What an amazing Christmas...

Zachary didn't send an email on Monday, but we had an amazing Chirstmas present from him on Tuesday.  We were able to skype with him for over an hour.  He just seemed so happy and loves what he is doing.  He had a little Chilean boy that jumped up on his back and the whole family gave him a hug for us.  You can tell he really loves the people there.  It was so wonderful to see him looking so good and realizing he is still Zac, only better!  We all visited with him as a group and then each had our one on one time.  It really made our Christmas!  At the end of our visit he bore his testimony in Spanish.  We all felt the spirit and were amazed at his ability to speak the language and for his love of the gospel.  We couldn't have had a greater gift this Christmas Season.

AND, when he got to the zone conference, he got BOTH of my packages!!  He was going to make his Thanksgiving turkey dinner on Christmas!  He said he put up all the Christmas decorations and gave the Chirstmas book that was in Spanish to the family he was with.  That was such a relief for me and brought us so much happiness to know he was able to have some gifts from us at Christmas. 

Zac did send some pictures of his Zone Conference and I found a few more on the Mission Blog.  President and Sister Bruce just seem like the most amazing people.  Zac is so fortunate to be lead by them. 

 The Missionaries had a gift exchange.  Looks like Zac got a new pillow;)

                                          

Sister Bruce and the funniest gift, a plunger.

President Bruce looks like he is having a good time.

 When someone would say baptize they passed to the right, when they said Christmas they would pass to the left.

            Then they have a lunch with all the missionaries.

This is Zachary's Zone.  It is called the Chanaral Zone.

MERRRY CHRISTMAS 2012

It hardly feels like Christmas without snow, ha!

Haven’t gotten anyone packages yet.... this Thursday we have a conference, and the assistants always bring packages there, so I should get one then. The one you sent in November is going back? Hopefully I’ll get the Dec. one!

I’ve been listening to Christmas songs, but it still hardly feels like Christmas without snow, ha, feels like summer.

Things are good, still a little rough. Tough people here, really like keep to themselves and they don’t like to be social, ha, it’s interesting. But I like the city and how it is. Thinks are getting better with my comp, still kinda hard to keep a conversation, ya know. But it’s all good, we’re buds! Umm, I haven’t found a member yet, but we’re going to ask this week. Hey, could you make me a skype account then send me all the info cause I don’t know how to do it. Plus, then it would  just be already for next week. I’ll email Monday and get the password then skype Tuesday. Crazy that it’s already my first Christmas! 

Just keep sending stuff to the mission home, they will get it me, it just takes a bit. But if some of them have gotten here I’ll get them this Thursday for sure. 

Teaching is good. In Antofagasta we had a ton of people to teach so we got in like 28-30 lessons each week. Now, a good week is like 12... BUT we are planning to put a baptism date the 29th and it’ll be the first baptism here since 2011, I think. That’s what my comp says at least. So we will see how that goes.

I love you all and can’t wait to talk!

See ya next week!

Elder Farny

*As a side note, I ended up calling the Mission Home in Chile and they had just received Zac’s Christmas package!  YAY!  The Thanksgiving package  is still MIA, so some Chilean is probably enjoying a nice Thanksgiving dinner;)

Nope THIS is the hardest thing I've ever done...

My new area is great. It’s so quiet, its weird, there’s not a single stoplight in the entire city and like 5 or 6 cars in the street at a time. But its loaded, the houses are some of the biggest in Chile. They would kind of be smaller homes in the states but they’re big for here. And the streets are all gringo names. I guess the city was established by gringos like 50 years ago. So they have like a street called 4th of July. Ha, Kinda of cool. But at times it's a little boring being alone in a little city just you and your comp. I used to always see my zone and stuff but we live 4 hours from the zone leaders and 2 hours from the nearest missionaries. Yeah its pretty far inland, before I left, I tried showing my converts the boys where it is and couldn’t find it on google map ha, goes to show how small it is.

My Companion is from Peru and one of the most interesting people I’ve ever met haha. He’s unbelievable quiet like he just flat out doesn’t talk. It’s rough not going to lie. First time being senior comp. I’m like leading the lessons and talk almost the whole lesson. But it helps me with my Spanish I’m getting faster and faster. He has two more transfers than me and is 25. But easily the quietest person I’ve ever met. Like one time this less active lady was like so what are you thinking you just look at me and don’t talk?... And he didn’t say anything ha, but then other times he'll teach and stuff and he does a good job. I feel like each transfer I find my self saying "Nope THIS is the hardest thing I’ve ever done" Ha but its good to always be stretching my abilities.

Oh, and our sector hasn’t had a baptism since 2011. Crazy, But the branch is super strong. There all rich so just about all of them have been to the temple and are endowed which is rare. Its cool to have rich members the because there’s this one guy who loves football and we are kinda buds, but has peanut butter which is crazy expensive, just for me at his house ha, its cool. Oh and then cooking has been kinda cool but I’m already tired of it haha. We had tacos and french toasts and rice.. Can’t remember what else. But this week I think we're going to try some pasta stuff and whatever else we think of.

Christmasy huh? It’s finally starting to feel like Christmas here there are a few houses in my sector with Christmas lights. It’s weird that there won’t be snow this Christmas but I think I like the heat more. Still haven’t gotten my package but I’m hoping soon, at least one of them! I hope I at LEAST get one before Christmas! But we will see. Yeah we can skype for Christmas I’m hoping to find someone cool to spend Christmas with and skype at there house but if not we will just do it at a Cyber.

Anyway I don’t have too much time this week because we got to get to work quick. But I love all of you guys and will talk to you next week. OH and that lessons sounds awesome, our president just taught a little about that a while back. Its interesting thinking faith and fear cant exist like darkness and light.

 Anyway, Love you all, take care and talk to you next week

#missionaryforlife

I got My First Transfer! And Im SENIOR COMP!

Yeah, the mission is starting to fly. Every week seems faster and faster. That’s awesome you got to teach about the story of Jesus Christ, ya we kinda of do that everyday, now you have some insight on what we do :) It’s awesome huh?
Whoa an apostle went to the nativity? Ha now next year everyone is going to be looking for apostles... pretty sweet. Did you take some pictures of them? Could you send me them? Sounds awesome, I wanna see. 

So some big news! I got My First Transfer and I’m a SENIOR COMP! I’m going to this tiny little mining town called El Salvador. My first time traveling in the mission. My bus leaves tonight at one in the morning and I get there tomorrow at like 9 or 10 I think. But one cool thing is because it’s a little town they only have a branch, and I’ll be part of the Branch Presidency, I think. Not 100% sure because the assistant told me I’ll be helping run the branch, but then another missionary told me he just came from there and the missionaries don’t really run it. But we will see. Also heard that its one of the nicest pensions or apartments in the mission and that I can drink the water (FINALLY I hate buying water!) You people who live in the US are lucky haha. but I'm absolutely stoked. Its gonna be an adventure. Oh and we don’t have mamitas, so I have to wash my own clothes and make my own food everyday… what a bummer ha. 

The one crappy part is that I’m leaving my first converts and less actives that I helped get to Church. They’re awesome when I bore my last testimony here, the mom of Alanoca ( I'll point her out in the pic) She started to cry and she says I better come back. I told her if you guys pick me up, we will hang with her and her family the whole time you guys are here. Would be perfect, they game me a sweatshirt and another investigator gave me this cool Chile hat and then we went to taco bell today with our investigators ha. It was sweet but still sucks saying bye. 

What else... nothing too exciting this past week, we found a couple new investigators this week but mainly were just working with our old ones trying to get them to progress. But I’m going to have all new investigators, so I guess its elder Ruiz worries now ha. 

My package still hasn’t gotten here which sucks cause now its going to be a little while until it gets from Antofagasta to El Salvador... But it should be soon.  I don’t know whats up.  I feel fine, I’m not sick anymore and have been taken care of myself. Nothing else too exciting, but ill send you a bunch of pictures when I arrive in Richville ok?

LOve you guys and hope everything’s been going good. Take Care!

Elder Farny

I forgot it was Thanksgiving until nighttime

Glad you like the pictures, I’ve tried to take more, we just don’t take our cameras around with us cause its ghetto where we are at. Sucks you guys didn’t have snow at the cabin, but still sounds like you had fun. I wasn’t really paying attention to the date, so I kinda forgot it was thanksgiving until nighttime. My package still hasn’t arrived, but I think that it’s here and the zone leaders just have to go get it. But thank you for the package!! I know ill love it when I get it, haha. 

The house is already set up huh? It’s weird seeing the Christmas trees and stuff here and no snow.... just doesn’t seem to fit without snow haha But I hope you guys have fun at all your parties. We have transfers this week and this time I'm almost positive I’m leaving which sucks because the family of my recent converts is where I want to spend Christmas. But Ill find someone cool to spend it with. 

This week was both good one and bad. Monday night, I was sick and all day Tuesday I had to rest and take medicine our mission doctor gave me. I was coughing up blood and my whole body hurt. But the medicine helped quickly and we got back to work Wednesday. Wednesday we did splits with missionaries from the sector right next to ours, and I was with this new missionary named Mcconkie and we went to teach one of his investigators who was about to get baptized. So we get there and we met her niece who wasn’t a member but who had been to church a few times. We asked if she wanted to listen to the lesson she said ya and said the opening prayer and at the end of the lesson she goes I want to get baptized. I was like sweet haha second time that’s happened to me. So she got baptized Saturday. The investigators from our sector aren’t really like that ha, they’re making all these excuses and stuff.  We’re still teaching them and were going to see what we can do. We have like 10 potentials right now so we will see. But the work has been good.

I’ve been thinking lately and really I haven’t been too homesick. I just have no reason to be ya know. I feel like even if I was at home, there wouldn’t be anything more important than doing what I'm doing right now. And it’ll help me be who I need to be when I get back. And like you said, it’s amazing meeting people in the ward and having them become my best friends. Like this investigator who speaks English, we are like buds already and we just met. Crazy all the people you meet. 

Well, this is probably my last week in this area, so next week Ill let you guys know what’s up. Hope all is well at home, love you guys and Happy Thanksgiving!

Elder Farnworth