February 19, 2016 -- @ MTC Elders that lighten things up, Testimony

Here are some of my funny district and zone leaders
(Mom's comment:  If you play "Where's Waldo?", could Kirsten be somewhere in the photo??)

こんにちは!（≧∇≦）

So much growth this week. I know for sure that there is a god, and he is our Heavenly Father. There is a Heavenly Father and He does love us. He has a plan for us and it's real. None of this is made up. Everything that happens to us, happens for a reason. I know my trials I experience and will experience are for my benefit so I can be prepared for the life to come, and for the life I'll live in Japan. Jesus Christ suffered all ways of afflictions so men might be saved. He sacrificed his will to God to be able to succor his people. He understands everything we go through; He went through it, too. The things I experience, whether good or bad, will help me to be able to help the people in Japan. I can only truly teach if I have the love for the people I teach, and seek to understand what they need. The teachings of Jesus Christ helps every soul find peace and belonging. We belong in God's fold, and the only way to get there is to come unto Jesus Christ. There's nothing in this world that could make one more happy than the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Faith, repentance, baptism, gift of the Holy Ghost, and enduring to the end. Salvation may not be cheap, but it is worth everything.

"Man's extremity is God's opportunity." ( Elder Jeffrey R. Holland)

あいしています。love you! That's all for this week :)

Parker Shimai

More From 2/12/2016 -- @ MTC

MY TESTIMONY

こんにちは、皆さん。私は回復された福音の証が会えいます。イエス・キリストの福音は真実です。ジョセフスミスは預言者だったと知っています。ジョセフスミスのじゅうじんによってキリストのきょうかいをかいふくしりました。この協会は真実だと信じています。キリストのあがないは本当に大切です。毎日、あがないによってわたしをたすきます。精霊をみちびくことができるとしています。精霊をきけばへいあんをかんじます。イエスキリストのみなによっておいあかします。アアメン。

Hey everyone! I have a testimony of the restoration of the gospel.
Jesus Christ's gospel is true. I know Joseph smith was a prophet.
Through Joseph Smith's obedience, Christ's church was restored. I
believe this church is true. Christ's atonement is important.
Everyday, the Atonement helps me. I know we can be guided by the
Spirit. By listening to the spirit, we can feel peace. I testify in
the name of Jesus Christ, āmen.

I didn't mean to put all those complicated kanji!!

Parker 姉妹 (Shimai)

******************************************************************************

Here are some more pictures

Provo Temple near the MTC.  Still very cold

Another Winter scene near MTC and Provo Temple

I'm in good company because Sister Burke plays the piano
and Sister Pearson sings!

An Elder in the Aussi zone roundhouse-kicked
the tree and created a snowfall

"We three sisters of MTC are, bearing the gospel we'll travel so far"
(to the tune of We Three Kings), ha ha

Yep, that's my name tag!

February 12, 2016 -- 17th day at the MTC (training center)

Hi, this is me with one of my missionary companions, Sister Pearson.   In Japanese, she is called "Shimai Pearson."   Shimai means Sister.    We are in the laundry room doing laundry.  My other companion, Sister Burke (Burke Shimai) is sitting on the floor.  I apologize for not getting pictures sooner.  I didn't have a card reader for my digital camera.   This picture was taken with an iPad.   More pictures to come soon, if all goes well!    Love, Shimai Parker   (Kirsten)

Okay, this is my other companion, Sister Burke (Burke Shimai).  I am lucky to have two great missionary companions!

January 27, 2016 - First Day at Missionary Training Center

This is my family and I on arrival day at the Missionary Training Center.

There was so much work to do to get ready.  As part of the application process I started last summer, I began the slew of dental, medical, and ecclesiastical appointments.   Getting my wisdom teeth out was the worst of those appointments :-(

In November 2015 after I received my assignment, I started the legal process of going on a mission (passport, application for a Visa) and starting to get immunizations (yuck).   There was also much work to do in terms of just figuring the process of preparation out, making sure that things were done in timely fashion.  I had an online profile to set up, training videos to view.  I was part of a missionary pilot program (i.e. not every pre-missionary receives this extra training at this time), wherein several returned missionaries worked with me on morale as well as training me on simple Japanese - such as learning to pray in Japanese.  I took two years of Japanese in high school, but considering that a person of any language needs to know probably around 10,000 words to be completely fluent comparable to a native speaker., and that would be, knowing how to use those words in proper context of grammar and colloquial expression...two years of high school Japanese was just prep-time, not fluency.  I received this extra training  with returned missionaries up to week before I entered the training center.  I also repeated the class, Preach My Gospel/Missionary Preparation over at the local community college this past Fall, to help me get familiar with the gospel concepts which I will be teaching to the people of Japan.

As this training continued into December and January, I also continued with my daily things -- a full-time job at NPS, which I needed to help pay for my missionary wardrobe, and I also increased my physical activity by getting a temporary membership at VASA Fitness.  I continued with my prayer and scripture studies.

Some people do not realize, but when a person makes the decision to go on a mission, life becomes harder.   Most of this is inner difficulty.   The decision to go on a mission takes on a new dimension of realness.  A person begins to further question one's ability to do a good job as a missionary, asking oneself also, am I ready to take this on and be away from family and friends for so many months? Then there are temptations to indulge in negative thinking, or to be distracted by the usual things that young people do, even just wasting time, or blowing the healthy eating plan just after working out.   Relationships with family and friends go through a painful process of saying goodbye.  Unresolved issues come to the forefront the closer departure time comes, unexpected money issues can pop up.  

God is real, but so is the Devil.  No, I don't think the devil runs around 24/7 in some silly red suit with a pitchfork (those are just symbols of his intent to destroy us), but he does afflict us in anyway that he can.  Sometimes family or close friends will have increased problems, things that show than an opposition is in place trying to prevent the missionary from going to preach the message of Christ. This affected me even up to the day I left.  Things require my best efforts to resolve, and the rest has to be left up to faith that God will help resolve the rest that I can't do myself.  I have walked into mission life today, with the faith that God will not just bless and protect me, but bless my loved ones back home, while I am away.

My next blog I will introduce you to life at the Missionary Training Center (hereafter referred to, as the MTC).

Jan. 2016 - Should you feel moved to help

Hello!
Thank you so very much to those who helped out with expenses I got most the wardrobe and other things needed for my almost 1 1/2 year long stay in Japan.  Although I had a full-time job over the holidays working at NPS, it was not enough to cover the expenses, so everything I received was greatly appreciated and made it possible for me to leave home with the basics!!

I will continue to have monthly expenses while I am out, plus I still need to get a bike and Ipad, and some heavy duty rain gear when I arrive in Japan -- yes they have major rain there.   Should you feel moved to continue to help in any amount, feel free to use the donate button on my blog (which utilizes the PayPal method, which accepts major credit or debit cards).  Should you wish to use some other form of payment (thru an LDS account, check, or other credit/debit method), please email:   kirstenparkermission@gmail.com, and in the subject line please type "Donate" and you will get an email with instructions.

Thank you!!

November 7, 2015 - At home

I thought I would share a little bit of information about my mission.

According to Mission.net, the Japan Tokyo mission used to be part of the Tokyo North Mission (1976-2006).  Prior to that it was called...
*the Japan Tokyo Mission (probably with different boundaries)  (1974-76)
*the Japan Mission (1968-74)
*the Northern Far East Mission (1955-68)
*the Japanese Mission (1948-55).

And... prior to that, it was closed between 1924 and 1948.  Since 1948 when the mission was reopened, just under half of the mission Presidents have been Japanese or of Japanese extraction.   The rest look like American-type names.

The current mission president is President Nagano, and his wife, Sister Nagano.  The information sheet says that they formerly lived in the US, although they were both born in Japan.  Sister Nagano was born in Fukushima.  You can bet that the disaster in Fukushima in March 2011 brought quite a bit of personal sorrow to them or to their extended family.

I did not know previously, but Tokyo Japan is the largest city in the world by population number in the city proper (over 13 million), but if you are looking for population density, or total area of the city, or population including the outlying metro areas, there are bigger cities elsewhere.  Nevertheless, it would be easy to get lost in Tokyo.

Here are a few pictures of Tokyo from photographyblogger.net:






Other than that, I don't know a whole lot about the mission itself yet. It does include some islands.  I do know that they are 16 hours ahead time-wise, and they drive on the left side of the road.  I took 2 years of Japanese in high school, but I have no doubts, that in spite of my interest in the Japanese people and their culture, once I get there, I will be encountering a lot of things new to me, for starters, the food and the money.  I am supposed to take my 4-generation pedigree chart with me.  Japanese people are big on family and ancestry.  It will make good conversation.

Well, that's it for now.

November 6, 2015 - At home

I got my mission call on Halloween.  It was a Halloween I will never forget.  I had been waiting for my call close to six weeks from when I completed my final interviews.  I thought it had been submitted in September.  I did not find out until after General Conference (first weekend in October) that it was held up for one question.  So, more waiting and checking the mail box.  For Halloween, I wore a panda costume.  It was afternoon, and my dad approached me, saying, "Sometimes Spoooky things happen on Halloween."  He invited me to check the mail box.   I was so overcome with emotion.  Regular Halloween didn't matter to me anymore.   My dad captured the moment on video and it is on my Facebook page, as well as the video when I opened my call.

I have been called to serve in the Japan Tokyo Mission for 18 months.  I am scheduled to report to the MTC in Provo for training, on January 27, 2016.   

In looking over the booklet that I received with my mission call, I am amazed at how much there is to do to get ready.  The booklet says that they don't want my mission email address on social media, so if you want it before I enter the MTC, please email

kirstenparkermission@gmail.com

or drop me a note on Facebook with your email address.  I will also have other information too, such as if you want to donate to my mission fund.  I have to buy a bicycle, helmet, and lock, and an iPad (one designated by the mission since it will have a mission app or software loaded in it).  I also have to have really good quality weather gear to wear.  There are other expenses too not covered in the usual monthly missionary expenses once I am in the field.