At last, in Oceanside - September 30, 2013

I've been white-washed into Oceanside.  Neither my new companion nor I have been in this area before. We've established that I'm the foster kid. Since I'm on my third transfer and my third area and my FOURTH apartment. I'm wondering if this is going to be the pattern of my mission. People say that there's no way, but I only have twelve transfers total and the President is changing a lot of things and he LOVES white-washing. My new companion is a lot like us. A Who-vian and a geek. She quotes movies all the time. She and I have seen almost all of the same movies. I can tell that this transfer is going to be fun. :) She's from Tennessee and when you get her excited you can bring her accent out. I get her excited a lot ;D Her name is Sister Rodney and she's a southern fireball. I love it!!

 We get to go to the temple in a couple of weeks and i'm so excited!!!! I haven't been since June and I've really missed the spirit that I feel in there. I need that little boost. I'm looking forward to the spiritual overload I'm going to get from conference and a temple trip. This ward is totally awesome though, I love it!

 

Sister Park

California's getting colder! 9-23-13

Trust me. I'll need that jacket I asked you to send. There's going to be an ocean breeze in the winter and it's already getting colder. I'm coastal now not inland, things have changed.

 

I really wish you had sent me that song. I've been DYING to sing it all the way through. (Note: She's referring to a composition I just finished and played in Ward Conference.  Mom)

 

This has been the best week of this transfer. We played Quiddich with our zone last monday! It was such a blast! We just got a new investigator and he’s really solid. We made some great contacts and found some people that were interested that we handed off to the Elders.  One of our members brought us her nonmember friend and we gave him both an English and a Japanese Book of Mormon. Sister Wickham wrote her testimony in the front of the English one. He was so much fun! This Japanese guy had never met a Mormon until he came to America and now he’s really interested in learning more. He saw the San Diego temple and said that it was like the castle at Disney Land. I love that people think that our temples look like castles! There is also a neighbor of some members from a family ward who has a lot of our same morals and when she found out about us she wanted to know more. The biggest draw for her was also the temple. We brought the relief society president to meet her and they hit it off great. I’m so excited because I’m sure that she’s going to fit right in with the ward and they’re going to love her! I wish that I could see how it all plays out. I guess I’ll just have to count on Sister Wickham to email me the updates. On that note; I’m being transferred….again. I’ll know tomorrow where I’m going so again I’ll update you next week. I’m going to miss being able to drive around everywhere in the stake and see the ocean all the time (that’s assuming I don’t get called to another sea side area).

 

We’re getting 14 Sisters in this transfer and only 10 Elders. That’s a new one. We’re really excited, but it also means that by next transfer (November) we’re pretty sure every Sister will either be training or a trainer. I’m hoping that tomorrow they tell us that we get facebook and ipads. The Anaheim mission already has it, so we’re praying for it, especially those in Singles Wards. By the way

 

I am so coming back to this singles ward after I get off! They are so much fun!! I love ya I miss ya. I’ll tell you my fate next week.

 

Love Ya

Sister Amanda Park

Amanda to Mom 9-9-13 - Spider hitched a ride!

Dear Mom and Dad...You had a raccoon in the house!!!! insane!!!! We had a spider attach itself to the back of our car and rode about 15 miles down the highway with us. We were amazed he lasted. We didn't find him till we got home.

We just moved into our new apartment on Saturday. Its amazing! Its half a mile from the ocean. All of the appliances are new and we have 3 closets, one of which you could fit a bed in. Plus this place is 7 minutes away from the church. Its great!!!

The man we met, his name is Park Larsen. Unfortunately we don't get to see him anymore because he's out of our area, it breaks my heart.

We had a great dinner with a member last week. He brought a friend and it wasn't until we started our lesson that he told us his friend wasn't a member. later that night he told us his friend was very impressed with us and like the lesson and wanted to meet with us again. He also bragged to the ward about us and encouraged them to invite their friends to meet with us.

We seem to be our ward's favorite sisters, because we are so enthusiastic and get involved with as much as we can. I'm just excited because we can go to the single's activities :) I love this ward so much though! It's so great!

 

We're doing a musical fireside on Sunday. I've got a solo. The song is so beautiful, I feel so privileged to sing it. I wish I had some new pictures but this week has been a little crazy so I'm short on pictures. But I'll work on getting more for you next week. I love you and I miss you.

 

Sister Park