My Road To Conversion

Hey all

well just finished a little bit ago leadership council and my interview with Pres. Agazzani. I love that man so much. this last weekend we had a historic occurrence here in C. Oviedo and ca´aguazu. we are now one district!!!!!! the conference was incredible. we had about 500 people in attendance and we had 5 investigators come it was so amazing!!!! an area authority came (Elder DiGiovanni) he told us about all of the changes that the church is doing due to the rapid growth. they have now opened up 58 new missions and the missionary force will be around 100,000!!! with that growth they are making a new mission here. Argentina Posadas. it will take 3 main cities of our currant mission and then part of Argentina. about 67 or so of our missionaries will be going over there in July.

well. for my interview i was asked by president to turn in a spiritual experience. honestly for about 3 or 4 days i had absolutely no idea what i was going to say. i was thinking about a powerful impression of the spirit when i testified of the Book of Mormon confirming its truthfulness. I then thought about one of the feelings i got after a baptism back in ka´aguy rory. none of them seemed to fit. then i remembered the zone conference i had with Pres. Arnold. he is the old area president. i came to that conference knowing that i had to be obedient, diligent, studious, following the spirit always, planning, and many other things of a missionary. i knew it but really i didn't GET IT. i didn't know the WHY of it all. During that conference as Pres. Arnold talked of many of those things one thing really just hit me. OBEDIENCE. it was during that conference that i committed myself to work harder everyday to be a more strictly obedient missionary. we all wrote down this on our notebooks "i promise to not offend Christ ever again. I am not perfect, but i will work everyday to not offend Him." we then signed it. there i started to recognize the importance of obedience and not being selfish and doing things how i would like to do them but as God would. he then talked about a staircase that brought us to consecration (sc). it started with obedience and doing it with love. then it was sacrifice. then following was the atonement. i honestly worked for the next 4 or 5 months to be obedient to everything. i had some issues with companions but i grew. once i learned the importance of obedience i started learning about sacrifice in Sajonia and how i needed so sacrifice myself to the work. i worked for the next 6 months to sacrifice myself more to the work. then for the next 8 months i worked on applying the atonement in my life. not just repenting for my sins but truly understanding the doctrine of Christ. Faith, Repentance, Baptism, Receiving the Gift of the Holy Ghost, and Enduring to the End. as i got the WHY of missionary work and my testimony and desire grew to share the gospel i worked harder and harder to invite people to come unto Christ by having faith in Him, repenting of their sins, and being baptized in His true Church by someone holding the priesthood authority. as i did that i felt my testimony grow. I'm now on the path of Consecration and conversion and I'm going to be on it for the rest of my life, because really conversion is a long road that is going to have its ups and downs. i honestly think i have had the most down moments of my life on my mission but i have also had the most incredible moments of my life on my mission and by both i have grown. honestly there is so much to talk about and i cannot put it all into one thingamajig. (that's a word i haven't used in the while).

well for my last email sent from here in Paraguay being a set apart representative of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ i want to leave you all with the knowledge of a few things. I know that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is God's only true and living Church here on the earth. I know it because i have felt the Spirit burn in my heart and testify to me that it is true. when we go proselyting, i walk with a Book of Mormon at hand. Why? Because it is the evidence that God has restored His truth to the earth once more. I know that the Book of Mormon is true because i have felt it burn in my heart. I know that Joseph Smith is a Prophet of God and that God the Father and His Son Jesus Christ appeared to him and called him to be the prophet of the restoration and that those keys that were restored to the earth are here today and that Pres. Thomas S. Monson is Gods living prophet on the earth that holds all of those keys. I testify that through coming unto Christ by having faith in Him, repenting, and being baptized by someone holding His divine authority is the door which leads to the long, straight, and narrow path that leads to eternal life. families can be together forever. 

on my blog it says that this is "Parker's Paraguayan Adventure" i would like to change that title. Yes, it has been an adventure but it means way more to me than that and has been so much more. my mission has changed my life forever. It has truly been "My Road to Conversion".

Love you all and thank you for all that you have done for me

rohaihu

jajotopata (gotta guess what it means)

Elder Wilson

Elder Parker arrives home Thursday February 28th