Spring into action!

Dear family,

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO THE BEST DAD IN THE WHOLE WIDE WORLD TO INFINITY AND BEYOND!!! You are such a wonderful example to me in my life and you have helped me overcome so many things. Thank you for your stalwart example and constant care. I love you!

Well, I left Vienna on Wednesday. It was a sad day. After several months of serving there and really coming to love the people there, it was very had. This was my first "real" transfer to an unknown place! Luckily, all of the elders in our house (Elder Lopez, Elder Markowski, and Elder Lyman) helped me pack up and get ready for the transfer, so I wasn't up all night packing.

Elder Lyman came down with me in our Bishops' car to transfers. He is now training a new elder named Elder Baty (a Brazilian visa waiter) and is also serving with an Elder Ochsenbein. I am now with Elder [Dallin] Russo and he is training a Brazilian visa waiter, Elder [Kyle] Grajeda. Elder Russo is from Oklahoma, and Elder Grajeda is from Missouri. Elder Grajeda learned how to speak in New Jersey, however, so he has a thick New "Joisey" accent.

I am now serving in the Cave Spring, VA area. It is great! The ward here is super awesome. We live in the basement apartment of a member in the ward. We have a car and will be getting a new car this Tuesday.

The work here is pretty slow right now. It's a little discouraging, but not too discouraging. I get restless leg syndrome every day because we drive so much to where we are going to talk to people. I would much rather walk around all day in the cold. We have been talking to a lot of less-active members. I have been working on helping us shift our focus to finding new people to teach.

Neither of my companions can drive right now, so I am the designated driver. That has made me realize a few things. I am not very good at driving. I don't know if is the hiatus I've had from practicing, or I've always been bad. In either case, I am grateful for the Lord's protecting hand. :D

I am the district leader here. The district is awesome! There is another companionship of Brazilian visa waiters, so we have five total. The sister trainer leaders are in our district as well. They are so helpful and hard-working. One of them, Sister Shumway, looks and acts a lot like Sarah. It is so fun! Another sister, Sister Ostler used to live right across the road from the Bennett family in Salem and knows them really well! How great!

Sorry this email has been so brief. It's hard for me to think of what to say right now. One thing that I realized this morning is the importance it is to invite people to come partake of the blessings of the gospel. We have daily interaction with so many people. They benefit from the Spirit that we carry with us. It would be a great disservice to them if we allowed them to drink from the fountain of living water, but not tell them how to reach the fountain and drink for themselves. It is so vital and necessary that we do all that we can to lead and guide others to that source of joy that comes from Christ through the ministration of the Holy Ghost.

I love you all so much and hope that everything is going well. Please invite everyone to talk to the misisonaries and receive the blessings of the gospel in their lives. It is such a blessing to share.

I LOVE YOU!!!

Love, Elder Ayer

P.S. There are some Eliasons in the ward. I haven't met them yet, but I heard they're from California, so I'm not sure if there is any relation.

P.P.S. I will try to send some pictures your way.

going south, but not THAT south

Dear Family,

This last week has been great!!! The transfer is just about done, and it's weird looking back and realizing that it was 3 months ago that Elder Lyman and I first met each other. Almost half of my mission so far, WOW!

Well, the greatest experience of this last week was Elijah. Do you remember him from last week? I think that I mentioned him, but I never knew that he would become our South-American-turned-American miracle. He's not really South American. He really is American. He also is a miracle. He was a media referral from a few weeks ago that we tried to get a hold of. We weren't able to meet with him for a while because he has a strange schedule working at Planet Fitness, and he was usually asleep when we went over. From the sounds of it, he talked to a Jehovah's Witness woman at the bus stop about a month ago. He gave all of his information to her. Then we showed up on his doorstep. I don't know what happened, but it sounds like there was a divine intervention and a JW ended up referring this golden man to us. How great! Well, last week when we met with him we invited him to be baptized at the beginning of May. This last week, we had to move it up to the beginning of April. He told us that he missed coming to Scout Sunday last week because he was up the entire night looking at everything on mormon.org. We were glad he did. He has now read all the way to Alma 19! What a superstar! He is married, owns his own home, has one daughter, has twins on the way, can't read very well, but remembers everything he learns about the Church and the Book of Mormon. He can't to Church this last Sunday and enjoyed it. In the opening exercises for priesthood meeting, we reported on the fact that we only get fed about once a week. We weren't complaining, we were simply reporting on how we had been bearing our afflictions with patience and were desirous for more good food. Well, our meal calendar didn't really change at all. However, Elijah did call us an hour after Church and ask us if we wanted to eat dinner with him. He is so great! After dinner, we got to teach Elijah's wife and mother-in-law. His wife, Alecia, isn't very interested (yet), but his mother-in-law, Debbie is very interested. We met with her this morning and she is planning on baptism for April 20th. They are all so cool. I never thought that I would get to see such an amazing miracle in North America. It just goes to show ya that God is a God of miracles. Where there is faith, there will be miracles. Where there is faith, there will be repentance. Where there is faith, there will be baptism. Where there is faith, there will be glorious redemption through the reception of the Holy Ghost. Elijah said that he knows what we teach is true because it makes him so happy. How true that is!

Well, here are some more highlights for the week. Wednesday we went to an interfaith breakfast that our investigator, Glenn, invited us to. There were about 100+ old, retired men there from different faiths. We thought we could quietly sneak in and sit with Glenn, but we were immediately called to by a handful of men and befriended. It was fun! It was really cool, also, when the MC for the event announced that the Mormon missionaries were joining with them. He asked us to stand and introduce ourselves. It was great! Wednesday night we were invited by our investigators, the Dougherty's, to go to their Church of Christ service. It was a contemporary service geared towards college students. Three-fourths of the time was singing "gospel" music. It really wasn't enlightening or uplifting. It was some very simple and unrefined poetry put to what sounded like the same monotonous tune. On the plus side, CofC has some wonderful singers in their congregation. They don't believe in using instruments in their services, so they have to sing well. I got to make up any harmony I wanted and sing it as loud as I wanted! It was fun, but Elder Lyman was about to blow his brains out by the time we left. I think I understand why they sing so much. Music invites the Spirit, and they need to be able to feast on something in order to feel justified in their worship.

Saturday afternoon we were walking down the road when we met an old woman sitting on her front steps. We thought she was alright, but it turned out she had fallen and hit her hip moments before we had walked past. She asked us for help. After trying to help her for a little bit, we told her that she should probably call an ambulance. She refused and said that she just wanted to get inside. This was not a frail little lady, but she was a little thicker. After about 20 minutes, Elder LYman and I finally managed to shuffle her into her house, our heads beneath her shoulders. Well, she was very grateful. We offered to give a blessing. She was very grateful once again. It was pretty awesome to be placed by the hand of the Lord in the right place at the right time.

On Sunday I sang a solo in Church as a kind of farewell to the ward. Most of the ward didn't even realize that I could sing. Weird! I sang "Savior, Redeemer, of My Soul" (the arrangement used in "17 Miracles"). It went really well. At the end, I was about to leave the stand when Brother Cordell (sitting behind me) whispered, "Dedicate it to your parents." Well, he runs the shots in this ward. :D Mom and Dad, I hope that you can feel the love from my song.

Yesterday morning we had an intense meeting with Glenn (our 87-year-old investigator). We're really not sure just what to do with him. He believes the Book of Mormon is true and that Thomas S Monson is a prophet. He doesn't feel like he needs to pray about it because he already believes it. Well, we helped him understand exactly what the consequences of his belief are. If we are led to the truth and believe it, we are held accountable to act on it. We helped guide him through a personal epiphany. He told us that he believes in the Book of Mormon, Joseph Smith, Thomas S Monson, and restored priesthood authority. We asked him, "What do you have against being baptized?" He thought for a moment and said, "I'm stubborn." BINGO! hahaha He is great, but he needs to give up his pride in order to accept of the fullness of the blessings of the gospel.

Well, I'm getting transferred. The Lord is sending me down to Cave Spring, near Roanoke, VA. I will be district leader there in a tri-panionship. I will be with an Elder Russo (a visa waiter), and he will be training a state-side missionary. Crazy! I'm looking forward to using my own experience to make this a beneficial experience for the new missionary. Elder Lyman is staying in Vienna. He will also be in a tri-panionship and training a visa waiter. How great!

This week I have seen the quote from Elder Scott over and over. "Repentance...is the hope-filled journey to a more glorious future." I know this to be true. It is a wonderful promise. We should look forward to ways to change, grow, and develop. I am so grateful to the Savior, Jesus Christ, for this divine opportunity.

I love you all so much! Happy birthday, Dad!!! I hope that the job interview went well. I pray for you always.

Love, Elder Parker Ayer

Once an eagle...always an eagle!

Dear Family

This week was crazy awesome! But this next week is about to get a little crazier and awesomer. You know why? Bum budda bum bum bum....THIS WEEK IS SUCH A SPECIAL ONE, IT'S BIRTHDAY TIME FOR YOU[hermana sarah ayer]! WE'D REALLY LIKE TO CELEBRATE THIS HAPPY DAY WITH YOU[hermana sarah ayer]! ZIGGIDEE ZAG AND HIPPITY HOP, THERE'S SOMETHING WE CAN DO! WE'LL SING A SONG THAT WE ALL KNOW...HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU[hermana sarah ayer]!!! yayayay!!! Happy 23rd birthday Sarah! You are the greatest sister a guy like me could ask for! I am so glad for your fun, cheer, and spirit!

Well, today is St. Patrick's Day. This happens to be one of my favorite holidays. Don't worry, I will keep myself under control. :D There is great work to be done!

This last week we really did see a lot of crazy awesome miracles. We found buckets of new investigators! They come from all over the place, and Elder Lyman and I are thrilled to be able to teach them all. We now have two people who are preparing themselves for baptism on a specific date. Ron is one. He had some concerns about tithing, but this last week we taught him all about it. We brought a recent convert with us, Sister Fletcher, who really brought a powerful, fiery Spirit to the lesson. Luckily, Ron has really prayed to know if what we teach is true. He has received a witness from God that it really is true. That has helped him overcome his concerns about tithing. What he is trying to overcome right now is an addiction to smoking. It is awful. It is so cool to see him so convinced of the truth but unable to give this one small thing up. I know that he will give it up eventually, but it will be a bit of a process before that moment. The other investigator preparing for baptism is a man named Elijah. He was a media referral. We've met with him once so far. He beleives what we say and is excited to begin reading the Book of Mormon and find out if it is true. How great!

We have several other investigators who are committed to their respective denominations but are itnerested to learn. We hope that they will eventually come to the waters of baptism as well. Tony and Laura are one couple who had us over for dinner this last week. Laura grew up a Baptist in southern West Virginia where she always thought that anyone who wasn't a Baptist was going to Hell. Then she went into the Navy and met a lot of good people who didn't seem to be on a course bent for the underworld. She's had a few Mormon friends also. They are some of the nicest people. We really love them a lot and hope that they will see the truth of the Book of Mormon. We met another family this last week, Jason and Megan. They go to the Church of Christ. When we first met them, Elder Lyman and I worried that they were going to try to start a bash with us. It was the exact opposite. They are sweet. They listened intently as we told them about Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon. They have good, open hearts. They invited us to come to the Bible study at their church this Wednesday. We hope that they come to our Church next week. How great!

This last Sunday was "Scout Sunday". Back home this was something I had only heard about. Here it is a big deal. It was probably the strangest church service I have ever experienced. So here's the breakdown of what Scout Sunday is. Every young man does not wear his suit and tie to church. Instead, he wears his scout uniform and a pair of jeans. Then, said scouts are all asked to speak in sacrament meeting while wearing their scout uniforms. I was hoping that all of their talks were going to be focused on virtues such as being trustworthy, loyal, helpful, friendly, courteous, kind, obedient, cheerful, thrifty, brave, clean, or reverent. Instead all of the scouts talked about their favorite experiences from campouts, what they had learned from different merit badges, and inside jokes only known among the scouts. I must say, it was a pretty hilarious meeting, but not quite was I was hoping for our sacrament meeting. Elder Lyman was pretty annoyed, so he started reading the Bible Dictionary. I followed suit and educated myself about the translation of the Bible into English. I was relieved when the second counselor, Brother Ryen, got up to announce the closing hymn and prayer. Just when I thought the insanity was over, it started up again. A somewhat hysterical and emotional voice called from the congregation, "Brother Ryen!" I looked around me to see who was making the uproar. Mine eyes beheld our good friend, Brother Bob Cordell, standing up from the pew and extending his arm towards the pulpit. He continued, "Could we please have all of the eagle scouts in the room stand. Once an eagle...always an eagle!" Poor Brother Ryen, newly called to the bishopric and anxious at the pulpit, wasn't sure what to do. He mumbled something in the affirmative and sat down. Well, no one stood up. I don't think anyone was sure what was going on. I took the opportunity to stand and relieve the tension. Brother Ryen jumped back up and asked all the eagle scouts to stand. A few people stood up. We all sat down again quickly. Finally we got to singing the closing hymn. It was the strangest thing to ever happen in a sacrament meeting. Elder Lyman and I had to stifle fits of laughter during the entire hymn. So here's my official salute to Scout Sunday. So long and farewell.

Well, I love you all. Especially Sarah, Mom, Dad, Will, and Chichy. You're in my prayers and thoughts always. Happy missionary work, interviews, work work, and school work this week! LOVELOVELOVELOVELOVE!!!

Love, Elder Parker Ayer

P.S. Brother Cordell was the Ulrich's home teacher.

On the up and ups

Dear family,

Life is swell. Let me tell you why. When something swells, it gets bigger and bigger. Well, life just gets better and better. The missionary work is going forth, and it is so great to see. We learn in Alma that when you plant a "seed", you can know it is a true or a good seed when it begins to sprout and grow. When this happens, we begin to feel a swelling motion in our chest. That is the Spirit testifying in our heart that something is good and true. Well, this missionary life is swell and it makes me swell up with joy. I know that it is the purest and truest endeavor that I can ever be engaged in. It is so good to know that. I feel bad for people who labor day after day in something that isn't pure or true. How do they even motivate themselves to get out of bed in the mornings? It is so wonderful to have the Spirit bearing me up each day to go and get to work.

This week has been another record-setting week for us. We keep teaching more lessons than the week before, and it feels great! Elder Lyman and I are really beginning to understand how to work in this area and bring God's children to the truth.

Last Monday was an interesting day. After writing emails and shopping, we went back home. I had letters to write, but instead I decided to make apple crisp. It took me way too long to make the apple crisp, and afterwards I was just annoyed with myself. We had to go right out to work. For some reason, Satan saw an opportunity to hit me with a wad of bad feelings. As we were walking to our appointment, I felt the whole world come down on me. I was worried about leading the district, helping our investigators, being a good trainer, having the energy to work, writing letters to important family members and friends, and thinking about all my favorite people back home having fun, going to work, dating, and sleeping in. It wasn't anyone else's fault; I just felt overwhelmed and ready to snap. It's been a major problem for me that I get super stressed out. Luckily, Elder Lyman is able to recognize when this happens. He started talking to me and dragging everything out of me. Pretty soon I was sharing my feelings and crying. Oh brother. Elder Lyman isn't a very sentimental guy, so this was a big, and greatly appreciated, sacrifice from him. Well, I felt a lot better after that. Just after that experience, we had an awesome teaching moment. We went to see a potential investigator. We had met the wife, Qin, before, but this time we met the husband, Qen. They are a Chinese couple and have two children. They are very nice. We sat down and talked with Qen. He told us how he met some Mormon missionaries about 15 years ago and was appreciative to them. He continues to wonder about who God is. He is not sure that he wants to commit to anything just yet, but is interested in learning so that he can find out for himself. It was such a great experience to be able to talk in basic and simple terms about the nature of God and how he cares for us. We taught Qen how to properly pray to Heavenly Father and receive answers. It was a wonderful moment. He wasn't comfortable with praying right then, but he was very grateful. The Spirit bore powerful testimony in my heart that we had taught truth. It was a great evening. We will meet with Qen again soon. Since my experience last Monday, I have been working at managing my stress. There is no point in allowing ourselves to worry. Worry gets in the way. What we need to do is act diligently. We do our best and leave God the rest. If we put our trust in Him, he will take care of those things which we have no control over.

Thursday was another crazy day. We spent the first 4 hours of the work day serving our Bishop. After that, we had weekly planning. Another surprise was thrown in there when I received an envelope containing important documents that I had to sign and FedEx back to Salt lake for my visa. I got it all done. I think that is the last of the things that I need to do for my visa re-application.

Ron Pepper, one of investigators, is doing great right now. He has accepted a baptismal date for the day before transfers. It has been amazing to teach him and see him accept the gospel. He has had the chance to ask God questions and have them answered. He knows the Book of Mormon is true, that Joseph Smith was a prophet, and that he needs to be baptized. It is so great to see. The only thing that stands in his way are the smokes, and we'll be working hard at helping him overcome those.

Friday we had zone meeting. Afterwards I went on exchange with a disobedient missionary in my district. He is a nice guy, but that's the problem. he's acting like a guy and not a missionary. He has less than 3 weeks left on his mission. He really doesn't see the point of obeying rules as long as he teaches people the gospel. It is really frustrating to see. On top of that, I'm scared of conflict. Everyone says that I'm too loving and nice. That's one character flaw I'm not too ashamed of. I need to learn how to be direct in calling people to repentance. The rules are important. Obedience to law is liberty!

Well, I love you all so much. I am glad that you fill me in on all the news. I'm trying on staying focused and worry free. Life is good, life is great, life is swell!

Love, Elder Parker Ayer

Large Print

Dear family,

This week was a joyful week. Lots of good things happened. Here is a brief recap on some satisfying things: achieving goals, witnessing people change, being spiritually reassured of what you know to be true, developing friendships, and having fun. Those are things that make me happy! [Elder Lyman has pointed out how we do a lot of forced laughter when people tell us things they think are funny. In contrast, these things make me happy enough to give a genuine Parker-type chuckle. :D ]

First off, we set a goal this week to have 4 lessons with members present. We also made a goal to have 3 other lessons. This was a stretch for us in this area and with our teaching pool and our walking situation. I really wasn't sure if we could do it. However, we pushed ourselves, and by the end of the week we had accomplished all that the Spirit had told us we could do. What a great feeling! We still had cancellations, but we were able to overcome those with determination. It just feels so good. This is the point when Mom would say, now doesn't that just make you feel good to look back and see what you did? Yes, it does! You'll be happy to know that I'm beginning to understand the principle of planning and goal setting. You'll also be happy to know that my skin begins to crawl when I see dishes in the sink, dishes on the counter, clean dishes in the dishwasher, or anywhere else that dishes aren't supposed to sit happily waiting their usage. I also attack the microwave and stove with a vengeance when it starts looking grimy. :D

Anyway, enough about that. It is such a blessing to see people beginning to change. Mary has experienced a softening of her heart. Our prayers have been answered. We got her a large print Book of Mormon and she says that she will finish it in a few days. Once she receives an answer, she will be baptized. We are teaching a 14-year-old girl, Lucila, who is the daughter of a less active member, but knows nothing about God or religion. She is fairly interested and willing to do what it takes to find out about God and His restored Church. We are also teaching a man named Ron, his ex-wife Crystal, and their son Aaron. Ron says he knows that the Book of Mormon is true and that Christ's Church has been restored. He does have a smoking problem and concerns about tithing. He has also committed a serious crime. They are a good family. We are also teaching an 89-year-old Baptist Sunday School teacher, named Glenn, who has been familiar with Church members all his life. He likes how we live and what we teach. He agreed to be baptized if he receives a witness from God. The only things holding him back are his obligations to his church and family. His dead wife and son are buried next to his Baptist church.

Sorry, that was the Reader's Digest version, but great things are happening! Yesterday Elder Lyman fasted together to be strengthened in our testimonies. I feel very confident in saying that Jesus is the Christ, Joseph Smith is his prophet, the Book of Mormon is Christ's word, and Christ's priesthood power has been restored to the earth. What a blessed knowledge!

I love you all. Sorry this was short. May the love you feel be long lasting. :D

Love, Elder Parker Ayer

A wonderful and growing week

Dear Family,

This week has been wonderful. It's been a growing week, and there's nothing better than that! For real, I feel like a new person now that I have made it through this week, and I feel like I am more focused on being a missionary. One thing that has really helped has been the warming of the weather. Elder Lyman and I haven't needed to wear our thermals at all this week! It has been complete sweater weather. I can't get ahead of myself, though, because it sounds like we might have to break out the jackets again this coming week. Oh well!

Besides the weather, there have been a few things that have been good every day of this week. Last Monday, Elder Lyman and I found Fruit Gushers at Walmart and decided to splurge on a little childish snack. 36 packs later, we're thoroughly convinced that they are the best snack ever. Also, last week I was asked to speak in church this Sunday on Jesus' Parable of the Talents. As a companionship, we have also focusing part of our studies on Joseph Smith and the Restoration. The focused and extended study has really been a blessing. Later I'll share with you a little bit about what I learned.

Anyway, do you remember Glenn that I talked about last week? Well, this week we got Brother Lee to come teach Glenn with us. It went great. We talked about prophets, some organization of the church, and the Book of Mormon. At the end of the lesson, we gave him a Plan of Salvation pamphlet and I let him borrow my conference ensign. Since our meeting, he has called us several times. He told us that he read through the pamphlet, the entire ensign, and has started in on the Book of Mormon. He loves it! He said he made a little note in the ensign next to Elder Craig Cardon's talk that said, "Very Good!" In a later phone call, Glenn told us that he doesn't think Mormons are aliens anymore. Glenn is so funny and sincere. We hope that he will be able to recognize the truth to an extent that he'll realize the need to change in his old age (he's 89). The gospel is for us all, and the Lord does not give up on us.

Another family that we are teaching, the Peppers, have really opened up this week. We had a meeting with them where we were planning on reviewing the beginning of the Plan of Salvation and then emphasizing life after death. We didn't quite get there because we had a powerful discussion about the power of the Atonement. Elder Lyman and I have really been working on teaching with unity (AKA Elder Ayer needs to shut his mouth long enough for Elder Lyman to talk). We've been progressing well, and the lesson was just near perfect. We were able to build on each other's testimonies. By the end, both Ron and Crystal Pepper were on board to start utilizing the Atonement to make changes in their lives. This Sunday, Ron came to Church and said that he received an answer to prayer about the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon. He believes this is the one true Church.

Mary didn't had a couple surprises up her sleeve for us this week. We continue to teach her. She isn't making very much progress, but she continues to read the Book of Mormon, pray, and come to Church. What else can she do? It is a slow process of helping her tear down walls of false ideas and beliefs. It is especially hard when she continues to build up those false ideas. The main culprit is the History Channel. That is her favorite show to watch. She believes that everything on their is researched and proven by the world's top scientists. Unfortunately, she's not the only person we've talked to in West Virginia that completely believes what they see on the History Channel. This week, Mary shared with us a few more insights. She told us that demons are most active between the hours of 3 and 4 am. She also told us that Eve wasn't good enough for Adam, so Adam demanded that he have another woman created. That's when a woman was made from Adam's rib, called Lillith, became Adam's slave, and now exists as a demon. I don't what the people from History Channel are thinking, but it's not helping. As always, the Spirit must prevail in all things and teach us from above.

We had a great zone conference this week. President Pitt told us about completely consecrating our lives (interests, hobbies, efforts, talents) for missionary work. I am slowly but surely trying to do this. I do not want to be as the slothful servant from Jesus' parable who was too distracted, lazy, or afraid to multiply his talent, but buried it instead. One really cool principle I learned from my study this week is that the Master is not entrusting us with His work so that we can multiply talents unto him. He is does it so that he can raise rulers unto himself who were once meager servants.

I love you all. I love your prayers and kindness. I love my Ayer heritage. I love my Savior, Jesus Christ, and know that we can only find salvation through his atoning sacrifice.

Love, Elder Parker Ayer

I will be your Valentine!

Dear Mom, Dad, Will, Sarah, and (last but CERTAINLY not least [have you seen this boy? He's a full-grown man!]) Christian,

I love you all! I would like to officially address your dearest pleadings for me to be your Valentine. I heartily accept. Thank you for the wonderful Valentine's Day package full of punny notes and tasty treats. I have already downed my mammoth heart cookie. I was tastefully surprised when I bit into what I thought was a meat pie to find an apple pie/crisp instead. :D Nothing can compare to my Mom's cooking! The elders here think that I am some sort of master chef because I know how to make stir-fry and pancakes, hahaha.

Well, there isn't much to report since the last email. Elder Lyman and I went back to teach Kristen and Mark with Brother Walker from the ward. (I went to Brother Walker's house for dinner that first night I was in the field 4 and a half months ago). We were worried that it was going to be a disheartening lesson because of what Kristen had said to us the other day. Apparently Kristen was just having a bad day the other day and decided to spew out all of her absorbed Anti-Mormon stuff at us. They are still moving forward, but we need to help them understand why it is important to know that Joseph Smith was a prophet and then to gain that testimony. One thing that Kristen said in the lesson is that we talk about Joseph Smith all of the time and not about Jesus Christ. I was a little dumbfounded. I think she might have been regurgitating something her CofC friend said to her. The last time we talked to them about Joseph Smith was when we actually talked to them about the Restoration of the gospel. Since then we have had several lessons in which we talked about the Plan of Salvation, the Atonement, faith in Jesus Christ, repentance, and baptism. All of those things are focused on the Savior. Even our discussion of Joseph Smith is focused on the Savior; Joseph Smith is only important because his work guides us closer to the Savior.

Anyway, Elder Lyman and I had another interesting experience since I emailed last. We knocked into an 89-year-old Baptist man who invited us into his home. He knows some members of the Church, and knew us to be good people. One of the Mormon families (the Lee family) that he knows the best live only a couple blocks from his home in Vienna. We have gone over to their home several times. They are a good family; Brother Lee is a high councilman; they serve in the family history library during the week; they work in the temple every weekend. When we meet, we ask them whom they know that we could teach. Every time they say that the only people they are friends with are already members of the Church. That makes sense. They are very involved in Church activities. However, this man that we knocked into (Glenn) knows and worked with Brother Lee. Anyway, Glenn allowed us to tell him about Joseph Smith and the restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ. He found it interesting, accepted a Book of Mormon, and set up a time for us to come back to talk to him on Thursday. Well, P-day was moved to Thursday and we weren't able to go see him. We didn't have his phone number either to contact him. Nevertheless, Glenn called Brother Lee to let us know that he was away during our scheduled appointment, but still wanted to meet with us. That was very cool. In this case, we were more flaky than the investigator. Also, Brother Lee really does know someone who has shown an interest in talking to the missionaries. We never know who will be open to learning about the restored gospel. Does that mean we invite no one? NO! That means we invite everyone until we find those who are ready and willing to accept the message. Even acquaintances are divinely appointed and prepared so that God's children may be reached in every place that they may be.

It is my testimony that God has a wonderful work going on. This work takes shape in individual hearts to strengthen families, communities, and nations. I am privileged to be the messenger to deliver Heavenly Father's personal Valentine to each one of His children. When we allow the message to change our hearts, thoughts, and actions, we say to the Father, "I will be your Valentine!"

Thank you for the strength that you give me. I pray that Heavenly Father will strengthen you.

Love, Elder Parker Ayer

You're CofC, you're not okay

Dear Family,

First off, you may or may not remember that P-days get switched up in this mission on transfer weeks. P-day was originally supposed to be yesterday, but they had to move transfer meeting back a day due to a winter storm. Thus, P-day got moved back a day as well and is today. There's a lot to catch up on.

Second off, I never even explained my email subject line from last week. I'll explain it quickly, because it was pretty funny. Two Sundays ago was fast Sunday. There is an elderly sister in the ward here named Sister Isley. She is pretty out of it. In the middle of the sacrament meeting, she stood up and declared to the congregation, "I have a testimony!" After speaking for a little bit, she decided to grace us with a song. She sang, "I love you because you're you." Elder Lyman were dying in the pew. After a little while, she decided it was time to sit down. It was so funny.

Since last email, many things have happened. I can't remember when everything happened, but let me tell you about everyone we are teaching.

Mary- Mary is um pouco ridiculo. This last week we met with her and her friend Sister Knight at the Walker's home from the ward. The night started out great with a meal and then we had the lesson. We've been trying to encourage Mary to forgive people so that she will be more open to the Spirit and she can receive a witness of the truth. We discussed that for a little bit. We shared a Mormon Message, bore testimony, and I was ready for us to say a closing prayer. All of a sudden, things got crazy as Mary went on a rant about the Book of Mormon. She brings up the same concerns every time we talk; I'm not sure if she's all there mentally. She's had a hard and traumatic life, so that may be why. At one point she said, "I only have one concern about the Book of Mormon. Which came first, the Lord or death?" We were so confused. How did that even relate? We tried to help her, we tried to be patient. I think she knows that the Book of Mormon is true, but she is just doing all that she can to resist the truth that she'll need to change her life for.

Okay, I was going to tell you about all of our investigators, but the same thing keeps coming back to mind. TUESDAY. Last Tuesday was a big day. Last Tuesday might have been one of the most important days of my mission. That day, I went on exchange with Elder Kieran. Elder Kieran is serving in Belpre and lives in the same house as me. He is flying home tomorrow. Elder Kieran and I were out and about talking to people. For some strange reason, good things always seem to happen on exchanges. I think that they help to stir up some excitement and energy for the work. Anyway, we had a great day. We walked all over the place. I don't think I've told you much about my walking, but Elder Lyman and I probably walk at least 8 miles a day. Anyway, Elder Kieran and I almost went to Taco Bell for dinner, but then realized that it was opening night for Five Guys next door. We went there instead. The potatoes were from Rexburg. Anyway, the food was good, but that wasn't what made Tuesday so great. After dinner, we went to go teach Kristen and Mark.

When we got to Kristen and Mark's house, something felt off. Kristen wasn't in a very good mood, and Mark's eyes were red. I could sense some tension. We had a prayer to bring the Spirit in. After talking for a little bit, Elder Kieran asked if we could sing a hymn. You have to understand Kristen and Mark. They are loud and fun. Even though I love singing, I was looking at Elder Kieran and thinking, "Why are you making us do this?" Well, we did it. We sang "Be Still, My Soul". It was a little odd for us to do a duet for them just sitting right in front of us, but it was good. The Spirit was there. After talking for a little bit, Kristen was still not acting like herself. Elder Kieran asked if she would like a priesthood blessing. She didn't know what that was and seemed a little freaked out. We explained what a priesthood blessing was. Afterwards, we administered a blessing of comfort and counsel to Kristen. Afterwards, Mark also requested a blessing. In both blessings, I experienced a powerful manifestation of the Spirit. They shared with us their feelings, and both had experienced powerful manifestations of the Spirit. It was the most miraculous moment of my mission. I look forward to being able to express this experience to you in greater detail when we are with each other in person. That experience began our meeting that night. Afterwards we talked about baptism and the gift of the Holy Ghost. The experience we shared earlier laid a perfect back drop for our discussion of the Spirit. Looking back, I can see that the experience was a divine gift of mercy and love to Kristen and Mark. However, it had the same effect for me. Each missionary has authority from God to act in His name, but there are divine moments when God shows us that we really qualify for power in our calling. I know that God is our loving Heavenly Father. I know that Christ is His only Begotten Son. The Savior suffered for each of us so that we could be redeemed and brought back into the presence of the Father; first through the Holy Ghost and then through the resurrection. I know that the Holy Ghost can testify powerfully in our hearts of the truth of all things, and when we have received this divine manifestation we have a obligation to act. I know that the Holy Priesthood, the authority and power to act in God's name, was restored to the Earth through the Prophet Joseph Smith.

As a warning to those who seek out powerful spiritual manifestations, there is always a time of testing afterwards. Once we have received instruction and enlightenment directly from God, we will be held accountable to what we have received. I experienced that over the succeeding days. I felt restless and not at ease. Thankfully, priesthood power was able to reestablish peace in my heart by means of Elder Lyman giving me a priesthood blessing. Kristen and Mark experienced opposition as well. Since that Tuesday night, Mark's family has talked to Mark about his association with the "Mormon Church". See, Mark's family belongs to the Church of Christ. I now refer to that great and abominable church only by "CofC" since I really don't like associating the Savior with its organization or the words I use to describe it. I had never heard of this church before the mission, but it has a huge presence down here in the South (West Virginians don't consider themselves to be in the South, but they totes are). The CofC hates our church and spends much of its time tearing us apart. We have lost many investigators due to its efforts. Anyway, we found out the other day that Kristen and Mark are going to their "family church." When we asked why, Kristen fed us lines that I've heard before, the same old Anti-Mormon bull. Sorry, but it is really frustrating. The most frustrating thing is that they do it all under the assumed name of Christ. Who are they to deny priesthood power and divine revelation? Anyway, it's frustrating, but we're going to continue working to help Kristen and Mark. Please pray for them!

Well, I'll continue to be in Vienna for this coming transfer. I found out that Elder Gadberry got his visa and is probably in Brazil already. I always try to remember that I'm not waiting for my visa; I'm waiting on the Lord. The other day I realized that if I had submitted my mission papers right after the announcement came out, I would never have been assigned to Juiz de For a (the mission hadn't been created yet). I probably would have been assigned to the West Virginia Charleston Mission. I am loving it here. There are good people and there is good work to be done. The district boundaries are being changed up this transfer so that I will no longer be over the zone leaders. Instead, I will have two struggling areas of elders and an area of sisters. Things will be harder this transfer, but they are bound to be. For Him who suffered for us, things were never easy. Then why should they be for us? As Elder Holland says, "salvation is not a cheap experience." We have to be willing to give all that we have to become the Saints of God and receive the saintly blessings and all that the Father hath. Please pray for me. Please pray for Elder Lyman. Please pray for the good elders and sisters of the Vienna district. Please pray for the good children of God who I am teaching. Please remember Christ. Remember His sufferings. Remember the hard things He did for our salvation, and then push yourself to do a little bit more so we can help our dear family members and friends partake of salvation. I love you all so much. I pray for you and think about you often.

Love, Elder Parker Alan Ayer

I love you because you're you

Dear Family!

This week has been a wonderful whirlwind of a time. The word "wonderful" has really been making it big in my vocabulary as of late. However, whenever I use it I always have to accompany it with "wild". The two just go together here in wild and wonderful West Virginia.

The awesome week started on Monday. That night, we taught a woman with five children. She is married, but the husband doesn't seem too interested in hearing our message. Anyway, they are super awesome. All of the kids are under the age of 9, and they were everywhere. They thought we were so cute. It was amazing teaching the gospel with the little children. They are truly inspired. We taught the first half of the Restoration (basically teaching them what they've already learned in Catholic school). Every time they talked, their words led perfectly into the message. "I know God talks to my mom," one said. It was the greatest connection to the importance of living prophets to lead and guide God's children in our day. When we asked to say a closing prayer, one of the sons asked, "Which one should we say? Our Father?" We got to teach him that when we pray to God, we can say whatever we want to him from our hearts. It was a wonderful lesson, and we are going back tonight to teach them about Joseph Smith.

Tuesday we went on exchange with the zone leaders in Parkersburg. Elder Colligan is still serving there, and he is now with Elder Brandt. I went with Elder Brandt to Parkersburg. We met this old man named Ron who was a little louco in the cabeza from a head injury he had a while back. He was pretty skeptical of our message, but still nice enough to talk to. He asked, "How did Joseph Smith just happen to dig in the ground near a tree and find some gold plates?" We hadn't even told him about Joseph Smith and gold plates yet, so we knew he had done some research (probably from a preacher from an antagonistic sect). We responded that an angel showed him where to find the plates. "Ahah," he said, "wasn't his name Moroni? All of the angels from the Bible had names that ended in -el (Gabriel, Michael, Raphael). Why not the angel that appeared to Joseph Smith?" It was probably the strangest objection I had ever heard to the Book of Mormon. Stranger enough, I was prepared for it. Just the other day I had randomly read in the Bible Dictionary about Hebrew naming patterns and the meaning of -el suffixes and other things. I never thought that would come in handy, but somehow it did. My answer seemed to stump him because he seemed a little lost after it.


Thursday we had an eye-opening experience with our investigator Mary. We've been teaching her for a while, but she just isn't humbling herself properly to get an answer to her prayers. Elder Lyman and I had a role play earlier in the morning in which we had received some pretty cool inspiration. Mary doesn't have a baptismal date right now. In fact, she makes a fuss anytime we talk about baptism. I wish I could explain her better, but email just isn't the best way to describe her. Anyway, how can she receive an answer about the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon unless she has a desire to follow through and be baptized? What is the purpose of the Book of Mormon? What does Mormon say in the title page? It is to convince people that Jesus is the Christ and the covenants that God has made with his children. The Book of Mormon is designed to bring the Spirit into people's hearts so that they know the truthfulness of the latter-day work, choose to change their lives to follow Jesus Christ, and enter into the waters of baptism. If people read without this in mind, they will not have the "real intent" required in Moroni 10:4 to receive a witness of the truth. Anyway, we didn't even get that far with Mary. As we were talking to her, we realized that there is an even greater concern standing in her way from obtaining an answer. It is her anger. Read Moroni 9:4-5. That describes us trying to teach her perfectly. Anyway, we asked her why she's not willing to let go of her anger and forgive others. She said she just wants to get revenge. She prays to God to get revenge on people. Then we asked her if she has ever prayed to have help to give up this anger. She said something very telling. She said that she doesn't want to pray about that and have an interaction with the Spirit that will tell her not to get revenge. She knows the Spirit would tell her not to get revenge, so she pushes the Spirit away! No wonder she hasn't gotten and answer. She knows that if she feels the Spirit, then she will have to change and not get revenge. She is resisting the refining and refreshing power of the Spirit. In our lives, we must give ourselves entirely over to his influence if we wish to be guided by him in righteousness. We cannot harbor secret sins or desires and still expect to be privy to the holy and sanctifying influence of the Spirit.

Friday was district meeting and interviews by President Pitt. It was such a joy to be able to meet with President Pitt. He is only filled with love, kindness, and knowledge. He is one of the best men I have ever known. I told him about some of my current challenges, and he was very understanding and helpful. Then at the end of the interview, he asked if he could have your phone number. He said that he wanted to give you a phone call. It seemed to be something very personal he wanted to do for me. As you can imagine with me and my emotional self, I broke down crying. I could only imagine you at home receiving a call to let you know that I was doing alright. Thank you for all of your support and love.

Saturday the Belpre elders had a baptism. The water heater wasn't working so the water was pretty chilly. We might as well have gone out to the Ohio River and chopped through the ice. :D

Sunday was wonderful. Elder Lyman and I had a great discussion. It is so good to have a companion that I can rely on totally. I am so sorry, but I don't think that I have talked about Elder Lyman much in my emails. He is the greatest companion I could have ever asked for! I love him so much, and he has really become my best friend. He has five brothers, two of which are unmarried and Sarah's age. We've decided that we're adding them to the queue of eligible bachelors. Also, I taught Elder Lyman how to do family history this week and we discovered that his pioneer ancestor, Amasa Mason Lyman, came over from Lyman, New Hampshire!!!!!!!!!!! No wonder we get along so great, he's got ye olde Shire blood.

I love you all so much. You are my favorite people in the whole wide world. Do you know why? It's because you're my family. I want to be with you for eternity. We sing silly songs, we play silly games, we tell silly jokes, we celebrate silly holidays, we make silly faces, but in the end we are bound by the serious and glorious truth that Jesus Christ came to this Earth to redeem us from weakness. I know he lives. Let us give ourselves over to the Holy Ghost which will prepare us for an endless eternity of progression, growth, and love.

Love, Love, Love, Elder Parker Ayer

P.S. Remember that RLDS lady from a couple weeks ago? No joke, but she's a former investigator and she invited us over last night to teach her on Wednesday. Super Crazy!

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