Week 5 Den Haag - Return With Honor (last email)

Hello Hello,

Well.....I can't even believe what I am doing right now. Typing my last email ever as a Missionary for the Church Of Jesus Christ....It feels weird let me tell ya. Wow has it gone by fast or what? This week has been absolutely amazing though. So many great friends seen, great spiritual experiences, emotional roller coaster ride and a whole lot of soaking it up. I can't even begin to tell you how much I am going to miss this country and these people. They have changed my life for the better, I will never be able to repay the Lord for all that he has blessed me with these past two years. It has been amazing! A big part of that is because you all, all of the prayers and support, thank you. You truly impacted my mission!

Den Haag has treated me to well! The member, the investigators and all those in between. It has been great. I know that this is where I was meant to be, this is where the Lord needed me. He lives, we are His Children, He loves us! We are so beyond blessed to know Him. I am so grateful for the opportunity that I have had the past two years to share that incredible light with so many amazing people. The Gospel changes us for the better, it is true, I know it. Our Savior lives, and the stories are real, because of Him we can be made whole, we have that amazing blessing of change. Oh how grateful I am for Him.

Thank you all so much once again. I love you all! Mom, Dad, family, looks like I will be seeing you on Thursday! Loves!!!

Love, Elder Parr
#Return.With.Honor

Week 4 Den Haag - Ik hou van Nederlandse ijs! (Ik hou van zuster Berrett, zuster Wilkinson en Elder Davison)

Goedje Morgen Allemaal!

Deze week is zo ontzetten snel geweest! Ik hou zo veel van Nederland! It is crazy to think that this is my last full week in this beautiful country! I am goign to miss this place so much! It truly does have my heart. Time to give it all I got for 10 more days!! Here are some of the highlights from this past week:

Monday we went over to our african brother georges house. He made us some nice SPICY food. I love that man so much. He probably has the biggest heart in the world! So many good times and memories with him. One of my best friends.

So kindy the asked the sisters to make us some nice brownies, well we went over to their house the go and pick them up and ended up getting forced into singing at the door before we got them. We drew a crowd let me tell ya;) Davison and I have voices like angels! It's actually quite funny, singing is becoming a big tradition in the district, starting a trend!

We had the oppurtunity to have a couple more amazing service oppurtunities this past week for a member. Everytime, without fail my eyes are opened a little more. Charitable service changes lives. Charity truly does not fail. I love it!!

This week we were able to teach a couple more great lessons and see miracles of course:) The work here is just picking up here so much. It has been absolutely amazing to be apart of. Quick side not, a recent convert who are teaching has been pregnant with twins the and wsa being told by the doctors it was very likely one of the 3 of them wouldn't make it. A couple of hours before she gave birth Davison and I were there and we had a super powerful lesson on Prayer and our Heavenly Father. The spirit was so strong and she looked at us and said all will be well. Well we got a call later that night and her and her two little babies are all healthy!!! We were so happy! She is an incredible women!

This week i had my last zone training ever and had to give my departing testimony.....let me tell ya, that's a weird feeling. It is definitely cliche to say it but it sneaks up on you! I LOVE all the people out here and all these missionaries!!

We have also been able to have some great times playing some more soccer with the ward and basketball with investigators. By the time saturday was done I couldn't even move. That's the life:)

I love you all! Thanks for the prayers and support. Sorry for the short undetailed email...But I hope you all have a good week!!

Love,
Elder Parr
#ReturnWithHonor

The prosmans :)

The fantastic four!

Week 3 Den Haag - Ik hou van Nederland!

Hello hello!

Wow, what an amazing week this past week has been. We were so busy, saw so many miracles and had such a fun time doing it all! But boy did it just fly by....I love it out here so much.
Here are a couple highlights from last week.

We were able to teach Joyceline Raphael a couple of times this week, the lady from curaco with 9 children. She is so cool!! She just soaks up everything that we share with her and absolutely loves it. We have her on a baptismal date now and have high hopes for her. Coolest lady ever! While we were out teaching her we walked the remaining 300 meters to the beach and got some great pictures haha. Just living the life out here.

Then my man Rudolph had us come over again and we had a bomb lesson with him. He actually seems to understand the importance of the Restoration and we were so excited! He also has a lot of potential and is now on date. The Lord is just opening the windows of heaven for us right now. God is good:)

Guess who got to go back to his baby city this week?! I did! Wednesday I was back in Delft with my man Elder Henrichson. We had a blast down there together. I still remember that city so vividly it was so cool to see. I got to see Micha again and we had a fun pizza party at his house and he taught us how to make things out of balloons. We were all pro. Hence the Picture "I love you!"

We were able to work a little bit with the sister and the zone leaders this week and had some bomb exchanges. We were able to teach so many people this week between all of us. It was a cloud 9 weeks for teaching that's for sure. So many great things are happening here. I was able to drive my baby last week (the yaris from eindhoven). Brought back some nice memories haha.

We all went and played some soccer with the youngmen and the leaders of Saturday. Holy cow that was so much fun!! Who knew soccer was such a fun sport. The Netherlands converted me...or maybe its just the fact that I can dribble the ball for more then five second without getting it stolen. Lots of fun!

We had some incredible service opportunities this week that had such a big impact on a few individuals. You wouldn't even believe it. My testimony about service went out the roof this past week about how powerful charitable service can be. Absolutely incredible!

Overall this week was just top notch! I am loving life out here and am living it up! The church is true, don't ever forget it. Love you all!

Love, Elder Parr
#Return.with.honor

Week 2 Den Haag - Wonderen

Hello Hello!

What an amazing week this past week has been! We have seen so many cool miracles and were able to have some incredible lessons. After a very long wait the dutch people and myself were finally able to enjoy the beautiful sunshine and short sleeve shirts! I love it! But wow was it a fast week looking back on it. Time flies when you are having fun I guess:) Well here are a couple of the highlights from this past week:

Elder Davison and I were out doing a lookup next to the beach, (beautiful by the way) of a lady who had ordered a DvD from a campaign the mission is doing. Well we got out there and had to make a long 30 minute walk to her house as bugs ate us alive, but we finally made it. Knocked on the door and she opened right up and let us right in. Her name is Raphael and she has 9 children!! A huge family. We were so excited. She had the cutest most talkative little girl who loved us instantly. We were thankfully able to leave a good impression, the kids loved us and set up a return appointment.

So last week we met a man named Rudolph in the streets and this week we were able to have our first appointment with him. He is a really cool man from suriname. He was so amazed with the message of the Restoration it was so cool so see. He accepted a baptismal date as well. It was very cool to see the spirit working within him during our lesson.

We taught a man named Noel, who has been investigating for years. They elders/sisters said every time is just ends in an argument. But we decided to give him a try. Well we didn't have an argument and by the end of the lesson we were able to find out his on and only concern. That being the priesthood. We were able to commit him to get his answer and it ended up being such a positive lesson.

We also taught a man named Marcel (also has been investigating for a while) this past week. He asked if we would teach him about the second coming and the millennium. So we did. And it ended up being one amazing lesson. We were able to tie everything back to the Restoration and by the end of the lesson he tells us, "it all makes sense now" He ended up understanding the Restoration and explained to us why he needed to be Re-baptized! How cool is that!?

The work over here is going so good. It seems to just be picking up every single day. We are being blessed with seeing so many miracles too. Heavenly Father is guiding us to His children who are ready to receive the gospel. It is definitely a blessing to be apart of His work!

It was great talking to you yesterday mom:) I hope you had an amazing Mothers Day, I love you so much!

Thank you all for the love and support. I hope you have a great rest of the week. And remember, The church is true!

Love,
Elder Parr
#Return.With.Honor

Week 1 Den Haag - Ik Ben terug! :) 1 month left

Hello Hello!

Wow what an incredible week this past week has been! It has been like a dream come true but really. I remember when I left Delft 18 months ago it was always my dream to go back to that ward. Being here in Den Haag has been so much fun. I have been able to see so many friends. It is so cool to see how that relationship I had with members is still there. They were so excited to see me again and have me back and that just made it that much better! It honestly felt like I just came back home, I love this place so much.

This week we were able to celebrate Kings Day. That was a lot of fun even with some crappy weather. We took our whole district to the centrum enjoyed the holiday and had a challenge to see who could get rid of the most Books of Mormon. If only you could of seen us all armed with our Books of Mormon in different languages walking down the street. We were able to give away so many books and have such a good time doing it. I love this district already!!

This week we were also able to teach a good amount of lessons and have some amazing spiritual experiences. All I can say is that I know that our Heavenly Father LOVES His children more then we will ever know. He knows us all perfectly. I know He lives and I love Him so much.

Missions are just one of a kind aren't they. It's incredible out here, I love it and I'll miss it. So excited to go out strong though. Time to go see miracles and bring souls unto Christ.

I hope you all have an amazing week. thanks for the love and the support. You are all amazing.

Love,
Elder Parr

#ReturnWithHonor

Last day with the Apledoorn Elders

Week 13 Apledoorn - Transfers....Going to Den Haag

Hello Hello,

Sorry I have about 4 minutes today so this will be SUPER short!

In short I love my mission:) I got transfer calls on Friday and found out that I will be going back to serve in the Den Haag ward! That is where I began my mission! I cannot wait to go see miracles there.

I loved my time in Apeldoorn and Learned so so much. I love you all. Thanks for the prayers and support.

Love, Elder Parr

#ReturnWithHonor

Week 12 Apledoorn - Temple, Kuekenhof, Apenhuel, Life :)

Hello Hello!!

Wow what an absolutely incredible past week and a half it has been!! I have been able to do so many fun things and see so many beautiful places in the Netherlands and watch our Investigators continue to soak up the Gospel. Missions.....one word, INCREDIBLE! I love being a missionary.

So it has been a while since I last wrote you all and I don't have enough time to tell you all of the miracles and fun things I was able to do so here are a couple of quick little highlights:

I was able to go to the beautiful Den Haag Temple last week for my last time with the mission. It was an uplifting and powerful Temple trip. I know that that place is the House of Our Heavenly Father. It is truly a "refuge from the storm"!

After the Temple we took our annual mission trip to Kuekenhof or the Tulip Gardens! And wow that just never gets old. Such a beautiful place. Sorry mom I didn't take quite as many pictures as last year but boy did I soak it up. I love the Netherlands!

We have been able to teach all of our baptismal dates a couple of times and they are all still doing super good! They are all making progress and keeping commitments and coming to better know their Lord and Savior! It's a privilege to be a part of. The Gospel changes lives!

Elder Wright and I won the Foosball Championship with a record of 58-4 the past two transfers!

I was able to go up to Groningen and join the country wide volleyball tournament. That was so much fun! I was able to see a lot of people who I have served with throughout my mission. And found out Dan and Emma pretty much my parent from Delft are coming to st.George! That was a great day!

We were able to do some service with crowbars and hammers to destroy a members bathroom that he is remodeling. The little boy came out in us all.

And for Pday we were able to go to a place called Apenhuel. It's a big monkey park and to hang out with monkeys for a couple of hours. Some of them would run loose and just come climb on you.

Wow it's been a great transfer. Transfer calls are coming up this week. And time is just flying. I love it out here. The church is true!!

I love you all thanks for all of the love and the support!!

Love, E
Elder Parr
#Return.With.Honor

.Elder Hosea and I being ninja's

 You have got to love the Netherlands tulips:)

Week 11 Apledoorn - Miracles

Hello hello!

What another absolutely incredible week this past week has been! I don't even know where to begin. First because everyday was great, and second they all just seemed to blend in. I was just here yesterday typing on this same screen, or at least so it feels. But sorry this one is also going to be a little short. We have some appointments today so aren't taking much of a free day.

So I was able to go on exchanges with Elder Morey and work with him here in Apeldoorn and holy cow did we see miracles or what!? Hosea and Le Duc had the Car so Morey and I were on foot and bikes the whole day. We walk outside talk to the first lady we see, ends up being a super positive potential and lives right by us. Go and look up the next guy and teach him the whole restoration and his attitude changed from, not interested, to please come back. It was so cool to see. We were able to teach 3 first lessons on the door all with new people. And all of which said we could come back. We taught one of our baptismal dates, Nico, and put him on a calendar. He is looking forward to May 28th. We were able to take our OV bikes to the skate park haha, so funny! And get dumped on by ice cold rain and still make it a fun, successful day! You have got to love it!

Elder Hosea and I went up and worked in Amsterdam this past week. I got to go and work with Elder Da Silva again. Boy did we have fun. Funny story, so we parked in the back corner of a parking lot and when we came back there were 3 cars parked illegally and us and this other man got trapped. The police said they wouldn't do anything and we just had to wait. So we were talking to this man in the pouring rain for about 30 or so minutes and finally the guy came. I will have to attach the picture it was pretty funny. I also got to teach Ivette again. She was baptized right after I left Amsterdam, Elder Bringhurst and I taught her a lot. She remembered me and we had a good lesson with her. That was a cool little tender mercy.

We also got a new investigator on baptismal date for May 28th. Her name is Patrica and she is 21 years old. She was a referral from the Amsterdam sisters. Can I just say the Lord is pouring out blessing upon us right now. We are teaching so much more these past 2 weeks then the previous a lot haha. It has been such a blessing knowing the Lord is on our side and is with us every minute of every day. I love being a missionary.

Life out here is going great and the work is moving forward. Thanks for the prayers and the support! I hope you have a great week!

Love Elder Parr
#Return.With.Honor

Week 10 Apeldoorn - MIRACLES and Conference

Hello Hello,

What an absolutely incredible week this past week has been. Unfortunately I can't sit down and just tell you all about it so I'll just stick to a couple of highlights instead.

So Elder Hosea and I have been working for 9 weeks together now here in Apeldoorn and have been doing the dirty work. Contacting, doors, street, more finding. The past couple of weeks we have been able to find a couple of people and we are starting to see the fruits of our labors. This week we were able to set two baptismal dates for the 28th of May!!!!!! We were beyond excited and still are. The Lord is blessing us so much to find people whom He has prepared. The great part is, is that the work is just going to continue to go up from here. We were also able to find 4 new investigators to add to the teaching pool this week. And the best part about it, we only had 4 days to work in our city. Wow, did the Lord bless us or what?

We had MLC this past week so we were able to look at our zone and see how they are doing. We were thrilled to see that they are all doing so well! This zone is incredible and full of incredible missionaries. The work is going nowhere but forward. I love it! We were also able to council with the leaders of the mission about where the mission is going. All I can say is that it is going good places! It's incredible to see how inspired mission presidents are. I love it!

General Conference was just incredible. We were able to watch most of the sessions with the Hills, the senior couple here in the ward and there family who was visiting. We had an absolute blast with each other. But wow conference was amazing! So many questions answered by inspired talks. I know that all those men are called of God. I loved President Nelsons talk in Talk in the priesthood session that talked about being men of God and many others! I am excited to apply the principles learned into my own life. Conference week is always such a spiritual boost and re-charger!

Thank you all so much for the prayers, love and support! It is appreciated:) Allie Happy 16TH Birthday!!!!!!! I hope you have a good one and everyone in St. George watch out we got a crazy one on the streets;) Heidi Happy Birthday on the Thursday! I love you so much! And Grandma happy Birthday on Friday!

The Church is true. Let us all learn something from the new theme for the youth, "2 Nephi 32: 20 :Wherefore, ye must press forward with a steadfastness in Christ, having a perfect brightness of hope, and a love of God and of all men. Wherefore, if ye shall press forward, feasting upon the word of Christ, and endure to the end, behold, thus saith the Father: Ye shall have eternal life." I love this Gospel and my mission!

Love,

Elder Parr
#Return.with.honor

Hosea and I reliving the childhood years :)

Week 9 Apeldoorn - Happy Easter

Hello Hello,

What a week this past week has been. So many things happened, so many emotions, miracles, heartbreaks etc. But those feeling tend to accompany one through a life time. Used to teach us, humble us, help us grow, reach our potential. It's all apart of God's glorious plan to help us return and live with him again. He loves us, His work and His glory is to bring His children home, what an incredible blessing to have someone with such infinite love up above watching over us, encouraging us to press on even when it gets hard, blessing us, lifting us and loving us. I love my Father in Heaven.

Mom you are going to be so proud of me, I think I have taken more pictures this week then in the entire last month. It took some effort so I hope you enjoy them:)

I hope you have all had an amazing Easter this past week and were able to feel the love of Our Savior. I know I was. The young women put on a great sacrament service about the life of Christ and it was amazing. We were able to make the day of a select few and help them also enjoy the great Easter season.

Saturday we had a heartbreaking lesson. We went and enjoyed a great Easter lunch with a less active member we have been working with. Joking, laughing, full of enjoyment. Lunch ended and he ended up telling us he isn't coming back to church anymore, his decision has been made. He has to many doubts. The part that made it heartbreaking is that he wasn't even willing to try to get an answer anymore. Just gave up. We pleaded with him and testified and showed how much we cared but nothing. It was so hard to see, had become good friends. I just pray and hope his heart will be softened. Because there isn't much we can do if he isn't receptive the Spirit.

Elder Hosea and I were probably let in by the nicest couple on my mission. They let us in gave us some tea and cookies. We talked for an hour. He pulled out his guitar we sang some Easter songs and just laughed and laughed together. There are so many great people in this world.

We have been busy visiting a member a day for about 15 minutes and were sharing the Easter message. It was incredible to see how much the families appreciated it. Almost every time you could feel the spirit just enter the home and see the members light up. What an incredible feeling.

This past week with the Brussels attack has been also heartbreaking. In a country I have grown to love, to see it just in chaos is so sad. And to have fellow missionaries involved....I was able to talk with Elder Empey on Friday and that was so great. Sounds like he is doing awesome and recovering well. Elder Bringhurst and I have been staying in close contact, he is in Brussels right now, and he's been keeping me updated. The Lord was protecting His missionaries. My prayers go continually out to all those involved.

Thank you all for the prayers and the support. I hope you have an amazing week!!

Love,
Elder Parr
#ReturnWithHonor

Me and my main man, Elder wright

Week 8 Apeldoorn - "Tijd Vliegd"

Hello Hello,

What a great week it was once again. In all honesty the entire week was kind of one big blur and really just disappeared. But I recall it being a great on none the less. The "zin" to email today is honestly lacking so I am sorry if this is short. But I will try and include some good stuff.

So Tuesday Elder Hosea, Zr. Duncan and I were able to have our zone training in zwolle and that went so well. The way things played out and the preparation that went in really payed off and allowed us all to have a spiritual and practical uplifting zone training. I was blown away with how good some of the people we asked to present did. It has been really cool these past couple of months to not only see the change in investigators and what not but also in the missionaries. That big group that came in last year has grown up so much. You have got to love what mission do for you. Little side story and fun fact, at zone training Elder Wright and I got called out in Foosball (because a rumor is going around in the mission that we can't be beaten) so we accepted the challenge and won about 20 games to 5 in a row against different people. It was so fun.I got to get me one of those Foosball tables, so fun!

This week Elder Hosea and I cooked our first batch of Lasagna and it actually didn't turn out to bad. We were impressed to be honest. A member had asked if we wanted to cook for her and said she loved lasagna so we gave it a try. Had a blast making it. I am loving serving with Elder Hosea he is a solid missionary.

We have been looking up some referrals this past week and ended up in farmville. I felt like I was back in Genk knocking doors. You actually have to walk more then 10 steps to get to the next door. It was quite enjoyable actually. A good change to the normal schedule.

Dennis is continuing to progress and get better and better. Everytime we see him you can tell that because he is keeping his commitments the Lord is blessing him. That man is honestly one of my best friends. I have enjoyed every second of working with him.

We went and visited a member this week and began teaching temple prep lessons at the end of the lesson she asked for a blessing. She began to tell us how she has bad serious back pain for so long and asked for a blessing. Elder Hosea and I had the opportunity of giving that blessing and it was incredible. I have rarely felt the spirit so strong and this sweet sister was just embraced with the love of our Heavenly Father when we finished. Heavenly Father loves his children.

All in all a solid week. Thanks for the love, prayers and support. I hope you all have an amazing week and enjoy Easter. Remember the reason behind the season. Loves!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_S3TI4bYerU

Love, Elder Parr
#Return.With.Honor

Week 7 Apeldoorn - "Zone Plans and Miracles" Mar 14

Hello Hello,

Another week has already come and gone....can you believe it!? Another transfer down and we are on to the next one. Wow, I just can't keep up with time. But anyways this past week was a good one. We were pretty busy doing a whole bunch of different things from: Teaching, planning, service, meetings, traveling, it's been great. You have got to love how different every week and day can be in the mission field. Altijd spannend!

Here are just a couple of highlights from this last week:

Tuesday ended up being a super fun day. Elder Hosea and I were back up in Groningen for a baptismal interview we had to do that night. So we went up and attend their District Meeting that morning, went to an appointment with the sisters and then worked a little in the city ourselves and were able to give away a couple of Book of Mormons. Then we met up with the elders and they took up over to Peter's house. I was able to do the Baptismal Interview with him and it was so powerful. That man seems to have made leaps and bounds of progress. He was the only non-member in his family and was finally prepared to make the step of baptism himself. The interview went great, he passed with flying colors. it was so cool to sit there and listen to him bear his testimony about each of the questions and his conversion. The Church is true and one day everyone will know it. How blessed are we to know it now.

Wednesday was transfer days and everything ran super smoothly in our zone and we had no problems. So that was great! The Hills, Deventer Elders, Elder Hosea and I all went out for a nice birthday lunch together. What a good group, we had lots of fun. Then the Klosterbroers, I LOVE THEM, had us over for dinner and threw a little surprise party with a cake and what not. Awe, they are so great! This ward is just incredible.

This week we were going along the doors and we were walking up to the door and the guy say us through the window and put his arms above his head and starting yelling, 'Yes Jesus'. We knocked on his door and he let us in. Turns out he was busy preparing his 3rd road trip to America with his wife and wanted some pointers and tips on what to see haha. We had a good talk and he actually added visiting a Mormon Temple to his plans. We were pretty excited about that. Super funny cool couple.

We got a referral from a member in the Arnhem ward and decide to go out and visit her this past week. We knocked on the door she let us right in and after about 30 minutes of her telling us her life story we were able to share the restoration with her. Tears almost instantly filled her eyes as she listened. She was beyond excited to have a Book Of Mormon and something she can now live for. She, without hesitation, invited us back this week. Elder Hosea and I are excited to see the effect the Spirit is going to have on her.

We also were able to teach Dennis this week again. Things are looking up for him and his stopping with Addiction. I have grown to love that man so much! We just click so well. Man I love being a missionary.

I love you all and thanks for all the Birthday wishes and the prayers.

The church is true.

love,
Elder Parr
#Return.With.Honor


I love this country!

Week 6 - Apeldoorn Transfers - Mar 7

Hello Hello,

Well this week I don't have a lot of time. So this will be short and sweet. That being said this week was a great one and went by so fast! Here is one cool story from the week.

So my first week here in Apeldoorn we found a young 17 kid named Ali. Two weeks ago I think I wrote about when we were able to get him to come and play soccer with the young men and what not. Well this week we had our first lesson with him and it was absolutely amazing. Probably one of the most spiritual first lesson I have had on my mission. Ali was raised in Africa and has no Christian background whatsoever, except what they teach at school. As we sat there and taught him about who God is: A loving Heavenly Father, Perfect Glorified body, that we can communicate with him, that we are literally His children, etc. He was in awe. As we taught about our Savior the spirit hit him like a rock and goosebumps filled the room. While watching the Joseph Smith Video I don't think I have ever seen anyone watch it so sincerely. The joint teach we brought had a similar childhood and was raised Muslim as well. They connected so good and it added so much to the lesson. At the end of the lesson he knelt down and offered his first real prayer. In the simplest words he could find, but wow was that powerful. I know without a doubt this Gospel is true and blesses all of our lives. Ali is still 17 and has to talk to his parents still about us. But I am confident that he felt the love of Heavenly Father that day and that that day will have a lasting impact on his life. I am excited to see what happens with him.

So Saturday we got our Transfer calls. I will be staying here in Apeldoorn with Elder Hosea. I am so excited we are staying, we are going to tear it up!

Thank you all so much for the many Birthday wishes! You are all amazing! I hope you have an amazing week. Remember, the Church is true!!

Love,
Elder Parr
#Return.With.Honor

The beautiful Den Haag Temple

Week 5 Apeldorn "A week on tender mercies and eye opener!" Feb 29

Hello Hello!

This week has been such a good one. Elder Hosea and I have been blessed and have seen some cool things happen and have had a lot of fun doing it. The weather still can seem to make up it's mind if it wants to be cold or warm. You look outside and are 100% certain it's going to be nice and warm with the sun shining then it's freezing. Then the next day its nice and grey and you know it's going to cold but it ends up being not so bad. Then you got 20 minutes of crazy snow to super sunny, to rain, to sunny again. It's been quite funny honestly. I've enjoyed it.

Last P-day we were able to play some street soccer with the Young Men, a less active we are working with and a new investigator named Alli, who is 17. We had a ton of fun even though the first 30 minutes consisted of them totally putting us missionaries to shame. But the endurance paid off at the end and we were able to have a couple of runs on them as well. I can't believe how much soccer has grown on me since I have been here. I mean I am still no Parker Jenkins but it's coming;)

I finally got to see the beautiful city of Groningen for the first time. We were up there at their district meeting this past week. That has been one of my dream cities since day one. Who know there is still hope haha. We were also able to go and have dinner with Cindy(less active) and Jessa (non-member) and that was really good. Let me just say that she can cook! Best Indonesian food I have had out here. That night was also one of my eye openers. We taught the first lesson after dinner and 1) went to fast and 2) It wasn't what Jessa needed to hear at that moment. And wow it hit me really hard after the lesson and I just felt so bad that we had just went in like it was just another person. Thankfully we still we are able to make a new appointment and they still love having us over. So we are getting a chance to do it the right way and I can promise you we will. It's so important to prepare with the spirit for every lesson even if you do know them 100%. It makes the world of difference. I am excited to teach him what he needs to hear this week and am confident it will touch his heart.

We were able to have the Goningen Elders down here in Apeldoorn on Wednesday working with us and that was loads of fun. We started the day off right with a nice lunch at KFC. Probably cancelled out the past 3 days of insanity we have done and the next 3 because it's so fattening. But it is what it is i guess. I was on my noble steed ( the bike) once again so that was nice. It's always nice to take a break from the car. But Elder Jardine and I were able to have some really interesting conversations and teach a Restoration lesson to Henny the lady elder Hosea and I found knocking doors a couple of weeks ago. It went super well and she accepted to read and pray and be baptized if she comes to know that it is true.

We met with Dennis Linker twice this week and both times were just amazing. Both times about half of the time was talking about the gospel and the other half just random things. But he got on the topic of his boss and how incredible of a man he is. How he serves the people he works with with love. He is a leader, not just a boss. He shared a long story about a guy who was working there and struggling and what not and they were considering releasing him. Them he said, but we had a motto and it read "we can fix anyone and anything." And that hit me like a rock. With faith in our Savior Jesus Christ, diligence and hardwork we truly can fix anyone, including ourselves.

I could go on and on with cool lessons learned this week that have come at the right time to me to help me to continue to learn and grow this week. It's been incredible and I am grateful for them all.

Thank you all for the prayers and support! I hope you have an amazing week!
And never forget who you are: a marvelous son and daughter of Heavenly Father. Just think about that. The church is true!


Love, Elder Parr
#Return.With.Honor

I forgot to take a lot of pictures this week so I had to take a nice selfie for mom <3

Week 4 Apeldoorn

This was a great week! We were all over the place and yet were able to see some miracles in our area. Sorry for the wait mom, we took a nice pause from emailing play some ping pong. This country and these people here are absolutely amazing! I love the dutch people.But here are some of the highlights of this last week:

Speaking of Dutch people, Apeldoorn is very very dutch. Which is awesome and hard at the same time. This city I have spoken the least amount of English and that has been amazing. My dutch is reaping the rewards of that haha. It's been really fun to talk to a lot of the people here about religion. We found out this week from our stake mission leader there are a couple of trigger words for dutch people. For example: Geloof (faith), Kerk , Gehoorzaam (obedient), God and a couple of others. You know I have always kind of thought that the dutch people just weren't very religious because that's what you would here. But it turns out there are just certain words that trigger emotions linked to the past 500 years of Hollands history of being forced to do things. So this week we were able to change our wording a little bit and see some amazing contacts and miracles come from it. For example instead of using the the word God, we would talk about a loving Heavenly Father and how He doesn't force us to be obedient instead he gives us guidelines (The word 'commandments' is also a trigger word) to help us live a happy life. It was amazing what an impact a couple of small changes had. We were able to give out 3 Books of Mormon the day we first tried and even got let in and taught a restoration lesson. It was quite a big eye opener to me.

We had a great Zone Conference down in Rotterdam as well. It was great seeing all of the mission friends again. The conference was really good. The theme was about working with the Spirit and why that is so important and necessary. I was able to take a lot from it.

I was able to have a great exchange with Elder Le Duc and teach a great lesson with a man named Hans. Probably one of the most interesting lessons I have taught. Usually people have problems with everything but the Fall over here. But we found out that this mans entire life is built upon the fact that Christs Gospel was never lost. But we were able to teach with the spirit and he was at least willing to pray about our message. So that was a positive way to end.

This weekend we also had our Stake Conference. Another uplifting and spiritual filled couple of days. They hit the area plan really hard. Inviting friends to church, becoming spiritually self reliant and understanding the Sabbath and the sacrament. We were able to have a nice little missionary choir Elder Hosea and I got put in charge of. It turned out great!

We had an absolutely amazing lesson with Dennis this week. We are literally watching a miracle happen right before our eyes. After not seeing the missionaries for ten years we showed up a couple of weeks ago and the progress being made from then until know is incredible! He is reading in the Book of Mormon and CHOOSING to turn his life around. He understands agency so well and is make such a conscious effort to turn his life around because the light bulb came on. We honestly don't even have to do anything he is choosing to make the progress himself. It's amazing!

I absolutely love my mission! Without fail we see miracles every single week as we get to go and tell the world of a loving Savior and a loving Heavenly Father. I know without a doubt this work is God's work, this is His church!

Thank you all for the love and the support. It truly does mean a lot and it's much appreciated! I hope you all have an incredible week!

Love,
Elder Parr
#Return.With.Honor

People put mini libraries in their front yards. You put a book in you can take a book.

 

Week 3 Apeldorn "What a week :) "

Hello Hello,

This week has been such a blurr I don't even know where to begin. But I also don't have a ton of time to email so this one will be relatively short. Here are some highlights from the past week.

The temple! Last Saturday I got to go to the Temple with some of my great friends. That was such an amazing experience for us all. The Temple is just incredible. You can't leave that place without being spiritually uplifted in one way or another. It truly is the house of the Lord. I got to see Harry there and a couple other member from the Eindhoven ward as well so that was great!

So we were doing a look up a 8:45 one night and we knock on the door and she wasn't home. We headed back to the car hopped in and were going to head back to the apartment. Then we though we'd look through a stack of area book papers that I felt I needed to put in the car the night previous. There was one other person on that same street. We decided to go give it a shot. Get to his door and its now 8:55, knock and he opens right up. He continues to tell us that he is having a bible study class with 5 other people and we were welcome to go in and join them. Everything in our head was saying no. It's to late or they are just going to bash on us anyways. But our hearts said yes. So we walked in. We thought we were just going to join in on there studies. But no, they begin to ask, who are you? what do you believe in? We began to teach the restoration on the church of Jesus Christ. They were studying the parable of the lost sheep and one asked this question, So in your guy's mind are we lost sheep even though we believe in God. We didn't want to offend everyone so we started to beat around the bush then the spirit just hit us. We testified that The Church of Jesus Christ was the only true church on earth. The spirit got so strong and I know they felt it. It was like we walked into a church service and told them they were wrong but in a loving way.But the outcome was amazing, a bunch of them asked for Book of Mormons and Restoration pamphlets. A huge testimony builder to me of standing up for what you believe in even if you have to stand alone. The church is true it's that simple.

I am loving my mission and all the amazing lessons that it has taught me. I know that this is where I need to be. I love you all and am thankful for your love and support! Have a great week.

Love,
Elder Parr
#Return.With.Honor

The Temple with two of my Best Friends :)

Week 2 Apeldoorn

Hey hey!

Wow this week has just completely disappeared. I mean I guess I am emailing a couple of days earlier so I have an excuse to say that it really did feel like yesterday I was sitting behind a computer screen. But this past week has been a great one!

The weather over here has been so nice! I mean there were a couple of days that we got rained on pretty good. But I was thinking about it and this winter has been SO nice. Maybe two or three weeks have been cold max. Nice right?

I have really enjoyed serving in Apeldoorn as to this point. There are some awesome members out here and some cool people. Still trying to get used to it. I mean after being in Eindhoven for 6 months it's been a while since I have learned a new city. But it's coming along really good.

Tuesday Elder Hosea and I were on a role! We were able to go and give out a solid 3 Books of Mormon. It was awesome we walk out of district meeting in Deventer and stopped someone as we were heading back to the station ended up talking for a good 15 minutes and gave him a Book of Mormon. Just a testimony builder to me of talking to everyone even if they aren't in your city and you won't be the one teaching them. Everyone deserves and needs to hear the Gospel!

The members here are so good at coming on Joint Teach here. Every lesson we had we were able to get some members to come with us. They are such a big help. My testimony was definitely strengthened this past week of the power of bringing members on joint teach. So to all you back home if the missionaries ever ask, be the first one to volunteer.

So the Bishop in this ward could honestly be Burke Rigbys twin. Every time I see him I have to take a second look. It was pretty funny the first time I saw him. But wow he is a solid bishop! One who is going to be fun to work with I can already tell. I can't even explain how big of a difference that makes in missionary work.

Yesterday we had MLC and we were up at the mission home then stayed and worked in the area so we could go to the temple later today. I am so excited to go back to the Temple. It has been to long. There truly is no better place on earth then the House of the Lord. What a privilege we have as members to enjoy all the blessings from the Temple.

Thank you for all of the love and support! I hope you all have an amazing week!

Love,
Elder Parr
#Return.With.Honor