December 20th 2011

It's all good, my past few weeks in moreno valley have been hectic anyway, its like I never have time anymore, especially on pday, but I guess thats good cause i'm just getting more work done. We've been getting a lot of work done though, everyday is pretty packed and since we have a car its not really a big problem getting to appointments and stuff, the only problem with that is the fact that we have to watch how many miles we travel and sometimes that can get a little stressful considering the fact that i'm not sure where all the members as a whole live in relationship to each other, if I knew all of that information we could be visting everybody who lives in a certain area, that way we could get referrals, teach more lessons, good views from the ward, better communication with the ward, and we could save miles. All of this if I just knew where everyone was. Aside from that christmas is coming up...holy cow, I can't believe it, i feel as though i'm in a different dimension or something, time just keeps moving forward and I'm sittting back watching, trying to stop the time so I can more work done, its intense. I'm not too sure what exactly i'm gonna do for christmas yet, or who's house i'll be at, I just haven't given it enough thought. I'll get on that though. That picture you just sent looks very nice, a very good impression of the saviors birth, We've had so many different christams activities going on throughout both wards its really interesting, plus the people in the ironwood/samoan ward can really sing, I mention that because we just went to a christmas fireside last night and they sounded amazing. I hope everythings going well with you and hope you have a very MERRY CHRISTMAS!!! :)
I wish you all the best...but now Ive gotta run. love You!!!
Elder Farnsworth

October 24th 2011

Hmm..about being sick, lets see...I've had a sre throat and a minor cough over the time that ive been out, but thats about it, nothing serious. My companions have been sick a few times though. I'm sure missionaries do give blessings to the sisters, I haven't though. I haven't really been around many sister missionaries since I've been out.

Yeah, We've got a trunk or treat coming up this saturday, so it looks like we're both kinda on the same page with that. We're also gonna have a baptism this saturday, I can't wait! She asked me to baptize her, so I'm a little nervous but excited at the same time :)

I'm not sure what we do for the holidays...for the fourth of july we mainly just stayed at home, so i'm sure thats the same thing we'll do for halloween. We kinda want to dress up as something..not sure what though.

Love, Elder Farnsworth

October 17th 2011

I have'nt had the chance to Baptize yet. But its all good, I'm sure it"ll come soon, as long as my companion and I continue to work hard. We have a couple potential baptisms coming up shortly, but I don't want to talk about it, in case things happen to fall through. I'll let ya know when it comes.\

Recently we've found multiple new people to teach, and so far so good...I guess only time will tell how serious they all are though. And For lessons...I'm not sure what I like to teach best. If the spirits there and touches their hearts, thats the kind of lesson I enjoy the most. Because regardles of what I say or how good I teach, it doesn't mean much unless the spirits there.

And for visuals.. I don't use visuals all that often, but sometimes I like to use a rubics cube in teaching about the restoration, it helps to keep them focused. Anyway, I should probably go now.

Love, Elder Farnsworth

October 10th 2011

General Conference was awesome, I'm glad they talked so much about missionary work, I hope it will be a good boost for the ward I'm serving in. As for my favorite talks I'm not really sure...i don't have my notes with me.. I do remember something President Eyring said though, He mentioned the importance of hard work and going above and beyond the expectation. I really enjoyed that and it stuck out to me cuz I feel that I needed some motivation, not that I wasn't working hard, but it help me want to do even better and not worry about what people say. This week I talked to every person I possibly could, it didn't matter what they were doing or how awkward it would seem, i talked to them anyway and it felt good. Our mission goal is to talk to 140 people about the gospel every week. In the past few months we haven't met that goal and its been frustrating but this week we talked to 164 people!! it was awesome.
Love, Elder Farnsworth

A Poem by Elder Farnsworth

The missions going pretty good, Ive met lots of people, and done lots of things. there's just a lot to do. a lot, i mean a LOT. But I like it a LoT, there's just a lot of fun that comes with it, and A lot of experiences too. And a Lot of Love from a lot of people. And a Lot of mexicans too. :) A Lot of scriptures, A Lot of Prayer, A lot of church, and a Lot of Food. Well, anways, ive got a lot to do, and I spent a lot of time writing, but i miss you! I miss you a lot, and thats true!

Love Elder Farnsworth

September 26th 2011

I can't believe its already conference time, its crazy...But i'm excited. Don't worry, lol...i'm a missionary. I'll be taking notes. And yeah, we'll be going to a broadcast at our church building, so it should be loads of fun. I just can't wait!

Yeah, I heard the womens broadcast was pretty good...thats about all I've heard though. And about the computers, I probably could go on different church sites and read talks, but normally there's not enough time, so I don't get around to that very often.

Thanks for wishing me a good week! I wish the same for you! Hopefully lots of good things can happen. And don't worry, I'm sure I'll have loads to tell you about conference :)

Until next time...

Love, Elder Farnsworth

Septenber 21st 2011

I'm glad you liked the pictures, thats just a little taste of what its like here. The place is really nice, ive definitely been blessed for the time being. And yeah, ive been out a little while now, it doesn't really seem like it, i wouldn't say I'm completely seasoned. haha. but i can take care of things. lol. Teaching really isn't much of a problem anymore, there's still so much to improve on though. The month's been good, i don't know where the time went, but we've been doing our best to keep busy. I'd say i'm staying pretty healthy, I think ive gained a pound or two since ive been out, but thats about it. i usually run three times a week and in between do some kind of work out. Plus we bike around 20 miles everyday on average. So i'm not too worried. At least for now. Sometimes i'd like to make meals but don't have a cookbook.

the works been going good, sometimes its a little frustrating when all of our appointments cancel, but i guess that just comes with the work. When we do teach, it normally goes well though. We listened to pres. christensen of the 70 on monday, so that was lots of fun. he talked about ways to recognize the spirit and how to use it on a daily basis so thats one of our companionships goals, to find ways to have the spirit with us and just making sure to be obedient with all the little things. I really enjoy the teaching environment, there's so many little things I want to improve on, but the growing experience is well worth it. I just want to be a better, more effective missionary.

I should probably get going now though, my time has been running short. Thanks for the news though, and keeping in touch. Until next time....

Love, Elder Farnsworth

pictures from Tim

Tim's new companion

Elder Morrison / Tim's trainer

Tim's Place

August 22nd 2011

The weeks been great, my last one with Morrison...:(

Today we're having transfers, I'll get my first new comp. Aside from the Mtc. HIs names elder Watson and he's from Hawaii, He's been out just a little longer than me, about six months. So we'll see how things work out. I'm a little nervous, but excited. Elder Morrison's leaving to go to Murrieta where he'll be a zone leader and have a truck. I'm a little jealous. haha. But the bikes great, you can stay in shape. for the most part.

Thats alright, I hear inspiring things quite often. haha. So, its okay. hmmm..inspiring things from me..thats kinda hard to spit out right on the spot, but one thing i can say, is time and talent is sometimes more effective than scripture alone, one thing ive learned is that its hard to move forward and teach when people don't know you or feel comfortable around you, so sometimes its more effective to start slow, and ease into lessons over time. Thats just one thing i've notice. it may or may not be inspiring. lol. But yeah, so far my missionary experience has been great, i'm finally starting to get to know the people in the area better. Anyway, I'm about out of time, I should probably go.

Bye!

Elder Farnsworth

August 15th 2011

I've been doing pretty good, just going with the flow, preaching the word, having a good time. The usual. Its been a great week, we've been driving around in a truck most the week, so thats been nice.

School already started around here, its really weird seeing tons of kids walking the streets.

Yeah, I bet that will be nice to get back to a schedule. My mission schedule is basically the same as you described yours, busy busy busy. Buts its nice knowing what you're gonna do everyday, and your right the sleep is great, you're always wanted more. lol. And yes, we go on splits with members/ward missionaries just about every night from 7-9. Tues-Fri. Its nice cuz we can cover more ground and see more people. but at the same time its frustrating sometimes cuz some of the team-ups we get tend to ruin lessons because they get way too deep on certain subjects and don't know when to stop. In theory splits are amazing though, especially since we're normally on bikes.


Well, I've gotta go now. Thanks for writing! :)

Love Elder Farnsworth

August 8th 2011

Nope, I haven't been transferred yet. Still in Elsinore! they haven't seen the last of me. lol. I really love it out here, The weathers actually been a lot better lately as well, It makes me happy, especially when I'm out there riding my bike. I have a few mission stories, but about a minute to write, so...that'll be hard. lol. one thing that was funny was when an old lady tried to seduce my companion it was sooo funny, maybe I'll tell you more about that in the future.

Love, Elder Farnsworth

July 25th 2010

DAAAANG Thats awesome! Thats soo cool(that Jodi got her mission call). I wish I was there to see her open it. Just a couple more months...wow.

And yes, I do have Jesus the Christ. Ive read a little bit of it and I really like it, but sometimes it gets hard to focus on that. There are so many things I want to study, and eventually i want to focus my study on Jesus the Christ, but I think I'm gonna wait till Ive mastered the basic principles in PMG. There are so many little things that I can touch up on, so i'm gonna take it one step at a time.


Yeah, pictures would be nice to have, cuz like you said people like to see. plus, ive got some pictures of friends, that ive gotten in letters. but none from family so nobody knows what my family looks like.

Sorry I haven't been sending many pictures. I need to take some more. So, i'll send some next week.

Well, Thanks for the letter!!!



Love, Elder Farnsworth

July 19th 2011

I wasn't in the choir at the Mtc. But we did sing a lot. And I don't sing too often, mainly just at meetings and church. It must be a little different then ecuador, but that would be cool if we did. I kinda just wish I knew how to sing.
That sounds like us. We try and offer service to people whenever we can. WOW now he's in Helaman, thats awesome!! yeah, Nephi and Lehi were studs, Their story is just so awesome. Lets see...what did I learn? I learned more about the parables of jesus, particularly the one about planting seeds. I think its called the parable of the sower, it was nice to gain a stronger understanding of it. For most of my studying, i'm not necessarily learning a new thing, but ive been trying to gain a stronger knowledge of the things I already know, like scripture masteries, one thing I've been trying to do is study each of the scripture masteries to understand why they are soo important, then my plan is to find ways to incorporate scripture masteries in the lessons we teach. For companion study most of the time we just discuss what we learned in personal study and then we make plans for people we are going to visit during the day and study for them. But when we have enough time we try to read through the scriptures and discuss them, just like you said you did in Ecuador.
Thanks for the letter and Im excited to hear from you again.
Love, Elder Farnsworth

July 11th 2011

I'm glad you liked the pictures. I'll try and get some more to you soon.
Yeah, the fourth was fun, and with the fruit I got I made some freshly squeezed lemonade for the first time. It was pretty cool. I Remember the house from Arizona, but these guys had a lot more trees and stuff. Yeah, the fireworks are much better with music, for us we didn't have any. It would've been a bit more exciting. BUt it was just nice to get the day off, so im not complaining.
For tracting we just go door to door for the most part. we also get to talk to quite a few people on the streets since we're on bikes. We get referrals as well, but most of the time we have a hard time making contact because they won't answer their phone or they're not home. Its definitley exciting to teach the first lesson, just the fact that its really happening and they want to know more. The trick is being able to get a second lesson. Lately we haven't been having much success though, not many people want to hear anything, but there's always that one thats waiting, we just need to find them.
Yeah, I've heard mom's conversion story, its pretty cool. I guess things just clicked.

Anyways, I should probably go..
Love, Elder Farnsworth

July 6th 2011

Pictures from the MTC


The fourth was good. we had an extremely laxed day and at te end of he day got to see some fireworks its was crazy, we had a dinner appointment a 5 and then another dinner appointment at 8, i was stuffed by the end of the day. For fireworks we went to a members home who lives on on a hill in our area, their house is pretty big and they had lots of citrus trees so we got to pick tons of fruit and bring it home. the fireworks kindve reminded me of the time i went to utah and watched fireworks with you on the mountain. we were really high up and could see everything that was going on around time. The Fireworks weren't all that exciting but it was still fun. My companion got a few really nice pictures too. How was the fourth for you?

Tim with trainer


Yeah its crazy how fast time passes by, it'll be christmas in no time.
yeah, we get to go to the temple. I haven't been yet but i'm sure we'll go sometime soon. And its not the LA temple we go to. There's one in our area and thats the Redlands temple so we'll go there. I think its about the same distance away as the san diego temple, but thats out of our mission boundaries.

Redlands temple


Nope we don't have any set service days. We're allowed to have 4 hours of service a week, but normally we don't because people normally reject our offer to help out. Sometimes we get opportunities though, sometimes members need help with things and then just recently a non-member who we tracted into said we could come by this weekend to help out with yard work, so thats pretty cool that she's letting us do that, it doesn't happen very often.

Tim with mission president and wife


Anyway, things are going good around here, thanks for the email!
I'll talk to you next week.
Love, Elder Farnsworth

June 27th 2011

my week was long and hot...haha. but it was still pretty fun, I met some interesting people and some great things happened at the end of the week. Idk, Lately sundays have already been feeling good, but its still does. Its definitely more relaxing because we don't have to bike to church and the majority of the day I'm dry. Its also the best feeling to see people we've been teaching come to church. There's a guy, he's been a member of the church for quite some time now, but hasn't been attending for over a year. He has a big drinking problem and has been continuing to make excuses as to why he can't come to church. Well, he promised us that he'd come A few weeks ago, and yesterday to my surprise I saw him, he was all cleaned up and sitting in the chapel, early, with one of the ward missionaries, they're good friends. I was so happy to see him there, its kinda to describe. Plus earlier that same day we had a lesson with a young investigator who we had just recently been referred to and contacted. her names courtney and She's 20. Her boyfriend was a less active member and told her about the church/the book of mormon, and now he's in the middle east for the military. So we met with her last week and she was extremely open to the gospel. So yesterday I invited her to be baptized and she accepted right away, she is now in line to be baptized on the 31 of july. It would be sooner but because of her schedule, we can only teach on sundays, so it takes a bit longer. But that was super exciting and I can't wait for that. She will probably switch over to the singles ward soon, but even if we don't get to baptize her, its still exciting.
Yeah, I'm pretty sure thats what it was called, the psalm of Nephi. Yeah, you're right, we don't have memorized discussions anymore, we use preach my gospel. Its nice because we get to teach according to the needs of the person. The order of the pmg lessons is: The restoration, the plan of salvation, the gospel of jesus christ, the commandments, and then the laws and ordinances of the gospel. However we don't necessarily go in that order, we can switch everything around depending on the impressions we get. But generally we don't deviate from the lessons, we just change the style in which we teach them. Its kinda fun though, because you don't have to stick to a memorized script.

I'm not sure what we're doing for the fourth, we might be having a get together but idk. I'm curious to see what its gonna be like on the fourth, probably pretty crazy with all the people getting drunk and stuff. Hopefully there will be a good firework show.
Well, I should probably get going now. Thanks for writing, and I'll talk to you again next week.
Love, Elder Farnsworth

June 20th 2011

So far so good on the weight. Ive been about the same all the way through, and hopefully that will continue throughout my mission. I guess we'll see. but at least i can exercise in the morning. We get fed every night for dinner, unless someone cancels, so thats pretty nice, and for lunch I normally have chow mein noodles. Its pretty good, its cheap, and easy to make.
I'm starting to get better at talking to strangers, although sometimes i tend to say the same thing to people, so i'm working to mix it up a bit. Another thing ive been trying to do is memorize more scriptures, thats always been hard for me, but i know i can do it and i'm excited to get started.
Thats a great scripture, I love mosiah 4! its so good because it gives such a good explanation as to the joy that you can receive by obeying christ and making efforts to change and improve. But you're definitely right, all the joy comes from god, so its always important to keep him in mind and be thankful.
Lets see, its hard to pin point my favorite scriptures in the book of mormon, but one of them is 2 Nephi 4: 26-35. Its one of my favorites, because its helped me in hard times. But there are so many more that are just as good. I finally understand what it means to feast upon the scriptures. There are some days i just wish I could study all day, there's so much i want to know and understand. Because I know if i have a better understanding of the scriptures my teaching will improve and i'll be able to help people more effectively. Sometimes its frustrating when people won't listen, but I knew it would happen and when somebody actually does take the time to hear us, it makes up for everything else, i'm so thankful for that.
Right now i'm in 3 Nephi. Sometimes its hard to do my personal study cause i'm studying for other people, but ive been trying to keep it up, and slowly but surely I'll finish it. sometimes its hard to believe people who say they've read the book of mormon and don't believe it. It just doesn't make sense Because everytime I read it I get that much more convinced of its truth and it makes me want to read more. Who knows though, I guess some people just aren't ready.
Love, Elder Farnsworth

June 13th 2010

I finally understand what people say about their missions, that a day feels like a week and a week feels like a day. Its so true! The MTC was jammed packed with things but like you said, it almost feels like a dream. It all just happened so quick. Sometimes I have to remind myself I'm In california on a mission. Its hard to believe even for me. haha. Even though I feel like a missionary, i guess its just that i'm still so new at everything. There was already a bike for me, so that was pretty nice, its a blue mountain bike and has been working well so far. Sometimes it kinda stinks having a bike cuz i get a sore butt all the time but on the other hand its really rewarding because I get to reap all the blessing that come from teaching people on the street that I normally wouldn't had I been in a car. My people skills still need a lot of work, but I'm getting better, talking to strangers is hard but im slowly and surely beginning to feel more normal. Every minute counts, sometimes I feel like I could have better used my time in some situations but Im trying to do better, so hopefully I'll be an expert at Missionary life in no time. That's great that d's been reading the Book of Mormon, If only more people out here could be doing that. Haha. But the people are great, they just need a little convincing, or at least the invitation. I haven't quite figured out how to do pictures yet, thats why I haven't sent anything. But I'll try and figure it out so I can send some stuff in the weeks to come. Thanks for writing, and I look forward to hearing from you soon.
Love, Elder Farnsworth

June 8th 2011

So the MTC was awesome, I really enjoyed everything about it and my district was awesome we definitely got along well. Its crazy how fast it went by though. So now im in california! My Trainers name is Elder Morrison, He's from Moses Lake Washington and has been out for 19 months. I'm Serving in the Ortega Ward And I live right next to Lake Elsinor in our bishops guest house and its really nice. California's definitely not the big city i had imagined, its mainly just desert where I am but its still pretty cool. My area is a biking one so Ive been able to talk to more people, it was pretty scary doing my first OYM, i just wasn't really sure what to say, but it worked out in the end. On my first day I gave someone a blessing, it was a member, but it was still pretty nerve wracking, I wasn't sure what to do, but my companion said I did a good job, so I'll just stick with that. Its been fun tracting everyday, it definitely makes you step out of your comfort zone, but i'm kinda starting to get used to it in the week and a half that Ive been here now. Apparently the Stake activity is only about 20-30% so rather than teaching investigators, my companion and I have been teaching more less active members, its surprising what some people do. And for email, it took forever for me to email because of transfers and my P-day is on Mondays now. I look forward to hearing from you next week! Love Elder Farnsworth

May 25th 2011

So you were in a threesome too? thats cool, as of now i'm with just one person because a member of my district got sent home, but it was good while it lasted. Its definitely easier to keep track of things with just one comp though. Trc's are great! i actually haven't been too nervous, the spirit is strong and everything just seems to fall into place while we teach. Its definitely a blessing to be able to practice teaching as much as we do here. I just can't wait for it to be real, the people in california need to hear it! It feels like I just got here, everyday flies by and I can hardly keep track of what went on. But over the course of time ive been here my teaching is continuing to grow, i felt pretty prepared before hand, but its the little things that count and thats what ive been working on, trying to connect with the people and invite the spirit into the room. My testimony can only go so far, they need to feel it for themselves. Ive already got my travel itinerary for california, my district will be split before we even get to the plane, Its kindve scary, but also just soo exciting. Yesterday we had a fireside and got to hear from Russel M. Nelson of the quorum of the twelve, it was pretty intense. He talked about the importance of perfect obedience and how thats what brings miracles in the field, ive been trying to do my best and its just nice to receive that extra motivation every week. Other than that, not much is happening, pretty much the same thing as usual, go to class, teach, study...and next time I email you I'll be in CALIIFORNIA! Thanks for giving me some email addresses and posting my letters on your blog. i can't wait to hear from people :)

Love, Elder Farnsworth

May 18th 2011

Ive got 12 minutes to talk...so yeah. Thanks for writing me. You weren't the first but you were up there. The Mtc is going good. There's lots of time to study and teach, and im having a great time. Especially when teaching. we had a TRC the other day, which is basically where we have the opportunity to teach fake investigators about the gospel, it was awesome, i felt the spirit so strong. Im part of a district of nine people, district 41-A and my second day here i was called to be the district leader. Its been a lot of fun. Ive been put in a companionship of three and my comps names are elder austin and elder snyder, its definitely gonna take some getting used to, just being with them 24 7. I want to tell you more, but im running out of time. . Love Elder Farnsworth