting to get one my whole mission and now I have one. It's even from Texas and I told her I would wear it with pride! :) She liked that a lot. I've been wearing it every chance I get! We watched a movie with her about her husband and it was touching. It made me think of Grandpa Gormley :) I'm so grateful for all the things he taught me and the example he was. Her husband was very similiar from what I could see. Remember to tell the ones you love that you love them, because you never know what tomorrow will hold!

 

I'm lovin' Polson and can't get enough of it :) I wish each of you were here with me to experience everything with me! Have some of your own, if you would, back at home!  ;)

 

I LOVE Y'ALL!

 

-Elder Parr

POLSON, BABY!!

It's been the craziest week of my mission yet! I've enjoyed every SECOND of it for sure!



Always doing cartwheels!



Well, I don't remember or not if I told y'all but this transfer has been ALL over the place! Spent the beginning of the week leaving Bozeman and stayed a few days in Great Falls with my boy Elder Mudge! It was so much fun and we hit the streets hard together! I told him president needs to make us companions before our mission is up! Sister B, the sweet lady we lived with, made us pancakes each morning and Elder Mudge said, "She doesn't do this for everyone!" So I felt honored to have her homemade pancakes :) But we had 6 lessons one day with a ton of people contacted and rode bikes; which was awesome! It was just a great, hard workin', fun few days :) While there, we went to Ryan's Dam for lunch one day which was awesome! He has all the pictures. I will try to get them to y'all sometime. As well as Giant Spring! Giant Spring is the shortest river that actually flows into the largest river in the United States! So I saw the longest and shortest rivers in actually less than 4 minutes! Pretty fun!

Elder Parr and Elder White

Then picked up my GOLDEN, Elder White! He is LEGIT! We've done SO much work already it's been amazing! Every night we come home and we are wasted and he says, "Today was AWESOME! Let's do it again tomorrow!?" and I reply, "Yeahhhhh buddy! This is LEGIT!" haha it's a blast :) Well, our road trip from Great Falls to Polson was quite the adventure I must say! Made it without a GPS or phone with 3 greenies! They were asking SOO many questions and were so excited it was so much fun! Dropped 2 off in Missoula as Elder White and I made the rest of the trip to our area by ourselves. Well, night fell quick and the directions we had to Bishop's house were DEFINITELY wrong! haha So we spent the next hour and a half knockin' on doors at 10pm at night saying, "We're SO sorry, but do you have any idea where South Terrace Circle is?" After each house we got a little bit closer 'til one lady got in her car and drove over there as we followed her! She was RIGHT on! Come to find out, she is a less-active member that Bishop has been thinking about going to see! We are going over there tonight to visit with their family! Crazy how the Lord works. If we had good directions we would have never found her before! Well, we arrived at about 10:45 at night and hit the sack quick!

We spent the week unpacking and getting to know the town. Polson is AMAZING! The Lord has definitely prepared many people here for us! We have one baptism set for this Saturday which will be GREAT! It's for a 10 year old young girl who is so comitted to following Christ's example! We are stoked! Also got this awesome referral for this lady who we met with this week! She said she wants to go on a spiritual journey and she wants to do it the right way and learn how to pray! She has NO support from her family, whatsoever, which is sad :/ She came to church though and the testimonies born were definitely JUST for her and we sang "God be with you 'til we meet again" as the closing song and I don't know if i've ever felt the spirit so strong before while we sang together! It's been an awesome week if you can't tell!! So great we even went to the movies this week!! We went on Saturday! Y'all don't believe me, huh? Well, I attached a picture for y'all so you will believe me! The bishop here bought the rights to show the movie "17 Miracles". It is such an inspiring movie and I LOVED it! Don't worry we got permission to see it  ;)

The members here are SO excited to have Elders again! It's pretty wild! haha Yesterday we got some good comments, "You're definitely not as pretty as the sisters!" "Y'all look way better than the sisters." "What did y'all do, cut your hair short and change your voices?" haha It was so much fun meeting all the members here! I'm lovin' it and plan to continue to move the work forward here!

I love each of y'all and let me know if there is anything I can do for y'all! I would be happy to do so!

LOVE Y'ALL!

-ELDER PARR