"tight"

This past week has flown by! Lots of work going on here in Mabopane! Koketso, Thato, Nono, and Jocaline are all progressing great towards their baptism this week. They will be having their baptisms this sunday :)

We have been doing a lot of finding lately as well to create a bigger teaching pool for the upcoming months. We have found a couple cool people, but it seems like there is a lot of jokers. A lot of appointments set and then they bounce on us. haha. We will find the legit ones this week though. Seperating the wheat from the tares!

We started seeing an awesome less active guy named Donald. He is a powerful man who used to go out with the missionaries and was even the gospel principles teacher but hasn't been to church for a long time. He opened right up to us and explained some pretty crazy stuff that is going on in his life. He has faced a lot of challenges and is even battling with demons inside of him. We talked to him about the need for the use of the Atonement in both aspects of redeeming and enabling and the importance of him taking the first step. He made it to church which was incredible and loved it! He said it was one of the hardest things he has had to do in his life.

In my study this past week I was reading through Ether. There is so much to learn from there. I really enjoyed how in Ether 12:17 it talks about how "tight" everything on the vessels were. Are our bodies(vessels) tight enough? Or do we have weak spots that allow water or temptation to get through. As we make them tight from the start when they were in the midst of the waters (temptation) Ether 6:7. Nothing could get through. I am grateful for the opportunity I have to tighten up my vessel through the atonement. I love you so much.

Elder Farnes

Great Week!

Great great week here in Mabopane! Jocaline, Nono, Koketso, and Thato are all progressing so well towards their baptism. We are even teaching some of Jocaline's family which is great! At first they didn't want much to do with us, but now they are keeping most of their commitments and desiring to know the truth.

This past week it seemed like we focused a lot on the Sabbath day with people. haha. We are teaching a guy named Molefe who is super powerful. He has been reading from the Book of Mormon everyday and is starting to gain a testimony of it. The only problem with him is that he was only coming to church every other week it seemed like. We have stressed the Sabbath with him before but this time took more of an approach to try and get him to see WHY he needs to come and WHY it would hurt him to miss out. The lesson turned out great and he is very committed to keep it up and do what the Lord asks.

Alexander is still powerful as ever. He is currently going through his family history, has visited the grounds of the temple, and has a calling in Elders Quorum. Very cool to see.

This past week I studied some more of becoming the Good Shepherd. I love a scripture from Alma 5:57 and 2 Corinthians 6:17. It tells us How to become one ourselves; the first step is to give up worldliness. We need to put first things first. I was got into studying more about sacrifice and how it really is a sign of pure love. I learned that sacrifice and becoming the Good Shepherd often times requires loneliness or to separate ourselves from others. Our Savior is our greatest example (Matthew 8:20) In Gethsemane and on the cross he had to suffer alone for each of us. How lucky are we that because of his sacrifice we don't have to walk alone. He will always be there for us. D&C 84:88. I am so grateful for this gospel and the opportunity I have to work with my Savior and Redeemer. I love you all so much!

Elder Farnes

TImes flying by

This past week has flown by!! I have to be short today because of time, but everything here is great!! All of our Investigators are continuing to progress and we have found a few more. We have also made some great progress with some of our less actives! We got a man named Sachi to come to church for the first time in 4 years!! 

I also had the opportunity to teach some of our Zone meeting this past week which was great! I read from Matthew where it talks about how a city that is set on a hill cannot be hid and we need to let that light shine! We discussed how with the Power and Authority of our calling what we can do to allow our light to shine and have others automatically see us as representatives of Jesus Christ! Christ himself tells us how to do that in 3 Nephi 18:24! I am so grateful for this gospel and for the opportunity I have to serve! I wouldn't switch these moments for anything else! I love you all so much! 

Elder Farnes

Mothers Day

Happy Mothers Day!!! :) Especially to my amazing momma!! I Love reading about the 2,000 stripling warriors... When the times got tough and their backs were against the wall they "did not doubt, because their mothers knew it." They knew that they could hold on to the testimony of the moms when they needed it most. I am so grateful for a Mom that I can do the same with. It is her testimony that has kept me on the path that I am on. When times would get tough or whenever I would have doubts I knew I could always turn to my mom! Thanks so much mom! You really are the greatest and I wouldn't be where I am today without you! 

This past week was great! We were able to have some really powerful lessons with Jocaline and Nono. As we met with Jocaline she was able to explain to her daughter the need to be baptised again because of the priesthood and was able to even explain the two different priesthoods. She is truly becoming more and more converted to the gospel and soaking it all in. After the lesson we were talking and she told us how she has never truly been happy in her life, but now, because of the gospel she has found true Happiness! 

With Sister Nono we were able to get into a more in detail discussion about the reasons why she should  come to church and continue on the path of discipleship before it grows too late or before she starts to veer too far off the path. She expressed her feelings and even bore testimony of how she does know the truthfulness of the gospel. 

In my study I have been learning a lot about becoming the Good Shepherd. So much of it is just losing yourself in His work! To serve with unconditional love for those around you. As we take up our cross to Follow Christ and become the Good Shepherd we are only then able to deny ourselves of all ungodliness! Let us strive to make that apart of our daily prayers and lives. Let our minds be changed.

I love you! 

Elder Farnes 

Pics

Personal Revelation

This last week in Preach My Gospel I was reminded of the importance of Personal Revelation. There is a quote by Joseph Smith that says "Salvation cannot come without personal revelation; it is vain for anyone to minister without it." That quote is so true and this  past week I have especially been trying to implemement that to help meet the needs of the people that we meet with.

 

With Jocalina this week as we met with her I had the prompting to dig a little deeper to see if anything was bothering her. She came out and told how there is something that is always telling her not to do the things that we ask, she says she knows that everything is true, but that voice is really bothering her. We were then able to talk about Joseph Smith having the same experience when he went to pray in the grove of trees and were able to give her a priesthood blessing as well. She definitely felt the spirit and was crying and so grateful for that blessing.

 

When we met with Salome we had intended to review with her about the plan of salvation with the kids, but right before we started I felt like we needed to talk about the atonement and how we can be strengthened from it. It was such an amazing experience to see how that was just what she needed. he opened up more aqbout things going on with her parents not accepting her anymore because she has joined the church and how she has needed that strength. I am so grateful for the opportunity to work with the Lord.

 

We finally got Brother Strike to come to church which was awesome! And Alexander got confirmed as well... He showed up in a suit looking like a missionary! It was a great sight to see!!

 

I really enjoyed reading about Moroni this past week in my study! He is such an incredible leader. (Alma 54:14 and Alma 48:17) He put his whole soul into being an instrument in God's Hands. He inspired people not to believe in him, but to believe in themselves and put their trust in God continually. He never asked them to do anything that he wouldn't do. A quote I really liked from President Harold B. Lee says "Only as we make ourselves totally available can we become worthy disciples of Christ." Let us make ourselves available!

 

I love you so much!

 

Elder Farnes

Alexanders baptism

Alexanders Baptism

This past week was great! We had Alexanders baptism yesterday and I had the privelige of being able to baptise him. The program went so smoothly yesterday and he was so excited as we were outside the font about to go in. He had been through a lot in his life with crime and drugs but through Jesus Christ has changed it all around. It has been a testimony builder to me of the Atonement and how people can truly change if they use it.

We had a great week with Jocaline as well. She came to church again and is loving everything. She has agreed to be baptised and knows that this is the right path for her. Nono told us to give her another baptismal date and it will be the last one because this time she is going to enter the waters. Thato and the rest of our investigators are doing great as well. The Lord is helping us so much and preparing the people to receive the gospel.

This past week I came across a scripture in Jacob 4:7. I really hadn't recognized the significance of the scripture before this past week. It talks about how God shows unto us our weaknesses and as we turn to Him he will strengthen us. Some ways are through prayer, scripture study, and church attendance. But I think one of the main things that we can and should be doing as often as possible is going to the temple. I am so grateful for how close that we have one back home. The temple isn't just a place to feel the spirit; it is a place where we go to make higher covenants and as we do that we are endowed with power from God. Every time that we go to the temple we leave with more power! I am grateful for that opportunity to be given more and more strength from our loving Heavenly Father.

As well in my study I liked a couple scriptures in Alma 34:38 where it talks about how as we live in thanksgiving daily we are then able to recognize more easily the tender mercies that we are given in our lives. We should be able to see daily tender mercies from the Lord. I also liked a scripture in Alma 36:30 which says how when we do not keep the commandments we are cut off from the presence of God. This scripture appears throughout the Book of Mormon but it wasn't til recently that it clicked what it truly meant. The prophets weren't talking about physical or temporal things necessarily but spiritually being cut of from God or suffering from Spiritual Death. It is so key for us all to do the things to have His presence with us always!

I love you!

Elder Farnes

Happy Easter!

Happy Easter Everyone!! I know that Christ Lives! I am so grateful for the opportunity to be apart of His church and to be working along side Him! I feel of His tender mercies and grace daily! I am so grateful for the relationship I have with Him and for the opportunity to strengthen that relationship throughout my life!

For Easter we were able to go with the Molubi family (Brother Abbey and Salome) They don't have much, but were so excited to sacrifice for us and provide us with an Easter lunch! We were able to go after lunch with them and make the food which was fun! They will definitely be friends for eternity!

This past week Bonginkosi was confirmed which was great! Alexander will be having his interview for baptism on Wednesday and everyone else is doing great! We ran into this Less Active guy named Strike who is so cool! He told us how he has been preparing a lot of people to receive the gospel! We went with him to see Jocaline on Saturday and she was definitely prepared! She told us how at all of the other churches she can't feel the Holy Ghost for some reason and she wants to find the right place for her! We had a powerful first lesson with her and she came to church yesterday! It was awesome! We are going out with Bro Strike again this week and he says he has some guys for us to meet and potentially a family! :)

We had the new missionary orientation this week which was sweet! It is for all the trainers and the missionaries getting trained. We based our discussion from a scripture in Alma 5:12-13 which talks about how the people Humbled themselves and put their trust in God. We discussed how all acts of disobedience come from one thing, Pride! It is so true and so simple yet I had never thought of it that way before. Whenever we revolt at anything that comes from God we are in a way saying that we think we know better.

In the Book of Mormon challenge this past week I especially loved Alma 5. I think it is the perfect chapter to self evaluate yourself and see where you really stand, not compared to the world's standards, but to Gods! I am so grateful for the opportunity I have to strive to constantly better myself! This gospel is so amazing! It is always pushing us to BECOME!!!

I love you!

Elder Farnes