This week slightly...was interesting.
Again we had to drop a few people, it turns out that they weren't going for the right reasons.
Y...eso no mas. We are working, it rained like crazy today and it was wonderfully cool. Apart from that we had a pretty normal, slightly odd week.
Short but shweet!! I love you all and have a good week!!
Love,
Hermana Farish
Monday, October 26, 2015
Monday, October 19, 2015
Still In Shock...
So, this week was nuts. With a capital NUTS. We had a lot of miracles happen, and we were able to kind of recharge.
To start off, we have weekly planning every Friday, and last Friday (1 week ago) we decided to call and set times for the members to make visits with us. We were able to go out with a member every single day this week, and let me tell you, it made the difference. We were able to go and visit a sister called Margarita. Margarita has a 19 year old daughter with severe special needs, and has been wanting to go to church, but we haven't been able to find transport. This last week we were able to go there with the RS president, who saw the needs of Margarita and this week the two of them were able to come to church. She was so happy, and I love talking with her daughter. She hasn't been able to receive treatments, and her spine is basically doubling in half. She understands basically everything that you tell her, but is shut up in her body. She is so innocent and special, and I know that Heavenly Father loves her so much.
This last weekend we were fasting, and I don't know what made this fast different or what...but it was great. The huge unexpected shocking heart attack of my life was when we were told the attendance on Sunday was 127 people, 44 people more than usual. Seriously, after last week we were surprised to see so many people. We knew that member involvement was going to help, but wow, mucho:) Our companionship attendance goal since July has been 120, and we finally got it. And the best part was that everyone was involved, and we now have 80 more missionaries to help us out. I was thinking the other day, sometimes we are trying to do things right, and we don't see the effects right away, but we were able to see the effects of 3 months of work, and I am so happy to finally see them:)
We have a really special investigator named Danny. He is the son of an inactive and is 25 years old. A few years ago, he didn't want anything to do with the church. But 2 years ago he had an awful motorcycle accident, and his forehead was literally caved in and now he is blind. He couldn't walk and about 3 months ago he took his first step. We went to this home for the first time with a member (he was a reference) and his mom (inactive) let us in. His mom is really kind of..a...bitter lady, but, when Danny said the last prayer, his mom just began to cry. Danny has some problems with autism now, but he remembers every single thing that we teach him. On Sunday his mom told us that Danny had woken up that morning and told his mom, we need to go to church. So, he, with his mom, walked to a member's home and from there the members took them. #miraclenumbertwo.
Life is going well here in Paraguay. So crazy. Haha, last Monday I received a call from the mission secretary...his question was "What will be your final destination?" I was slightly confused (dork that I am) and asked...em...eternally or what? And then I realized what he was asking - flipping St. George, Utah. Time is going by so so so so fast, and it is slightly freaky. But whatever, I'm cool with that. I think I will finish here in Salado, which I am totally fine with. There is so much work to be done. Something that I am finding, though, is that I am tired. This week I got super sunburned, and that took me down a notch. I was just weary. But then we fasted and all was well.
But, you know, life goes on, and we are going to see if we can maintain it. But it was a good week, transfers in two weeks...si o si we are going to have transfers, so we will see what happens:) I love you and hope that you have a good week!
Love,
Hermana Farish
To start off, we have weekly planning every Friday, and last Friday (1 week ago) we decided to call and set times for the members to make visits with us. We were able to go out with a member every single day this week, and let me tell you, it made the difference. We were able to go and visit a sister called Margarita. Margarita has a 19 year old daughter with severe special needs, and has been wanting to go to church, but we haven't been able to find transport. This last week we were able to go there with the RS president, who saw the needs of Margarita and this week the two of them were able to come to church. She was so happy, and I love talking with her daughter. She hasn't been able to receive treatments, and her spine is basically doubling in half. She understands basically everything that you tell her, but is shut up in her body. She is so innocent and special, and I know that Heavenly Father loves her so much.
This last weekend we were fasting, and I don't know what made this fast different or what...but it was great. The huge unexpected shocking heart attack of my life was when we were told the attendance on Sunday was 127 people, 44 people more than usual. Seriously, after last week we were surprised to see so many people. We knew that member involvement was going to help, but wow, mucho:) Our companionship attendance goal since July has been 120, and we finally got it. And the best part was that everyone was involved, and we now have 80 more missionaries to help us out. I was thinking the other day, sometimes we are trying to do things right, and we don't see the effects right away, but we were able to see the effects of 3 months of work, and I am so happy to finally see them:)
We have a really special investigator named Danny. He is the son of an inactive and is 25 years old. A few years ago, he didn't want anything to do with the church. But 2 years ago he had an awful motorcycle accident, and his forehead was literally caved in and now he is blind. He couldn't walk and about 3 months ago he took his first step. We went to this home for the first time with a member (he was a reference) and his mom (inactive) let us in. His mom is really kind of..a...bitter lady, but, when Danny said the last prayer, his mom just began to cry. Danny has some problems with autism now, but he remembers every single thing that we teach him. On Sunday his mom told us that Danny had woken up that morning and told his mom, we need to go to church. So, he, with his mom, walked to a member's home and from there the members took them. #miraclenumbertwo.
Life is going well here in Paraguay. So crazy. Haha, last Monday I received a call from the mission secretary...his question was "What will be your final destination?" I was slightly confused (dork that I am) and asked...em...eternally or what? And then I realized what he was asking - flipping St. George, Utah. Time is going by so so so so fast, and it is slightly freaky. But whatever, I'm cool with that. I think I will finish here in Salado, which I am totally fine with. There is so much work to be done. Something that I am finding, though, is that I am tired. This week I got super sunburned, and that took me down a notch. I was just weary. But then we fasted and all was well.
But, you know, life goes on, and we are going to see if we can maintain it. But it was a good week, transfers in two weeks...si o si we are going to have transfers, so we will see what happens:) I love you and hope that you have a good week!
Love,
Hermana Farish
 |
| Really, Really Tired |
 |
| I Love Empanadas! |
Monday, October 12, 2015
The Sweetest Moments
This week, to be downright honest, was one of the hardest weeks of my mission. For the first half of the week, it was 100ish degrees, and since Thursday it has been raining, and we have to have raincoats and sweaters. Bipolar, seriously.
We were kind of bummed, there were a lot of people this week that we had to drop, and at one point we just looked at each other and were like...??? What the heck are we supposed to say to that?? For example:
We contacted a lady named Emilce like 3 weeks ago, and we have been talking with her ever since, she just doesn't go to church. We went to her house again on Thursday and she answered the door with huge purple bruises all over her body. We were like...oh flip. She let us in and then promptly told us that she doesn't believe in God anymore, because what kind of God would let her husband abuse her like that? If He is all powerful and all knowing, why didn't He do anything? She said that she has decided that if her husband comes back, she won't be responsible for what she is going to do to him. I honestly thought to myself, "I got nothing." Its like I know that He loves us, and sometimes we don't understand why we have to go through some trials, but she didn't want any of it. It made us so sad, and we can't let it get us down, but just the same. We will go back next week after it dies down a little and see what we can do.
I have been thinking about the whole attributes of Christ thing, I think we are sent to different areas to learn, develop, and strengthen certain attributes. For example, in Palma Loma I learned humility, patience, and love. In Salado, faith, diligence, and obedience. The hard part is keeping the other ones strong while we are developing new ones...dangit. But that is just how it goes, I think.
We finally got to the end of this week, and it ended so wonderfully with Alejandro's baptism. Seriously, this kid is going to do something awesome, like reactivate his whole family. We taught them about tithing on Wednesday, and his mom told us on Friday that Alejandro asked her if he could wash the dishes, but that she would have to pay him so that he could pay his tithing:) We giggled a little:) It was freezing cold and raining buckets Saturday night, but we still had like 30 people at the baptism, with the entire family of Alejandro. The spirit was so strong, and the mom was so happy. She told us that we were "una grande bendicion para su familia." Sincere compliments like that don't come very often, so that was really nice. It was such a good feeling to see them all there for the first time in 15ish years.
After Alejandro was baptized, we were waiting outside the bathroom with his mom, and she just started to cry. It kind of shocked us a little bit, because she is someone who is really closed, she doesn't really ever show her emotions. We gave her a hug, and she told us that Alejandro had told her that his new goal is to get his dad to go back to church. SO....then WE started to cry, and I can honestly say that this moment was one of the sweetest of my mission. It made this whole last week worth it. I can't express how grateful I am to be here and witness the changes of heart that the Atonement can bring. It is so wonderful, and I am so happy. It stinks sometimes, but these sweet moments are what make it all worth it. I love being a member of the Church of Jesus Christ, and I know that what we have will help whoever wants to receive it have a better life, full of sweet moments and tender mercies. I love you all and I hope that you have a good week!
Love,
Hermana Farish
We were kind of bummed, there were a lot of people this week that we had to drop, and at one point we just looked at each other and were like...??? What the heck are we supposed to say to that?? For example:
We contacted a lady named Emilce like 3 weeks ago, and we have been talking with her ever since, she just doesn't go to church. We went to her house again on Thursday and she answered the door with huge purple bruises all over her body. We were like...oh flip. She let us in and then promptly told us that she doesn't believe in God anymore, because what kind of God would let her husband abuse her like that? If He is all powerful and all knowing, why didn't He do anything? She said that she has decided that if her husband comes back, she won't be responsible for what she is going to do to him. I honestly thought to myself, "I got nothing." Its like I know that He loves us, and sometimes we don't understand why we have to go through some trials, but she didn't want any of it. It made us so sad, and we can't let it get us down, but just the same. We will go back next week after it dies down a little and see what we can do.
I have been thinking about the whole attributes of Christ thing, I think we are sent to different areas to learn, develop, and strengthen certain attributes. For example, in Palma Loma I learned humility, patience, and love. In Salado, faith, diligence, and obedience. The hard part is keeping the other ones strong while we are developing new ones...dangit. But that is just how it goes, I think.
We finally got to the end of this week, and it ended so wonderfully with Alejandro's baptism. Seriously, this kid is going to do something awesome, like reactivate his whole family. We taught them about tithing on Wednesday, and his mom told us on Friday that Alejandro asked her if he could wash the dishes, but that she would have to pay him so that he could pay his tithing:) We giggled a little:) It was freezing cold and raining buckets Saturday night, but we still had like 30 people at the baptism, with the entire family of Alejandro. The spirit was so strong, and the mom was so happy. She told us that we were "una grande bendicion para su familia." Sincere compliments like that don't come very often, so that was really nice. It was such a good feeling to see them all there for the first time in 15ish years.
After Alejandro was baptized, we were waiting outside the bathroom with his mom, and she just started to cry. It kind of shocked us a little bit, because she is someone who is really closed, she doesn't really ever show her emotions. We gave her a hug, and she told us that Alejandro had told her that his new goal is to get his dad to go back to church. SO....then WE started to cry, and I can honestly say that this moment was one of the sweetest of my mission. It made this whole last week worth it. I can't express how grateful I am to be here and witness the changes of heart that the Atonement can bring. It is so wonderful, and I am so happy. It stinks sometimes, but these sweet moments are what make it all worth it. I love being a member of the Church of Jesus Christ, and I know that what we have will help whoever wants to receive it have a better life, full of sweet moments and tender mercies. I love you all and I hope that you have a good week!
Love,
Hermana Farish
 |
| Alejandro with his family at his baptism |
Monday, October 5, 2015
The weirdest thing that has ever happened to me
So, this week was pretty shweet. We had a zone conference on Tuesday, and President talked about how we appear to the members and what we have to do to better gain their trust and confidence. We left thinking about what it is that we need to change in our area, and what we could do better. We went to our lunch appointment with Hermana Conti, and we shared a quick message and then asked for references. She gave us the reference of a friend, Hermana Rios. We told her, okay, we are going to go contact that right now, and she told us to wait because she was going to come with us. We were like.....?? What just happened? But it was real, she came with us and we were able to contact the reference. It was so amazing, and Hermana is AWESOME. By the end of the week, we had received 22 references from members. It was such a miracle, and we are working to contact all of them.
And...general conference was pretty much the greatest thing ever. Like better than Christmas. When Elder Holland talked about a mother's love, haha, all of the missionaries got a little teary eyed. One of my questions was how can we keep progressing? What can we do to seguir adelante (press forward???) and find everything that we need to improve and then improve it? And in the first session my question was answered. I liked what was said. I don't remember who said it, but there are two things that have stuck in my mind,
"You can start where you are at, Heavenly Father will take you as you are." or something to that effect.
"It is your direction, not your speed, that matters."
I really felt, as I listened to the new apostles give their testimonies, and with all of the other testimonies, they are inspired. They really are. They have prayed and fasted to be able to answer the questions of millions of people, and they end up doing it. Haha, no pressure.
One thing that was weird was that we were walking to an appointment and someone yelled "hermanitas (little sisters!)" and we were like, yup, nope, and we kept walking. He yelled again, "La rubia es norteamericana?" (The blonde is North American?) so we walked even faster, and he ran up and began to talk about his interest in Americans and all that, it was SO uncomfortable. So, so weird.
Other than that, Alejandro will get baptized this week, and we are looking to put a lot of dates so that people can keep progressing:) I love you all, and have a good week!
Love,
Hermana Farish
And...general conference was pretty much the greatest thing ever. Like better than Christmas. When Elder Holland talked about a mother's love, haha, all of the missionaries got a little teary eyed. One of my questions was how can we keep progressing? What can we do to seguir adelante (press forward???) and find everything that we need to improve and then improve it? And in the first session my question was answered. I liked what was said. I don't remember who said it, but there are two things that have stuck in my mind,
"You can start where you are at, Heavenly Father will take you as you are." or something to that effect.
"It is your direction, not your speed, that matters."
I really felt, as I listened to the new apostles give their testimonies, and with all of the other testimonies, they are inspired. They really are. They have prayed and fasted to be able to answer the questions of millions of people, and they end up doing it. Haha, no pressure.
One thing that was weird was that we were walking to an appointment and someone yelled "hermanitas (little sisters!)" and we were like, yup, nope, and we kept walking. He yelled again, "La rubia es norteamericana?" (The blonde is North American?) so we walked even faster, and he ran up and began to talk about his interest in Americans and all that, it was SO uncomfortable. So, so weird.
Other than that, Alejandro will get baptized this week, and we are looking to put a lot of dates so that people can keep progressing:) I love you all, and have a good week!
Love,
Hermana Farish
 |
| Alejandro |
 |
| Homemade...bread? |
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