Pics

Great CHRISTmas

This past week has been amazing. I had one of the best Christmas' so far! It was great to truly just think about the Savior and come closer to him; to be completely away from all the things of the world! I am so grateful for the knowledge and relationship I have with Christ and for the opportunity I have to come closer to him each and every day!

 

We were able to see some new investigators this past week and were able to find some great ones. We met with two sisters named Pumi and Vuyi. We were able to teach them about the Restoration of the Gospel and by the end of the lesson they told us that if they found out that these things were true that they would do anything to become a member of the TRUE church and would leave everything behind. It was a powerful lesson and I am excited to continue seeing them. They even came to church on Sunday and really enjoyed. Thuto and Senzo are also doing great and should both make it to be baptised on the 12th of January... No better way to start of the new year!

 

The Cocroaches and bugs are back at it again haha! We kill about 25 each night and when we come into the flat there are about 50-100 each night! We have started to deep clean our flat so hopefully we can get rid of them.

 

In my "letters from home" this past week I really loved a scripture in Timothy. It is 1 Timothy 6:11-12 and it talks about how we need to "Fight the good fight of faith and lay hold on Eternal life." And in 2 Nephi 2:4 it talks about how Eternal life or Salvation is free, but we need to seize it. The price has been paid for each of us and all we need to do is take matters into our hands and decide what kind of a life that we want and desire! I can't wait to set my New Year Resolutions with this in mind!

 

Obedience is the Price!

I love you all so much!

 

Elder Farnes

Mabopane!

Everything is going great! This past week has been a really good week. I am loving Mabopane! We are continuing to work with our part member families and our investigators are progressing very well. Some people have left for Christmas, but when they get back everything should be amazing!

Some interesting news though.. So because of the car accident in Rabie Ridge people have been changed around a lot. So now I am follow up training Elder Teerlink. He is a cool guy from Nevada. I still am in Mabopane so I am grateful that I have most of the area down.

In my scripture study I was studying a lot on the Holy Ghost still. In 2 Nephi 33:1 it talks about how the Holy Ghost goes "unto" but not "into" the hearts of the people. The people we are teaching still need to be prepared and desire to feel it for them to have that experience and have it really change them and start the conversion process. It taught me a lot about how important it is to find the people that are prepared. We need to be led by the spirit to find them. In 1 Nephi 4:6 it talks about how he was led by the spirit not knowing beforehand the things that he should do when he was going to get the plates. He had faith and used the "Ready, Fire, Aim" approach, completely relying on the spirit. In D&C 79:2-3 and 111:2-3,8,11 it talks about how people are prepared. It is up to us to find those people by being worthy and listening to the promptings from the spirit!

I am so grateful for the opportunity to be working side by side with Christ at this time of the year! I love you all so much and hope you have a Merry CHRISTmas!!

Elder Farnes

New Area and District Leader

This past week has been great. I got my new comp and my new companion. My new companion is sweet. His name is Elder Wambua and he is from Kenya. He has so much faith and is an extremely hard worker... We are going to have tons of fun together! I have already learned how to make some kenyan food. My new area is AWESOME as well! It's called Mabopane... We are over 3 different townships so our area is huge. To drive from one end to the other takes about half an hour. From what I have learned this area has a ton of potential, but the missionary here before me was "dead" so they didn't get any work done. So we have been working like crazy and are already seeing the results. We are working close with the members as well which is great. We have quite a few return missionaries so they love working with us. I am so excited to be here.. I know I am going to love it! The people in my district are way cool as well.. the other missionaries are from Madagascar and the Netherlands.

 

Yesterday was a really cool experience with the baptism of Sister Petunia. I don't know her too well, but she is an incredible lady. She is 35 and has been investigating the church for about 10 years. Her mom and dad are members and one of her children is as well. She has been through a lot in her life and when she received the answer that this church was the one for her she hasn't looked back. She has such a powerful testimony and you could tell how excited she was to be baptised.

 

I have been studying a lot about the Holy Ghost lately. We all have the opportunity to have the constant companionship of the Holy Ghost and especially as being a set apart missionary we need it in our lives to accomplish this great work. We need to be working side by side with the Lord to do all that we have been called and sent here on earth to do. We have been called to speak by the Holy Ghost and not from our own understanding... The Holy Ghost is the Ultimate teacher that will lead people to gaining a testimony and becoming converted. (D&C 50:13-14 and D&C 43:15-16) And as we speak by the Spirit we will teach with Power and Authority from God. (Alma 17:2-3 and Mark 1:22)

 

I love you all so much! Remember the reason for the season!

 

Elder Farnes

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District Leader and Transfers

This past week has been great. I found out Saturday night that I will be leaving to a new area tomorrow. I have also been called to be a District Leader. I am really excited for it. There is a meeting for the new ones tonight. I know I will definitely need to rely on the Lord to be the best one I can be. 

It has been sad saying goodbye to some of the people here in Birch Acres, but I am so excited to get to a new area and get to work.

On Sunday I was also able to baptise Andres son Gontse. He was so excited to be baptised. He was so happy and even started crying during his confirmation. He is such a stud. It was an honor to be apart of his baptism.

Recently, I have really been trying to relate everything I read to my life and especially to missionary work. I have been starting from 1 Nephi again and I think it is so interesting how Nephi and Laman and Lemuel had the very same experiences, yet the outcomes of the people are very different. They all left with their father, went back to get the plates, and all even made it to the Promised land. But Nephi turned out to be an incredible servant of the Lord, while Laman and Lemuel rebelled and were wicked. It was all about what they became from their experiences. I have noticed it is the same with missionaries. There are a lot of people that come out and go home and don't become anything from the experiences they have and on the other hand there are those that learn a lot and become true disciples of Christ.

Also I really liked the story with Nephi breaking his bow in the wilderness. (1 Nephi 16:18-25) Nephi wasn't doing anything wrong. He had been keeping the commandments and living a great life when this trial came upon him. It wasn't that Nephi was punished for anything that this had to happen, but the Lord saw that there was an opportunity for him to grow. When the Lord feels that we are prepared to grow he will often send us trials that will stretch us and test us to our limits. (Proverbs 3:11-12) We need to accept these challenges with a humble heart and overcome them with the Lord's help. 

"The only way to prepare for the future is to be totally present now!" 

Lets take advantage of the present!

I love you all so much!

Elder Farnes

Zone Conference

"Latter-Day Saints"

This past week has flown by. My testimony of the power and influence the Book of Mormon can have in someone's life has been confirmed again and again. 

This past week Elder Deichman and I were walking up the street when a man pulled over in a car and yelled "Latter-Day Saints!" We went over to him and invited us to come and meet with him and his cousin that night. He said he had been reading a lot about the church.

We went over that night and had a powerful discussion with them on what they knew and just getting to know them better. He told us of how a few months ago he really wanted to know about Jesus Christ and was looking for a book that would help him. He came across the Book of Mormon online and downloaded it onto his phone. He was hesistant about reading it but prayed and had the feeling that he should. He started reading from the Introduction page and said that he couldn't stop reading. He would read during lunch at work and right when he got home til he went to sleep. He told us of how much he loved reading about the Vineyard in Jacob and how he couldn't stop crying when he read about Christ coming and visiting the people in the Americas and how Christ even started weeping. He also told us from what he read how he knew his baptism wasn't done correctly and how he knew the true way to do it know. He is as golden as they come.

We went back a few days later and taught him about the Restoration. At the end of the lesson he talked about how strong the feelings inside him were and how it felt like he was "Coming Home." He came to church on Sunday and he loved it as well. He wants to be baptised and I am sure he will become a powerful member of the church. We found out he actually lives in another area so we will have to pass him on to the Elders there but we will continue to teach his cousin. 

This past week I had also finished the Book of Mormon again. It is definitely the most correct book ever written. In Mormon 8:35 it talks about how he saw our day while he was writing and abridging the book. He only left in the parts that he knew we would need in our day, and that is why it is so important that we "liken the scriptures unto ourselves" 1 Nephi 19:23. We need to constantly be asking ourselves why those certain stories and scriptures were the ones that were kept. They are and always will be for our benefit and will always keep us on the straight and narrow. I am so grateful for the power of the Book of Mormon. I know it is true with all my heart.

I love you all so much!

Elder Farnes

Emmanuels Baptism

Busy Week

This past week has been great.We have been super busy so it has gone by SO fast. A lot of amazing things are happenning here in Birch Acres.

Yesterday we were able to have Emmanuel's Baptism. It was so cool to see how excited he was. He got dressed up for church a lot nicer than he normally does and was so happy. He had been looking forward to this day for a while. After he was baptised he said he felt so good that he didn't want to get out of the water.

Mpho is doing good as well, he wasn't able to make it to church yesterday to be confirmed but I don't have any worries about him. We had a chat with him and it turns out that his family has told him that they don't support him with what he is doing. We had a long talk with him about everything and he told us that he knows what is true and he will never stray from the path he is on.He said he still wants to serve a mission and that he knows his family will come around one day. It got me thinking a lot about what I would do if I was in the same situation and as I we were talking I shared how much I had been thinking about that and shared how I KNEW that even if my family wasn't members or didn't support me that I would still be on my mission. I know this Church is true and nothing will ever change that. As I was saying that the spirit bore strong testimony to me of the truthfullness of it all and I got a little emotional. It was a great experience.

This past week we also had zone conference. We talked a lot about the Godhead and how important it is that our Investigators clearly understand the attribrutes and each of their roles in their own personal lives. It is the First Article of Faith and it will help a lot as we are trying to establish the church here in South Africa. We also talked about asking inspired questions and Elder Deichman and I was asked on the spot to do a role play for everyone with President Omer on the topic of asking inspired questions after we had taught him about the Restoration that would lead to a baptismal committment. I love being able to do that and it was a great experience.We are really focusing on asking inspired questions and can already see the improvements.

I have also focusing a lot on trying to develop Charity. I have been reading a lot about it in Corinthians and am trying to apply it to my life.Charity is one of the most important things we can try to develop. We have been serving every chance we can get and it has helped so much. We have even gotten a few new investigators from it. Overall a great great week!

I love you all  so much!

Elder Farnes