Our members are pretty strong here, it's awesome.

Sounds like things are going good with you guys! Its great here as well, even though we had the family that we planned on baptizing this saturday not show up at church, we brought five other people to church. Two of them are awesome, this girl who is 19 who speaks english and her bro whos 17. There dad just died and during the lessons they told us they liked our church more than all the others they've been to which was awesome.  It's sweet speaking english everytime we visit them. Also, yesterday we set up a devotional with the whole ward and taught them how to help our investagators and recent converts feel more comfortable. It turned out really well. Our member are pretty strong here, its awesome.

Other than that nothing else has really been different. They don't know what thanksgiving is here and I dont think were doing anything, so it'll be just a normal day. But I'll have to make a recipe that you gave me, I'll make something sweet for me and my comp. I keep having dreams that I'm with you guys. I had a dream that Mom moved here for two years and had her own little house and spoke spanish. And we visited you like everynight... haha weird huh? Anyways that's about it, I'lll let you know when we have a set baptism, I'm praying it's soon.

 

Love you guys and thanks for everything.

 

Elder Farny

 

                *Here are some pictures of the Antofagasta that Zachary sent. 

We're staying busy and working hard..

I’m glad to hear everything is going good. This week was a good one. We’re staying  busy and working hard. This week was more about teaching our investigators and getting them ready for baptism. We had 5 investigator at Church, and 5 less actives. And this week we found 6 new people to teach. Included in those 6 is a Grandma who asked us to baptize her during the first lesson with her. So that’s a good sign, haha. The works good, it’s just getting hot. Oh and then these other two girls we found is a cool story. So I was choosing where we did contacts on splits not this week but last week. And we were walking and I felt like we should visit this house. So we knocked on it and those girls that I told you about who were more into us than our message answered. So I thought the feeling I had was nothing. But turns out the house is two parts, so we tried the lower half and found these two other girls who are super interested and after teaching them asked us to come back and all the stuff. It was a cool experience and I hope we can get them baptized soon. Anyway other then that, we're just working hard.

Thanks for all the support from everyone and keep me updated on life in the U.S.

Love ya!

Elder Farny

It's been a tiring week...

This weeks focus has been finding new people to teach. It's been a tiring week, every night I come home absolutely exhausted. The other night we taught our recent converts and I almost fall asleep during the lesson. I've never been so tired in my entire life. Its all been good though, everyday we comment about how for some reason people just let us in. Our numbers of contacts are low, but the number of new investigators is always high. Its awesome, so hopefully this Sunday, we get poeple to church and by the end of the month we have baptisms. 

The spanish is good, but I wanted to get better. Still just getting used to the different ways to say things and learning the chilean slang and what not, but its good. Im trying to think if anything too excited happened this week. Oh ya crazy story. So we did splits and I went with this new Elder from Utah who speaks a tiny bit of spanish. But we were doing contacts and this family let us in. It was a family of four, the mom and two girls, 19 and 18 then one of like 12. So we started teaching but the whole lesson they just kept telling us how good looking we were and stuff. We couldnt even get through the lesson it was so bad, so we just invited them to church and left,haha. That's all thats really happened, we're just teaching our investigators right now but hopefully we will have some baptism dates soon. Hope all is well in the US and I hope Mitt Romney wins tomorrow.

Love you guys,

Elder Farnworth

I gave my first talk in Spanish...

Nothing too big happened this week, but it was a good week of finding new people. We found 7 new investigators. We’re teaching three families now which is awesome, but it’s been a little rocky with each one having certain things keeping them from going to church. Like work or just being too tired in the morning. Ha Sunday I gave my first talk in Spanish. I got up and started off apologizing if I speak strange, and gringo and made everyone laugh, then my talk went well. I was able to speak and say what I wanted to say and I even got a few compliments after. Other than that nothing to big has happened. Oh, one of the families on Thursday told us about how they were struggling big time with money and they were struggling to feed their kids. So we ran around the whole ward and collected food for them and now they like love us and want us to come by and teach them about our church every day. Its awesome, I'm excited. I hope they get baptized. It'd be an awesome story.

Well that’s about it thanks again for all the support I wouldn’t be able to do it without all of you. Con Amor De Chile

Chua,

Elder Farny

I thought for sure I was leaving... I love it here!

This week has been kinda of a big change. I just finished my training and I have a new companion (his name is Elder Ruiz from Mexico), but I am staying in the same place, Antofagasta. Which is perfect, I love it here!  I thought for sure I was leaving (because all the leaders told me I was) so I told this family, and the mom almost started crying and all the kids were like ‘wait you’re going to come back right’? Haha, then they freaked when they found out I’m staying. I’m sending pictures of them, there so sweet. *Check out all the pics at the end of this post.

A few cool things happened this week. First off, we went to this lady in our wards house looking for her son, who is the ward mission leader, but he wasn't there. So we asked if we could leave her with a quick scripture and so I shared with her just a little scripture about praying everyday to feel closer with our Heavenly Father and to have comfort or whatever it is we need. After sharing the scripture, she got a little teary eyed and said this is exactly what she needed to hear. It was awesome to have helped someone out like that.

Then also this week we found two families that we are now teaching. One is our next door neighbor and the other are evangelico. Evangelist I think in English. Anyway there progressing, but they struggle with the fact that one religion is true. They keep just saying, yeah I believe everything you’re telling me, then we’re like GREAT! Then they say, but every church ends up in the same place. Sooo yeah, ha, but it’s a work in progress. Oh and my Spanish is improving too, I can talking a little fast and bit more clear. It’s going good.

Crazy story this week is we were doing contacts or tracting, and this guy starts chucking pieces of tile at us haha, I was like what did we do to you? We did nothing, ha, but he sucked and didn’t even come close to hitting us so we started walking away, then he said come here. I was like, what, you threw stuff at us then say come here? It was weird. Happens when your area is ghetto, ha, but I love this place. I hope Kaleb gets called to this same mission.  Highly unlikely, but it would be awesome.

I hope all is well with everyone in the States. I love all of you and thank you again for all the support. I’m doing great.

Love you guys,

Elder Farny

                                Elder Farnworth and Elder Revas

                                       Zac's 2nd Baptism

                                                   White Night
                                 (when there are a bunch of baptisms in the
                                       zone and they do them together)

So cool...Zachary baptizes Francesco

                                           Zac's 2 month mark

                              (I'm not sure what he is burning, a tie?)

                               Zachary's new Comp Eler Ruiz from Mexico

                             Staying in Antofagasta...I love this place!

I'm loving the Mission...

So I have a new comp from Mexico, his name is elder Ruiz. I’ll send a picture. He’s cool, but I’m only with him for a week.  I’m showing him around the area then I’m leaving Antofagasta! It sucks because I love the people here, but I’m kinda stoked to go to see what a different city is like. Maybe like a small mining city or something. I’m curious to see if my next comp this week will be gringo, I think it would be cool now that I speak comfortable Spanish to be with a gringo. 

I got my visa done finally. I had to sleep in a city called Tocapilla to finally get it done on Tuesday, then my comp Elder Rivas left Thursday. This week was a lot better than last week, but kinda of a weird week. We don’t really have a lot of people were teaching, we’re more in the finding process, which is good.

I’ve felt less home sick this week and more focused on what I’m doing and felt the sprit more times this week. I’m sure it’s an answer to your prayers. Thank- you for all you do for me and all you support. It’s kinda been rough lately, I don’t know why, but I just miss being with more familiar people ya know? Living with a stranger so to speak is kinda strange at times, but I’m slowly getting more used to it.

Its crazy Jordan’s think about going to law school, I hope it really happens, he would be good lawyer.  We have a missionary named Elder Smith that is a lot like Jordan, he’s cool he’s one of my buds. I heard about Trevor, I hope he’s doing better. I’m glad you had a good week that’s crazy that the Metcalf’s are going to Australia did they say why?

I’m glad you guys are taking a bit of time off and going to Cali. Hearing that makes me miss swimming and the other day we ran to the ocean and I wanted to jump in, haha. But I didn’t, don’t worry. Anyway I got to go write everyone else, tell everyone I say hi and tell Kellert and Natalie that I say ‘Happy Birthday’

I miss you guys, but I’m loving the Mission, it’s an incredible experience and  I’m learning a ton.

I love you, talk to you next week.

Love Elder Farnworth

Has conference always been this good?

Doesn’t sound like a same old same old week to me sounds like you guys have been having fun! Yeah, I loved conference, but know you guys were watching all together at the same time made me home sick. I even had a dream Saturday night that we were all at a park playing football together. I keep having these dreams they’re weird.

But yeah, I loved conference.  The things they talked about, wow I could feel the spirit more strongly than any other conference. Has conference always been this good? I feel like I really never noticed how incredible the talks were before my mission.
That would be crazy if Kaleb got his mission call and left while I was here. I was telling a member about it and she was like, perfect now you can help him with everything because you’ve experienced it! I hope he gets called Spanish speaking so that we can talk just between us, haha.

That’s awesome about you Jake and Meg playing on the field at the BYU stadium and everything, those pictures are sweet. Not sure why, but remembering those BYU stories made me miss you guys like crazy. Honestly this might have been the toughest week of homesickness of my entire mission, but I still love being here. I continue to get a ton of compliments on my Spanish. I guess the president bragged about my Spanish to another mission in my group, I was like ‘what?’ when I heard that. I’m glad though.

I’m almost out of time but I think but I might be able to have another chance to write again this week. I had another crappy p-day because I had to come to this city called Tocapilla for my visa again and now have to stay the night here.

Thank you for keeping me updated, it sounds like you guys are doing great. I miss you all a lot. It’s been rough, but I know I’ll be with you guys soon enough. I love you mom and dad, thanks again for everything.

Love you,

Elder Farnworth