Week 13 Eindhoven "Transfers, Rain Storms, Chaos and Laughs"

Hello hello,

What a wonderful week it has been this past week. But wow has is been a crazy one. Pushing for time, going from place to place and enjoying it in the process. The first couple days of this week were quite fun. Here are some of the highlights of the week. Sorry that this is so short the 'emailing mood' wasn't to be found today...haha.

Olliebollen are back! Monday night I had my first olliebollen of the year. It was heavenly. I was even able to eat one with My son (Elder Gleave). His first one and oh he was all over it. I know this might sound crazy but I would have to say that it is much much better then Herring. It is some sort of a heavenly round donut just to give you and idea.

Transfer happened! And get this, we were out of there by 2 o'clock!!!! Can you believe it. that NEVER happens. We were sure running a much tighter ship that day then the previous transfers. It was nice to be able to get back to our own city and still have time to go and do some work. We actually were able to have a lesson with a really cool lady. The way it worked out was awesome. So Elder Bringhurst and I had found the women and Da Silva and I went back and were just about to start teaching her when one of her friends came in. And we got talking with her and it turned out that she was the reason why we were led to there. She was searching so hard to find a way to rid the guilt and sorrow that she had. We ended up having an amazing lesson with her and are pumped to see her again this week.

P.S. Lindsey the little daughter gave us some jelly beans and they were the kind that looked the same but were either really good or really bad. I had bad luck 3 times in a row.....Baby whips, bogger and dog food. SO GROSS! we all got a good laugh out of it though.

We also met with the super cool couple that Elder Bonner and I found when we were on exchanges. Man they are just awesome. We actually had our lesson here in the church and it went so so good! They are super interested and have so much potential. It just made me so happy to see people who are willing to put our words and promises to the test. Warms my heart because i know if they do that God will answer them. It was pretty funny they had this super nice tandem bike and I mobbed it with Dave after our lesson and we were hauling. I never realized how fast you could ride one of those things. We had a good laugh. I love the people of the Netherlands!!!!!!

We also were able to find a few more new investigators this week and that has been a blessing. We got let in and taught a super cool guy from Sira Leon. The Lord is starting to pour out His blessing on Eindhoven. This city is boiling with potential and we can't wait for what's going to come next! I LOVE this work.

So the reason this week has been hectic is because on top of making sure we are out and about doing our missionary work we had to plan a zone training, calendar and new zone vision all in 3 days. But we did it! Da Silva and I can't wait to show our missionaries the new zone vision. It's going to bring miracles. You'll hear more about that one next week.

I am so grateful that I was called to serve here. I know I am where I am meant to be! I love this gospel and this work and these people and this ward. the list could go on and on! The church is true!!!!

Love you all. Have an amazing week!!

Love, Elder Parr
#Return.With.Honor

Elder Gleave and I enjoying our Olliebollen

Week 12 Einhoven - New Mission Address

Hoi!

“Our opportunities to give of ourselves are indeed limitless, but they are also perishable. There are hearts to gladden. There are kind words to say. There are gifts to be given. There are deeds to be done. There are souls to be saved." Thomas S. Monson

What a fun adventurous week this past week has been. Every week just seems to bring more smiles and more fun memories. Missions are the best. We are so blessed. Hey that rhymed haha. It seems like you can't even blink out here without the time just disappearing. Just to many good things happening. I love it. But I don't have tons of time so I will be a limited in what I can share. So here were some of the highlights of this past week.

So I got to go down to Maastricht this week and work with Elder Walker and we had an absolute blast with one another. First things first, wow that city is absolutely beautiful. So if any of you ever plan on coming to the Netherlands, Maastricht is a must see. We spent a lot of day contacting by the international university campus. Can I just say it is so hard to contact in English! About every other contact was English so i got my fair share of practice in though. We ended up finding some really cool people. We were walking on the remainder of a wall that used to boarder the city and ended up talking to a young 18 year old kid from Germany and had an incredible conversation with him. The spirit totally led us straight to him. He was so prepared to receive our message it was amazing. Then as we were heading back to the stairs to go down there was a girl like sleeping and I was just messing with Elder Walker and said "Hey contact her you wont" Well he did. And she ended up being from D.C and is here studying and was also super interested in the gospel. It was weird hearing an American accent though. We actually ran into two that day. Well we also went and taught a super cool college kid. Him and his friends were all pretty curious. And at the end of the lesson he is like i am taking this to Berlin with me and am going to read the whole thing. Pretty cool. Then to end the night I got to go to Germany!!! It was so much fun. A member from America lives in Germany and works at the base there and he had us over for dinner. SO GOOD! Felt at home haha. I even rode in a mini van. So American. Love it!

I also got to work with my home boy Elder Bringhurst this week!!!! Reunited at last. It was so much fun being able to work with him again. And oh we sure made the best of it and had a dang fun day! We found a lot of awesome potentials. Taught some Turkish kids how to play American football and it was SO GOOD!!! They were all like "hike" and we had people snapping the ball and everything. We were dying! Then we saw some guys playing basketball so we had to keep up the tradition and go ball some people up. We did of course:) And get this, Broeder Stewart can sing like a boss. We had dinner over there and found out he writes music and sings. So we got him to do it for us and wow was he good! Just a solid day. One to remember that's for sure.

We were also in Tilburg this week doing Sister support day with the sister and saw some really cool miracles. So we were walking through the centrum and a girl runs up and stops elder DA Silva and I and was like hey do you remember me. So it was a girl we had met on the train about two weeks ago and she lived in Tilburg. We talked and now she is going to be taking the lessons from the sister there! Super cool. Then as we were heading back to our car I got challenge to go stop these two Asians who were already way past me. So elder Da Silva and I take off running and catch up to them. Well guess what. They wanted to take the lessons too!!! How cool is that! Just full of miracles.

There was also a big thing called glow Einhoven going on this week. Da Silva and I had planned to go centrum contacting and found that out so we went and took a look. It was unreal. There were some pretty amazing things that they had. Just huge light shows that would make building look like they were collapsing or dancing and just crazy stuff like that. There were TONS of people too. We were able to have a blast and still find a couple super solid potentials.

This week was just amazing all around. I love missionary work and this mission! And I almost forgot mom, I am staying in Einhoven with Elder Da Silva!! We are both so excited to go do work again! The Church is true!

Love,

Elder Parr
#Return.With.Honor

They Drafted Me ;)

Week 11 Eindhoven - "I've got a pocket, gotta pocket full of sunshine"

Hello Hello,

I love my mission! This week has been an amazing and adventurous week to say the least. But on a mission that's not unique because every week is amazing. I love the Netherlands, this place has my heart. It really truly does.

None of you will believe what I am going to say next, but I promise you that it's the truth. It didn't rain a single day this entire week!!! Which is great but I have to admit I was just beginning to really like the rain. But I love the sunshine. So I thought I better enjoy the nice weather why I can. Hence the title haha.

Here are some of the things that made this past week so good:

Monday we did it again! The missionaries ended up on top in our soccer tournament. (Even though most of the kids were like12-15 but you don't need to know that). I love the soccer culture of this country. It is so much fun. I mean when you have 5 soccer fields in every neighborhood its always fun to be able to play a little pick up game here and there. And after a year and half I am finally starting to get somewhat good with my feet. I don't look like a complete dufus anymore. To much fun!

Elder Bonner and I were able to work with each other here in Eindhoven and have some more fun. I love that guy. We were able to see some pretty cool things happen. We had all of our appointments cancel as we were heading out the door but saw cool things happen because of it. We ended up getting 6 pretty solid potentials. It was cool we were walking in the centrum and the first two people we stopped ended up being interested in the gospel and invited us to come and share what we believe with them. It was a great way to end the day!

Funny story, so there is this elder in our mission who can get a dinner appointment with anyone I swear. I was with him on splits and I told him to show me how it was done and it blew my mind. He could literally get people on the street to invite him over for dinner. So of course I had to get it a try and got shut down so hard core. Like five times in a row. I guess he's just got the magic touch. Maybe one day I will master that art. But get this, we asked some guy what typical dutch food was he looked at us and said 'bread' and kept walking. Bread for real, we were both dying.

We are teaching a super cool young couple Theo and Silvia and this week we had an awesome lesson with them. It was great we first walked in and they had this card game on the table and
called us out. We couldn't say no. It was a game for like 5 year olds. You all would lay down a card at the same time and when exactly five of the same fruits were on the table you would ding the bell. We got so into it. It was so much fun. Just picture 4 adults playing this game and it being intense, to good. But they are both doing great. Hopefully we can get them both on date here pretty soon.

So Elder Da Silva and I were doing some doors and we saw two older guys playing some ball. Literally this was like the first time in forever someone was playing basketball and it wasn't a Sunday. So I had to go play them. It was to good they were all messing with us talking about how we were in the wrong clothing and all this stuff. But we got playing and it was great. Break in some ankles even in a shirt and tie. We all had a good laugh. And they wanted us to join there street ball team, we were dying.

Halloween was a blast. Renatta and Angeliqe had us all over for a Halloween party and they went all out. The place was looking good. We all dressed up (even Harry!!!!!) and had a good time.

Driving in Europe has got to be one of the most adrenaline rushing things in the world. IT IS INSANE! The streets are half the size and windy, yet people drive twice as close and nuts. It is an adventure every time we step into the car. But it's been fun being able to experience that as well. And oh the funny looks that people give us when someone backs up the car. To die for let me tell ya!

I love my mission to say it twice! I love the people of the Netherlands and Belgium and and so grateful I get to serve them. This work is amazing and the message is true!

Thanks for all of the prayers and support! I hope you all have a great week. And happy November!(almost thanksgiving which means almost turkey bowl!!)

Love,
Elder Parr
#Return.With.Honor

Week 10 Eindhoven - Een beetje overall geweest

Hello Hello,

Wow, another week gone by already. Can you believe it. I must say, this week has been one full of adventures, laughs, hard work and good times. Elder Da Silva and I were able to go on quite a few exchanges this week so we got see a lot of the other cities and missionaries and that has been an absolute blast. The weather went from a record breaking week of being cold last week. To a nice warm, blue skied country this week. It has felt so great these past couple of days! Blessings.

It was fun this week we were able to go up to be apart of Breda's district meeting and then I got to stay and work with Elder Lott. We had an absolute blast together. It was quite funny, so we were out knocking doors and Elder Lott was in a sweater because he was confident that it wasn't going to rain. Well once we bike all the way out to the place the heavens just opened up and began to pour! On top of that there was literally nowhere where you could stand and not get hit by the rain. So he go pretty wet. Thank goodness for rainproof coats. But we were able to talk to a lot of cool people and have a fun exchange with one another. Saw some cool miracles. And then to end the night we even got to play a little horse. It had been a while so it took some time to get back on my game but...ha ha just kidding. It was great though. I love this place.

Wednesday was also super fun. That morning we were running around on the trains trying to re-exchange and then exchange with another companionship. So while we were waiting in the station I was playing 'come thou fount' on the piano and a member heard it and came over and talked to us and thought it was so funny to meet us in the station. It was awesome. But Elder Crowson and I finally made our way back to Eindhoven and had a killer day. Our bikes were broken so we walked a lot, but it's healthy right? So they say. My feet beg to differ though ha ha. But Elder Crowson and I saw some cool miracles. The fist door of the day was the coolest potential ever followed by an awesome less active lesson. And just a good fun time.

Well by the time Thursday rolled around it still felt like Tuesday. But today Elder Da Silva and I made our way up to Amersfoort to work with them for the day. And you will not believe what they fed us for lunch. Lamb balls......how gross is that. And guess who the mastermind behind the whole thing was Elder Bringhurst. That's where the other two elders got the idea from. Man i love that kid. But that was quite interesting but honestly not so bad before you know what you are eating. Well we had an awesome day in Amersfoort and really saw some cool things happen. Then it was off to the races to make it back to Eindhoven grab our suits and hop on the train to head to Den Haag so we could be to MLC the next day on time. We ended up sleeping with Elder Steenblik and Elder B. It was the funnest night.

MLC was incredible. The only thing I want to say about that is that Mission Presidents are inspired and the mission home is a holy place! I love this work!

Well Saturday night was so great! We finally had the singing elders come and do a concert in Eindhoven and it was AMAZING! The whole zone saw so many miracles happen. The spirit was so strong and the turnout was great. We also saw some miracles for Eindhoven. Got a couple of new investigators and are going to start teaching the husband of a member. God is good. I LOVE THIS WORK!

This week was just overall amazing. Thank you all for you love and support! I hope you all have another amazing week.

Love,
Elder Parr
#Return.With.Honor

HE got the Package from Allie and Heidi.  He having fun with the googly eyes and laser guns.

Week 9 Eindhoven "Temple, Service and Stake Conference"

Hello Hello,

Wow what a crazy week it has been this past week. I know that I say this almost every email, but I think this time I mean it. This past week was the fastest week of my life! The past couple of days we have been all over the place doing all sorts of different things. And oh how it has been a good one. So the weather is continuing to drop as we approach the winter season. There was actually snow in the Netherlands and if it would have fallen one day earlier it would have broken the record for earliest snowfall since the 1970's. That was pretty great. But instead we just got some cold rain. So I must say to whoever came up with umbrellas and true waterproof jackets, Thank you! Even with the weather we have managed to stay pretty warm and dry so that's been great! 

So this past week we were able to do some pretty fun things. It all started off on Monday evening. We got a call the previous day saying the new senior couple will be driving down to Eindhoven Monday night and we were to prepare the apartment. So us and another companionship decided to not only get it ready but to have dinner on the table when they walked in to their new home. So that's what we did and oh how great it was. If only you could of seen the smiles on the face's of this new senior couple. It was just an amazing way to start off the week! We all sat around the dinner table and we able to get to know one another and have a good chat. It was a good night that's for sure. 

Then Tuesday came along. The day that all of the missionaries have been waiting for for months. Why is that? Because we finally got to go to the Temple again. Wow, I don't even know where to begin with that. Is all I can say is I know without a doubt that the Temple truly is the House of the Lord. The spirit there is amazing. It is a house of revelation and a place where you can find true peace. I love the Temple! 

On top of that we were able to go to stake conference this week for the stake of Antwerpen. Those were two days just full of smiles and laughs. I was able to see a lot of missionaries that I had worked with in the past. But on top of that I was able to see all of the members from Genk again. It's amazing how once you make a bond with someone it never breaks. I love the members of that ward. I was also able to see Laticha again and she is doing so good. She told me that she has almost read through the Book of Mormon for the second time. It's amazing to see how much she has changed. What the Gospel has done for her in her life. The church is true. 

Well we were also able to work in a couple of different areas this week and that was great. It has been a lot of fun working with other missionaries and making new friends. This work is moving forward and there is definitely nothing that is going to stop it from doing so. Don't you love that. We are on the winning team! 

Thanks for all of the love and support! I hope you all have another amazing week! Love you all!!!

Love, Elder Parr

Return.With.Honor

Week 8 Eindhoven - "Love One another as I have loved you"

Hello Hello,

It was pretty funny when I sat down on the computer and opened my email my buddy Tom's was one of the first ones I read and the first thing he says is "I am not in the emailing mood". Today I know exactly what he means. As amazing as emailing is today I'm not in the emailing mood. But I will try to at least give you something short and sweet!

This week has been crazy. My feet feel like they are going to fall off and the hands are beginning to numb when you walk outside. And I feel like I could sleep for 20 years. But oh how I wouldn't trade this mission for anything! MISSIONS ARE AMAZING! The church is true and there is nothing better in the world then having the knowledge of the gospel. This gospel is truly where you can find everlasting happiness.

So Elder Da Silva and I have been pretty busy trying to create a new teaching pool here. And oh how the Lord is blessing us for our efforts and helping us along the way. We have been able to find many new potentials this past week and have high hopes for the short future. The potential is beginning to boil and hopefully here soon will begin to overflow.

Oh cool story. So Friday night we went and played some indoor voetbal with all of the young men and young women. And they were all convinced that they were going to destroy us. We four missionaries were a team and there was a total of 4 teams. So we started playing king of the court and we ended up destroying everyone! Looks like the Americana missionaries (And the one Portuguese professional soccer player missionary) aren't so bad after all. We were all pretty excited.

I hope that you all have an amazing week this coming week and remember that the Savior loves you and is always by your side to bare you up! This church is true. Thanks for all the love, support and emails. Sorry to those of whom I couldn't get back. I will try and do it next week.
LOVES!

Love,
Elder Parr
#ReturnWithHonor

Elder DaSilva and Elder Parr - currently companions :)

Week 7 Einhoven - "Get on the old ship zion and stay on it." - Elder Ballard

Hooi Iedereen!

What a crazy past week this week has been. Holy cow, I've been going 100 miles an hour non stop it feels like. But that is what it's all about. Loosing yourself in the service of the Lord. Man you got to love missions! It doesn't get any better then this!

Well this week I had my last two days serving with Elder Gleave. I was so glad I was able to serve with him. It amazing what you can learn from your companions. Even when they are brand new in the field. I had some great experiences with him and a great transfer. It's pretty cool that we are still in the same apartment though. Kinda weird coming home but with another companion. To good.

But the adventures of this week all started on Wednesday. So we had to go to Utrecht Central and be there all day waiting for all of the members of our zone to make it to their cities. Some of the elders left some bags so Elder Abankie and I (and elder I used to serve around) got to go up to the office and return. So I pretty much got to see everyone in the mission it felt like. And that's always fun. But after a long day of running from train to train with suitcases and bikes we finally made it home haha. Got to love transfer days.

So this week we were busy making our zone vision and then we just thought we should stop and go and work for the rest of the night, even though we weren't even close to being done with our zone vision. But we decided to do it anyways. We got home and just started to walk the streets and we were about 10 or minutes into it and we caught a young couple right before they were going to go inside. We sparked up a conversation and it just took off. They were super interested in what we had to share. And we talked for a solid 10 minutes about the gospel and they invited us to come back and share more. That was a cool testimony builder to me about always following the promptings of the spirit. Even when you think what you want to do is better, or whatever reason. Always be willing to submit you will to the Father. Then you will be an instrument in His hands.

We had some other meetings and such to try and get everything ready for this coming transfer and it all went super well. I am excited to see the progression that is going to take place in the coming weeks. It hit me really hard this past week that Preach My Gospel is such an inspired resource. And helps us missionaries is so many more ways then I thought.

So Saturday we were trying to go to a baptism for someone that Elder Da Silva taught and it seemed that everything was just trying to keep us from getting there. There were no trains running or they were all super delayed, no buses going there and it just wasn't going to work out. And unfortunately it didn't. But it was cool to see what happened after that. After having not the best day being frustrated and sad that Elder Da Silva didn't make it to the baptism. Where he was actually supposed to do the confirmation. He was still able to put his shoulder to the wheel and push. Even though everything was pushing right back at us. It was just cool to see the dedication of one of the Lords servants. That's how it's meant to be.

CONFERENCE was so GOOD! I was only able to watch the Saturday and Sunday night sessions but those two were amazing. It was so cool listening to the inspired speakers and hearing their inspired message. Three big spots were filled by some amazing new apostles. They all delivered such amazing talks. I just felt the spirit so strongly that they were all called of God. We are so blessed to have living apostle and a living Prophet. The church is true!! I just really loved Ballard's talk about the old ship Zion. It was cool to think how I and we as missionaries but also members not only said in the ship ourselves. But also get to rescue those who maybe have fallen overboard. What a blessing that is.

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

Love, Elder Parr
#Return.With.Honor