Zac's final week in the MTC

MY FINAL WEEK IN THE MTC!!! I have a ton of stuff to do this week but I am so stoked for Chile! The other day I was having a rough day and got frustrated with the language so my teacher started having a conversation with me, we talked about everything going on with me and my family and how I feel about my learning and my companion. Then in the middle of the conversation he goes "you knew no spanish before and you can already have a conversation in spanish, don't get frustrated and just keep learning" it was so cool. I feel like I could know more, but I'm pleased with how much I've learned so far! I love learning spanish and I'm starting to hate speaking in english, I want to speak spanish all the time!

The Spiritual side of all this has also been a huge comfort to me. I've learned a lot about having patience in learning about the Gospel. I don't know everything, but I'm so excited to share the gospel with every person I meet.

We got our travels plans and my plane leaves here next Monday at 10:15am and I get to Antofagasta the next day at 10:25.... 24 hours of traveling.. But grandma helped me out with that pillow and those snacks, tell her thanks and that i'm writing her a letter today! Crazy I'm so stoked to be going and excited to be able to talk to you on the phone! This is going to be one of the biggest and toughest adventures of my life and I'm so excited I can't even explain in words. I will be calling either at the airport here or LA, where ever I have the most time.

I'm going to try and get everyone letters this last P'day, but I also have a ton of stuff to do so if I dont I'm sorry and just email me because I think I'll be mostly be emailing in Chile. It's pretty cool almost two whole districts are all going to Chile at the same time so we're all going to be going with each other and we;re all way good friends so I'm way excited for that!

Espero yo puede hablar con mi companero en el campo, pero durante mi premero semana yo tengo much duda. haha alright I love all of you and thank you for the support. My next blog will be from chile..... CRAZY.

LOVE You all and thanks again for helping me get to this point. HASTA LUEGO
Elder Farnworth

July 16th-MTC

This week has been full of emotional expierences. Me and this Elder named Elder McCusker have really bonded. One day we taught each other a lesson and both ended up balling from sharing our expierences of how much we have changed throughout the MTC. It's incredible all the missionaries here who have stories of being lost and going the wrong direction then fixing it and coming on a missson. It's so awesome hearing everyones story.

 

Almost every night I walked around before bed asking mostly chilean and hispanic missionaries what there stories are. I've learned how to be more out going and mumble less (btw LO SIENTO, sorry, for always mumbling.)  I've learned to talk to everyone I meet, especially those from Chile, even If my spanish isn't amazing. This last saturday me and my companion taught this guy in the TRC. It's like he's an investigator and we had an amazing lesson and the guy said he felt the spirit so strong. We ended up getting in trouble because we talked to him for and hour and ten minutes when you only have a half hour. He didn't mind though. He loved it and he was the coolest guy. It's crazy though, when I teach if I like really focus on the investigator, I understand more spanish than usual.

 

So, July 30th is when I leave!! Its crazy, I can' t believe I'm going to be in Chile two weeks from today!

 

Oh yeah another exciting thing I was made district leader this week, so I'll be our district leader until we leave for Chile which is pretty cool. I don't do a ton of this, but I interveiw each missionary and make sure they are good and stuff, which will be easy because our district is tiny.

 

I've been talking to Ryan, he's bummed he doesn't get to go yet, but I'm a little happy cause I get to see him a bit longer! We also got to go and clean the temple today which was really cool because we were able to see all the rooms.

 

OH I forgot to tell everyone about softball (or did I) during our gym time our whole zone does this softball thing it's called  the world series were keeping track of how many times each team wins until we go to Chile, then the loser has to buy the winner ton of treats. It's way fun and we always dominate. Haha it's funny.

 

Mom and Dad, I'd just like to tell you two how much I love you guys and thank you for all your support! I loved the package and all the letters I got this week. Because of you two I'm able to be really and focused on being a missionary. I've been starting to notice how prepared I am compared to other missionaries. I'm glad you took me shopping and I'm glad we got EVERYTHING on the list. Hope everythings going good with home and everything, know you're both in my prayers everyday. I love you guys and can't wait to talk to you before I head off to Chile. Tell everyone there I love them and think about them all the time!

 

I'm almost out of time, Thank you all for the support I really do appreciate it!

 

HASTA LUEGO!

Elder Farnworth

July 9th 2012-MTC

This week in Mtc hasn't been crazy exciting, nothing too amazing has happened.

Our teachers are like becoming our best friends, we only have six elders in our district so we're all super close and now it's like our teachers are elders with us. They even come and eat dinner with us, they're super cool. The spanish is coming along pretty great.  We finished the second to last grammar principle so we have one more and then we are done and it's just three more weeks of reviewing everything until I go to Chile. Which I can't wait for but am sort of nervous because I talk to the chileans on my floor and the chilean accent is spanish and ten million miles per hour and they put all there words like hymns, and the drop there S's... So sounds like i'll be learning a whole kind of spanish when I get out there. That's going to fun though,

 

I love learning spanish and being able to comminucate in a whole different language with all my friends is cool! I've been practicing for Chile, I learned all the nicest ways to say hello hows it going, hows your day, so I should be allright! We got new elders in our room which kind of stinks, but there pretty cool. We all bond well. I've gone and talked to Ryan almost everynight still and we took a picture at the temple together. It's awesome having your best friend to talk to about stuff, I love it! He got his travel plans already and i feel like he just got here! But anyway, we want to know about Trevor! I'm about to email him but lets us know!

 

Natalie, Grandma and Grandpa, I'm in the process of writing you back! Thank you so much for the scriptures and the article about travis hansen!  Also, say thanks to the Brother Jacobs kids! I loved their letter!  And thanks everyone else for all the support I really have felt extremely loved!

 

Thanks again,

HASTA LUEGO! VAYA CON DIOS

-ELDER FARNWORTH

July 2, 2012-MTC

This week has been awesome! I sat the closest I could to watching all the cars drop elders off to find Ryan but I wasn't able to see Jeff or Michelle or anybody. It was cool because I saw Ryan and gave him a huge hug as soon as he got all his stuff so probably ten minutes after he got here! He lives on the bottom floor in my building, so we hang out for like 15 minutes every night. He says he likes it a lot and likes his companion too! Other than that nothing too exciting happened this week.

The spirit has been stronger as the weeks go on, that's half the reason I love the MTC, its incredible spiritual. The Spanish is coming okay, we pick four days to speak Spanish all day and by the end of those days I feel fluent. And it's sweet because every word you say in English you get a point and every point you have to do a door approach or just an approach with a random elder/sister in the lunch room.  But then I go talk to my friend from Mexico, and when he can't understand I realize I still am far from fluent. But it's coming more and more each day. I just keep working hard and have patience with myself.

One thing that's fun about this week is we starting playing softball with our whole zone and it's been way fun we have the coolest zone and stuff. This week we get new elders in our zone which kinda stinks because me and my companion have our own room so we have two bunk beds to ourselves.  We like took the mattresses and made this couch so everyone comes and hangs out in our room. It's super awesome! I’ve been taking a ton of pictures, but I can't really send them.  I guess but we'll figure out how to get them on here. Thank you everyone for all the support, I really do appreciate it.  I'm working on writing everyone back! It's hard because P-day is pretty busy and I only have half hour of email, but I'll write back promise!

 Thanks again and I hope everything is going great at home.

Love you! –

Elder Farnworth

A little note from Mom...

I wanted to add a little note before I post Zachary's letter for the week.  We had the opportunity to speak with Zachary's companion's parents, Brother and Sister Packard.  They are preparing to serve as Mission Presidents in the Boston mission and called us last Monday night.  They had spent the day with Zachary and wanted to tell us all about it.  They had nothing but compliments and praise for Zachary and felt so lucky that their son was his companion.  They said that Zac is doing so well with the language and that he has a wonderful spirit.  Sis. Packard said that when you talk to Zac he really listens and seems to have a maturity that not all missionaries have, she said that that will help him so much on his mission.  They were able to go to the temple and then follow them to some of their classes.  Dave and I just sat there and cried, I felt so happy and just a tiny bit jealous.  I think a parents day at the MTC is a great idea....  I'm sure Michelle would agree with me on that one. =) 
What an amazing thing it has been to have a missionary out.  I feel the spirit so strong in his letters and emails, I am so grateful he loves what he is doing.  We are so happy that he had this unique opportunity in the MTC to stand in a circle with an apostle.  I'm sure that is not an experience he will ever forget.

June 25, 2012-MTC

WOW, finally I have cool experiences to write on this blog haha! I´´m gong to start out with telling all about my district. Mom this is in your letter so you can here it twice :) so about the weird symbols, I was using espanol keyboard.

Anyway, my district is the best district in the universe, kinda of feel bad for other missionaries because we easily go the best district in the MTC. It has every kind of missionary you could think of. I'll start with Elder shields, He's our district leader or was until a day ago, now Elder Wright is but shields is a total geek, He's from Colorado and he's kind of geeky and I love it its awesome! Everything he says is so like far fetched that it's hilarious. Then there's his companion who is total cali sufer dude, His name is elder Congleton, He was the 5th best surfer for his age in the US. Pretty sweet He's a way chill kid and he has been through a lot he converted to the church a year ago and is already on a mission, it's crazy kellert would like him a lot he's super chill. Then there's Elder Wright who's our district leader now, He's hands down on of the funniest kid's I’ve ever met! He impersonates everybody in every movie on the planet it's hilarious. He keeps us laughing all day, then his companion, Elder McCusker, is a pretty boy who evidently is way super rich. He always has to have his hair all nice and stuff it's pretty funny. He has a girl that I bug him about all the time I love it. Then my companion who you have probably heard a lot about he's pretty cool he's way cool at bball he makes almost every shot he takes. It's not even fair.

Speaking of my companion I have a cool story about him. So his parents are here this week because it's mission president week and they are becoming the new mission presidents for the Boston mission. Anyway, for some reason L. Tom Perry likes to set apart the Boston mission president so Sunday morning I was able to go with my companion and his whole family and stand in the circle while L. Tom Perry set them apart. One of the coolest things of my life! He's such a funny guy he was cracking jokes about our mission and how he would try golfing in Antofagasta but it was all sand traps, pretty funny guy. He asked me where I was from I said draper then he goes "that's Terrible.” Everybody laughed. I also got to stand next to him in the circle, standing next to an apostle while he's giving a blessing was one of the most spiritual moments of my life. The blessings were incredible. Then we met Joseph B. Wirthlins only son or something like that and another apostle or quorum on 70 I didn't recognize. I felt like I needed to study up on the people I saw so I could know how cool it was. Ha! Oh and we saw Bednar, and Holland said hi to us and we got pushed away by some security guard.

It's been a cool week! Also my Spanish has been improving. I speak Spanish all day almost everyday, which my district hates because they don’t understand me so I have to sometimes act out what I’m saying, I don't give in and speak English because every missionary I asked who is from Mexico or Argentina even some from Chile say the best thing do to is forget English and speak all Spanish. I've tried this so in a few weeks I’m going to write this whole email then you'll have to google translate it because I will have forgotten English. JK I wish :) But seriously I love the mtc and can't wait for Elder Head to get in here and see how great it is.

That's pretty much all for now I think I'm starting to gain weight finally all the donuts and things are catching up to me. But ill work it into muscle and come back as Nephi (Don't make fun of me for that, we joke differently here in the MTC:)

Love you guys, thanks to everyone for the letters and packages! Hope all is well at home and I can't wait for when I can call everybody from the airport! The church is true!

June 18th, 2012-MTC

So Today is my third Sunday. So far the MTC has been amazing and very spiritual! But it's kind of weird how I've only been here 19 days and it feels like a year ago that I was home! Anyway the MTC this week has been great. We have this one teacher who's super awesome his name is Hermano Lunt! He's the coolest guy he's super chill! Our district is getting better at focusing. The first few days here they would always stay on task, then everyone got comfortable then all they talked about was home. But now everyone's back focusing on missionary work.

Our schedule is pretty much the same every week. Basketball here is fun because in our district we have this guy who is playing for Weber state he's like 6'10 and I always guard him, it's impossible, but Thursday I stuffed him way bad than shot a three over him. Kinda cool, but not too important. Ha! The food here is good so at first I ate a ton, then I ate all the awesome Krispy Kremes Jill sent, which was so nice, thanks, but which made me feel fat.  Then I weighed myself and I lost two pounds, which is good because I want to make sure all my stuff will always fit.

I've loved studying the Book of Mormon, it's incredible how much it teaches us about everything important in this life and how important missions are. I feel like I’m on a spiritual high all the time. The Spanish is coming along slowly but surely. Me and my friend Elder Wright bet on something at lunch and whoever lost had to speak Spanish till dinner. I lost and it turned out to be the best thing for me! I started THINKING in Spanish rather than English. Since that day I try to speak Spanish more then English it's really cool as soon as I learn the word in Spanish I don't use the English word anymore it helps a lot!

My companion and I are getting along great, there are four of us in a room and the other two are leaving tomorrow so we're going to have tons of room now! And also 6 elders in my district are going to my same mission, then 4 others elders leave tomorrow also which kinda sucks because we easily have the funnest district in the MTC. Unfortunately the USB ports are blocked so I can't upload any pictures. Mom I haven’t' taken one by the MTC sign yet but I have at the map and also the temple! I will though don't worry. It's crazy how fast the days go by we study and learn Spanish pretty much all day! I love it!

Happy Father’s day Dad, did you get my card?? If not its coming! I hope your father’s day was amazing! I'm sorry I missed it, but I was thinking being here might be a good father’s day gift.. Love you Dad, and thank you for all you do for me and all you've ever done. And thanks for helping me get out here, best decision I've ever made. LOVE YOU! 

Mom, thanks for the fathers day package it was awesome I LOVED IT!  And thanks to all the family for the letters and support, it means a lot.  I’m in the process of writing everyone letters so you'll get them soon! I love all you guys and hope all is well at home. If you need anything from me let me know! My mom will let you know how.

Love you guys, HASTA LUEGO