Episode 8: Equadorian Superstar!

Hola Everybody,

Things are going so well here in the mission field.

We flew out of Bogota last Tuesday very early in the morning and got to Barranquilla at about 8 am. We had several hours of training and then got to meet our trainers. My trainer's name is Elder Reyes. He is this super-star elder from Equador that has been out for 11 months. I also got assigned to my first area, a city called Valledupar, which is 6 hours away from Barranquilla so I got to take a nice long bus ride my first day. Valledupar is a lot like Santa Ana in that it has its nice parts and its not so nice parts. The area that we live in is fairly okay, we live in an apartment above some members, but most of our area is really pretty poor. It is really humbling to see how these people live, because they don't have nearly as much as I do.

The heat here is really pretty bad. Everyday is like walking around in an oven, but the nights are not nearly as bad, in fact it kinda feels like back at home during the summer. It rains a lot though, which is nice because the water is really cold. Even our shower is really cold, which doesn´t actually work right after a heavy rain storm, which we have had three so far this week. In that situation we have a faucet outside on the patio which we use to kinda clean ourselves up. All in all, the hygiene really isn't our number one concern.

The food here really isn't that bad. There is nothing that really distinguishes it from any other country for which I can tell. The thing that they are really known for here is their juices. Everybody loves juice here, and you can buy it pretty much anywhere because there are a lot of street venders that are selling it, but I generally avoid that juice because street food isn't really the safest here. 

In regards to meals, we are responsible for our own breakfast and dinner, and we have a less active member who is paid to make lunch for us everyday. She is a super nice lady and loves to talk to us, and we are working to reactivate her and her family.

For laundry, a lot of the missionaries will find a member to do their laundry for them, but my companion likes to do his own so we rented a washing machine thingy to do our clothes. The washing machines here are tiny. Both the washing machine and the dryer are part of the same machine that is about half the size of a washing machine at home. It only takes like a half hour to do an entire load of laundry so that´s great, but after the drying cycle you have to hang the clothes up to dry a little more.

We are working with a lot of investigators right now. We have maybe 20 or so, but very few of them have baptismal dates. Our real struggle is that we have to work with the investigators, less actives, converts, and the ward also wants us to teach the members so that they will help us with references. Our schedule is so tight that we really don't have the time to help our investigators a lot. It's rough but with the Lord's help we can make it happen.

I would like to share a quick experience that I had this past week. One of the less actives that we are working with just came home from his mission like a year ago, but he left early for reasons that I honestly really don't know because I'm still struggling a little with the Spanish. But we were teaching him about the priesthood and how we need to respect our priesthood powers and always endure and follow the commandments, and he was just overwhelmed with the Spirit and had such a strong desire to repent. It was awesome to see how this guy's life was changed by the Atonement and how he felt the spirit.

I hope everything is going great at home. I can't wait to see everybody this Christmas. It is going to be great to see the kiddos again.

Hasta Luego,

Elder Parker

Episode 7: Hola Barranquilla!

 Hey mom, 

I made it to Barranquilla. We flew in this morning and have been doing a bunch of training and other great stuff for the past few hours. I am having a great time here and can´t wait to start working.

My P'days are every Monday so I will write you on those days.

See you soon,

Elder Daniel Parker

Elder Parker with President and Sister Searle

Episode 6: ¡Adiós CCM!

Hey mom,

This is my last message from the CCM. I will be leaving next Tuesday for the field. I'm not entirely sure, but I will be flying to Barranquilla at about 6 am so we get to wake up at 2ish. YAY!

It is really weird to think that I have already been here for a month, it seems like it has been much longer and much shorter than that. I'm sure the feeling only gets stronger out in the field.

That´s too bad about Brother Rowe. I never really knew him but Nan Rowe is so nice. Please tell her I said hi. We had the opportunity to watch the funeral services for Elder Scott and they were super good. 

I did hear that Alex Pratt got engaged before I left. That´s so cool that they are getting married so soon. The CCM president is really big into marriage so he´s pretty big on preaching about gettiing married as soon as we get home. I'm getting super nervious about coming home now.

So I guess Lydia is turning into a little Suarez. That must be so fun for Tyler and Sarah. I hope James is doing okay. That must be really painful! Hearing about that kinda makes me think of CCM soccer. No one has gotten bit yet, thankfully, but quite a few missionaries have battle scars from playing soccer.

So here´s something funny. Every time new missionaries have come to the CCM, there has always been a new Parker, first an hermana, and then a new Elder this past week so there are three Parkers and two Elder Parkers. We've been having a lot of fun with it and we even took a family photo at the temple today.

I have learned so much about teaching here. We currently are teaching one investigator and one menos activo. Our lessons are going so great. Just a few days ago we had a lesson with the investigadora and she was super sad because she had just lost her job and was having trouble with her boyfriend, but we helped her to understand that even though lots of bad things go on in our lives, the Lord still cares about us and he is always there when we need him. It was such a powerful moment for me and the Spirit was so strong.

This past Sunday was our Fast and Testimony Meeting, so we had the opportunity to bear our testimonies if we wanted to. I had already done it the month before, but this time I got my entire district to stand up and bear their testimonies. It was really cool to see how much their Spanish has improved in only four weeks. The gift of tongues sure is an amazing thing.

I hope everything is going good at home. How is the Priest´s quorum doing without me? I'm sure combined mutual activities must not be nearly as much fun any more. Please let all of the youth know that I love them and that even though the world is a nasty place, the church is the best thing to keep yourselves safe.

I'm not sure when I will write next so don't get your hopes up about it being anytime soon. Hopefully next time I will have a lot more interesting experiences to share.

Elder Daniel Parker

So many Parkers!

All the Elders in my current habitación

Elders serving in Barranquilla

CCM Group

Episode 5: Hey mama, check out the llama!

Hey mom,

I guess I forgot to tell you which day was going to be a P-day this week. Whoops.

Things are super good here. Last Friday we went into some sketchy part of town and did some proselyting. It was super fun and me and my companions had a great experience, especially since we could kind of understand the Spanish.

Today we got to take a tour of the city and do some shopping. I didn't buy anything but I did get some sick photos, including one on a llama. This city is so cool, especially when I get to see something other than the inside of the CCM.

How are things going at home? Do James and Adelaide miss me? I miss them a lot but things are just so awesome over here it is going to be rough going home in two years. Tell them that their Uncle Daniel says hi and he can´t wait to hear from them. And tell James that everybody has his name on the back of their soccer jersey´s, so he´s pretty famous here in Bogota.

I´m really starting to get the hang of Spanish. We are doing a lot of practicing and classes and all that good stuff so I´m doing pretty well. The only hard part is that I am pretty much incapable of saying anything other than church stuff, so I guess in a way that´s kind of good, but I might be out of luck if I ever need to ask for directions or anything like that.

So how are things going with the debit card? I still have plenty of money with me, so I´m not in any rush, but if you need me to do anything for it just let me know. I've also been receiving weekly emails from EcclesiaticalCards, which seems to be some type of debit card from the church, so I´m not sure if that´s something I'm supposed to have or not.

I hope things are going well at home. My next chance to write is next Thursday so hopefully that works for you.

Elder Daniel Parker

Elder Parker and the llama

With Bogota as a backdrop

With the District in Bogota

                            

Episode 4: Superb Spanish!

Hey mom,

Things are going great here. The spanish is going superbly. We have a companionship of Latinos in our room right now and they both talk very fast, but I am starting to be able to understand what they are saying. It's pretty great.

We get to go to the temple every p-day, so we just went again today. I really like the Bogota temple. It is super pretty, but it's not even in the same league as the Newport Beach or San Diego temples.

I haven't received anything from you guys in the mail yet, but I've heard it will probably come when I am already out in the field. But hopefully it will come soon.

That stinks about David, but of course it would be him. Get Air is such a dangerous place for any of my friends. Please tell him that he better hurry up and get better because he needs to be here in Colombia with me.

So this past Friday I was called as the District Leader for 2 weeks. I really don't do anything except for lead like one meeting a week, but it's still kinda cool to know that I'm doing what I am supposed to be doing.

I can't believe that they aren't doing mission prep anymore. That was such an awesome class and I doubt that there will be as many people attending from our stake as before, which is a major bummer because mission prep is a lifesaver out here, and I´m not even in the field yet.

How are the kiddos doing? I miss them so much. I've had so many good times with them and this place just isn't as much fun as being back at home with James, Adelaide, and Lydia. Please tell them that their Uncle Daniel says hi and that he can´t wait to see them at Christmas.

I didn't feel the earthquake so I guess it wasn't close enough. Too bad. But I guess it is probably better that we don´t have to worry about earthquakes while in the CCM. 

I really can't think of much that is new going on here. Everything is pretty much the same every day. My pictures are seriously lacking too because nothing is really going on. Hopefully I will have something else to say when I get into the field.

I miss you guys but I hope everyone is doing well. 

Love,

Elder Daniel Parker

---

Hey dad,

I haven´t received any of the letters you´ve sent but hopefully they will come soon.

I did hear about David. I wonder how many times he is going to get seriously injured in his life, because he has already done it quite a few times.

That´s awesome about the guy you interviewed. I am meeting a lot of people from Venezuela and they are super awesome. And the fact that he has ties to Barranquilla is even cooler. I am so glad that he is choosing to be baptized, because the gospel is a great thing and it really does bless lives.

We are a actually asked to write talks every week for Sacrament Meeting so I´ve already done two of them. It really helps to build vocabulary and just general knowledge of the gospel.

I have to go but I hope things are going well at home. See you at Christmas.

Elder Daniel Parker

Episode 3: Chapstick!

Hey mom,

Happy birthday to dad and Tyler! I´m so bummed that I missed it but I hope they had a good time. And tell James I miss him too and I wish he could be here with me.

I´ll be fine without the suit. I´ve just been wearing sweaters to any activities that require suits so it really isn´t that bad. And the cold isn´t that big of a deal because we are almost always inside.

I was actually able to get some chapstick so I am feeling great now.

For  my daily schedule, I am usually in classes all day, with breaks for meals and an hour and a half break for gym. It really gets very monotonous, but there are some good parts. We have a few "investigators", who are actually just some of our teachers, that we teach almost every day.

On Sundays the entire CCM meet together for sacrament meeting and priesthood, and then we separate into our individual districts for Sunday School. We also have a few devotionals from President and Hermana DuVall and end the night with a random church movie.

I keep all of my money in a little safe in my closet, so no one can take my money. I´ve only bought the hymn book but in two weeks we are going to take a city tour to a few shops that the elders usually pick up some souvenirs from.

I haven´t received anything from Dad yet in the mail, but it will probably take about a month from when he sent it to get here.

I am allowed to email anyone, I just only have an hour to do it so that´s really the only restriction on my end. Anyone is free to write me and I will try to write them back as soon as possible.

It´s weird to think I've already been here two weeks. We are getting brand new North Americans tomorrow so it will be interesting to see that from a new perspective.

I miss you and everybody else back at home and I can´t wait to see you at Christmas.

Elder Daniel Parker

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Hey dad,

Happy birthday! I´m sorry I couldn't reply to your email last week. I ran out of time so I didn't get to write anything.

Thanks for the picture. The plaque looks great and that´s exactly what I wanted for my scripture. It still just doesn't seem right to have that be my plaque.

That´s so sad to here about the people in Venezuela. I've had the privilege to get to know some missionaries from Venezuela these past two weeks and they are super cool people. I guess it just takes a rotten leader to ruin a country.

That´s great to hear about the man who is going to the temple. It´s such a great place and I really wish everyone had the opportunity to go there. I had the opportunity to do a Spanish session today and it was so cool, but also very hard.

That was a really great thought about Alma. I was actually just studying his and Amulek's preaching to the people of Ammonihah and they are just such powerful missionaries. The hardships they endured were unthinkable, and yet they still stayed true to their calling.

It´s been great to hear from you and I can´t wait to see you at Christmas.

Hasta Luego,

Elder Daniel Parker

Episode 2: One Week In!

Hey everybody,

Everything is going great so far. I met up with a few other missionaries in Atlanta who were also going to the Colombian MTC. We all flew together and when we got through Customs there was a mission couple waiting for us. They bused us to the MTC and we had a quick meeting with the MTC President before going to bed, because we got to the MTC at like 11.

I am actually currently in a companionship with two other Elders, Elder Bush from Texas and Elder Hamblin from Utah. They are both super chill dudes and we are having a blast. Our District consisted of 7 missionaries until halfway through the 1st day two of the elders moved to the two week program so they will be leaving in a week. We have the smallest district in the MTC, but it's not bad because these guys are super fun. There are only two missionaries currently in the MTC that will be serving in Barranquilla, me and an Elder from Utah who is honestly so much like Jason Messer it's kinda freaky.

I have been progressing super well with Spanish. In fact, I talked with the MTC president a few days ago and he is considering sending me two weeks early depending on what my mission president. Wouldn't that be crazy? Anyways, the other members of my district do not know spanish as well so I help them out a lot. 

Our days are so filled with stuff it is insane. We do a ton of grammar (which kinda stinks because I already know all of what we are learning right now) but I am really loving the teaching that we are doing. We currently have two investigators, which are really just two of the teachers roleplaying as investigators, and they are such a blast because there is such a strong spirit at our lessons that I sometimes forget that they are fake. We do all of our teaching in Spanish so my companions are struggling with that a little bit.

It's been kinda awkward for me without a suit because like half of our meetings require us to wear suits. I usually just wear a sweater though so it isn't a huge deal though. President DuVall said that I am the first missionary he has had at the MTC without a suit since the new rule was passed.

We were actually able to go to the temple today. It was super cool because it kinda looks like newport from the front but its in the middle of a kinda sketchy neighborhood. We got to do the session in English so that was good because I'm not sure that I am that good yet. We will be going again next Tuesday, which is also our next P-day, so that is when I can write next. There is a Distribution Center next to the Temple and I was able to buy a small hymn book for 8,500 pesos, which is just over $3. The price of stuff here is really low because the Colombian economy is heading downhill, but it was definitely nice to get the hymn book for cheap.

The food is kinda weird, mostly just an assortment of eggs and hot dogs, but over the past few days it has been getting better. We have had hamburgers, pizza, and today for dinner we had burritos. I definitely wouldn't classify it as gourmet, but it isn't terrible and it keeps me functioning.

Something that I really need is chapstick. It is honestly pretty dry here in Bogota and my lips are very chapped. It definitely isn't the end of the world and it will get better once I get to Barranquilla, but for now, it kinda stinks.

Well, that's kinda been my week in a nutshell. I miss you guys but I can't imagine being anywhere other than here. It feels like it's been an eternity but I'm learning so much that the time flies by. I know that this is the work that the Lord wants me to be doing and he is making sure that I will be prepared to face whatever will be thrown at me. 

See you soon,

Elder Daniel Parker

PS Feel free to forward this to anybody who asks about me or wants to know what's going on. The more people the better

PPS the pictures will take a few messages to send