WOOHOOO

Woohoooo!

My mission is awesome. New Jersey is so fun.

Zone meeting was good, and I felt the spirit. We got some good feed back from the zone and the assistants. It always feels good to have a meeting turn out alright. I got to go on exchange with Elder Larsen again. He is a good kid and it is fun to talk about people we knew at home. It was a good exchange. He is a really smart kid and helped me
answer some of my questions and doubts. We enjoyed our time together.

Yari and Abi are doing a lot better. We had a great lesson with them yesterday. Our president from the branch came with us, and man... He was awesome. I haven't felt that strong of a spirit in a long time. It was energizing and reassuring.

Roberto is going to get baptized the 20th. We called him last week and he asked us if he could still get baptized on Sunday. We hadn't taught him more than the restoration so we couldn't... But now he is excited for the twentieth.
So keep him in your prayers.

We really connected with Zulay last week. She opened up a ton. I love that lady. Her time just hasn't come yet for her to be baptized. It will though. She is honest and determined so she will change eventually.

I feel so happy this week. I feel like I can conquer the world. I love serving others. It is wonderful to see how much hope this message brings others. The friends I am making are amazing and mean a lot to me.

I think I understand more now about why returned missionaries say that they had never been happier than when they were on their missions.

Waz good
Jersey strong
Life is good in the gospel
God will provide


Elder McFarland

Good Glory

Time is flying. 

I don't really want to come home anymore. There is too much work to do here. 

This week was kind of a downer. But we are staying positive. 

We haven't been able to meet with Roberto. He says he has been working a ton. He told us he was coming to church, but he didn't come. I am sure he would have come if he could have. We are going to keep the faith, though, and hope he can meet with us this week.

Zulay is doing okay. She isn't willing to come to church, but she wants to listen. Maybe it just isn't her time yet. We are going to find where her desire is. 

Although it was a somewhat disappointing week, we saw some awesome miracles. Yesterday, one of the part member families came to church. I like that family. They are from Ecuador. There are two amazing kids, but Fabian is one of my good friends here. He is 14... but he is hilarious. I can't remember the girl's name, but she is a hoot. She is so funny. Their mom is not a member, but she came. And then after the meeting, she was collecting all the garbage left by our members who were just chit-chatting. It was pretty humbling. Pray for her and her husband. Their names are Fabian and Mery. They are cool. 

Alba is one of the cousins of a recent convert named Madelyn. She hasn't heard too much about the church, but she also came to church yesterday. She asked us to give her son a blessing before the school year, so apparently her cousin is doing amazing work there! 

On tuesday I got to go on exchange with a stalwart missionary from England! He was Elder Gossner's last companion so we talked a lot about what we learned from him. It is nice to be in leadership positions because one can learn a lot from others, but more importantly, you get the opportunity to make new friends as you serve them! I think I don't take advantage of that enough.

We had a lot of meetings this week. We got to work with President Stokes. He is the Stake President here, and he is my hero. He is so genuine and kind. He is so smart too. He is a spiritual giant. I met him in Freehold, but working closer to him now is awesome! We had a good council on Friday with President and again I realized how important it is to help the members here in Jersey. I can help other members continue on the path of conversion, and what will help them become more converted is sharing the gospel. 

This week is going to be fun. Zone meeting and an exchange with some other great Elders.

So pray for your elder and his companion. pray that we will find those that we are suppose to bless and save.

Waz Good

Jersey Strong

Life is good in the gospel

God will provide

Love you

Elder McFarland

p.s. I randomly saw Leo Andino and Roselyn in East Brunswick! Love and miss them so much

Elder McFarland's Statement on Missionary Work

This is my letter to bishop. I call it Elder McFarland's statement on missionary work.

Hey bishop,

I received an email from Brother Swallow. Here are my thoughts of missionary work.

I wrote a lot of paragraphs with a lot of words. but i erased it all and put what i really feel about missionary service.

Karina grew up in Colombia. After a lot of suffering from fatigue and hunger and violence, she finally arrived to the land of the free. She had no bed to lay on, but had a room in a nice place called Freehold, New Jersey. Karina engaged in many different activities just to make it by. Searched for many jobs in many places, but still had to resort to some dangerous and unacceptable behavior. Her new boyfriend was put into jail, and now she felt very alone. As she was looking for a job, she met with the two young men strangely dressed for the summers heat. She listened to the young kids as they stumbled in their spanish. They shared a scripture with her about how jesus never will forget about us because we are engraven in his hands (1 hep 21:15-16). The missionaries could see the understanding in her eyes as she realized what jesus had done for her. She looked into her lap and it was quiet. In her lap she remembered all the years she had been tossing and turning on the floor, all the time she suffered the embarrassment and pain of selling herself to strange men just to get through the week, every single time she was scared for her life while she passed those substances to the angry man. In her lap she saw all of it. and although she had passed through all these things and more... it was ok. Life was good. She felt something warm and loving. Life had hope and promise and love because of a stranger that laid his life down for her. She cried. And the strange young men sat there. The warm and loving feeling came from them and from above.

Karina didn't get baptized... But the young man will never forget that afternoon in that strange place far from home. He will not forget what it meant to him or to her what Jesus Christ had done for him and for her, and for all of the broken hearts in the existence of man. He will not forget the love God has for all of men.

Young men... Don't be selfish. Be a missionary.

Young women, you too can serve God as a missionary, but always pray about your decision before you jump into it. Truly seek the Lord's will, and he will guide you where you are needed. 

The Book of Mormon is true. No man taught me that. No man can ever teach me that. God the Father revealed it to me through his Holy Spirit. We can know. We can change. 

We can be happy. Happiness is all we ever wanted, and all we will ever want. And happiness is sharing the gospel. 

 13 Behold, I am a disciple of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. I have been called of him to declare his word among his people, that they might have everlasting life.

Thanks bishop.

Elder McFarland

Week One

Here we go! Another transfer! We are so pumped.

It is awesome being in Trenton. Although the air is probably more chemical pollution than oxygen, I find myself taking deep breaths and enjoying the fact that I am a missionary.

My companion is named Elder Welch. He is from Bremerton, WA (right outside Seattle). He enjoys sports... so we will get along just fine. He had served here for 6 months and got sent back. It was unexpected for all of us, especially the members. They treated him like a son coming home. It was amazing to see how much missionaries really mean to these people.

Roberto Castillo came to church yesterday. He fit right in. We never got the opportunity to teach him this week, but he told me yesterday he is reading his assignments. He seems to be ready for the gospel. And that is when missionary work is the funnest. I love to teach people about things that I was taught my whole life. It is fun to see how they enjoy it as well. Not everyone likes to hear about it, but it is a good feeling when someone does want to learn. 

We are now enjoying A/C. Elder Mendez and I sweat all night. Our A/C was broken and we never called and asked them to fix it. We got someone over this week to put it back together. A/C is a blessing from God.

Last monday we enjoyed a day at the beach. It was so much fun playing sports, catching crabs, and singing to the uke. I can't wait to do that with my family. Good times. We started on our way back and  found out that our tire was completely flat. We switched it to the donut, and we were on our way in less that 15 minutes. I am learning life lessons as well as the gospel. Missions are sweet. 

Each transfer conference gets harder and harder. First off, because I am tired and getting ready to go. They make the meeting so dramatic and emotional that it wears me out. Second because there is a part of me that regrets the day I say "see ya later" to New Jersey. 

By the time we were on our way home it was around 5. We drove to the hospital to give Stefani a blessing. She got her gallbladder removed. After her pregnancy and the surgery, she is feeling pretty tired. Please keep Stefani in your prayers. Also pray for her sister valerie that she will open her heart to God.

Zulay has been working. We are seeing her tonight, but please pray that she will accept the gospel when it is the right time.

Yesterday was a miracle. Besides having 3 of our investigators come to church (that always makes me happy), we got to see the baptism of Laura. Laura is about to move on to the next stage in life. She is so frail and so sweet. She isn't that old, but just doesn't have good health. My companion was lucky enough to get to interview her, and she passed with flying colors. I sat outside and played with her four cats. She expressed to us her excitement for her baptism and her commitment to the Lord. Where do these amazing people come from? She was an amazing ballerina and had the fame of the world. But she came to know Jesus somehow. I love conversion stories like that. They are powerful.

We gave a blessing to one of our members yesterday. The poor guy broke his leg a couple of weeks ago. He is looking healthier and stronger, but we asked him if he wanted a blessing. He accepted and asked my companion to do it. Sadly, I didn't pay too much attention to what was said, but I do remember that I felt that I had done something good for this man. Although I was just a member of the circle, I felt that I had served him in some way. I don't know why I felt like that, but it has helped me change my motivations. I want to serve others ALWAYS. 

I love being here in New Jersey.

waz good

jersey strong

life is good in the gospel

god will provide

Love you

this guy reminds me of david when he was little... 

love ya dave :)

elder allred and i got to do another exchange! Love that guy

this is my companion... elder welch

ninja... beach.... we got a flat on our way home from the beach.... classic 

phew... this is the zone. there are a lot of names. sis carter sis tonga elder laceste elder fisher elder cuyan elder mendez elder alforeza elder spencer elder larsen elder marquez and the guy squating is elder thresher

some mermaid washed up onto shore.

some cool street in Trenton... and some abandoned building... so cool... we have the hoooood.

New Companion

Hey so.... This is going to be a short letter. We are going to the
beach in five minutes so.

I am getting a new companion tomorrow. It has been real with Elder
Mendez. Learned a lot. He has a lot of really good stories.

I need you guys to pray for Roberto Castillo. He wants to be baptized
the 6th of September

I am learning more about what the really important things are in life.

God does his work

I miss you guys. I love you guys. I will send a letter home this week.

Waz good
Jersey Strong
Life is good in the gospel

Elder McFarland

21

the lion in freehold and the Persads 

this is zulay

Weekly planning outside because it was hot... and Leo. He is cool. He came out with us to preach. He is 16 and is going to be a good missionary!

Carranzas and Kenny. 

Kenny is the son of some members here. He is swag.

Me and the Carranzas. Apparently it is against the rules... so whoops: not doing that again.

This is Aliyana (Stefani's daughter). 

She likes to do duck faces

Stefani and Valeska. And this is when they stole our bikes. We had to walk home with our helmets in our hands and people were all, "what happened to your bikes?" they just laughed when we told them they got stolen.... hahaha

21 months.

It is fun to take a moment and reflect on all the experiences I have had. I have enjoyed my mission. It definitely feels more like a blessing than a sacrifice. 

We had interviews with our president this week. He asked me, "do you know who you are?" I said that I still felt lost. As we talked I recognized the person I am and the person I want to become. I have always loved service. And when I come home, I want to do something where I am helping someone else everyday. I want to become service-oriented.

It was a cool moment to recognize who I am and what really makes me happy. I hope you all are trying to find who you really are. 

Tuesday, we had the worst zone meeting I have been to yet. We had to show an hour presentation for the cars in our mission before zone meeting, but we had technical difficulties. It made me really upset because we started 15 minutes before zone meeting was suppose to start. The poor missionaries were so bored out of their minds, that when zone meeting started 45 minutes late, they were distracted and anxious to be done. Although it was the worst zone meeting, the Spirit was still there, and we did learn. I got to do an exchange that day with elder Laceste. He is from the Philippines. We worked hard and got to know each other. He is a good missionary and a good friend. 

We worked hard this week. And we saw some miracles. A less active and her investigator husband came to church with their kids. It was fun to see them there, and we hope that they continue to come. A member took us to meet with her troubled cousin. It is amazing to watch members share their testimonies with their friends. It has a lot more power because the investigators know that they are saying it because they love them. I love the members here. They are so fun and loving and hard-working. They do missionary work better than any organization I have seen here in New Jersey. We just need to help them ALL do what some of the members are doing.

But miracles happen a lot here. And it is a good place to be.

I am happy. This transfer has not been easy. But I have an assurance that I am doing my best, and that is what God wants from me. So I feel good. I am taking the time to enjoy being a missionary.

This week my testimony grew about families. I miss mine so much. I have great friends here in Jersey who I consider family here, but it isnt my family. It isnt the same. I love my family. And they are more valuable than anything in the world to me. 

I hope you all enjoy your family this week and take time to really enjoy who you are and the people and things you love. 

Waz Good

Jersey Strong

Life is good in the gospel

Love you

Oh P.S. Leo got baptized and I got to watch it over skype! Hooray for happy times!