WEEK 7 SAULT STE. MARIE (WEEK 104 OF MISSION)

Well, this is the last email i will send from the mission field. I have no time and too much to say.

Thank you so much for your support and prayers over the past two years and throughout my life. Thank you for the emails, cards, money, and letters. I could not have done this if it weren't for the support of my friends and family. 

I have learned so much over two years. I have changed. I will share briefly the truths that are the most worth knowing. 

There is a God in Heaven who is our Father. He has consecrated His entire existence to helping us become like Him. The Universe is consecrated to that same purpose. We are eternal beings who are in a probationary state, to see if we will do all things whatsoever the Lord our God will command us. Jesus Christ is the Savior and the very Son of God. He atoned for the sins of the world and paved the perfect path back to our Heavenly Parents. If we will follow Him and His teachings our lives will be filled with peace and happiness. His Atonement answers all the, "what if" questions of life. The Church of Jesus Christ has been restored in these latter days through the Prophet Joseph Smith. The Book of Mormon is true and if we will read it and follow its teachings, we will steer clear of sorrow and misery in our earthly state. Through the restoration of the Priesthood of God, the relationships of husband and wife, parent and child, and all other relations back to father Adam can be welded together in a great chain, leading us to dwell in everlasting burnings in the presence of God. 

I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen. 

WEEK 6 SAULT STE. MARIE (WEEK 103 OF MISSION)

There wasn't a group letter from Parker for his blog last week.  

He didn't get to go to Mackinac Island after all last Monday because they got rained out!!! Sounds a lot like here.  Maybe our whole family will get to go there someday.

This past weekend he got to attend the temple Sealing of the Drahers, who he taught back in Kalkaska.  This is a picture of them at the Kalkaska Meetinghouse before heading to the temple.  He said this day was one of his all-time favorites!!!

Brother Hoover,  a member of the mission presidency, texted me Saturday saying that he was with Parker and that there had been several members from his mission at the temple and that they got to have a mini-reunion with him before he leaves for home. He said that Parker had a permanent smile on his face.  I think you can see that in the picture!

I was trying not to cry today because my eyes are sore from all the crying I have done this last week as Mikey received his mission call, and as I have thought about Parker being reunited with our family, but I can't help but shed some tears now as I think of his mission coming to a close.  He has loved it so much and hasn't wanted it to end but I was telling him how his "mission" will continue throughout his life as he serves the Lord no matter where he is and that he is needed back home now with his little brothers and family and friends.

Love you all so much!

Parker with his good friend, Elder Elmer

WEEK 5 SAULT STE. MARIE (WEEK 102 OF MISSION)

Our phone call with Parker on Mother's Day was so much fun!  It was great not to be kind of sad when talking to him because we knew we would see him in 10 days!!!  

We got him laughing pretty hard a few times and it was so good to hear his laugh.

He told us that he wouldn't be able to write Monday because they were going on a trip to Mackinac Island for the day.  The island doesn't allow any motorized vehicles so they were going to be on bikes.  In the winter they do allow snowmobiles there or they wouldn't be able to get around.  In the winter the population is about 400 and then in the summer it grows to 10,000!

The lake right by where he lives.

Can't believe he will be home in one week from today! 

WEEK 4 SAULT STE. MARIE (WEEK 101 OF MISSION)

hey everybody! another great week here in the soo! 

 

A view of the Mackinac Bridge from a distance. 

Parker and Elder Sauer and their bikes.  No idea what's behind door "C" haha

things are going really well with maria! she is progressing so well and will be baptized soon (date to be decided either may 23 or 30) the 16th would be perfect, but there is a temple trip that day so yeah... but she is doing great! we have found some other new investigators who are doing well. we just need to get them to Church and reading more consistently! 

The Church is true! We all must answer the terrible questions (who am i, why am i here, and where am i going?) The Restored Gospel of Jesus Christ answers those terrible questions in the most incredible ways. we know those answers because our Heavenly Father has reached out in love and called a prophet again. He has restored His authority to the earth. Our message is simple and true. 

Remember to read your scriptures every day! one reason why: alma 37: 38- 47. if we will give heed to the scriptures, they will lead us through this vale of sorrow to a far better land of promise. do not be slothful because of the easiness of the way! as you read you will learn new insights into the gospel that will further change who you are. just like spending time with someone makes you more like them, spending time in the words of Christ makes you more like Him! For how knoweth a man the master whom he has not served, that is far from the thoughts and intents of his heart? mosiah 5:13. 

Have a great week! 

Elder Green

WEEK 3 SAULT STE. MARIE (WEEK 100 OF MISSION)

Todd pointed out to me that since I started the blog after Parker left the MTC that my total weeks of Parker's mission were off by 2. Rather than give into my OCD issues and go back through and correct every single post, I am just adding 2 on now and going from here these final 3 and 1/2 weeks!!! But, I may have to go back at some point and fix it or go crazy haha ;)

Views from the bridge.

hey everyone! another great week in the soo (yes they do spell it that way here as well as sault). things have been great! elder sauer and i are getting along well and working hard!

this past week our jeep went in for repairs... so we have been on bikes.. in the snow and rain. haha its been good though! shedding some lbs i think? itll be great to have our jeep back later this week. Heavenly Father still provided means for us to get where we needed to be. 

Maria is doing well! she is so cool! we have been blessed to find many more new investigators as well. people are truly prepared to receive the gospel. they are all around us!! 

i am not sure what else to add.. we have been talking to lots of people and trying to find those that will receive us. we have been teaching more than elders have taught here in a while because God has been good to us and blessed us with people to teach. hopefully this next week we will be able to commit more people to baptism and be able to get some more people to attend Church and feel the Spirit. 

Parker and his companion, Elder Sauer with
their Zone Leaders.
Check out how tall Elder Elmer is!

The Church is true. The Gospel is simple. The Church's purpose is to get the ordinances into the lives of its members and to teach true doctrine. So why do we go to Church? To participate in an ordinance, (the sacrament) and to learn true doctrine. I am so thankful for these glorious truths. I used to take it all for granted. not anymore. Brigham Young used to say something along the lines of, "do you want to live more fully? do you want to be enlightened? do you want to find true joy and happiness? then become a Latter-Day Saint and live the gospel of God." its true isnt it? He also used to say, "The only place we can fight evil is within ourselves." i cannot fight the evil within you because i dont know what it is! i cant judge you! i hardly know you, even if we are best friends. if the whole world would only be concerned with fighting the evil within themselves, we would near approach what was said of the people of Enoch, "they were of one heart and one mind and dwelt in righteousness and there was no poor among them." who wouldnt want to live in a world like that? fight the evil within yourself. how? by yielding to the enticings of the Holy Spirit. whenever you feel something that makes your soul swell and encourages you to do good and be good, give into it! whenever you feel something that is selfish and soul shrinking, shun it! give in to the good. easier said than done, but we must do it anyway!  

Have a great week.

Elder Green 

WEEK 2 SAULT STE. MARIE (WEEK 97 OF MISSION)

hey everyone!! i forgot to send a group email last week and i am sorry! i have to be short this week but i have some awesome miracles to report! 

Parker on the St. Ignace Lighthouse dock.  Not sure if the rosiness of his cheeks is from the sun or cold haha!

we have been working hard here and our first week here we door knocked into a TON of people who wanted to meet with us! it was incredible. one of them was a girl who was on the phone. she didnt seem too interested and was obviously busy, but we asked if we could come back the next day. she said we could. long story short (more miracles involved) but we ended up going over there after we didnt think she was there for our meeting. we taught her and she loved it! her name is maria and she is like 22 years old. she had twins about a year ago and one of them passed away :( she moved up here from GA to be with her parents who live here. she felt the restoration was true and was excited to read the Book of Mormon. that was a Saturday that we taught her. she texted us later that night and said she had moved her appointments she had on sunday so she could attend all 3 hours of church! and so she did :) our first sunday in a brand new area, Heavenly Father led us to someone who was prepared to attend Church. 

We have since taught Maria 4 more times and she has loved it all. she wasnt too sure about baptism, but is getting more and more sure every day. she came to church yesterday as well and is doing awesome! we have been very blessed here. there are more miracles to report, but i have not time!

all reports show that the Draher's should be going through the temple to receive the endowment and be sealed on may 16th, my last day as a missionary (before i go to east lansing and prepare to return home). i should be able to go with them. what a miracle. to be able to see them sealed my last day as a missionary... 

The Church is true. Jesus is the Christ. Joseph Smith is His prophet. Just remember that faith and belief is a choice. when a man works by faith, he works by mental exertion more than by physical force. therefore, the thought process itself holds the key to exercising faith. put your trust in God and His Son. All will be well. we have no cause to doubt for They will not let us down. Our number one goal should be to seek the Spirit. Pray for it and live for it. 

Elder Green

WEEK 1 SAULT STE. MARIE (WEEK 96 0F MISSION)

Parker didn't send a group email this week but he is doing great and as you can see from the pictures his new area is beautiful.  It is still cold and snowy but that's Michigan and especially the Upper Peninsula for ya

WEEK 24 LANSING (WEEK 95 OF MISSION)

hey everyone! excited for General Conference? General Conference is a lot like the Super Bowl for missionaries. Except instead of it being 4 hours its 10. so its way better. 

had another good week! we are teaching some awesome people! one quick experience. so elder rhodes and i have had very limited time to do missionary work recently because of transfers and things. so we were taking advantage of the little time we had and we were personal contacting (or pcing for short) so we pc into this guy named ralph. he is a pretty short, african american sophomore. we asked him why God created us and had a good conversation. He agreed to meet this week. the first time we taught him it went really well. he told us at the beginning that he was interested in learning more, but wanted nothing to do with a further involvement in the church. so we taught him the restoration, which he understood perfectly! thats the thing about ralph, he gets it. so we invited him to be baptized and he said he felt baptism was very serious and he wanted to think about it more. but he really wanted to read the book of mormon and pray about it. at the end of the lesson he also asked us if he could interview us the next evening for a paper he was writing about commonly stereotyped groups. he wasnt sure what the subject of his paper should be, then he met us and decided it should be on Mormons! so we did the interview, it went great, and he said he wanted to meet the next night. so we met him again and we were planning on teaching the Plan of Salvation and talking about that question he really liked, "why did God create us?" we asked him how his reading and praying has been going and he said good. he said he didnt get a feeling when he prayed, but that night he had a dream. in his dream he was dressed like one of us, like an lds missionary, and he was talking to his mom about what he had learned about the afterlife. what?? pretty cool huh? 

so anyway, we teach him. it goes awesome! he loves it and it all makes perfect sense to him. at the end of the lesson, i ask him, "ralph, how do you feel about what you have learned tonight?" and he said," it just.... it feels like God. I mean, I have been taught God is all-loving, but this really shows that He is. I have always wondered and thought about how if God is really all-loving, why will He put people in hell? and all of this has answered my questions. it feels more like God." what???? so sweet!! ralph is great. everyone else is doing well. rc's are doing well. 

also i am getting transferred wayy up north! check the attached map for a reference. i am going to the city sault ste. marie. itll be awesome! soo hard to leave msu and elder rhodes and elder norton and all the rc's and members here, but itll be so good to go to the UP!! 

So if you look up above the tip of the Mitten into the Upper Peninsula you will see Sault Ste. Marie where he will be finishing out his mission.  There is a bridge that goes across and connects to Canada!

the Church is true, Jesus is the Christ, Joseph Smith is His prophet, and we have a living Prophet and Apostles on the earth today. God is our Father and He loves us. He has a plan for our happiness both here and in the hereafter. His plan involves us having peace on earth and eternal life in the world to come. If we will follow the Gospel that has been restored through the Prophet Joseph Smith, we will indeed have peace and eventually eternal life. remember, "Pleasure is not the purpose of man's existence; JOY IS." -David O. Mckay

Elder Green

WEEK 23 LANSING (WEEK 94 OF MISSION)

hey everybody! hope all is well wherever you are! 

things are great in Michigan. the weather has been about as up and down as ever. it was soo nice most of last week, then two days ago we woke up to a blizzard outside..? anyway, it rained a lot yesterday and today looks like it will be nice! 

Parker with one of his great friends from Bingham and from the baseball team, Devon Petersen.  They got to spend all day together on splits this past week :)

this past week we taught some really awesome new people! we have been blessed to find some incredible investigators lately. one of them, Delorean (or D-Lo for short), is doing so well! We found D-Lo a month or two ago and just started teaching her a few weeks back. She is so great! She feels like she has distanced herself from God while in college and she really wants to get back. We have had some incredible lessons with her and she came to Church for the first time yesterday. She currently has a baptismal date for April 25th. 

We get away from God by small and simple steps. you dont usually keep all the commandments one day, and then the next wake up and decide to commit extremely serious sins you had never before thought of committing. it doesnt happen that way. just like most other changes in life, it is a process of small and simple steps. its not reading the scriptures one day, not praying for a few days, skipping church meetings one week, and pretty soon you are in a place you never thought you would be a few months ago. The frustrating part for most of us is not that we let ourselves get so far away, but that it is hard to find the strength to come back. It seems like such a long road, and rightfully so. 

"It would be so nice if I could just wake up and be back where I was 6 months ago before I made these decisions and got in these habits."

But that isn't how you got away from the good habits, remember? you didnt just wake up one day and do a 180 away from the light of the Gospel. So why would that be how you get back? no... how you get back is the same way you got away: small and simple steps. This is the key! by doing those small and simple steps, you gain the strength, faith, and hope to make it not only all the way back to where you were, but to go even beyond that point in your spiritual progression. but if we do not do those things, then we remain exactly where we are now. an object at rest will stay at rest until acted upon. sometimes we refuse to move if we cant move a long distance in a short amount of time, and by refusing to do small and simple things to improve, we greatly limit ourselves. 

here is one short example: lots of missionaries dont like to door knock (i dont know why, dont ask me. i like it). But it is a necessary evil for them because we need to find people to teach. if you have lots of people to teach, then you never have time to door knock. so what do missionaries need to do? they need to work on door knocking and do it a lot so then they can get people to teach and not have to do it anymore! but what do missionaries do? we drag our feet about door knocking because we dont like it, we dont get any better, so we dont find any new investigators, and then we have to keep door knocking because we arent finding any body! 

the principle: if we would just get some righteous inertia, then we would get on a spiritual roll! but if we refuse to do the things that would get us moving toward where we want to be, all the while complaining about not being where we want to be, then we have no one to blame but ourselves.

Sorry about the extremely long email! love you all! 

oh and ps we just called Elder Norton as the new Assistant to the President! I will be getting moved this next week (its transfer planning week now). we picked him up yesterday and it has been great!

love,

Elder Green

WEEK 22 LANSING (WEEK 93 OF MISSION)

hey everyone! not a lot of time today! sorry! things are great here! finding some new investigators and working hard. 

things are going well with the recent converts, no concerns there. 

everyone think about this question this week and try to find some answers! i can think of two REALLY good reasons: why is there a veil? why do we need it? what is its purpose? think deeply!! 

love you all! have a good week! 

Elder Green