Hello Everyone!!!

 

This week has been a better week! I had the anual President Interviews so that was really good. This last week we were able to teach some really good familes! I can see bright futures for all of them. So far working in my area has been really good for the most part. I really enjoy it right now! So this last week it has rained like CRAZY!!!!!!! IT rained so hard that our car was spitting water clear up into the air when I was only going about 25 MPH. It was a lot of rain! The weather has been really crazy here because last week on Saturday there was hail reported the size of a Football. It was so bad that it broke all the windshields to the cars in the parking lot at a church. It also destroyed the roof as well. All of that took place while Jefferey R. Holland was speaking to the single adults. IT was funny because He said that God was agreeing with what he was saying when he heard the giant hail coming down. I love Jefferey R. Holland's Talks!!! They are so great! He has a Hilarious sense of humor! I get to see him on Thursday! I am so Excited!!!

 

Mom, That is crazy that Jacob Ames is back already from his mission!!! That is crazy that he is having a hard time speaking English again! I hope that I dont have that problem when I get home. So that is good that your foot is getting better!!! Im sure it will heal completely soon! So that is Awesome that Grandma Wright went to go see Aunt Louis! Im sure she will enjoy that! So Nate, Jake, Josh and Alex all went to Lagoon for Frightmares! That is Awesome!! Im sure they all enjoyed that a lot! So Nate has his appointment to get wisdom teeth evaluated? Awesome! I remember when I had to have that done. He will be happy when it is over though because then he doesnt have to worry about it again. So that is so great that Nate is getting so close being ready to receive the Melchezidec Priesthood! I look forward to hearing how that goes! Thank you so much for the addresses!!!! I appreciate them so much!!! I look forward to writing them a letter!!! So I need a favor from you and Dad, will you take my checking account to only $10? I am trying to budget my money that I am givin but I am having a hard time because it seems like something always comes up. The only time it can go over $10 is when I am going to send a package home. If you can do that, that would be wonderful! Thank you so much!  So for christmas can you send me some cookie mix that I can just add ingredients to make? That would be wonderful! So the package I sent home for Alex and Josh's Birthday is coming soon! If you want I will give you the tracking code and all you have to do is go to www.usps.com and go to Track and Confirm and then it will ask for the code and it will tell you the status of the package. The code for the package is: CN022353279ZA. Thank you Mom for all that you do! I appreciate it so much!!

 

Dad, This week has been an interesting week for the most part. We were super busy with all these meetings that the missionaries needed to be to. One of these meetings were an anual interview with the mission president. He is a great guy! He always knows how to help a missonary in need! So that is good that mom's foot is healing! Im sure it will reach 100% healed soon! So you went Coyote hunting this last week? That is Awesome!! I am jealous! Im sure that you will still have your call when I get home. I look forward to going hunting with you when I get home from my mission. So far the mission is going really well! I am really enjoying it right now! So that is Awesome that Sister Loader talked about 3 Nephi! We always share things from that book when teaching about The Book of Mormon! So far it has been a great experience to share about The Book of Mormon and how it can bless the lives of many! It has been a rewarding experience to see how The Book of Mormon has changed lives! So I sent a package home for Alex and Josh's Birthday. It is on its way there right now. I gave the instructions and the tracking code so that you all can track it when ever you want. I hope your week goes well and take care!

 

Nate, That is Awesome that all those friends of yours have already received mission calls! I look forward to hearing how they are doing! So you are going to be an Elder soon? That is so great! I am glad to hear that you are doing so well and preparing so hard to accomplish the task of preparing to be a missionary! That is so crazy that the number of missionaries will more than double soon! Im sure a lot of your friends are going to start receiving mission calls one by one soon! That is so great that everything is going well! Take care and have a great week!

 

Jake, That is good that everything is going well! That is Awesome that Erica asked you to Bingham Ball!! I remember when I went there! I loved it!! Im sure that you will enjoy it as well!! That is Awesome that you all went to Lagoon!! It sounds like you all enjoyed that a lot!! I will have to join you all in a couple of years when I am at home! I hope all is going well for Erica and her family! Take care and have a great week!!

 

Josh, That is Awesome that you beat herriman in overtime!!! It sounds like it was a good game! So you all went to Lagoon with Tayah and Bryce? That is Awesome!!! Im sure I will be able to join you all in a couple of years when I get home! I hope you have a wonderful week and take care!

 

Alex, That is Awesome that you went to Lagoon for your birhtday!!! That is Awesome that you rode the rocket!! I love that ride!!! You will have to try the samarai when you go again! I love that ride too! Have a wonderful week and take care!

 

I hope all goes well at home and I hope you all have a wonderful week!!!

- Elder Parks

This week was a Fantastic week!!!  I absolutely loved it! We were able to see general conference yesterday and saturday. I thought it was so great!! I loved Russell M. Nelsons talk when he said "If you dont know something, Ask the Missionaries, they can help." I loved all the talks in general conference. I really enjoyed Jefferey R. Hollands talk when he talked about peter and why The Savior asked him 3 times if he loved him. I loved that talk! Speaking of Jefferey R. Holland, He is coming next week to speak to all the missionaries!! I get to meet him in person!! I cant wait!! So some big changes are happening in our mission soon! The first major one is Botswana is going to become its own mission in about three or four months!! Too bad I wont be able to serve there and if I do serve there it will be permanent!! So we will see if I do or not. So this last week we were able to see some of our Awesome Families! One of the Families names is (ready for this?) Mduduzi and his wife Busi and His parents Moses and Adelidi. They are all doing really well and are very interested in what we are teaching! Moses and Adelidi are the same age as Grandma and Grandpa Wright and Mduduzi and Busi are about the same age as Marty and Kara. Both Families are doing really well and are progressing very nicely! I look forward to seeing what happens with them. So recieved a letter recently and I found out that my friend Austin got his official mission call to Morristown, New Jersey!! He is the one that got his papers denied because of OCD. He is finally on a mission and is doing well!! Things are going really well right now!

 

Mom, That is Awesome that you have a scooter to roll around on!!! Somedays I wish I had a scooter to go around on! So that is Awesome that Alex's Birthday is coming up!! So i sent a package last thursday and It is at the South Africa International Post Office right now. It should arrive on time. In the package is a birthday present for Alex and a birthday present for Josh. Both are wrapped so they can open them for thier birthdays.There is also some candy for everyone to enjoy. I havent sent some in a while so I hope you all enjoy them! So that is crazy that Jacob Ames already is home!!! Time went by really fast!! That is crazy that Dillon is coming home soon as well!! I cant believe that I have been out for 8 months on my mission!! That is Crazy! I hope your foot will get better soon!! Have a wonderful week!!

 

Dad, That is Awesome that the fall colors are already coming out!! I always loved all the fall colors. I got to experience the fall colors here in South Africa clear back in April and March. It wasnt however as good as it is at home. So the house is smelling good because of the fresheners? I wish we had those here because our flat just stinks like crazy sometimes because of the outside air. It always stinks out side. Im not sure why but it is not good. So I sent a package home on Thursday last week so It should arrive soon. In the package is a birthday package for Alex and a birthday package for Josh. Both are wrapped seperately so you can all open the box for the candy I put in it for all of you. So when I sent the last package how did everything arrive there. As in did they all get there in good condition? I sent that wooden Africa thing and a painting. I hope they all arrived safely without being ruined. So the families that we are teaching are doing pretty good. They are starting to progress and I can definately tell that they are feeling the Spirit when we teach them. So far everything is good.I hope you have a great week!

 

Nate, That is Awesome that your papers are coming along so well!! That is crazy that you will be out even sooner than I thought! You could receive your mission call next month or December!!! CRAZY! SO you will have to keep me informed how the papers are coming! I look forward to hearing how they are going! So how is Cameron Wagner doing? Im sure he is doing his papers as well! I look forward to hearing how his papers are coming! Well I hope you enjoy school and OH... have you got Stacie Lyman's address yet for me?? Let me know when you get it and please tell her I said HI!!! Have a wonderful week!

 

Jake, I hope all is going well and I hope The Golders are doing well!! Tell them I say HI!! Have a great week and work hard in school!!

 

Josh, That is not good that you guys lost playing Alta. At least you gave it your all!! That is all that matters. So I hope everything is going well at home! Have a great week!!

 

Alex, That is Awesome that your birthday is coming up! I sent a package that has yours and Josh's Birthday present in it! I hope you enjoy!! Have fun at Airborne and have a wonderful week!!

 

I love you all very much and Have a wonderful week!!

- Elder Parks

Hello everyone!! This week has been really good! We started the week with a transfer meeting and I have a new companion! His name is Elder Epstein. He is from Mesa, Arizona and loves to play the guitar. He is a really cool and relaxed guy. He treats me really good and he is AWESOME! So this last week we went and taught one of the families that we have been teaching for a while. When we were teaching them I could tell that they knew that we were teaching the truth to them. They told us in the lesson that they know that this church is true. They told us that the church that they attend isnt true because it was started by a man and not by Jesus Christ. They are doing really well and I will have to keep you informed how they are doing. They are actually the same age as Grandpa and Grandma Wright. We are also teaching thier son and their daughter in law. So far it has been really good. So i hear that the missionary age went down!!!!!! That is crazy! I am so happy because I can now help everyone here get their papers going! How exciting it will be for them to serve a mission soon!

 

Mom, That is so crazy that Dillon Boiteux and Jacob Ames are already coming home from serving thier missions!! That is Awesome! Iook forward to hearing how they are doing and how they enjoyed their experiences. So that is Awesome that so many people will be able to serve a misson earlier now than they expected! That is so great! I look forward to hearing how many people get ready to serve their mission! Please keep my informed how everyone does with getting ready to serve their mission. So the Maddi you were talking about is it Maddi Aulia or Maddi nates girlfriend? Or is it Maddi Mondragon? So that is Awesome that me and Nate will be out the same time even sooner now! At least the time gap wont be as bad. So that is Awesome that Jacob chose to go to Priesthood session and then to Homecoming! Good for him! So the username to my facebook is: ColbyParks@msn.com and the password is: parksmonster18. Please have nate do it if possible because some of the people I was friends with have really gone south and I never had the chance to delete them from my facebook. It was becoming a real problem so I had to delete a TON of people until it was safe again. Im not sure if it is good or not right now so be careful. Go straight to my messages and see if you can get the addresses to Stacie Lyman and Shaley Argyle. Thank you so much!

 

Dad, That is crazy that the age to go on mission has gone down! I look forward to hearing how all the young men in the ward are doing and if they go on a mission or not! That is CRAZY that Nate could be gone in December!!! I havent even hit my one year mark and he will be out! That is Awesome! That is really good that he is so anxious to serve a mission! I look forward to hearing how his papers are going! So it sounds like Conference was good! I will be viewing it this weekend so I will be able to see it soon! I hope mom's foot gets better! thats not good that she tripped and fell and that happened to her foot! I hope all gets better! So have you heard from Missy and Kirk how Dakota is doing? I havent heard from them in a long time! I hope they all are doing well! I hope your week has been good and I hope you have a wonderful week!

 

Nate, YOU CAN OFFICIALLY GET YOUR PAPERS NOW!!!!!! THAT IS SO CRAZY!!! FUTURE ELDER PARKS WILL BE LEAVING SOON!!! That is so Awesome that they changed that age so you can now serve a mission! That is crazy that you can be leaving possibly in December! That is before my 1 year mark! That is so crazy! You will have to keep me informed how everything is going and how the papers are going. Also please keep me informed how the others from the Priest's Quorum are doing on thier papers. Hey i gave you all my facebook password and username will you please see if Stacie Lyman has sent any messages and if so will you respond to them and get her address for me? That would be great! Thank you so much!

 

Jake, So you went to The Priesthood session and the Homecoming dance huh? That is Awesome! Its good to hear that you enjoyed it so much! That is Awesome that you went to Kneaders for breakfast!!! That place is so good!!! I hope all is going well and have a wonderful week!

 

Josh, Thats not good that your team didnt do so good! That is not good at all that your couches are not treating you all very well at all! I hope that gets better soon! So your birthday is coming up in about 3 weeks! I am sending you and Alex a Birthday Present soon! I hope that you will enjoy what I am about to send soon. I hope you have a wonderful week and take care!

 

Alex, Your Birthday is coming up!!! I am sending you and Josh a Birthday Present soon! I hope you both will enjoy what is inside! I hope you have a wonderful week!

 

I love you all very much and have a wonderful week!

- Elder Parks

Hello Everyone!!

 

So this week has been pretty good! We have been able to see a lot of families and we are getting along really well! My companion has been really nice to me and everything is going well. So yesterday we had 8 investigtors attend church! A lot of people are getting more and more interested. Of those 8 investigators we had 2 families that attended. They both loved their exeperience and had a great time! They told us that they will be coming back! I hope that they keep thier promise! Other than that things have been pretty good so far.

 

Mom, Things have been better than they were before. My companion has been really nice to me for the most part. That is cool that Alex is off track now! Im sure that he is loving that! I cant believe that I have been out so long! Time goes by way too fast! I have already been in my new area for 3 months now! Crazy. I also cant believe that my birthday is next month! Time is going by way fast! That is Awesome that you all went to the dedication to the Brigham City Temple! That must have been a really cool experience. That is good that Josh is getting good grades! So I recieved a letter from Uncle Lloyd and Aunt Eva the other day! It was so great to hear from them. I cut my hair again the other day! I am starting to get the hang of it now. I hope all is going well at home and have a wonderful week!

 

Dad, Thats not good that those guys caused so much problems! I have ran into a lot of people like that here in South Africa. We dont really have any problems because they rather think we are pastors or goverment agents or the police. It is funny because everyone always asks us if we are police men. So far things have been getting better for the most part. We have been working hard and have been helping more and more people come unto Christ. I hope all is going well  at home and I hope Grandpa Parks is doing better. Have a wonderful week!

 

Nate, That is not good that Courtnee girl didnt show up to her shift! I hope all is going well for you at home! So have you heard from Stacie or Shaley (My Friends) yet? I am hoping they will send you their address soon so that I can send a letter to them! I hope all is going well for you and Maddi! So that is cool that Payton Manning is on the Broncos team now!! That will be really good for them! I sure the colts are not to happy about that. So I hope all is going well for you at home and have a wonderful week!

 

Jake, That is not good that Kim Golder isnt doing well! I will keep her in my prayers! That is awesome that you are going to be able to see the priesthood session of general conference! I wont be able to see it until a week after it happens. So I hope everything is going well at home and have  a wonderful week!

 

Josh, That is good that Football is going well! Thats not good that those teams are being poor sports! I hope that you will be able to enjoy playing the next teams. I hope all is going well with school! I hear that you are getting good grades! That is excellent! Keep up the good work! You are doing a great job! Have a wonderful week!

 

Alex, That is crazy that you lost a tooth! That is Awesome that your birthday is in 3 weeks! Time goes by way fast! I hope you have a wonderful week!

 

I love you all and have a wonderful week!

- Elder Parks

Hello Everyone!!

 

So this last week was a little slow for us. My companion has been pretty nice to me this week so I hope it is a start to him treating me better. So far we have been trying to find more and more people that will be interested in hearing the gospel. So we have two families that we contacted and they are very interested. One of them the Father's name is Norman. The other is Thomas. Both say that they are going to come to church next sunday. I hope we see them there! So it sounds like things at home are going pretty good. I hope everything is going well!!

 

Mom, This week has been better. I was able to get along with my companion better so luckily things have been better since last week. I am definately learning a life lesson though that is for sure. I am learning how to get along with companions no matter how hard or rude they are. So far things have been ok and are starting to get better.
So that is funny that that nurse from Pioneer was in Soweto! That would have been really funny if he would have stopped me in the street! We have so many people that stop us in the street so he would have caught me by suprise. So on my P-days I can definately wear a U of U shirt! We are allowed to wear what ever we want on P-days but on Proselyting days we have to be in a white shirt and tie. So that shirt that I gave you and Dad is the Orlando Pirates. I work in the area that the Pirates are from! The stadium is in my area. We go by it all the time. I hope that I got the sizes right for you and Dad because the way they do the sizes here is different than the way they do it in America. So that is AWESOME that Nate is starting to get his missionary stuff!! Thats exicting! That is also Awesome that Dad got the Lord of the Rings Trilogy for his birthday!! I look forward to watching that with him when I get home. You will have to let me know when you send the package so I can watch for it after you send it. Thank You Mom!

 

Dad, I hope that you had a great birthday!! I am glad that you like the Pirates T- Shirt!! So I am learning a big life lesson from my companion treating me to to great! I am learning how to get along with hard people and I am starting to learn how to cope with hard companions. I am starting to also learn how to get along with them even though they dont treat me very good. So that is Awesome that Nate is starting to get his missionary stuff!! Time is going to go by really fast for him!! I cant believe that I have been out for 7 months! Time goes by way to fast! Before you know it Nate is going to be out on his mission and I will be receiving emails from him! That is crazy to think about! So I will have to let you know how things go next monday. I hope to have a better week with my companion. So that is Awesome that you all went to go see that Brigham City Temple Dedication!! That would have been a cool experience to go and see!! I look forward to seing that temple when I get home! So I hope Grandpa Parks does better soon!!! I hope you all have a wonderful week!

 

Nate, That is Awesome that you got all those games on your computer!! I look forward to seeing those games again!! I hope that things are going well for you at home! That is crazy that you are already getting your missionary stuff!! Before you know it you are going to be telling me where you are going for your mission. That will be an exciting day! Just remember to stay worthy and active and you will be a wonderful missionary! I hope you have a wonderful week!

 

Jake, Tell Erica that I said Hi back! Tell here family I say Hi as well! That is Awesome that Bingham is doing so well in their games! Keep up the hard work! I hope that you all enjoyed what was in the package that I sent home! That is crazy that it is already mid- term! Work hard and you will do great in School!

 

Josh, That is not good that you got sick playing football!! So it sounds like you are playing hard in football! Keep it up and your team will look up to you and the whole team will do great! Keep working hard and have a great week!

 

Alex, That is not good that Josh almost got sick playing football! I want to hear how your play went and how the practices are going!

 

I love you all! Have a wonderful week!

 

- Elder Parks

Hello Everyone!!!

So this week has been ok. People are starting to take interest in what we are teaching and Investigators are starting to come to church. Things are getting better! The only thing that doesnt seem to be getting better is my companion's attitude towards me. He is really not very nice and likes to get after me a lot! It has been tough to adapt to that but so far I have been able to work things out a little bit. I think he acts the way he does because he is ready to leave the area and he knows that he is leaving in a couple of weeks. We will have to see how it goes. So this week we had a day called Park and Walk day. We had to park our car in the middle of our area and walk the entire day! It was an interesting day for the most part. So the familes that we are teaching are starting to receive a witness from the Holy Ghost that our message is true. They are starting to receive answers to their prayers. Speaking of prayers thank you all so much for your prayers! They are helping me a lot! I will keep you informed how everything goes!

Mom, That is Awesome that Utah won again!!!! That is great! That is funny that the fans did that and BYU had to replay the last play. So Dakota went in for surgery??? I hope all went well! You will have to keep me informed how everything goes! So how is everything going so far? Things here are a little hard right now but I am hanging in there. Like I said just barely, My companion has been giving me a lot of grief and trouble. I personally believe that is why our area was struggling a little bit for a while and that is because there was no true unity between us. Things are starting to get a little better for the most part though. So if you guys end up going to the Brigham city temple dedication you will have to let me know how it goes! The temple just opened back up here after being closed for maintainence. I look forward to going again now that it is opened back up. So for my birthday some yellow cake mix and some chocolate frosting would be great! Thank you so much mom!

Dad, I am glad to hear that you are doing well!! Are you excited for your birthday tomorrow???? Happy Birthday DAD!!!!!! I know that you all will enjoy what is in that package!! I hope that everything got there safe and sound. There are a couple of things in there that you all will enjoy and there is something in there that is for mom as well. But most importantly there is something in there for your and for your birthday. I hope you enjoy what is inside. So I hope that you can feel better and that you wont get that loss of breath that you were having a little while ago. So the temperature is getting hotter and hotter as the weeks go on. This is flood season so it has rained like CRAZY twice now in the last weeks time. It rained so hard that the storm drains here couldnt keep up so the streets flooded BIG TIME! It is in the 80's here in the day and the 50's at night. So far it hasnt been to bad. So everything here in the area that I am in now has been intersting. My companion hasnt been treating me very well but the work has been great. So its a half and half experience so far.

Nate, That is Hilarious that you said that to that kid!!! HAHAHA I dont think he will do that again. So how has school been so far? You are going to have to teach me some of the things you learn when you get back from your mission so that I can be on the same track as you! So how is maddie? I hear that you are hanging out with her a lot now. How is the car treating you so far? Im sure everything is going well for you so far. Things here have been interesting. I have been having an interesting experience so far here in my new area. Hey can you do me a favor? Can you log onto your face book and ask Stacie Lyman and Shaley Argyle for thier addresses? I would like to send a letter to them. Thank you so much!

Jake, That is Awesome that Utah did so well when playing BYU!! That is Awesome that BYU missed thier field goal!!! That is Awesome that you did so well playing Cottonwood!! Keep up the good work! Work hard in school and tell the Golders HI for me! Thank You and Take care!

Josh, I hope this week is good for you! That is crazy that you went into double overtime in your football game!! That means that you played hard! At least you all did your best! I hope this week is better for you!

Alex, Your birthday is coming up! I am getting ready to send you and Josh something home for your birhtdays. It wont be sent off till the first week of October. I hope that you have a great week!!

I love you all and have a wonderful week!!
- Elder Parks

Hello Everyone!!!

This last week was pretty good for us! We had a ton of lessons that we were able to teach all our investigators! People are starting to progress and are starting to be more and more interested! Thank you all for your prayers! They are helping me and my companion a ton!! So last Thursday was really crazy!! The power went out during the night so we had no electricity when we got up. We looked outside and saw that the roads were floaded because of how much rain came down!! We drove through a lake when we were driving to out area! The water was almost up to our door!! There was a lot of cars that stalled because the engine block was in the water. Luckily that didnt happen to our car! It was really crazy! We received Heavy rain all day long!! It was crazy!! So we have been working with the families that we are teaching and they are getting more and more interested as time goes on! They are all starting to receive answers to their prayers!! It is so great to see that they all are starting to progress!! They all are slowly starting to find the truth. So that is crazy that Dillon comes home a month!! Time goes by way fast!!

Dad, Sounds like things are going well at home! It also sounds like Jake and Josh are playing hard and their best at football. That is not good that Josh bruised his ribs!! That must have hurt! At least he didnt break them! That would have been even worse! So how is the new I-book so far?? That is probably really cool to have!! How is the Imac doing so far?? That is so cool that you gave a talk on the Why to the Priesthood!! I remember a really cool talk from President Ughdorf ( I have no idea how to spell his name). He talked about the Why of Prieshood service. He said that what informs and the Why transforms. He gave a wonderful talk about something similar to what you talked about. That is great that you were able to give a talk on that subject! Im sure it went really well!! I hope that you feel better soon and I hope that you have a wonderful week!

Mom, That is really good that you all received my pictures!! I have another package that will more than likely arrive today or tomorrow. In it is some cool things that you all will enjoy. There is a paper inside that gives the instructions of who and where everything goes. I guarantee that you all will love what is in there! So the Mulderigs hit their boat on the side at the gas station?? Thats not good!!! I hope that the insurance will cover that! Thats not good that everyone is having boat problems this year!! I hope that all goes well as the year comes to a close. That is really cool that you got an Ipad!! That will be fun to have!! So Grandpa has to have surgery next month? I hope all goes well so that his knee will feel better. I cant believe how fast the months are going by! It is so crazy! Time flies when you are working hard! I hope that you have a wonderful week!

Nate, That is Awesome that you are going to be an elder soon!! That has definately been a blessing for me so far! Being able to give blessings is a rewarding experience! So it sounds like College is going well!! If you work hard and study hard you will be able to get far in school! I hope everything is going well and I hope you have a wonderful week!!

Jake, That is great that football is going well!! So you are taking Chemistry?? Who do you have for your teacher?? I had Mrs. Brown. She was Awesome!! Work hard and study hard and you will enjoy that class! Things here in South Africa have been pretty good so far. The people here are really great people. So far everything is going well. I hope that you have a wonderful week!

Josh, That is good that School is starting to get better and better!! Thats not good that you bruised your ribs!!! I hope all goes well for football!! It is good to hear that you are ok. Breaking ribs would have hurt really bad! I hope that your week goes well and I hope you have a good week!

Alex, That is cool that your birthday is coming up next month!! I will have to send something home for you and Josh. I hope all goes well and have a great week!

I love you all and I hope you all have a great week!!

- Elder Parks