Mexico Pachuca - Week 11 - January 27, 2014

(Excerpts from his email)

Q: How’s Darinel coming along?
A: Darinel is ok. He didn’t get baptized and he said he feels good in church but also at a different church but we will see. We are going to focus on him and try and teach the restoration and the great apostasy really well. Darniel talks a lot about his church before, my companion thinks his real problem is with his family. So we will see. 

Q: Dad wants to know how the utilities are in your area? Lights? Phones? Computers?
A: Our electricity sucks if we plug in anything it shuts off so that’s hard but our boiler worked this morning. It hasn’t been working because it’s been so cold in the mornings that the gas doesn’t flow from the tank to the boiler. 

Q: Is it almost transfer time?
A: Transfers are next week it’s a weird time everyone is just thinking about changes and who’s gonna change and what not. I want to stay here. The area is really small and there are not a lot of people. It’s a little hard (the work) and we don’t have a lot of investigators but I really like the area and the people here. 
   
     MOM: It seems that you have had wonderful companions and areas these first two times around, I am happy for you and grateful to the Lord for that.
     EP: Ya everyone has like these stories about terrible companions that don’t do anything but mines have been good so far. 

Q: Anything interesting happen this week?
A: This week has been interesting. Again were going into a month with no real progressing investigators and me and my companion were talking about needing to find more investigators and two people approached us. We were walking down the road and a family was herding their sheep and two ladies came up to us and asked if we were Jehovah’s witnesses and we said no and explained who we were and we taught them a couple times this week. They accepted a date to be baptized in February so we are working with them and so far it’s going ok but they didn’t come to church this week. Then later in the week we were talking and walking and a boy came running up to us and was like hey do you guys read the bible and we were like ya why. And he said he wants to prepare for his communion but doesn’t know how in the bible so we set up an appointment to visit him. We asked if his parents were catholic and he was like i don’t know. So we are going to see what happens with him. 

     Mom: So this young man, do you need to get permission from his parents to teach him?
     EP: Yeah, so we are going to try to teach all of them if at all possible
. 

That’s me and my hermanito (brother) Isaac and his mom. 

This is my agenda, if you guys have quotes or scriptures or pictures you want to share, send them to me and I can put them in this. I use a new agenda every six weeks.

Q: So did you think of something that impresses you about Mexico, maybe something about the people, or something that is different that you really like?
A: Haha I really like the junk food here. For some reason the chips and cookies are really good and on like every street there’s little stores that sell chips and candy and soda and so I eat a lot of that. And in the bags of chips and stuff are little things called tazos and they are really cool I will send some pictures. 

The tazos are the little circle things with like cartoon characters on them. 

Q: Anna was looking at the pictures you sent and she said “Aunty Kela he is smiling! He looks so happy!” Are you really, truly happy out there?
A: I am happy. It’s a different experience but it’s been a great one. I love you all tell them I say hi and I love you guys. 

Love,
Elder Park

Mexico Pachuca - Week 10 - January 20, 2014

(Excerpts from his email)

Q: How’s your home, clean? Sister Egbert seems to be very particular about that, you pass inspection? (On the Mexico Pachuca Mission blog Sis. Egbert has pictures of the homes of the missionaries: mexicopachucaldsmission.blogspot.mx)
A: They didn’t check our house because they were late and we called them to ask if they were coming because we had to go far from our house for a lesson and I guess they thought we were gonna be gone so they didn’t come but our house is clean. 

Q: What happened with Enriquetta?
A: Enriquetta nothing changed and I think we are stopping visiting her because she just doesn’t have the desire right now but we have another possible for this week so were going to work really hard with him and I hope he gets the answer he needs. 

     Mom: Who is your new investigator?
     EP: Our new investigator’s name is Darinel. He’s family of the bishop (well like everyone in the ward is family, literally everyone) but his wife is a member and he’s not but he comes to church all the time and stuff. He really likes the church and says he got answers about it but wants one more specific but we will see what happens. The bishops family is awesome and he has a 2 year old son who’s name is Isaac and he has Asian eyes, so they all say he’s my brother and stuff its funny but he’s really cool. 

 Elder Park’s Mexican brother! 

Mom: I would love to meet the people you serve, one day. I appreciate that they take care of you and that you have found a brother there already!
EP: Haha yeah, it’s really funny they ask him “donde esta su hermanito Park?” and he points to me. Its funny and we make faces at each other and play when were at the house. 

     Mom: What did you say, or what does the family say? Can't speak any Spanish!
     EP: The family asks him “where is your brother Park?” 


Mom: I was talking to Aunty Lenora on Sunday, she asked how you were and I told her you were good. She shared a story about her youngest son going on his mission. She said that when he got his call to Alabama, he and they were a little disappointed and she worried about him. When he landed in Alabama he was able to email her right away and he told her that as his plane circled Alabama, as soon as he was over the state, he got an overwhelming feeling that he was home and that he was meant to be there and that he was good. So he emailed her to tell her not to worry, he was home. I thought that was amazing, comfort for her and him. I always tell you that I am at total peace about where you are, but I have never asked how you feel, so I am asking, how are you with Mexico?
EP: I also feel strangely at home here. A lot of times I’m walking and it hits me like whoa I’m in Mexico right now. It’s really a strange feeling. I feel at home except no one speaks English haha! I understand what he means, its something different and hard to explain, I don’t feel far from home. It’s different because my family and friends and food and everything is there but I feel like I’m with family and friends here too. Nothing will ever replace home, Hawaii home, but for now this is home and I feel more comfortable than I ever thought possible. 

Q: What’s one thing that impresses you about Mexico and why?
A: One thing that impresses me about Mexico is… haha I’m not sure I need to think about it! 

Love,
Elder Park

Mexico Pachuca - Week 9 - January 13, 2014

Mexico Pachuca Letter #9 – January 13, 2014

(Excerpts from his e-mail) 

Thoughts on member missionary work:

We are working really hard with the members, what I’m learning is a lot of missionaries are really blunt and they kind of have to be, but my companion grills some of the members. Something that we have been telling a lot of the members is the truth is they aren’t here to help us we are here to help them with their missionary work. Yes it’s hard but really they are the ones that know the people they know who lives where and what not and they are going to be here longer than we are to help them stay active in the church. 

A New Standard:

EP: Well this week president had interviews and then a training for leaders and my companion went and he talked about planning and working hard to obligate our father in heaven. He just raised the standard of excellence in the mission to 40 lessons every week and a lot of people were like wow,  why because most of us weren’t even doing the old lower standards. But one thing he emphasized both to me in my interview because the new standards came up and the next day is if we do everything we can if we plan to have lessons at every hour and if we have back up plans and back plans and still everything falls through, then we bow our heads in the street, pray and Heavenly Father will bless us with someone to contact or a door to knock. We have done our part and we have done everything we can and now He is obligated to help us. Its like the scripture in D&C that says when you do what I say I the Lord am obligated or something like that but if you do not what I say you have no promise. This is something me and my companion are going to work on because we don’t have a lot of baptismal dates and a lot of our investigators right now aren’t progressing but we are going to keep working hard. 

M: It does sound daunting as far as a task, especially with how it is going presently, but President is right, when we do all that we can, the Lord promises the rest and if President is saying it can be, then that's what you shoot for, perfect obedience.  You are also correct about the scripture reference, I the Lord am bound when ye do what I say, but when ye do not what I say, ye have no promise! 

EP: Yeah at first it was crazy cuz 40 is like double what I had before if I was lucky and here we teach more but not forty. But 1 Nephi 3:7 says if the Lord wants that from us He will help us do it. I know He can and will we just have to do our part.

A request: Please join us i in making it a matter of prayer that Elder Park and his companion, Elder Hernandez, can meet the standard that President Egbert has set for them.  We can do very little from home, but prayers are a truly 

powerful thing!!! Thank you for your love and support and PRAYERS!

Some pictures from the Mexico Pachuca Mission Blog. 

These two elders are our zone leaders, Elder Messick from Utah and Elder Vasquez from Guatamala. They are really cool.

Elder Parkʻs Disctrict P-day activity - Hiking to the pyramids.

Hermana DeFranco in front of the pyramid.

Hermana Diaz, Hermana Luguna, Hermana Schaumkel, Elder Hernandez and Elder Park.

Valle De Mezquital Zone- Interview Day

A nativity in the district, Christmas 2013.

Service is an everyday part of mission life. 

Love,

Elder Park

Mexico Pachuca - Week 8 - January 6, 2014

Excerpts from his email:

Q: What is New Years like in Mexico? Same, different?
A: New Years in Mexico is the same: family, food and fireworks. One weird thing they do is like make fake people like scarecrows but they fill them with fireworks and blow them up at midnight. Its funny there is all these scarecrow things sitting in chairs in front of everyones house on New Yearʻs Eve.

Q: How is Enriquetta doing?
A: Enriquetta is good she has a baptism date set for January 18 but she said only if she gets the answer before then, so we have a lot of work, but we are going to do it. 

Q: Can you send home a recipe for mole, people are asking, what is mole?
A: I am going to try and get a recipe for mole, I will try and find a good one. Elder Barber in my last district described mole as getting your whole spice rack and dumping it in a pot with some meat. Thatʻs pretty much what it is a bunch of chilis and stuff and chocolate and you usually eat it with chicken and tortillas.

We went to the pyramids today, it was really cool but really far and we went in like 3 different buses. It took like 3 hours to get there thats why I am so late (to email). But it was really cool and I bought a bunch of stuff. I bought a blanket, a jaguar head whistle thing and a bird whistle. I will try send pictures when I get the box.

Pyramid pictures from the internet

Elder Parkʻs District

Love,

Elder Park