Transferred to Little Rock

We went to the temple today! It was so nice.

Bed bugs are still a really fun thing. We have to wash  and dry everything (twice) and put it all in plastic bags. The sister training leaders in Bartlett had a bed bug last week and weren't allowed to do exchanges so we did last minute exchanges with the Trenton sisters. IT WAS SO FUN. It made me want to serve here in Trenton! They had this Bible referral who they were following up with and she asked to come to church and said she really wants to read the Book of Mormon! Super cool. 

Something else really awesome was when we were trying to see one of their people ... I think the town is called Alamo or like flower or something I can't remember. Anyway they weren't available so we went to see a different lady and she got out of the car and said hi to us and all of the sudden her friend hops out of the car and he has no legs!! And he was DRIVING. I guess he got two canes and hooked them up to the pedals and just drives like that. And he like pulled himself up the stairs after. He was pretty cool. 

Hermana Ponce came to visit!
Ponce, Hudson, Madsen, Macfarlane

I'm going to miss Memphis a lot! One night we were biking down to an appointment we had at like 8pm and we look over and the cute Benitez family were following us in their car. Haha they are so nice. Then Hna Benitez and Karina hopped out of the car and tried to come teaching with us but the person didn't answer, sadly. But I will miss this branch! They are going to be a ward in January! The missionaries and the members are working hard and I'm so excited for them!

The Benitez

Hmm... What else. We had MLC this week and learned a lot about working with members and being obedient. The Wakolo's are just super great. Their goal for every missionary is to become a disciple of Christ. They understand that as we work on our discipleship, the people in our areas will be blessed by our testimonies and conversion and love. I know they are called of God and I'm so grateful to be serving in this mission!! I wish I could describe them to you better so you can understand how great they are and how blessed we are! 

New/released/current sisters at MLC-me holding my library of things

Hermana Madsen will be a great trainer! I'm headed to Little a Rock with Hna Thornton and Hermana Madsen will be staying here to train, along with all the other missionaries in Memphis! She has been so so great and I will miss her a lot. 

The Book of Mormon is true and I'm so so grateful for the ways it has blessed my family. I am grateful for the knowledge of the Plan of Salvation. I know that baptism is important, the priesthood is very important, and all of the saving ordinances are clearly vital but the most important is the sealing of families for all time and eternity! :) I love my family and the families here in Arkansas/Tennessee. 

Hasta luego.

I look like a chihuahua. (She was asleep in the car. It's sister Evans)

Faith = Miracles

Hello.

Giant watermelon and gift cards (the card says: para Hermana elder misionera)

 "And now, I, Moroni, would speak somewhat concerning these things; I would show unto the world that faith is things which are hoped for and not seen; wherefore, dispute not because ye see not, for ye receive no witness until after the trial of your faith."-Ether 12:6

This morning I was reading in the New Testament about the Savior healing the blind man. After he goes to wash his face, the Savior is gone and he is suddenly being interrogated on how he was then able to see. After the "trial of his faith" Jesus finds him, and the blind man can then receive his witness of the Savior.

"Jesus heard that they had cast him out; and when he had found him, he said unto him, Dost thou believe on the Son of God? He answered and said, Who is he, Lord, that I might believe on him? And Jesus said unto him, Thou hast both seen him, and it is he that talketh with thee. And he said, Lord, I believe. And he worshiped him."-John 9:34-38

Faith = Miracles.

Memphis sunset and cheap gas

In our zone conference this week, President Wakolo expounded on the Atonement and saving ordinances. He asked us all to prepare by choosing from a list about the Savior in the Book of Mormon (I chose 1 Nephi 19,21 and 2 Nephi 2). One of the verses we talked about is 1 Nephi 19:9 which basically says that the Savior suffered all sorts of things because He loves us. He was rejected and scourged and stoned and still kept going and still performed the Atonement after that because He is loving and kind. We were then all able to bear our simple testimonies of the Savior and the Spirit was so strong! I'm so grateful for the knowledge that I have of Jesus Christ because of the Bible and the Book of Mormon and two or three hours of testimonies from missionaries AND the Spirit that filled the room as we learned and sang and testified of Jesus Christ and the Atonement. I know it is only because of the creation, the fall and the Atonement that we can receive saving ordinances and be sealed as families to return to our Father in heaven.

My gratitude for the gospel and the Book of Mormon has increased a lot this week!!!

Thank you for your prayers and emails and notes! Please keep praying for the people in Memphis, especially all of the cute young couples we are working with that they will want to get MARRIED so they can be SEALED!!! :)

kneeling prayers ... I knelt on gum .. not sure why my knee looks so fat

(P.S. Apparently we are suffering from bed bugs in this mission. Actually not just this mission but all over the U.S.... Gross.) (She assured me they don't have bed bugs right now. Phew!)

Don't let the bed bugs bite,
Hermana Macfarlane

HOORAY FOR ANOTHER GREAT WEEK

This is Thelma. She is the cutest.

This week we had exchanges and Sister Hyer came to Memphis with me (she's an English STL so it was me teaching with the members which is hilarious and fun). She reminded me of the analogy of the trumpet.. If there is a rusty and out of tune trumpet, God can still play the tune but imagine how much easier it would be as a clean new shiny trumpet. God is going to get his work done, but we will get something out of it too if we are submissive and obedient. Sister Hyer came out at the same time as me and we have been sister training leaders for the same amount of time so it was way fun to talk about what we've learned and see how far we have progressed over the past year!

Sister Hyer and Me

MIRACLES WITH THE MARQUEZ FAMILY. So for the last ... like 4 or 5 months the sisters have been teaching and dropping by and trying again with this family. Their grandma is a recent convert so we would go teach her and mostly her granddaughters. We taught the dad last week but this week we focused on the mom and it was BEAUTIFUL. She told us the first time the sisters went over, they prayed with her and her mom and she said she felt the sweetest feeling and she cried. She wasn't sure why but she was so happy. (This is absolutely shocking seeing as since then, she was very quiet and timid and didn't really seem interested.) I guess something changed and she was able to open up to us and she basically asked to be baptized and then THE ENTIRE FAMILY OF 8 CAME ON SUNDAY. It was so sweet and they were so happy. And the little girl got gum stuck all over the pew (is that how you spell the word for church bench??) and it stuck to her bum and followed her in a long string all the way out the chapel hahaha! They are so so sweet and could definitely use prayers as they make changes to accept their first covenant of baptism!!!!

Going to birthday lunch

Most peaceful quesadilla cutter ... Aww

I was studying in 1 Nephi 19 and then I read the last two chapters in Luke and it was really cool to read about the prophesy and then the account of what happened as the Savior performed the Atonement. We have had to testify a lot of the Atonement this week and I learned again that I need to apply the things I learn for others into my own life. I can repent of any sin and ask for help with any problem because God loves me and wants the best for me and for the people that I love so much here in Memphis!! It hit me again this week how profound and cool it is - just the simple statement that God is our loving Heavenly Father.

Hermana Madsen is the best. We are killing off these roaches ONE BY ONE IF WE HAVE TO BUT WE WILL KILL THEM ALL. (P.S. Shout out to Sister Hyer who had a cockroach drop down from our ceiling onto her shirt and handled it very well.)

Hermana Macfarlane

From June when Elder and Sister Arnold came.

Hiiiiii

Little Rock Hermanitas

Hiiiiii-

We are going to get a birthday lunch, woohoo. On my actual birthday we had a zone meeting and we went on exchanges and we ate those delicious coconut Lindt Lindor chocolate truffles. Heavenly. Thank you for the birthday wishes and emails!!!!! :) We had a good long car ride with the assistants and I picked their brains which was super awesome. Turns out President Wakolo is even cooler than I thought. Haha!

My companion is the best best best

The Hermanas in Little Rock are so cute. They have such sweet spirits and pure desires to share the gospel. Same with the Russellville Hermanas who are so dedicated and funny!! It was so fun to go back to Russellville and see the changes since I've left. Also, Sister Watts is the best and got us shakes for my birthday and drove us to Conway at 6:00 in the morning. :)

Fun story for me-Earlier during the week we found a cute group of Hispanic ladies. Saturday we went back to teach one of them and it was so so awesome. She's the adorable young mom who just has the sweetest spirit. We have been praying to find a family who understands the Bible and the need for a restoration. Her name is Dinora and she totally understood the bible and the apostasy and the restoration and wants to get baptized! It was such a fun lesson to teach her the
basics and answer her questions. It's not like it was anything really different but it was such a tender mercy because we had been praying to find those who are ready here in Memphis, and we both felt so good about her! :)

Hermana Olson and Kelly. 

Yesterday at church it was a very sweet fast and testimony meeting, almost every person bore their testimony that they know the church is true. There were a lot of non-members and less active members that needed to hear that. I was especially touched as Jose (the one who just got baptized like a month ago) on his own desire got up and bore his testimony about the Book of Mormon and the true church and that he wants to serve a mission. It was so sweet and so pure and he is such a good example for his older sisters.

We have been reading the New Testament and marking the Christ-like attributes. I know that the Savior loves everyone unconditionally. I don't know how but I know that repentance is always possible because he actually suffered it all, he stood in our place as he suffered for our sins. He is still there for us! I also know that the Book of Mormon is necessary and it is another witness of the Atonement and that repentance is possible, because of the love of our Savior and
Heavenly Father.

Love y'all lots and lots!

Hermana Macfarlane

Hola familia!

Teaching with angels

The District

We are on short time because we want to go get ice cream and also I want Hermana Madsen to cut my hair because it's time. BUT I love you! I am so grateful to be serving here. This week was really awesome and fun because we had a great district meeting, which we instructed at for the first time - woohoo! Haha it was great and only like 20 minutes about using time wisely, especially goal setting and being accountable. (In Spanish "accountability" is el rendir cuentas de nuestra responsabilidad, so that took a good minute to get down!)

I think my head looks tiny. We are funny and have the best companionship.

THEN WE WENT TO THE TEMPLE. :) It was so so great. We had a meeting before with all of the Zone Leaders and other Sister Training Leaders and the Assistants and the Wakolo's and President Faulkner (first counselor in the mission presidency) and I don't know why, but it was so fun to sing hymns. I think because in that meeting, no one cares at all about like being a good singer, we just want to sing and I dunno it was just cool. Then the temple was so beautiful! I felt such a peace there. It was really a spiritual experience to be in a room full of missionaries in the temple, knowing that we are all there with questions and that everyone was listening and praying and receiving revelation. After the meeting we had a testimony meeting. I think I wrote about it before when I felt like if I wanted to strengthen my conversion I need to testify more often of the Restoration. I was so grateful to be able to bear my testimony there after going to the temple, about the things that I know are true.

Temple with the STLs

Blitz with Memphis Sisters

We had some fun "blitz" as they call it here in Memphis with the Sister Training Leaders from Conway. They stayed the night with us and we had dinner and correlation and all that good stuff and it's always uplifting to spend time with other missionaries. The next day we had our first Sister Training Leader leadership council ... It was super great. We had group session things and also chicken salad sandwiches. And the Wakolo's just love people so much, they are so so great!!

Sister and President Wakolo

President Wakolo

District with the best Mission President ever.

Sindy and Maria went teaching with us again, little angels. We spent most of the time at this one apartment complex where we are teaching a few people. We left and went to another house and Maria asked if we were going to a house or apartments, and we told her a house and asked why. She said "well, if we go to apartments I know you guys are going to want to walk around everywhere and I'm tired!" Haha it was so cute. They got their first little taste of missionary work as we ran around the apartments teaching and giving pass along cards and SWEATING. :) At church, the Ramos' friend came and brought her cute little son! He was really energetic so the mom took him outside. We ran around the parking lot with him and got some energy out and then went to primary to play the piano and he was a little angel. It was so fun. SHE WANTS TO COME BACK - YAY!! :)

Awww

I love them.

We are gonna go get some ice cream, sorry this is a boring boring email, but hey,
I want you all to know that I know this church is true and that there is power in righteous living.

This is Trina. She is the English Elders' new convert. We see her at the library a lot. She wanted a CTR ring, so I gave her mine.

Much love,
Hermana Macfarlane