Photos from Paterson and some from Freehold

e jeffries

 E Jeffries and I.... the laurels gave us these staches

Aldo is the one with short hair. Manolo is the one with long hair 

 ana fanola and her mom. started their own church.

 Aldo is the one with short hair. Manolo is the one with long hair

 oh and a few more of paterson. last time playing tennis with this loco

 ok three photos. The one with the two girls is Lindsey in the pink shirt (baptized yesterday!) and Ximena (baptized in January). They are so stinking cute. Their moms are going to be baptized soon... pray for them. They are the sweetest. Little girl is GG (juliana). She is so stinking cute. And then Alex is the boy. Love these kids.

 Julio Callupe: he gave me this sweet Peruvian jersey! He is a less active in Paterson.

 my filipino bud e alforeza

Elder McFarland was supposed to go to New Jersey!!

 The Shaws

 this one is for hannah..... love you babe!!!!

 

Welcome. To Freehold

What a week.

Lets start with the goodbyes. I said goodbye to my Home Town Paterson. I love that little area. But more valuable than the area is the people. I had to say goodbye to my friends Aldo and Manolo. We went there Monday night, and we show up and Aldo is obviously sad. We go and sit where we normally go and explain what happens with missionaries. He expressed how he wants me to be there for his baptism. We explained that I couldn't, but I told him we will always be friends. I shared my testimony of Jesus Christ, and then I just lost it. I cried. I could not hold them back. I love that kid so stinking much. He thanked me for coming over and helping him know the way. He was sad that I was going, but seemed to know that we would see each other again. We shared our testimonies and asked him to send me off with a prayer. In his prayer he said, "Thank you for sending McFarland here to teach me about Jesus." That is why I am a missionary. I am here to be the tool that God uses to rescue his children. Aldo is a reason I came out on a mission.

Then we said goodbye to the Jeppsons. We sang a song to them that we always sing at every meeting with them, called Precious in His Sight. I think they made it up. I love them so much. They are wonderful. This mission is a family, and a really close one too.

I arrived here in Freehold. It is humid and hot and foresty. I love it. There are a lot more fireflies here than in Paterson. I like to catch them and hold them. We see a lot of wildlife here. The area is great. So much work to be done. We baptized Lindsey yesterday. She is such a cutie. I came into Freehold and was immediately accepted into the family.

My companion. He is the best. Se llama Elder Blanco de Mexico. He is from Vera Cruz and is a phenomenal missionary and friend. He trained Elder Muro (one of my best friends here in the mission) and Elder Jeffries (my last comp). This is his last transfer, though. Its crazy. He and I served around each other in my last zone. He helped me grow a lot. We are tearing it up in Freehold. We have so much fun. Just doing crazy things. He plays the guitar and so we jam and sing. It is super fun. We have another companionship that sleeps over at our house wednesday to friday most weeks. They are super cool. We have a bunch of fun.

Everything is good here. The Taggarts arrived, and I am doing well. And I have the best family in the world. I love you.

Was good.

Stay Jersey Strong.

Love

Tyler

Leaving Paterson

I am leaving Paterson. I am so sad. I love this place so much. I have grown so much here. It's hard to leave when one loves his companion, loves his area, and has an amazing friend that is getting baptized the week after he leaves! There is never a dull moment in Paterson. I feel sad to leave.

But God always blesses us. His plan is perfect. I remember when I first came to Paterson. I hated being here. I wanted to go back to the CCM. I wanted to go home. Now, I want to stay here. He has called me somewhere else, and I have hope that God has something planned for me. He has something better than anything I can imagine. I am going to meet new friends and see new places. It is going to be fun. It may be hard, but it will be worth it. And I can make it what I want it to be. I am excited for the new area and a new companion.

This week was fantastic. We worked hard and we saw miracles. Aldo will be baptized next week. In one week he will be ready, and I am confident he will stay active and be a wonderful member in the church. His family will soon follow. So cooooool! I came out here for him. 

The Jeppsons leave this week, and the Taggarts come. Seriously, it's the week of major changes. I am super excited to work in a new area and share the gospel with those that God puts in my path. 

Family I need your prayers. My anxiety is up. I am doing really well, but I just don't want to fall back into self pity mode. I love you all so much. And I know as you pray for me, I will be more happy.

I have a testimony of the Atonement. Although I am not perfect, God makes it up. He loves me. I keep thinking about the words President Mitchell always said, "life is good in the gospel." I know it is. Regardless of our circumstances, life is always good when we are living is gospel. There is always something to be grateful for. I know the Book of Mormon is true. I am more sure now than I have ever been that this is the Church of Jesus Christ. I believe He directs and guides it, not only on the world scale, but in a personal level as well. He directs wards, branches, and individuals. 

Love you

Waz good

Elder McFarland

Birthday Week

This week was crazy. We had our All Mission conference and my birthday. 

It was a great birthday :) I have made some very close friends here and they made it the best. I got up and played soccer with our potential investigator and a lot of the companionships from the zone. After, they brought in a cake for me and Sister Josse's (a sister from lone peak) birthday. We ate cake, then we went to do service at a less active's home. We painted her basement, and then she gave us rice and chicken... it was super goood! The rest of the day was normal. We had a baptism planned for another pair of elders, but he decided to not be baptized. We had filled up the font, and since no one was already wet, I put on some shorts and went swimming. Not really, but kind of. Then we had dinner at the chapel for the father's day activity. Then I went home and read all of your letters. Wow. I feeel so loved. Thanks for the letters and the package!

The work is progressing. Aldo wants to get baptized this Sunday, but we are going to have to push him back. He is awesome, but we aren't gonna baptize him unless he is 100% committed to it. And he will. Just with time. Yesterday we found 10 new people to teach this week. 

The mission conference was stinking fun!!!!! There was a bunch of activities, then we had a spiritual message. Sister Jeppson got up and sung for like 30 mins. It was awesome!!! Then President Jeppson told us all about his life. I love those two. They are great. This is the last week of the transfer! It has gone by so fast. I hope I stay in Paterson... I might not though. Pray I will be willing to do whatever the Lord asks me to do.

I love being a missionary. Was good?

Stay Jersey strong family! Love you

Elder McFarland

First Week of June

Good week!

We had a great week. Paterson is such a fun place. Again, the crazies make it so fun.

We have officially dropped Elmo. Sadly he has chosen to stay in his "Catholic" ways. It seems like its been a hard blow on Cesar. He stayed home from church this week to get drunk. We passed by and he was wasted. Poor guy. We are gonna try him tonight because he has been reading! Hopefully he will go up from here. 

Aldo came to church. He has been reading and praying. His baptism is planned for the 22 of June. He can be ready, but we might need to push him back. I am hoping he will be ready, but God's plan is the best.

This week we got 22 lessons. We have been working super super hard and this week will be even better.

I went on an exchange with E Leon Canales. He and I ate 5 dinner appointments. It was so hard. When hispanic people make food, you better eat it. If not, you will offend them. And they make you eat a mountain. It was so hard to eat, but we did eat! We had 9 lessons in their area in one day. I have never had so many lessons in one day. 

We have a lot of potentials. Please pray for E Jeffries and I, and pray that we will find those that are prepared. 

I love being a missionary. It helps me to focus on the most important things. It is humbling and fun. My companion is super fun. We wake up at least 2 times a week and run and play tennis. We chat and laugh all the time. He is awesome.

I love you all!

Shout out to the best dad in the world!!!!

Love

  Elder McFarland

New Jersey>New York

Last week was good. 

The crazies come out at summer. I have met some sketch people, but these people are getting crazier and crazier. 

Contacting is fun. 

My companion got sick on Wednesday. So we stayed in. I was so bored. I cleaned our whole apartment and read my scriptures for a long time. I was so glad when our zone leaders told us they could do a little exchange with us. I went out with one of them and we got to new investigators named Aldo and Manolo. Aldo is 14 and Manolo is 11. They both want to be baptized and are reading their scriptures, but didnt come to church yesterday. 

We went to the Manhattan Temple on Thursday. We got up early and drove to Jersey City where we took a train to Manhattan. We walked through Times Square and it wasnt as busy as I thought it would be. We didnt stop and take any pictures, but I think I snapped one. 

Although I thought being in New York would have been the cool part, I loved going to the Temple. I forgot the family name I was so excited to do... That was a bummer. But the Temple was so great. We were suppose to have lunch in Central Park, but no. Our zone leaders said it was time to go. So I grabbed a hot dog and a pretzel from a street vendor. 

We came back and got to work. Friday and Saturday we worked hard. Yesterday we were in meetings and studies all day. We didnt get to teach/see anyone. One of the sisters in our zone is going home early so we got together as a zone and said goodbye to her. It made me realize how hard I want to work and how much I want to value this time out here.

Please keep praying for my investigators. They need the prayers.

I love you all. Be good. Stay strong. Jersey Strong.

Was good

Photos