Hello!

Well, I hope I don't disappoint anyone this week, but I don't have a WHOLE lot to write about. Spent a ton of time at the Trail Center, which was awesome, but means that I don't have many "missionary stories" to write home this week. It was fun to see pictures of Curt at homecoming. How in the planet earth did he get so old? Several girls in my ward here think he is cute.....is he seriously old enough that girls in the singles ward could be crushin on him? Sorry to embarrass you Curtsey.

This week will be a really fun one. It is Zone Conference week AND Halloween, so the TC schedule gets crazy. We are here all day Tuesday and Wednesday, then we have Zone Conf in Sioux City and our Halloween party on Thursday, so we aren't in our area until Friday. It will be CRAZY, but it is guaranteed to be a fun week, especially because it is Sister Owen's birthday on Wednesday, and Sister Harris's birthday on Friday. PARTY.

Yesterday was an awesome day at church! Jacob is such a solid investigator...how am I always so blessed? Jacob has just really continued to press forward and we are almost finished teaching him all of the lessons. It is really incredible because he struggles a lot with depression, and he has been able to see a change in his life, and particularly in his depression, as he has read the scriptures and felt the Spirit more in his life. How incredible is it that something as simple as reading the scriptures can "heal our wounded souls" like it says in Jacob 2??? You all know how much I love words....mom would laugh at me because no one reads like I do....but I have NEVER found more beautiful and comforting words than in the pages of the Book of Mormon, and especially as I've been on my mission.

We taught Jacob the law of chastity last night. Hahahah it's always the best lesson to teach because everyone (including my companions) are always so awkward about it. I guess it's worse when your investigator is a 21-year-old single man. It went really well, but he was about 900 different shades of red at the beginning. Classic. It was really neat to see, though, that as the Spirit entered his heart, that he calmed down SO much. Ha, see, the Spirit even helps with awkwardness. Hallelujah.

We have a lesson with some new investigators tonight! We found them when we were visiting a less-active member of our ward named Ryan and they were really excited about learning more. Will update you next week on how it goes!

I guess this week, I have just felt the power of the Spirit in my life and the lives of those we teach. I know that as we do the things that help us have the Spirit in our lives, we will be able to recognize more peace and strength to do the things that we have been asked to do. It won't make the hard things go away, but like Daddy always told me, it'll "make you tough" enough to overcome. I love serving the Lord and getting to feel of the power of His Spirit every day.

Love you all so much. You have no idea what you mean to me.

Love you to the moon and back :)

Sister Farns

Happy October!

We just got back from a cute place called Vala's pumpkin patch. Think Disneyland mixed with Gardner's Village. Darling. We had so much fun. Corn mazes, little go-cart things, pumpkins, the works. You would all have loved it.

I can't even begin to tell you how blessed I feel right now to be teaching Jacob. Oh my heck I can't even explain how much we love him. Last night in our lesson (Plan of Salvation) we asked him if he has any questions about anything we have taught so far. Mind you, we haven't even really taught the Word of Wisdom, but he heard about it during General Conference a few weeks ago. So his question that he asked was if he was allowed to have chocolate because it has caffeine in it. He has stopped eating chocolate and drinking all forms of caffeine, just in case. JUST IN CASE. Our Bishop also pulled us aside and told us that Jacob paid his tithing this week. He is so prepared, and he is so excited for his baptism. I just love getting to be a part of this work...the Lord's work. There are too many things that happen every day that couldn't possibly be "coincidence." I know that He directs every part of our days! How blessed are we!?!?

We had an investigator drop us this week- Matthew- and it is always so interesting to me when that happens. It's always really sad and kind of frustrating because I just LOVE the people that we teach so much and you know how much this will bless their lives, so it's hard to see them not accept it. Every time it happens though, it is an opportunity to bear testimony that they have felt the Spirit and that they know it's true. In a weird way, I love those moments because I get to bear pure testimony that this is Christ's church. I know that in a way that I could have never imagined before my mission. His Atonement covers every part of our suffering, our sin, our pain, and our trials. He loves us more than we could ever imagine. I love being able to share with the people in Nebraska and Iowa (and for that matter, people from all over the world that come into the TC) that I have felt and been changed by the truthfulness of His good news.

Sister Harris and I are still partying it up in the singles ward. Tonight for Family Home Evening we are helping to build our ward's gingerbread display. Let the countdown begin to gingerbread....just one month!!!! A big shout-out to my dear sweet best friend Ms. Matilyne Fitzgerald on her BIRTHDAY. Love you so much chickadee.

Next week will be an eventful one....zone conference and Halloween (party at the TC included) all in one week. So excited for that! Zone conferences are always a highlight in the mission.

LOVE YOU ALL. Happy fall....we are really seeing some beautiful fall trees here. Definitely my favorite part of the year in Nebraska

Sister Farnsworth

                                            Allison & a member in the singles ward, Ashley 

Hello!

I can't even think about a single thing that happened this week. How sad is that!?!? We really did see so many miracles this week. It is amazing to see how much this area has grown and changed. It is like a different ward completely. The work is exploding, and I am so grateful!!! I love Heavenly Father.

Saturday was the departing sister's last shift at the Trail Center, and they put us all on shift together. It was so fun to be together, and Sister Whittaker's friend Brad came into the Trail Center on his way to interview at different medical schools. She asked me to go on tour with her, and it was so much fun! I love her, and it has been so fun to be together for so long. MTC comps for life ha.

Sunday was incredible. We had the most inspiring ward council I have ever been in. Our new Bishop has a vision for this ward that we are so excited about. Then we had our new investigator Jacob at church with us, and had some less active members of our ward there too! After church we had a lesson with Matthew, who is set for baptism, then went over and had a lesson with Chris. OH MY GOSH I can not believe how much I love that kid. He was in tears as we talked about him preparing to go to the temple and receiving the Priesthood. He is so humble and prepared to do all that Heavenly Father needs him to do. Ah. love him.

After that, we headed up to Iowa Western to see some of the girls on the soccer team there. They have 2 teammates that are interested in the gospel and have been asking lots of questions, so it was really neat to be able to talk to them and help them start to see the vision for them and their friends. We also got to meet two kids that are members but aren't active that we had no idea lived here. SUCH miracles. Our last lesson was with Jacob at a member's house. We didn't feel right about moving forward to the next lesson, so we let him ask any questions that he wanted to ask or that he was been wondering about. I have NEVER met anyone asks more humble, sincere questions than he does. As he asked questions, he started asking more about the Doctrine of Christ (faith, repentance, baptism, the Holy Ghost, and enduring to the end) and he decided that he was ready to set a day to be baptized. All on his own. He is incredible. His one barrier before last night was that he was worried that his family would not be supportive because they are all atheist. He talked to several of his siblings about if they would support him if he got baptized, and they all said yes, and even said they would come to his baptism!!!!! God answers prayers, my friends!!!!!!!

I remember writing a letter to David when he was on his mission and saying that I had this belief that I couldn't really receive answers to my prayers in the same way, say, returned missionaries could. I really thought that. (Don't know if D remembers writing me back, but somehow I have that letter with me on my mission, strange.) What I've realized since I've been here is that RM's ability to listen to the Spirit as God answers their prayers has absolutely nothing to do with actually being a missionary. It has to do with praying more, and studying the scriptures more, both of which you do more while you're on your mission. However, regardless of our circumstances, we can ALWAYS read and pray more. When we do that, we do like it says in 2 N 31:3...we learn the language that He talks to us in. Will you all read that scripture this week and then try to discern how the Lord answers your prayers? I promise that He does answer, and that if we seek out His voice, we will hear it.

I LOVE being a missionary. I love you all so much and I am so grateful for your prayers and support!

Love you! 

Sister Farnsworth

Hello!

Well.....time flies when you are having fun. I seriously don't know how another week could have possibly passed since the last preparation day. Madness, I'm tellin you. This has been a BUSY week in the mission. Last night, we were texting our ward mission leader (who was home in Utah) and he asked how we enjoyed conference. We responded by saying that conference on the mission is almost better than Christmas, and he texted back almost immediately saying "You're exactly right. The revelation just rains on you. It's crazy." Hahahah I laughed so hard, but honestly, that is exactly how I felt. I had every one of my questions answered, and even some that I didn't realize that I wanted to ask were answered. Heavenly Father is so good to us. So good to me. 

The sisters serving in the Greenview area (one of the areas that Sister Harris and I cover) called and asked us to come to the stake center to watch conference on Sunday morning because they had an investigator that they wanted to turn over to us. His name is Jacob! We watched conference with them and then had an impromptu lesson in the foyer. He is so solid, and we are really excited to start teaching him. He will hopefully be coming to FHE tonight. Speaking of which...guess what we are doing for FHE tonight. Decorating Christmas cookies while we plan our ward's gingerbread display. Hahaha. I LOVE THIS PLACE. Where else in the world is there a calling to be a ward gingerbread specialist!? Best thing ever. During our lesson with Chris last night, he told us that he downloaded the Gospel Library app onto his girlfriend's phone and he invited 8 people to church. Oh my heck I wish you could all know Chris. He is my favorite person. I am laughing just typing this because I can't help but laugh (and cry sometimes) just talking about him or being around him. AH. Hahahah he was like "well, if I'm going to be a missionary, I need to practice, right?!" Yes, Chris, you're right. He's the best. 

During the Saturday afternoon session of conference, we were watching it in the basement of the Trail Center, and Sister Jensen (one of my old companions) came down to get me because there were people upstairs that wanted to talk to me. That's always interesting, because I never have any idea who to expect. It was so fun to meet Paul and Debbie's friends! They were awesome and obviously love my family, so I loved them right away. Thank you so much for the sweet card and gift, Aunt Debbie! You're the best. So excited for you guys!!!!!!!!!! Couldn't Michael have been just a bit more patient???? Haha just kidding, 

This week, we are at the Trail Center every day except for Wednesday and Sunday. It will be busy, but the Lord will bless the area as we are not in it. Serving at the Trail Center and having a proselyting area has really taught me to develop my faith in the Lord and know that this is His work- He can do it without us but He allows us to be His servants to help make us into the men and women He needs us to be.  How grateful am I that He has allowed me to be here?! 

Sisters Kirby, Brown, and Jarman have their departing testimonies a week from tomorrow. I'll miss them like crazy!

Love you all so much! Have a great week!

(p.s. This month- October- in the mission, we are studying Chapter 1 of PMG if you want to join us ;))....double chin smiley face

LOVE YOU!

Sister Farnsworth

A short little note.....

I got this little email today from Allison.  It seems that on Monday, they were shorted on their email time and she got to get on to the computer!  Here is a little note she had to share.  I wonder if she is loving her mission??

The Spanish sisters brought in their investigator Ana from Honduras and a team-up that grew up in Mexico. I swear that Nebraska is this strange melting pot place. I don't understand. Side note...I also took some people from Switzerland on tour yesterday. Anyways. Cute Ana was probably in her 60s and so humble and sincere. I think I loved her instantly. How can you not!? Anyways. It was so neat to take on her on tour, letting the sisters and the woman from their ward translate as we went. I don't know how much she understood of what I actually said before it was translated, but there were times that I knew that her heart understood even if she didn't actually understand what I was saying. I know that the Spirit works that way...that we can communicate even without knowing the same language at all. I invited her to read the Book of Mormon daily to help her in her process of becoming converted to the Gospel of Jesus Christ and invited her to be baptized after watching the movie God's Plan....did you all do what I asked and go to your local visitor's center so you could watch that? It's a killer. She nodded yes through her tears- it was such a sweet moment and I was so grateful that those sisters asked me to take their tour. It was so humbling. I love serving here. I. LOVE. IT.

And then I got Papa's letter today with some quotes in it that I read about 20 times and then read them aloud to anyone who would listen. I think about 5 different sisters have asked that I typed them up so we could put them in our copies of the Book of Mormon to read on tour. I may or may not have the most popular grandfather on the planet.