FOLLOWING UP

Dear Missionary,

I can't believe it, but it has been a year since I finished serving my full-time mission in the Everett Washington Mission!  When I finished my mission, my sister Shelby and my Mom came and picked me up.  Haha I remember seeing them for the first time and thinking they were SO tall because I had gotten used to all my shorter Hispanic amigos :).  During that next week we went around visiting people that I had worked with throughout my mission which of course involved A LOT of great Mexican food (my Mom and Shelby almost threw up a few times from eating so much... haha!).  Apart from the great food and great company, that week of visits taught me the great importance of following up with the people that God puts in our lives.

If you haven't already noticed, I love analogies... I think its because I am still a little boy at heart and I just learn better through visuals and things that aren't hard to understand!  Imagine that you were given some delicious ingredients to make the most amazing cake in the world.  You put the ingredients together, spend time stirring them all together, pour the batter into a nice greased up pan and stick it in the oven.  Now imagine that you never gave that cake a second thought and didn't check in to see how it was doing.  Pretty soon your delicious cake would be a flaky mess of burnt ashes!

Just as in baking a cake, consistent and loving follow up is ESSENTIAL for success in missionary work, especially member missionary work!  About 6 months into my mission I had the opportunity of working with an older Mexican man named Florencio and his daughter Rocio.  Florencio and Rocio progressed quickly after coming to church because of a member who invited them.  After meeting with them for several weeks, they committed to be baptized!  Man, we were so excited for them!  Although Florencio continued to progress and prepare for baptism, Rocio unfortunately took a bit of a nose dive with some of her former addictions and stopped meeting with us.  Florencio was baptized by himself and we were super happy for him, but I couldn't help thinking that all was lost with Rocio!  However I didn't give up on helping her or her father.

Throughout the rest of my mission, I would periodically write Florencio and sometimes even get permission to give him a call.  Things didn't seem to be getting much better with his daughter Rocio... in fact they seemed to be getting worse!  She got deeper and deeper into her alcohol abuse... not comforting to hear right?!?  As I got home from my mission, I decided to stay in contact with Florencio about once a month to continue to be there for him and to help him continue forward in the gospel.  We would talk about Rocio often and I was happy to hear she decided to go to a rehab center.  I got some contact info for the rehab center and would call her periodically to see how she was doing.  

When she got out, she moved back in with her father and decided to meet with the missionaries again.  A month or so later she was baptized!  It was a sweet moment to get a call from Florencio and to hear his excitement as he told me about the change that has occurred in his daughter Rocio.   Rocio has been bearing her testimony and moving forward in faith since the day of her baptism :).  This experience has shown me that following up with those that the Lord puts in our lives is SO important.  We often think in terms of days and weeks, but I am convinced that the Lord thinks more in terms of years and decades with people's spiritual progress.  We must have the faith and patience to consistently follow up with love!

Even though I have been home from my mission for a whole year, I try to keep my mission alive by consistently following up with the Hispanic people I was privileged to work with during my mission.  I love my mission SO much and I could never imagine leaving it as a thing of the past.  During the last week in Washington with my Mom and my sister Shelby, I set a goal to contact each of the significant people I worked with during my mission at least once a month for the rest of my life!  I know its a lofty goal, but I have seen incredible miracles as I have called, Facebook messaged and texted people from my mission!  The Lord gave me a delicious "cake" of a mission and I won't let it go to waste!

Whether or not you have served a mission, you can follow up with the people that the Lord has put in your life.  I invite you, my dear friend, with all of my heart, to think and pray about who the Lord wants you to follow up with.  Just a simple call, text, or note of appreciation can help others feel of your love and support and can help spark the fire of the gospel in their hearts! In Alma we read, "Then... ye shall reap the rewards of your faith, and your diligence, and your patience, and your long-suffering..." (Alma 32:43)

As Elder Ballard has said "if we follow up, the Lord will not let us down".  

Remember who you are.  You are a Missionary.

-- Parker

P.s.    I was interviewed by Alex Ba when I got home from my mission and here is a short video about following up :)  Please share any comments you have about how we can better follow up with people!

  

TECHNOLOGY

Dear Missionary,

Have you ever seen the movie Napoleon Dynamite?  If you have, you either were rolling on the ground laughing at the ridiculous humor, or you wasted an hour and a half of your life, bored out of your mind!  There is no middle ground when it comes to this classic movie.  One of the most ridiculous and controversial characters is Kipland Dynamite, commonly known as "Kip".  Near the end of the show he sings a song at his own wedding about how much he loves technology (which is appropriate seeing as he met his wife, Lafawnduh, chatting online)!  The lyrics go something like this.

Haha sounds like our boy Kipland has an everlasting, celestial-like love for technology.  Although we all know that poor Kip is a very lost when it comes to social norms, perhaps his view on the importance of technology isn't all that far-fetched.   In a recent devotional for young adults, Elder Ballard mentioned Facebook, Pinterest, Instragram, and even Snap Chat as means of sharing the gospel!

So what role can technology play in missionary work??  In Alma 37 we learn that the Lord doesn't often take large, drastic, and dramatic leaps when it comes to furthering his work.  Rather, "by small and simple things are great things brought to pass..." (Alma 37:6).  Technology has made it like a million times easier for all of us to do "small and simple things" which allow the Lord to work mighty miracles.

Think of the largest building you have been to.  When I was a young little pup, I went with my family to New York and we huffed and puffed our way up to the top of the Empire State building.  The view at the top took away the little breath I had left (haha just messing I used the elevator).  It truly was MAGNIFICENT.  That building didn't just fall out of the sky one day.  It was build bit by bit for 1 year and 45 days.  

Now the question is, do we continually add a "brick" or two, so to speak, to God's skyscraper of salvation??  With the help of technology we can practically sit back in the comfort of our own home, click a button or two and add a few bricks to God's masterpiece.  It hasn't always been this easy!  Back in the early days of the church, saints would go hungry, sacrifice material possessions, and spend hours building magnificent temples to further the work of salvation.  Are we willing to sacrifice a minute or two and maybe a bit of social pride to continue the work of salvation which they started??  You best believe we are willing!!!

Here are some ideas on how to use the classic social media platforms that we are on all the time!

1) On your Instagram profile, put your favorite spiritual quote

2) Throw up an Instagram that has something to do with a spiritual experience you've had

3) Make a funny or powerful meme that has something to do with the gospel (personal fav)

4) Rate the Book of Mormon on Amazon.com so it comes up as a related book to the Bible

5) Create a Mormon.org profile and then link it to your Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram accounts

6) Send a PERSONAL Facebook message to someone and share a scripture or quote

7) Reach out to all the people you worked with on your mission!

8) Follow church Twitter accounts like Mormon.org and then give them some good ole retweets.

9) Send a little snapchat of gratitude to someone

10) find out who the missionaries are in your area and then add them as friend on Facebook!

There are like a million more options, so get creative.  Above all, remember that "every thing which inviteth and enticeth to do good, and to love God, and to serve him, is inspired of God." (Moroni 7:13)

Remember who you are.  You are a Missionary... even when you are online!!

-- Parker

P.s.  Do you have any other ideas about how to share the gospel online.  Share them in the comments below por favor!

 

Dear Missionary,

Have you ever thought about some of the great things that have happened in the history of the world?  For example, the first time fire was created was a huge step for human progression!  So were the invention of the wheel, the printing press, the industrial revolution, and landing on the moon!  Yet comparing the importance of these events with the coming of Christ is like comparing the light from small candles to the light of the sun!

Jesus Christ is the center of the all of the Missionary messages.  The Message of the Restoration is not so much about the restoration of a church organization as it is about the restoration of his gospel that gives us access to his atoning power.  The Plan of Salvation is not just a drawing on the board, but is a journey of transformation founded on Christ's atonement.  And, of course, the Gospel of Jesus Christ would consist of meaningless ordinances were it not for Him.

Jesus Christ is the savior of the world.  He has experienced the pains of every human that has ever existetd!  Because He has descended below all things, he has the power in his hands to lift us above all things.  In tribute for what Christ has done for me, I wrote this song about "The Master's Hands" :)

Here are the lyrics!

The Master’s Hands

The Master’s hands, so innocent, so undefiled

His mother smiled.

Those hands matured, as he became a carpenter:

Master of wood.

But would he know? That with those hands he’d shape my soul?

The Master’s hands.

A busy street, a blind man who could not see,

Against the wall.

As tears of pain fell from eyes like drops of rain.

The lonely man.

A gentle touch, from those hands wiped tears of shame;

His sight regained!

The Master’s hands are drawn, he holds the healing balm

The Master’s hands are worn, can’t you see the palms are torn?

The Master’s hands are drawn, he holds the healing balm.

The Master’s hands are worn, can’t you see the palms are torn?

The knuckles white, as he prayed with all his might

That lonely night.

Those humble hands, those humble hands were bound,

But he made no sound.

The wood once shaped by his hands became the place

He would hang.

And though once dead, the Master was resurrected

The Master’s Hands.

The Master’s hands are drawn, he holds the healing balm.

The Master’s hands are worn, can’t you see the palms are torn?

The Master’s hands are drawn, he holds the healing balm.

The Master’s hands are worn, can’t you see the palms are torn?

Those loving hands are still outstretched for…

Those loving hands are still outstretched for…

Those loving hands are still outstretched for…

Those loving hands are still outstretched for…

For you!

 

Remember who you are.  You are a Missionary of Jesus Christ

--Parker

p.s.  How have the Master's hands shaped your life?  Comment below!

GENERAL CONFERENCE

Dear Missionary,

There isn't anything much better than being with those you love while listening to the words of the Prophets and Apostles during General Conference.   When we were young, conference probably meant coloring pictures of scripture stories and eating candy until our stomachs hurt.  As teenagers, it most likely meant fighting hopelessly to stay awake and listen to Conference with our eyes closed ;).  But when we come prepared, conference is a time of divine communion and spiritual strengthening.  No doubt we receive strength and guidance personally, but what does conference mean for the missionary inside each one of us??

Following the guidance of the Prophet and Apostles is essential to being an effective missionary.  Imagine yourself in a small boat, in the vast ocean, in the middle of the night.  Without any sense of direction it would be terrifying!  However, with a lighthouse you would at least know in which direction the safety of shore could be found.  But if you tried to just bee-line it to the light house, there is no telling what you would find that stands in between you and the shore...

So to avoid rocks, reefs, and other obstacles,  "lower lights" are placed on the beach.  If you line up any of the lower lights with the lighthouse you will have a straight line to safety, avoiding destruction and shipwreck!! (Hymn 335)

In the same way, if we follow the words of the Prophets and Apostles, which represent the lower lights, and follow our own personal revelation from the Lord, the lighthouse, we will be led through this turbulent sea of life toward the safety of shore!  Both the Lord and his ordained servants are essential for success :)

As Missionaries, we need to realize that we cannot remain on the shore and call from a distance... rather we are in the thick of the stormy sea getting ourselves wet and trying to help all of our brothers and sisters make it to shore.  And it is essential to keep ourselves on the ri Only if we first align ourselves with the Lord and his ordained servants will we be able to help those struggling at sea align themselves as well.

Nephi demonstrates this principle of aligning ourselves with the Lord and his authorized servants beautifully!  Nephi's bow breaks while him and his brothers are hunting.  Everyone is TICKED at Nephi because, besides hunting, they had no other way to get real substantial food to sustain themselves.  Even Nephi's dad Lehi, the Prophet, began to complain.  Showing complete alignment with the Lord and his ordained servants, Nephi made a bow out of wood (haha I bet it wasn't all that great) and asked his father "Whither shall I go to obtain food?" (1 Nephi 16:23).

As a result, Lehi received revelation from the Lord which led Nephi to knowing where to go to hunt with his little weak-sauce bow.  And miraculously, he was able to hunt a bunch of animals and feed his family!  Had Nephi been prideful and decided to go hunt on his own without asking his father, the Prophet, where he should go, he would not have been successful.

In the same way, we can receive guidance from the Prophet and Apostles on how to best carry out missionary work.  I testify that the Prophets and Apostles hold the Priesthood keys and authority to receive direct answers from God to guide us in how we can be better missionaries and help others come to shore.  I know that the Priesthood, and the living revelation that comes with it, has been restored on the earth today! If we prepare ourselves for conference, we will receive answers from God for our personal lives, as well as answers to help us be better missionaries!!!!  LETS TAKE ADVANTAGE OF IT THIS WEEKEND TO RECEIVE GUIDANCE :)

Remember who you are.  You are a Missionary.

-- Parker

If you do or have received some cool guidance from Conference, please share below! :)

p.s. check out my friend Alex's website for future missionaries!  www.preparetoserve.com

PATIENCE

Dear Missionary,

Have you ever felt impatient?  Sometimes for me the thought of waiting for something, especially when I don't know exactly when it will happen, can seem overwhelming and make me want to cry like a little mama's boy!  However I testify that patience is an essential part of missionary work and I pray that the spirit will help us feel that as we discuss the attribute of patience together!

Do you remember the first time you tried to grow a plant?  You probably expected that little cup of dirt to shoot forth a little stem instantly like a geyser at Yellow-Stone.  When it didn't happen as soon as you wanted you might have given up on it.  Or perhaps you were smarter and decided that if you poured a gallon of water on it and threw it in the oven the water and heat would produce a miracle :). (hopefully you never tried that one!) I think we, as little kids were simply missing the key ingredient of patience.

We often do the same thing in missionary work.  We either give up after the first time someone says they don't want to hear about the gospel, assuming that their response was final.  Or we decide that enough pressure, cookies, and invites will suddenly make a non-member into a perfect candidate for the full-time missionaries and baptism :) Rather as we "cheerfully do all things that lie in our power" we can "stand still, with the utmost assurance, to see the salvation of God, and for his arm to be revealed" (D&C 123:17)  So let us be patient in the work of the Lord and realize that he is the Lord of the Vineyard!

But lets be honest, doesn't it bug us all just a little bit when someone says "just suck it up and be patient"??  For me, I always nod and smile back to the person and say "totally", but inside I am at a total loss with knowing where to start.  Do we just flip on a patience switch and suddenly become content with waiting indefinitely?  In my opinion, there is much more to patience that just shutting our mouth and waiting.  To be truly patient we must learn to increase our FAITH in the Lord and also learn to live with GRATITUDE in our hearts!

Faith in Jesus Christ leads us to have a more hopeful and  optimistic attitude towards the future which enables us to wait patiently for good things to come.  We must always remember that "faith is not knowing what the future holds, but who holds the future."

In the meantime, we must learn to have gratitude in our hearts.  Impatience is wanting what we don't have, and wanting it right now.  Gratitude on the other hand is appreciating what we do have, and appreciating it right now.  So essentially as we increase gratitude in our lives our capacity to wait calmly for good things to come grows!

And believe it our not, the good things do come!  Last weekend I had the opportunity to go back to my mission in Everett Washington to see the baptism of an awesome guy named Craig Lash!  Craig was married to a faithful member of the church who was SO PATIENT with her husband.  Every time we would go over for dinner and share a message afterwards with Craig, I could just see the sincere desire of Sister Lash for her husband to receive the gospel, but I could also just feel her incredible patience with him and trust in the Lord.  After 23 years of patient waiting, Craig chose to seriously investigate and be baptized!  WAHOOO :)  Please read more of their story below in the comments!

I testify that patience is an essential attribute of Christ that we must learn to develop.  I Testify that God will send his holy spirit to help us develop patience as we choose to build FAITH in Jesus Christ and have GRATITUDE in our hearts for the good things we have already.

Remember who you are.  You are a Missionary.

--Parker

Have you said a prayer of pure thanks to God lately?  

Please share any comments below :)

PRAYER

Dear Missionary,

Have you ever fallen asleep praying?  If you have, you know there is nothing more demoralizing or disorienting than waking up from a prayer with your legs asleep :). All of us members could use a little fine tuning in our prayers so we can become better missionaries. So lets talk about why prayer is so important in missionary work and how we can pray more effectively so we avoid looking like this girl above!

Enos, in my opinion, is THE MAN when it comes to prayer.  After having "wrestled with the Lord" and received a remission of his own sins he does something incredible.  Instead of getting up, brushing the dirt of his knees and going to hunt, he stays on his knees and sincerely prayers for others!! as a result, the Lord says to Enos "I will visit thy brethren..." and later tells Enos it is "because of thy faith" (Enos 10-12).  If we pray sincerely for others, I testify that the Lord will visit them in mercy.

A dramatic example of the power of prayer for others is the story of Alma the younger.  Alma the younger and his friends were a rough bunch.  Yet the members of the church gathered together in faith and prayed sincerely for them.  As a result the Lord visited the trouble makers by sending an angel.  The angel told Alma that "the Lord [had] heard the prayers of his people, and also the prayers of his servant, Alma, who is thy father..." (Mosiah 27:14).  Because these people prayed with faith, Alma the younger and his buddies had a mighty change of heart!!!

I highly doubt those who prayed for Alma the younger looked like the little girl in the first picture ;).  So how can we have more effective prayers?  As we really come to understand who we are talking with and prepare better to talk with Him, we will have awesome prayers!!

God is our loving Heavenly Father and also our majestic Heavenly King.  I once heard a story from my friend Manny Griffiths.  A general authority visited a mission in Portugal where all the missionaries combined had only helped 8 or so people come unto Christ through baptism during that year.  The general authority felt impressed to invite the missionaries to imagine their Heavenly Father sitting in his majestic throne listening intently to every word they said during their prayers.  The missionaries took the counsel to heart and a year or so later the mission in Portugal baptized over 100 people... 

IN ONE MONTH!

So, my dear friend, approach God's throne prepared.  Think and meditate a little bit before you begin your prayer.  Take some deep breaths.  Perhaps after getting up in the morning you should even  take a shower, eat or do something to wake yourself up before your morning prayers (morning prayers are the hardest for me!).  If you do, your prayers will be much more powerful and uplifting!

Above all, remember who you are.  You are a Missionary.

--Parker

Who can you pray for this week?

  

Any cool prayer stories? Please comment below! :)

TESTIMONY

Dear Missionary,

One of my favorite scriptures in the Book of Mormon is Mosiah 18:9.  It teaches us that we need to "stand as witnesses of God at all times and in all things, and in all places that [we] may be in, even until death..."  So let's talk about how we can be witnesses of Jesus Christ by bearing powerful testimony!

Have you ever wondered if you can really share your testimony and say that you KNOW that this gospel is true? Honestly, it's a valid concern that I think all of us face at some point.  Perhaps this example will help :).

I know this is going to be tough to imagine with all of the technology we have today, but do you remember what a Polaroid picture is?  They are those pictures that get printed right on the spot out of the camera.  The picture starts out dark as night but as you shake it, it starts to light up, little by little.  I remember getting so excited to shake the picture and slowly see how crazy the face I made was :).

   Testimonies are just like Polaroid pictures.  I know, crazy right?!  But think about it.  When you first start the process of gaining a testimony you simply believe.  You can't see much of anything but you hope and believe that it is true.  But as you shake it you begin to see the picture and what it contains.  Do you need to wait until there is absolutely no darkness left to recognize the truth of what the picture contains?  No! The picture lights up ever so slowly and you can begin to discern the truth of it long before it is 100% clear.

 Honestly chances are we won't ever come to the point in our lives when it is 100% crystal clear, but that does not stop us from sharing what we KNOW to be true about the "picture" of the Gospel! But we can't wait on the side-lines like slackers and expect it to just magically appear. We must shake our testimonies like Polaroid pictures! We do this by acting on the word of God day by day.  Through experience and through the whisperings of the Holy Spirit, we will see what our Heavenly Father's picture contains! And we will then be able say with surety that we KNOW it is true!

So once we begin to grow our testimonies and experience a "swelling in our hearts" how do we actually bear our testimony??  What comes to your mind when some says "bear your testimony."?  For me I think of a little whippersnapper up at the pulpit saying "i'd like to bear my testimony, I know this church is true."  Haha gotta love it right?!  Although sharing  your testimony through word is important, I believe there is more to it.

If you look up the word "bear" in the dictionary, you see words like "hold", "carry", and "sustain".  In fact in no part do you ever see the word "tell" or "say".  So does bearing our testimony just mean telling it to the congregation on fast Sunday?  No, there is surely more!  We must "bear" our testimony every day by living what we believe.  In that way we carry, hold, and sustain our testimony so that it can be a light to the world.

The Lord has commanded that we "let [our] light so shine before men, that they may see [our] good works, and glorify [our] Father which is in heaven" (Matthew 5:16).  So as we choose to be witnesses of the Good Shepherd through our actions, we are holding the light of the gospel for all to see!

Remember who you are.  You are a Witness.  You are a Missionary.

-- Parker

Will you share your testimony in the comments below? Then commit yourself to bearing that testimony with courage this week!