December 31st 2013

Hey mom and Dad,

Thanks for the message! That sounds like loads of fun going out to eat all the time...yum!!

I'm glad I was able to speak with you guys too...it made my day. This weeks been a good one, with christmas and all...and now its practically new years!!! Holidays are great! Thanks for all that you do!!! Love Elder Farnsworth

December 17th 2012

Hey mom and dad,

Thanks for the letter!! It really is crazy to think how fast time has flown and how people are coming home from there missions. I'm glad to hear about the good things happening at home.

As for me, things couldn't be better. As I've been on my mission i've learned that life is all about perspective. I want you to know that I know the gospel is true. When it comes to the work, I sometimes feel overwhelmed, sometimes its hard for me to press forward. Having said that, I know that trials give us strength...and the atonement helps us find it...I know that the spirit is real and that it is constantly influencing me and others for the good. I feel happier when I'm following the savior and when I follow the savior things feel right. Jesus is pretty smart :)

But yeah, thats how i'm doing!! thanks for everything.

Love Elder Farnsworth

December 10th 2012

hey mom and dad,

I'm glad you had a good birthday!! Thats great that maureen was nice enough to take you out, that sounds like lots of fun. And I'm sorry to hear that about dad having to work, sometimes work just doesn't seem to fit with life very well.

Hopefully everythings going great with the both of you though, its exciting to see the approach of the christmas season...only good can come of it. We're probably gonna start caroling to different people, so i'm excited about that. Maybe missionaries will go caroling there as well, i'm sure that'd be a treat!!

But yeah, i'm doing well, no complaints! This week was actually much better than last, I feel happier all around. Its weird to think that I've only got 5 months left!!!! its Crazy!!!! I've gotta step it up...cuz times just flying by.

BUt yeah, sorry I don't have much else to say either....just know that, the works moving forward....I'm learning everyday, we're finding new people to teach, and I wish the best for everyone at home :)

Love, Elder Farnsworth

December 3rd 2012

hey mom and dad,

Thanks for the message, thats great that you were able to attend the temple and make it through the week...even if it wasn't all that eventful.

As for me, things are going well...Thanksgiving was nice, we had dinner with our stake president. President morris and his family. Then for chrisrtmas i'm sure we'll find somewhere to skype. Elder Austins a great guy, he's got a good heart. He struggles to find motivation at times, but we're working on it together and I'm sure we'll have a great time. The beginning of the week was a little hectic, considering the transfer changes.. Elder Figueroa had a nice gps and he took it with him to his next area. Luckily one of the other elders let us borrow his gps for the transfer, Using a map isn't all that fun...haha.

One thing thats kinda interesting about this place is the attraction it has for its golf courses, Throughout the week I was reminded by some members how often famous people come to play golf. And quite a few general authorities visit on a yearly basis...that was pretty awesome to learn about.

When it comes to the actual missionary work, we're kinda at a stand still at this point...we're basically back at square one! So most of our week will probably be dedicated to finding new people to teach. Our investigator fernando has been faced with a difficult choice to make, his parents our catholic and don't exactly approve of him getting baptized...so he needs to make a decision whether or not he will move forward...so we're in the process of helping him know what he wants.

But yeah, thats what happening right now...so in the near future I'm sure we'll be seeing a little more success.

But I gotta get going...Thanks for everything!! Until next time....Love, Elder Farnsworth

November 27th 2012

Hey mom and dad,

Sorry I don't have much time to write...We just had transfers...my companion elder figueroa was sent to redlands and now my new comps elder Austin. (we were mtc companions).

I've just been writing typing out my essays for school so i'm over on time. But yeah, I think everythings good to go with that. I guess I'll have to inform you a little more next week on how everythings going.

I did get your package, thank you!!! The gift cards are great!! and I'm glad taylor gave a good talk, i got both his letters and they were great. Now that i'm done worrying about my essays I'll be able to reply to my letters :)

And yes, I did get to play football!!! not as good as home....but it was still pretty fun. Thanks for everything...and have a great week.

Love Elder Farnsworth

November 19th 2012

Hey mom and dad,

Things are going great...we had a good week. We've been teaching a guy named fernando, he's 22 and we're planning on having a baptism for him this coming sunday. Its exciting!! I hope everything works out with him. We just started teaching his mother as well, it was kinda cool, I taught the lesson in english and had my team-up translate into spanish. We'll be handing her over to the spanish missionaries now.

As for the gift certificate to target...thank you! its Awsome!

And with the letters, I don't know if I'm getting letters or not. As I said in the last letter, they don't forward letters to my area. So its only when they have mission meetings that we get mail.

I've been working on my essays at home whenever I can find time, so hopefully i'll be able to get them submitted on time.

And yeah, teaching was cool...i'm pretty used to it by now, but it was a little different for elders quorum. The ward isn't huge, (at least the active ones)but the list is pretty big. our buildings about the same size as the one back home, and its just across the street from our apartment complex. And I know you were asking about palm springs...and no, its not in my area. Its nearby though.

I'm having a great time with my companion and the area, like I said before...he's really cool. He doesn't seem like a greenie, he's catches on to things really quick. The works starting to pick up and its been way fun!!

But yeah, thats about it for me!!! I'm glad you had fun with talent show thing and everything else, I wish the best for keith as he visits heidi and I hope you and dad have a great week. Thanks for everything!

Love, Elder Farnsworth

November 13th 2012

Hey mom and dad,

Things are going great...we had a good week. We've been teaching a guy named fernando, he's 22 and we're planning on having a baptism for him this coming sunday. Its exciting!! I hope everything works out with him. We just started teaching his mother as well, it was kinda cool, I taught the lesson in english and had my team-up translate into spanish. We'll be handing her over to the spanish missionaries now.

As for the gift certificate to target...thank you! its Awsome!

And with the letters, I don't know if I'm getting letters or not. As I said in the last letter, they don't forward letters to my area. So its only when they have mission meetings that we get mail.

I've been working on my essays at home whenever I can find time, so hopefully i'll be able to get them submitted on time.

And yeah, teaching was cool...i'm pretty used to it by now, but it was a little different for elders quorum. The ward isn't huge, (at least the active ones)but the list is pretty big. our buildings about the same size as the one back home, and its just across the street from our apartment complex. And I know you were asking about palm springs...and no, its not in my area. Its nearby though.

I'm having a great time with my companion and the area, like I said before...he's really cool. He doesn't seem like a greenie, he's catches on to things really quick. The works starting to pick up and its been way fun!!

But yeah, thats about it for me!!! I'm glad you had fun with talent show thing and everything else, I wish the best for keith as he visits heidi and I hope you and dad have a great week. Thanks for everything!

Love, Elder Farnsworth

November 6th 2012

Dear mom and Dad,

In palm desert, the mail doesn't get forwarded from the office to me. For some reason it doesn't work for apartments or something like that, i'm not really sure. So what happens is every month the zone leaders go to riverside for a meeting and they can pick up our mail. Luckily this thursday the zl's returned home with mail for me! what a surprise!!!

Its kinda hard to explain how I felt...enough to shed a few tears. It means so much to get a letter. Thank you, I really needed it. And I'm thankful to taylor and andrew as well, they also wrote me.

I'm sorry for not responding last week, I didn't know what to say, i just felt a little overwhelmed with all the college apllications and stuff...I'm not supposed to go on any other website besides this and lds.org/mormon.org and I wasn't sure what to do...And then after doing that for a while I had already run out of time to write. So I called president smart for permission and he said yes, but i'm still working on the essays.

but yeah, when it comes to the past couple weeks, Things have been doing really well. I'm still learning the area and the ward members...but hey I had a chance to give a talk last week and everybody liked it. Plus, this week my companion and I both bore our testimonies. So through all of that the wards getting to know me a bit more. On sunday I also had the opportunity to ordain one of our recent converts daniel to the office of a priest. Then I taught elders quorum. Its pretty cool!

We had a zone meeting this week and the focus of this month is going to be finding new investigators...One of the actions plans we have for that is inviting at least one person to be baptized each day. Its been fun trying to incorporate that into our everyday oyms. The other night I had a great experience at a park, the day was hard i wasn't feeling very motivated, but I talked with my companion and it came down to the faith I had in the savior, it wasn't very strong....and it hasn't been for a while. But I said a really meaningful prayer and felt much better...It prepared me for the remainder of the day/night. Well, while we were walking around the park we met this guy working out and we started to talk to him. His names jose, and as we started talking we went over our purpose and we taught him parts of the restoration, the plan of salvation, and the gospel of jesus christ...we answered every question he had in a manner that was directed by the spirit and it felt good. We then invited him to be baptized. He's catholic and thats what his family is, so he couldn't commit to anything. But I don't care...the point is, we acted like representatives of jesus christ, and we did what we could, relying on the lord and upon his spirit. Thats the feeling I enjoy most and I want every oym to be like that. One of these days....

We're finding new people to teach everyday, and many of them are still at the beginning, but there's a lot in store, so i'm excited.

Anyway, I hope all is well and that everythings going great with school and work and bowling. But I've gotta go now..Love, Elder Farnsworth

Hey mom and dad,

sorry to hear not much happened this week....

thats great that you were able to go to the movies thouch,thats gotta be nice...haha. i'm starting to forget what its like to go to the movies. but thats okay, this works much better!!!

My new companions actually really cool, he doesn't even seem like a greenie, he's outgoing, hardworking, and motivated, plus he's good with the scriptures, its so nice...it makes things a lot less stressful for me. I mean there are still little things here and there that we can work on, but allround things seem great so far. This sunday I get to give a talk at church, so thats exciting...I hope I can help motivate more people to give us referrals and have us over for lessons..That would be ideal because we need more lessons!!! because the more lessons we teach (with quality) the more successful and likely we'll be to finding new investigators and baptizing someone...I'd sure like for that to come sometime soon. BUt yeah, I don't have a whole lot to say about the area yet, i'm still getting adjusted...but it will come. We live in a four man apartment and then some of the other missionaries live just around the corner. So its way more fun having all the company. We have a car, and our area is huge...its one of the biggest areas in the mission I think. but we've got a bike rack for the car so we should be able to save miles that way. Luckily the weathers going to be good!!! i'm excited to continue biking.

Other than that I not much else is happening...but yeah...I'll let you guys know more as the time moves by. Take care!!! Have a great week!!

Love, Elder Farnsworth

ps(president smart said he took care of the ecclesiastical endorsement for school so hopefully that worked)

October 16th 2012

Hey mom and dad,

hows everthing going? I did hear about seattle, sounds like it was loads of fun...I know some missionaries who live around there so when I get home I'd like to visit them sometime!!

Thats great that you've got some hardworking students in your classes, it must be a huge relief, hopefully they can all do well. Sometimes I miss school....but not the homework, haha. I'd rather make my own HW...speaking of school, I guess that would important for me to do...to talk the mission president, I'll get on that...so i've got 2 weeks to make it happen?? phew...okay. I'm sure it won't be too much of a problem.

As for the work, Things are going well. the past couple weeks have been a roller coaster...last week elder alo and I weren't getting along very well, we had a rough time just for whatever reason..Conference was great though!!! It was very inspiring and uplifting, its always nice to receive further direction and guidance from the prophets to help improve life. After conference we were able to do better, we've just both been stressed about things and it wasn't a good combo, but we're good now...we always talk things through and then we get back up to speed. As for the mission age, thats way cool, i'm sure so many more people will be motivated to go since they don't have to wait as long anymore, its truly a blessing, the world needs more missionaries, thats awesome that sherry's decided to go out too! As for whats happening right now with me in the mission...we just had transfers...yesterday I said goodbye to murrieta and ventured off to my new area in palm desert!!! My new companions name is elder figueroa and he's been out 3 months, so bran new!!! I'm sure its gonna be great. We're serving in the La Quinta ward, its crazy...in the stake there's only two english wards, the rest of them are all spanish, from the looks of it, there's a lot of mexicans out here, I better touch up on my spanish!!!! I might actually have to learn a little more now, if I want to be successful.
BUt yeah, thanks for everything!!! I hope you guys have a great week.

Love, Elder Farnsworth

(as for things that I need...I think I'm doing pretty good, but Of course I always like getting nice ties...and if I think of anything else I'll let you know :)

october 1st 2012

Hey mom and dad,

In response to your question oym means "open your mouth" so its basically just a detailed hello which includes an invitation to act, such as: will you check out our website mormon.org? or will you pray to know if the book of mormon is true. It can't just be a hello or a wave.

Thats pretty sweet that you guys are gonna go on the train to seattle, thats gotta be fun, I'd sure like to go on a train ride out here...it beats riding my bike!!! Actually...scratch that, I love riding my bike....What I don't like is my pants splitting when my legs get bigger from riding. haha. I haven't had that problem in a while...so no need to worry. yet. As for my week, It went from bad to good in a heartbeat...At the beginning of the week I was feeling sick....elder Alo was kind enough to spread his disease to me...And in the night I ended up vomitting multple times...but its okay, my immune system worked wonders...The next day, or morning I felt much better!!! Sadly Elder alo was still feeling sick with a cough...BUt we ended up going to work anyway, he's a hard worker so we get along great, As a matter of fact he pushes me to do better when I start to lose motivation. So its truly a blessing to have him. As for the actual work...I was able to attend a baptism this week!!!! A family I began teaching in lake Elsinore finally decided to get baptized so they invited me back to give a talk for the service. And then in the mean time elder alo was able to teach our new investigator cindy, who later on made it to church with us!!! Thats a great blessing because its been more of a difficult task getting people to actually come to church. BUt yeah...I'm about to run out of time, so take care!!! Have another great week. Love, Elder Farnsworth

September 24th 2012

Hey mom and dad,

Thats great to hear about school...I'm sure its just one of the blessings that comes with missionary service. It must be much less stressful to have students that are a little more motivated. And with bowling thats awesome that you've both been improving. Keep it up!! HOpefully you're lesson went great as well.

As for the picture i'm glad it got to you, it waas very nice of him to send it.

My week had its ups and downs....at the beginning of the week we were determined to make this week better than the ones in the past. The past few weeks haven't been bad, but we can do better, so we did what we could to make this one better. starting from monday on you could already feel that we had the spirit more abuntantly, we had such a strong desire to do good...and we were blessed for it. On monday night we taught 4 lessons...which is a lot for a pday. then on tuesday we had 6 lessons...so in two days we had 10 lessons when the standard for the week is 20, so things were great, and the spirit was felt. Sadly...on tues night E.Alo was feeling sick. He woke up the next day sick and for the remainder of the week we stayed inside due to his sickness. It was depressing we wanted to make miracles happen in this ward/the work.

HAving said that...each day we stayed in we usually went out to work from dinner onward despite not feeling well, and the lord blessed us. Everyday we went outside as a companionship, regardless of the time we had, we were able to find and talk to 20 people, which is the goal for each day. By the end of the week we reached our goal of 20 lessons, and 140 oyms...and to me thats a miracle, considering the fact that every moment we had to work we were blessed. and if you'd look at the zone as a whole, it would be hard to believe that that could happen considering...just about every companionship in murrieta struggles to find people to talk to. And...we found 3 new investigators. I'm thankful to be out here, I know that we are blessed when we're obedient and doing all that we can.

BUt yeah, i've gotta get going now...HAve a great week!!

Love, Elder Farnsworth

September 17th 2012

Hey mom and dad,

Thats good to hear that you guys are having a good time going bowling and stuff...its obvious that you guys are improving, keep it up! and doing service is always a great thing, it just leaves you with a happy feeling. For instance, a while back(about a month or so ago) I had the chance to help someone clean out their garage!!! it was super messy but I knew that she definitely needed help so I took charge and we cleaned it out, at least the best we could with the time we had...but things like that are always rewarding because you know that you made someones day a little brighter.

Thats too bad that you got cut one of your zoology classes, but hopefully your new pre-ap class will be good too. Is it nicer having a smaller amount of students? It seems like it would be much easier to teach for there understanding.

As for me...in response to the question you had, the family from egypt are christians. I think what they said was, egyptian orthodox. But we haven't met with them again yet. At the time they were very excited to read and study the book of mormon beacuse they hadn't heard much about it until they came to america. BUt yeah, this week was pretty good...It was actually really busy, on tuesday we went to the temple..sadly we were late to our session so we got permission to do baptisms until the next session, so that was pretty cool. On thursday we had a half mission conference where we met in meniffe to listen to Elder Pieper of the seventy. I really enjoyed learning new things from him, especially since i've been looking for answers to things lately, and he was able to help me answer some of my questions. On saturday we attended a funeral for a lady from one of the other wards in the stake, Elder Alo used to serve with her and so we came to support the event and it was actually a very nice service, its sad to see death but this family understood the plan of salvation well and because of it they were able to cope with the pain a little easier. And then yesterday we had a missionary fireside, which was way cool, there were many converts throughout the stake who gave talks and bore their testimonies, its a blessing to be able to see that happen. So yeah, we had many events take place this week!!! It made it more difficult to get work done...but we were still able to teach 20 lessons in the week, so i'm happy about that. This morning I read from Alma 5, its a blessing to have the scriptures and as I read I felt good, It poses many thought provoking questions...but I find it a great way to evaluate how things are going so then I can improve, so i'm excited about that. Elder Alo and I are gonna do some great work this week.
I know that the only way to succeed is to keep your eye single to the glory of god by reading the scriptures, so my goal is to find news way to incorporate scripture studying throughout the day, we'll see how it goes. But i've gotta get going now, thanks for the news...and have a good week!!!

Love, Elder Farnsworth

September 4th 2012

Hey mom and dad,

Wow!!! Thats sounded like a great trip you guys were able to go on...Fun Stuff! All the good food sounds really nice right now.

As for the Shirt, you could probably just hold it for now...The last shirt you sent me already got ruined...So yeah, It might be safer at home. Speaking of clothes, I've been wanting to get some new P-day clothes lately, cuz all my stuff is getting old and warn..plus I bought a pillow cuz its been hard to sleep. And today after I finish emailing i'm planning on buying a camel back...cuz i've been dying to have one and its much more convenient since i'm on a bike. So hopefully thats okay, I was gonna ask to just have you send my camel back, but with the shipping and everything it'll probably be almost just as expensive.

As for transfers...I'm still here in murrieta. Elder Faka'osi got transferred and is now in Redlands. But....my new companions Elder Alo. He came back to the mission and we're comps again!!! Its gonna be awesome!! This past week was a hard one, I wasn't feeling very motivated...but its all good now, this transfers gonna be great. But yeah, thats about it for me this week, i'm sure i'll have more to say next week. BUt yeah, Take care!!! Love, Elder Farnsworth

August 20th 2012

Hey mom and dad,

In answer to your question those people are members, the baptism hasn't happened, and our investigators are doin pretty well. This week was really good, we talked to 200 people! it was intense and we've been doing our best to teach as many people as possible, so far so good. Its hard to see the fruits of out efforts at the moment when none of our investigators were at church, but its a work in progress, something goods bound to happen soon.

As for the act scores, i'm glad you got a hold of them and hopefully all will work out.

Thats awesome that you got to see kayla go for the first time to the temple, I heard a little while ago she was getting married and just got a wedding announcement in the mail a few days ago. Thats good for her. EVERYBODIES GETTING MARRIED.....its crazy. But I guess its to be expected.

Thats great that yoo guys are gonna go on another cruise...Fun stuff!! Tell grandma and grandpa I say hi!!

Well hopefully you guys have a great week, take care! With love, Elder Farnsworth

August 13th 2012

dear mom and dad,

The week was pretty good, we've been able to get a lot done lately so i'm excited about that. Not much new going on around here, just surviving the heat. lol. The mansion I was talking about is bigger than the church. they have, not only a basketball court, but an indoor pool, raquet ball, a couple ping pong tables, a pool table, and a few other things inside, in their game house. Outside they have a man made lake with kayaks and other floaties, they have a zipline going across the lake, and many other things. I didn't get to see the main house, at least not the inside, but it was big. The baptism in elsinore isn't until the 25th or something, i should get more info as its gets closer to that time. Thats crazy about all the weddings happening, in the past two weeks i've been to two wedding receptions as well for different people in the ward, I guess its just that time of year. I heard about chelsea, thats crazy...so soon. but i guess it was inevitable. Thats a bummer for rianne :(, hopefully she'll find someone better. And thats great for keith, I'm glad he's doing well. As for the work, We got a couple more investigators this week, its going great, now its time for them to continue to have us over so they can get baptized, thats always the dilemma, making appointments.

BUt yeah, thats about it for this week. take care. Love Elder Farnsworth :)
ps. i haven't met bro adams yet, but i do know some people who have served there in yucaipa, maybe they would know him

August 6th 2012

Hey mom and dad,

 

Thats great that your still managing to go bike around and stuff even with work. Hopefully it stays fun. BUt yeah, with all that you guys are doing, i hope its enjoyable. Its sounds great, but yeah.

So for me this week was pretty cool. We Got 6 new investigators! i'm excited about that, hopefully it will all work out. I also helped 2 people clean out their garages and just tried to find out new ways to help people. So no complaints. Today for P-Day we went to a mansion to play basketball and many other things, it was really fun. The place is insane its by far the biggest house i've seen/been too. It was also nice because we were able to meet up with a couple other zones nearby and I got to see some familiar faces. I sure love that!! Oh, and there was a family that I met and started teaching in lake elsinore, I just found out they're getting baptized this month!!! and they're inviting me to come, I'm so excited!!!! Aside from that, there's not much else stand out ish things that happened. I know that i'm making improvements and the area i'm in is really progressing, I'm excited to teach these new people that we've found. This next weeks gonna be awesome, too I just know there's another miracle waiting for us.

But yeah, I've gotta get going now....Have a good week!! Elder Farnsworth

July 30th 2012

hey mom and Dad,

Thats really awesome that you guys were able to go on your trip and see keith and shelina, that sounds like it was pretty fun. Hows keith doing? is everything going well with him at school? Did you go to the salt lake temple? or just kinda taking pictures and stuff? did you guys end up doing anything for pioneer day? What else do you guy have going on for the summer?

and thanks for going to byui to get things figured out!

As for me and the work, this past week wasn't too bad. We were excited about the new transfer and it helped in staying more positive. We weren't able to teach tanya this week but she did come to church for the first time, so that was pretty cool. She only stayed for sacrament so hopefully next week she'll be able to make it to all three. I had some bike problems throughout the week, but now its all fixed and it's good as new. My crank shaft, i think thats what its called, its all the technical stuff with the pedal, but yeah, that was warn out, so I got that replaced and now my bikes so much better, its the best its been my whole mission and now i can just glide right up the hills, no big deal. haha. Aside from that it was a pretty average week, but i'm excited for this next week, i just want to do better and make some improvements, so thats what i'll do. But yeah, i should probably get going....HAve a great week!!! Love, Elder Farnsworth

July 9th 2012

Hey mom and dad,

tell everyone i say hi!!!!

this week was great we had lots of good experiences, its great because we're finally starting to teach some lessons. before i got here in the area they weren't teaching hardly anyone. between 8-12 lessons a week, which isn't that great. well, these past two weeks we taught 19 lessons. its still not as good as we want, but we're making progress so thats cool. In the morning of the 4th I got to run a 5k with the ward!! it was nice to race again, I feel soo out of shape, but hey I got 2nd place running a 19:50. So....i mean thats not very good, but considering I hardly ever get to run, i'm not too disappointed with it. And the guy who beat me is a marathon runner who runs every day, i was at a slight disadvantage. At the race, i met a lady named tania faulkner, well, she's not a member and we started teaching her this week. now she's on date to be baptized on Aug. 4th, so that was pretty cool, i'm excited about that one. As for you guys, thats great that you're going biking now, keep it up!!! Oh, and tell josh and courtney I say Hi, if you see them. I'm so excited for them to have the missionaries over. woo hoo!! BUt yeah, I've gotta get going now...Thanks for everything!!! have a good week, Love, Elder Farnsworth

July 2nd 2012

Hey mom and dad,

The baptism went really well, He was super prepared and it was cool to be a part of it. regardless of the amount i taught him, its still cool. Oh, and Elder Hall a missionary from Moreno Valley came for the baptism as well so it was nice to see him again.

Thats great to hear about the youth conference they had at the school, thats a great turn out!!! It must've a been a real heart warming event, I wish I could've made it. But thats great that the youth had a good time and felt that they should bear their testimonies, thats what church needs, a firm foundation of fresh testimonies.

As for the question about investigators...hmm, its hard to say. Some that I've hear are: i've already been baptized, Do you believe any form of killing is acceptable? including war? (they were opposed to it) Should't bad people go to hell? What if i don't want to live with my family forever? If I go to the celestial kingdom how could I be happy without my family if they aren't baptized? So yeah, those are a few things I've heard.

As for kendall and his family, thats crazy!!!! that must be really hard, to have one family member pass away, let alone 3. I hope Everything is okay with them and I'll be sure to include them in my prayers.

The work is moving forward a little bit in this area, so i'm pretty excited about that, we're trying to stay optomistic and I think its helping quite a bit. We found 2 new investigators this week and a couple others who could also become investigators shortly so i'm excited about that.

BUt yeah, thats about for me. Thanks for the message!!! both from victor and jodi, and ofcourse the one you wrote, its great to see how everyones doing. Have a great week!! and Happy 4th. Love, Elder Farnsworth

June 25th 2012

Hey mom and dad,

Thanks for the message!!! thats all really cool.

So far things are going great. I really enjoy it. We're having a baptism this weekend so thats pretty sweet, i'm excited.

Thats way cool that keith is doing well, keep it up!

would it be alright if you would continue to send victors letters? and jodi? if i don't respond to reading their letters, i still read them, I love to see how they're doing. but yeah, things are going well, i hope you guys have a great week!!!

Love, Elder Farnsworth

sorry its not very long, but i've gotta cut it short today.

June 4th 2012

Hey mom,

Its god to hear about everything thats been happening lately, it sounds like you guys have been having loads of fun exploring the nearby sites, thats really cool. And Nathan becks married, wow, thats cool, congratulations to him. Thats crazy to hear about rosarah, she's married!!!thats just weird. but good for her, i hope all works out well for her.

To dad,

Thanks, we definitely all have our set backs...but thats good i'm glad we're able to grow. And dang!!!! Jameson won state???!! thats awesome. what did he vault?? Now I'm tempted to break rules and check out athletic.net

Both....

Well, this week wasn't too bad, I mean, nothing too spectacular happened, it was just a usual week talking to everyone and teaching as many people as possible. Sometimes its hard to see that many of the people we teach fail to progress or make changes, we've had to begin dropping different investigators because were just not going anywhere. But hopefully because we drop them we'll find others who are more prepared. I really hope that thats the case. Luckily, we just got a mini missionary this weekend, his names fiafia, he's samoan and is from corona. He's gonna be with us for the next two weeks and he seems really cool. I can feel it already, he's definitely giving me more motivation and hope. He's gonna go on his mission to puerto rico in august so hopefully we can help prep him a little bit. Thats about it for the week. this next week is bound to be good so i'm excited. Have a good Week!! Love, Elder Farnsworth

May 29th 2012

Hey dad,

Hows everything going? how's the new work schedule treating you? it sounds pretty rough,..... that is true though...a jobs a job, it could always get worse. Thats pretty intense about the lumber truck, it sounds pretty dangerous, hopefully nobody got hurt, there's no telling what could happen when driving a huge truck. And about the thunderstorm, thats crazy, the weather seems to be getting pretty bad up there....thats cool tha oscar was able to be in the news, no he's a celebrity. Has he had the missionaries over yet?

Hey mom,

Thats great that you were able to have an enjoyable time at church on sunday, hopefully my blogs semi interesting for those who are redirected to it...thats cool that people are asking though, everythings going great. And the principles being taught are defintely true, it doesn't take going to church to be converted to the gospel.. its a whole lot more..

For mom and dad,

This week was very successful, we were able to get a lot accomplished. my companion and I are starting to get along a bit better so its been a lot less stressful lately. I've had an enjoyable time visiting families and sharing the gospel with them, it never gets old, there's always something to improve on, so i'm grateful for that, I'm grateful for the opportunity to learn and grow each week and to just keep pressing forward regardless of whatever gets in the way or starts to cause discouargement....in the end it will all work itself out anyway. For example, there were multiple times within the week that it seemed like everything we tried just wouldn't work, but after pressing forward and continuing to endure, things got better and we were able to find the miracles awaiting us, its very rewarding and I'm thankful for that. But yeah, now i've gotta go...thats just a sneak peek at how my week was, it was nice to hear from the two of you as well, thank you! Love, Elder Farnsworth

May 22nd 2012

Dear mom,
Im glad you were able to speak with taylor, I sure hope he's doing well, I can't wait to hear from him again!
Thats also greatr that you guys were able to attend the temple, thats awesome, it sounds like you've been giong practically every week. Hows does it feel to be empty nesters?? i'm sure its nice being to go out pretty often. Are the missionaries cool?
Dear Dad,
I just now saw in the paper at the library that there was a solar eclipse!!! dang, I wish I would have known that was going on, i mustve just missed it. Too bad you guys missed it too, it looked pretty cool in the paper with the words "ring of fire" beneath it. Thats pretty intense with your schedule, thats gotta be rough...especially waking up at 3 am! how do you do that? Thats great that you were able to seethe  thackeray's, davis's, and sis thompson. How are they all doing? Thats great that you were able to help sis. thompson, thats gotta be hard, being old.:( Tell the thackeray's I say hi.
Dear mom and dad,
This week went pretty well, we had multi zones on thursday and they gave us more training on how to be a better missionary, mainly focusing on the way we present the information and the planning we need to take each night to magnify our day. its been helpful, I really enjoy learning and growing as a missionary, Ive got so much to improve on, but I'm getting there. This week has been very busy, with meetings taking up a big chunk of our time we've had to budget our time even moreso than normal. Luckily we had a mini missionary from redlands come to help us out for a day, his names rodney, and we had a good time, with him we were able to find another person and split up to see more people. Church was great as well, two of our investgators for moreno valley were able to attend, I love seeing how people begin to make chagnes as the come to church and get involved with the gospel.  We also had a youth fireside for the stake put together by our zone. That was a great experience, I didn't have to prepare a talk but it was nice to see what some of the other missionaries came up with to help promote the topic of member missionary work. I sure hope it will help boost the attitude of the stake and help them be more excited to reach out to their friends. Anyway thats about it for me this week....I hope you both  have a great week. Love, Elder Farnsworth

May 14th 2012

Hey mom and Dad,

It was nice to see you guys too!!! I just wish It couldve been a little longer....but oh well, it was still cool. I'm glad things are going pretty well...

Well Dad, it sounds like you guys had a fun week, how far away is centralia?? Thats cool that you were both able to get some new clothes too, i bet that was fun...and the pizza, thats gotta be rough haha, I had some spicy chicken the other day, and boy did that burn too. Thats too bad about the lawn mower, hopefully it'll get fixed soon. And with the temple, thats sweet that you're able to go to the temple so often, thats gotta be nice. How's my room doing?? is it changed a lot? or is it still in good shape? I kinda miss having my blue, green, and yellow wall...

Mom...

Thats great that you had a good mothers day and that megan texted you...How's she doing? have you heard anything about nate? Is that situation a little better now? I hope so. Hows grandma brown doing?? I was thinking about them a while ago, Its weird to think they're still only a couple hours away. And it sounds like you guys had a great dinner, yum...

My dinner wasn't too bad either..I ate with the moe family, they;re one of my favorites from the samoan ward. Elder Alo and I used to go over there pretty often for dinner and family home evening, so that was always great. Oh...so here's a story...saturday night a family we taught gave us a pizza after our lesson but we didn't want to eat it cause we had just finished our dinner. So yeah, we took home a pizza, and then yesterday after skyping with everyone we got two more pizzas from charsita and tony, at night, I was with Elder Sommers (one of the Zone Leaders) talking to people in a park, and we came across a guy who was homeless and didn't have anything, so we offered him one of the pizzas we had. It felt good to help him out. That was one of the great things about the week though. Anyway, I should probably get going now....Thanks for everything!!!!

Love, Elder Farnsworth

messages to a few friends

Taylor- I just sent you a Letter last week, hopefully you got it!!! I miss you sooo much, I hope everythings going alright, just keep me posted, I can't wait to hear from you again soon.

chelsea, bailey, sherry, sasha- If any of you guys see this, I really miss all of you as well!!!!! i'm loving it out here and just love learning new things about people and how to help them be happier, its soo fun. But yeah, if you see this, I hope to hear from you guys....With whatevers going on I hope you're having a great time and I really appreciate all that you do. Have an amazing week.

Oliver-Dude....!!!! If you see this, whats up?? hows life?? I can't go on facebook, but i'd sure like to talk...Last time I heard you said you're at UW, Hows that treating you?

Josh/courtney- sorry it took me so long to reply to you guys...I hope you got my letter, but regardless of all that, i hope your time in your new place is fun, just keep it up, keep working hard, I can't wait to see you guys and catch up....just 1 more year...time flies.

April 9th 2012

HEy mom and dad...

HOws everything going? Sounds like you guys had a pretty good easter sunday and also a super fun trip..i'm jealous.lol. Figures..goin from vancouver to....Vancouver. haha. I'm glad you guys had an enjoyable time though, I got the package you guys sent...THANK YOU :) it was great. Aside from that, things have been really slow for me and my companion....Easter was alright, but kinda sad, elder Alo is going home today. The past couple weeks we've hardly been able to do anything, his pains have just been getting worse, i feel really bad and we talked about it a lot and came to the conclusion that that was the best thing to do, So I'll meet my new companion today after I drop Alo off at the mission office. :(. I'm excited for this week though, I feel like I've been stuck in a hole the past few weeks and now I should be able to get out, I just hope my companions cool like elder alo. And I pray that he can get things resolved at home, and then maybe once he's figured out how to cope with the pain he can come back out again. Thats about it for me though, I've really learned a lot out here...but yeah, its about that time again....Bye. Love, Elder Farnsworth

April 2nd 2012

Hey mom and Dad,

Thats pretty cool that you guys got a smart car...wow, thats gotta be fun you'll have to tell me how the trip goes. Thanks for the happy easter too, right back at you!! It should be fun, its crazy I haven't even really thought much about the holidays but its gonna be great.

As for me, i've been pretty stressed. lol. Buts its all good, this weeks gonna be great. Last week was rough because my companions still been struggling a lot, and we stayed in for the majority of the week, I just want to get back to work!! but i can't blame him, its just the situation. We were able to go to the temple this week, so that was great, I just felt really good, and then for conference, there were defintely a lot of great talks, like you I loved the talks given by president Uchtdorf. I plan to utilize what I've learned in conference and apply it in the things i'm doing in the missionary work. I just want to go out again and find more people to teach, our teaching pool is constantly fluctuating so we just have to keep moving forward finding new people. This week has a lot in store, the world better watch out....haha. Something goods gonna happen.

BUt yeah, now i've gotta get going, thanks for everything, I look forward to getting a package!! thats gonna be great. And have fun in canada!! Bye...love, Elder Farnsworth

March 26th 2012

I'm defintiely excited for conference, i just wanna hear some good new and more direction on how we can do a better job out here. I see myself and my companinos all making steady progress as the days weeks and months go on, but everytime we improve its just like a holiday, I'm thankful for it, just all the help from god in carrying out his righteous purposes, Things are going great with the ward, my companions been going through some rough times but we're both pushing forward and looks towards this week, its gonna be great. I just know we're gonna find someone ready to be baptized soon. Those are great pictures of oyur family, tell everyone I say hi. And if this goes on the blog or something like that, I would like everyone to know that I love them and miss everyone very much, I'm doing great out here in moval and i'm pretty focused on working and stuff, so yeah, I can't wait to hear from people!!! and i'm gonna try my best to reply to everyone soon. its Been anywhere between 6 and 3 months since ive repliled to letters.



Hey mom and dad,

Hows everything going? SOunds great that you guys will be able to go to canada, this next week, have Fun!! My Week was okay, the luau was great, we had lots of fun and I got another lava lava, the new zone seems pretty good too, the districts got changed up too so now I'm the DL over some other elders. The Valley view and Lasselle ward elders. Its gonna be great. The rest of the week has been a bit of a struggle though, my companion elder alo has been going through a rough time, his whole mission he's had back problems and this week we went to the doctor out in hemet and they determined that he has fibro maialgea(my-al-ja), its been really hard for him and the majority of the week we sat in cuz his new pills threw off his sleeping schedule and he needed the energy. He contemplated going home and talked to president smart. After all of that he decided he wants to keep pushing forward, so i'm thankful for that, this next weeks gonna be great, He seems to be doing better already. Thats crazy that you guys are still getting snow, I just don't even think about it out here cuz its not very cold, we have been getting a large portion of rain though. Well, anyway, thats how the weeks been, thanks for everything and have an amazing trip. Love Elder Farnsworth!

March 14th 2012

HEy mom and dad,

HOws everything going? I'm glad you enjoyed sunday school and reading from 2 nephi 31 and 33. I love those chapters, they're really great in giving a good description for the importance of baptism and bearing frequent testimony. Thats the key in trying to bring the spirit, so I'm glad the both of you felt good going over it in class, its something to always remember, thats for sure.

Thats too bad that you and dad have both been feeling sick lately...:( Hopefully everythings starting to feel better. Thats about the same for me, I was sick all week and from tues-sat. I layed in bed most of the time trying to recover. I just had a bad cold and was feeling lots of sinus pressure in my head, its still there but thankfully I'm able to work now, I'm tired of being home... On sunday melody bloom and bill covell from lake elsinore came to visit for a little while, so that made my day, it was really nice to see some familiar faces. Good news is, elder alo and I are both determined to not let this last week bring us down, but we want to be the best we've been and better in the time to come. I know everythings going to work out. yesterday the computers were down so we had to do emails today, sadly I still wasn't able to reply to any letters...we went tracting instead...which is great,l'd still like to say hi to everybody though. I hope everyone knows, i just want to work hard, but at the same i love everyone and hope things are going well with you guys and all my friends. Thanks so much for letting me see how victors doing, same with jodi, its nice to hear about them. Thanks for everything, Love, Elder Farnsworth

March 5th 2012

Hey mom and dad,

hows everything going? thats great to hear about home and everything thats going on, i'm sorry to hear about mr. wargo...thats pretty sad, but its true he's in a better place now. Thats cool that dad bore his testimony as well, its always good to bear your testimony and express gratitude publicly. As for me, I've had a long week. I had to go on two exchanges this week and its brutal. I get upset at myself if I'm not working hard and if I don't have good plans for the day...but then seeing others that just don't have much of anything going on, its rough. thats kinda how it was on the exchanges, both the elders I went with didn't seem to know what they were doing and basically planned to fail, because they didn't have anybody in line to see. That just wore me out a bit. Luckily the work in my area seems to be making progress, we're constantly finding new people to teach and new ways to work better with the ward, so its pretty exciting. I reallly hope they don't transfer me, I feel like there's still a lot to be done. I've had a bit of a cold the past few weeks, so hopefully that'll go away soon, mainly I just want to have more people to teach and more ideas on improvement, once that comes I'll be fine.

thanks for sending me victors letter, i love hearing for everyone. I've got about 9 letters to write so hopefully I can get on that a little bit today, i hope people aren't upset. The works been really good though, I've been trying just to forget about everything and focus more on the work, but I'm still working on that. If there's anything I can say about how i'm doing now, its that i'm doing great, My teachings gotten a lot better and so has my finding, just working with people in general has gotten better, I still hesitate in big crowds and sometimes even talking to people at church, but overall its getting better. Now the goal has just been to perfect the teaching and everything that goes in to it, like extending different kinds of commitments and incorporating commandments within each lesson. We're also just working on being even more united in everything we teach, always feeding off of each other. I really think that as we begin to utilize the gospel as whole within each teaching scenario, that our lessons will improve and we'll be able to feel the spirit more, so thats what we're trying to do now. Anyway, my times runnning low, so take care. Have a great week. Love, Elder Farnsworth

February 27th 2012

Hey mom and dad,

things are going great, my week was pretty good. the beginning of the week felt off, things just weren't going the way that i would like, but on thursday we had a multi-zone conference and that helped me feel better, you could feel the spirit pretty strong. It was cool to see elder robertson too, he's a district leader as well in his area. so that was pretty sweet, we did some practice role playing together, it was just like home in mission prep, but it was cool to see how much we've both grown. that was defintely a highlight of the week. I've really been trying to work hard though, and it seems to be paying off, my companion and I have been trying to find everytthing possible that we can improve on and we've been doing our best to make corrections and set new goals everyday. Its been very helpful.




Thats great that braden had a good time on his mission and was able to find ways to love his companions. I understand how he must've felt, As I said towards the beginning of my mission I did have a few struggles when I first got out, but I can generally get along with the people i'm around, and that gives me strength, especially when I look towards christ with every step. I really love working with elder alo, because he wants to work as hard as I do, and we both try and motivate eachother to do better, cuz even though we want to work hard, we still have hard times. As for the languages and the wards, its still a work and progress, i'm not really sure what to mention about it right now, but were doing the best we can. For the samoan ward we're gonna have a lua, on march 19th, the day of transers where the whole zone will get together to celebrate.




Thanks dad, I'm trying my best. At times I have felt a little overwhelmed, but I've managed and I know things will be okay as long as I keep trying, I just want to do better and I love seeing improvement. I'm glad i have been overwhelmed though, cuz at least it shows that i care, and want to help. And thats what counts, cuz I know people need me, they need the gospel, and the hope that comes from living it. Thats what gives me strength. And I'm thankful that you're thinking of me, its nice to hear from you.




And When it comes to Nashville, tennessee being the best mission, I'd have to agree him on that. Its the best mission for him. And this is the best mission for me. There's somebody who needs me, and there were people who needed him.

But yeah, thats how everythings been going for me, just gotta keep trying.

Anyway, i guess I should go now. Love you, Elder Farnsworth

February 6th 2012

My week was pretty good, I interviewed a few different people for baptism, and now they're all set...except for one, who had to get interviewed by the president as well. Allround its about the same as last week though, This weekends been crazy though..considering its transfers and all. Half the zone is leaving...elder kaulave is leaving to menifee lake to be with one of my mtc companions elder snyder, and my new companions coming from murrieta, and is samoan from utah. So that makes me one of the most diverse missionaries i'd say. I've been companions with a hawaiin, phillipino,Tongan, and now a Samoan. And serving in a samoan ward. And trying to learn spanish, as a white english elder. haha. My companion should be here around 4 or 5, and thats when Kaulave will be leaving too. But that pretty much somes up the week. Anything else happening at home?? Thats great that you guys were able to go to the temple. keep it up! well, Ishould probably get going now. Love, Elder Farnsworth

January 23rd 2012

HEy mom and dad,

thats cool that people are already starting to come back from there missions!!! I can't believe the times already passed, it goes by pretty fast.

As for the pictures, I'm still trying to get some good ones and then I can try to get some sent out...

the works all been going really well lately, I mean, we had our ups and downs, so in somne aspects we fell short....but this week were gonna do good, so i'm excited about that.

Okay, thanks for letting them know, i'm still gonnan try my best to reply to everyone though..It may just take some time. i got a letter from and andrew a little while ago, so maybe if you could tell sis. palmer I got it and am going to be replying soon that would be cool...

Thanks for helping out with so many things, It really helps in just being able to talk to everyone and get things taken care of... I'm excited to get someting warm!! its not really even that cold out, in comparison to home, but a short sleeve shirt and a windbreaker just doesn't cut it sometimes.

Hmmm...for baptisms...we're planning on having a baptism this weekend for the Ironwood Ward, so that should be good...I interviewed a girl for baptism the other day, she passed and was just baptized yesterday. And there are two others, from the MoVal ward that should be getting baptized within the coming weeks, its still hard to pinpoint how serious they are about it though. Its been lts of fun though, just improving on teaching and talking to people, I'd say i'm starting to get pretty good at it by now, but there's still so much more that I can improve on, so i'm excited about that, I just want to do better.

Oh yeah, I heard about the bad weather in washington, thats crazy!! but for you guys it was just rain?? hmm, that sounds about right.

BUt yeah...thats kinda how things have been going, but now i should probably get going...HAve a great week!

Love, Elder Farnsworth

January 18th 2012

HEy mom and dad, everythings going great.

thats cool that you both were able to go and visit everyone in arizona, tell them I say hi, if you still can. I can't believe lilys baptized already!!

Everythings working out, I've been trying to work on finding time to do everything and so far so good. I'm really enjoying my new camera, its actually fun. I also just bought a pull up bar, so i'm excited about that. I still have the same companion and am still District leader, transfers don't happen again till the beginning of february.

Victors doing pretty good, he said the area he's in right now is kinda rough, but he's pulling through. Though, The mission president just recently came out and told us that we can't do direct emails to friends anymore, that it would need to be forwarded from someone else, so I was gonna ask if you'd be able to do that. as for things I need, I'd still like to have some information about school, if you could find that..but i guess right now thats not what I should be worried about. Its just something I want to get taken care of. MAybe if you could send me another sweatshirt or put some money on my card for a sweatshirt cuz i accidently spilt bleach all over it.....and now it looks ugly.... aside from that I think i'm okay.

now ive gotta go...

Love you, Elder Farnsworth

january 3rd 2012

Sorry its taken a little while to reply to thigns, this is the first time ive seen a computer since christmas, the library was closed and stuff. I did end up having a pretty good christmas, the meal was great, although I just wasn't feeling well so I couldn't eat much, We got sooooo much samoan food and left overs.

I did end up getting a camera, its a canon and so far I really like it. It was a little over $200.00, but now i like taking pictures more.

Everythings going great with my companion and my district. Its kinda weird though, I'm the district leader over the sisters and the zone leaders..BUt then the zone leaders are a leader over me...its interesting. haha.

NEw Years was good, nothing too extraordinary, but still good. The baptism of Jessica was great...there were lots of problems leading up to it...we were supposed to have it in one building but the bpatismal font wasn't suitable for the a baptism, there was mold and flies all over the ground because of a plumming problem, I cleaned it all out too!! but then it came back :( so last minunte we had to schedule the baptism for a diifferent building..that was pretty stressful, but in the end it all worked out, and she was baptized! then on sunday I was able to confirm her a member of the church, that was a pretty cool feeling, I just felt so happy for her. That was probably the highlight of the week/new year. Oh yeah, and the wards meeting times changed so this past week we had more time with the samoan ward...which gave me more time to study/read from the scriptures cuz I couldn't understand what they were saying in class.

I still haven't replied to any letters. Recently Ive just been on a letter shut down, I've been too stressed to have to think about what to write to everyone. I feel bad that its been taking so long for me to write to everyone but I've been busy. My schedule is normally 100% packed and on mondays i'm usually too exhausted to write, but i'm gonna try to continue towards finishing writing all the letters.
I'm glad jodi's doing well, I just got a letter from her and I saw the emails you forwarded to me, and i wish her the best of luck, to just keep working hard and enduring. i wish I could take lots of time to just talk to everyone, but thats a priveledge I haven't been permitted to have. Maybe sometime shortly I will have figured out a way to manage my time better so I can still talk to everyone more frequently. BUt thats why I may not be talking to people. Its not that I don't want to talk or hear from them, because just like jodi was saying, every letter is great and its like christmas getting one, but I can't reply right away, thats what makes it hard. especially since i could get 2-3 in a week and then have maybe an hour or so to reply on monday for all 3 and if I don't have time for that it just adds up each week until I get overwhelmed and shut down at the thought of trying to reply to everyone. Because I want so badly to be sincere and loving in my letters, which can't be as evident in letters that are only written in a short period of time because that gives the impression that i'm not caring and then i'm afraid that if I don't appear caring in the letter than whoever is writing won't reply back. Thats a fear that I have, that i will lose the control of a loved one talking to me, at least if i don't reply than its my fault and its not them quitting on me. But everyone who writes me, i'm thankful for the letters, I'm thankful for the time they put into talking to me. Plus another thing that makes it hard is the fact that I want to leave a good impression on those who are around me, and whenever i suggest staying home to write letters instead of going to P-Day activity(playing basketball or something) that makes it look like i'm not showing enough love for them and I need do whats better for the whole group rather than, in their eyes, being the "party pooper". So yeah, thats me rambling on and on and on...to let you know of the mental stress i'm actually going through and the dilemma I face each week when trying to figure who and when to write to people. BUt it is in no means my lack of love for them. My problem is, I want to make everyone happy and its hard. I'm not sure how, especially when sometimes I'm not even happy with myself, because in a lot of ways i'm kindve a perfectionist when it comes to missionary work and when I make mistakes i take it out on myself. I just want to do better, not that I feel I'm bad but my vision for excellence is on a much higher plane of thought than what I'm actually living. but yeah, now that I've used up most all of my time telling you a littlw bit about what i've been thinking i'll let you go, and maybe try to reply to heidi's email. if I have time.
As for other investigators we're still looking, we have some, but they're not as solid as I would hope, so hopefully soon more will come as we increase our efforts in finding.
Okay gotta go now...Love You!!
Elder Farnsworth