Tuesday's Pday Email

Mail is a little slow today, so I haven't gotten any messages. Today is my last pday in the MTC! It's weird how fast it's going. Tomorrow we get to be the hosts for the new missionaries, or as we like to call them, oranges (because of the orange stickers). It's all very exciting to help and talk to ripe oranges! Yes, I'm very lame... but I can't wait to get all of your letters, the mailmen haven't dropped them off yet. I need to write the Griffiths back, they were very nice by sending me a letter.

I had a very humbling experience yesterday while teaching a progressing investigator. I was doing great in the beginning, read a great scripture and asked a very good question, but after that I tried to force a message and the spirit left and my mind went blank. I couldn't think of anything to say after that. It was very weird... but my comps did a great job at taking over for me.

New Year's is almost here, are you guys doing anything to celebrate the end of the world?? How is Coree and Casey doing? What cool things did you guys get for xmas? And give Jameson a chest bump for me! :) I love all you guys and miss you a lot, and fyi, I have never sung so much in my life, mainly because I miss my old music, and Elder Harrer is a singer. Bye, and I can't wait to hear from you!

Christmas Day

Hello again! We can't call but they are letting us email you guys! I hope everything is going alright at the house, and that Casey is going to school when he's supposed to! About the missionary mail thing, I got your message, and some other elder's email too. His name is Payton Smith, funny mix up right? His friend from California sent him a message.  Today we found him sitting on the couch waiting for his comp. Elder Danner said,  "Hi Elder Smith" and I looked over to see who he was talking to as we were walking past. I saw him and was about to keep going when I stopped and asked if his name was Payton, and he said yes! So a week has gone by and we finally found him!

Classes here just keep getting better and better, and so am I. The teacher got paired with me for a practice round and the lesson was about teaching people, not lessons, and he said I did a perfect job and that it made him really accept to be baptized again! Brother Graf is an awesome teacher, he came back from his mission last July. See if Jameson knows him, he returned from Canada, Farsi speaking (Persian.) Brother Larsen is a great teacher too, and I know we got the best teachers in the building.

We just had a Christmas sacrament devotional where Elder Bednar spoke on being truly converted and rejecting the natural man inside by focusing more on your outward actions, than focusing on being inward, or selfish. I love being here and I am getting more humble everyday, if you can believe it! Me and my comps did have a few fights, where they blamed me for going too fast and not using the spirit, when I led a super good lesson and did everything right. But I knew they weren't going to budge on their opinions so I said that they were probably right and that I needed to slow down. The next lesson we did turned out horrible, and they still blamed me, but luckily sister Lyon, another class's teacher, helped us out. She had a threesome also in the field and MTC. She taught us to work together and plan before, which I tried to tell my comps when they wanted to only rely on the spirit to give them the info of what to speak. Now we are teaching great lessons again! and finally working together, and I did forgive them, in my heart, but they still believe that I go too fast...

How was your Christmas? and how is the family doing? Did Jameson get in any accidents lately? And also I get to email this Tuesday so if you would email back, and let me know if Megan sent her letter, cause I still didn't get it. My P.O. box number is 229. I don't want any mixups and have Payton get her letter.... I would laugh if it really did happen! :)

I love you guys so much! and Merry Christmas!

PS. NO MORE CANDY!! We have three drawers full of candy and we feel sick just by looking at them, but I am grateful for your concern for me and my comps! :)

Dear Mother Michele,

I just saw this email, and the one you sent through the cool missionary helper thing. I sent you guys a letter including one for you, Megan, and Jameson's flash drive which I didn't take out of his backpack because I didn't know it was in there. [Jameson gave Parker a lot of missionary hand-me-downs...backpack (actually not his missionary one but his from LDS Business College), suit that he hardly wore because it was too hot in Brazil, and suitcases that the wheels were worn off!] I totally called Casey arguing with everybody, which nobody believed me! So I would like to take this time to say.....I told you so!! :) I do love my mission and everything about it. I hope you get my letter and when you do send me an email through that website saying you got it so I know that it wasn't lost. I am learning many things and I just barely taught my district a lesson about being diligent and how to receive revelations. I hope it works because we have been having some trouble lately with staying quiet through personal study and lessons. And with Megan's letter, please give it to her and also her address, because I don't have it:) It was great hearing about Jimmer, 21 points in his first game!! Wonder if the circumstances were because of the Lord.....well, best not to dwell on that. I hope you get my letter, and if you don't by Wednesday, then I will tell you a lot more about my mission in the next email! I love you all very much and I hope you all have a merry Christmas!!! I know I will:)

PS How is Ashton doing in his relationship with Krista? :))

(E-mail received on Tuesday, December 20, 2011)

Hey Family!!

This is going to be, or is my first letter! Soon to be saved and probably even framed someday. I love you all so much! It has been great down here, a little slow because of the new schedule, it even seemed like it's already been a week. But I love my companions......yes, I said companions! I was paired in a triplet, if that makes any sense. But I love the feeling of the Spirit being with me everyday. I love my teachers and it feels like everyone I meet I have know before! It's probably because I have. I've seen many people of my past also, like Landon Layton, Zack Kitchen, Jake from Hurricane's ward, and even Taylor Foysten (a friend from Colorado), though I haven't talked to him yet. But everything is perfect down here. My companions names are Elder Danner, from Idaho, and Elder Adams from Southern California. Also there is Elder Harrer from California, but neither know Adrian (Adrian is a missionary from our ward who is serving in California and told his parents he met a soon-to-be missionary who was entering the MTC same day as Parker and was going to the Florida Tallahassee mission also.)  Tell me how you guys are doing. I want to know what is different and also what you did with my stuff:) I love you guys so much and I look forward to your letters!!:)
-Parker Smith
AKA Elder Smith
On Back: Here is Jameson's missing flash drive. I hope it wasn't too important:)

(Handwritten letter received Tuesday, Dec. 20, 2011)

Off To The MTC

 Went to visit Grandma and Grandpa Fry one last time before Parker left on his mission.

 Family picture

 The four missionaries

 On the way....crammed in the Durango.....AGAIN!!

 Group hug before leaving for the MTC

Gordon B. Hinckley Alumni Building

Almost there!!

 There were so many missionaries being dropped off!! When we pulled into the MTC a man asked what mission our missionary was headed to and then he put a sticker on our car window. We then headed down in the direction that all of the traffic guys were motioning us to go and we ended going all the way to the LAST spot....number 25! I felt sorry for the missionary who was helping him because he was stuck with the heavy suitcase that was handed down from Jameson. The bad thing about that suitcase is that Jameson DRUG it all over Brazil and the wheels were worn off. You can see the missionary trying to carry the suitcase instead of pull it on wheels! Hopefully Parker switched because Parker is pretty strappin'!!

 I didn't like the 'drop off missionary' way of doing things because it was so abrupt but I am sure all is well now that Parker has been there for a few hours. He will be a fantastic missionary!!

The beginning

Hey friends, family, and followers. I decided to write to you guys before I left on my mission. I have about three hours before I check in to the MTC. It is all so exciting! And a little bit nerve racking.... But my brothers have done this before me, and I know everything will be fine. It's going to be strange, now that I'm the one that's going to be sending home all the funny stories and great photos. I know there will be plenty, I'm sure. Thanks for checking in on me as I progress through my life changing experience, and I hope you like what my mom puts on the blog! So enjoy, and I'll see you in two years! :)