The Importance of making a Decision

MO. AND IS. GOT BAPTIZED YESTERDAY!!!!!!!!! WHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE·EEEEE! It was awesome.  It was beautiful!

The new pension is really nice. We live with two other hermanas. Hermana B. (Argentina) and Hermana C. (Greenie from Pullman Washington!) they are awesome. Hermana B loves to talk and drink the mate. She is legit, love her to death. Hermana C. is a greenie with some red red curly hair. Super tierna. I love living with them. Hermana M. is  champ. She is teaching me a lot. We are having a good time together. I apparently talk in my sleep, but in Spanish and I promise blessings to those that keep the commandments. Nada que ver.

 

I got food poisoning again! Yay! Found some sweet cat hair in my food from one of the members. Hermana M. took good care of me. Didn't have throw up, but I wish I did if you know what I mean.

 

And on the spiritual side, this is what I learned this week: The importance of making a decision.

There is this Mormon message about forgiveness and a guy named Chris Williams whose family was killed by a drunk teenage driver, when he met the kid that killed his family, the thing he told him to do was to pick a day and just forget what had happened and move on.

There was this picture in my room before I left on the mission of a little kid running through a field with just the biggest smile on his face, the caption underneath says "Happiness is not a destination but a manner in which to travel."

2 Nefi 2:25 says Adam fell that men might be, and men are that they might have joy.

What do these things have in common? Happiness is a decision.To be full of joy doesn't depend on your circumstances. To want to sing and smile doesn't come from any outside influence. It comes from within. It is a mental action, a conscious choice. If there is a sin in the past, someone you haven't forgiven, si tiene rancor en su corazon, pick a day and forget. God has already forgotten if you have repented and changed. If you are sad, make the decision to be happy. It doesn't depend on what is happening around you, we are here to have joy. But we have to make the choice first.

 

And what do ya know, what do ya guess? I am happy now. I picked a day to forget the past, I picked a moment to feel the joy. And here I am. In the same place and in the same situation but completely different. There is some higher principle that I am going to learn soon but yeah at this moment I am still on level one on how to disfrutar my mission and my life.

 

That's all folks! Pumped for the GC! Elder K. tells me that General Conference in  the Greenie room is like going to the superbowl in the mission. haha ;)

 

Love and miss you all! Life is to be enjoyed no just endured!

Peace out Young bloods.

Hermana Farner

My twin from Mexico

Mo. and Is. did not get baptized. Hopefully this week. We have faith!!

We had changes and Hermana V, left! The new team in Los Cerrillos, Los Libertadores 2 es Hermana M. y Hermana Farner. Hermana M. is pretty legit she is loud and opinionated (in a good way) and loves to laugh, so basically my twin from Mexico. I have a feeling we will see a lot of success together as comps.

We are also switching apartments with the Elders. They have a nicer and bigger one so I guess the sisters get it because we are more careful and cleaner. Perks of being a woman missionary! :) We change today. I packed my camera so I dont have any pictures to send sorry!

What else happened this week? We had a whole lot of investigators attend church. That was awesome we had 7 with us. I love it when they come to church. That is when you know they are really progressing.

Church is like the competition that you have been `preparing' for the entire week. It is what you want everyone to accomplish because when you go to the House of Prayer, the feelings that you feel when you pray to your Heavenly Father are magnified in a way that before wasnt even possible to think. The Spirit that can be found in the capilla is far more powerful than can be found in a home. That is why going to church is so important.

That is why in the Bible it says that it when we are two or more are united in the name of Christ the Spirit dwells there. Go to church people. House of order, house of prayer, house of God or however they say it in English. Do it. Even if you are tired, sick, grumpy, old, anything. Just do it. Go to church. Take the sacrament with Christ in mind, and BELIEVE in the Atonement and all that He did and is still doing for every single one  of you.

Had the highest number again with Hermana V. in our zone this past two weeks. I have a strong testimony that if you work well and communicate with with your companion, whether it be in marriage, mission, friendships, with your dog, whatever, you are going to be blessed by the Lord and change the world because you have the spirit with you.

 

Not much more has happened out here in the front. Until next week!

 

Love you lots!

Hermana Farner

All Great Things Start with a Prayer

Thank you so much for the letters mom! they are so awesome! I love getting the pictures! Though I would like one of you...

And yes from my lovely primos de Utah too! Thank you for your letters. Sara has just the best handwriting ever.

Had a good week; starting the last week before cambios. Super crazy fast. Have 9 fechas to be baptized. WHOA. Mind blown. If you have time watch the district como familia. It is pretty legit and great missionary prep. BAPTISMs the 23rd!!! Mo. y Is.

 

Fun stuff:

When you put your hair in a bun, it is called a tomate. hahhahaha

 

I have been thinking a whole lot about the importance of prayer. How every great thing in the history of the world started with a prayer. For example the magnificent atoning sacrifice of our Savior and Redeemer in the Garden of Gethsemane started with a prayer. When Joseph Smith wanted to know which church was true, he prayed and received the First Vision.

 

Just think of all the wonderful things that we can achieve if we were to apply Moroni 10:4-5 in every one of our prayers. If we had that real intent and talked to our Father with faith and assurance that He is there and listening. All great things start with a prayer. If we really need help, pray. If we feel alone, pray. Do the little things in a strong way and you will receive all sorts of blessings you never knew were possible.

 

Besos por todos! Remember who you are! I sent pictures!

 

Love, 

Hermana Farner

Our mansions in Heaven

Learning a lot about different cultures out here. But yes the wedding was beautiful. They were so happy, no worries got lots of pictures and all that. The sad part is they aren't getting baptized on the 15th they will get baptized on the 22nd because Is. needs one more church attendance. That was super sad.

I think I the hardest part of being on the mission is that there really is no manual. There is no guidebook. You just have to follow the Spirit. I feel sooooo young and inexperienced it is crazy.

Do I have funny stories? Boy do I ever!!! So the dudes here in Chile are way too funny. They will yell stuff at you but then run away like little children. For instance yesterday we were walking and this guy in his late 30s early 40s on his bicycle rode by and stopped for 6 seconds said in English "You are beautiful woman" and then sped off on his bike. hahhahahah. Way too funny. Then there was this drunk guy we walked past and he yells to me in English, "I love you! My name Silva!". They are all so bashful it is just hilarious. Now me and Hermana V. will say things to each other like 'Usted es muy guapa' and then pretend to run away. It has been a good ongoing joke for us.

 

The baptismal fechas are dropping like flies. That darn pesky agency. 

 

A little about faith. We read Alma 32 as a companionship. When we have that faith like a seed and plant it, it is how we can help it grow to become knowledge right? After that seed has grown into the big tree of knowlege the faith is dormant, but when winds come and shake the tree of knowlege the seeds that are there, fall to the ground and start to grow in the same form right? That wind can be a trial, it can be a temptation, it can be a challenge that you have to face but growing a new tree of faith. And soon you have another tree of knowledge growing close by. And then the course starts over! As we care for the trees that we have already obtained by continuing to nourish them, we soon have a forest. A giant forest depending on how well we take care of our little seeds of faith into knowledge trees. But the question in the end is, why? Why bother having a lot of trees? Why bother when I can just spend all my time cultivating my one tree? At times we think that quality is better than quantity. I am here to say that quantity and quality are equals. Those trees of knowledge are going to be cut down to make our mansions in heaven. We need good strong sturdy wood, but we also need a lot of it.

Faith should never be dormant for more than two minutes. We should always be improving always be getting better. Our life is like a glass. If we dont fill it with something to the brim, we will always have the option to look at it half empty. If we fill our lives with good things, we won't have the time to look at what we don't have.

 

Love and miss you all so much. The time really flies out here. I will be seeing your face in a couple short months mommy. Don't you worry!!  The pictures are hard to send because I don't know how to get the cable plugged into the computer. I swear I have pictures though! No se preocupe. 

 

Love youuuuuuuuu looottsss,

Hermana Farner

You Get What You Go For

The world is goin super well and I am sure that you all are loving life at home. I miss you all con toda mi corazon.

So we went and taught again at the spider glass house again and there was an ant in my glass this time. So funny! And then at lunch yesterday I had an ant AND a fly. My life....

SAW JILLIAN at the big meeting we had in saturday. It was awesome. Got your letter and also thank Brother Lewis for his letters they are awesome. And the Roll family. Didn't get to tell them forever ago but ya that is good stuff.

 

So this past week things are starting to get really cold. Winter is starting!!! Would you look at that? We are also on week 4 of my second exchange. It is crazy how fast the mission goes. It is going to be conference before we know it. I can't wait to hear the prophet speak.  There is so much more meaning in my life now concerning the Gospel. I always knew it was true, but now I think about how special it could be to my friends back home and how much it could change the world if the people would just let it.

 

The quote "You get what you go for" is exactly what I think about all the time. YOU GET WHAT YOU GO FOR. If I want more priesthood  holders in the church I am going to contact more middle aged men or men in their twenties. If I want more love in my life. I am going to give more love. If I want to get married after my mission I am going to change characteristics now to be a better woman of God so that I will attract a Man of God, not some random flaite. If I want to remember who I am I am going to remind myself every day that I can rattle the stars through the healing and strengthening power of the Atonement and our tools like the scriptures, prayer and especially our testimonies.

 

If you have the chance to bear your testimony, BEAR IT.  I know that a lot of times we groan when the same people bear their testimonies but seriously they are getting stronger while the rest of us are merely listing and growing mold. YOU GET WHAT YOU GO FOR.

 

If you have time read the talk by our good friend and past prophet GB Hinckley in the May 1999 Ensign I think called Find the Lambs Feed the Sheep or something like that. Help build Zion on earth.

 

Mo. and Is. are getting married Saturday!!! YAYYAA! Can't wait. And baptism next week. I really hope and pray that they will continue to be strong and worthy  to be baptized and that they are truly converted. That is one of the things that we learned from Elder Evans (leader of the mission board or something) that we get baptized when we are converted not the other way around. And Elder H., Nairne's friend from the mission told me the same things this week. (ya he is writing me.... weird right?) But it is so true. I just think of Peter and that bible verse  - When you are converted Strengthen your brethren. There is also a talk I think by Elder Bednar that talks about that very thing, that conversion is a life long process, but I believe there will be a moment that we all can look back and see that day where we decided that nothing else mattered more that serving the Lord, nothing else matters more than living the commandments and that there is nothing else that matters in this life than losing ourselves in the work of the Lord, then we will really find out who we are. I am deep in that mud right now. I love it. Love being in the trenches. Keep that eye single to the glory of God.

 

Love and miss you all. Call me Garfield because I hate Mondays because I hate writing you guys. Makes me sad! 

 

Con Amor,

Hermana Farner

Ps- The comp is great. I stopped being selfish and life is good now :)