August 12th, 2010
Time's gone by pretty fast. I've been out here for about 9 1/2 months, and yet I remember clearly being in the MTC with the Dork Dot on my tag.
Things are going awesome with my new companion. We've got two baptisms coming up; Pablo and Yolanda. They both have a testimony of the Book of Mormon, and they both believe that Joseph Smith is the prophet of the Restoration. They are rock solid. Yolanda was investigating some time ago, but stopped for some reason (this was before I got here to this area). We finally found her and had an appointment with her. We set her for baptism and we've got some ward coordination going on. We're still working with Arlene. She's not getting any support from her parents. She has been progressing though.
My Spanish has been improving a TON. I've been speaking a lot more and I can understand a lot better too, though I'm still not 100%. It bugs me at times, but I try not to let it get to me. My companion is asking me questions on how to say things, so that keeps me on my toes. We've been talking to a lot of people too. Quite funny experiences. There was this one time where we were getting back to our apartment for the night, and we said hey to this one woman who was pressing the button for the walk signal. I believe the conversation went along the lines of this:
Me: "Hey! How are you tonight?"
Her: “ ^%$# you!"
Yep..... I'm pretty sure that's how it went. I just laughed, said okie-dokie, and went off. I don't know why people do that, but I guess she was just having a bad day.
The weather is starting to get a tiny bit cooler... not too much though - It still gets over a 100 degrees; but we've been weathering the weather. hahaha. My bike got a couple flats. There are these little things called “goat head“… a little ball with 5 or 6 long spikes that go right through.
I hope that all is going well with you, sounds like you've been pretty busy. Just remember to have fun while you work. Take care and be happy! I love you lots!!!!!!! Thanks for your love and support.
Con mucho amor,
Elder Parker

Aug 19th
Thanks for sharing that spiritual experience with me. I think it's interesting how the spirit will fill our minds with ideas while we are asleep. That happened with a mission president’s wife in Chile just before that big earthquake happened. She got the prompting that the missionaries needed to prepare for an earthquake, and so they did. When the earthquake hit, nothing happened to the missionaries.
I also had a spiritual experience: We have an investigator that talked with the bishop. The missionaries have been teaching him for quite a while. He never wanted to accept a baptismal date until recently. The bishop helped him resolve his doubts and helped him prepare for baptism. He wanted to get baptized this Saturday (Aug 21). We felt that Saturday was too soon, but we knew that he could be baptized with a little more preparation. So, my companion (the greenie that I'm training) and I knelt down and had a prayer. We prayed to know when Luis should be baptized...then we sat and listened for a while. Then the Spirit told me September 11th. I asked Elder Meiners if he was feeling any prompting from the Spirit. He said the same thing- Sept 11th. We talked with Luis about it and he agreed to prepare himself for this date. How cool huh?
So, Pablo is getting baptized this Saturday, and Yolanda and her husband are set for the 4th of September. Luis is for the 11th and we might get to baptize Arlene on the 11th. It depends on some stuff she needs to take care of.
I'm still trying to eat healthy. I'm trying to lose a little more weight and gain some more muscle mass. It's SOOOO hard to exercise in the mornings. It's not that I don't want to exercise, it's that I 'm so sleepy. The willpower isn't there.
I heard that someone broke into your van this time. Man...that really stinks. I kinda wish I could come back so I could set a trap. Wouldn't that be awesome? Catch them and then call the cops. bahahahahahahahh............... ok. I'll go ahead and close before my imagination runs too wild. I love you guys!
I love you lotz!!!!
con mucho amor,
Elder Parker

Aug 26
Don’t worry about the flats, I can take care of them. The bike is still so AWESOME. It rides really smooth. I named her “Diamante” (Spanish for Diamond - the bike is a Diamondback brand)
We baptized Pablo last Saturday. It was my companion's first baptism. I confirmed him the following day. He is quite a strong convert. When we first met him (he had already been taught two or three times by other missionaries), I asked him if he had a testimony of Joseph Smith as a prophet and if he believed the Book of Mormon was true. He said yes to both of them. As we taught him the rest of the Doctrine of the church and the commandments required for baptism, he accepted everything we taught as truth. Having a testimony of the restoration and the Book of Mormon really helps one understand and gain a testimony of everything else.
I've been reading “Jesus the Christ” during personal study lately, and I've begun to have a better understand of how Christ worked. He really took His calling seriously. It made me think of how I need to take MY calling seriously too, since I am His representative in this area. I also noticed how he had a perfect balance between boldness and softness in His teaching. I also learned something in the temple today: Service is an eternal principal. Heavenly Father did so much for us... He created the world, gave us a Savior, to create the plan, and STILL He works to serve us and to help us. No wonder He wants us to learn how to serve others. There's no way we can be like Him if we don’t know how to serve.
Thanks for teaching me how to work hard. It's really been helping me out here in the mission. I love you!
con mucho amor,
Elder Parker

Sept 2
Sorry that the emails are getting shorter. It is hard though like you said, I do have a lot of emails to write.
The mission is getting even better! The transfer is almost over, and we still have 3 more baptisms to do. Luis (our baptism for next week) has a problem with smoking, and is trying harder than ever to quit. If you wouldn't mind, could you remember him in your prayers? He'd greatly appreciate it. So, we have two people getting baptized on this Saturday and one more next Saturday. If there's one thing I’ve learned while serving here, it was patience. I can see how work is always worth the effort, even though you don't see the blessing come immediately. They do always come, but only in the Lord's time. I did feel like giving up on a couple of investigators, and I really did want to leave this particular area for a while. But now, I see the fruits of my labor. It's kinda like Abinadi; he actually had no idea that he had touched the heart of Alma, and he died not knowing of the "small" success that he had. But what did Alma do? He ended up raising a whole nation to the Gospel, and gave birth to some of the world's greatest missionaries, who in turn, converted nations of Godless people to the true Gospel of Jesus Christ.
I talked with the Bike guy in the stake, and he said that my problem could have been was that my tires were under inflated. I've only been putting in 40 pounds in my tires, but my I'm actually supposed to put in 65 pounds. No wonder I've been having problems… duh. hahaha
I did thank Anna already for the camera she‘s sending. I have such cool sisters…but they get it from you Mom. BTW Mom, your way of teaching is actually how missionaries teach. We always ask questions because it gets people to teach themselves. Christ asked TONS of questions. You are following the Savior's example as a Master Teacher. You are amazing- don't ever let anyone tell you otherwise.
I didn't read the email from Jotty yet, but I'll get to it after this. From the looks of it, if Jotty continues to prepare, he will be a better missionary than I am before he leaves on his mission. As for my mission, thanks for your prayers and love.
I'll write you first next week so that you'll get a bigger email, ok?
I can't think of anything for my birthday right now. Lemme get back to you on that one next week. Take care and be happy!! I love you all!
con mucho amor,
Elder Miles Parker