Icecream Sundaes
Dear Family, I cannot believe that
I am already doing this again, weeks just seem to be flying. Honestly each week
is getting better and going so much faster I can hardly believe it. Don´t get
me wrong, there are bumps in the road sometimes, and yes of course I miss you,
but there is nowhere else I would rather be at this time in my life, I am
learning so so much, and becoming closer to my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ
every single day. It is such a privilege and a blessing for me to be here. I
loved getting all of your letters this week, and to hear about all of the joys,
successes, and blessing that you are experiencing back at home. We truly are so
very blessed. Thanks for the updates, I love all of you! As for me, this week
was another great one! The Lord´s hand has definitely been in our work here, it
is more evident every single day. We saw so many miracles this past week, and
so much happened, so I will give you the highlights.
Tuesday- Elder Ellsworth and I took
the bus and worked the night in one of our pueblos. I know this is a bad thing
to say as a missionary, but we didn´t really have a plan going out there
because we have so many menos activos (less active) to visit, so that was the
plan in and of itself. We went out there to scout out the area and also to meet
some menos activios. The first house we met dropped us. Directly after, Elder
Ellsworth pulled out the ward list and randomly flipped to one of the last
pages. He found a name of a former missionary that lived out there so we
stopped by and visited him. We went to the door and he graciously let us in. He
was there with his wife, and his wife’s family. It turns out that he served his
mission in 2002. His wife was recently baptized last year, and they have been
to the Madrid Temple to be sealed. They were such an incredible couple, and it
was so good to visit with them. He works every Sunday, so he is not able to
make it to church very often, but he is honestly such an amazing person, and is
living all of the principles of the Gospel. As we were about to close, we
shared a message with them. We planned on sharing Mosiah 2:17 with them, but at
the last moment Elder Ellsworth and I changed to Ecclesiastes 3 (There is a
time and season for all things) Right as we began reading the first verse, they
both just broke into tears. They told us that this was the exact message
they needed to hear. They have been trying for three years to have children,
but have not been able to. It turns out they had actually met with the doctor
that day for the final time. They told us that the message we shared was such a
comfort to them. They had us leave his wife with a blessing of health, and then
they sent us on our way with bags of food. It was probably one of the most
spiritual experiences on my mission. The spirit is real and directs us to share
the Lord´s message and the Lord´s will. Such a humbling experience.
Thursday-We met with our number one
investigator! We taught him lesson one this past week on the Restoration of the
Gospel. The lesson went so well, and the Spirit was so very strong. He is
honestly so prepared for baptism. He is so open, receptive, and is already
living all of the gospel principals. At the end of the lesson, we extended the
baptismal invitation, and he accepted for the 23rd of this month! He is
honestly such a blessing and miracle that the Lord has placed in our path.
Friday- Friday morning, Elder
Ellsworth and I stopped by the house of a street contact. He ended up letting
us in, and we had a great lesson 0 with him. It turns out that he actually had
contact with the church hace 6 años (six years ago). His father was also
baptized about 6 years ago. As we were flipping through his photo book we saw
photos of his father´s baptism, and him with two missionaries. At the end of
the lesson we invited him to be baptized and he also accepted! We have a fetcha
with him for the 23rd of this month as well. He has some definite problems that
he has to work through, but I know that the Lord works miracles and changes
lives. Side note, I love being a missionary. We get to enter into people´s
homes, hear about their lives, share a little about our lives, and then fulfill
our purpose as missionaries in inviting all of God´s children to come unto
Christ. What a beautiful thing.
Saturday- Saturday night, we had an
amazing Noche de Hogar (Family Home Evening) with my family here. I love them so much, and they honestly take
such great care of Elder Ellsworth and I! We had a fun object lesson with them
on the Restoration with a rubiks cube, then they treated us to an amazing
dinner, and of course finished it off with one of the biggest ice cream sundaes
I have ever eaten in my life! I love them.
Sunday- What a great day! My
favorite day of them all. In the morning we went to a member family for a
lesson and Sunday lunch. The members here are so incredible, and are all taking
such great care of us! Church was incredible this week, and testimony meeting
was so strong. I don´t know if I have grown, or if the people here are just
short, maybe both;) but I am referred to as "muy alto". Hahaha funny
story, someone in their testimony said this, in their words, "I know Elder
Farrell is tall, and that his heart is as big as his body" It meant a lot
to me;) Elder Ellsworth and I had the privilege to teach a primary class about
pioneers. Success:)
This past week has been such a
great one. I am so happy here, and grateful for the opportunity I have to serve
in Spain. We have the truth, it is our responsibility to share it. In 'Your Wonderful Journey Home' by Pres. Uchtdorf he says, " there
will always be things to complain about, things that don´t seem to go quite
right. You can spend your days feeling sad, alone, misunderstood, or unwanted.
But that isn´t the journey you had hoped for, and it´s not the journey Heavenly
Father sent you to take. Remember, you are truly a son/daughter of God." He has so much in store for each
one of us. I love you all, and think and pray for you daily.
Elder Farrell
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