Well, you've made it through all the "wedding" stuff! It was fun to see pictures of everyone who was at the Utah reception. We got through our first concert out here! It went so well. I'll tell you all about it, since that's pretty much all I can remember from this past week. It's all a blur. I'll start with by talking about exchanges though!
So this week, I got to go to Millard on exchanges (which is right by Lakeview). It was really weird to be out in my old "stomping grounds" in West Omaha. I was serving with Sister Brough, who I have been working on all the concert stuff. We had a BLAST. We saw so many miracles, all day long. Right before our dinner appointment, we went to try someone that a member had referred to the sisters in Millard. The woman opened the door and started to turn away. I SWEAR she said "Oh shoot" or something to that effect when she saw us (which is my absolute favorite thing). But, she started talking to us and we just made some small talk and told her who we were etc. Then, she said they had to go, so we asked if we could come back and see her and her husband (who had also come to the door by this point) on Tuesday. They agreed, and just before we left, I asked if we could share a scripture. I grabbed the Book of Mormon out of Sister Brough's hand so I wouldn't have to dig through my purse, and opened the Book of Mormon, having NO IDEA what I was about to share with these people. It had to be life changing because this lady was not really loving us yet. So I flip open to Alma, and knew immediately that wasn't right. I flip one more time, and end up in Mosiah 4. I said a quick prayer in my head and felt like I should read Mosiah 4:9. Her husband had been fidgeting with keys and his hat and EVERYTHING possible, and she was ready to run out the door, but as I began to read that scripture ("Believe in God, believe that He is....) they both held very still, and afterwards, she said "those are the exact thoughts I have been having." It was SO powerful to see how much Heavenly Father loves each and every one of us and He knows exactly what His children need, even if we don't. He prompted the members to refer their friend, and He led us to them at a time that they would both be home. He told us exactly what to share that would help them receive the restored gospel! I LOVE BEING A MISSIONARY.
So...concert stuff. I got to go to LAKEVIEW for church on Sunday so Sister Owen and I could leave to Lincoln as soon as we got out of church. It felt like going home. I missed all of my wonderful family in that ward. After we got out of church, we went and visited some people, and then met up with the other elders and sisters at Sister Whittaker's church building. We had borrowed the transfer van (a 15 passenger van) to take out there, and luckily, almost all of the elders that I have singing in the concerts are Zone Leaders so they are all cleared to drive the van. We had a really fun drive out there (about 1 hour and 15 minutes). I had everything planned out by the minute basically for our whole night, including a few minutes to eat the sandwiches that I had brought with us because all of us had been out at church, meetings, baptisms, lessons etc. all day long. We got there, had about an HOUR to practice everything and do all of the sound checks with the missionaries in Lincoln who were participating and had never practiced with us before! So crazy that we were able to make everything work. You know you're being helped by Heavenly Father when...haha. Right before the concert, I had Elder Pese and Elder Tatafu go and sing "prelude." Really, they just performed a mini concert before. Reminded me of Elder AIONO! They were so good, and then we started the concert! Everything ran really smoothly, and the Spirit was so strong. UNTIL....the video that we play (Elder Holland's testimony of the Book of Mormon) stopped working mid-video because it needed to buffer. It started taking a long time, so Sister Whittaker told Elder Pese to get on stage and start playing something, and as he started running up the stairs she said this isn't Farnsworth approved, but hopefully it will work. hahahahah. He played the most BEAUTIFUL song and then came off and said "I hope it was ok even if it wasn't Farnsworth approved." I laughed so hard. They all call me Mama Farnsworth. I was so proud of all of them...they all have worked so hard to make sure that this is the best it can be, and it is really paying off now. We have a concert in the park this Wednesday for pioneer day, and then Council Bluffs next Sunday. I'm just praying now that all of the sisters and elders stay in their areas this week with transfers coming up....we have a concert 2 days after transfers. YIKES.So this week, I got to go to Millard on exchanges (which is right by Lakeview). It was really weird to be out in my old "stomping grounds" in West Omaha. I was serving with Sister Brough, who I have been working on all the concert stuff. We had a BLAST. We saw so many miracles, all day long. Right before our dinner appointment, we went to try someone that a member had referred to the sisters in Millard. The woman opened the door and started to turn away. I SWEAR she said "Oh shoot" or something to that effect when she saw us (which is my absolute favorite thing). But, she started talking to us and we just made some small talk and told her who we were etc. Then, she said they had to go, so we asked if we could come back and see her and her husband (who had also come to the door by this point) on Tuesday. They agreed, and just before we left, I asked if we could share a scripture. I grabbed the Book of Mormon out of Sister Brough's hand so I wouldn't have to dig through my purse, and opened the Book of Mormon, having NO IDEA what I was about to share with these people. It had to be life changing because this lady was not really loving us yet. So I flip open to Alma, and knew immediately that wasn't right. I flip one more time, and end up in Mosiah 4. I said a quick prayer in my head and felt like I should read Mosiah 4:9. Her husband had been fidgeting with keys and his hat and EVERYTHING possible, and she was ready to run out the door, but as I began to read that scripture ("Believe in God, believe that He is....) they both held very still, and afterwards, she said "those are the exact thoughts I have been having." It was SO powerful to see how much Heavenly Father loves each and every one of us and He knows exactly what His children need, even if we don't. He prompted the members to refer their friend, and He led us to them at a time that they would both be home. He told us exactly what to share that would help them receive the restored gospel! I LOVE BEING A MISSIONARY.
Sister Farnsworth
Loved this post, and wish I could hear your concerts! Good luck on your concert in the park today...I'll be flying right over you from Nashville to California. I'll wave and blow a kiss...
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