NEW mailing address for Elder Parker

As of June 22nd, please send all mail to Elder Parker at this address:

Anziano Parker Nielsen

Italy Catania Mission
Piazza E. Vittorini 7 (Parco Inglese)
95030 Sant’ Agata Li Battiati (CT)
Italy

First class postage to send a regular letter to Italy is .98 cents.

This will be his address regardless of where he is transferred during his mission because it is the Mission Home address and they will get it to him in all the areas he will serve in.

Thank you for supporting our missionary!

June 22 on his way to Italy!!!

On Monday, June 22nd Jay took off work and we both hovered near a phone all day! Lol No other incoming calls could be answered because we needed to keep the line open for the highly anticipated call(s) from our missionary son as he traveled to Italy!! It was very exciting and we actually got a call from pay phones in both the SLC airport and the JFK airport in New York!!

We had an entire hour with the SLC call but the NY call was very brief. It was sooooooooooooo wonderful to hear Elder Parker’s voice and know for ourselves how happy and ready to go he truly is!! Here are a few things from the notes I took while we talked that we thought you would enjoy…

There will actually be 4 boxes of stuff he sent home! Lol He sent the first one himself, he asked the Sister Missionaries to send another one and he had to leave 2 with notes that will hopefully be sent as well!

His MTC teacher, Ftlo. Garlick’s wife was in the Philippines for a study abroad program and discovered the “hi-chew” candies that we discovered in Okinawa and she loves them too! So when I sent Elder Parker a stock supply of these (from the Oriental Market here in Roy, Utah!) he shared one with Ftlo. Garlick and he was thrilled to be able to take these home to his wife! =o)

When President Clegg (of the MTC Presidency) gave his permission for Elders Parker and Kinzie to attend Giuseppe’s baptism he was firm in his conviction that “I know, these Elders need to go”!

The Italian guy who works with the Italian Government for the American Government told them “You are the Royal Army of God!”

On the flight he planned to catch up on journal writing, letters, study Italian and sleep! He said they were up very late packing and then up at 3am so not much sleep the night before! and they were told they could sleep on the flight but also to share the gospel!

In the tradition of the “goodbye books” they make in Elder Ryler's mission (whenever someone transfers) Elder Parker got a special book from the MTC bookstore and had Giuseppe write in it!

It was on his exact 2 month anniversary that we spoke on the phone so he said “Happy 2 months in the MTC anniversary!” I hadn’t specifically thought about that and still can’t get over how fast this time went!

He said they were tested at the MTC for their language fluency levels and were told most missionaries leave the MTC at a 2-3 on a scale of 1-7 and he was assessed at a 5! He said that was only possible through the Lord’s help!

He said Giuseppe’s baptism was held in a font that’s in a classroom at BYU in the Joseph Smith building! He couldn’t get over that! and quipped: “Picture a BYU class with the desk at the front and the professor beginning with the usual instruction then he says, but first does anybody want to get baptized? Because we have a font right here!” ;o)

We learned a little more about Giuseppe and his conversion… he coached the Italian National Volleyball Team in Italy so he's VERY good! A friend who is a gold medalist from Beijing came to his baptism! Elder Parker explained that although our family had been to many convert baptisms (mostly in Okinawa) it was so incredible to be at one he had participated in the conversion of!! He said Giuseppe was just glowing, it was the coolest thing! He said a friend that coaches volleyball with him at BYU performed the baptism. He told us how Giuseppe’s testimony afterward just blew them all away and he even mentioned the missionaries who played a part in his conversion so that was awesome for them! Elder Parker’s MTC teacher, Ftlo. Garlick met Giuseppe in Milan (presumably when Ftlo. Garlick served his mission there) and it was through that friendship and Giuseppe’s willingness to help Ftlo. Garlick to help the missionaries learn the language that Elder Parker had this amazing opportunity to have his first baptism while still in the MTC!!

He said he’d heard that P-days in Italy are on Wednesdays, so if that’s true we may not have to wait too long to hear from him once he arrives!!

He said everyone told him that time was strange in the MTC, that the days go by slow but the weeks and months fly by so fast, he didn’t understand that before but now he does and he said it’s so true!!

He said his toes are healing but doing some strange things as he continues to scrub and apply medication so hopefully that will not become a new problem. Please keep him in your prayers for this specific need! Thank you!

I asked how they test to find out if they have swine flu and he said that test is awful!! They poke a Q-tip into your sinuses and they go soooo deep and it really hurts! He only had this test once and thankfully did not test positively.

The respirators they had to use were "like a flu shot on steroids" and since they had inhaled this strong med they were told they wouldn’t need to use face masks when they travelled.

He said he loved the MTC cafeteria! And they were assigned to do their service in the cafeteria and so they saw the huge amounts of food that were prepared on their behalf and he said “they took good care of us!" He said he loved how on Wednesdays aka “new missionary day” and on Sunday afternoons the meals included ice cream from the BYU creamery!

Italian vocab lesson –
disgusting = skeefo

(this probably came up in reference to his toe problems! Lol)
not too bad = non chal mall ay (rhymes with tamale!)

He talked about keeping his 501 in his carry-on to study on the plane and when I asked what that was he said it’s the big book of 501 essential Italian verbs and all their conjugations

He was disappointed that when he was so sick and had to stay in his room he missed the devotional where Elder Bednar spoke! But the others told him what he talked about and the main message was this:
In answer to the question “how do I know if its me or the Spirit”, the answer is “yes!” lol Elder Bednar then counseled them to “be a good boy or be a good girl and if you are doing the right things and you feel impressed to do things that lead to good then more than likely its from the Spirit! And if it would lead to bad then its not!”

Speaking of that, I recently came across a really good Ensign article about that same thing! Click on this title and SCROLL DOWN to read more about how to know when you have the Spirit of the Lord with you: “Don Norton, “I Have a Question,” Ensign, Aug 1978, 30–33

Elder Parker said he talked to all the Elders who were going to the Japan Fukuoka mission and gave them notes to give to his brother who would more than likely be the one to pick them up from the airport!! =o)

In the RC (referral center) he met a Brother Sorenson that our family knew in Oki as Elder Sorenson who served in the Gushikawa Branch when Jay was BP there and he sent us a message of gratitude through Elder Parker so that was really great to hear!!

He said one of the MTC teachers who served in Italy showed them a picture of mummified monks from his mission and told them that they had this to look forward to seeing as well as some very questionable signs and beliefs that just illustrated more clearly how far from the truth some had gotten and how important it would be for them to share the fullness of the gospel with the people of this land!

It wasn’t too bad saying goodbye because we all felt pretty confident that we’d get to talk with him again at the next stop and we did!!

This call was much shorter though and Elder Parker said they’d had some stress getting ticket problems fixed and staying together when some worried they were going to miss their flight but it had all been resolved and things were fine by then. He said the 6 of them sat 3 together on 2 rows so none of them got to sit with others they could share the gospel with and things were so rushed they didn’t have time to really talk with anyone in any lines either. Hopefully on the long flight over the Atlantic…

The connection wasn’t that great on this call and he had to go so quickly that not much else was said except to try and reassure him of our love and support and to not stress if he couldn’t call us from Rome (which he didn’t) and to wish him lots of luck with his new life in Italy! As we said goodbye we all consoled ourselves with the happy thought that it would be just a short 6 months and we could talk again at Christmas!

For some reason I had pictured the 6 Elders would have some older leadership with them to guide and help them along their way probably because when Elder Ryler flew to Japan there were couple missionaries that flew over with him so that must have been in the back of my mind but with Elder Parker it was just the six 19 year olds and I couldn’t help but worry about how they would figure everything out esp for those flying international for the first time!

I remember my first time flying solo from Oki back to Utah and then back to Oki and I had Jay write out a very detailed instruction sheet to help me every step of both ways and my worst fears were realized on one trip when my flight was delayed in a Japanese airport and I had no way to communicate in Japanese that I needed help! It was VERY STRESSFUL!! So I had fears of them struggling like I had! But then Jay reminded me that 19 is adult age and these Elders COULD communicate in Italian if they needed help and I also knew that the Lord would be with them to help them safely reach their destination so that helped my Mother’s heart a lot! But I’ll still be very happy to get that first communication from Italy and know for certain that all is well! ;o)

While waiting for these phone calls we also tracked his flights on the computer and that was fun to see the map view of his plane flying over the US but once he was over the Atlantic we never did find a website that could track those on a map, some even said the flight had been delayed but I think we were confused by the different flight number assigned by the Italian airlines and in the end we just had to trust the Delta site with no map but just text that told us these flights were "on time" or "in flight" or had "arrived". It will be great to hear from Elder Parker and finally know what actually did happen!

June 20 a "sort of" P-day and a bonus email!!

CIAO!!!!!!

Hey I have a (sort of) P-day today! We are doing our laundry (for pre-packing) and we got to send a short note!!

Can you believe that I'm packing to go to Italy!!!!??? Holy cow!!!! It's totally cool!! Ha ha!! I'm GOING TO ITALY!!!! I am so excited!! One of the teachers that served in Catania showed us a bunch of pictures and told us a bunch of stories that got us super pumped for ITALY!!!

Also yesterday we talked with the Italian Consulate guy! He was so awesome!! He's an Italian and had the thickest accent!! It was so fun to listen to him! He spoke in Italian for us too! He told us his conversion story and shared a few other things. For instance after he was baptized he was called as a Stake Missionary and he was out with the missionaries and they wanted to talk with this nun. They ended up converting her and guess who she was...? The POPE’S SECRETARY!!!! Holy cow right!! That's proof the Church is true huh? lol! Well the cool thing is this nun after [her] conversion found 65,000 names that she was able to get the work done for in the Temple! SO COOL!!! Not only that but he told us many things, like we need to seal up our first contact with people with the Lord and He will take care of the rest! Also he tested our Italian and said that we all spoke very well which was a relief!!!

So tomorrow is my LAST FULL DAY IN THE MTC!!! HOLY COW!! lol! I never thought this day would arrive! I'm sending the first package [home] this morning and I'm hoping that the second (yes there is that much stuff) one will make it today! The first one has the socks for return at MM and the pants for perma-seam-ing (the process of permanently seaming pants lol :) and some other stuff in it! The other box has the boots, I want them in Italy but with the limit and other things I need they fell short of the draw, I'm thinking that if I really really need them we can send them? I don't know I'm not sure! I'm thinking the same thing with the big overcoat, especially since I arrive in July I won't need it for a while, should we do the send it then thing? That's what I'm thinking anyway for right now so that there will be room for other things in my luggage that I will need right when I get there.

Ok what else!?! Also today is our last day of classes and even then we don't have that much of it! We are just doing this giant culture day! So that should be fun! We are also playing a jeopardy game with Italian grammar so that should be really fun! I hope! lol! It will be a good review either way!

SO sorry this is so short! Well Here's hoping Monday works out! We're pretty much positive that SLC we will be able to call, but NY is a short lay-over so we'll see there, either way we will talk on MONDAY!! WOO HOO!!!!

Also F.llo Garlik said thanks to you mom for the book (True to the Faith) for Giuseppe!! We're going tonight (to his baptism)! I am so excited! We'll take tons of pictures!!!!

(his testimony in Italian!)
Io so che questo vangelo e' vero! Anche Io so che che tramite questo vangelo abbiamo l'oppurtunita a vivere con Dio di nuovo per eternita! Mi molto ringrazio per questo perche' io ho questo stesso l'oppurtunita con voi! Questo e' molto importante per lo popolo di italia! Perche' loro non dov'e trovare questo, questo e' perche noi andiamo a italia!! I so questo e' vero!! TI VOGLIO BENE!!!

Have a great time!!!

Love,
Anziano Nielsen!!

P.S. Next time we e-mail will be in Italy!!!!! :D :D :D

June 16 Email – A Baptism from the MTC!!!!!

Buona Sera! (Good Evening!)

Don't worry about the length [of your emails] right now!! I LOVE IT!!! In Italy I don't know, mostly because I’ve never been there lol!! But I’ll find out in less than a WEEK!!! WOOOOOOO HOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!

OOOOH BISCOTTI*!!!!!!!!!!!!! That is sooooo awesome!!!!!!
I like the description on the box too!! those sound yummy!!!!!
Biscotti means cookie in Italian!! I love that you are having mission centered FHE treats!!! Shocking that you liked the crunch too!! It's ok though Alice didn't make them lol!! ;) (a reference to the always crunchy cookies Alice served to the Brady Bunch kids! LOL)

This week Anz. Kinzie got a package from a man that he knew in Italy, he sent our district authentic Italian pizza! It was soooo good! That and authentic Italian soda! It's actually real juice with carbonation! COOL!!

Speaking of Anz. Jones, he left this morning :( sad but really good!! I got his addy and some pics with him and the others. Like the Aussie, and the Elder that is the first from Finland to ever serve in Italy! So that was good! We had a good, good-bye with them!! They gave us their pillows too so that was totally nice!!!

I might start to do the final purge now and start sending some stuff [home]! :)

Ah the lawn mower fun!! How I miss it lol!!

Will you tell Big Red I miss her for me! Thank you! HAHA LOL!! :) (his car)

I will probably write you while I am on the plane and then mail it from Italy!! WOW I’M GOING TO ITALY!!!!!! WOOOOO HOOOOOOOOO!!!!!

That's cool too about the missionary that played for MIT (in a Church News article) and then shared the gospel that way! Sadly he comes in two days after I leave so I will miss him but I will let the others know!!

Holy cow! I have one week left in the MTC!! That is so crazy! I can't believe how fast it's going!! Thinking about the fact that officially in less that a week I will be in Italy talking with the AP's and my Mission Pres. is SOOO cool but at the same time freaky! This is something that I have never done before! but at the same time I am SOOOOOOOOOO excited!!!!!!!

So yeah about that whole sickness thing last week....I actually got really sick! Me and Anziano Kinzie were stuck in our room from Tuesday until Friday! It was pretty hard seeing the same four walls for that long but it was a good thing because I got better really quick and I got to study more! So it was all good! Anziano Mikesell was actually quarantined with the legit flu and had to spend many days in the quarantine building. And now our district has been provided with these respirator things (I will take pictures and send them) that pops this blister of preventative medication that we then inhale twice, once a day. It’s really weird! But it's from the Church (literally) so I will do what I'm told and it will make it so I can go to Italy on time! SO it's all good! :)

So this week has been REALLY COOL and REALLY INTERESTING!!!

First like I said before I was sick for those few days and had to say inside so that was weird but good. Lots of weird things....I don't know it was weird lol!

What else...Oh yeah sad news...the Elder from Japan is no longer going to serve in Italy :( we were all pretty disappointed about that. He was re-called to serve in Hawaii which is awesome and perfect for him! It would have been way too hard for him to learn Italian because he has to learn English first, so now he is just learning English. We are all sad he's gone but at the same time we are all REALLY happy that he is happier now! It's a good thing for him.

Ok what else....OH YEAH!!!!! Are you ready for this.....are you???

WE GOT OUR FIRST REAL, YEP I SAID REAL, BAPTISM!!! WOOOOOO HOOOOOOOOOO HURRAH FOR ISRAEL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! HA HA WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Ok so here is the Story! Giuseppe, Remember him? Yep he's the one getting baptized!

It all started when he moved here from Milan (so yes this is our first real baptism and it's with a real ITALIAN MAN!) and he began to coach volleyball at BYU. He actually was the coach for the Italian national team so he's really good. Anyway he moved here and of course attending BYU [he] had to take at least one Religion class. In this class he began to learn about the LDS faith. He said at first he really liked it because we lived, actually lived what we believe. [I guess] Catholic Italians don't practice their religion really at all) so that was the first step.

Next was the fact that his roommates were returned missionaries.

And also the fact that he knew our teacher Fratello Garlik. F.llo G invited him to help the missionaries with their Italian at the TRC and he agreed. Which in the first place is really really cool because as the coach for a college team there isn't much time for things like that but somehow he found it. The cool thing is, he really liked it! He said "I really like to help the missionaries with language!" but we all knew what that really meant lol! (he was feeling the Spirit!!)

SO he kept coming back and learning more. But the really cool part is he was studying the gospel on his own! HE KNOWS SO MUCH ABOUT THE GOSPEL!! It's totally cool! He is actually enrolled in a mission prep class at BYU! HOW COOL HUH!?!?! Well through this and many other things he decided that he wanted to be baptized!!!! He called our teacher on Saturday saying that he had a question. So F.llo G went over and talked with him and Giuseppe was like "I want to be baptized!!"

Here is the funny part! This was on Saturday and Anz. Kinzie and I were going to teach him on Monday at the TRC! We'd been planning for the week for this. Well on Monday F.llo G didn't tell us about the baptism! He did tell us that he wanted us to extend the invitation to him! HOLY COW! Invite a real person who is really investigating the church to be baptized!!! That's intense!! Well we taught the Atonement and other things and then finally at the end I said:
(he'd just shared his testimony that the Church was true! SO COOL!)
Giuseppe, adeso lei sa questo I ho una domanda per lei riguardo batessemo. Si batesera?
(Giuseppe, now that you know this is true, I have a question for you about baptism. Will you be baptized?)

And he said Saturday...at first I thought he was kidding! But nope he was totally being serious!! WOOOOOOOOO HOOOOOOOOOOOO HURRAH FOR ISRAEL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

And here is the EVEN COOLER PART!!! WE HAVE PERMISSION TO GO TO THE BAPTISM!!!! WAHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We're going this Saturday!!! We talked with F.llo G about it and he said if we asked the MTC Presidency and they said yes he was TOTALLY fine with it since we participated in his conversion!! There has been MIRACLE AFTER MIRACLE!!!! For instance we went to talk with the MTC Presidency about this and we ran into Pres. Clegg (he's the second counselor I believe) he used to be a Mission Pres. in Milan so who would be more willing to let this happen than him?!! And he immediately said yes! All we had to do was ask our Branch President!

But the story is not over. The really neat thing that helped me see how much the Lord prepares his missionaries to help his children investigating the Church happened to me this week.

But first. Even though Giuseppe said he wanted to be baptized already and F.llo G and he decided that they wanted us to do this (ask him to be baptized) we still helped him with his decision. Not only has our district taught him before but Anz. Kinzie and I helped solidify his decision though the things we taught. And this brings me to my experience that I shared with him that helped solidify his testimony.

So starting Friday I had been pretty sad/unhappy. I was struggling and things just weren't going that well. I still didn't feel 100% and well I was just unhappy. This had been going for a couple of days and it had led me to question my testimony. Did I know for sure this was true? Why was I here? I don't know...I just don't know! Well on Sunday we watched our last movie at the MTC it happened to be the Joseph Smith movie (MY FAVORITE!) and before it started I’d gotten to the point I couldn't stand it I NEEDED TO KNOW if this gospel was true for myself! I realized that I’d leaned on others for my testimony for too long so before it started I said a prayer in my heart, "please let me know, I need to, I want to know!" and then as we watched the movie I pondered it and thought and thought and then all of a sudden BAM!!! It hit me and now I KNOW I REALLY KNOW for myself!!!!!!!! that this is true!! Now here is the cool part! Giuseppe received his testimony the same way! So I shared my experience with him and he said that really helped!! SO it was cool for me to see how the Lord first gave me trial, to make me question, to help me know to help Giuseppe!!!!! THIS GOSPEL IS SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO TRUE!!! I can't wait to go share that in ITALY!!! WOOO HOOO!!!!!! HURRAH FOR ISRAEL!!!!!!!!!!

So the other interesting thing that happened this week is our Branch Pres. finished his time here and was released! It was really sad to see him go but I got a good picture with him and his e-mail so that will be great! He really helped me a lot! I LOVE HIM!! But the new Pres. seems so awesome! We are excited to work with him even though it will be for less than a week. But to me this is good experience because our Mission Pres. who we will no doubt become very attached to is leaving half way through our missions. So we can lean on this [experience] when it gets hard!

We got our last session at the temple until we come home so that was awesome! I REALLY NEEDED IT!! It's totally cool hearing them pray for missionaries and then for missionaries in the room!! WOW!!! the session was awesome!! I LOVE THE TEMPLE!!!!!!!!

This is has been a great great week!!! And I can't wait for Saturday!!!! WOO HOOO!!! I'll take lots of pictures!!!!!

Ok so the Itinerary:

First on Monday we wake up at 3:00 am to be at the travel office at 4:30am

5:00 am we leave the MTC

at 8:45 our plane takes off for NY

(so anywhere in between there I will be calling! Sorry I don't really know for sure! It all depends on how long it takes to get there, traffic, check in at the airport and all of that.) I will for sure call at the NY airport

We arrive in NY at 3:25 (Utah time)
We leave NY 4:55

So again in between that I will call!

We arrive in Rome at 7:20 am (still Utah time)
We leave Rome at 10:00 am
and arrive in Catania at 11:15!!!!!!

and the cool thing is I don't know if you did this intentionally but the card you sent works from Italy! It says that on the front!! COOL HUH!?!?!

I won't be able to call from the Catania airport because we meet the AP's there and then go to the mission home! But everywhere else I will TOTALLY CALL!!! WOOOOOOOOO HOOOOOOOOOO!!!! I can't wait!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We fly Delta the whole way there so I will grab the copies of the itinerary and mail those so you have the flight numbers! I don't have the paper with me sorry! :) With Delta we get 50 lbs per bag that we check in and 40 lbs for our carry on so that will be really nice!!

Well this has been a great week and it's just going to get better!! I will talk to you next week!! Remember its all true!!!!! Love,

Anziano Nielsen!!

PS
Permacrease** is great! I Love it!! I'll send the other pants! they need it!! :) THANK YOU!!!!

CIAO!!!!

*Biscotti is a light, lemony Italian treat we found at Harmons in Roy!

**Permacrease is this really cool thing they do with suit pants at Men's Wearhouse for a small fee so there is a more permanent crease, we had it done on all but one pair of Elder Parker's and it works great!

June 9th Email "sandals, little green men and sock trials"! lol

HI!!! CIAO!!! BUON GIORNO!!!! (Good day!)

ha ha the sock trials* are going great! I’ve tried two sets of them and they are really really comfortable!! Now the test today is to see how well they survive the dryer! lol!! So we'll see! :)

Anziano Jones’ group did get the green light to go, but they can't leave until the 16 of this month, so about week before we do. It's all good though! I’m glad they’re here, and I’m happy for them that they get to leave on time! :)

Anziano Jones with his district

I get my FLIGHT PLANS THIS WEEK!!!!!!!!!!!!! WOOO HOOOO!!!!!!!

Holy one year since graduation!! that's really nuts!!! I can't believe how fast time flew by! and is still flying by!! lol!! It's really cool though!!

ha ha ha ha I got a letter from Elder Page! He said he couldn't understand anything I wrote lol! I was in a super hurry!! He sent me a picture of him and his comp it's so funny!! I also got a great letter from Elder Folsom with an awesome picture it was great!! I actually might take you up on the typing thing (for [my] letters [to him] lol!)

We've actually had a couple more of the "laughing fits" lol! it's a great, very needed release!! :)

Yeah the one roommate has been awesome! I love it!! (normally at the MTC 4 Elders will share one room but it has worked out that they've only had 2 Elders in their room the entire 2 months!)

Laundry is going great! The only part I don't like (and you may well remember this) I don't like hanging up all the shirts lol! But don't worry I do! I just don't like it lol! haha!! :)

The shirts don't wrinkle at all so that's nice! But don't worry, before I go to Italy I will iron on all the labels so they don't get mixed up when they are hanging out to dry! :)

Yeah the suits are doing great!! I love them! I did actually have to get one of them dry-cleaned from when I had the wheel chair, it got really dirty from rubbing on the wheels! But the total for the whole suit was 5 dollars! I love the MTC benefits!!

I loved the sandal tangent**!! lol!! There is actually an Elder in my district (Anz. McD) that has a pair! We started a club lol!! He loves them and so do I!! I'm very glad I have both pairs!

The camera card sitchamacation is working out great!! I was actually going to see if I could attach some pics but I forgot the card reader back at the house! ( we refer to our rooms as our "house" because it makes us feel more at home lol!) The USB stick should be a good idea too! I'll totally give that a shot!! THANK YOU SOO MUCH!!!!!

I have great news.......very great news!....THE CD WORKED!!!!!! (the one with the socks package) I LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOV ELOV ELOV ELOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOV ELOVLVE LOVE IT!!!!! I listen to it all the time!!!!! THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!!!!!!!!! WOO HOO MUSIC***!!! lol!! I hope you feel the appreciation!!!! Also I hope you remember how you did it because it WORKED LOL!!!!!!!
(love the Brian Regan quote lol****!!!)

For listening to the audio tapes, here at the MTC when in the residence halls we have to be on the same floor as our comps but we can be anywhere on that level. So there is this little alcove under the stairs I go [to to] listen and write letters under it's great!! That works for now though, but in Italy I don't know...maybe headphones would be good!!

Sorry about the whole Digi recorder mess! Do what you have to do to make it work! In the words of Pres. Hinckley..."Oh...things will work out!" Thank you for trying to find the best way possible to make this work! I really really appreciate it!!

I'm trying my hardest to write in my journal everyday! And if not I try and write the cool experiences I have. I.E. this awesome dream I had....

That's an exciting thought! (sharing my mission journal with my son/sons!!)

The Lord is really helping me learn this language!! Without Him there is NO way I would be able to speak as much as I can!!

Tell Carson***** to prep like a beast!!

The first time I heard LGM****** I thought the same thing lol!!!!!!!

I'm loving being the senior comp!!

I REALLY enjoy the singing!!

Sorry for my sloppy handwriting I will work on that lol!!

The total immersion is great!!! I LOVE IT!!

I actually had a dream in Italian the other day! it was COOL!!!

Every time I think about my feet I have to laugh!!! it's really funny now!!!

Everything with the swine flu is totally fine. One Elder in our zone got quarantined for the regular flu so his district is taking this preventative medication. Other than that things are great!! I do have a little bit of the acheys but I got checked out and they said I would be fine! I think it's just because of our room...IT’S SOOOOOO COLD!!!!

I did get the email about the second package! but sadly I didn't get the package! Anz. Jones didn' t get his either. We both got these giant orange slips that said food, with ice cream******* circled, has been attempted to be delivered. So they threw it away! Actually we think they ate it, because they would have to open it to know it was ice cream! Oh well it's all good! Thank you for trying to send it! I REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY APPRECIATE IT!!! Tell Patrick and Camille thanks too! Anz. Jones and I sent them a combined letter thanking them and [with] something to read at the next crew meeting!

Thank you again SOOOOO much for getting the whole e-mail thing with Elder Ry figured out!! I sent him a good e-mail and he sent me a REALLY good one back! it 's so fun hearing from my missionary brother, while on my mission! CAN YOU BELIEVE HE COMES HOME NEXT MONTH!!!! AHHHHHH!!! IT’S SO CRAZY COOL!!!!!

The cashew treat******** is SOOO good!!!

Thanks for the advice on the nervousness too! I really appreciated that!! And yes I AM WAY ANXIOUS TO GET TO ITALY lol!!!! :D

Also THANK YOU SOOOOOO MUCH for sending the Oki photo scrapbook!! I really appreciate it!! I talk a lot about Oki and I want to see it and so do others! Also that might be a good tool in Italy to say I lived in Japan! so THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!!!!!

Also if you could, would you send me my CD, as in the music I wrote and recorded? I think that would be another great tool to for the people of Italy! THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!

That's all I can think to ask you for! I just want you to know how much I appreciate all the love, support, letters, and packages you send me!!!!!!!!!!! To show you, [I] appreciate it this much:


---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------O---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
those are my arms and that little "O" is my head lol!! I really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really do appreciate it!!! SOOOOOOOO much!!! I hope by asking for things I don't seem ungrateful! because I am SOOOOOOOOOOOOOO incredibly grateful to you!!!!! Thank you for all you do!!!! LOVE YA!!!!!!!!!

Ok lets see what has Elder Parker Been up to this week.....? Hmmm.....

I had a follow up appointment with the toe doctor today and he said that things looked awesome and I can stop the Epsom salt baths (so nice!) and I can stop scrubbing it with that brush! So that's good news! Things are going great! I also talked with him about my shoes and he said that the ones I have are fine as long as they are comfortable and won't cause any more problems.

Other than that, I'm healthy, happy and still loving the MTC!!!! I wrote a bunch in a snail mail so I don't [want] to spoil too many things so that you can still enjoy the letter lol!!

I'm actually feeling a little ill so I think I’ll go lay down, since it is P-day it's allowed. In fact with this whole swine flu things it's a rule. If you have any sickness you have to go to your room! Don’t worry though it will be fine!!

This week is going to be a good week for mail! A package! Flight plans! WOO HOO!!!! I'm SO EXCITED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Have a great Clearfield week!!!!!!!!!!

Love,
Anziano Nielsen!!

P.S. there is a new system for incoming missionaries that has been implemented and we got to help with it. (there is more in the snail mail. ) But I might be on the news, so check around! Lol!! LOVE YOU!!!

The asterisks are to provide more explanation where it might be needed...

*sock trials are the process of him finding a brand/style that will NOT cause any further toe problems! we think the MM brand socks he took to the MTC may have been a major factor! I recently sent him several new pair to try out

**sandals from Hilo Hattie's - we're huge fans from back in our West Point days when I discovered them on a TDY trip to CA with Jay! Sadly this store is no longer there but you can get them here: shopthedocks.com!

***watch for a future post to clarify what is appropriate music within Elder Parker's mission rules

****Brian Regan quote, I can't remember which one I used but we are big fans of this clean comedienne!

*****Carson is a friend who is preparing to serve a mission this fall!

******LGMs may have you thinking of the little green men in Toy Story but at the MTC that's an acronym for "large group meeting"! lol

*******the ice cream reference is when Elder Parker's former employers tried to send a Cold Stone surprise to him and Elder Jones! we used a same day MTC delivery service and dry ice which made the package itself very cold so that was probably the MTC mail room's first clue about the contents! =oP

Anziano Nielsen and Anziano Jones
both were employed at Cold Stone prior to their missions!

********the latest health food craze created by Elder Parker's Dad: cashews and cranberries, surprisingly delicious! you should try "Jay's Power Pancakes"! Very yummy!

Hmmm, that's an awful lot of asterisks! lol Maybe next time I should leave those parts out or just insert the explanations right next to each item! Any suggestions for a better system??

June 2nd Email with swine flu and toe updates

Please note: this is from 2 separate emails Elder Parker wrote to both Mom and Dad so there are some repeats but enough good info in each that I decided to include them both. I'll also throw in some of the photos that he refers to in the letters and that we just got on his May camera card, the rest will be up on Picasa soon.

Hello!!! Ciao!!!

I can't believe it's already June!! Holy cow!! That went too fast!! We have twenty days left in the MTC and then we are off to ITALY!! WOO HOO lol!! Don't get me wrong I LOVE the MTC but yeah I want to go to Italy lol!! The days here just blend together! It's like one giant day lol!

At the RC (referral center) we get a lot of people that call in just to talk and it's hard, because our purpose is "To Invite others to come unto Christ!" and we try to do that but a lot of time people just want to talk since they are lonely and we do our best to fulfill our purpose and talk with them, but most times we have to tell them that we need to go. It's hard but there are people out there that we need to talk to to help them find Christ. The cool thing is the Lord's purposes will always be fulfilled in any way He wants!!

That's really cool [that you met] the man whose son opened Italy for missionary work! WAY AWESOME!!!! (more of this story in another post, hopefully!)

[Dad] Thank you for all the awesome trips and adventures we went on!

Above: Elder Parker (center) approx age 10 with his Dad and brother

Mountain biking at Gooseberry Mesa

I can't wait for more after the mission! But right now this is where I'm supposed to be!! The mountain biking after [a church activity] sounds SO fun! We talk a lot about that here! A lot of the Anziano really loved [mountain biking] before they came! And of course so did I! We've planned a lot of trips for after the Mish lol!

Ha ha I'm glad you liked the toe pictures too! Pretty intense yeah!!?? [these pix had to be censored and were not posted on the blog because of their graphic nature!! lol] It's all good now, that foot is healing very well. I went back to the doctor and he said everything was going so well I should be able to stop the topical steroid and topical antibiotic!! Which should be so nice because I have these little applicator sticks that I have to actually insert into my toe flesh and rotate to apply the stuff....ahhh it feels so weird...I don't like it lol but it's helping me heal so I do it! I just say a prayer before!

I'm glad you liked the pictures! My photography is suffering without the time to set up and choose settings but that's ok I guess they are mission pictures!

Ha ha the haircut is turning out ok, I’m starting to like it! No I’m kidding I really like it, its great!!!

Yeah the study gets pretty interesting!!! But it's good to switch it up sometimes! You get really sick of those little desks lol!!

Above photos: Elder Parker finds a new position for studying! lol

Elder Parker said this photo shows only HALF of his study materials!

Yeah my room got pretty bad at home and because of that I wanted to make my room here really clean especially with inspections and everything!!

The whole swine flu thing is pretty intense here. But that's because as they said they want to "err on the side of conservativeness (sp?)" so it's pretty intense. For example the Elders and Sisters that were supposed to leave for Italy today are delayed for two weeks! They had to go and unpack all of their stuff! Also if you have any sickness you have to stay in your room NO MATTER WHAT! So on Sunday Anz. Kinzie had a cold and we had to stay in our room, not just the building but the room for the WHOLE day! It drove me nuts honestly! He slept for the whole day and I just sat and studied, which was nice, but well you know! It’s all good though he's fine!!

And here is the fun part..........I got another ingrown toenail woo hoo! This time on my right foot big toe! And it got all gnarly infected!! lol!! But worry you not I got it taken care of Monday and it feels great!! This doctor was even better than Dr. Morley (total answer to prayer!) he did it quick and effectively!! More that what Doctor Morley did!! But I am grateful for both of them! For this new surgery-ed toe I have to bathe it in Epsom salts and scrub it with this weird brush and take care of it but it should be good for life!! Which is great!! Same with my right foot! So the total is now 4 infected ingrown toenails on my mission!! WOOT for the record lol!! It's all good! I feel great now and things are totally fine!!!

Let's see what else... Also we get a new district tomorrow that is going to CATANIA!!! COOL huh!?!? And there is one international Elder from....guess......guess......SAPPORO JAPAN*!!!!! He actually arrived yesterday and Anz. Kinzie and I happened to be at the front desk when he got there and I remembered enough Japanese to find out who he is and when he realized that we were going to the same mission he gave me a HUGE hug!! He is so cool!!!!!!! But the thing is he doesn't speak a lick of English!!! So we’re not sure how this is all going to work!! But things will work out! It’s all good!!!

*Fun fact - Sapporo Japan is where Elder Parker's Dad served his mission!

Yeah the whole swine flu thing is going to make it really really hard for families dropping off their children, at the curb! Their mom's can't even pin on their tags! That's so hard!! I'm so glad you were able to come with me, and be in the building and give me a BIG hug, two in fact lol before the "Band-Aid moment"!!

I'm back from the temple!!!!!!!! It was an awesome Experience!!!!!!!!! I LOVE THE TEMPLE!!!!!!

Can you believe it’s already June!?!?! Neither can I!! It's going so so so so so so so so fast!! The weird thing is exactly what everyone said it would be, the days go by really really slow and the weeks just zip by!! We have 20 days left here at the good ol' MTC can you believe THAT!!?? lol (This is a quote involving the word "that" so that is it's only relevance in this conversation......."I can't believe you fell for THAT!" A/P fifty first dates lol!! ha ha ha ha!!!)

That is a nifty computer hint! I just tried and guess what it works on the hyper safe MTC computers!! Cool Ne!?! [control F to find any word]

Speaking of "ne" we got an international elder from....guess....go ahead guess.......SAPPORO JAPAN!!!! He is so cool!! But here is the thing, he doesn't speak a lick of English! It's been really neat trying to remember what little I knew and thinking of Elder Ry, trying our best to communicate! It’s great though! He is an awesome Elder! Last night (he arrived early since he is an international Elder) Anziano Kinzie and I ran into him and I remembered enough to ask his name and we found out that he was the one going to CATANIA WOOT WOOT!! I mentioned Catania and he remembered that from his mission call and said..."ah Anziano.....Catania!" and gave me a GIANT hug lol!!! He is great! Right now we are trying to help him get his e-mail set up it's hard but at the same time awesome!!

After lunch our district (since we are all going to Catania as well) went and picked him up and took him to the temple with us! It was great!! We taught him a little bit of Italian as we went! It was SO fun!! He is great! We are going to take care of him tonight during the devotional and then tomorrow we are going to take him where he needs to go!! It's really fun, he's really good friends with all of us already!!

Elders in his district (left to right):

McDaniel, Gurney, Kinzie, Nielsen, Sponseller, Mikesell

Alright here is the update on my toes...dun...dun...dun lol!!

My left foot feels great! The toes are healing so well!! (gnarly pics huh!?) [censored!] But here is the bad news...My right foot has an infected ingrown toe nail! But here is the great news, I had another surgery and got it taken care of yesterday! The place was so nice!! I wished I had a robe and a good book to read by the fireplace kind of nice! It was great! Quick and painless!! So things are great! I have one more follow up with him to see if this one was successful next week. This time he cut out the side of the nail and stuck acid down there to kill the nail so that was great!

Ciao!!

Love,

Anziano Nielsen!

Swine Flu at the MTC

We just heard the news report of swine flu cases at the MTC. We haven't been contacted so we assume Elder Parker does not have it. We hope to get an email from him today and might learn more from that. We are praying that he and all the other missionaries there will not be affected and can carry on in their preparations. We're also praying that Elder Parker's district will still be able to leave for Italy on June 22nd as planned.

Here are a few related links...

MTC Takes Precautions Regarding Swine Flu
News report from LDS Church News

Missionary Training Center Taking Swine Flu Precautions
News report from Deseret News

Helpful Q & A

from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)

General information

and what you can do to stay healthy from the CDC

Report of cases in the US

as of June 1, 2009 11:00 AM ET from the CDC