More Pics

Pics

Elder Farnes with his first 2 companions

Driving on the other side of the road

Looks like a lot of walking

Ummm........we did send him with a rain jacket?

So excited to go to the temp

Great week! Baptism of Mpho and Temple

This past week has been amazing. We had a great week of teaching with our investigators and hopefully we found a new solid investigator yesterday. She is named Olga and just stopped us on the street yesterday and said that she really wanted to meet with us after we explained to her a little bit about the Restoration of the Gospel.

We were able to go to the temple on Friday which was amazing!!!!! I had missed the temple so much and it felt so good to go through. The spirit there was so strong. The new video is incredible. I just love the temple so much! 

Mpho's Baptism went great as well yesterday. He was so excited. He has been counting down the days and he had the biggest smile on his face the entire day. After his baptism he bore a powerful testimony about how he knows that this is just the start of his journey and he can't wait to see what the future holds in store for him. He said he thinks he wants to start preparing to serve a mission! 

Emmanuel had his interview on Thursday, but needed a second interview from President Omer for some reasons. President Omer came yesterday to our church and had the interview after sacrament meeting. Emmanuel passed so he will be getting baptised this week! He is so ready! It has been amazing to see the changes he has made in his life. He has completely changed his life around and is a totally new person. The power of the gospel is incredible.

Yesterday I was also able to give a talk during sacrament. I was asked to speak on Repentance. In Moses 6:57 it talks about how we need to repent and teach others to repent. It says how no unclean thing can dwell in the presence of God. I loved being able to talk about Repentance and the Atonement. It is such a great gift that we have been given and we need to take full advantage of it. We truly should use it everyday of our lives so that we can always have the spirit with us and come closer to Christ.

I love you all SO much!

Elder Farnes

Blessing

This past week has been incredible. Mpho has passed his interview so he will be getting baptised this week which is so great. He is so prepared and even talking about maybe serving a mission. The guy that interviewed him told me that he answered every question like a missionary. Emmanuel will also be having his interview this week. He is changing so much and it is so cool to see. He really is trying his very hardest to change his life to follow Jesus Christ. They both want us to see them a lot so we see each of them 3 or 4 times a week. Themba couldn't make it to church again this week, but his wife still came. They have both received answers and they want to be baptised.

This week we went over to Mpho's house and he was just distraught. He explained to us that his mom was probably going to lose her job and that he was feeling all the burden placed on his shoulders and didn't know quite what he was going to do with everything. He asked if I could give him a blessing and it was one of the most powerful experiences I have ever had. I truly felt God's love for him as I was able to give him the blessing as the spirit directed. It was so spiritual. Mpho and I were both crying during it. God's love for each of us is so great. We really can't comprehend how great it is.

I came across come really cool scriptures this past week on the importance of scripture study. The first two are found in Alma 13:20 and Alma 41:1. It talks about the gift that the scriptures are to us in our life and how if we wrest them that is when we will start to go astray and it will be to our destruction. In D&C 18:3-5 it gives a commandment to rely upon the things which are written in the scriptures and if we do the gates of hell shall not prevail against us. The scriptures are so important and can help us out so much in our lives. 

I love you so much!

Elder Farnes

Elder Bednar

This week has been one of the greatest so far on mission. We had a great week with all of our investigators. Mpho and Emmanuel are progressing so well. Mpho came to church with the shirt and tie I got him and he looked like a missionary. They are both continuing to love everything. They even went to a missionary fireside last night. Themba and his wife both came to church as well. His brother, who is the return missionary, bore his testimony to them and it was powerful. They both really enjoyed church and are going on the stake temple walk on November 16th. It was a great sunday and week.

On Thursday we had the privilege of hearing from Elder Bednar. It was one of the most spiritual moments in my life. He didn't just lecture us, he told us that we were going to counsel together and that is exactly what we did. We counseled while we asked question and he asked us questions and we let the TRUE teacher, the Holy Ghost, take control of the meeting. We talked a lot about how as missionaries we need to "get out of the way" and let the Holy Ghost take control as we are teaching investigators. We do that by Observing, Listening, Discerning, and then talking. We have really been trying to use this and I can already tell a difference.

At the end of the meeting Elder Bednar closed with his testimony. He started it by telling us that because we are about to hear this that we will now be held to a new level of accountability. Once he began, my eyes became fixed on him, I couldn't take them off and it seemed like everything else disappeared. Everything else around him became white and I could just see him glowing. It was so powerful.

I know that Elder Bednar has been called by God. That he really is a special witness of our Lord, and Savior, Jesus Christ. I am so grateful that we are led today by President Monson, a true Prophet of God, under the direction of Jesus Christ. 

"The Kingdom of God or Nothing" - President John Taylor

I love you all!

Elder Farnes