Walking in a winter wonderland

Dear family,

Let me tell you about this exciting week in West Virginia's winter wonderland. First of all, it snowed this week. Now, it was just about a normal snow fall for back in N'Ham'shuh, but here this could be classified as the great blizzard of '14. People aren't quite used to the "extreme" conditions. Because of them, schools were cancelled for the entire week. They were cancelled initially because of snow, but then cancellation continued because of the cold. It was pretty silly to me, but we weren't too affected by it. That is, not until Sunday. We got a call Saturday afternoon that Church would be cancelled on Sunday. Elder Lyman and I died laughing. We were pretty bummed that we wouldn't be able to go to Church. Church is one of the best times of the week. Anyway, we went about doing good trying to shovel people's driveways and such.

There were some exciting things that happened this week. Tuesday was probably the most exciting. We met someone last week who we were supposed to make Sloppy Joe's with, but he was sick when we got to his apartment. Instead we knocked doors around his area. We got a couple potentials. Then we knocked on the door of Matt Parker. You'd think I'd be excited that his last name is Parker, but it was a little annoying. He invited us in and started drilling us about all the things we didn't know. He is apparently a master theologian who has studied all the ancient texts of the Sumerians and other cultures. Elder Lyman told me later that everything he said came from a tv show called "Ancient Aliens" on the History Channel. He basically asserted his intelligence while asserting our ignorance. It was frustrating to be there. He scoffed when we bore simple and powerful testimony. The capstone to the whole experience was when he said, "Now I know I'm really going to blow your minds. Scientists have actually proven that everything in life is a computer hologram." He was completely serious. Between frustration and ridiculousness, I was ready to rofl (roll on the floor laughing). I asked if he had been watching the Matrix. It was pretty crazy. We told him to have a good day and read the Book of Mormon again (and no, an alien did not appear to Joseph Smith :D). After his apartment, the next door we knocked was opened by a family of sincere people who really wanted to hear our message and invited us back. Endure to the end.

Well, I got um pouco time to finish up. I love you all. The Church is true. When we distance ourselves from God and allow outside influences distract us from our relationship with Him, we hurt ourselves. We must reach out to Him every day. We are never too far from the reach of His care.


Love, Elder Parker Ayer

The power of families

Dear FAMILY!

Isn't it about...time? That's right, it's about time for my weekly email! How great! I am so happy every week to be able to read your emails and to then respond to them. There have been many wonderful things that have happened this week, and I hope that I can spell them all out for you.

First, we had an interesting experience in the laundromat last Monday after I emailed you. Elder Lyman and I started talking to a ginger Nephi-type guy (large in stature). At first he was a little intimidating, and then he started pouring his heart out to us about his conversion from atheism to Christianity. He was very passionate about his conversion and focusing everything in our lives on the Savior. After preaching his conversion to us in his non-denominational way, I brought out the Book of Mormon to share with him. As soon as I mentioned it, he said, "do we really have to bring THAT in?" Sometimes people's ignorance about the Book of Mormon can be frustrating, but it's not their fault. The frustrating part is when they actually become educated about the Book of Mormon by us, and then continue to deny it as a true testament of Christ. That's what happened in this circumstance. We told him all about the divinity and sacredness of the Book of Mormon, but he would not recognize it. We read him powerful scripture describing Christ's atoning power, but he wouldn't open up his heart. We then proceeded to read prophecies from the Old Testament about the coming forth of the Book of Mormon, and he scoffed at us that we had to turn to the Old Testament to find reference to this great and marvelous Latter-day work. Just when we were about to end with simple and powerful testimony, a woman walked over to where we were sitting and talking. She said, "Sorry, I just overheard you talking and wanted to ask a question. Do you really not think that God reveals more scripture in our day like the Book of Mormon?" I was relieved. Here was a member of the Church come to support our testimonies of the Book of Mormon. I'd never met her before, but I was relieved to hear her defend the Book of Mormon. Then I was woken out of my relaxation when she said, "I'm a sister at the local Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Do you not believe that God has more hidden scriptures that will come forth out of the Hill Cumorah or somewhere else?" WHAT THE WHAT? What were the chances that we would happen to meet an RLDS person? And what was she doing ruining our discussion about the Book of Mormon by introducing obscure ideas such as additional scriptures hidden in the Hill Cumorah? Well, it was an interesting experience to be sure. She started teaching RLDS doctrine about no need for a living prophet in our day. We quickly ended our part of the conversation and offered a free Book of Mormon. Our clothes were still a little wet in the dryer, but we took them out and decided to hang them up at home. Too funny.

We had a really great experience later that night at Kirsten and Mark's house. Did I tell you about them? They are great! Monday night we went with the plan to talk about the Plan of Salvation. We were also planning on inviting them to be baptized on a specific day. When we got to their house, we started chatting, and Elder Lyman and I were wondering if the lesson was going to go anywhere. After about half an hour of talking, Kristen asked about temples. That was a perfect transition into what we wanted to teach. We had a prayer and began teaching about temples. I thought they might find it strange if we taught about baptisms for the dead, but I felt like we should anyway. When I described the procedure and purpose of baptisms for the dead, the Spirit immediately entered into the room and they were touched. Even though they had little understanding of baptism or vicarious work, they appreciated this divine act of love and concern for deceased loved ones. It was amazing to see. Then Kirsten asked a question about tithing (she had heard you had to pay ten percent of your money to get into the temple). We happily explained tithing, and they thought it was a principle as well. That's when Mark asked a question about resurrection. We were amazed! Clearly, the lesson was not being directed by us. We decided then to read about and discuss the Plan of Salvation. They understood and agreed with a pre-mortal life. One of the most powerful parts of the lesson was when we talked about the Atonement of Jesus Christ. They really had no understanding of this the most pivotal moment in all of time and eternity. When we explained the divine sacrifice, the room was absolutely still. Hearts were touched by the Spirit, and there was a deep feeling of love. Finally we described the heavenly kingdoms of glory. We were not intending to talk about eternal marriage, but since they had asked about temples, I decided to talk about celestial marriage. Celestial marriage, performed in the temples of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, are the only was for couples to be together for eternity and continue to progress after this life. Mark had kind of been on the fence about his interest in the Church, but when he heard about eternal marriage, his whole face lit up. We asked them if this was something that they wanted to do. (Mind you, they aren't even married yet.) They said that it was. We asked them when they wanted to be baptized. Mark immediately said February 2nd. Kristen responded a little shocked, like the date was too close. Mark said, "February 2nd is when I want to be sealed". They planned to be sealed next year, and baptized this year. It was such an amazing experience, Elder Lyman and I just walked out of their dumbfounded and completely happy for them. They really understand what this is about. Everything in the gospel leads us and our families to an eternal glory with our families through the merits, and mercies, and grace of Christ's atoning sacrifice. The lesson was a little bit of a time warp because we came out of their realizing that we had spent two and half hours with them! :D

We had another very inspired meeting this week with our investigator Mary. She is a pretty hardened person. She is not willing to open up her heart to accepting the Book of Mormon and Joseph Smith as a prophet, but she still wants to meet with us. On Saturday we had a meeting with in which I saw her change in a way I have never seen before. The meeting started out by Sister Knight (Mary's friend) asking us to tell us a little bit about ourselves and our families. It just so happened that both Elder Lyman and I had our personal little photo albums from home. I showed pictures of all yall. Mary loved the picture of Sunkist. (As a side note, I had a dream about her last night as a little kitten. Has she died recently and returned to her youthful state?) Anyway, we both bore testimony on the importance of the gospel in our families. It was very powerful. We talked about how Mary needed to open her heart and let God answer her prayers to know if this is the truth. At the end we talked about the possibility for eternally bound families. We allowed for silence so that the Spirit could teach (something which rarely happens with Mary). We gave a closing prayer. After the prayer I began packing my stuff up when I realized Mary was crying. Mary does not cry. Mary is the type of hardened West Virginian who had to fight off abusive parents and husband. She has been through the mill and put others through the mill. I knew that this had to be a tender moment for her. After several moments of silence, I asked if she was alright and how she was feeling. She didn't respond with anything, but I knew that her heart had been touched during the prayer. We bid farewell. I hope that the Spirit can continue to teach her.

Sunday I finished reading through the Book of Mormon again. As you may recall, I have been reading through the entire Book of Mormon marking every example of mercy that I read. It has been fulfilling and enlightening. I have loved every moment of it. I was very surprised when I got to Moroni's promise in Moroni 10:3. There, he exhorts us to ponder on how merciful the Lord has been to the children of men before we ask about the truth of the Book of Mormon. When I began my study, I didn't even realize that I was building up to this moment. I have had three months to reflect on how merciful Heavenly Father has been to His children. He has given us great blessings. He has prepared us to come forth at this time, within our families, with the divine tools to help us change and become like Christ. God sent His beloved Son into the world to be smitten and killed, then to rise triumphantly all so that we could receive His divine mercy. God has given us commandments so that we may be governed in our minds and hearts so that may receive His goodness and kindness. Heavenly Father has brought forth the Book of Mormon in our time so that we might now of the goodness of Christ and the joy we can have through faith on His name. I know this to be true. As I knelt down to ask about the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon, I was filled with the knowing influence of the Spirit. The Book of Mormon really is the word of God. It is true. It is good. It is enlightening. It will bring us closer to Christ than any other book. If anyone doubts this, they need only read the Book of Mormon with an open heart to know that I speak the truth.

I love you all. I love the support you have given to me. I know that families are central to the Father's plan for His children. I know that joy in the gospel comes through families and that joy in families comes through the gospel. Stay strong and know that I love you!

Love, Elder Parker Ayer


P.S. I have submitted all the stuff for the FBI clearance. Don't worry about that unless they call you or when you get it in the mail. Also, the driving record is for the mission' purposes and isn't for the FBI clearance.

P.P.S. Elder Lyman likes the Broncos. Sorry if you haven't finished yet, but the Broncos beat the Patriots. Love ya!

ELDER GADBERRY, ELDER AYER, ELDER RAMIREZ

APARTMENT IN VIENNA

Elder Ward, Elder Colligan, Elder Lynman, Elder Stechnij, Elder Gadberry, Elder Ayer

Exclamation Point!

Dear family,

I love you all so much! This week has flown by. It has been a wonderful week. Let me tell you about it.

Monday- We had P-day. I got a haircut which I desperately needed, and now I kind of look like a hipster. It is still respectable though. :D That night Elder Lyman and I went to teach a woman and her boyfriend. They are super awesome. They are super funny, and I feel like we can relate to them in a way that we can't relate to our other investigators. The boyfriend, Mark, reminds me of Fred Randell from Rocketman. They look and talk similarly. Anyway, it was a great meeting. Kristen was taught ten years ago, so during the lesson she was kind of explaining to mark why we are the true church. It was really awesome!

Tuesday- We had to go do visa stuff for Elder Lyman. The Brazil consulates just changed policy so now everyone has to get an FBI clearance before they can get their visa. Since I haven't gotten my visa yet, it seems as though my small town police letter of good behavior isn't quite going to cut it. Tuesday was frigid. Beyond frigid. Tuesday was bitterly cold. As it turns out, we had no appointments planned for Tuesday. That meant knocking on doors all day. We bundled up as good as we could and braved the below zero temperatures and wind. We had some pretty funny experiences. One lady wasn't interested, but she let us in to defrost (or is it de-thaw? :D). When I asked her if she went to a church around here, she said she didn't and that she was a secular humanist. Well, I didn't know much about that, so I asked her how she came to live the life of a secular humanist. She told us about her educated parents and her father who participated in the socialist party. Well, I then tried to assert my intelligence by using big words that I used in college. If there is one thing that bugs me, it is the idea that a disbelief in God is more educated than belief in a divine being. I know that it is ultimate wisdom to know that we are not the most intelligent life, and that we must subject ourselves to that Father who has given us life and sustained us from day to day. Despite her views, she was very nice and served us some hoity toity hot chocolate that left a bitter taste in my mouth. As we were leaving, I said "God bless you" to her, despite her disbelief. She responded with a disheartening, "And humans bless you." Elder Lyman and I had a good chuckle about that.

Wednesday- We were knocking doors again. We went to go visit a woman we met the other day. She told us to come in and see her. We only meant to stay for a minute to set up a return appointment, but she started telling us some very sad stories about her family and her life, and we felt like we needed to stay and share a message. Jerry Springer was on tv, so we asked her if we could turn it off and invite the spirit in. We talked to her about the Book of Mormon and got the audio set up on her laptop because she can't read very well. We asked if we could come back during the week and she said we could because most of the time she just sits, plays games on her computer, watches tv, and sleeps. We encouraged her to use some of her time during the day to listen to the Book of Mormon. Really, there is nothing in our life that can compare to the importance of reading the scriptures, praying, and coming to know of our divine potential as spirit sons and daughters of God.

Thursday- We had some great plans for Thursday night. We had been planning a critical lesson for a week to teach to the Turner family to encourage them to come to Church. That is really the only thing holding them back from being baptized. They were first taught by the missionaries 5 years ago, and they never came to church in all of that time. When we went to go see them, no on answered the door. We could tell that they were home, but no would answer loud knocks or telephone calls. We decided to go try to see some other people in the area. We were able to talk to an investigator we haven't seen in a long time. When we were done, we went back to the Turners and they let us in when we knocked this time. Apparently, they had all been taking naps earlier when we knocked and had completely forgotten about our appointment. It was a little disheartening, but we scheduled to come back Saturday. It is so hard for some people to make the thing that will bring the greatest joy in their life the greatest priority in their life.

Friday- We go to go to mission conference in Charleston to listen to Elder S Gifford Nielsen speak to us. It was awesome. I performed a duet with another elder. We sang "I'll Go Where You Want Me to Go." I feel like that applies to me specifically because I'm in West Virginia even though I thought I would be serving in Brazil. It is okay because I love being here and I know that God has a plan for me here! Elder Nielsen had some great things to say, and really brought in the spirit of love and encouragement into the meeting. You can read the email President Pitt sent out if you want some further details on what he said.

Saturday- There was a funeral for a young man in the ward who committed suicide. It was so sad to be there. It reminded me of my own experience with that tragedy when I was a freshman in high school. I just wanted to reach out in love and support to all of the mourners there and help them feel the joy of the restored gospel. later, we were able to have a meeting with the Turners. It went just as we had hoped. The Spirit was so strong there. They dedicated themselves to coming to Church the next day.

Sunday- We were very sad because the Turners didn't come to Church. We went back to talk to them and will be giving them some time to decide when they will be ready to make the changes in their life required for baptism. It was hard, but necessary. We hope that they will see the need for change in their life, and set their priorities so that they will receive the happiness and strength in their lives that God wants them to have.

Well, I love all of you. Know that God reaches out in love and care to everyone of us. In my studies this morning I came across Ether 3:18. "And all this, that this man might know that He was God". God loves each of us and reaches out in love and care so that we can know of His divinity and His love for us as His children. God does care. He does live. He will guide us in rightesouness if we are willing to do what must be done to obtain the blessings. I love you all!


Love, Elder Parker Ayer

Holiday Fever is Over

Dear family,

Well, holiday fever is over but winter is coming in full force. Tonight it's supposed to get down to about -20 degrees with the windchill. I don't know if we'll be able to walk around in that, but if we do we'll need to bundle up out there because it's cold woodchuck chuckers! Whenever someone we knock into tells us to be careful in the cold, I tell them that the Spirit keeps us warm. It's a little cheesy, but it's true! The Spirit is really what sustains me throughout this entire experience, and experiences that fill me with the Spirit are the reason why I do what I do.

Anyway, the last few days have been a little crazy. Wednesday night and Thursday morning I was super anxious. Who was I going to train? How was I going to train them? Was I cut out for it? Did I know enough to continue the missionary work well in Vienna? What if my trainee didn't like me? What if he didn't talk? What if he talked too much? What if he didn't like rules? On and on my thoughts flew around. I should have been following the counsel of Elder Holland to put our faith first before our concerns, or the counsel of Elder Holland to doubt our doubts. Well, I was a little worried. This transfer felt like a bigger change than all of the other transfers. Anyway, we got to the transfer meeting and there were only 8 new missionaries. 8! That is a significant decrease in the number of missionaries coming in, but I also started to wonder why, out of 200+ missionaries in the mission, I was asked to train a new missionary. I'm a baby in missionary terms! Well, it was interesting to try to understand the trust that the Lord had placed in me compared to the trust I had placed in myself. Anyway, it was an exciting meeting. Drum roll please. I am now serving with, and training, Elder Christian Lyman! He is from PARKER, Colorado! Isn't that awesome? Well, I certainly think so. He is an awesome missionary. He really wants to get out there and get things done. I have been humbled by his work ethic. He isn't afraid to share what the Spirit tells him, which has really benefited our growth as missionaries and a companionship.

Our first few days together have been exciting ones. We had a great meeting his first night here with two older women that we recently started teaching. The next day, Friday, was weekly planning. It was a chore, but had to be done. We spent five hours completely filling him in on the work here and planning out this week. After that, we were ready to get moving. On Saturday, we had a great day planned. We were supposed to have a record high of six teaching appointments. All of them but one fell through. Sunday was great for him to be introduced to the ward. We look forward to this coming week when we hope that many great things will happen. We are teaching 15 people right now, which is wonderful. We really look forward to the choices they will be able to make in the next several weeks that will bring them closer to Christ and His joy.

As we have met with people, it has amazed me to see how they have been prepared to receive the restored gospel of Jesus Christ. It has also amazed me to see how certain missionaries have been prepared to serve in certain functions throughout the mission. The Lord has His hand in this work. I know that to be true. I am so grateful for this new year and new transfer to serve Him more faithfully, diligently, and effectively. We should all strive to make the sacrifices in our lives that will bring us closer to Him. Remember, "sacrifice brings forth the blessings of heaven".


Love, Elder Parker Ayer


P.S. Elder S Gifford Nielson visits the mission this Friday!

P.P.S. I'll be singing a duet at the meeting with the general authority!!!

P.P.P.S. You said that you mounted a tv by the fireplace. Did you change moosey into a picture-picture? :D

P.P.P.P.S. LOVE YOU!!!

Natal e Ano Novo

Dear Family,

I love you muito!!! I am emailing today because it is transfer week. Isn't that crazy? That just means that we have our P-day on Wednesday and we email today. Well, HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! Rabbit Rabbit. Sarah, isn't it so weird that is actually 2014? Well, weird but true. I really don't feel like I have much to say today because I just talked to you a week ago from today. That's okay, I'll fill you in on the nitty gritty.

Christmas Day was wonderful. We spent much of the time at members' homes. I ate way too much food, but it was good. Thank goodness Christmas is only one day, however. By the end of a day being spent with members celebrating Christmas, I felt like I was ready to hop into my pajamas and spend the week doing Harry Potter movie marathons. Well, not so. That just doesn't happen as a missionary. I was so glad to get back to work the next day.

We had some very interesting experiences this last week. We think it's because it's the additional faith of Elder Ramirez joining us. :D Well, in this past week we found four new investigators. That may not seem like much for those of you who have served in South America, but that's big news over here in WV! There were some particular individuals that really have been on my mind.

Colt isn't actually an investigator yet, but he is on his way. We were knocking doors in his apartment complex when we found him. He opened his door in his boxer briefs and gave a look at us like we were a bunch of wack jobs. We started talking to him about our message. He was giving us a hard time. We pressed on until he finally said, You know I'm drunk, right?" Yes, we could tell. He was soused. Then he said, "well, do you want to come in?" We were a little apprehensive as we looked at each other. He laughed at us and said, "you're not scared, are you?" No we mostly definitely weren't. We went into his house and sat down on his couch. In his drunken way, he interrogated us about why we were doing what we were doing. How could we possible believe what we believed. He decorated his language with very colorful words. After talking for a little while, he told us about how he was an alcoholic. He used to have a stable job and a happy family, but he lost it all because of his addiction to alcohol. I wanted to reach out to him with the love of the Savior and help him see how he could change and repair his life. Interestingly, the spirit entered into the room despite the circumstances. He then told us that just before we got there he had said a prayer to ask God to help him stop drinking beers. That was when we had showed up. It was a real testament to me of the love and mercy of Heavenly Father. He really knows each of us. We had to go (it was the end of the night), so we said a prayer with him and said we would come back to see him. As we were walking away down the street, he opened his door again and yelled at us to come back. We returned and he asked us for a copy of the Book of Mormon. He said that he really wanted to read it, starting that night. He had some sort of overwhelming feeling that he needed to read the book. We gave him our phone number also and said that he could call us anytime he needed help. It was a wonderful experience and we are gong to return soon.

The next man I want to talk about lives a few doors down from Colt. His name is Tim, and we knocked into his door a few days later when we decided to finish the complex. He opened the door and he wasn't happy to see us. He told us that God had deserted him, so he was deserting God. It was heart braking to see.I felt like we couldn't let him go before letting him know how much God loved him. I bore simple testimony of this. He continued to talk to us, even though it seemed like he was going to slam the door on our faces. He started crying as he told us about how his life had been spiraling downward. He told us that he viewed God as a powerful being who made us worship him just so that he could drag us around and punish us. This was really upsetting to me. I wanted to help him out of his situation so much. I asked if we could at least have a prayer with him before we left. That's when he let us inside his home and so commenced the battle for his soul. We were there for more than an hour as he told us about every terrible trial ever experienced in his life and his disillusioned view of deity. He kept on apologizing to us for spitting on our beliefs, but I really only felt love for this man and a desire to bring him back to God. After talking for a long while, we found out that within the hour before we had gotten there, he had made the decision to turn his back on God. He had taken his beloved Bible, spat upon it, and hid it in the farthest corner of his apartment. He recognized that it was only an act of God that could have brought us to his door at such perfect timing. After calming him down a little bit, we introduced him to the Book of Mormon. He was very apprehensive. He said that he was a Baptist and he would go to Hell if he ever became a Mormon. We told him that wasn't what we had invited him to do. We had invited him to read the Book of Mormon and pray to receive an answer as to its truth. Well, he decided that wouldn't get him cast off forever. After an hour of talking, he had already begun to be reconciled with God. We had a prayer with him, and he was very much at peace. As we were walking out of the door, he told us that he was going to begin reading the Book of Mormon right then.

Well, I would like to tell you more, but I don't have much time left. I know that God directs His work. He loves His children, so he sends us to bring them the true and everlasting gospel of Jesus Christ, restored through the prophet Joseph Smith. I know the Book of Mormon is true and brings happiness and strength to our lives. I love you all so much!


Love, Elder Parker Ayer

P.S. the recorder is great and sounds much better than the cheap-o one. I love it! :D

P.P.S. Elder Gadberry and Ramirez are leaving. I am training a new missionary. Crazy!!!

Feliz Natal!

Dear kin, Kilarney clan, manger mates, and all ya'll,

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!! FELIZ NATAL!!! FELIZ NAVIDAD!!! SMORGASBORD GUTENACHT!!!

Wow, you can tell that Christmas is having its effect on me. It's really pathetic when I start laughing at my computer. The other elders think that I'm reading something funny, but I'm under the false impression that I'm writing something funny. Our mission is also being visited on the tenth of January by Elder S. Gifford Nielson, so I'm getting ready with lots of exclamation points!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (that was 18, Sarah, just for you) Oh boy, time to cool down my overactive Christmas joy jets and talk about the spiritual things that happened this last week.

We got hit with a lot of food this last week. The ward members decided that it was time to chub up the missionaries, so we got some huge boxes of food. We have also gotten many, many plates of cookies. This is great if I choose to never look in a mirror again. :D But seriously, it is wonderful to feel so much love from the members. I am glad that I come from a family that loves the missionaries in the ward, because I am definitely grateful for those in the ward that show love for the Lord's servants.

There were several highlights from this last week. One Tuesday I went on exchange with Elder Markowski who is serving in Belpre (he and his companion, Elder Kieran, live in the same house as we). <-- (good grammar, no?) Anyway, it is so much fun living with another set of elders. We live the law of consecration among all four of us. None of the support money given to us on our cards is really "our own", we've chosen to share it all among the four of us, and it works out great. There's a lot of great love in our house! Anyway, Tuesday was a great adventure with Elder Markowski. Elder Gadberry's been dying to serve in a place with a car, so he went to Belpre, OH with Elder Kieran.

Wednesday night we had the great joy of caroling as a district. We had picked out a few homes that we wanted to go visit. Some elders in Ravenswood, WV also told us of a man, Brother Stauers, from their ward who is in the local hospital, Camden Clark. We went to go sing to him. We've visited him before in the hospital, so I knew a little bit about him. Elder Kieran served in Ravenswood before, so he had a conversation with Brother Stauers and then Brother Stauers volunteered to sing for us. Here Brother Stauers was in very humble circumstances. He just had the lower half of his right leg amputated, he had a tube in his throat, and he was very hoarse. He sang "The Little Drummer Boy" to us. It was the purest and most sincere song I have ever heard. As you will recall, the boy in the song lays before the Christ child his song as a gift. Here Brother Stauers lay, broken and low, and he gave us the gift of his song. I don't think that I will ever hear that song sung the same way again. I was so deeply touched. I want to be able to give my whole self as an offering and a gift to the Christ.

On Thursday we had specialized training which was taught by President Pitt. It was wonderful. For several hours we were taught about and discussed the importance of covenants. Covenants really are so important. Every blessing we receive is based on our obedience to covenants we made with Heavenly Father before this life or during this life. At the end of the training, Sister Pitt led a special Christmas program. Several groups from the mission sang songs. I was the very last performer and I sang "O Holy Night" as a solo. The whole time, I thought about Brother Stauers and how I hoped I could present the same kind of gift that he had given me. People said they liked it, but I wished that I had had my family there to sing with me. :D

We had another very exciting addition to our companionship this week. A senior missionary couple is moving into the Spencer Branch in WV, and so the elders are moving out. Elder Ramirez, who was serving in Spencer, is now serving with Elder Gadberry and me in Vienna! He also brought with him the truck that they were using in Spencer! How wonderful! We now have transportation to do the Lord's work more effectively!

I love you all so much. I know that Jesus was "born to give us second birth". Through HIm, we can receive joy in this life and eternal life in the world to come. I will talk to you on Christmas. By the way, the time has been changed to 11:00 AM. I will see you then! I love you dearly and miss you truly. Merry Christmas!


Love, Elder Parker Ayer

It's beginning to feel a lot like Christmas

Dearest family,

Christmas time is here. Happiness and cheer. Something, something, something, children call the greatest time of year. If I could insert some little musical notes, I would, but I can't. As Christmas gets nearer, all sorts of emotions are increasing. I feel so glad to be a missionary. There is so much joy that all people feel during this season. The gospel of Jesus Christ is the source of all this joy, and it's what I get to talk, sing, and think about all day! I also start thinking about all of our Christmas traditions. This makes me happy and a little homesick, but mostly just happy. I got to watch Mr. Kreuguer's Christmas the other day, and it made so happy. I think it mostly reminds me of the fun, happy, musical atmosphere of our home. I've been so happy to have the advent calendar to remind me of you all every night. I am so glad to hear about all of your many Christmas joys including snow, snow, SNOW! We've had many cool experiences this last week to be joyful about.

Elder Gadberry and I were out knocking doors the other night when we ran accross a gem of a home. The home is completely decked out in Christmas lights. What's greatest about it is that every night, from 7 to 8 pm, the family puts on an automated music and lights show. Some electrical engineer must live there because the lights are completely coordinated with the music. It was the coolest thing every, just tucked away into a neighborhood. Since then, we've been able to walk past the house to go knock other doors, and each time it is so fun to see. We were so excited when we discovered it. Each night there are a few cars parked outside watching.

This last week, under the authorization of our mission president, all of the missionaries in our ward set up a free hot chocolate stand. There wasn't too much preparation that went into it, so we were caught off guard a little when we were told that we would have to get permission to set up anywhere near a business. As the son of a town employee, I should have known better. We probably also needed some vender permit, but who actually does that? :D Anyway, we went to the mall, to Walmart, to Little Ceasar's (we thought we had a pretty good relationship with them), to anywhere wwe could think of trying to set up a free hot chocolate stand where we could hand out some cocoa and cards. Well, we finally were accepted by some random shoe store to set up outside. We set up our stand, posted a big sign, sang some carols with no luck. The few people who walked into the store weren't really too interested in getting free hot chocolate. It was the wierdest thing. One lady who accepted hot chocolate insisted that we take her 3 dollars. What's the deal? Why won't people accept a little toasty token of love? Well, we packed up our stand and drove over to the house with the light show in Vienna. We passed out cocoa to all of the cars parked around the house. Then we proceeded to carol to all of the surrounding houses and pass out hot chocolate to them. It was a little bit of a role reversal having carols give hot chocolate to the warm people in their houses, but it was a lot of fun and was so spiritually uplifting. Our voices weren't quite as melodic as the Stephenson clan's, but it was great nonetheless.

This last week we had been trying to contact one of our investigators. Do you remember me talking about Samantha, who had been found under divine circumstances and who had apparently read through a quarter of the Book of Mormon? Well, we tried calling and texting her this whole week and she never responded once. We were scared. She had cancelled a lesson with us before, also. We were worried that she had decided to close herself off to the truth. Well, we decided to go over yesterday to see her. We knocked on her door, hoping for the best but ready for the worst. She inched the door open and peeked at us. After seeing who it was, she opened the door wide and smiled. We asked how she was doing, and she said she was great. We relieved to find out that her phone was broken. After chatting for a little bit, we asked how her Book of Mormon reading has been coming. Guess what? In the past two weeks, she has already read half of the Book of Mormon! We were stunned. This is a woman who has difficulty reading, and she has been able to read the same amount in 2 weeks as I was able to read in the MTC in 2 weeks. That is amazing. The Book of Mormon is so important. I know that it is true. I have studied it, been blessed by it, and have gained a divine and sure witness that it is true.

Also this week I got to go on exchange with the Elders in Parkersburg. We see each other all of the time, but it was good to be able to be in Parkersburg again. Elder Stechnij worked with Elder Gadberry in Vienna, and I worked with Elder Colligan in P-Burg. It was so great. All three of them are missionaries that I love and respect greatly.

The greatest miracle this week happened with Amy. Do you remember Amy? She is the woman that I talked about last week that we met in Dairy Queen and then saw later at Taco Bell. Well, we had an appointment to meet with her on Tuesday, but that didn't work out. We went to see her again on Wednesday, but that didn't work out either. Then we arranged for an appointment on Thrusday. Thrusday we were able to meet with her and her daughter at the Dairy Queen next to her house. The only other person there was the man behind the counter. It was a surprisingly great setting; I don't even think the music was playing. We had a great discussion. We could feel the Spirit so strongly. When I retold the First Vision account, she began to cry. She told us that just before I told the story, the Spirit had reminded her of an experience she had when she prayed as a young adult. She also told us that she had had a complete change of heart during the lesson. She had anticipated coming in there and telling us that she wasn't interested, but the Spirit had born testimony to her during the lesson. Before we had even invited her to read the Book of Mormon, she told us that she was excited to read it. It was such a wonderful and uplifting experience. I could feel the Spirit whispering in our hearts of the truthfulness of what we spoke. I know that the Book of Mormon is true. I know that Joseph Smith saw Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ in a grove of trees because he humbly sought the question of his soul in prayer. God answers prayers. If each of us seek out to have our own sacred grove experience, we will be blessed from on high with manifestations of God's power and moving answers to our questions.

Well, I love you all so much. Thanks for the well wishes of halfy birthday. I'll try to whoop it up. :D There is so much joy to be had this Christmas season, don't be afraid to spread it around a little bit. There is no reason to be ashamed of inviting someone to partake of the bounteous blessings that we have in the gospel. Just because they don't know how they will be blessed doesn't mean that we shouldn't invite them to learn and know what we know. There may be friends of mine who will read this email and think that it is nice for Parker to have something that he believes so much in. It is nice, but it is more than nice, too. I know with absolute surety that God lives and is our loving Heavenly Father. I know that through the sacrificial, atoning power of Christ we may be forgiven of our sins and perfected. I know that through the covenant of baptism, and its preparatory steps, we can come to receive the blessings of Christ's atonement. I know that Joseph Smith was and is a prophet of God. I know that the Book of Mormon contains the words of Christ and His true gospel, and it will lead us to Christ in a way that no other book can because it leads us to a witness of the restoration of God's true church. There is so much joy to be had in the gospel of Jesus Christ. I love you all. This Christmas, find one way to help bring yourself and another person closer to Jesus Christ. Therein lies happiness.


Love, Elder Parker Ayer


P.S. A couple weeks ago, President Pitt received an update on my visa status. Church travel only included two words on my report: "not close". hahaha

P.P.S. I don't know if I will be able to call in the morning on Christmas. We have to go to a member's house in order to skype you. I don't know if any of the members in the ward will want us in their house right in the think of their festivities.

P.P.P.S. You can't send me any sound bytes this year of "Christmas in Killarney" or "Dominique the Donkey", but know that I'm singing them in my heart. :D

Back on the Stage

Hello dearest family!

Yes, we have gotten snow. It hit mostly yesterday. It was really just a baby snowfall. We don't have too many hilly roads around where we live, so it really didn't make driving to Church too dangerous. I am staying warm. I really don't need any other winter clothes. I will probably buy some gloves. It might be nice to have some boots with more traction as well. If you could put money on my card, that would be wunderbar.

I am loving being a missionary! Each week I grow in the absolute love I have for being here. While it might be nice to have some more moments just to sit down and relax, I am adjusting to working all of the time, and it feels great! I absolutely love the missionaries in my district. I love the people that Elder Gadberry and I are teaching. That's why I get so disappointed when they choose not to keep commitments. We really only keep ourselves from the blessings of heaven. We experienced a lot of teaching appointment cancellations this week, but we continue to persevere.

One of the things that took center stage this week was a skit that we performed at our ward Christmas party. It's a funny story, actually. When they were talking about the ward Christmas party in ward council, they were discussing which groups they would ask to prepare and perform skits and musical numbers. Well, I raised my hand and volunteered all eight of the missionaries in the ward to put something on. The other missionaries were a little frustrated that they had been thrown under the bus, but they were willing to do it. Once we started planning and rehearsing for it, everyone became very excited. We told the story of two missionaries who are knocking on doors one cold, wintery night when they decide to go visit a member of the ward. They visit the member, are told about some friends to go visit, teach the family's friend, and they accept the restored gospel and are baptized on Christmas. We wanted to give a good Christmas message that related to missionary work. There was plenty of fun and spiritual moments. Elder Colligan and I played the part of the missionaries. It was my big break. Our part as missionaries was interspersed with some really lame impromptu LesMis-type talk-singing. It was the most ridiculous fun thing ever. It felt good to be back on the stage, but I'm not quite sure if I gave the ward an accurate representation of several years of theatre instruction. It was a great laugh. What was most important, though, was that we rehearsed Joseph Smith's personal account of the First Vision. The Spirit could really be felt in the room. We did an encore presentation on Sunday for some members of the ward that missed it on Friday. I think they are going to put it online. When I get the URL, I'll send it to you!

Elder Gadberry and I saw many many blessings on Saturday. It was a balmy 32 degrees. We tracted for 6 hours and then had one appointment at night. I think the Lord could clearly see the dedication that we were putting into our efforts. Missionary work is interesting. I don't think that daily success is a reward from God for keeping the rules, but I think that we are more accepting of God's guiding direction when we are humbly and diligently doing His work. When we submit ourselves to Him, He can more easily guide us to those people who have been prepared to accept and live the gospel. This is what we saw on Saturday. No, not every single door we knocked was opened by someone perfectly prepared for baptism, but we definitely saw God's hand in our labors. One door we knocked on was opened by a woman who had just moved in. When we told her we were missionaries, she became excited and asked if she could have a pamphlet about our Church. She told us that she and her husband would read the pamphlet and then call us. Later, Elder Gadberry had to use the bathroom. The nearest public restroom was at Dairy Queen. For some reason, I suggested that we use a random Dairy Queen gift card I had to buy some ice cream. Why I suggested this, I have no idea. We were freezing cold. For some reason, both of us agreed to get ice cream. After he used the bathroom, Elder Gadberry and I got our ice cream. While we were sitting there eating ice cream, a woman named Amy walked in who lived next door. We talked to her about the restored gospel and gave her a copy of the Book of Mormon. At seven o'clock that night, we had a dinner/teaching appointment with one of our investigators at Taco Bell. We were tracting just behind Taco Bell. We were both ready to go in and warm up. Elder Gadberry had to use the bathroom again. I wanted to get warm, but we still had ten minutes before 7. I suggested that we knock on two more doors. At the second door, a woman answered in her footy pajamas. After we said the name of the Church, she said that her husband had grown up in the Church and they were considering going back. She also asked for a pamphlet and said that she would call us back. When we got to Taco Bell, lots of craziness happened. Right after we walked in, Amy, the woman we had met earlier, walked in. This was accross town from Dairy Queen. It was no coincedence that we had this second meeting. She told us that the outlook of her day had completely changed for the better after meeting us. We set up an appointment to meet with her next week. At Taco Bell, we also saw one of our other investigators who hasn't been coming to Church. We set up a time for him to be picked up for Church. We also saw a Priest from the ward. Then we had our lesson in Taco Bell. It went great. The heart of our investigator was touched. She had a fresh perspective. Elder Gadberry and I felt like our words were guided by heaven. In the bitterly cold and fruitless moments of that day, it was really hard. Looking back, there is so much to be grateful for. The Lord's hand was truly directing our actions and others'.

Is life hard? Yes. Does this mean that it shouldn't be joyful? No. There may be bitter moments, but a fullness of joy can be found in applying and appreciating the power of Christ. One quote that has been in my head for a while now is from President Hinckley. He said, "stop seeking out the storms and enjoy more fully the sunlight". When we enjoy the sunlight, our lives will be filled with light and joy. We can obtain a greater measure of that light and joy when we make and keep sacred covenants like baptism. Keeping and preparing to make these covenants includes things like reading the scriptures, praying, and going to Church. When we do these things, we will come closer to God and all of our concerns and cares will melt away as we submit our hearts to His.

Thank you for your support, family. I love you all so much! You are always in my prayers. I don't know when I will call you during the day on Christmas, but I can't wait. I will probably be able to skype you. Don't quote me on that. We'll see if the ipads come before then. You're the best!


Love, Elder Parker Ayer


P.S. We went to Texas Roudhouse this week and I thought of all of you!

P.P.S. I was making backwards footprint tracks in the snow this week and I thought of you, Sarah. Stay cool!

P.P.P.S. Elder Gadberry and my district are teaching me about football. I have a long way to go.

P.P.P.P.S. It's the holiday season. So whoop-do-do and dickory-dock and don't forget to hung up your sock. (Or something like that) :D

Uma semana de MILAGRES (A week of MIRACLES)

Oi familia!

I love you all so much. Last week you might have been a little scared getting my email. I think I might have sounded a little down in the dumps, especially when I shared that scripture about being depressed. Well, I was a little down in the dumps. I was trying my best to stay positive, and I have been clearly able to see the hand of the Lord in this week. As the Book of Mormon says, the Lord will give us mercies and success after we bear with patience those afflictions that we are called to bear. Well, the miracles have been pouring in this week.

I'll start at Monday. Or in Maria's words, I'll start at the very beginning (a very good place to start). Monday was a little strange because it was my first P-day in Vienna. It just wasn't quite the same. That night we knocked on doors for a long while. It was cold, frustrating, and tiring. The Lord had great blessings in store for us because of our diligence. We were determined to work the night out despite the cold. We knocked on one door and talked to a man for about 10-15 minutes about his grandchildren who are Mormon and have served missions. That was pretty cool and I thought that that was the end of our cool experiences for the night. That's when Elder Gadberry suggested that we knock the door of the neighboring house. I thought, "why not?" We knocked on the door of a very nice looking home. An older man came to the door. Before I could rely introduce ourselves, the man said something about the cold weather and asked us to come in. I thought that he was going to just let us in long enough to explain what we wanted and then get out. Nope, not at all. We told him about our purpose as missionaries. He asked us to sit down and said that he would wake up his wife who was asleep on the couch in another room. We were shocked, but we sat. We taught him and her about the Book of Mormon and about latter-day prophets. They were very kind and attentive. They discussed the gospel with us. Then they asked us if we would like some homemade pumpkin pie. Elder Gadberry and I looked at each other dumbfounded. Surely, these were the nicest people ever to be found on the face of the earth. After having a warm conversation, we sat down to enjoy a healthy slice of the most heavenly pumpkin pie I have ever tasted. We talked to them until it was time for us to head back home. They invited us back anytime. I don't think that they were necessarily interested in changing their lives for the restored gospel, but they were definitely good Christians who had definitely been a blessings to God's servants.

That was just the beginning of the week's miracles. Tuesday we met with a former investigator who we haven't been able to get into contact with for a month. Wednesday we were inspired to talk to a woman on the street who invited us back to talk to her. We also met a woman tracting who is a member of the Church from Uruguay who understands Portuguese better than English. I got to talk to her in Portuguese. What a blessing! Thursday we had 3 different dinner appointments with members of the ward and had a wonderful Thanksgiving. Friday I got a wonderful advent calendar in the mail from a family that I love more than anything else. We also had a district meeting that touched the hearts of the missionaries there and brought us together in a feeling of unity and love. Yesterday we met with that woman we met with on Wednesday and her boyfriend. She has already begun to read the Book of Mormon, and she loves it. We have seen so great miracles! 2 Nephi 4:26 "O then, if I have seen so great things, if the Lord in his condescension unto the children of men hath visited men in so much mercy, why should my heart weep and my soul linger in the valley of sorrow, and my flesh waste away, and my strength slacken, because of mine afflictions?" Nephi couldn't have said it better. I have been privy to some great blessings this week. They stem from diligence and faith.

I know that Christ is my Savior and king. He has redeemed me. My Heavenly Father knows me and loves me. In Him I can find all happiness and joy. By reading the Book of Mormon, we can come unto Him and partake of the richest blessings known to man. I love you all. Merry Christmas! You are in my prayers always.


Love, Elder Parker Ayer

"Out in Vienna they wander, hungry and helpless and cold..."

Dear family,

I love you all so much. There is nothing greater than family. Families are a support system of love and comfort. I have sharply felt the the effects of not being able to always call on my family for help. One thing I am coming to learn is that Heavenly Father takes away comfort sometimes so that we will rely more fully on Him. I thought I knew how to do this before, but Heavenly Father is proving my ignorance through experience. I also never imagined how hard a mission could be. I was told by my missionary prep teacher that a mission will probably be the most physically, psychologically, mentally, and emotionally draining experience we will ever go through. I thought that was a bit of an exaggeration. Back then I thought that I would be able to do it. That is where my ignorance was. In life, it is never us who can do it alone. We have to humble ourselves and say that only through Christ can we perform the labor that He has called us to do.

With that somewhat dreary beginning, let me tell you how my week went. :D Well, it's been great. It's been challenging, but great.

Thursday morning I moved into the Vienna house with Elder Gadberry. The new place is not an apartment, but a house. It is pretty spacious, which is why they decided to stick another set of missionaries in the same house with us. They got there a little bit later in the day. They will be taking over the Belpre, OH area from the zone leaders (my old companions). Their names are Elder Kieran and Elder Markowski. Elder Kieran has been on a mission for 21 months now, and Elder Markowski is a brand new missionary. After talking to Elder Markowski for a little bit, I found out that he went to BYU and was in Will's ward. In fact, we would see Will a couple times a week. In fact, Will was his Sunday School teacher! Isn't that great?! His name is Colby Markowski. That was pretty fun to find out.

Friday was a long day of weekly planning. After studying for a good four hours (training and language study included) we planned out our week and kind of our plan for this transfer for another three hours. It was a long time to be inside. One bright spot on the day was that we got to go visit a man named Todd. He is golden. Elder Gadberry was on exchange a couple weeks ago when he felt prompted to knock on Todd's door. They weren't able to set up a time to meet with Todd until this week, but Todd is ready to hear the gospel. He is a 34-year-old Master Mason who believes in the Bible but doesn't belong to any Church. He used to have an addiction to alcohol, but has now been a month sober. When he was talking to us, he said that he's been wanting a spiritual awakening and he feels like it's about to happen. He's already read some of the Book of Mormon and said that he's willing to believe that it's true. It was so exciting to be there. It is interesting to see how God prepares His children to receive His messengers and His gospel. Another thing that happened today was that while we were biking somewhere, Elder Gadberry's handlebars got loosened somehow so that he wasn't able to control the bike. That means that we will be walking. That's right we have no car. If we want to get anywhere, we bicycle, walk, or bum rides from members. It's not that bad, but it has made the days exciting.

I feel like we celebrated Pioneer Day on Saturday. We walked and walked and walked. There was no reaching the Salt Lake Valley, we just walked and walked and walked. We had a couple appointments set up with people during the day. The people live pretty far away for walking, so we were calling everyone in the ward to see if someone could come with us to a lesson and drive us. No one was able to come. Well, that meant we were walking. Luckily there were quick visits that we could make with less active members on the way, so the walking wasn't a complete waste of our time. For our first appointment in the day, we walked 45 blocks to a man's house. We had scheduled an appointment with him before, but he hadn't answered his phone when we called to confirm earlier. We were still pretty sure that he would be there. It took us well over an hour to walk all the way to his house. We arrived perfectly on time, and knocked on his door. After knocking, I could hear someone inside say, "they're here". The man came to the door and opened it barely wide enough to fit his head through to talk to us. That was a bad sign. Then he told us that he had some people over, so now wasn't a good time. He didn't take any pity on us standing out there in the cold. He essentially told us that we should have known it wouldn't be a good time for him because he didn't answer his phone earlier when we called. We told him to have a nice day and that we'd try to stop by next week. I was pretty frustrated. Here we had walked all of this way so that we could come to him. We had frozen our butts off and worked our calves to get to his home and bring him the message of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ which is the only way to feel God's fullest joy in this and the next life, and he waved us off. I was ready to sit down and fume a little bit. Elder Gadberry, thankfully, kept me sane. We didn't stop a bit. We got back on the road and started walking to another home with another family. We walked for the rest of the day. As we were walking back that night, snow started falling and I could feel blisters forming on my feet. These were the challenges and trials that the Lord had called me to endure with patience. This was the experience that He wanted me to grow from. I was determined to be cheerful and positive. Elder Gadberry and I began singing the hymn, "Dear to the Heart of the Shepherd". I love the chorus because it reminds me of nights back at home when we might get a little crazy and start singing opera style. Elder Gadberry and I changed the lyrics so that it would fit our situation. "Out in Vienna they wander, hungry and helpless and cold." We thougth it was pretty funny. Usually this part of the hymn refers to Christ's lost sheep who and wandering, but I felt like that it perfectly applied to my situation as a missionary. That's when I realized that as missionaries, we have to go rescue the sheep from the situation that they are in. If they are hungry, helpless, and cold, we have to go find them where there is no path and where the environment is uncomfortable. This is what Christ did for us. He descended below all things. His Atonement is the perfect example of the Shepherd gathering His sheep from the places they wander. He experienced every sin, temptation, pain, sorrow, or sickness that we have or will ever feel. He lets us become partners with Him in His work when we help others to come unto Him and accept the gift of the Atonement. It is a wonderful opportunity that we have to serve Him, albeit difficult and uncomfortable.

Sunday is always a blessing. This Sunday was no different. There is such a Spirit when we get to partake of the sacrament. We basically do the same things on each day of the week, as missionaries, but Sunday feels especially joyous. We had our first district meeting of the transfer on Sunday as well. It went great. The district includes the Parkersburg, Belpre, and Vienna elders. Along with these missionaries, the ward has a set of sister missionaries. That means four sets in one ward alone! It's pretty amazing, and we're hoping to see some good things happen.

Well, in my studies today I got to read Alma 26. This chapter is so wonderful and tells us some great things about how to do missionary work. The verse that really hit me today was verse 27. It is kind of strange to think that the Sons of Mosiah were ever depressed in their missionary work, but they were. They had times of sadness, but they always turned to the Lord for support. When they did, they were strengthened by His voice and were commanded to bear their afflictions with patience. This is my hope and my prayer. Missionary work is super hard, but I'm trying my best to stay positive and put my whole self into loving the people here.

I love you all. I hope you know that. I had some thoughts come into my head about what I might want for Christmas, but I can't think of anything. I do need some clothes to stay warm (long johns, gloves, hat), but I'll probably get those on my own before too long because the weather is getting bitter. I would love to be home with a nice cup of spiced cider listening to some old Christmas albums, but I know that I need to be here. Be happy. Try to make those around you happy. Invite them to Church. Invite them to learn about the restored gospel of Jesus Christ. Invite them to read the Book of Mormon and come to know Christ this Christmas in a way they've never known. These things will bless them now and for eternity. It will also bless you. You're in my prayers.


Love, Elder Parker Ayer


P.S. I saw a super flattened squirrel on the road and thought about Sarah's picture with a super flattened dog. Que grande! :D

CHANGE

Dear family!

This week is transfers. In this mission, P-day is on a Wednesday the week of transfers. Thus, I am emailing today. This week has been packed with craziness. It was the last week of transfers, and it couldn't have flown by faster.

Wednesday night we saw a great miracle. Elder Colligan, Elder Stechnij, and I were walking around North Parkersburg. We do something called "selective knocking". This is when we walk down the street and we only knock on doors that we feel impressed to knock on. This cuts down on wasting time. It also helps us fine tune our spiritual sensitivity. We knocked on a few doors, but nothing really came of it. As we continued to walk down the street, we saw a home that was covered in Christmas decorations. It looked like a nice, cheery home with nice, cheery people inside. We obviously knocked on the door. After the first knock, we stood around for a little bit talking. We decided to knock a second time. We were about to walk away when the door was opened by a half-naked woman in a scanty nightgown, curlers in her hair, and tears streaming down her face. I was expecting her to tell us to go away. She was in hysterics. Instead, she invited us in. There were dogs jumping all around her and she was trying to pull herself together. We all came in and sat down. We soon found out that she had just gotten off the phone and had been told that her beloved niece (or cousin) would be taken off of life support. She was devastated. She was still holding the phone, and it seemed as though she had literally hung up seconds before opening the door. We were so glad to be there to support her in her time of grief. What impressed me most of all was how Heavenly Father had orchestrated this moment. He is an expert in arranging perfect times and perfect places. As the Lord's official representatives, we were able to bring the comfort of the Spirit immediately into her heart at a time of extreme need. We were able to listen to her. We were able to share our testimonies and the testimonies of Book of Mormon prophets. In this moment, I felt nothing but extreme love and concern for this daughter of God. I wanted to impress upon her mind, more than anything, that we were here to show God's love. I told her that we were not there to take advantage of her situation, force a Book of Mormon upon her, and baptize her that very night. For some reason, people have this conception of us as missionaries. What I wanted to share with her more than anything at that moment was the peace that the Book of Mormon has brought into my life. Heavenly Father also knew that the Book of Mormon was the thing that would bring her the most comfort and peace to calm her troubled heart. That is why He sent His servants. I am so grateful for the Spirit. I am so grateful for the guidance he can give us. I am so grateful that Heavenly Father trusts me enough to direct me to someone who is in real need. It was an amazing experience.

Thursday and Friday were both dedicated to Zone Meeting. Thursday I helped Elder Colligan and Elder Stechnij get everything in order for the meeting. We were planning to have a jeopardy game about Zion with a White Christmas theme. Thus, I was in charge of putting together questions about Zion and cutting out snowflakes. The other Elders kept asking me how I knew to make snowflakes so well. Thank you, Mom, for this important and very underappreciated skill. It came in very handy. Another skill that came in handy was being able to play the recorder. I don't think that I ever told you, but I found a cheap plastic recorder in my apartment. I have been playing it a few times a week and it makes me think of Sarah every time. Well, for Zone Meeting, I was in charge with making and reading the questions about hymns of Zion. Since the clues were pretty hard, I decided to also play the tune of each hymn on the recorder as an extra hint. I'm not sure if it actually helped. I haven't quite figured out how to play sharps and flats perfectly on the recorder. Everyone loved it though. The room was decked out in snowflakes and everyone got a chuckle when I pulled out the recorder. One of the blessings of being with the Zone Leaders is that I've gotten to know all of the missionaries in our zone. It has been very fun to get to know so many other missionaries. President and Sister Pitt also came to our zone meeting so that President Pitt could conduct interviews. He gave me some updates on visa stuff. First, the Church is having a very hard time getting visas because other countries are scared we are taking over the world with all of the missionaries we are sending out. Second, the Church will no longer be transferring visa waiters immediately to their foreign missions when they get their visas. If my visa comes in the middle of this transfer, I will wait until the end of the transfer to go to Brazil, which means that I will definitely be here for Christmas! President Pitt also said that I will now be serving with Elder Gadberry (another visa waiter who came out with me) in the Vienna area in the Parkersburg Ward. It is kind of crazy, but we'll be co-training each other. I am very happy to be in the Parkersburg Ward still, and I will still be able to see Elder Colligan and Elder Stechnij. I can absolutely say that I love President Pitt. He is such a loving a wonderful man. After talking to him, I felt such love and excitement to do the work.

Saturday was Elder Stechnij's 21st birthday! Thank you so much for the crepe recipe, it was great. My crepes didn't turn out very well, but they tasted good. I haven't quite gotten down the form for spreading the batter around on the pan. After crepes and studying, we went to go help set up a football banquet being held at the Church. One of the stake counselors is in our ward and is the head of the boosters for his son's football team. We were more than happy to do it because his family does so much to support us in our missionary efforts. It was also a great opportunity to expose others to the Church. What I have realized since being in WV is that I know nothing about football. That is all that my companions talk about, all that anyone else talks about, and I am clueless. I know that it's going to be even worse when I get down to Brazil because futebol is really the ONLY thing that people will talk about. Oh well, I'm learning. That night we had a mini party for Elder Stechnij. I made a cake with homemade cream cheese frosting. I didn't even use a recipe! Luckily sugar tastes good no matter what you do to it. :D

The past few days have been a blur. Everything went by so fast I can hardly remember it all. One thing has added to the craze of it all. I got a call from President Pitt asking me to serve as the new district leader of the Vienna district. I don't know what to make of it. I am happy to serve, albeit bewildered. I really do hope that the Lord qualifies those He calls! I look forward to the new transfer. I love you all so much. I think about you and pray for you. Christian, I loved your fun newspaper photo. you are awesome. Mom, Dad, Will, and Sarah are awesome, too. You're all awesome and I am so glad that we are an eternal family.


Love, Elder Parker Ayer


P.S. I don't know what I want for Christmas. Yes I do. Invite at least one friend to Church. Love you!

A week of learning

Oi familia! Tudo bem?

I sure hope that tudo is bem. All is well. I know that the scriptures warn the Saints not to get complacent and say that all is well in Zion, but "Come, Come Ye Saints" would say otherwise. There is definitely a different connotation in the hymn and the scripture. In the scripture, it talks about people becoming stagnant before God and regressing instead of progressing. The hymn is quite different as it talks about a group of people who were anything but complacent: the Mormon pioneers. They fought through so much, they gave up so much, they gained so much in coming to know God. They found solace in the words "all is well". All is well when we look towards Christ and rely on him in our affliction. He is the embodiment of the knowledge that all will be well. His gospel of reprentance and forgiveness brings us peace for today and hope for tomorrow. This idea has been on my mind for a while now. We always listen to hymns in the car, and this hymn has come up often. Please go back and listen to the Mormon Tabernacle Choir sing this hymn. The tenors have a great harmony at the end when they "their rest obtain". I tried to explain this to my companions, but they don't understand. Luckily, they do appreciate good music even if they can't articulate why it's so good. :D Well, that was a long introduction, but let's get down to the nitty gritty.

Monday: We tried to take P-day easy. That was the plan at least. After getting all of our preparation stuff done, we were just going to take an hour long nap before a dinner appointment when they called us and let us know that we would actually being eating an hour earlier. Well, we didn't get the long nap, but we did get fed. I was especially grateful for the pumpkin pie. Afterwards, we went with one of the members of the family (Brother Warren Walker who is a great member missionary and dresses up like a cowboy all the time) to go visit his friend. We met with his friend and taught him about the Restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ. The friend was really in to hunting, and I had a really great metaphor come in to my mind that could help him understand the Book of Mormon better. This happens often. I don't even know what I'm saying and then something profound comes out of my mouth. Well, I compared the Book of Mormon to a lens on a scope. The Bible is the other lens of the scope. The lenses work together to focus our lives on Jesus Christ. I'm not sure if the metaphor impacted him too much, but we are going to meet with him again, which is always good. When we got to the apartment that night, we had several phone calls and a prayer that led us to decide that I would go on an exchange to Marietta for a few days by myself while the district leader there went to go help another area. Let's just say that I was a little anxious, especially because Elder Steed, who I would be with, is just as new as I am and I was going to be appointed as temporary senior companion. Yikes!

Tuesday: I was dropped off with the Vienna elders in our district while Elders Colligan and Stechnij went down to a Missionry Leadership Council meeting in Charleston. I went with the Vienna elders to help a family in our ward move some furniture out of their house. There were several pieces of furniture including a piano. However, the piano wasn't even the heaviest piece of furniture. We also had to be very tedious and slow since all of the furniture was bulky, Amish-made furniture that could easily ding walls or be dinged. We also got to go see their new house in Williamstown. It is a hundred-year-old house that house some beautiful architecture. However, the inside was a nightmare. Wallpaper. Wallpaper everywhere. Hideous, gawdy, flowery patterns covering every wall and ceiling. It was incredible. Each room had a horrendous design that contrasted with the room next to it. What was even better was that each wallpaper was textured. I was a little freaked out when I reached out and felt felt. Ahhh, it was so funny. They are doing some major remodeling and will likely not be done for five months. After helping them move, I was picked up by the Marietta elders. We drove up and did some more service for some ward members there. Then we dropped off Elder Greenwood with the Williamstown elders. This is when the reality of my situation fell on me. I was in charge of an entire area of missionary work. I was in the driver's seat...literally. I got to drive again! It felt nice to drive a car. That night we went to go visit some people. Two of the people we stopped by lived on the same street. After setting up a return appointment with one of them, we had nothing else planned for the night. We still had an hour before we needed to be back to our apartment. We said a prayer to figure out what we should. I felt like we should go down a nearby street and knock some doors. Elder Steed felt like we should go visit a woman they had met before who lived down the same street. If we tracted, we would walk down the street. If we visited the woman, we would get her address from the car and drive to her home. We both felt very strongly about what we should do. We decided to make a compromise. We would knock a few doors on the street and then keep on walking until we walked by her house. We knocked a few doors. We walked, and walked, and walked. We never passed the house that Elder Steed thought he would recognize. Well, we got to what looked like the end of the street and were about to turn and walk back when Elder Steed thought we should knock on just one more door before returning. I agreed. At the end of the street there was a house with a very cool jack-o-lantern that we decided to go to. The door was answered. I was expecting to see someone slightly ghetto in this slightly ghetto neiborhood. I was very surprised when the door was answered by a young man wearing clean clothes, a full set of teeth, and no slurred speech. He was super nice. Elder Steed was just so excited that someone answered the door; he started talking really fast. In about thirty seconds Elder Steed had invited the man (Jason) to learn more, had given him a pass-along card, and had given him a Restoration pamphlet. I topped the collection off with a good ol' Book of Mormon. We're going to go back and see him tomorrow same bat time same bat place.

Wednesday: This might have been the longest day of my entire life. In the morning, I decided that I wanted to have a special fast for our exchange. Elder Steed decided to join me. We spent the day contacting people, walking up and down streets tracting, and trying to ward off the hunger pains in our stomachs. We didn't see any success the entire day. This was frustrating, but I learned a great lesson. The elders in the area hadn't really been using the members. The investigators they had were all pretty flaky. It seemed like the only interaction the members in the ward had was to deliver meals. This is not effective. A ward is full of members who have several friends and acquaintances that have been specifically prepared to receive the gospel through them. I am only one person. It is impossible for me to have an effect on anyone in an area that can equal the impact of a member friend. Members have already established relationships with others in which their friends have already been exposed to the influence of the Spirit several times. This is so critical. Each person that we know has been prepared by God to know us. Each person. Why does it matter who we invite when everyone around us is being guided by God in small and simple ways to the everlasting truth found in Christ's restored Church? Anyway, dinner eventually came. Then we got to meet with Jason. I guess I had assumed that Elder Steed would be able to teach a simple lesson about the Restoration. I hadn't realized that Elder Steed and Elder Greenwood had really not been able to teach anyone in their area during the transfer. This was Elder Steed's first real teaching opportunity, and we hadn't planned much at all. We got in the lesson, and what we said was all over the place. We were not teaching in unison. We were not sticking to the basic principles. Oh, it was terrible! When the end of the lesson came around, we didn't even finish with prayer because we were disrupted by Jason's girlfriend coming home. When we got out of their apartment, I was ready to bang my head against a wall. Elder Steed was jumping for joy and trying to fist bump me. He had just taught his first lesson! He was on an emotionally charged missionary high. That's when I had to turn my attitude around and change my perspective. It was great. The message of the Restoration is always great. Yes, there was room for improvement, but we had been able to tell one more beloved child of God the truth of Christ's restored gospel. And it was successful because Jason was still interested and wanted to learn more. Luckily, this gospel is also a gospel of second chances. :D

Thursday: We finished up our exchange today with little to no success. Oh well. I'm just glad that we worked hard and did what the Lord expecte dof us. At night, I was picked up by Elder Colligan and Elder Stechnij. It was so good to see them again and return to Parkersburg.

Friday: We had mission conference today. Our conference was graced by none other than Elder Joseph W Sitati of Kenya. It was a spirutally filling meeting. We discussed for 5 hours the meaning of our purpose as missionaries and how we can improve. After all of the spiritual instruction, I felt like I had been fasting all day. I was about to burst with the Spirit! If I typed out everything I learned, this email would be three times longer.

Saturday: We had the adult session of our stake conference this night. We were told that we are expected to go to this meeting now. It was so great! It sounds like all future adult stake conference sessions will focus on hastening the work of salvation. One thing that was most instructive about the meeting was when President Poe (stake president) said that we succeed in missionary work when we invite. That is so true. If we do our part, we cannot be disappointed. OUr duty is simply to invite our friends to hear the message of the restored gospel.

Sunday: Today was stake conference. Another filling day of spiritual enlightenement. Tongiht we watched 17 Miracles. I obviously cried as I saw the example of all those faithful pioneers.

Monday: We played football with a young man in our ward and some of his football friends. I felt pretty silly and useless. Luckily you don't have to have much skill to block people. I even caught the ball once. It was great.

I love you all so much. Know that. I love you more than the world.

Love, Elder Ayer

P.S. Amanda Smith, I hope you are okay in the Phillipines!

P.P.S. I taught my companions the difference between melody and harmony.

A SPECIAL day!

Friends, Mormons, countrymen,

Lend me your ear. This is an auspicious day. This is a heralded day. This is a day of pomp. Christian *Ayer, the son, rises* from a state of childhood to a state of manhood. For on this day of joy and gladness, he begins his seventeenth year, which is to say that upon this noble day he has attained to the amount of sixteen years. Yea, verily, yea. Let the earth break forth into song. Let the women cheer. On this day he presents himself as an available single, which is to say that he will allow himself to honor young ladies of untarnished reputation to partake in dating events with him. HAPPY SIXTEENTH BIRTHDAY CHRISTIAN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Okay, that took me ten minutes to write. I hope that fulfills all of your wildest birthday wishes. I have been thinking about you a lot. I love you and I hope that you enjoy your sweet 16.

I also love all the rest of you. There is not a day that goes by that i don't thank Heavenly Father for my loved ones. Just the other day, Elder Colligan was playing some sacred music before we went to bed. He said something about being so grateful for the music of the Church and how it helps him so much to connect to the Spirit. I immediately thought of our family. I imagined us gathering around the piano, Sarah at the keys. I thought of us singing our all time favorite hymns and then venturing out into strange waters with some unknown hymns. I imagined not being able to hear the melody because we love the harmony parts so much. I imagined us singing opera style when the hymn got a little intense and very zealous. I remembered these inspiring, instructional moments. Thank you for the love of the gospel that was developed in our home. Thank you for the Spirit that we felt through music. Thank you for these experiences that have developed a love of family, but also a love of God. I do not think that we could ever be as close as we are if we hadn't pursued a closeness with Heavenly Father. Through the power of Jesus Christ, we bind our hearts together as we rely upon each other for strength in overcoming challenges and pursuing righteousness. I have seen many kinds of families on my mission. Usually, we don't get to visit the families that make me feel warm and fuzzy. It always makes me feel great when I do get to visit these families, but that is not what I have been called to do. I have been called to go among families that are in disrepair and need the repairing power of the Savior. It is heartbreaking to see homes where children are considered a nuisance. It is heartbreaking to see homes where the Church is present, but the gospel is not. It is heartbreaking to see homes where there is no care for self, situation, or sanctity. It is heartbreaking, but we follow the example of the Savior. He came not to go among the righteous, but to go among sinners. It is such a blessing when we get to cheer up troubled children and bring the Spirit into hollow homes.

I do not have enough time to retrace each day, but know that I love you. Know that I think about you. Know that I wonder what my parents would do in the situations I am in. I often think how my mother would react in the midst of challenging days and disheartening times. Would she give up? Would she put in the towel? No, she would pick herself up, see her duty and do it. She would finish a job despite weary hands, and she would make it a masterpiece. I often think of my father's continuing conversion to the gospel of Jesus Christ. I use this great heritage of conversion to help guide others and myself in learning and living the principles of the gospel. I am everlastingly grateful for my parents. Thank you. I love you all. Continue to improve and come unto Christ. Help others improve and come unto Christ. When we surrender ourselves to God's work, we are given guidance to do His work in His way.

Love, Elder Parker Ayer

P.S. Biscuits and gravy are big here. I have had them multiple times from breakfast and dinner. For example, someone in the ward dropped off dinner for us last night. Between the three of us, we ate 15 biscuits and a bucket of gravy. Yum!

P.P.S. rabbit rabbit

P.P.P.S. A guy named Will Long, from the ward here, just got called to the Santa Rosa California Mission speaking Spanish. I'm going to show him a picture of Elder Stephenson.

P.P.P.P.S. I heard the Red Sox won the World Series. Hurrah for Israel! :D

Exchanges

Dear family,

First of all, thank you for the packaged love that you sent the other day. I love you! I don't just love you because you sent me a package, but it certainly was a great reminder of all the reasons why I love you. I loved getting the notes and the old pictures. I also love the coat. it is perfect! It is coming in very handy with these cold days. So far, I've just been wearing the liner. I'm sure i'll add the other layer in a few more weeks. And yes, I am planning on being here for a few more weeks. If you're praying that I get my visa, please stop. I love it here! Please pray that everything will happen according to the established timeline of the Lord. (I'm hoping that timeline allows me to taste some Thanksgiving pie before I head south.)

This week has been kind of a roller coaster between having our area doubled in size and going on exchanges. Remember, Elder Stechnij and Elder Colligan are zone leaders, so I get to experience all of the fun things (and tedious things) of that assignment. Our area originally included South Parkersburg and Belpre, OH. On Monday we found out that the sister missionaries in North Parkersburg would be transferred to Charleston until the end of November for health reasons. That means that we were assigned to take over the northern part of the ward as well. That's a lot of ground to cover!

On Tuesday, we went to go visit one of the investigators that the North Parkersburg sisters were teaching previously. It seems that he has been trying to avoid us. I really don't know why. He was planning on getting baptized, but seems afraid of talking to us for some reason. Anyway, we knocked on his door and no one answered. As we were going back to our car, we stopped and talked to his neighbor. She is an older woman who has been going to the Baptist church all of her life. We talked to her for a while about our church and her beliefs. We asked if we could come back and share a message about Jesus Christ. She refused and said that she didn't think that we could teach her anything else about Jesus that she hasn't already heard from her preachers. We ended our conversation with her, got in our car, and drove off. As I was sitting there thinking about the experience, I got really frustrated with myself. I let her tell me that I had nothing else to bless her with. This was totally false. Over the next several days, I thought of all of the wonderful things that we know about the Savior in our Church. We have the Book of Mormon. That alone is marvelous. The Book of Mormon is not offensive, antagonistic, or harmful to anyone's faith. It upholds, exalts, and enriches the Bible. It speaks in harmony with the Bible's teachings. it speaks in correspondence with the Bible to support the testimony of Jesus Christ as our Redeemer. It further develops the understanding that we have of the love of God. He loves all people everywhere. He seeks to lead all people to the pure and only source of joy in this life, Jesus Christ. The Book of Mormon helps us to understand the plan for our salvation made possible through Jesus Christ. He is the only way or means whereby salvation cometh. The Book of Mormon is powerful as it invites the Spirit into our hearts. Any person who can call himself a Christian should be overjoyed and desirous to read the Book of Mormon so that they can add to their testimony of the Savior and their faith in His power.

Later on Tuesday, Elder Colligan and I traveled to Marietta, OH to exchange with the elders there. It was a long evening. They haven't been able to find any people who want to listen to their message, but it is probably because they haven't been doing it very effectively. We spent the evening calling and contacting people who had been interested in talking to the missionaries. It was tedious, but we did teach one woman who has clearly been prepared to receive the gospel message. She was asking questions about life and Christ that are clearly answered by the Book of Mormon and modern revelation. One interesting thing that she said is that some different churches frown on people having an experience where they feel the presence of God. They also tell people that some questions cannot be answered. We teach the exact opposite. We tell all people to seek out a spiritual experience through prayer so that they can receive answers to their questions. Prayer is a communication tool to be used between God and man. We declare that every man and woman has the divine right, as a child of Almighty God, to receive a spiritual witness of the truth as a guide in this life. We invite all people to ponder about our message and then to ask Heavenly Father in faith, in the name of Jesus Christ, if what we teach is true. We do so with confidence because we know that Jesus Christ is the Savior of the world, the Book of Mormon is true, Joseph Smith saw Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ, and God has a prophet on the earth today to lead and direct His people.

Wednesday morning, we woke up in Marietta and got a call from Elder Stechnij saying that we would switch back to our normal areas earlier than planned. That meant that we had to choose one name from a list of several people who we would go visit. I suggested that we pray together and ask Heavenly Father who we should visit. After the prayer, all of us had the same name on our minds. When we looked at her information, we found that she was 20 miles away in Waterford, OH. That seemed a long way to go to try to track down one person. Still, we decided that we would follow the inspiration that we had received. We drove for quite a while through some winding (and pretty) country roads in order to get there. Once we got there, we knocked on her door. No answer. We knocked on her neighbors' doors. No answers. We knocked on her door again. No one. Nada. Zilch. Why had we been directed to this place? It was confusing and a little concerning. We loaded back into the car and drove back to Parkersburg. After talking with Elder Colligan and thinking about it for a while, I decided that God had his reasons. Was he testing us. Had we avoided a major accident on the road. Was it a tender mercy just to drive past scenic and picturesque Ohio? Was it a combination of all of these? I am not really sure. What I have determined, though, is that I know in whom I have put my trust. I know the power of prayer and receiving answers. I will not be shaken. We were all guided in our thoughts to go to Waterford. If anything, I hope that I have shown to God that I will do whatever He commands me. It may seem illogical and unreasonable, but i trust Him. I hope that He can trust me.

Thrusday, I went with Elder Stechnij to Ravenswood on exchange. What a fun experience! This was a small town in which everyone knew the missionaries. Those that actually like he missionary refer to them as "the boys". Fun trivia for you, Dad, Ravenswood has the highest number of churches per capita of any town in the US. We got to visit several kind and sincere people while we were there. We went to go visit a man recovering in a nursing home. When we walked out, we walked past an old guy who said, "Hey, you've never come to visit me before." He was not a member of the Church; He was just a kind old man who felt slightly left out that "the boys" had never stopped by to talk to him before. What a great place!

Friday, we finished the exchange with Ravenswood, but we had to go down to Winfield/Teays Valley so that Elder Stechnij could do a baptismal interview for someone down there. It was a long drive. I was in the back seat and Elder Colligan and Elder Stechnij were in the front talking to each other. I don't know why, but I was feeling kind of low. I was feeling bad for myself. I tried to read the scriptures to cheer me up, but I wasn't really paying attention to them. On the the long ride back, I tried to sleep, but I was mostly just consumed with feeling sorry for myself. That's when I started blaming others in my head and thinking that everyone else should be trying to cheer me up. Then the Spirit came into my head and chastened me. I was being the natural man. The natural man is when we feel entitled to people serving us. In contrast, Christ's character is to turn outward despite opposition. Well, I tried to be cheerful. It wasn't coming. That night, I felt impressed to pray out loud. I went into our study area and prayed out loud. I cannot describe the peace that I felt. The Spirit helped me see the ways that I could change in order to serve those around me better. I feel such gratitude for prayer. It is a real and vital source of strength and connection with God. He is real. He is there for us, ever watchful and ever mindful.

Saturday was baptism day. We went to go visit Tina early in the day because she said that she was kind of nervous on Friday. When we got there, she was happy as could be. She said that she had been listening to John Denver's "Sunshine on my Shoulder" when the sunlight had come through her window and she knew that she had to be baptized. She is so sincere and sweet. She was baptized that night by Elder Colligan. On Sunday, Elder Stechnij confirmed her. It was a wonderful experience, and she was clearly delighted. She was also very happy because the Primary Presentation was on Sunday. She loved listening to the children sing. So did I.

Life is great. Life is beautiful. My life is a gift, my life has a plan. My life has a purpose, in heaven it began. THere is so much joy in the gospel. I feel that joy every day, and I hope that you do, too. I love you!

Love, Elder Parker Ayer