Monday, November 24, 2014 - "Gobble, Gobble" said the Rice and Beans.

I have a small story to share before I continue. A short story, or we could say, a poem I wrote.

There once was a missionary, in the DR. He wasn't looking too hard,

until he encountered a species of turkey so rare, he thought he'd give to all, so that they could share.

He loaded his gun, a beautiful color blue, and took a shot at it, "phew!"

The turkey fell to the ground, the missionary was incredibly proud.

Now as you all know, the species was rare, and its pretty obvious what he had there

was the rare RICE AND BEAN turkey, no meat, just that.

Thats what the missionary got, and gave "thanks", like a brat.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING. :)

Hopefully you'll all get the poem. Hahah If not I will decode it:

The gun is the book of mormon I carry in my hand each day.

Thanks like a brat, as in I am so sarcasticly happy for the rice and beans I will get on Thursday. Just to let you know, I made this all up on the spot, so it isn't perfect by any means. Haha!

ACTUALLY, to be honest I really do want to give thanks as Thanksgiving is coming up! There is a lot to be thankful for. But I will get to that near the end. I am really grateful for the week we had! Our investigators are coming along great! They are all reading well and are coming to church. This week we had seven investigators at church! It was MAGICAL! haha And Yeni and Nicolas, our star family we have, are starting their papers to go get married. hopefully we'll be seeing that "come to pass" soon. Also, we had one of our investigators, Yeimy, go through her baptismal interview this past Saturday. She passed, so we are looking forward to a baptism this upcoming Saturday! That will be awesome.

 We've had a pretty basic week throughout the week. Except it has been raining a lot this week, which it has been so bad that it has been holding us indoors sometimes. It stinks, but you can't work in the rain here. They call it "lluvia de gripe", or "flu rain". Stay in it too long, and you get the flu. The umbrella helps always, but when it's in "Release the Kraken, Flood the DR" mode, we don't go out until it calms down a bit. I don't know if there is a tropical climate change happening, or what, but it is fine to me! It's been cooling it down here. It's a comfortable 80 degrees, but when the rain stops, the humidity jumps to like 120%. Win a little, lose a little. haha

Now, I want to say what I am grateful for. First, I am grateful for my companion. He is awesome, and it is so fun to get to be with him and show him the ropes. He is a really awesome kid, and is always doing whats right. I am also grateful for my mission. My mission has taught me more than I would have ever known. Without my mission, I don't know where I would be right now. Who knows what would have happened to me. I am grateful for the true gospel that was restored by Joseph Smith, and I am grateful that God has allowed my family and I to have known of this gospel since birth. What a blessing it is to be a part of this gospel and to know of the truth of the Works of the Lord. I think when I am mostly grateful for is for the atonement of my Savior and Redeemer, Jesus Christ. He sacrified everything, even His own Being, so that I could be here and have the chance to go back and live again with my Father in Heaven. The atonement allows me to be perfectly clean, and I am so grateful that I can renew that sacred covenant that I made with my Father in Heaven through the participation of the Sacrament. Being baptized was one of the best decisions I could have made in my mortal life, because that was the key to all that has come after. I am grateful and I love my parents for the example they set for me, and for always being strong, worthy members of the church. I encourage you all to give thanks this Thanksgiving for all that you have, and I hope that our thanks will be able to continue throughout this Christmas season, and for the rest of our lives. The question that always comes to my mind as I pray, "What are you grateful for?"

I'd like to encourage all of you to share your testimonies of your Lord and Saviour this week. Starting this week, all missionaries throughout the world are sharing new pass along cards for the Christmas season, called "He is the Gift", or in spanish "Él es la Dádiva". We hand them out to everyone we meet and greet, to get them to know that Jesus Christ is the gift during the Christmas season. This was an inspiration from God. I invite you the same way I invite the people we teach here: To share wherever you are, using the hashtag #HeIsTheGift or by sharing that phrase with all that you meet. You could even use the hashtag in spanish, #élesladádiva. However you are able to share to someone that you meet the love you have for your brother and redeemer, Jesus Christ. :) 

I love you all so much, and I am super grateful for the love and support that you all give me. May God bless you (Que Dios les bendiga) in all that you do. :) Les quiero mucho!!!! :)

Elder Parker Weiss :)

"Did I mention we painted a house this week?"

"The little kid is one of the investigators that left this week to NY"

"Yes we are awesome and yes we are crazy. GO US!"

"Wendy's anyone?"

Us with the biggest tree ever. Merry Christmas!!! Wait, it's still Thanksgiving in the states... Woops... Starting the Christmas spirit early! :)

"Haha, It was a little windy"

Monday, November 17, 2014

In The Work Of The Lord--You know, surprisingly I will not have much to write about this week...... not much has happened that is of huge importance. We have been having normal working schedules. We seem to be walking a lot. Lots of people keep "firing" us, so we just walk around and around sometimes... But hey, more exercise! We've met some pretty cool people this week! Also some crazy ones! 

We met a guy on the street. I don't remember his name, but I do remember that he is from Spain, but he now currently lives in Kentucky. He actually began talking to us, by yelling in English, "Whoa, the Mormons are here too??" So we stopped to talk to him. He immediately said some pretty basic beliefs. He said, "So you guys have like 20 wives, right?" We began to explain, laughing inside a little bit, but he cut us off again, but with something I have never heard before.... "So wait, the people say you guys eat children. That's messed up. Do you eat children?" Hate to say it, I've never laughed at a comment from investigating people before, but I did laugh at that one. What??? Eat kids?? We kept telling him no, and no and no, but he just wouldn't believe us. He kept telling us he knows Mormons in Spain that eat kids as a regular meal. haha so ya, that was not one of our success stories. That was just some random contact we had in the street. I wish him the best in life, hopefully he'll listen to the message one day, but I believe little children would taste gross. Haha.

I am loving my time with Elder Millward. He is awesome. I can see he is learning every day. It's cool to see. And he is teaching me as well. He is always giving and is very thoughtful for the welfare of others, and it is just nice to see. I also love my house. I have to admit, Elder Mortensen is a real cool guy. He is definitely a life long friend to me. We just get each other, and he is super cool and man, he just rocks. I give his parents props for raising and amazing kid, as well as the parents of Elder Catmull and Elder Millward. They are all so cool. I have loved my time with Elder Catmull from day one. He is just a rockstar. So all together, my house rocks, and it is super fun to be their District Leader. I love them all. They are just like my children, although most of the times I act more childish and crazier than them, and I promise I won't eat them.... hahah! SO WEIRD!!!! Eating children??? I'll try to move on from that subject! haha 

So we are still working with Yeni and Nicolas to get them married. They are super into the whole thing, we are just waiting on a couple of their papers and stuff. Hopefully they'll get on that soon! Haha

IT'S CHRISTMAS TIME IN THE DR! Everywhere we go, Christmas music, Christmas trees, and all things Christmas... and I am totally okay with it! I love Christmas. But I haven't even had Thanksgiving yet... oh dear.

I'd like to share a thought. This week I was reading in 3 Nephi 11, when Christ comes and establishes the church in the Americas. That to me is such a powerful chapter. It really hit me hard and testified to me that Jesus Christ and our Heavenly Father really do love us, and care about each one of us individually. Just like in times before, they worried about all nations and people, and they continue to do that today. I know Jesus is guiding his church through the prophet. I don't doubt this church to any degree. The scriptures and all the manuals and things I have read have only testified of the things that are true, and I know our church is the only one that follows all of the teaching of Jesus Christ. I have no doubts that Joseph Smith restored the true church. The Book of Mormon is my testimony of that, because I know he didn't change a single page as he translated it. And I know that God is looking on us and sending only His best, just like he did to the Nephites when He sent His Only Begotten Son to them. I know if we turn to Heavenly Father, like we read in the Book of Mormon the Nephites did, we can be a blessed people, or a blessed person individually. I don't doubt the church, I don't deny what I know is true, and I will never deny it. I love the church. I love my Heavenly Father and my Brother, Jesus Christ. I give thanks every day for my opportunity to be on my mission. What a blessing it is for me to be a missionary. I pray for you as well. I love you all, and I will continue to wish only the best blessings upon you, and your family. May God be your strength when you are weak, and may He bless you when you are in times of need and comfort. I love you, and the Lord loves you. Haz lo justo. :)

Con amor,

Elder Weiss :)

"Our Kids"  (Trainer's and Greenies)

I think these Elder's are getting along just fine... :)

Elder's Millward, Weiss, Mortensen and Catmull

Monday, November 10, 2014

Well, to those who don't like my emails, it's that time again.... to those who like my emails, IT'S THAT TIME AGAIN!!!!!!

This week has been amazing!!! On Tuesday, I was able to meet my new companion, and my "son", Elder Millward! We had a big meeting and it was super awesome. Elder Millward is just awesome! He is from Grantsville, Utah, and he has such a big heart and is so loving and giving, and he is just a great guy. I'm super excited to be able to work with him, show him the ropes a little, and teach some spanish. 

Our week has been real busy. We've been hitting up a lot of new people that we have been contacting. We contact everywhere we go. You know how I am, I love to talk, so everywhere we go I am talking to someone. Like for example, we were pulling out some copies of photos in a photo store, and I just started talking to the workers. We were laughing a lot and I asked if they wanted to hear our message. The guy didn't live in our area, but the girl did. So I asked if we could stop by, and just yesterday, we were able to find her and contact her. What went from a woman I talked to as she was making copies of my photos, she is now a new investigator, and a strong one too! We have already asked her if she finds out what we teach is true, if she will be baptized, and she said
" OF COURSE!" We see big potential in her, and we see it in like 6 other people we found this week, including a couple of people that randomly had shown up to the church. The Lord prepares these people in all sorts of marvelous ways.

Yeni and Nicolas, our star investigators are getting their papers together for their marriage. They both shared their testimonies this week with us that they know the church is true and that they are willing to make sacrifices to follow God. They really strengthened my testimony. They are really poor, and they have an autistic kid that they really can't control, yet regardless, they always walk to church, which takes them about 30 minutes, and they sit in and soak up as much as they can, even with two kids. They do everything they can to follow the Savior. That to me is faith. I am so honored to see that, and to be a part of that. 

A cool story this week: We watched another child of God be baptized this week! His name is Wellington! Elder Catmull and Elder Mortensen were teaching him! He got baptized at 12 on Saturday. Why so early? Because the ward was leaving to go to the temple at 2 that day! So we did it so everyone could come! Then after the baptism (pictures to come of that), the bishop called us upstairs to his office, and said to us that he had called our Mission President, and the President had granted us, as missionaries, to go to the temple with the ward. I was stunned! And I think I almost tinkled myself! I got to go to the temple!!! So we all hopped in a big bus that they had, but there was no room inside for me, so I got to do something awesome, and 100% Dominican. I got to hang out the door the whole way to the temple!! (Pictures to come of that too!) It was awesome! And when we got to the temple, we didn't do a session, we went and did baptisms and confirmations, so I was finally able to see the baptismal font of this temple! It was BEAUTIFUL. Stunning, and I never wanted to leave. However, missionaries are not allowed to do baptisms, so instead, I got to do confirmations... but when I say do, I mean the temple workers made me do the actually confirmation, as if I was a temple worker, and it was all in Spanish. So I was able to confirm over 100 people in the spirit world that day as a member, and I gave them, by the power of the priesthood, the Holy Ghost. It was a neat and forever amazing experience I will never forget. What a special testimony to me. I love the temple. However, funny part to the story, as we got out of the temple, our bus, and all the members, had left. So us four missionaries were stranded. But we were able to go to the CCM (MTC) and say hi to all of our old teachers, and our MTC President! That was amazing and something I wanted to do for a long time! They were all so shocked to hear I could speak Spanish, and how good it was! After visiting for a bit, we went to McDonald's to eat, then took the subway, and made it home. Amazing way to end an amazing week, and I think it was an amazing way to start a mission for my new companion. I hope he loves the mission, because it's the best two years ever!!!! Although his Spanish isn't great, I can feel his true love for the gospel, and his testimony is such a powerful thing, even in broken Spanish. His Spanish is constantly getting better. It's just neat to see his whole process, and he is teaching me as well. 

I would like to give some quotes, that I call the Elder Weiss quotes, or just things I say:

"Everything can be a challenge, but it will never become impossible."

"I have only one focus, and that is to make sure that everyone can feel the happiness that the gospel can bring, the exact same way that I feel it."

"Sister, by any chance, is there anything other than rice and beans that we can eat?" hahahaha

"Don't let anyone change you, unless that person is God."

"We must make the choice today to be able to be better tomorrow."

"Scriptures are just like food, you indulge some days, and other days, you aren't that hungry. But either way, you must eat, and you will end up feeling satisfied."

that is all I got... sorry if they suck. I will try harder next time. Haha

I love training! It is super fun and we are doing hard work! Prepare yourselves for a week of tons of photos! haha Love you all! I pray for you always. :)

Con amor,

Elder Weiss

Mother's Note: I told Parker that we have a picture of him on the fridge and we have started adding quote bubbles to his picture of things he's said. So I asked him to give me some more quotes that we can add each week and that's why he gave these quotes to us. :)

Picture of Wellington's Baptism on Saturday.

"Me hanging out of the guagua (bus) on the way to the Temple on Saturday!!!

"COOLEST PICTURE EVER!!"  

"Us in front of the Temple."

"It was raining a smidge."

Halloween costume

"Did I mention, we found donuts?"

Trick or Treating with Elder Mortensen

"My son, Elder Millward!!!"

President and Sister Nuckols with Elder Weiss and Millward

Monday, November 3, 2014

Can you believe it? We are already in November!!!! How nuts! Time is going by way to quickly! What a week it has been!

You know, I have really noticed some real desire but some investigators lately that we have that they truly want to know if the things we teach are true. For example, Yeni and Nicolas have started preparing their papers so that they can get married. As they were doing so, they came to us for help, and asked us if we were able to help. In a time of great need, they ask us to help, and we promised as they prepare to follow the commandments, the Lord will provide a way. I'm planning on helping a small bit so that they will be able to get married. The mission is also planning on making some donations. But I see a true desire in them. They were at church this week which was awesome. Since we've been teaching them, they haven't missed a time in church!

Ana Peña is a less active member we have. I felt a grand urge a couple of weeks ago to give her a little talking too, as I explained before, just telling her to come to church. I also felt the urge to give her daughter, Cheri, a baptismal date that same day. That was three weeks ago. I see them in church every week now. The spirit did something that day, because they are there early every week, on time. From being inactive to now coming every week is incredible. AND Cheri is the same age as Sydney, 15. She now loves the church and always talks about the friends she is making there every week. That to me was a miracle. Elder Rosado, my companion, tells me that they would have never came to church before, but now he sees a great change in them. They are new. Ana Peña only needs to get married, and she is once again a reactive member, and I am so excited to see that. We gave her and her boyfriend a Law of Chastity pamphlet to read together. Looks like another bold speaking will be coming on Wednesday. ;)

On Saturday we had the churches day of service here in the DR. My ward was not prepared at all. They told us to be at the church at 8 in the morning to eat breakfast really quick and then we would head ourt and go and paint a house and guess what happened??? When we got there, we waited and waited until 9 for the bishop to show up and then, at 11 we were out of the church. We, as missionaries, only could paint for 20 minutes at that point, so that we had time to go home and cook before going to work. So it ended up being a bust. Hopefully it went well?? They say it looks good but I am unsure..... But whatever!!

Now to go back to Friday. HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!! The work day was weird, but only at night. I was expecting to see trick or treaters knocking on doors, but then I realized that most people here don't celebrate this holiday here... I felt a bit uncomfortable to be honest. Something was missing! So when we got home, the kids next door are members, and they were all dressed up to celebrate Halloween, and we had bought some candy. Yes, I did go trick or treat my own house. But with the leftover candy, we invited the little kids to trick or treat at our house, and they freaked out! They flew up to the third floor, our house, and had their first trick or treating experience. You should have seen the looks on their faces as they received free candy. That is what made this holiday worth it to me. So a "Happy Halloween???" turned into a very "Happy Halloween." I have found the true meaning of halloween! GO ME! I'll send pictures of all that in a second.

Now there is something I left out last week... I forgot to mention transfers were this week..... Let me just say, something happened that I wasn't expecting. Saturday, after we painted that house for 20 minutes, I was cooking, and I got a call from my Mission President. He told me that he has big plans for me, then began interviewing me. After a 10 minute phone interview, he announced that I will become a trainer and I will be training starting Tuesday, or basically tomorrow! So that means that I will be getting a new missionary to teach the ropes. President told me that my Spanish is outstanding for my time in the mission and that I will be a great "Father", which is what you are called when you train a new missionary. So I am getting my first "kid" in the mission. Kid, meaning a new missionary! His name is Elder Millward. I don't know anything about him yet, but I know he is brand new. I will meet him tomorrow! So Elder Catmull and I are training together! That means, its a house full of americans! My first in the mission! I am super excited, and I am sure I will have lots more to write about now. Training will rock! Sadly my time with Elder Rosado ends. But he'll be close by, so we'll see each other often! Anyways, that has been the week! I love and pray for you all! Keep following the Lord in all that you do. His path is the best path!

Disfruten mucho cuando llega la nieve. Hace mucho frío! 

Elder Weiss :)

Our "scary" Halloween costumes. :)

We had Trick or Treaters!!!

Monday, October 27, 2014 (Celebrated HUUUMMMP DAY!!!!)

HUMP DAAAAAAAAAAAAYYYYYY!!! THE BIG ONE YEAR!!!!!!!!
I am freaking out.... there is no way a year can go by so quickly.... and we did so much to do, we had little to no celebrating on Thursday, but nothing like celebrating by doing the Lords work! But seriously, prepare yourself.... This email will be big....

Tuesday bright and early in the morning we had an awesome opportunity to serve a member because she was moving to a new home! It was a church thing, just like at home. The bishop asked everyone Sunday to come, and we wanted to help.... WELL, when we got to the house, we were the only ones there. Just us, and the sister who was moving. Then one of the counselors to the bishop showed up.... and that was it. So us five carried EVERYTHING. The boxes, the fridge, the stove, and we put it into a truck that they bought for 50 dollars, which is a lot of money to these people. They had 3 workers. There job is titled "movers" and they didn't even move their own bodies, let alone any boxes. We even loaded the truck for them. So I got mad about that, but I am happy to serve. Then, we walked to the new house, like 10 minutes away, and learned that she is moving into the top floor of an apartment building....four stories up....with winding stairs. And guess what? In the DR, there is no luxury of an elevator. So that heavy stove, heavy fridge, heavy EVERYTHING we carried up so much stairs... back and forth. We were exhausted.... and once again the movers did nothing..... They just sat at the bottom drinking beer. They paid them 50 dollars, when all they did was drive for 5 minutes..... I was upset about that.... Robbers.... But I was happy to serve.

Wednesday, we were suppose to have an exchange, but our Zone Leaders weren't able to do it. SO we worked normally throughout the day. Remember that perfect family I told you about? Nicolas and Yeni? They are still awesome and are progressing super well. They always read, and always do what they say they'll do. It's kinda strange, whenever we talk to them, I just see them in white clothes... but it isn't baptismal clothes. The Lord has big plans for them, and I am grateful to see it all go down!

THE BIG YEAR MARK. THURSDAY!!!!! Wow.... It rocked.... Let me tell you why.... Elder Catmull and Elder Mortensen have an in with our new doctor of the mission, because when Elder Mortensen started the mission, he was super sick. So they got to get to know the doctor and his wife really well. They invited them to eat with them sometime, so like on Tuesday, Elder Catmull called and asked what they were doing Thursday (this day). They said they were free to go out and eat for breakfast, and they wanted to go to the BRAND NEW DENNY's that just barely opened here! The only Denny's in the DR. They told Elder Catmull to bring the whole house as well! So in the morning on Thursday, to start an amazing year mark, we all ate a Denny's breakfast with the doctor and his wife, Doctor Reagan and Sister Reagan. They told us they were paying for everything, and they wanted us to eat a lot. So I got Pumpkin Pancakes, Gingerbread French Toast, Hash Browns, Sausage, Eggs, and Chocolate milk. Let me tell you.... Denny's is now a 5 star restaurant in my eyes.... oh goodness. In total, for us 6 it was 5000 pesos, or about 120 dollars, which is a whole Apoyo (Money we receive as missionaries) for half a month, and the doctor paid for it all. He is the best. And they said they wanted to take us to Applebee's next month..... Oh man..... As for the rest of the day, it was normal! We walked and talked, and had every appointment with a member!!!! The spirit was so strong! I was on a spiritual high. But to think, a year ago this day, I couldn't even say hola correctly, and now, I speak fluent Spanish... incredible.

Friday was really basic, other than in the morning, we painted an entire patio of one of our investigators! It took two and a half hours, but it was a 70 year old man who needed the help. I loved helping him. It's been a service week! But get this, the sister we helped move in on Tuesday invited us to dinner. All it was was eggs... and juice.... so like a snack before dinner... but I was grateful either way! The only protein we get out here comes from eggs really, because rice and beans ain't cutting it!

Saturday was nuts! In the morning, some members came to our house in the morning to tell us there was a baptism in an hour that wasn't planned or announced and that we needed to get everything ready. So we jumped up and helped with a member baptism in the morning! I'll explain why it was in the morning in a second! But the baptism was great! There were some Americans that were there. An american married a Dominican, and they all speak English and they've lived in Washington their whole life, but now they live here, and they were actually the ones that built our house, so it was cool to meet them!!! They also invited us to go to their house in another area on Thanksgiving, so we can actually kinda have a thanksgiving! HALLELUJAH! hahaha Oh, but the baptism was in the morning, because it was Stake Conference weekend here, and everyone had to be at the Adult session from 5- 7 that afternoon. And boy did that session rock! Elder David Evans from the seventy came and spoke but didn't know Spanish, so him and his wife were both translated by some teachers of English. I understood both languages. :) 

Sunday we finished the Stake Conference. It was amazing. Elder Evans talked about why missionary ages have changed. He said, "its not because boys are better and get to leave early for that. I was there when they made the decision. President Monson's intent is that the boys and the girls that leave on their missions at age 18 and 19 will be able to come back home about the same time, date, and get married. He wasn't thinking about your leaving date, he was thinking about you coming home." Ya, so that freaked me out. Hahaha Didn't know that but it made sense. Oh, but get this.... Hato Nuevo is in this stake, so when all was said and done, I was able to see everyone from Hato Nuevo that I missed and loved! They all remembered me, and freaked out and how I was able to speak Spanish now! It was a good feeling, and they all welcomed me back at any time to visit! The bishop said he misses the hard work I did with my companions out there. Made me feel special! 

Today I played basketball at my church with a bunch of missionaries from our zone, and it rocked. And later tonight, we are going over to a sister's house to make pizza with her!! should be fun! A great week! Nothing better than doing lots of service for the wonderful people of the DR! :)

Now I know its been a year, so I want to tell you the changes I see in myself... Some of you say I look more grown up. I just see that I have to shave my beard every day now. Some of you say I look skinny. I just see that I walk everywhere and eat beans and rice.... Some of you say I sound more mature. I just see people laughing as I crack a joke before the lesson. In reality, on the outside, I see the same Elder Weiss. But on the inside, I am 100% new. I now know the truthfulness of the gospel. I feel God's love in my life, and I strive every day to please him. I love reading. I don't try to act like someone who I'm not. But most importantly, I understand who my perfect brother, Jesus Christ  is, and what He has done for me. His atonement has saved me, and I cherish that blessing every day. I know he suffered for me. He knows who I am. He leads His church. He has a living prophet today, who guides us. He did restore His true church with a perfect gospel through Joseph Smith, who was also a remarkable man. This gospel is true. I didn't know that before. I didn't have my spiritual eyes open, to see the plainness of that before my mission. The mission has changed me, matured me spiritually, and has been the best decision I have ever made in my life. I'd like to thank all of you that support me, for always having my back. I especially thank mom and dad, for being there throughout my life and guiding me on the right path, when I was so close to giving up, you helped me get back on my feet, and keep walking the straight and narrow path. I want to make this next year an amazing year. I will work hard, and I know the Lord will help me in my goals, because He knows me personally. I love you all, I pray for you all! I know all of you have changed in a year, but I know it is for the better. Keep turning to the Lord in all things. He knows you personally. :)

Con mucho amor, les quiero mucho!!!

Elder Weiss :)

Mother's Note:  I asked Parker about Doctor Reagan and his wife taking them to Denny's...if they were called as Missionaries who happens to be a doctor or if they were called as Doctor's to the missionaries. (I saw their mission badges in the picture).  Here is Parker's reply:

They are missionaries. Their calling is to be the doctor over this region, so the Caribbean. So yes, they are missionaries, but they can be in touch with their families and all that like 24 7.

Also...this is an excerpt from Parker's email to his Dad which is pretty cool. 

As for me? We are working really hard. This week I hit a new record of appointments in a week with my companion! We had 18 with a member, 5 others, and 10 with a recent convert or with a less active member. The one that is the record is how much we did with a member. Almost all the appointments we did this week were with a member, and it was awesome!!!! We are trying to work really hard, and our President noticed our efforts and personally congratulated us. It was awesome! other than that, life is pretty much the same!!!

My district in an amazing sunset on the top of a 20 story apartment building (so many stairs....).

DENNY'S FOR THE YEAR MARK WITH DOCTOR REAGAN!

This is one of our MTC Teachers we saw at Stake Conf.
He remembered us! And was super surprised we
could speak Spanish!

Pictures of our apartment. It's the newest and nicest one I've been in.
The Kitchen!!!!

The room of my companion and I.
 My bed of course
having the pink hello kitty. GO ME.

Better picture of my awesome bed. Go me,
and Hello Kitty! haha and the fan!!!!!!!!!!!!!
 That thing saves my life at night!

Our bathroom, which yes has the Avengers
 over the toilet.
 That was there when I got here.
 Don't know why.... haha but pretty sweet.

The study area.

The outside of the house.
We live on the "third floor"
or  basically the house is built
 on top of two other houses, haha.

A picture of the city of Buenos Aires, 

Some other pictures of the city.

And  look, The Church!

Monday, October 20, 2014

This week was fantastic.... Just amazing. First off, thanks to all who are writing me. Love to read your emails. The photos you always send are great! I´ll try to send some more photos as well! Keep sending those photos though! I love photos!

As I had said before in the last email, we were planning on having a baptism this week. Well, it did happen! Frederick is now a new member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints! It was a great service! Our Mission President and his wife came to see it, which was really cool! It was kinda funny though, when we asked Frederick throughout the week who was going to baptize him, he chose Elder Catmull to baptize and do the ordinance. Elder Catmull has never even passed by this kids house, but whatever! haha! His baptism!! So Elder Catmull baptized him! I´ll send photos! I did have a cool opportunity of leading the baptism, because our Ward Mission Leader was really sick and couldn't come. So ya, a great baptism on Saturday!

So this week has been great like I said. We worked really hard this week! Let me share some stuff that happened before the baptism... haha. We had a great opportunity this week! On Wednesday, we had a Zone Conference, and our Mission President was going to talk to us. BUT, we also found out that Elder Cornish from the seventy was there to talk to us as well! We talked a lot about our goal setting, and it really made me think about the goals that we put as missionaries. These aren't just goals as in numbers, those numbers we write down are children of God, that need our help to know the truth. But I had an amazing experience as a result of our conference this week that I would like to share! 

As we were in conference, I was soaking in all that Elder Cornish and President Nuckols were sayin, about helping in the conversion process of our investigators and setting good goals. I had to really focus on our goals as a companionship, as I noticed our goals were not up to par with the Lords standards, but during the whole process, a recurring thought kept coming into my head. Recently in our area, we received a referral from a very active member family. It was a referral of their other part of the family, that lives right next to them who has never heard the gospel from the missionaries. So with great excitement, we went over and set up our first appointment with them. This was on Tuesday, and we set up the appointment for Thursday night. The conference we had was Wednesday, so during conference, we still hadn't started the lessons with them, but they had the pamphlet of the Restoration. During the whole conference, my thought was "Give that new family a baptismal date." We got home and I talked about it with Elder Rosado, and we came to the confirmation that night, with the help of prayer, that it is what we needed to do. So on Thursday we passed by their house. The family consists of the father, Nicolas, the mother, Yeni, and their two kids, one of them being a special needs kid with autism. The Familia Camilo to put it short! They are very open to the gospel, because they live with a very active family. As we talked during our first lesson, a strong strong spirit came, and we were able to point out that spirit to this wonderful family, and they felt it as well. Then, as we asked what they were willing to do to come closer to Christ, they responded telling us they would do anything to follow our God. As we had felt previously, we gave them a baptismal date for the 27th of December, and they accepted it eagerly. The first appointment, and we were already seeing that great desire from them to know the truth. We set up our next appointment, for Sunday night, and we invited them to come to church. In the morning on Sunday, we were in a meeting at 6 30 in the morning, and the bishop said, "Elders, I have a referral for you. I feel like you should pass by Nicolas Camilo, the brother of Hermano Camilo." We happily responded telling him that we are already teaching them and they have a baptismal date. Our Bishop was shocked! Haha! As church went on, the Familia Camilo hadn´t shown up to any of the classes. Here, the classes come first, and then sacrament. As sacrament started, in walks that amazing Familia Camilo. With bright big smiles, they sat next to us, and said "There is a peace as soon as you walk in the door here." The bishop, after sacrament, called them into his office. At night as we passed by, we asked if they were willing to share why they were called into the bishops office, and they told us the bishop talked to them about marriage plans. We weren't planning on sharing about the Law of Chastity, but we decided it was what the Lord was telling us to do. We invited them to prepare to be married, and that the Lord will help them as they come to know of the truth of the gospel. They told us that they knew it is what needs to be done, and they don´t need to be convinced. They are starting their marriage papers. The Lord is truly preparing people. This family is an amazing example to me, of true disciples of Christ, who will do anything to follow our Lord´s example. As they continue to learn and grow, I have no doubt the Lord will help these people. They are prepared. I will  never be able to say that they are my converts, because they are already converted.

I love this gospel. I see people being changed every single day by the truths of the gospel. I invite everyone to do but one thing. I invite you to read the Book of Mormon, every day, and to ask God if it is true. The investigators I have do just that, and I can see the true testimony they earn from reading in the most true book on the earth. I now encourage all of you, my family and friends, to do the same, to really receive your own testimony of these truths. Its what I did, and I know of the truth of the gospel of this church because I know that the Book of Mormon is true. I love it, I read it, and I will never not read it. It is a book from God. I invite you to find that out for yourself. Keep praying, keep turning to the Lord in times of hardship. I continually pray for every one of you, and I hope you are all seeing the blessings that the Lord is giving you. :)

Que Dios les bendiga,

Elder Parker Weiss :)

P.S. I can´t believe on Thursday I will be hitting my year mark.... has it really been a year????

Elder's Weiss, Mortensen, Catmull and Rosado

A little bit crazy.

Say hello to my district. The best District in the DR :)

This is us after conference with some other Elders

The Baptism of Frederick with DR West Mission President and Sister Nuckols

Talk about a giant shoe from the Puma store. It was a little to small for me, but I'll keep looking!

My lunch today, after being in the biggest mall in the DR, 6 stories tall!!!! CARL'S JR. 

There's no Halloween in the DR so look what is up at the mall!

Christmas!!!  Really?!

This is the mall. I'm on the third floor! haha It just keeps going! With palm trees and everything!

At the Metro waiting for the train.

Elder Weiss and Elder Mortensen