Week 24: Mom email

P-day came really quick this week. It was crazy! I am staying dry. Well, as dry as I can be! We have had to go back and dry our pants haha.

Week 24: New Year!

Hello everyone! I hope all of your Christmases were great!

This week was a busy one for me, that is for sure. We in Port Angeles are now officially starting to get the hang of this place, being quaded in. Recognizing faces and stuff is really helpful for missionary work believe it or not. Our days have been full of lessons mostly, with some knocking thrown in here and there throughout the day. Having 3 companions is a lot of fun. It makes every day even more of an adventure. 

It has started raining here a lot more too. I don't know if there was a day this week I didn't wear my rain jacket. One day it rained fairly hard and we were tracting a lot that day. It was awesome. It was so cold and windy, my hood got used to the fullest haha (I could barely see out of it).

Anyways, that's all for this week.

Love

Elder Parker

Christmas day video call

Week 23: Mom email.

I can't believe it has been 5 months already! That doesn't make like any sense. I don't have any idea when I will call tomorrow. It will be at the stake president's house, which apparently has family named Parker in Mississippi, so we are going to try and see if we are related. Christmas is a non-proselyting day so we will be playing board games and watching Christmas movies haha.

 They are an awesome family! I like them a lot. Nicky is the smartest kid I know.

Week 23: Christmas!

Hello all! Merry Christmas!

This week has been a fun one! We did a lot of walking and a lot of knocking! Port Angeles is a really cool place. There are so many neighborhoods and stores and boons to go to. It is fun.

This week there was a special Christmas program here with both of the wards combined. It was crazy. The building was filled to the max! With both wards and all the visitors, I was surprised that we all fit! It was really cool with songs and the whole deal. I'm sure the one back home was great too.

Nicky, one of the kids I was teaching back in Yelm was baptized this week as well! I wasn't able to go back for it because Port Angeles and Ylem are the two opposite ends of the mission and it takes forever to drive, but I am so proud of that family. They have an awesome story and I was really happy to be a part of it.

Anyways, that's all that really happened this week. 

Till next time.

Love 

Elder Parker

Christmas Zone Conference

Week 22: Dad email

I have been staying pretty dry. That green jacket you gave me is awesome!

Dad:  Where is your companion from?  

Nathan:  Elder Robb and Thacker are both from Utah. Elder Skousen is from Arizona.

Dad:  Is Port Angeles a car area?  

Nathan:  We have a car here in PA, a minivan actually. It's kinda funny. We are so far away from the rest of the mission that us 4 and the Forks Elders all carpool down for conferences and stuff (Forks is an hour and a half away and they are like the closest bunch to us).

Dad:  On Christmas, how will we talk? Skype, What's App, etc. Let me know so I'm set up properly. I can't wait to speak with you again.

Nathan:  I believe it will be through google hangouts. We can message through it, just video call on Christmas.

Dad:  What is one new food you've learned you like on your mission?

Nathan:  Hmm. One new food I like? I have had a bunch of things I like on the mission, still not the biggest soup fan, but that's okay. Chicken Katsu is pretty good. I'll think of more.

Dad:  Thank you so much for the Christmas card. It was awesome to get one in the mail. Looks like you wrote it with your Visconti! Glad you still have it and use it :-)

Nathan:  Of course! I was happy to write one. I believe I did. I write with it all the time. In fact, it is in my pocket right now. It goes with me everywhere. It's been great to have. 

Love

Nathan

Week 22: Mom email

Hello! My address is 808 S. Chase Stree, Port Angeles, Washington. 

It was really hard to leave Yelm. The people there were really cool, but I am excited to go on a new adventure as well. It should be good. It did rain a whole lot last week. It was crazy. 

The wards are much smaller than the one in Yelm, by a lot. It was crazy. I had never seen them so small. Our apartment is pretty small. I knew you would ask so I preemptively took pictures.

 The desk in the closet where elder Rob is sitting is mine. The Book of Mormons leaning there are all ones I've collected in different languages!

I'm in 3rd Nephi as well! It's not too much further to the end! We can get there!

It is weird having 4 of us, but the amount of land we cover is crazy so it makes sense. Elder Robb trained Elder Borsky! It is fun getting to hear the stories about him being trained. He is doing really well too which is awesome.

I will be getting your package tomorrow!! When should I open it??? I am excited to see what is in it!

We went to Petco the other day and I saw a bird that looked a lot like Lloyd!

Elder Robb, Elder Thacker, Elder Slousen and I

Week 22: Port Angeles???

Hello everybody!

Crazy news. I kinda told all of you the wrong place of where I was going. I am in Port Angeles, not Port Townsend. Sorry about that.

I have been enjoying it here so far. The city here is a lot bigger than Yelm! It has a pretty big commercial center with more than like 2 stores in it! I am now covering two separate wards, Lincoln Park (yes, like the band) and Mt. Pleasant. Both wards are pretty small, but they seem like a really tight nit group which is awesome. Going to ward council and two wards does make for a long day at church though. Yesterday we were there from 7:30 in the morning until 4 in the afternoon!

It is really pretty here as well, being so close to all of the water. In the morning you can hear horns from the barges and stuff as they come in and out of the port. It is really cool, a lot different than the sounds of the military base by Yelm. Being in a quad is a lot of fun as well. Having three companions instead of 1 makes life a lot different. Every time we go knocking or anything I am with a different person! It makes for a pretty good time. The area I am in now is a lot faster pace than Yelm. There are so many people and because of it, there are more people open to learning more! It should be a good transfer. I look forward to it. All 4 of us are brand new to the area as well, so we know nobody. It makes every day an adventure because none of us know what we are doing. Ha!

There was also a really big storm here a few days ago and the whole city lost power. There were fences blown over everywhere and trees down blocking a lot of the roads. Luckily, our power came on in a day. There are still some places that don't have it! We have been doing all that we can to help out.

Anyways, that is all for this week. Till next time.

Elder Parker

Week 21: Mom email

I am staying warm. I have really warm thermal tops and bottoms I wear designed for "extreme cold" and they have been really nice. I've been okay just wearing them. It's been nice!

Welp! I'm leaving yelm! Port Townsend should be a lot different than Yelm. One of the McKenna elders is coming up there with me as well! We are going to be in a quadpanionship, meaning 4 elders in one ward. It's pretty awesome. It is going to be a lot of fun. One of the others that I am going with trained one of my MTC companions and is suppose to be really cool. It should be a good transfer.

One of the baptisms on date for December is Nicky Burnett. He is 9 years old with slight autism. He is super smart. It's amazing. His parents just barely came back into activity from not coming for 4 years. It's been great teaching them. The parents are really cool people as well. The other one is Dakota Bear. He is a priest age kid whose dad was baptized just a few years ago. He just showed up to church a few weeks ago and last week he came up to us and asked if he could be baptized! It was neat. We are gonna start teaching him soon.

If you look closely at the picture of the house with lights in the group email, you can see the neighbor's house. It says "Ditoo" on their wall haha. It is a lot better tracting during Christmas than Halloween that's for sure haha. It is nice having everything lit up plus everyone is just in a better mood. I think it's because of all the sweets everyone's eating haha.

The cards did get here! And just in time. One of my new companions is a magic player as well! Thank you so much!

I am doing my best to get packed. I will leave on Wednesday. Nicky really wants me to baptize him so I am going to see if I can get permission to come back for it. Matt is still doing good. He came to the Christmas concert. We go over to his house every Tuesday!

Love

Nathan

Week 21: Transfers!

Hello everyone!

This week was a fun one! We volunteered at the local food bank again this week which was fun. This time, however, they gave us a bunch of food (mostly French bread and cake).

We also helped a member here split a bunch of wood for a family who needed it. That was a lot of fun. We split a lot of wood and Elder Thacker broke an ax. The guy we helped split had two dogs as well. One was a doberman named "Very Bad" and a rottweiler names "Death". They were super nice! It was kinda funny.

The McKenna Elders had a baptism this week as well! I got to go to it and help set up. It was really cool. The kid they were baptizing was super excited. It's the first baptism that had happened in McKenna for a very long time. It's really cool here to see the work progressing. There should be one here next week in Yelm as well! We have two people on date for December!

Last night the church here put on a community Christmas Concert! There were a bunch of different musical groups from all the different churches in the area. It was really cool to see how important the Savior is to so many different people. It was cool to see the whole community together for one event.

It was a huge success. The church was full all the way through the cultural hall and up on the stage. It was awesome.

Also! I got my transfer call on Saturday. I am leaving Yelm and going to Port Townsend! I'm sad to be leaving Yelm and all the amazing people here but I am excited for a new adventure. It is supposed to be really pretty there and there are people from Yelm with family there!

Anyways, that's all for this week. Till next time!

Love

Elder Parker

1) us filling up the font!

2) a super decked out house!

3) me on a lawnmower

 

Last Sunday in Yelm

Here's your boy on his last Sunday in our ward. We arrived at around the same time, I think. He's been a great missionary here and will be missed. He will be in Port Townsend next, which is my Aunt's ward and my parent's stake. It is a very cool town on the water. I think he will like it there, too.

Sister Kennington

Week 20: Mom email

I should get the package you sent at Zone Conference in a few weeks. President told me Santa was going to come to deliver them! Transfers are before Christmas. They are December 12 so really soon!

There is a sickness going around here that is not fun. My companion and I have been healthy this far!

We had a bunch of miles left at the end of the month so we went to the edges of our area to knock on places rarely knocked. We found a bunch of interesting stuff. That is where those awesome signs were.

We have been sharing about #LightTheWorld. We have been giving out a bunch of special cards to go along with it as well.

I just made my first quesadilla of my mission last week! It's been a while haha. They are just super cheap and easy to make so I started making them again.

I got the pants! I'm wearing them now. They are awesome.

Love

Nathan

Week 20: December!

Hello all! This week sure was busy! We had a lot of people we had found, so we spent a lot of time going back and visiting them and setting things up with them. We also did a bunch of service helping people move! That was fun. I think I am getting better (ish) at packing a truck! We also had a bunch of really awesome lessons with people and the work here in Yelm is really starting to pick up. It's awesome! We had interviews this week as well which is always fun. I can't believe this transfer is already almost over. I feel like it just barely started. Time is starting to really fly over here. It's strange. 

A cool thing happened this week as well. We were scrolling through the list of members and my companion saw one that he thought looked familiar. We went to his house and it ended up being a brother to someone my companion taught in his last area. He invited us in and explained how he just got custody of his kids and he wanted us to come by and teach them about the gospel! We set up some appointments and are really excited to keep teaching them. It should be a really awesome experience. They are a great family.

Anyways. That's all for this week

Till next time

Love

Elder Parker

1) a little pond thingy we found on a road in the middle of nowhere

2) a funny sign

3) a funny sign (don't want to park in the stream!)