Mid-transfer week

Hello family!
This email is going to be all over the place because I'm emailing President Taylor at the same time. This week was honestly really hard in a lot of ways, but I'm trying not to dwell because it got a lot better in weird ways this weekend. In fact, you should probably edit it hardcore before you put it on the blog. Thanks again Hannah! Everyone tells me it's awesome still.
Exchanges this past Wednesday were pretty ridiculous. But I got to drive the truck! It was awesome. We had literally nothing planned in our area (at all. No appointments or nothing) so Sister Murdock and I had a lot of prayerful improv to figure out what we were going to do all day long and how we could best spend our time. It was honestly pretty stressful. I felt super inadequate. But I learned a lot. A lot. And it was fun driving the truck so much and being able to spend time with Sister Murdock.
Also I cut off 7 inches of my hair. Roughly. We didn't actually measure it. But then we went right to softball with our zone so I put it up in a ponytail and laughed about how Mom would just be lamenting the fact that I always do that after I get my hair cut. It looks pretty cute. I had split ends out the wahzoo because it's so dry here! It was so nasty. Like that one time I thought I wouldn't cut my hair until it was long enough to donate to Locks of Love... yeah... It hits about my shoulders now instead of like midback so it should be a lot curlier, easier to manage, and hopefully cooler in the hot sun! I'll take a picture this week when my hair's not so crunchy and sweaty.
So this is the start of week 4 of my 3rd transfer! Pretty crazy honestly. I'm worried that I'll struggle a lot when I'm eventually not in a trio (even if that isn't for another 2-3 months) because I've gotten super comfortable in a trio.
Happy birthday Lilly! Btw. I sent her a letter last week or the week before and barely remembered her birthday. Haha it's so impossible to remember birthdays. Oh my gosh. Like even in my district I remembered Elder Keele's birthday and was super proud of myself until the next Friday Elder Brame walks in with a "Birthday Boy" badge on his coat and I had no idea. Embarrassing. I'm sure Dad (and Sister Falke for that matter) would tell me to stop worrying and calm down. There's a ton to remember all the time!
So we played softball today with our zone and I have seriously been freaking out about this since we got the text Wednesday morning about it. Even to the point where I was out in center field (hahahahahahahahahahaha) and we were playing. But I totally held my own! It's totally weird how my concerns are met at times. Anyway.
I have random bug bites on my arms and hands. Sorry not very many - like 10 or so. The ones on my hands looks like ant bites. Weird, ya?
I just got an email from my friend, Lyndsey Morgan and she's going to the San Antonio Mission while she waits for her visa!!!!!! Awesome right?! I'm super excited.
Our district BBQ was interesting haha. It's so funny how we're not really friends with the elders but kind of are. Our zone leaders brought bologna and our district leader was mortified hahahahahaha. I'm pretty sure our zone leaders are getting crazier and crazier. My district consists of really awesome missionaries.
Had another buffalo burger last Tuesday before we drove the hour and 15 minutes to meet Sister Murdock and her companion to do the exchange. I'm telling you - they taste just like hamburger. It's kind of disappointing and yet comforting hahaha.
Oh and I went out to eat for the first time (well at a restaurant)! One of our recent converts, Chris, took us to Olive Garden with his FIANCE!!!!!!! We're so happy. Shea is totally awesome and we love her. And it was actually pretty good because I totally ran out of money last month (well I had $14 left for my last week) so we were happy to be fed.
We ran into a super hardcore anti-Mormon this week which made me feel really dark and dirty (honestly like someone had shoved me in a manure pile and left me there to drown) for like 2 days. Bleh. Mostly people are just upset because they feel that we don't need anything more than the Bible. I just know that God isn't limited to some 1500 pages from thousands of years ago. Since He lives and still loves His children, I think He'd still want to communicate with His children. But that's just me.
So yeah we went all the way through this week with no lessons at all whatsoever (our goals are usually 10-20 lessons a week which is totally possible but just not happening). And then Friday we somehow had 2 and then another like 5 on Saturday. It was really great. Especially because Thursday was super low.
All of our new investigators this week are from the efforts of our elders haha. We're wondering if we should just let them do all the finding and we'll do the teaching. It's interesting how different people respond better to elders and how others respond better to sisters. I'm glad that there are both here in Prescott!
We met with our recent convert, Ashleigh yesterday with one of her visiting teachers (yay visiting teachers!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!). It was so amazing because when we first met Ashleigh back in March, she would barely talk to us at all and sit there on the couch while her husband did most of the talking. WHOLLY CHEESE WHAT A DIFFERENCE. We love her so much, and she was completely opening up to us and her visiting teacher who she like barely knows. It's so amazing the difference that truth has made in her life. She is so different.
ALSO I meant to tell y'all that I had a super cool impression at zone conference a couple weeks ago. In mortality and particularly as missionaries, we want people to have the blessings of baptism and the Holy Ghost and the accompanying covenants as soon as possible. It changes lives. And then I was thinking about why we let people in the Spirit World wait to receive the same blessings... just saying. We don't make them wait here despite all the distractions and imperfections of mortality, so why do we make them wait in immortality when they have the same needs and no ability to perform the ordinances themselves?
Anyway it's almost 4 and we have a dinner appointment at 5 (yay!!!!!) so I think we're going to go soon. Haha I'm sorry that I have no interesting stories. I think about the things I want to tell you during the week and then totally forget. I promise my life is interesting. Hard. But interesting and fun. I'm grateful and happy to be out here. I feel like I'm growing a lot. I just can't believe how far I still need to grow!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It's crazy. But awesome in a lot of ways haha.
I hope Hannah's job interview went great! I'm super proud of her.
I love all of you a lot. Miss you a lot! Promise. Thanks for the opportunity to be here!!!!
LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE
Sister Parks