Hello everyone!!!

So this week has been really good for the most part! Thigns here are going really well! We just had a baptism of a man named Jake. He is in his 50's and he is a really cool guy! They had him all ready to be baptized by the time I got to my new area so I just helped get him to baptism all the way. He progressed so fast though! He understood everythign that the missionaries taught him and he never doubted once!! He is an Awesome guy! We have met some other families that are doing really well for the most part. So the other day I found out that one of the families that I found in my last area are going to be baptized soon. I guess when I taught the first lesson to them, the wife told my other companion that she felt the spirit and she told us that what we were teaching them was true. It was a cool thing to hear that is for sure. We have found another family here so I hope that they will feel the same way one day. We are having a hard time for the most part keeping appointments with everyone though because everyone tends to run away before we get there, so I hope things will pick up soon. I will definately keep you all informed about how our lessons go this week and every week for now on. I am sorry that I didnt say much before.

So Mom, That is really cool that everyone's birthday was this last week!!! Im sure that they all enjoyed that a lot! That is Awesome that Grandpa had a dream that I brought home a little child with me! So it sounds like Jake's Birthday went well!! I am really happy that my package made it home! I hope that everyone is enjoying thier summer for the most part. That is crazy that Jake is now 16!! He needs to make sure to take care of the Xterra!! haha Im sure everything will be fine. That is Awesome that Amanda had twins! Thats exciting!! So a week from today I will probably be going to a lion park and see some really cool animals!!! I will have to send some pictures and maybe some videos of what we find!! So that is crazy that nate will be in college soon!!! Time goes by way fast!! That is crazy that in about 2 weeks I will hit my 6 month mark!! Time flies way too fast!! I hope all goes well this week and I hope that you all enjoy your week!

So Dad, That is not good that Grandpa is in a care center! I hope that he gets better soon so that he can feel better!! The weather here is really crazy!!! It is hot in the day and really cold at night. I can tell that the seasons are about to change soon here! That is crazy that it is so hot at home!! So i hope things here get better soon!! We are starting to find a lot more families and they are all starting to understand what we are teaching them. It is hard though because they all run away when we go for the appointment. We are starting to slowly get around that though because our appointments are starting to follow through. Im sorry that I havent said much about the families that we have been teaching! I hope all is going well back at home!!

So Nate, I hope all is going well!! That is so crazy that you are going to be in college soon!! you will have to let me know how that goes!!! I hope that you like the jersey!! That team ( The Springboks) is South Africa's main team for rugby! They are pretty good for the most part. Sorry I didnt write much I am running out of time. Have a wonderful week and keep me informed!

So Jake, You are welcome for the ball and Jersey. Please share the ball though because I could only send one home because of money reasons. I hope all is going well and Happy Birthday! Tell the Golders Hi!

So Josh, I hope that football goes well and I hope that you have a wonderful week!!

So Alex, I hope that swimming lessons are going well and I hope you have a wonderful week!!

Im sorry the messages are so short, I am really short on time this time. I will have more time next time. I love you all and have a wonderful week!!

- Elder Parks

Hello everyone!!!

This week has been a crazy week! This area is really hard to keep appointments! No one is keeping commitments or coming to church. It is a really big problem that we are facing right now. The church that we attend is really far so the people here are having a hard time affording to go to church or they just plain dont want to go so im not sure why no one is coming unfortunately. Other than that things here are going good. My companion has been good to be with for the most part. I have had no complaints so far. Next month I will more than likely be going to a Lion Park!!!!! I will have some really cool pictures soon I hope!! So it sounds like things are getting a little crazy back at home! I hope that Grandpa gets better soon!! I will definately keep him in my prayers! 

So mom, is there any chance you can send some starburst with the red vines and glasses wipes? That would be Awesome! Thank you MOM!! If it will be too expensive to send the starburst with those then you dont have to worry about it. So that is crazy that Nate is getting the Melchizedek Priesthood!!! Congratulations to him!!! That is also great that everyone else is getting the priesthood as well!! How great will it be when they all have the priesthood! That is Awesome that Colleen Cowen is coming back to church!! That is Awesome that she came back! I always love it when the Less Actives start coming to church here in South Africa! My last area had A LOT of less actives! Us as missionaries also have the duty to bringing them back as well but the ward is mostly in charge of that. I hope that some of the other less actives will start coming back soon! We were told by our mission president that the fastest way to establish the church is to bring back the less actives. We worked hard doing both (bringing the less actives back and finding those seeking the gospel). Well I hope everyone enjoys their birthdays this week! Tell everyone that has a birthday happy birthday for me! 

So Dad, That is not good that Grandpa is in the hospital again! I hope all goes well for that! I will definately keep him in my prayers!! It sounds like scout camp was fun though!!! I always loved going to scout camps with all the young men! That is something I look forward to doing with the scouts again as soon as I get home! I cant believe that time is going so fast!! That is crazy that time is going just as fast at home!!  That is even more crazy that I am going to come up to my 6 month mark next month!! That is Awesome that I am already at that point! So far things have been good here for the most part! I am enjoying my experience so far! 

So Nate, That is Awesome that you met someone new! All I have to say is remember who you are and remember Who you stand for. I know that you will be fine so that is great that she likes you and you like her. You will have to let me know how everything goes. So how is the car? I look forward to seeing it when I get home in a year and a half. Take care and tell everyone I said Hi. OH and will you please log onto your face book and go to my page and will you post my mailing address on my page? 

My mailing address is:

3 Phillips Avenue

Discoverey 1709

Roodepoorte, South Africa

Thank you so much Nate!!

So Jake, I look forward to hearing how your trip was with the Golders when you get back.

So Josh, That is great that you enjoyed Scout camp!! That is Awesome that you caught so many snakes!! By the way I am sorry but the lizards and snakes do escape their cages a lot. So how is everything going so far? Are you ready to receive the office of a teacher this November? That is Awesome that things are going good for you! I hope you have a wonderful week!

So Alex, That is not good that you lost your goggles! I am sorry that happened! I hope that you continue to enjoy your swimming lessons!! 

I hope you all have a wonderful week and I Love you all very much!!

Take Care,

- Elder Parks

Hello Everyone!!
Things here are going really well!! I am in a new area called Diepkloof. It is in the city of Soweto. It is a township which means that everyone lives in a small brick house ( the size of the garage on Grandma and Grandpa's lot) or they live in a shack as big as a bedroom. The people here though are really good people! I am really enjoying my experience so far! My area also has 2 really big malls! So luckily if I need something to eat I can just go there to eat or get anything else that I need.

So mom, That is really cool that Verizon now has a home plan! That hopefully will go really well!! So I am really sorry that I didn't tell Karen and Jim about my farewell!! I definitely didn't mean for that to happen. That is really good that the package made it home!! I am glad to hear that it did make it home. Please don't open it till Jake's birthday. I want everyone to see what is inside when it is his birthday. Luckily it is in 10 days. It is coming up. So that is cool that Bret Pickett blessed his baby! That is way exciting!! So my new area is pretty Awesome for the most part. I am definitely not used to it so this will be a good learning experience for me. I got a new companion, his name is Elder Skeen. He is from Centerville Utah. He has been out for 14 months. He is pretty quiet for the most part. He has been a good guy so far. Hey is there any chance you can send me those glasses wipes? It is really dusty here and I could use some of those. If you cant find the ones I bought they are at Walmart in the eye care center.

So Dad, I look forward to hearing about your experiences when you get back home. I hope all goes well and have a fantastic week!!

So Nate, it sounds like work is a little tough right now. I know what you mean by when you say that you are sick of the people that like to take advantage of everything. I have run into so many people that complain way too much. They are hard to teach the gospel too but so far I havent run into anything other than that. I hope all goes well and enjoy your week!!

So Jake, Please (you are going to hate what i have to say) dont open your package until your birthday. You are only 10 days away almost from your birthday. I hope football camp went well for you and I hope that you have a great week this week. Tell the Golders I said hi and be safe.

So Josh, I hope scout camp goes well for you this week and be safe! I look forward to hearing about your experiences.

So Alex, That is really good that you are enjoying your lessons. Enjoy your last week of summer break and have a wonderful week!

Im sorry this email is so short, I only had a small amount of time this week so I will hopefully send a bigger email next week. I love you all and I hope you all enjoy your week!

- Elder Parks

Hello Everyone!!

So this last week my back has been much much better!! I think i slept on it wrong because it Really hurt last Saturday and Sunday. But ever since I took Ibuprofen on Monday last week everything has been really good. Today I am feeling really good and everything is going well!! This last Friday I found out that I am being transferred tomorrow. So starting tomorrow I will be serving in a new area. I will find out where I am going tomorrow after our transfer meeting. It will be exciting to find out where I am going to go. I will let you all know next Monday where I am going.

So Mom, so far I haven't had any back problems this week after I took some Ibuprofen last Monday. I think it may have been because i may have slept on it wrong or It may have been because of my backpack. I'm not sure why it hurt so bad but now i am doing well and things here are going great. Unfortunately I didn't get to see any new people get baptized but that's ok because in my next area I will probably get to see that happen. So my mailing address is still the same because the address that you send mail and packages to is the address  to the mission office. That is where we pick up all of our mail. That is Awesome that you took the tops off the Jeep! I look forward to doing that when I get home. I cant believe that I am so close to my 6 month mark! Time goes way too fast! That is Awesome that the Brigham city temple is almost done! I remember when the Oquirrth Mountain Temple had its open house! That was so great to be part of!

So Dad, Things here are going really good! I am really enjoying it here in South Africa! Things get a little crazy once in a while but other than that everything is good! That is Awesome that you and Mom are planning a Hawaii trip soon!! That will be so great! Everything is going well! My back isnt hurting anymore so im not sure why it was hurting so bad. I was close to having to go to the doctor here and I definately am happy that I didnt have to go. I really dont want to ever go to the doctors here if I dont have to. So far I have been pretty good about not being homesick for the most part. Haha but it does creep up on me once in a while. I will start comparing things to home and then it will hit me a little bit but I usually get back to work and things go back to normal. So far teaching people here in South Africa has been great because they all really enjoy hearing about our messages all the time. I love teaching the gospel to the people here! The joy it brings into their lives is so great! My testimony has grown big time since I started teaching in the field.

So Nate, That is crazy that the new girl at your work sold Tobacco to a minor at work! That is definately not good!! Did she do it on purpose or was it an accident? Im sure it was and accident. So how is the new car treating you so far? It sounds like it was a little messy but a little deep cleaning will fix that real quickly. Bye the way is the car an all wheel drive or is it a two wheel drive?? That is so great that you are enjoying your new car! I hope work goes well for you and I hope everything else goes well for you all!! I cant believe that I am almost to my 6 month mark!! Time goes way too fast!!

So Jake, That is really good that the Golder's dog is doing better. That is really good that they didnt have to put it down! You will have to tell Dewayne Happy Birthday for me!! It is a little late but please tell him anyway! Tell the Golder family hi for me as well!! I hope football camp goes well for you and be safe and stay hydrated!!! Have a great week and I look forward to hearing about your football camp experience!!

So Josh, It sounds like was an ok week. I hope all is going well for you and I hope that you all are enjoying the summer while it lasts! That is crazy that a firework went off at the house!! I hope all goes well this next week and I hope you enjoy this next week!! 

So Alex, That is great that you are enjoying swimming lessons!! I remember when I took swimming lessons at Kearns! That was way fun! I hope that you continue to enjoy the lessons and make sure you be safe! Have a good time at Cub Country! Enjoy your week!!

I found out that my friend Austin just got a temporary mission call while his real call comes in!! He is the one I was telling you about how his papers got denied because of OCD or something like that. He is going to receive his call soon!! I look forward to hearing where he is going to go! I hope you all have a wonderful week and I love you all!!

- Elder Parks

Hello Everyone!!!

This week has been ok for the most part. I am excited for this area though because things are picking up and I look forward to seeing what will happen for those who are almost ready for baptism. So far things here are going great so far and I am enjoying my experience! The only bad part of my week has been the horrible back pain I have been having lately!! It started a couple of days ago and luckily it has gone away. Thank you so much for sending the Ibuprofen with me!! It has helped me so much so far!! So I will find out this Saturday if I am being transferred to a new area or not so I will have to see what happens. I will let you know what happens next Monday when I go emailing. 

So Mom, its good to hear that things are going well! I am so jealous that the raspberries are almost ready! They dont have raspberries here but they have raspberry jam which is ok. Its not as good as yours though. So it sounds like work has been crazy! That is crazy that all those fires are going on!! That is really cool though that the Governor of Utah sent a letter to the church asking them to ask all the members to pray for the people in Utah. I really like it that he supports the church enough to ask for their help, more importantly the Lord's help. Its crazy that the 4th of July is here already!!! It came so fast!! I know my companion and I are going to grill steaks for the 4th of July since we are both from the USA. I really look forward to it as well! I hope everything is going well at home! It sounds like things are starting to calm down and everyone is getting busy. For Alex to play water polo is pretty cool though! I think he might like that a lot!  He just needs to be careful and he will love it!! 

So Dad, that is crazy that their is so much fires going on everywhere!! I hope things get better for the season or everything will catch on fire. So that is really cool that the Governor of Utah sent a letter to the church asking for the members to pray for those who lost their homes! That is way cool for him to do!! So it sounds like nate got a new car!!! That is way Awesome!!! I would imagine that it will last him a long time if it gets 60 MPG!! That is way Awesome!!! So it sounds like the week has been kinda slow! Well at least the 4th of July is coming up!! I cant believe that it came up so fast!! That is way Awesome!! Me and my companion are going to grill steaks that night to celebrate because  we are both from the US.

So Nate, Its Awesome that you got a new car!! It sounds like the car that you got is a nice car!!! I looked up what it looks like on KSL and it looks Awesome!! You will love that car!!

So Jake, I hope all goes well with the Golders. I hope they have a safe trip to Washington and I hope they have fun! I am sending you a birthday package soon and candy for everyone as well today. I hope you have a good time at football camp and have a good week!

So Josh, Sounds like things there are getting a little crazy! That is crazy that those things happened to Grandma and Grandpa! Things here are going well and I am enjoying it here so far! Things here are pretty dry as well but not as hot. It is in the 70's right now but its not too bad.

So Alex, I hope you have a good week and its too bad that the Golders have to put down their dog! That is Awesome that you are off track! I hope things go well for you at home!

Im sorry this Email is so short but I have run out of time and am going overtime right now. I hope you all have a great week and I love you all!! Be safe!

- Elder Parks

Hello everyone!!!

So it sounds like this last week has been really good! Yes Jake i am jealous that I wasnt able to go but I will hopefully see a lion or a giraffe soon. Sounds like things back at home are going really well. My experiences here are Awesome so far. We have been teaching more and more people lately and have been busy preparing them for baptism for the coming month. People here are hard to get to baptism because they dont keep commitments very well. We are working hard and are hoping that we will have baptisms soon. My old companion was transferred to a place called Thembiso. My new companion's name is Elder Foote. He got transferred here from a place called SunnySide. It is near South Africa's capital, Pretoria. He just turned 21 and He has been out for a year not to long ago. He is from Reno, Nevada. He has been an Awesome companion so far!! So I will be transferred July 10 or August 21. They dont tell us when we are leaving until the Saturday before transfer day. We then have a transfer meeting and after that they tell us where we are going. I will probably be leaving next month or in August. We will have to see.

So mom, Thank you again for your package!! I used the baking soda and the brown sugar and chocolate chips and was able to make Awesome Chocolate chip cookies!!!! Thank you so much!! So it sounds like Yellowstone was really good!! Its good to hear that everyone had fun! I hope you all enjoyed the chocolate!! Its good to hear that the package made it home!! Oh hey when you get the chance this next Sunday will you ask brother Harris and Brother Ames and ask them if they got their letters??? I dont know if they made it home or not. That is Awesome that Grandma and Grandpa went on a cruise to Alaska!! The temperature here is in the high 50's  and the low 60's. This last week it has been close to the 70's. So far it hasnt been to bad. I was told by the members that it gets a lot colder than that though so we will see.

So dad, Its good to hear that Yellowstone went well!!! That is Awesome that you guys saw some bears!!! I still havent seen any cool animals yet but I will let you know as soon as I do! So how was Fathers day?? Its good to hear that you got my card. I found that card in the store here and I thought that would be an Awesome card to send home. So how is the sprinkler situation??? is it better or is the neighbors tree tearing it apart? I hope things will get better there. So i was thinking of sending Grandpa Parks a missionary name tag saying Elder Parks. I dont know if he still has his or not. I asked Grandma if he still had his still so we will have to see.

Nate, That is AWESOME that Dwayne offered you that job!!!!!! That is a really good job! That is crazy that you are already going to college!!! Beware of Humanities!!! You have to think a lot! Unfortunately it is required for the Associates degree so work hard and you will do fine! If you want to register to Institute you need to go to the bishop and ask him how to register. He will help you with that. Work hard and everything will fall into place! That is one thing I have learned here on my mission.

Jake, I am glad that you enjoyed the chocolate!! I will do my best to send a surprise home next month for your birthday. I am going to try to send everyone something but i need to wait until everything mellows out again so I can send another package. You will have to let me know how Erica and Austin liked EFY. I can probably relate some of my EFY experiences to theirs. I hope everything is going well at home and tell the Golders hi for me.

Josh, Its good to hear that everything went well going to Yellowstone! Sounds like you all got eaten alive by mosquitoes! Thats not good. Time flies by so fast! I have been out for 4 months now! By the way my old companion went to a place called Thembiso. My new companion came from a place called Sunny Side. Work hard and have a great week!

Alex, Its good to hear that Yellowstone went well!!! I hope that the swimming lessons will go well!! I remember when I took swimming lessons! They were pretty fun! Im glad that you enjoyed the chocolate! Have a great week and Work hard!

I love you all very much and I hope you all have wonderful week! I look forward to hearing from you all next Monday! 

- Elder Parks

Hello everyone!!

Sounds like everything is going well back at home. Sounds like Nate's Graduation was great!! That is Awesome that you guys took the top and the doors off the Jeep! I am so Jealous! I miss going on Vacation so badly!! But other than that things here in South Africa are going pretty good! This last week has been really crazy! I got a new companion on Thursday. His name is Elder Foote. He is from Reno, Nevada. He is a really cool guy and I really look forward to serving with him her in Carletonville. I only have till July 10 or August 21 until I move to another area. Time is going so fast!! Thank you by the way for the recipes mom!!! I look forward to making them. Im not sure if i got your package yet because I havent been to our office yet. I hope that I will be able to go there soon! I will let you know as soon as I can when i get the package. I am going to send a package home with some goodies in it as well as a card for dad on Father's Day. I hope that you will get it next week or the week after. 

So mom thank you so much for the enchilada recipe!! I really look forward to making those!! I also look forward to making the peanut butter bars as well!! Is there any chance you can send me one more recipe?? I really want to make some banana bread but im not sure how to make it. So it sounds like Nates graduation went well until all of his friends went home with their families. Thats too bad that he ended up going home by himself. But other than that it sounds like his senior trip will be fun! I am also jealous that he gets to go to Lake Powell!! Tell him to be careful and not to hot dog around! I know that he will have fund and things will go well. 

Dad, I am sending some goods home for everyone and a card for you for Father's day! I hope the package will arrive next week or the week after! I am sending it today so hopefully it wont take to long. So how is my memorial garden going so far? I thought it was funny that me and Nate have our own gardens! I love it that we both have one! So Darrel came home last week?!? That is Awesome!! I cant believe that he is already home! Time is going so fast! I am almost done with my first area. I only have 6 to 11 weeks left of this area! I have no idea when i am going but i know that it is soon because you only stay in an area for about 4 1/2 to 6 months. I am coming up on my 4 month mark so I will have to see where and when they send me. 

Nate, CONGRATULATIONS!!!!! You are now a High School Graduate!! That is Awesome!! So it sounds like graduation was good! That is way funny that a beach ball was going around when Hicks was talking. I could totally see someone doing that during graduation. I really wish i would have gone to the graduation party though! I missed it because i had to work when they hosted one for us. Its good to hear that it was fun though! So i laughed so hard when you told me about Craig and what you did to him!!! I couldnt stop laughing!! I could totally see you doing that! That is Awesome!! By the way is there any chance you can do me a favor? Can you log on to my Facebook and update it? I dont want Facebook closing my account because of inactivity. The user name is ColbyParks@msn.com and the password is parksmonster18. Please dont reply to any messages that come into the box because I have no idea what may end up in there. If you will accept all friend requests that would be awesome! let me know if there is any problems and i will do it myself if i have to. Will you also look up Stacie Lyman on my facebook and tell here that I said hi and if she asks how to write me please tell here to go to dearelder.com. Have fun at Lake Powell and be safe!!! I want to find out that my brother came home in one piece and that he had a fun time on his senior trip. Enjoy Lake Powell!!

Jake, so it sounds like you had a good week with the Golders!! Its not good that you guys rolled the side by side! Its good to hear that you all are ok and that the only injury that occurred was a black eye from sun glasses. I will be sending home some goodies but it my be a little longer before I can send some rugby stuff home. I will do the best I can.

Josh, Things here are going really well. I love South Africa! The weather here right now is cold but it is still good. That is Awesome that you got good grades!!! Great Job!!! How is Sparq? Is it good? I know when I lifted weights it was tough!! Work hard and I know that you will do well!! I would imagine that Football is going to start soon. That will be fun. I will be sending home some goodies so watch for them in the mail. I am sending them off today so you will all get them next week or the week after. Have a good week!

Alex, Work hard for mom and do your chores and you may earn a points card for the Xbox. Things here are going really well. I found a real tank sitting in a park the other day. I will take a picture of it and send it to you next monday. Have a good week!

I love you all and I hope that you all have a fantastic week!! I will email you all next monday!

- Elder Parks