Happy Thanksgiving

Monday, November 24, 2014

Haha. Woahh that's weird about all the changes in the stake. Crazy that Bishop Sinkovic got released and then called again in the Lawrence Station Ward and Bishop Gelhbach!?! That's awesome!! haha It`ll be weird to call him Bishop though. How`s Mitchell doing?! Tell him I say hello!

So luckily there's a member that's in charge of finding new apartments for the mission so he pretty much did it for us and this last week we went to one he picked out. It's way bigger and nicer than the one we have now.  The Elders from the office have to check it out tomorrow to approve it and then it should be a done deal. Not sure when we`ll move it but I'm expecting to be transferred so I`ll probably only be in the new apartment for a couple days at most. We had interviews with President Thurgood last week.  It was good and he hinted that I'd probably be transferred. He said it's hard right now because its about 60% North Americans and 40% Latinos so it's hard sometimes to get the American/Latin split but he said he wouldn't be surprised if it happened soon.  Also the zone leaders gave the recommendation that I leave and get a Latin companion so I think I'll leave but I wont find out for sure until Friday or Saturday.

Work is slowing down a little bit here. We have quite a few investigators but none for the moment making immediate progress for various reasons. Nancy and Mierta came to church again but Manuel and Claudia didn't. We`ve been trying to visit them but he works and she was gone this week a lot at the hospital for her pregnancy and baby. Blaz is as we call it here a "miembro seco". He does everything and is pretty much a member but not baptized. He comes every week and participates but for a few reason can't be baptized right now. We weren't able to meet with Ruben this week again which really sucks. Also the ward temple trip got canceled this week so that was a bummer. We`re having a special zone conference in December and it looks like a couple zones will be grouped together so the whole mission won't get together. Right now my zone is scheduled for the 18th of December.

That's scary to hear about Scott though I'm glad he`s alright and it wasn't worse. (Scott was re-lighting the pilot light on his heater and it blew up in his face and his hair and beard caught on fire, but fortunately escaped with minimal injuries.) That's great that you guys are going up to Utah to see them! haha Yeah I would have remembered Mom. (I asked him if he would have remembered Thanksgiving if I hadn't mentioned it.) We were going to try and get someone to feed us dinner but for now we have an appointment with a potential investigator. Yeah we get a copy (General Conference issue of the Church Ensign magazine ) in Spanish. Dogs aren't a problem.  Some bark and will kind of come at you but worst case you pretend to pick up a rock and they run away. So I'm sorry Mom but I don't expect I'll use the dog dazer haha.

Tell everyone I say hello and love them! Love you and miss you lots! Happy Thanksgiving!!

Love 

Elder McFarland

Visit from Elder Nelson

Monday, November 17, 2014

Hola!
So yes we got to hear from Elder Nelson on Thursday! Elder Zaballos of the Seventy was his companion and both their wives were there too. It was just our mission and the 85 missionaries from the Buenos Aires CCM (Mission Training Center). We had the privilege of meeting Elder Nelson and I was so nervous haha. I shook his hand and he called me by name and asked how it was going! But I was too nervous and I think I just mumbled something in response haha. It was such an honor and privilege to here him speak though. He gave a good talk and told us that the bishop, ward mission leader, and family history leader need to be our best friends. His wife gave a great talk about having the eyes of our understanding opened and learning new things in the scriptures and learning more of our assignments and commitments we made in the pre-mortal life. Definitely an experience I will remember for the rest of my life. I'm pretty sure a future apostle is in my mission right now because at the end Elder Nelson said that when he looks at us he sees the future leaders and maybe one day one of us will sit in his seat. So I'm calling it. It was super neat though.  He ended up talking in English so he had an interpreter but Elder Zaballos and his wife spoke in Spanish but I was able to understand enough to get the general idea of what they were saying haha. Pretty cool though, one of the interpreters served a mission in France but his mission president assigned him to learn English and promised him if he did then one day he`d use it to communicate with leaders of the church. Prophecy fulfilled. 

Today we had our zone activity for p-day so we played soccer and watched the Puss and Boots movie.

This past week was kind of slow. To be honest I feel like we`ve gotten a little lazy and just haven't been working as hard as we can or as hard as we have been. Transfers are in two weeks and I love Elder Killian and Quilmes 3 but I`m kind of ready for a change so I kind of hope I get transferred but we`ll see what happens. I'd be okay with either I suppose. Also the contract for our pension isn't getting renewed so as of right now we will be homeless by the end of the month. We need to find a place to live haha which sucks because now we will have to spend time we could be working to take time looking for an apartment and moving everything.

Sergio and Nancy came to church yesterday though! Ruben didn't come and he worked last week so we couldn't meet with him but for now I'm not too worried about him. There are gospel principles that we still need to teach him, but Blaz is a boss and keeps coming to church. We found a new family from a reference that could have some potential and we`ll find out more this week when we visit them again. The ward mission leader has a goal of 4 baptisms before the end of the year so we`re going to work hard and try to make that happen. 

Interesting and to be honest disappointing to hear about the ward boundary changes. (Merrill & I are no longer in the Santa Clara Ward where we have been for the last 29 years.) I don't like it but good thing I'll  never really have to be in the Lawrence Station Ward haha. 

I did get the birthday letters and envelopes you sent. (Finally!  Remember, we can't send packages.) THANK YOU!!! Thank you so much. Thanks for the pictures! It's so nice to have pictures of the family haha and thank you for the general conference and priesthood session talks and for the cards and letters! I loved both cards haha. The cartoons and the plan of salvation card were really good. I finally have the names of the people who sent me letters from a couple months ago haha. A while back Patricia Wilker and the Nelsons sent me a card, and then a card from Dawn Clark came but it was three separate cards signed by a bunch of people so I think it was from the Relief Society.  This time Brother Cate sent me 2 postcards and Janis Vogel, the Tkach family and Patricia Wilker sent me cards so if you could thank all of them for me and tell them I greatly appreciate it!!!

I'm sorry if I missed anything. I love you and miss you guys a lot! Thanks again for the birthday cards and everything.  It really helped a lot. Love you!

Love 

Elder McFarland

Intercambios (exchanges) With A Latin That Doesn't Speak English

Monday, November 10, 2014

Hola Hola!

 

So we found out that it's Elder Nelson (of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles)  that is coming to speak to us on Thursday!! It should be pretty awesome! Except he speaks Spanish so we`ll see how much I`ll be able to understand haha.

 

Flip, I forgot to write down who wrote me letters. I promise I`ll do it next week. I won't get mail again until this Thursday when Elder Nelson comes or not until the 20th when we have interviews with President Thurgood again. Also before I forget can you guys send me some pictures!! I seriously have no photos of the family with me haha.  (Friends and family, feel free to send him pictures.)

 

Elder Killian is the District Leader so we do exchanges like every week which is pretty cool because it makes the week go by faster and I get to know more missionaries. Elder Ramos is still in the District but he is training. His hijo (the brand new missionary that he is training) is Elder Pavon who is 26 and is from Paraguay and he`s a stud. I would seriously believe it if someone told me that he had been out for18 months. I wouldn't be surprised if he`s AP (Assistant to the President) one day. I did intercambios (exchanges) with him this week and it's the first time I've been with a Latin that doesn't speak English haha, so I was worried at first at how it would go but it ended up being really good. So apparently President Thurgood met with a Seventy and they`re making one last push for the plan piloto before it finishes in December, I think. So we are now only reporting confirmations and MACAs (which are less actives with an assignment).

 

We are going to try to teach Blaz the law of chastity and the importance of marriage.   We will see if he can make some changes in his life because he is awesome.  We also found out that this whole time Manuel and Claudia have been working on the papers for Manuel's citizenship because he`s from Paraguay and it' s easier if he has citizenship to get married.  They should have that within 10-15 days and then after that it`ll be a month or so for the marriage papers or something like that so still a month and a half, more or less, until they get baptized.  We`re going to  talk to Nelida this week and see if she's really interested in being taught.  Arminda is still doing awesome. Saturday we helped put in a cement floor for her new house and Sunday she was confirmed! Oh we have a new fecha! I don't know if you remember Ruben! He is the guy that showed up to church on my first Sunday? So, we finally met with him this week and he`s a stud and we set a baptismal date for December 6th but we might try to move it up to November 29th. Either way, we`re really excited for him.  He came to church yesterday and we have another appointment on Friday with him. Also, we stopped by a less active family.  Well they`re only inactive because they have to work on Sundays but they said their son and niece want to be baptized and they`re 9 and 11 so they`re technically  investigators.  We are going to teach them and hopefully they will get baptized this transfer! Every time we go over to the Esquivel family's home, they reschedule appoitnments and they haven't come to church so they may not be interested. 

 

These next two weeks are going to be busy though. Intercambios with the Zone Leaders and Elder Nelson speaking to us this week.  Then the week after, we have interviews with President Thurgood and our ward is going to the temple so I think we are going to bring some investigators! A lot to look forward to. This transfer is already halfway through and I have a feeling the next three weeks are going to go by fast.

 

I miss you and love you guys!

Love 

Elder McFarland

Additional short emails answering some of our questions.

So today we had our district activity and just went to this shopping center thing that's in a Walmart in Avellaneda and had Subway and played some pool. I think next week is our zone activity and we`re going to go bowling at the same place. I dont sleep bad but not great. Should I be worried if I don't remember the last time I slept through the night? lol.

I shined my shoes for the first time since I got here last night haha. They were bad.

A Baptism on Elder McFarland's Birthday!!!

Monday, November 3, 2014

Hola!

This week was pretty crazy! On Tuesday, a huge storm hit and it rained like CRAZY!!!! There was also a ton of thunder and lightning. It seemed like the end of the world or something.  It was nuts.  In 12 hours it rained more than it had the past month. On Wednesday, a bunch of the streets in our area were flooded and me and Elder Killian were walking down the streets with water up to our mid thighs!! I felt like a true missionary haha. Unfortunately it affected a lot of people, especially in the villas and their houses were flooded. Natalia's got flooded but none of of other investigators. The weather has been crazy. For the better part of the last 5 days its been raining non stop, but I love it.

This week we taught the Esquivel family which we found two weeks ago. We went with the Bishop and taught them the restoration and have another appointment this week. I think they`ll all get baptized one day but I think the only one that could get baptized while I'm still here is the youngest daughter who's 16.

It was a busy week again but it was worth it because yesterday we had Arminda's baptism, finally!!

Probably the best gift a missionary could receive on his mission, a baptism. And it was made even more special because I had the privilege of baptizing her!! It was really special and I could tell how much it meant to her. The entire time I just felt an overwhelming sense of peace. It wasn't like yay for me, I got a baptism or even that I got a baptism on my birthday because really this mission isn't about me at all. It's about serving my Father in Heaven and my brothers and sisters here in Argentina. You can't do that more than preforming the ordinance of baptism whereby a child of God makes a covenant with our Father in Heaven. To have the opportunity to be a part of such a special moment for Arminda and to serve others on my birthday was really cool.  It was also cool because Blaz, Nancy and Mierta all came to church and all stayed for the baptism!!!

Afterwards we had lunch and a cake with the Berrondo family which was fun but really it didn't feel like my birthday.

 

To be honest, it just felt like a normal day in the mission because yesterday wasn't about me or my birthday at all but it was Arminda`s day. Some people knew it was my birthday and wished me happy birthday. I won't get mail until we have interviews with the president on the 20th or on the 13th because apparently an apostle is coming out to talk to the mission!!! Unfortunately I plugged in my camera and it died so I won't be able to send pictures until next week.

One thing I was thinking of this week was in 1 Nephi 15:26-27 and Nephi says that Lehi`s mind was swallowed up in other things that he beheld not the filthiness of the water. In his dream Lehi was aware of the river. He knew it was there and knew of the dangers of it but he didn't give any more attention to it than was needed. Instead he focused on more important parts of the dream, The righteous and the good parts of it. Likewise, we need to be focused on spiritual things that will uplift us and bring us closer to Christ. We need to be aware of the adversary. We need to know that he is real and that temptation is there. But, we shouldn't give  more thought and attention to the adversary and the things of the world than is needed. Becoming preoccupied with how filthy the water is or with the things of the world and the adversary is not necessary nor worthwhile. Let our minds be like Lehi; be swallowed up in other things. Things of the Lord. Things worth our time that will uplift us and help us continue on the path back to our Heavenly Father.

I love you all. Thank you for your emails and the birthday wishes. Thank you for everything. I miss you guys a lot! Love you!

Love 

Elder McFarland