It's a Beautiful Day

WOW!!!

What a week it has been!! Not even joking; this week has been remarkable!! I have sooooo much to tell y'all!

Sorry it's taken so long to get to y'all today. Left early this morning to drive about an hour with a bunch of other missionaries to drive 6 new Chevy Colorado trucks to our mission home! Pretty sweet stuff!

First I will start out by sayin' I learned a VERY VALUABLE lesson this week from the young man that we stay with! Haha

So he was staring at my shoes when I was in his room and was like,

"Elder Parr, you tie your shoes wrong!" 

Of course, because of my natural self, I tried to defend myself,

"No I didn't! Doesn't look like they are untied to me!" He continued to tell me I was wrong.

Finally he said,

"Untie your shoe and show me how you tie it!" So I did.

"That's wrong Elder Parr."

"Nawww! I've been doing it that way my entire life! I know it's not wrong! Works all the time for me."

"When you tie your shoe, do your laces turn up and down or horizontal?"

"Well looks like up and down."

"Does your shoe come untied quite a bit or get loose on you?"

"Well yeah, that's why I tie a double knot!"

So then he untied my shoe and then walked me through how to tie my shoe right. When he finished I was amazed! It was perfect! He told me to try it out and see for myself and then come tell him how it worked out for me. So I did. It definitely took conscience effort to tie my shoe right but when I did it worked like a charm! No need for a double knot, never comes loose and looks better too!  All I had missed my entire life was one simple step. One step that made everything that much easier and more productive for me! As I thought about it deeper I realized that's a PERFECT analogy with me sharing the restored gospel of Jesus Christ! People get offensive and don't like being told they are wrong. We naturally want to believe we are doing it right. We don't want to try something new. What we have or what we've been doing works just fine for us right? Well, we never know until we just try it! I show people everyday how they can do it and then invite them to experiment. Try it out! See for yourself how it works for you! I know it will help you and improve what you've been doing! Some try and realize how much easier it makes their life or helps them through certain things. Others try, but don't like to put the effort into doing it right and continue where they were before. Then many don't want to hear it at all because they know how already. So this week I learned just one thing to do that much better... tie my shoe ;) hehe

This week it seemed that everyone was a bit lazy for some reason and didn't want to do much :/ I thought to myself, "When has the Lord ever allowed His people to remain idle? NEVER!" We have to be doing something to develop our talents, receive understanding, accomplish something, etc.! 'Idle hands are the Devils tools', Grandma always told me :)

So the family we are staying with, His mother passed away last night at about 6:19 pm. It's been a little rough but it has been a blessing to be there for them. She had aspirated on chocolate cake and had filled her lungs with chocolate cake and she could no longer breathe. What a way to go, huh? It's now their family joke to say that she passed away on chocolate cake and they are going to have chocolate cake at the funeral! We have moved into the mission home for the time being with all their family coming into town.

So keep their family in your prayers! 

Had the opportunity to go to the temple again this week with one of our recent converts! He attended the temple for his first time to do baptisms for the dead! It was such a sweet experience :) I added a picture with him outside the temple. 

I want each of you to know that their are people out there who need what you have! This week a gentleman called us up and wanted us to come over. He explained that things had just gotten overwhelming and he couldn't deal with it. He said the only thing that brings him happiness is when we come over to visit him. People are suffering out there in the world! They have REAL problems they need help with! They need you to not walk past them and go on your way, but sharing what you know can help them! I pray each of you will seek for multiple opportunities to help others this week!

Matthew 16:25

"For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it."

Sure do love y'all!!!

-ELDER PARR






YOU have control of your attitude!

So this week has been wonderful! So much has been going on and I feel the Lord has been watching over me and everyone here in Billings! 

The beginning of the week has been wild as we had TONS of missionaries here and trying to find places for them to stay, places for them to eat and work for them to do! haha Many elders get pretty stressed out about it but it just PUMPED me up! It was so much fun and we got SOO much done it was amazing! It was bitter sweet because we welcomed in about 8 new elders into our mission, but also lost about 8 who finished their mission and were headed home! Many of which I had served around and had come to love. Them leaving is like watchin' my "older brotha's" I never had leave :/ haha There are plenty of wonderful elders and sisters here to work with and make memories with though :) Except I don't think anyone can replace Elder Buckman. He was the ONLY one who would dance while I would sing ha!

I have some WILD news! We're teaching this family and the husband is wanting to get baptized. They moved here from Phoenix a few years ago and we were talking about it and they think "Elder Tyler Perkins" was one of their first elders to start teaching him in Phoenix! I'm trying to find out if it was really him!!!!! How crazy would that be?! 

A valuable lesson I learned this week is that regardless of your circumstance or situation, YOU have control of your attitude! Attitude is truly everything and can make a HUGE difference in your own life and others around you! Be sure to ALWAYS put on a smile and do everything with a cheerful heart :) 

Don't have much time, but I sure do love y'all! :)

-Elder Parr

I'M STAYIN' IN BILLINGS!!

MI FAMILA!!

I never can figure out why I always address people in spanish? Beats me! Haha! I just want to start out by saying that this week has been AMAZING!!! I can say this week has been a week that I will NEVER forget! For more than just one reason that's for sure! This first reason is because I've made some changes in my everyday routine and life that have affected me greatly. I can truly say at this time in my life I am a new man. I don't feel the same as when I came out on my mission, for sure, and it kind of amazes me that it took just about a year and a half to be able to truly say, "I've changed." I feel the Savior's love more than ever, I understand and fulfill my purpose each and every day without delay and I have no greater desire than to DO WORK! Let's just say I'm feelin' pretty good right now :) Doesn't mean I can become complacent at all though! Got to DO WORK!

I was finally able to make it to the Billings Temple! Soooo exciting!

Elder Miner and Elder Parr

Following the morning in the temple, we were able to have a baptism for one of our investigators!! He is such a testimony of what the gospel can do for an individual! We have been teaching him for a total of 3 weeks and his life has completely changed! He went from blaming God each and EVERYDAY and just going through the motion of life, to one of the most spiritual and devoted followers of Christ! He is the perfect example that God is loving and loves us unconditionally :) It's been such a pleasure and joy to watch him apply the principles of Christ's teachings in his life and to see the miracles that have come into his life :)

Another highlight of the week is when we met with this woman and her boyfriend who we've met with a few times. She really has no religious background at all and really hasn't opened up to us much. We began talking about places and events in our lives that have impacted us in a way that we cherish them. I shared an experience of mine and the creek down by the house. Boy, will I ALWAYS love that place! After I shared mine she opened up and expressed that many of her memories came with her father. We listened to the spirit and shared the wonderful event of Joseph Smith in the sacred grove. We talked about how it was a sacred place for him as well as many members of the church, but more importantly a place where God shared His love with one of His sons and answered his prayer! We asked her how she felt and she said, "I don't know. I feel weird. Like there is a lot of pressure on my heart right now, but it doesn't hurt?" I asked her what it made her want to do and she replied, "It makes me want to cry." She then began to ball and we just allowed the spirit to testify of the truthfulness of what we shared with her. With tears in my own eyes, I expressed to her the love that God has for her and the impact the gospel can have in her life. It was a sweet moment filled with the spirit and a moment I will NEVER forget :) It's amazing when someone, for the first time, feels and understands what the spirit is like!

We met an amazing family who are foster parents! They have 4 kids of their own who have grown up and moved out and have 10 foster children. As they allowed us in their home I admired their family and the standards that they live by! It was amazing to enter their home and to see the love of the Savior just shine in their faces. We taught about the importance of families and how they are so important to God! They are truly some of the best people I've met and so sincere about their relationships with each other as well as with our Savior :) They invited us back over and I can't wait to continue to teach them!

I could go on and on about stories I've had this week but what I want to leave you with is the assurance that this work is real! That the gospel of Jesus Christ is the way that has been prepared for each of us to live and allow us to return home with God once again. I'm ever so grateful to be an instrument in the Lord's hands to do such a great work. This is the way in which EACH of us can find joy, happiness and peace in this life and in the life to come. May you apply it in your own lives and be willing to share it with those around you who are searching for direction, identity and purpose in life! There is no greater work or duty to fulfill :)

LOVE Y'ALL!!!!!

Your Missionary,

-Elder Parr

p.s. By the way, we had biscuits 'n gravy last night from a family from North Carolina! MMMMM :)` 

Best biscuits I think I've EVER had! I sure do miss that from home! 

That's the first meal when I get home mom ;) Haha!

Howdy!

So the weather this past week has been AMAZING! High in the 50's with the low's in the 30's which here feels like spring, but I'm sad to say we woke up this morning with snowflakes falling! They are a bit different here though... They are actually real and not those paper ones we would always make back there in Texas! Haha! :)

Monday evening we had a wonderful baptismal service! A young woman we have been teaching decided she wanted to be baptized! It was a GREAT service and made me reflect back on my own baptism and what it meant for me. Baptism means much more to me than just being dunked under some water and everyone being happy for me! I still remember my baptism when I was 8 and what surprises me is that I don't remember much from when I was 8, besides liking Pokemon, playing outside and my baptism! Haha Baptism for me is an outward expression of an inward commitment! When we're baptized we promise to take upon ourselves the name of Christ, to follow His commandments and to always remember Him. What better promise could we make than the one at baptism?! I just get SOO excited when individuals are willing to listen to the spirit and decide to make this wonderful covenant / promise with God! It makes me keep going each and every day! Another young man who we have been meeting with for like 2 weeks is getting baptized Saturday and he is SOOO excited! It's all he can talk about! Haha

So, funny stuff, we didn't have too many appointments yesterday which means we had the opportunity to go knock on doors about 4 PM! Haha You can imagine what time that was, THE SUPER BOWL! It's pretty messed up how focused the world gets when the super bowl is on! People wouldn't even let us in to watch the game! Haha They would be like, "Right now isn't a good time we're watching the Super Bowl." "Well, what's the score?" "I've got to go" "Well, can we come in too?" SLAM! hahahaha Honestly, I was just laughing the entire time we walked down streets because EVERY person would say the exact same thing! 

Sounds like things are going well home and I'm sooo excited for y'all! If there is one thing I can tell y'all this week it's to live up to your potential and never let a moment go by without following the promptings of the spirit! 

LOVE Y'ALL!

-Elder Parr