Three Stories

Bike Week!

Sorry, again I have only 20 minutes.

Well I am going to tell three stories:

1. The Spanish Branch changed the starting time from 10:00 to 1:00 and it was the most beautiful thing when three or four less active families and three or four active families all showed up at about 1:05pm!! :) 

2. The Hermanas had an activity where they brought the cutest nutritionist lady and she taught us how to make fun smoothies and sandwiches and stuff. Our non-member neighbor came, one of the hermanas invited her non-member friend, and the teacher wasn't a member either! It was so good. And so yummy.

3. Monday night. We started our bike week off strong by biking 3ish 4ish miles in the rain to our investigator's house. When we got there, her daughter wasn't feeling well and she needed to go to the hospital, but she doesn't speak any English. So we hopped in the car and went to the hospital with them! We got her all checked in and stuff fairly quickly. I guess we didn't really think it through because we were there for 2 1/2 or 3 hours! It was a cool experience to be able to translate words we usually don't use and help this lady and her suffering daughter. But we were very cold and wet so we asked for the heated blankets they keep in the hallway and that was nice. Eventually we had to call a member to come pick us up so we could go home!

At the hospital

It's been a really great week, we had exchanges with the Russellville Hermanas and Hna Keller and I are enjoying the few days we get to spend together! :) She is great. And the members here are super great too!

Found these pictures from a few months ago.

We get to use Skype now to teach as a back-up if we can't make it to see the person or to the meeting for whatever reason.\

Me in action a few months ago. 

Have a great week! Read the Book of Mormon!

Oh, yeah ... We have been really trying to explain the Book of Mormon better in a way showing that we are just happy and we want to share all the happiness! It's interesting though how when we pushed that a little more, the people we started teaching started rejecting more and more! It's cool though to feel the Spirit even though they don't always accept, it's good to know that I tried my best and I feel a confirmation that it's true.

Love,

Hermana Macfarlane

P-day Lunch

Chopping down a tree.

The Best Teachers are the Best Learners

HOLA LINDA FAMILIA!! (Hello Beautiful Family)

Hermanas Keller and Macfarlane

I have about 10 minutes. Here we go:

Got to see my BFFs in Memphis!!!!! :) They are the cutest.

This week we did exchanges with the Memphis Hermanas! We had zone conference out there. President Wakolo gave a really cool example that I'm not sure he knows about. Usually the office staff bring in the lunch about 15 minutes before we start eating. As time got closer, we all became very aware that there was no lunch yet. We started the first part of our meeting with a prayer and just kind of sat there. We took pictures while he and his counselors called the local pizza place to bring our meal. After we enjoyed the long awaited pizza, he turned it into a mini-parable. He said this is a good lesson for leadership. When things don't happen the way you planned, don't get frustrated! Just find another way to get the same results. If you have righteous desires, the Lord will provide.  It was a good lesson for us to be happy no matter what happens! (He is a really happy person.) The thing that stood out to me though was that he took the example of not having lunch provided and applied it to the gospel. He always says that the best teachers are the best learners and he is a great example of always learning. He also said after the meeting that through the rebukings of the Spirit, he needs to be more faithful and have better repentance. It's cool!

Zone Luncheon

Zone Luncheon

Felt like we needed to be out and about that morning for exercise but
Hna Brown and I forgot exercise clothes so we went out in proselyting
shoes and pajamas and gave some pass along cards. Success.

Also, Elder Andersen, the Apostle, is going to come to our mission at the end of the month! That's pretty exciting because it's been one of my dreams to have the whole mission meet together. Usually we meet as the "Arkansas" side and the "Tennessee" side but we are aaallll going to meet together for two hours with an Apostle. I'm super excited for that!

Other BFFs! Hnas Wilson, Brown, Hunt, y yo.

Things are going well in Little Rock! We have been focusing a lot on the members and working together with them. Also, I translated this week with one of the Elders during stake conference. It was pretty tiring and I quickly learned that my on the spot Spanish needs a lot of work. But, it was so cool that even though I am weak in the language, the Lord helped me be able to help these people understand their church leaders. They talked a lot about the temple and it was a very spiritual meeting. Hermana Keller played the flute for the prelude music and some other numbers and it was perfect. She is a fantastic companion! :)

Us teaching the Riveras the plan of salvation ... they are the cutest!
(Don't cry, i know it's cute.)

Have a good week!

Hermana Macfarlane

We haven't taken any pictures so here's a screen shot from our role plays this morning.

First Snow! Last Area!!

Our quadpanionship: Hnas Macfarlane, Brown, Thornton, Keller

Hello Familia!!

HERMANA KELLER IS THE CUTEST. We have had a gooood first week together. We had district language studies this week which we were in charge of and I think we just brought up more questions that no one knew the answer to, but hopefully someone learned something. It was alright! :) 

I really like Hermana Keller because …

1) she LOVES "our purpose" (We recite it at all the meetings and all the time throughout our week)

2) we equally don't know how to cook 

3) her Spanish is really really really good 

4) she laughs at all my jokes 

5) her testimony of the gospel is very strong and she is good at explaining her thoughts in a simple and organized way 

6) we are the same shoe size

It's weird to be back here in Little Rock because it's cold. When I was here before it was mostly really, really warm and now we are all bundled up all the time! It snowed for the first time on my mission. 

Last transfer when Hermana Brown came here to do exchanges with Hna Keller, they found a lady outside and gave her a pass along card or something. They didn't think much of it but they went back and she is one of the most spiritually sensitive investigators I have ever met! She is so, so sweet. We had a good conversation about the significance of Joseph Smith's first vision and the gospel of Jesus Christ. She said she knows the Book of Mormon is true because when everything is really crazy she will sit down and read and just feels peace. She has so much potential because she loves the feelings and she thinks everything is beautiful. It's so fun to teach her!

Our cute investigator and her son who gave us juice!

We also had an interesting lesson this week with a lady we found when I was on exchanges a while ago. She asked us why we need the Book of Mormon. It's so exciting to me to share my testimony because it's something totally new and foreign that will bring the Spirit so strong!

Read the Book of Mormon!

Have a good week!

Hermana Macfarlane

P.S. We Got Bedbugs!

HELLO!!

Almost all of my close. Bedbug proofing.

 The Wahlquists

Well, it has been a fantastic six weeks here in Batesville, Arkansas! I will be going back to the Little Rock Spanish area with Hermana Keller! She is a really really good missionary, we have done some exchanges together and I'm excited to be with her again! (Hermana Thornton just finished training Hna Keller and will be coming here to Batesville. In other words, we are having a companionship swap!)

Gathering for transfers

I guess it's due to that fact that I have been serving in Spanish speaking areas, but I have never had so many people comment on my "accent" before than in Batesville. I have had some people tell me I've developed a bit of a southern twang but I think I have always had that. Anyway, people know we're "from ... somewhere else" (given with weird look) and definitely not from Arkansas. I will miss that.

 

Last Sports Night in Batesville

We had a lot of tender mercies this week, here's one:

We had to spend a bit of time at the library figuring out technological issues with the iPads. We were there for 1-2 ours maybe. About 15 minutes before we left a sweet older lady came in and sat across from our computer and wished us a Happy New Year. As we gathered our things to leave, I went to give her a pass along card and she said "I already have one of those! Aren't you the same girls that came over a few weeks ago and have left me some notes?" WHY, YES WE ARE!

She was a potential investigator we had been trying to contact for a few weeks. We met her on exchanges one night – in the dark – for just a brief moment and she was all dressed up so I didn't quite recognize her until she said something about it. We ended up talking some more and she knows a few members of the Church in the area, and may have a copy of the Book of Mormon already. We asked if we could come by the next day and se said of course. The other cool part is that she actually let us come over the next day! We had a quick lesson on the Book of Mormon and got to know her a bit better. We (the sisters that will be in Batesville this transfer) will also go do service with her at the rest home!

The View

Oh there are so many inspirational things that I have learned this week alone. As a mission we are starting the Book of Mormon again this year and doing these markings: 1. Names or pronouns of Jesus Christ 2. His attributes 3. His words or when a prophet says, "Thus saith the Lord" and, 4. Doctrines and principles of the gospel (then tallying all at the bottom of the page). I know I have a testimony of the Book of Mormon because I have prayed about it and continue to pray about it every time I read. 

"Pray, read, pray. Pray, read, pray. Pray, read, pray." -President Wakolo

It is the best combination! As I have asked Heavenly Father if what I read that day is true, I always get a generally good feeling. Sometimes it's more overwhelming than others and sometimes I have to rely on the testimony I already have, but I always feel good and peaceful about the doctrines and principles I just learned.

Also, I read Joseph Smith's testimony this week and it's so cool that this experience happened as he was praying. "I betook myself to prayer and supplication to Almighty God. … "While I was thus in the act of calling upon God, I discovered a light appearing in my room ...." (The Testimony of the Prophet Joseph Smith). He had put himself to much prayer and supplication for three years faithfully and patiently waiting to do the Lord's will. Prayer is really important and can be so powerful!

Have a happy new year and I hope you keep all of your resolutions! Buena suerte!

Hermana Macfarlane

(I'm assuming these are all pictures with the wonderful Branch Members in Batesville? She didn't say who everyone is.)