WEEK 5 MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

MERRY CHRISTMAS friends! 


    CHRISTMAS is in 5 DAYS! Can you belive it?! The weeks goes by so fast! I feel like I blink and it's Pday again. This week was absolutely CRAZY busy. We started with exchanges! I was able to be with the one and only sister Neilson! She is one of the most happy, bright and energetic souls I have ever met! When I say energetic I mean ENERGETIC! She is so positive, optimistic and never stops talking (some may same I never stop talking either so I guess it's fitting). In a short 24 hours I learned so many amazing things from Sister Neilson! She is truly an amazing missionary! 


     There is a sweet old lady we "teach" named Margie. The first time I went over there, before she opened the door, I could smell essential oils. The dress I wore the first time meeting her STILL smells like a mix of oils. Missionaries have been working with her for a little over a year. She calls herself a missionary too ahaha. We always have a lesson planned but she doesn't seem to like it when we teach her. She likes to teach us instead which usually ends in a Bible bash! She gets pretty intense and is very passionate about the Bible! As she is very passionately talking about the Bible she has this slur. This slur and passionate talking always ends with her spitting as she talks...lol! Margie takes what she likes from every religion and makes her own. She relates everything back to Ephesians 6. She thinks that our names are God's gifts to us and that if we don't have a good meaning behind our name are parents weren't thinking straight...thankfully my names Grace so we haven't had an issue. Everytime I see her she asks me if I am living by my name. She made me a "business card" with my name on it and the definition for Christmas. Margie is a crazy lady to say the least but I love her. We helped her decorate for Christmas and she gave us cute ornaments. 


    We had Zone Conference in Roseburg on Wednesday! We were able to travel 2 hours to be with other amazing OEM missionaries. As we were driving we got to see a little bit of snow! I would be lying if I said it wasn't one of the highlight of my week. It brought back a piece of home. Zone Conference was incredible. I love my mission leaders and the incredible OEM missionaries.


    Oregon is FULL of very interesting people...as a lot of you probably know. We have a friend named Jonathan! He's 30 years old and I like to think of him as a mix of a hippie and a gangster. We have a cool handshake and he calls me his "playaplaya, sister from another mister". Out of all the crazy people I think he is close to the top. We meet him at a park to talk. He talks so much...I think I get about 10 words in every time I see him. He rambles on about his addictions and issues in life. This week I learned more about drugs in 45 minutes of talking to him that I had in my entire life. I heard drug names I had never heard of and all about how they affect you. In the middle of talking he pulls out a bag of weed and started rolling a joint. He said he wants to offer us weed but wouldn't of out of respect. He said he's going to find a gift for us that's "as good as weed but not Mormon approved"...we will see what that means. Jonathan is struggling with a heroine addiction. We may not get to teach him much but this week he said something along the lines of "I try each day to be a little better. I am not perfect but I'm striving for it. You friends are what keeps me going. I may be alone and only a few days clean but you help me keep going." It was that moment I realized our purpose may not be to teach him all the lessons but to be there for him and minister in a different way. I see so much potential with Jonathan! One day he will surely overcome his addictions. 


     We had our amazing friend Brenda's baptism on Saturday! She is one heck of a lady! Here is a little back story on Brenda. Her son Brandon referred her to the missionaries about 6 months ago. At the time Brandon wasn't an active member. He had been baptized when he was ten by his uncle (while Brenda was in prison) but went inactive a few years later. Brandon saw his mom struggling in life. He knew she was lost and knew that the church could really help her so he referred her. This journey has been amazing for the both of them! Brandon overheard Brenda being taught and it began to spark his interest again. A few weeks ago Brandon started coming to church with Brenda! He said he had a feeling he was the one who needed to baptize his mom. He met with the bishop and was able to baptized his mom!  Brandon is now coming to church regularly and wants to change. He wants to change so much that he applied for a job in Utah because he says that's where he can feel God's love the most. He calls Utah the "holy land". He says "Utah has the most beautiful people...I swear I have never seen that many beautiful people in one place". I am so happy for Brandon and Brenda. Brenda can't stop saying "this is my new journey". She is full of light and love and I am so proud of her! One thing I have learned from Brenda and Brandon is that we can be in the darkest places and go through it all but the saviors grace and mercy is so magnificent. He works miracles. God's love is so powerful. He really does love ALL of his children. 


    Holy buckets sorry for the long email! Clearly I like to talk! I want to leave all of you with a short and simple scripture that I live by. Luke 1:37 "For with God nothing shall be impossible." I love this scripture. It gets me through hard days! It's short and simple enough to remember and repeat to myself. This week I challenge all of you to find a scripture that you want to live by. When challenges and doubts come to your mind read that scripture and I promise you will see blessings come from that scripture. It will give you a positive outlook and the hope you need. I'd love to hear the Scripture that you pick! Send an email or message back if you pick one.


     I LOVE AND MISS YOU ALL SO MUCH! I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas! 
♡Sister Parry


1. Exchanges with cute Sister Neilson
2. Boardwalk finding!
3. Bible bashing Margie and my new light-up ornament. 
4. Eating at SPLITZ with the sisters 
5. Playaplaya Jonathan 
6. Fixing the baptismal drain...had a leak
7. Brenda's baptism!!!
8. My sweet Brenda (she bought me flowers! How sweet is she?!)
9. Margie's Christmas gift to me








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