Miss Mac -n- Cheese

THANKSGIVING DINNER!

Monday:
After P-day time was over, we had a fun Noche de Hogar with the B family again! They are so so cute. Whenever we go over there, there's like this adorable little clique of kids that hang out that rush up to us and in Spanglish say "HOLA!!! MISS MAC'N'CHEESE" and seriously it brightens that day right up - holy cow. Most of the kids came over to have NdH with the B's and it was SO cool to teach them about the Plan of Salvation. Every single one of them knew someone who had passed away and they were so pleased to hear about their loved ones living in the spirit world. We taught them about being happy here, going to the temple, and also that judgement day isn't something to dread. They were all saying that they are scared to meet God but we told them that it will be such an exciting and happy time, if we do what He asks! I love teaching the Plan of Salvation, especially to kids. They just get it. The gospel is so simple that even the children can understand.

Tuesday:
We had a good district meeting about working with the members this week! We are going on walk week and the Elders just finished theirs so we really need help from the members. We talked a lot about strengthening within the branch in order to solidify the base... know what I'm sayin? We want to bring new people into the branch but without solid member help, tey will just fall away! Also the Book of Mormon is the best way we can do that. Having a testimony of the Book of Mormon is so important in conversion. ESPECIALLY at this time of the year! What a cool thing that we get to study from. Mom, I liked that thing you sent me "He is not just the reason for the season, He is the reason for everyday of our lives" or something like that! We should be focusing on Christ now at this season but also all of the time because without Him we would have no worthy goals.

We went to Ola and we were not getting anywhere productive, so we got out and walked a little bit. We both feel so much potential there! We found a cute little family that speaks mostly Spanish but some English. One of the little boys was practicing the trombone and he played a song for us! I was trying to ask him how it works... I still don't get it. How do they  know which pitch is where? If anyone has any information on this, it would be much appreciated. Sometimes when he would play closer to himself it would be higher but then other times it would be lower. I just don't get it. And, like, how do you play things in different keys? AH. Crazy. Kudos to all trombone players. We are also working on sharing more of the little pass along cards with people.

Wednesday:
The most exciting part of this day was cena with the Ch family. OH MY. We sat down to eat and she handed us some delicious potato and cheese tacos!!!!! I actually can't remember what else happened this day except that we had a cool lesson in Spanish in the morning :) Oh, and also we are teaching one of the little girls in Spanish with songs. We found this scripture 2 Nephi 31:2-32 Wherefore, the things which I have written sufficeth me, save it be a few words which I must speak concerning the doctrine of Christ; wherefore, I shall speak unto you plainly, according to the plainness of my prophesying. 3 For my soul delighteth in plainness; for after this manner doth the Lord God work among the children of men. For the Lord God giveth light unto the understanding; for he speaketh unto men according to their language, unto their understanding.

Sometimes children don't understand all of the deep doctrine, but that doesn't mean they can't understand anything! "He speaketh unto men according to their language, unto their understanding." We have taught a few people with disabilities and a few people that are masters of religion and a lot in between, but we teach the same doctrine to all of them because of, well, because of a lot of reasons but also because this scripture explains that the Spirit will testify to them in a way they will understand. Maybe it will be through our words or maybe through a scripture or song or something, but the Spirit speaks in ways we understand. SO we  taught this little girl with some of the primary songs and it was really awesome to see her understand the actions and be able to say a short simple prayer that was so heartfelt. It's those little tender mercies that warm my heart!

Thursday:
THANKSGIVING!!!!!! Katie's family is so so kind. The four of us Hermanas (Hnas. Lewis, Ponce, Moore, and me) were starting exchanges on Thursday and we all love Katie and her family so we met up at their house, had an awesome Thanksgiving dinner, and started the exchanges! As you can imagine, not many people were home or really quite open to visits from missionaries. After we got back from Katie's house, we tried to see a few other members and then went over to L, A, and R's house and watched them groom their cows and ate their delicious turkey and stuffing (which they call dressing???) It's so funny to be a mom at moments like these - doesn't everyone know the terms dressing and stuffing are interchangeable? Where did I go wrong? ;-) and caught up with them. It was great. :) 

Friday:
For these exchanges, Hermanas Lewis and Ponce asked us to memorize the baptismal questions and then we would "role play" asking them to each other during the exchange. It was really neat to have those questions in my head and to remember as I am teaching someone to mentally check and see where they would be. Basically, first, do they have a testimony of Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ? Second,  prophets/Joseph Smith. Third, repentance. Fourth, abiding by the law. Fifth, keeping the commandments. And sixth, ready to take upon them the name of Christ. I also did a little self check too as Hermana Ponce practiced asking me the questions. Do I have a testimony of these things? Have I repented of my sins? Am I taking Christ's name upon me and serving others and working hard? Evaluate. Stop. Repent. Change.

This was the first day of dump (rain). We went out walking and holy hannah we were SOAKED!! IT WAS SO GREAT I LOVE THE RAIN. It's so hilarious to me, still. The rain is just misty but somehow you get so wet. It's like, even when it really is raining heavy, the drops are tiny little guys that somehow drench you. It's just  that everything is wet, everywhere.  We also made the cutest little dog friend, Chloe. We walked from our apartments probably a mile down to the house we were going to and a mile back, and Chloe followed us around for 3/4 of that! The whole time we were trying to figure out her name and finally at the end when I started calling her Chloe, she would not leave our sides! At first she was just zig zagging around us but would come up to the doors of houses with us. Then she just stuck right to H. Ponce's leg! (She tried to come into the apartment too.) I love the dog friends.

Chloe, the dog friend

Hermana Moore, the cat killer. (Her mom sent her this T-shirt in honor of last week's events. HAHAHA)

We got drenched!

Saturday:
Hola Ola- Today we mostly spent the day in Ola! Sweet sweet Sally Hibler (member) dropped us off in Ola so we could find the people we wanted to see! First we tried a less-active member who wasn't home and another guy we found outside earlier. BUT COOL COOL STORY---This is why I love/hate/love walk weeks. So there's this crazy nut-so dog that lives in some apartments that we visit quite often. My first experience with him (I am trying to remember if I wrote about it or not) was with Sister Sipple and Ponce and we were just walking back to our car noticing the sweet puppy that we had been walking and talking around for like 15 minutes and then we turn around and he is going crazy barking at us! Anyway, this happened every time we went back (once more with H. Ponce and twice with H. Moore). So we got dropped off and headed up the hill and the dog was all the way at the bottom/end of the apartments-he lives at the top. So we actually got a little bit nervous because we didn't have the comfort of our car to run to. We didn't know what to do, so of course, we prayed. Hahaha it was so cool I felt like a pioneer or something when they would pray and crazy cool things would happen. Anyway, we prayed and looked up and he was GONE. GONE I TELL YOU.

Unfortunately, he came back running to us and started biting at us but we just stood there, boots ready to defend as needed. We kept the faith though! And he eventually left and we started slowly up the hill. We made it safely to one of the apartments and then to the next, and then we had  to come back down. It was so cool though because, I'm telling ya, this dog is so mean. Most of the dogs that we see are really "aggressive" but they won't actually do anything. This one is like Iris but less cute and more scary. Anyway, we were walking back down the hill and there were so many times where he would normally have started running at us but he didn't! I don't know how to explain exactly what happened-I just know that we had some serious protection in those moments. Sister Moore jokes like we had the invisibility cloak  around us after we prayed. It definitely felt like it! It's sort of a silly story like "yeah it's just a dog" but you have to remember we love all the animals and as crazy as this dog is, he is malnourished and doesn't have a lot of love in his home! We really didn't want to hurt him, God is really watching out for us! We needed to go to those apartments in safety and we did!

We then went to this one house that we found the other day, knocking. It happened to be like 800 adults and like a million kids! They all committed to come to church in the morning, then we called back to confirm and only 5 or 6 said they would come (see "Sunday:" for updated results). WE WERE SO EXCITED!!! They are a cute family and friends and man oh man Ola has so much potential. But the really scary part about it is the house is near the flood spot. So we went out to check it after the lesson and wowowowow the road is usually just like a regular road and there's a tiny baby amount of water that trickles down through the stream. But no! Oh my heavens! It's this massive waterfall that is taking up the whole bridge and most of the people's yards and even some people's houses!! SO CRAZY. They were all  just chillin though. Apparently someone walked through it and it was like over 1 1/2 feet deep and pretty  strong currents, and also the pavement cracked underneath the guy! So yeah we will go back a different day that it's not pouring and I'll update you on the cracked bridge! Anyway, after that we took the long way around (because one out of the 4 roads in Ola was preoccupied by a small deluge) we made it to the house we wanted to see. Cute little family, Hispanic but speak perfect English. They were about to head out but we will go back and see them.

Yes it was so delicious. This new convert from the elders made us this
pie. There is no pie crust it's just mousse whipped cream chocolate
sauce and Oreos!! Hahaha It's so good. We ate while we "planned."

I said earlier that we have been trying to hand out more of the pass-along cards. We had a couple of minutes until our ride came to pick us up, and I was debating if we should go knock some houses or give out some cards or what. I felt like there was a certain house we needed to stop by, but I wanted to just keep walking and figure something out that was more productive. I felt the prompting continually and decided not to ignore it this time! We went back and knocked and a lady answered, we explained about the Book of Mormon, gave her TWO (Spanish and English for her family) and set a return appointment.

It's almost like God knows what He's doing and He has a great plan for us and all of His children??? Huh. cool.

Then we went back home and walked around Danville trying to see some of the people on our list for the day! (Made another dog friend-seriously since we killed that cat the dogs do not leave us alone.) We ended up teaching J, and we were able to help her understand why it is so so so important to come to church and keep the Sabbath day holy! I love love love the Sabbath Day commandment because it shows us how much God loves us! Yes it is a day to praise Him and thank Him and go to church, but he gave us a day that we are COMMANDED not to work! He is handing us a day off to just hang out with our families and serve our friends, and to study and learn more about Him. It's so cool. But the thing is, all commandments are like that! They praise God, but really they come back to be for our benefit. God doesn't need us to not steal and to pay tithing, He can handle that. It is so we can have order and we can have faith and we can be happier here, but also be able to return to Him. It's really so so great. Does that make sense??

Then we had a really fun game night!!! The R's (the dad and one of the daughters) came and we played Jenga, "Liar," ERS, and spoons. We are trying to get more people to come because it really is so fun! But it was cool to just hang out with them and get to know them but also play (and win... hehehe) fun games. **Branch unity**

Sunday:
Alright. Here it is. I am debating on how to explain this story. So the awesome family that we found, did not end up coming to church. It was sort of a crazy morning! BUT God is a loving God and we were able to have an investigator that doesn't usually come to church and two less-active members all come to church and enjoy it!!! It was such a great sacrament meeting, I think. I was translating (no one was actually there for me to translate for, sadly. But also it's okay because I did a terrible job practicing) so I didn't really get to hear what was being said, I was just trying to focus on the words and ideas! I think it was good though??

We had some good lessons too for 2nd and 3rd hour blocks. President Hall talked to the whole branch about the Sabbath Day. We keep it holy by doing the things that show God we are keeping His commandment. Was it Elder Nelson who said that a few conferences ago? Anyway, we talked about the importance of it, the sacrament, and also the "continuing of learning in the home." I am so grateful for my parents who implemented this so well in our home! Dad was always good at showing God that what we do as a family praises Him and brings us closer to Him. And mom was always good at making sure we review church! We would talk about our classes, callings, assignments, the scriptures, etc. Sometimes it was just at dinner time and we would give a short little review of the day. Sometimes we would get so deep into discussion that it would go late into the evening! Either way, I have had great examples of how to keep the Sabbath Day holy.

Sister Moore and I talked about ways that we can make the Sabbath more of a delight! As missionaries, everyday is sort of like a little Sabbath. We only listen to uplifting music, read scriptures like all day long, serve, etc. But what more can we do to set apart Sunday as a day for the Lord? A few things we decided on are listening only to hymns or really spiritual music, and discussing what we learned at church, not just what happened. It is so so important to keep this commandment! There are incredible blessings in store! Some are immediate, some take a little bit of time, some are physical, spiritual, emotional, etc. But there are so many blessings!!! :)

And for today: Monday
decorate, nap, email, clean, wash car, laundry, get to work!

I just really want to bear my testimony to y'all that I really know this church is true. There is a prophet who is called of God and he guides this church the way Christ asks him to. We are in good hands! Now is the time to choose where we stand, if we stand on the right hand of God or not. We get to choose this. We get to choose which commandments we keep and which we don't. I know that when we obey the commandments and do all that God asks of us, we are so blessed and we can return to live with Him in perfect happiness and eternal bliss. I love you all and I really love the Lord. I have had a growth in testimony of His divinity and His love for all of us. He lived for us and He died for us, and He lives again, for us.

Have a happy beginning of December! Stay warm out there!

Hermana Macfarlane

I'm so grateful for all of these pictures and videos and stories and her beautiful testimony!!! She actually sent even more pictures and videos but my computer is just too slow. I love my beautiful missionary!

Adios Gato

Monday:
We made pancakes and ate them. :) and we played games and taught the gospel to Danville investigators and less active members!

We were so cold!

Tuesday:
This day we saw our lovely friends D and A! They were so cute. They loved the Plan of Salvation doctrine and to ask questions, especially about the Word of Wisdom. It was really something cool to be able to testify so plainly about the reasons for the Word of Wisdom, but especially for me to be able to say "God created our bodies and He loves us very much, so He knows how to best take care of the bodies and He has given us these commandments" or something along those lines. I really have been gaining a strong testimony of the commandments! God doesn't do anything for Himself. Even when Jesus says "Come follow me" or other things like "I am your rock" or something, it's not for His pride! It's for us! He knows that we need to have a sure and sturdy foundation on something that will bring us happiness. If we are relying on the wisdom of men or the crutch of drugs/alcohol/etc., we are sure to fail. Actually if I may go on a small tangent, Sister Moore and I talked about this today. There are a few different reasons that the Lord has called 18/19 year old youth to go preach and teach his word. The main thing we talked about is so that we can rely on the Lord, so that we can succeed. Does that make sense? Like, if we had years and years of knowledge and experience, we would be less moldable. We are babies as far as knowledge of the scriptures and histories go. But as we rely on the Lord and do our part, that is how we see success in the people we are teaching. We have to be naive enough to NEED the Lord. 2 Nephi 9:29 But to be learned is good if they hearken unto the counsels of God. 

Drill #1

We were wet and cold.

Also we had a small tornado watch that was funny because it was crazy windy and rainy all morning but as soon as they texted us to go back inside, the weather calmed down. Better safe than sorry! After the drill we went to eat at the B's house and saw her new puppy, Lois Lane, again. I just think it's so funny and cute that her dog's name is Lois-so it's totally blog worthy! :)

Tuesday was a good day.

Drill #2

Wednesday:
Well Sister Moore and I only have so much music, okay? For the majority of the day we listened to "Glorious" by our good friend David Archuleta. It really never gets old. 

We spent the day visiting some less-active families and trying to get ahold of people. A lot of people are so busy this time of year! The holidays are a crazy season, but the work will go forth boldly and nobly - even during the holidays! :) It's a good time to be alive. We also had some people come to the Book of Mormon study class! It was good, we talked about Isaiah a little. It's still confusing, even as a missionary. Haha! When you do figure it out, though, it makes sense and it's like eating a delicious thick chocolate brownie and then eating another and another. It was cool to remember that Isaiah was to Nephi as Joseph Smith is to us, kind of (as far as simplicity in understanding). Don't skip over Isaiah! His writings wouldn't be in the scriptures MORE THAN ONCE if they weren't important! Even if you don't understand it, read it. :)

Thursday: 
We had our Zone Meeting/Specialized!! It was great, we had some pretty good instruction. I really loved what Sister Wakolo had to say. She mentioned having two circles, one is control and one is concerns. As missionaries, we should strive to focus and worry more about things in the control circle so our concern circle will shrink. The concerns will never go away. We will always (for most people) feel a sense of worry for our family, we will always have to worry about miles and allotted money and all those things, but as we focus on the things we can control-and thereby CHANGE or IMPROVE-our concern circle will shrink and our faith in Christ will grow. Again it's kind of like I said for Monday, as we focus on the things we can improve and do so while relying on the the Lord, we will be happier! (***family***You should try this. Make a list of your major things you can control; food intake, going to church, obedience to the law, keeping the commandments, exercise, happiness/emotions, clothing, following the spirit, etc. and make a list of concerns that are not in your control; like mean people, the crazy dog, kids' choices, weather, etc. pray and think about ways you can rely on the Lord to make your concern circle smaller and to ask for help with the control list.) I also learned at the meeting that I need to be happier when I share the message of the Restoration and the Plan of Happiness, I need to be better at asking inspired questions, and I need to work on giving more specific and direct blessings to people who promise to keep commandments/commitments. Also I need to testify more. :)

For blitz (if you don't remember, blitz is what they do at specialized where they mix up all the people in the zone and go out tracting in the area to help the area grow a little better) we were all assigned less-active families. Being in the Spanish group, it was me and Hna. Lewis, and Hna. Moore with Hna. Ponce. It was so fun! Unfortunately, we were unable to find the place but it's all okay because God had a different plan! We drove around for a while and decided that because we couldn't find it, we would pick and street and start knocking.
First house we went to, there was a family of at least 6 who were all together and so so super open about learning more and having faith and they promised they would read and pray together. It was really cool and we felt the spirit really strongly! I like blitz. I like the Lord's plans. When we got back, there was this heavenly meal of Hawaiian haystacks!!!! :) Muy rico. And we also were instructed for a few minutes by President Wakolo (before the blitz we had the Zone leaders and both sets of Sister Training Leaders who gave great instruction too). He taught us about being disciples of Christ. We are called as full-time missionaries and, at least the hope is, that we leave as
disciples of Christ. He talked a lot about obedience and fearing God more than man or other missionaries! Pretty cool. :)

Friday: 

So usually on Friday's we will go to lunch at the T's house. Sadly they had to cancel on us again but it was all actually totally fine because we had an earthquake drill! We went to our emergency contact's home and just hung out for a while. After, we headed to Ola. As we were trying to keep ourselves alive with all of the crazy dogs and trying to contact some people in the apartments, this kind man told us that the people we wanted to see weren't home. He was just sitting out on his stairs, basically asking to learn about the restoration. :) He is a very humble and very faithful man who asked for a Book of Mormon. After introducing it and talking a little, we went on our way. As we drove away, we saw him start to read it!! Maybe some prayers for this man. Afterwards, we went to the C' home and had some yummy homemade chili that was great and we taught the kids a little bit about the love of God, especially of Jesus Christ and baptism. :)



Saturday: 

Katie 

 


GAME NIGHT!!! We had a really fun game night with the Brooksby's, the K family, and the one and only Katie Shelton!!!!!! (I ❤️❤️❤️ Katie. She is so awesome. She does a lot for the missionaries and I am so grateful for her and her testimony and incredibly sweet spirit. She's truly one of a kind!!!) The K's brought some Mormon word game. It's that game where the words are all weird and you have to say them quickly to understand the words. Know what I'm sayin? So it was that but Mormon version! So fun! :) and we played some "Liar" and checkers and ate some yummy yummy pumpkin pie! Also Sister Moore lost her wallet as we went to the store to buy some card games. We didn't even know it was gone until she wanted to buy a salad from Subway! (Yes I am so so so grateful for the Subway gift card.) Anyway, we went to the Dollar General and asked the ladies there and one of them said she knew who had it! So we met the lady at some parking lot and she found it and it was great. I am so grateful for the good hearts of the Danville people. Small towns 👍



Sunday: 
There are no words. But, lemme try these.: 
We were able to see a few of our less-active members we are working with at the church today! It was SUPER great to see some of them! Some of them I rarely get to see. Anyway, the talks were really great (on gratitude and stuff) but my lesson, oh man I was SO SO nervous!  I was freezing in that room, BUT we had a good discussion and a few comments and we were even out of time before finishing everything. My testimony of preparation has grown a lot! I was asked to teach about the gathering of Israel, which, if you know me as well as my sweet mother does, you know this subject blows my mind to pieces - there are just so many little details! I was so nervous all week for it because it's for gospel essentials which is really the missionaries and a few investigators and a few recent converts!! I couldn't figure out why the Lord would have these people learn about such a deep and confusing topic. So, I prayed... A lot. And only through the Spirit was I able to have my own questions (like, 3 or 4 years worth) answered and I was able to understand which aspects the new people needed to know. 

And, okay. Here it is.
😿!!
This whole week our car has been smelling like straight up cat pee (sorry for the language but seriously, so so gross) and we were like "what in the world!?  We don't have any rotting food" and these things. But, today as Sister Moore was leaving our apartment, a small cat comes tumbling out from under the car. EW OH MY HEAVENS I CANNOT GET THIS IMAGE OUT OF MY HEAD. It was moving and then -okay sorry it's so gory- blood came squirting out and now there's blood on the car and all over the parking lot. Sorry. Okay. The gross part is over. We called people for help because there was no way we were going over to move the cat, nor were we about do drive back over it!! What if it were alive?!?! Anyway, yeah it was totally dead and this nice neighbor guy came up and put Gato in a bag and tossed him. So, we gave the guy some of our cookies. It was so sad!!! I was sick to my stomach and Sister Moore was repulsed. Adios gato. (I have been making hilarious cat jokes all night though, on the bright side..)

The Church is true. So so true. The prophets are real and they really speak from God. I refer you to a talk from I think President Benson from a BYU devotional called the 14 fundamentals of following the prophet (or something.) It's so so good. AAAAnd there you have it! That was my
week!

Hermana Macfarlane

Keep the Sabbath and Send Me a Game I Can WIN

Since this is the ONLY PICTURE I GOT I'm making it Extra Large

LO LO LO LO LO SIENTOOOO

Ha, yeah, I "tried" to keep my weekly emails updated this week but I actually didn't do anything about it all week... sorry. :) It's been really busy, I guess that's a good thing!! We are working hard here in Danville. And now my ipad is about to die and I need to be able to use it to teach the word this evening! So, here is a brief rundown of what I can remember for this week.

Tuesday: 
Sorry I am really trying to remember! We did have a really awesome lesson with a new investigator, P. He is very honest and sincere! It was fun to teach with him and the Brooksby's. His mom is a less-active member and she is working on coming back and getting back into the habit of church, prayer, and scripture reading. We also had a really awesome dinner with the T's! We love them a lot! We also had a really awesome district meeting! Elder Allred is our new district leader and he gave us a lot of good pump up let's do this stuff that made us all really emotional too. Good stuff.

Wednesday: 
We had a good Book of Mormon class in the evening and taught a lot during the day! Sorry. Can't remember....

Thursday:  We spent the day in Ola (not pronounced hola, more like oluhhh) and talked to a few less-active members. We also got almost attacked by this really cute dog. Ah. It was so stinkin' cute but whenever we  turn around the dog is like "HEY. HEY HEY HEY GRR" and it freaks out at us and then all the dogs in the hood come over and start barking at us too and then we just get back in the car. But we met this really hilarious couple from those apartments who like Mormons and we gave them Books of Mormons. :)

Friday: 
We had a really fun dinner with (oh hey mom will you send me Uno? we play card games and I am losing them all and I need to win something!! :)) Sister B who is the sweetest lady! She made us noodles and we got to see her cute new puppy! Her name is Lois Lane hahaha.

Lois Lane

Saturday: 
We had a really good day! We drove around and visited a lot of people and had a fun sports night.

Losing at cards and showing me that she likes her new boots.

Sunday: 
Okay Sunday was really awesome. In the morning President Hall talked to us about teaching and setting good examples for learning in the home. So this week we are going to go around and try to help people with family night and all that stuff. He also really stressed keeping the Sabbath Day holy. The Stake President talked about how the world has gone from "the Holy Sabbath" to "the Sabbath" to "Sunday" to "the weekend." We are losing sight of the meaning of the Sabbath. Make the decision to keep the Sabbath holy and there are so many incredible blessings. One day! 1/7! You can do it!

I am so sorry for the lame lame lame email this week. I love you all! Thank you for your prayers. Things are going really well and I am loving being out here. I have gained a testimony of baptism, the true modern-day prophet, Joseph Smith, the Restoration, and the power of prayer.

Les quiero!
Hermana Macfarlane

Buenos Dias Hermana Moore

New Companion! Hermana Moore

Well hello.
I've been teased twice about starting things with "Hola hola!" so... yeah. Hi.

Monday:
We made a goal to hand out all of the Books of Mormon that we have in stock in the apartment by the time the transfer is over. It's about one everyday! Which is harder than it should be. There is a lot of talk about helping Danville really burst with the gospel and become a ward and eventually a stake, this is one way we can help. The Book of Mormon is so central to conversion, you have to read it and pray to know!! We also knocked on this door on our way home and the cutest toothless old man came to the door (it was about 8:30 pm) and we aren't sure if he said "I've been saved by Assembly of God" or "I'm satisfied with my religion." Both are reasonable options I suppose! Either way, he was not interested! I love Danville. :)

Also I had this funny dream that I had to accompany this pop singer who was a mix of I think Queen Latifa and Lady Gaga? Maybe a little bit of Gladys Knight? (sp?) She tried to show me how to accompany her on this cool song but the accompaniment was only supposed to be like these 4 or 5 notes but somehow she  made it sound very much not like only 5 notes. So, I tried it. Very unsure about my talents, she told me it was not good enough. I knew this would be the case because I knew I could only read sheet music, I'm no good at making stuff up on the spot and playing by ear. She then called over a friend of mine (Alex) and she apparently played it well enough that she accompanied her for the performance. Later, I ran into Beyonce/Rihanna person and I tried to explain why I didn't accompany her, but they were less than amused. I didn't really care though because I had just met Beyonce and she now knew that I play the piano! So... yeah. Sorry not sure what that has to do with missionary work but there ya go. Someone get me Queen Latifa/Lady Gaga/Gladys Knight/Beyonce/Rihanna's phone number!!!

Tuesday:
Tuesday was a day of rejoicing! We hadn't gotten any kind of a transfer call. Until about 9:20 am (ironically as Hermana Ponce and I are talking about how excited we are to be together this transfer) we get a call from one of the Assistants to the President. He asked her to pack her bags and be ready to go to the transfer meeting and to leave her bags here in Danville. It was crazy! We had small panic attacks about me being here in Danville without her and her going to Russellville and possibly being a Sister Training Leader. We calmed down and started packing. We went over to see Maria Everastico that morning at about 10 am. She is SO SO nice. I was like 85% lost though because I was worried about having to be here without H. Ponce and then I would try to focus on her Spanish but she talks really fast and uses a lot of verbs that I'm not really familiar with and then I would get really distracted thinking about how I didn't know those verbs and what I would say if I did know what she was saying then I would get lost again and have to try to figure out what she was saying then I would get distracted thinking about how she makes really good tamales and I would love to eat some of her tamales then I would remember that we were teaching a daughter of God and I needed to listen more intently and pray for the gift of tongues/interpretation of tongues then I would remember that I hadn't studied Spanish very well the past few days so I would feel unworthy of the gift of tongues all while she was apparently bearing an awesome testimony about how the Book of Mormon has all the answers she has had to her questions. Wow, right, I know. Such is the mind of a stressed out newbie missionary! All is well, though. I repented and now I'm determined to understand her better next time I go!!! :)

Wendesday: 
We got up early to get everything ready to go to transfers and head out with the Brooksby's. We talked to them a lot about their earlier years and it was fun to get to know them better! Once we got to the transfer meeting and the transfers were being announced, we found out that Sister Ponce had been assigned to be a Sister Training Leader for the Spanish speaking sisters! She would be leaving to Russellville with Hermana Lewis, and Hermana Moore would be coming to Danville with me! We had a good zone "pump-up" for English and for Spanish (also I finally saw Elder Geddes! Picture coming soon. Tell his mom hello from us!!) and we went on our way! We got some lunch and got to know our new distrct leader and new elder. We are now a District of 7!! The Brooksby's, Hermana Moore and me, and Elder Allred (district leader), Elder Foster (just a regular missionary guy), and Elder Speck (new missionary). It's pretty exciting! They are all awesome and I am excited to get to know them and work with them. We had to get all of Hermana Ponce's bags to her and get Hermana Moore's bags down to us, and we had a great evening!

Hermanas Brooksby and Ponce

Family! (Tester is sort of a step, step-mom, Hudson, me, Ponce-mom, and Madden! We left a spot for Sipple)

Hermanas

SPANISH ZONE on the Arkansas side

Finally ran into Elder Geddes (from our Stake in Cedar Hills). Hello to Momma Geddes!

New Companionships

Thursday:
We headed into Dardanelle for most of the day. We saw the N family and tried to see some of our other investigators down there. There is one lady, D, that was a referral from the Elders and we finally got a hold of her! She was on the pone but she is really really nice and said that we could come back "cualquiere tarde!" We went with the Brooksby's to see A G! She is a really nice less-active member who makes REALLY REALLY REALLY good chili!! She does it all from scratch and only uses a small small amount of beans :) :) :) :) :) :) :) it was even a little spicy and great. It was so fun! We helped the Brooksby's teach her a little bit and I really pray that she will start coming back to church. She is very kind and knows the church is true!

Brooksby's got pulled over!

What kind of cop drives a hot rod?

Friday:
Sadly we had to miss lunch with the T's because Sister Moore isn't feeling too great! So we started our weekly planning and then headed to the Bs for FHE! They are so so cute, I love them.We got there and they gave us some tamales which were super spicy and goooood and then we talked a little bit. Their grandma, A G, is someone we are trying to keep active in the church and she is super nice too. She likes to make everyone talk in Spanish so that I can learn! It's seriously a blessing. They are the most patient with my Spanish (I think it's because they are nice but also because they know a lot of English so they can decipher what I'm trying to say, usually) they got this book out and quizzed us on colors and animal names (none of which I remember) and they were so funny. We taught the Restoration, which they already knew like the back of their hand, and then we played Restoration bingo! I won. 3 times. hahaha. :)  IT'S FINE THOUGH BECAUSE I LITERALLY NEVER WON BINGO MY WHOLE LIFE AND I DIDN'T EVEN CHEAT THIS TIME. :) Also I was so grateful because I know I had the spirit with me helping me to understand them and for them to understand me. I could not have made it through that night with only my knowledge! I have to rely so much on the spirit to tell me what they are saying and to help me know what the best thing to say is. It's very real, the gift of tongues. Even though I kind of freak out sometimes when people talk really fast, I know that I am trying to learn Spanish and do my best, so the spirit can be there to help me every step of the way! I am very grateful for my call to serve Spanish speaking. In this area we get to teach both Spanish and English. It's really fun because that's seriously everyone in Danville. I have yet to meet someone that doesn't speak either Spanish or English, we have a lot of work to do!!

Eating brie cheese. :) :)

Saturday:
We headed into Dardanelle again! The Brooksby's are amazing. They drove us over there and went teaching with us, and we went with them. We would not be able to see half the people we do without them! It's very nice. Anyway, we went to the N's first. We are teaching Z right now! She is 9 years old, preparing for baptism. Her parents recently got baptized this summer and they have Z the 9 year old and A, who is 8. We are trying to help them all understand baptism as much as we can! It's really fun. Z and A have the sweetest spirits! They are incredibly smart and loving and hilarious little kids. I love them a lot! And their parents have done a great job at teaching them, especially the Bible! Holy cow they know so much. They are a very special family!!

Then we went to see R. She is an older lady who is really very spiritual and faithful. Last time we were with her, I played the piano for her. We actually got to teach her a little bit more. We talked a lot about how this is the true church. She said she believes that there isn't one true or perfect church, because the people are imperfect. We asked what she thinks would make a perfect church, and she said it would be if the people are perfect or something. It was really cool for me to testify to her that this is the true and perfect church because it is head by Jesus Christ. The organization is perfect and the gospel is perfect because it is run by someone who is perfect, not by man. Yes, the people who minister and preside in the church are imperfect, but, isn't that why we need it?? If we could all be perfect, we wouldn't need a church! But, we are given a perfect gospel and a perfect example, and we can follow that example and doctrine to return to our Heavenly Father and have eternal happiness-now and forever! I really do love this church and I know that it is the only correct church. There are so many very good good people in this world that aren't members of this church (yet) but are faithful and doing righteous things. There are more people like R! She understands that the church is true, and I believe she has the faith necessary to do what is right. Though I have guesses, I don't know for sure what is holding her, and so many others, back. But I do know with faith in Christ, they-and we-will be so much better once the Atonement is used consistently in our lives. She is such a special lady, and we all love her very much. I am excited for the day she uses the faith she has and enters into the waters of baptism!

We stopped by D and A's and talked with them briefly. They are so awesome! They are pretty cool young people who are very faithful and want to have a happy righteous home in which they raise their children. I pray that will happen for them too! We shared 2 Nephi 25:26 And we talk of Christ, we rejoice in Christ, we preach of Christ, we prophesy of Christ, and we write according to our prophecies, that our children may know to what source they may look for a remission of their sins. They loved the idea that we do all things relating to Christ so that we may raise our children righteously as well! I love this verse too. It explains  the church very well. We do all things in Christ's name, rejoicing in Him, so that our families may be secured and understand where to go to repent of their sins, so that we may all be together again in heaven. Please pray that they will accept the gospel into their home! They need it and they are ready. :)

She knew her momma would love this.

Sunday:
Yayayay Sundays!! Sundays are like uber stressful but also really great because it's SUNDAY! Hahaha we had a great branch council meeting, we talked a lot about the area of Danville growing and growing and growing! It is not quite growing as rapidly as it should but it is definitely getting there! It was mentioned that Danville issort of bubbling and bubbling with the gospel and will eventually pop! Pretty soon I suppose. Presdient Hall said there are enough people in our Branch boundaries to fill 5 stakes-"We have not done enough until we have reached at least 5 stakes!" And even then, the work and the gospel will continue onward until every person has had a chance to hear and accept the gospel! There is much work to be done!! The Danville branch slowly but surely growing, and could possibly become a ward within the next few years. Again, please pray for the Danville branch and area! We are working hard and the members and leaders are as well.

We had a regular day at church. Sister Moore had to translate some talks about veterans and war and such. High five, amirite?! She did well, I believe. Her Spanish is really quite good, so I hope she was able to communicate everything clearly! We had a great gospel principles class on temples and family history, and a great relief society lesson on preparedness! We have really awesome teachers and leaders here. They are very smart! After the block we had R's baptism! He is the newest member of the Danville branch! Sister T gave a great talk about baptism and taking it into your heart and remembering how you have been washed clean, and then keeping that covenant every week with sacrament. He was baptized, shared a great testimony, and Elder Allred talked about feeling the Holy Ghost and how he will be able to have the great feelings of the Holy Ghost at any time if he remains worthy. It is really such a cool blessing that we sort of take for granted, I think I am grateful for my understanding thus far of the Holy Ghost and the role he plays in our lives and in our conversion, but only if we let him! I liked the verse he shared about the good feelings of the Holy Ghost:

Galatians 5:22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, 23 Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.25 If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.

The Holy Ghost is all good feelings! I have been talking a lot about the Holy Ghost lately in emails and also in my life here in general! I really love it and I need it! Always! I am not a great teacher, I need the spirit to teach for me. And I need the spirit of confirmation and for those feelings of joy, peace, love, faith, temperance, etc. It is such a good and important gift!

I am so grateful to be here as a missionary serving in the Danville area! It is truly a blessing. Please keep these people in your prayers and remember to pray for the missionaries too! We have a mission goal of 100 baptisms this month. We need your prayers. :)

Much love,
Hermana Macfarlane