4/28/14- Week 63! {Week 4 of Transfer 11} "Van"

Hi family! 

Birthday lunch at Olive Garden

This week was great! I feel like I can't remember half of it though... It seems like the last time I emailed was a month ago! A lot has happened it seems. First of all, it was Sister Parker's birthday! She turned 23 years old! Would you have guessed that? The picture of all of the missionaries was of us and the other missionaries in our district (some of them) when we went out to dinner for her birthday to Olive Garden. It was lots of fun. Sister Parker is amazing! She has taught me so much. We are working so well together and are best friends. She is a lot like me and we have lots of fun together. She comes from a big family (9 kids) and has a lot of similar values that her parents taught her. It is lots of fun :)

This week we had a great experience with our investigator, Ashley, this week. We have been teaching her in the church and having members meet us there. It has been great! We had her over for dinner last night at the Bishop's house and it was great! Their family is so funny. We were all laughing and having such a great time. They told us funny stories about when they were newly married about her fear of dogs and his fear of spiders, and it really helped Ashley open up and get to know them. After, we taught her about the Plan of Salvation and the Bishop's family all bore strong testimony of the truth of it. Afterwards the Bishop told Ashley that all of it comes down to the Book of Mormon and whether it is true. It was so powerful! She has been reading the Book of Mormon and really loves it. She loves how it really applies to our life today more than the Bible. She has read past 1 Nephi 7 and is reading every day. I am so excited for her! She wants to get baptized on May 17th and is well on her way to be able to do that! We love her to pieces. 

The Day family is doing much better :) They have a home and he got a job and things have been looking up for them. Stress is normal and they still face challenges, but I know that they have really loved your prayers! Their prayers have been answered. They have been blessed and strengthened. They were at church yesterday and Brother Day looked sharp in his white shirt and tie :) I love their family so much! They are always helping us and checking up on us. They would do anything to protect us, it is really sweet :) They are still working towards baptism and want to have that blessing in their lives. They have some challenges to overcome, but they have a lot of faith and determination! They are willing to sacrifice things for the Lord.

So...let me explain the title of my email. So last week, Sister Parker and I were having a family come with us to go and teach our investigator. The cute Morales family (side note -- -- my dad might know them!! They are from Guatemala and he was baptized in 1978 when my dad served his mission...pretty cool -- - --). They came to pick us up and we were stopping by our car to get my GPS so we could get to our appointment. We were running a little late, so I was trying to hurry. As I was coming back I was running and jumped into the van...but jumped a little too high....and wacked my head on the top of the door. hahahaha. I stumbled back a couple of times, but was able to eventually catch myself and get inside. Sister Parker said I was a little loopy, and I got quite the bump on my head, but I was just fine. It mostly just made me laugh because I am definitely prone to accidents. :) :) I am doing just fine, don't worry, no brain damage, no concussion, just a little bump.

This week we may be having a funeral for a weak, old lady that we have been talking with. She has kidney failure and decided to go off of dialysis. She is a less-active and we were asked to go and visit her and bring her some peace. Over the last few months we have come to love her very much. She reminds me so much of my Grandma Farr :) She is so funny, and makes us laugh every time we visit with her. A few weeks ago when we went over there, she was eating her dinner. They had given her a hamburger that really didn't look too good. It had a hard patty with a squirt of ketchup in the middle and an onion and pickles. She ate a few bits here and there, but eventually she picked it up and put it in our face and said, "The food here is no good.. I mean, would you eat this?!?!" Now maybe you would have to know her to get it, but Sister Parker and I were laughing so hard. She had a completely straight face, but the way she said it was so cute. Most elderly people in nursing homes are usually pretty okay with their living conditions and like the place that they are at. They kind of don't realize that they are in a nursing home because they are ill and going to pass soon. But she was very aware that her living circumstances weren't the best and would let us know each time we went there :) She always had a silly comment or something to make us laugh. I sure am going to miss her. But I have seen such a change in her since we first met her. She was so scared and sad when we first came. But as we have been re-teaching her about the plan of salvation, it has given her hope. She knows where she is going after she dies. People have commented to her that she looks different and seems much happier. She smiles more now and is just so sweet. I am so grateful for my knowledge of the Plan of Salvation. It brings me so much peace when others pass away. I know that there is a life after this one. I know that she will enter a state of rest and not be in pain from her health problems. It brings me such joy!

I don't have much time left today. But always know that I love you all! You are so wonderful. Thank you for your prayers. I love to hear from you. I love to have encouraging words, it helps me keep pushing. I am grateful for my Savior and all he has done for me. I know that this church is true. There are so many blessings that come from living the principles of the gospel. I have a new goal to read the Book of Mormon by the time that I come home. I love the Book of Mormon. It is a magic book! It has changed my life. It is precious to me. I hope that it becomes precious to you. I hope all of your priesthood holders remember how much of an honor it is to hold the power of God. I hope us as women realize that although we do not hold the priesthood, we can receive all of the blessings that they do. Just like our Sunday School teacher put it yesterday. The Savior died and suffered for our sins to save us from two deaths: Spiritual (sin) death, and physical death. But today, we take part in bringing about two lifes: spiritual life (the priesthood- which Men are a part of) and physical life (birth- which Women are a part of). Neither is more important. Both are essential. I love this church! I know our Savior lives and loves us. and I love you all!!!

Love, 

Sister Emilee Brooke Farr :) 

04/21/14- Week 62! {Week 3 of Transfer 11}

Hey there.... :)

I am kind of tired today and a little out of it so hopefully I make logical sense when I write this.. haha. It is a good thing it is P-Day and I can get a nap. Exercise in the morning has been a challenge for Sister Parker and I. It has consisted of a bit of groaning and moping, but we get it done :) Anyways............ HAPPY EASTER........yesterday :) It was an amazing day. We had Stake Conference here in Indiana and Elder Snow from the Quorom of the 70 came to visit us. He had the spirit with him so strongly. It was an amazing conference. We had 6 people who made it! We had the whole less-active family clan with their investigator girl-friends and all. It was great! Then we had another girl come who we met the other week outside. It is truly amazing! We have been praying not only to find new investigators, but to find the elect...to find those people who are going to progress and keep their commitments. He truly has been blessing us.

I remembered that Easter last year was when I got my first investigator on date to be baptized :) Sister Bobbi Hodge! I am so grateful for all of the amazing experiences I have had :) But this Easter wasn't quite the same...We were at a part-member families home last night to have some Easter Dinner with them. The mom has Diabetes and was acting really hyper and things during dinner and the lesson. But towards the end of the lesson, she started to get delusional. She tested her blood-sugar and it was almost 600 (normal is around 100-200). She looked really sick and drained and dizzy. She was totally incoherent. The good thing though was that another set of missionaries were there, and one of them has Diabetes, so he knew exactly what she needed. He tested her blood-sugar level and we got on the go. The Elders immediately gave her a blessing (I love the Priesthood!!) But they had to go to another place to get her insulin and in the mean time we stayed with her. She was really sick and we were scared she was going to go into a coma. We were talking to the Elders most of the time asking them what we should do. We had to keep her awake so we were trying to make her talk and giving her water. It was a scary time. The Elders got back just in time to get her some medicine. By the end of the night she was back to normal and feeling fine. But let's just say I was a worried wreck. When I have kids...I am gonna be a little crazy! Hopefully I get over that :) haha. But I know that it was truly a miracle how things worked out. God is real. He loves us and He is aware of us. I am so grateful for that knowledge! I don't know what I would do without Him.

Other than that our week was pretty good! We had some neat lessons with our investigators and saw miracles of finding people to teach! The cute Hanshew family is doing amazing! Yesterday before Stake Conference, they had a meeting for the Recent Converts in the stake and they came. It was so neat to see them sitting there with all of the other converts and they were just beaming. I am so happy for them! I have seen their lives change. I have seen happiness just flood into their hearts. Sister Hanshew said it is something that she can't describe..you just have to experience it. Oh my goodness..I just love that family! Next year they can be sealed in the temple! :D YAYA!!! Oh talking about sealing, the Lane family from Huntington ward is going to be going to the temple in June or July to get sealed! They are the cute little kids that we taught and their parents. Brother Lane received the Melchizedek Priesthood yesterday! They sustained him and everything. I was just beaming. I am so excited to see these families progress in the gospel. They are staying strong and doing so well! If I was only able to teach one family that was able to stay in the gospel, it would be worth it. Their eternities have changed!! It is so amazing :D Oh my goodness. I also got to see Brother Johnson from Huntington who was baptized last December. He is still doing wonderful! His same funny self. Oh man. It was so great to see so many people from the Huntington ward. It was like seeing family all over again! I felt like I was home. I do miss those sweet people. It let me know that they did remember me and appreciate me as a person. So wonderful :)

We have two investigators who are set for baptism on May 31st! We committed them this week and are going to start preparing them for that. They have some things to overcome in their lives, but I know that with the Savior's help all things are possible. This is His church and His gospel! We are just little instruments in His hands.

I am sorry I don't have more to write.. I am out of time though. I love you all! I am so grateful for this gospel! It can and will change you if you let it. This is a gospel of hope in the crazy world we live in today. Remember that it is only going to get harder to be a member of the church. Think of President Holland in conference. We have to be willing to live this gospel to the fullest. No cutting corners. If we have questions or doubts, we need to find the answers. Satan is smart. He is gaining power and experience each day. But with God in our life, we can defeat him. No matter what. Make sure you do the little things. They are what keep us on the straight and narrow. And that is the only place we want to be!! Learn to love. Love the people you are around. No matter what they may be like or say. They are our family. They have the potential to be like God just like we do. We have to care for them. I love this gospel. It is the truth. The Savior did die for us. He loves us and He will ALWAYS be there for us. I am so grateful for His sacrifice and all he has done for me. We have the truth and we must bring it to the world. Because only this gospel can save it. Oh I love you all!! I hope you have a wonderful week!!!

All my love, 

Sister Emilee Farr

04/14/14 - Week 61! {Week 2 of Transfer 11} "Happy!"

Hi friends :)

This week was really amazing! We found so many new investigators...11 to be exact. That is the most I have EVER found on my mission. The standard of excellence on the mission is 4! We have been asking the Lord to find the elect, people who will progress in the gospel. People who will keep commitments and really hold onto the gospel. And the Lord has blessed us!! We were talking to everyone and asking for referrals from everyone, and we just saw miracles happen. I love this work. I love our Father in Heaven. He is truly amazing. He is so involved in our lives.

We have a lot of investigators right now, Sister Parker and I are starting to get a little overwhelmed with all of the people we have. It is a good problem to have I would say! But we are going to try to make sure we are taking care of the people the Lord has already given us. We have around 35 investigators right now. A lot of them are in the same family! (<-well, they are groups of families..) They come a lot from Part-Member families too. In one specific family, we are teaching the mom (LA), dad, and daughter. Then we are teaching the mom's two sons who are also less-active. And then their girl friends! Yesterday we had all of them at church. It was only 3 investigators, but also 3 less-actives were there. It was amazing! We are so excited about how the work is going here. The ward is lighting up and we are getting the trust of the leaders here. Sister Parker and I never want to leave! :)

We had a part-member family refer us to their neighbor who has been going through a lot of hard times recently. We had stopped by a couple of times, but no one ever answered. Then on Thursday, we stopped by and they were outside working on their van. We went right over and started talking to them. They talked about how they had been doing the wrong things in their lives for awhile, but they were ready to start over and change. We talked about how the Church of Jesus Christ was on the earth today and about the spirit. We talked about eternal families and how they could be married for time and all eternity in the temple. They looked at each other and said, "We should do that." It was so sweet. They told us that they took it as a sign that we had stopped by. They were just so happy. It was neat to see that the Lord had prepared them. We are going to go over there this week and teach them more about it all. I am so excited for them!

I love the power of the priesthood. I have had lots of blessings in the last few weeks.....lots. Maybe about 5 to be exact. Mostly just for guidance. I am learning so much about myself. I am learning more about what our Father in Heaven wants me to be. I know that the power of the Priesthood is real. Use it! That is why we have it. No other church on earth has it. So we better feel blessed and use it when we need it. It is just allowing God to bless us. I am grateful for worthy priesthood holders here. I am grateful that I have a worthy father who holds the priesthood and one day I will have that same priesthood in my home through my husband. I just cannot express how grateful I am for it!! Last week, Sister Parker and I had a crazy experience. We had been facing a lot of opposition from the adversary since we went to the temple. I can't go into much detail, but we just felt unsafe spiritually in our apartment. We felt darkness and evil...especially from our laundry room.  We called on the Priesthood and they came to our apartment right away. They could feel the difference. They could feel that it was off. At that moment, we all knelt down and they blessed our apartment. We felt the darkness get cast out. We felt angels around us protecting us. They proceeded to give us individual blessings and it was the most amazing experience of my life. Literally. I have never felt so much power in my life. I felt like Heaven was literally in the room. It is something I will never forget. The fear and sadness we felt just minutes before they came was dissipated. The whole spirit of the home changed. I was blessed with protection of angels. And I know that my grandfather and my dear friend Jared are protecting me. I feel them near. The power of the devil is real, but the power of God is much, much stronger. I love this gospel. It opened my eyes to how our investigators feel in their homes. They have the devil there all of the time. And they need the gospel to cast him out. I love this gospel so much!! Our homes can be as sacred as the temple. :D

I am also so grateful for the Book of Mormon. It is the word of God. I am reading it again, but this time slowly. I am digging deep. Really applying it to my life. I challenge all of you to use it more in your life! I got an email from Kodee and he said this: "I hope you are using all the gifts God has given us, especially the Book of Mormon. I have seen so many miracles come as I have read and taught from that book. Concerns of investigators melt away and the Spirit is so powerful. My days go much better once I have read from the Book of Mormon. Don't take it for granted. I invite you all to make the Book of Mormon a more important part of your life. It will bless you!" I invite you all to do the same thing!! Read the Book of Mormon. It will bless your life. Our Mission President has told us that the Book of Mormon tells us that even the Bible is true. It is a second witness to all that Christ has given us. 

I love you all! Keep smiling and remember that if hard things are happening, that means that good things are to come. Remember, opposition in all things (2 Nephi 2:11). When you are faced with challenges, miracles are only on the way. I have started to just hope for that as a missionary. Because we face a lot of opposition. When someone is getting baptized, when we have a really bad week, when we are going to find someone really amazing, almost ALWAYS the miracles are proceeded with a trial. The witness doesn't come until AFTER the trial of your faith (Ether 12:6). So keep your head high. The miracles are right around the corner. Whether they come in this life or the next, for followers of the Savior, they will always come. When we are being obedient and doing our best, the Lord will bless us. So, be obedient and do your best!! The blessings will come pouring down. If you ask my artist of a companion, Sister Parker, she would talk about art and how with every bright spot, there is always a shadow. The brighter the light, the darker the shadow. Well, that is the same with our life. The harder the trial, the greater the miracle. So just push forward. Remember: "Come what may, and love it."

All my love,
Sister Emilee Brooke Farr

and about the pictures......On Monday last week, we went to 5-Guys for lunch with our district. So Sister Parker and I took some crazy pictures that I hope you enjoy :) haha. Then we saw this guy riding his bike and it was SUUUPER tall. Sister Parker creepily took a picture of him...hahhaa. 

04/07/14-Week 60! {Week 1 or Transfer 11} "CONFERENCE!"

Hi!! :D

I have hardly any time today. Sorry!! I have 12 minutes to do this. I hope my fingers can work and type super fast! Say a prayer! Hopefully prayers in the future count for things in that past. Man. I can't type! Your prayers aren't working....

Anyways....This past week was a pretty good week! We had a really neat experience with our Part-Member family. We are teaching the husband and daughter of a less-active member, Sister Day. Since Brother Day and his daugher, Evayce decided to get baptized, all of the powers of hell have been combining against them! He lost his job, she lost her job, the daughter got kicked out of school, they got evicted from their house, and the list goes on. They are staying with Brother Day's sister and it is not a good environment. There is sadness and darkness there. It has been rough on their marriage and family. They have contemplated getting a divorce and everything. But this week things turned around! Sister Day came to both of the Saturday sessions of conference at the church. In between the two sessions she was having a really hard time. She was crying and getting so stressed that it was making her sick. We called the Elders and asked if they could come give her a blessing. It was wonderful! The blessing was very inspiring and gave her so much direction. After the blessing she was back to her normal self. She was laughing and smiling. I truly felt that there was evil in her that was cast out. She is doing much better. We even received permission from the sister, whose home they are staying at, to come every day and read and pray with them!! Horray!! We know that this will help them stay strong. :) Keep them in your prayers. They need all of the help they can get.

I love conference this week! It was so inspiring. Talk about power when Elder Holland was speaking. It was incredible. Especially the last part of his testimony when he said that he knows that this church is true more surly than he knew that he was standing in front of us at the pulpit. I got such chills! He is one of my favorite speakers at conference. He always seems to hit exactly what I need to hear. As a missionary we have to stand alone a lot (well, with our companion) and it can be hard. But I know that the Savior stands with us. It is beautiful. I love this gospel. I love the leaders of the church. Just hearing them speak, you know they are inspired of God. If you have trouble believing that Joseph Smith is a prophet of God..well do you know if Thomas S. Monson is a prophet? You can listen to him!! And know for yourself. It is amazing. We are so lucky to be members of this church. I am learning so much about it. I have so much more to learn. I still have questions and doubts sometimes, but I am finding answers. Just like it was taught in conference by the guy with the cool accent! I don't' remember his name... Elder Aidi...i don't know. But gain the revelation for yourself. As you study, ponder, pray, and fast you can learn the truth of things. I practice that all of the time as a missionary! And we teach people to do that too.

I am also learning so much about myself. This past week I am learning a lot about the gift of discernment. I have learned that I tend to take on other peoples' emotions. With our investigators, when they are confused, I get confused. I have a really in-tune line with other people. Interestingly I have even noticed that when one of my investigators is having a bad day, I have a bad day too. When I meet up with them later, they explain to me how they have been feeling, and I have been feeling the same way. I have noticed it with Sister Day, Naomi, Kerry, Richard, and lots of others. I don't know why I do it. I don't even know how it is possible...but I have started to pick up on it. Now when I am having a really bad day I think..." Who is feeling this way that I need to help?" "Which one of my investigators feels like this and how can I help them get out of it?" It is easier said than done...but I am starting to notice a pattern. (I don't know if any of that made any sense...but I thought I would share it.) We each have spiritual gifts that we don't even know about..or understand. I don't understand this spiritual gift yet, but I am going to learn about it. It is something to do with discernment. But I don't know. Sometimes I feel how the Savior felt when he felt the exact things that we are feeling so that He can sympathize. I feel like sometimes Heavenly Father puts me through trials or hardships so that I can help my investigators. We each can learn and understand what our spiritual gifts are as we pay attention to our strengths..and our weakness. Often our biggest strengths are our biggest weaknesses as well. Like for me, being compassionate is great! But when I get sucked down into despair with them..not so great.

I am grateful for all I am learning as a missionary. It is truly preparing me for my life after the mission. As a mother, wife, sister, daughter, friend, student, everything! I don't even know what I would be like without it. I have changed so much so far. I can't imagine all of the changes I will continue to have.

Well, time is up! I love you all! Have a wonderful week :) :) Spring is on the way!!!

Love,
Sister Farr

p.s. my companion is a good artist! Here is a drawing she did of me. And me with red hair! And her with blonde hair!! :) haha"

03/31/14-Week 59 {Week 5 of Transfer 10} "Hanshew!!"

Hi :)

This week was a crazy one...but we made it! We had a total of 30 lessons that we taught. (They want us to teach 20 lessons a week. So we exceeded it!) It was a lot of work though. We also got our transfer calls this week. I will be staying here in New Haven with Sister Parker :) So no address change or anything. Keep sending things to:

860 State Road 930 E #82
New Haven, IN 46774

Thank you for all of your support! I love you all so much :) The Hanshew family got baptized on Saturday!!! It was absolutely amazing. Sister Parker and I felt like we were little chickens running around with our heads cut off to get everything done, but it all worked out. We didn't get a picture with them until after their baptism, but it is okay. They were just beaming. Sister Hanshew had to be baptized 2 times because her hair came up, but then it all went smoothly. The spirit was so strong there. There were lots of members and nonmembers there. The spirit was penetrating the air. You could grab it, I swear! I loved it so much. Sister Parker and I gave the talks....which we remembered we were giving as we were handing out the programs. So we just winged it on the spot. Good thing we teach about Baptism and the Holy Ghost a lot! haha :) It was really good though. This ward has been amazing. They are so willing to help and always are asking what they can do for us. I am so grateful for them. The Bishop is trying to help us do the work. The Young Women's president has been having us go out with her to visit the less-active girls in the ward to have them come back. I love the ward involvement! We can't do it without them! I just love them :) I love the area here and the ward here. It was so cute...the day before their baptism, Brother Hanshew asked us if we could go shopping with him to pick out an outfit for his baptism. He is a cute 50 year old guy and didn't know what to get. So Sister Parker and I met him at Kohl's on our lunch break and picked out his shirt and tie. It was lots of fun! :)  [the picture is of Brother and Sister Hanshew and their daughter].

We found a couple more new investigators. One of them is an 18 year old named Noah. We caught him walking inside after coming home from school. He had a boy scout shirt with him so we started asking him about that. It lead from that to the church he went to and then into the Book of Mormon. It was really neat. We gave him a copy of the Book of Mormon and he wants to read it. He is really open. I have found so often on my mission that the youth are the ones that are the most open. Once they grow up, they get more of the worlds view drilled into them. But so often it is the younger generation that is learning and accepting the gospel. I am so grateful for the gospel in my life. It really has changed me.

We went into the combined YM/YW Sunday school class yesterday and bore our testimonies to them. We want to work closely with some of the youth in our ward. They need extra support! But the Bishop came in and talked about the Atonement. He brought up a point about light and it's properties. He said that light moves at about 186,282 miles/second. suuuuper fast. He asked, "if you were going 186,281 miles/second, would light only be passing you at 1 mile/second?" All of us figured yes because that is normally how it would work. But the answer is no. One of the special properties of light is that no matter how fast you are going, light will always pass you at 186,282 miles/second. So you can never catch up to it. Then he related that to the gospel and how Jesus Christ is compared to being the 'Light of the World'. We will never be able to catch up to Him. No matter how fast or how hard we try. That is why Jesus had to come and die for us. That is the only way that we can catch up. I just thought it was so interesting that before we even knew all of these laws of physics about light, Jesus Christ compared himself to being the light of the world. Obviously He knew the properties of light. The more I learn about science and logic, the more I believe in God. I know that He is there. I know that He loves us and He created us. It is just amazing to think. I hope you could follow my thoughts...I just was having them as he continued to talk.

Yes, I loved the General Women's conference!! Goodness. Just hearing the voices of the leaders of our church makes me want to cry. It is like seeing a long lost friend or talking with my grandpa. I just love it. The theme was definitely love one another. I thought it was perfect!! We really do need to unite together. We have to stop judging and comparing. We are all God's children and He loves us. We need to treat each other that way. I love the leaders of our church. They are simply amazing. They really are led by our Father in Heaven. I am SOOOOO excited for General Conference this week! I can't even tell you! I love General Conference. We get to hear from our Prophet and Apostles....or more specifically our Savior and our Father in Heaven. Because they are the ones that speak to us. Just like it says in D&C 1:38, if it is from the voice of Him or His servants it is the same. We need to take General Conference more seriously. They speak for God. If we knew that God was going to be at a meeting, would we miss it? Wouldn't we do all we could to hear from Him?? Well, that is what General Conference is.

Oh man. I love this gospel. I am grateful to share it. It is definitely hard. People sometimes aren't too happy to have

us at their door or talking to them, but when people accept it and get baptized...it makes all of the difference!! Keep praying for us! We need all of the help we can get. I love you all!!

Love, 
Sister Farr


wildlife :D Dad will appreciate the deer. And the Chipmunk was just chillin out in someone's front yard :)

03/24/14-Week 58 {Week 3 of Transfer 10} "TEMPLE!!"

Hi!

Sorry that last week I didn't get to email. Let just say.....it was SUPER busy. We never even got to go shopping. So Sister Parker and I have been out of toilet paper for..about a week and half. We have gone through all of our paper towels and tissues. Good thing some other sisters gave us a roll of toilet paper the other day. But no need to fear! Today we get to go shopping!! Horray! :) I missed being able to email all of you, but I will try to get as much as I can into this email. Our mission president has put a 60 minute time limit to emailing every week. It used to not be specified. So in the library at 60 minutes it shuts off and closes. I have 20 minutes left..lets see how fast I can type! :)

First off, I went to the temple this week on Tuesday! We went to the Columbus, Ohio temple. It was a lot like the Louisville, KY temple. Just little and petite, but beautiful as always! I absolutely loved it. It went by too fast. I have missed going to the temple. Sister Parker and I were the last people to leave the celestial room. We just sat in there and soaked in the spirit. It was incredible and so so strong. I cannot deny that it is the house of God. There is no doubt in my mind. I love it there. It is wonderful. I just want to live there! Oh wait.. our homes can be the place that is closest to the temple in sacredness. I want my children to come home to a place where they feel the spirit right when they walk in. Where they feel that safety and refuge. It all comes through centering it on Jesus Christ. Reading and praying together every day. Having FHE and the little things. Just like in Alma 37:6-7: By small and simple things are great things brought to pass. I know that it is true. It is not just what the prophets suggest or is good. But it is the Lord's promise (and he doesn't break his promises), that if we put him first and pray and read together, we will be blessed in all things both spiritually and temporally (Mosiah 2:41). Ah! This gospel is so true. I can't handle it sometimes. I just love it! I hope all of you can understand and feel that for yourselves.

This next Saturday is something called a social media day. We will be having members of our ward follow us around and take pictures of us as we work. They will take pictures of us teaching and we have a baptism that day, so for that. They will take pictures of us studying, everything!
It is to get it out on the media what we do as missionaries. The hope is that members will share the pictures (not just like them) and then the church will be exposed to thousands of people that day!! How neat is that?!? :D I am excited! So if you see some pictures of me and Sister Parker floating around on facebook, (it will be under #mormon) then share them!! :D

Hm.. I am trying to think of what to say now. Well, Sister Parker and I had an interesting experience last Sunday. Before we went to our service, one of our investigators, Dane, invited us to come to his church (and then he would come to ours ). So we said sure! And we went. It was a Pentecostal church (but no snakes or anything). It was...different. There were 16 people total (including the pasture) and so we stuck out like a sore thumb. But they were all very friendly. The sermon was different. I didn't know what was happening. The preacher was yelling at times and got red in the face and pointed his finger. It just felt so empty compared to our services. It was like he had to put on a show up front so that people would listen and pay attention...to entertain.. but the spirit wasn't there. I was so happy to go into our meeting after. It just testified to me how true this church is!! It is absolutely, 100% true. Everything about it. People are not perfect, but this gospel is. I love it. It was a good experience though. I came to understand how different it must be for our investigators to come to our church if they grew up in a church like that. But just in case you were wondering, this church is true!!!!! :D

The Hanshew's are getting baptized this Saturday!! :D At 4:00pm :D I am sooo excited! I can't even tell you. We had a lesson with them yesterday with the bishop in his office, and it was amazing. The spirit was so strong. They talked about how we had helped them. How the previous missionaries had just come and had dinner and hung out, but when Sister Parker and I came, we pushed them and invited them. We simply opened our mouths and invited them to pray about baptism. And look where they are now. The Bishop shared with us the conversion of his parents and how they were disowned by their parents because of joining the church. But they stayed strong. And now so many more people are being blessed because of that choice. The sacrifices we make will never be forgotten by the Lord. Just like one of my favorite quotes by President Monson says: "The greatest decision I ever made was to give up something that I loved to the God I loved more. He has never forgotten me for it." That is so true. If we give up something that we dearly love to God, He will bless us more than we can see. Of course there comes opposition with blessings, but it is so worth it. I have definitely learned more about the principle of sacrifice on my mission than ever before. Bah ! I just love this gospel!! :D

We are also teaching our sweet Amish friends. They have been going through some really challenging times. They are nearing the point where they will be shunned soon :( They have had so many people threaten them and tell them they are going to hell. But we have just been there to support. They came to chruch yesterday! It was great! We had 5 people at church :) But we took them on a walk the other day. They are both blind, so Naomi had to hold onto my arm as we walked. It was fun to get to know them and learn about their culture. It is actually quite smiliar to ours. But really, they don't believe in salvation. It is a hope that they can be saved, but there is no true hope or belief that you will. It is quite depressing, actually. They realized that Jesus can save them and will be there for them. They have SO much faith. :)

The Day family moved this week (James, Evalyce, and Crystal). And we spent....8ish hours helping them. They found out last week that they had to move and so they had so much to do. We spent time loading things in our cars and going back and forth to a storage unit to store things there. It is so sad what they have to go through. But they have had faith through it all! They keep strong and know that God will provide. Keep them in your prayers. They need extra strength. They came to church yesterday too!! It was great :) :) 

I hope you all know how much I love you. I wish that I had more time to write you all that happens. But I write down the things that come to mind first. I hope that God can help you find answers that you are searching for. I pray for you and know that God is with you always!!

Love, 

Sister Farr 

03/10/14-Week 57 {Week 3 of Transfer 10} "Frowning Amish Goats"

Sister Parker & Sister Farr

Hi Family!!!

I hardly have ANY time today. I am sorry. I will try to get as much as I can in this email.

So. To explain the email heading....We had dinner with a member family last night and we were talking about the Atonement. The Dad was trying to get his little girl to finish the words of "I Stand all Amazed" and he said: " I stand all amazed at the ______......"... and she said "Frowny face." He kept going and each time she just kept getting it wrong. hahaha. We laughed pretty hard along with the other family. Then later we were talking about Jesus Christ and her mom said: "We talked about Jesus today during sacrament! Remember?? Jesus died on the.._____"...and she said: "Goat!!" We all laughed really hard again. Sister Parker and I were kind of crying a little bit actually. :) It was great!! AND on the way up to their house we drove past a bunch of amish people!!! They live down the street from a bunch of them!! CRAZY!!! We took a bunch of picutres... haha

We had 4 people come to church yesterday too!! A part member family and the Hanshews (Who are on baptism date) :D :D It was amazing! And we found....... 8 new investigators!! That is a record for my mission :D But we had a miracle on Saturday. We were outside and decided to talk to this guy who was walking inside. We saw him walking and made eye contact with each other and just kept walking over to him. We talked with him, and he had never heard of the church. We gave him a Book of Mormon and invited him to church. AND HE CAME!! What?? No one ever com

es like that. it was insane. Seriously! It was such a miracle. I just love this gospel. And I ove all of you!! I have 20 seconds left. Have a wonderful Week!!!! You are all wonderful. I am sorry this is so short. 

Love,

Sister Farr

03/03/14-Week 56 {Week 2 of Transfer 10}

Hi there :)

I am trying to even remember what happened last week. Let me pull out my planner....We have done lots of finding!!! We found 7 new people to teach this week :) A lot of them have been through trying to find out who "unknown" members are who haven't been to church in a long time. We find their house and either it is a part member family, or someone else has moved in. We have just seen so many, many miracles! There are wonderful things happening in New Haven and I just LOVE being here! Sister Parker and I have had so much fun. She is so sweet and helpful with everything. We are so similar and really can relate to each other. I love it :D

But we had a wonderful miracle with the Hanshew family! So when we first met them...2 weeks ago ish....we asked Sister and Brother Hanshew to pray about being baptized on March 29th. Since then, we have had quite a few powerful lessons with them. The first lesson, Sister Hanshew got a blessing of peace and healing. The spirit was so very strong. She said that she had never felt the Spirit with the missionaries before. And Sister Parker and I were determined to change that pattern!! Then we had a really neat lesson with her this week about the Book of Mormon. We did something that I call a "Book of Mormon experience".- - - you all should try it too - - - It is something that we teach our investigators to do so that they can learn how to gain revelation from the Book of Mormon and not just read it to read it. So we had her think of a question that she needed answers to....about anything! church...work...family...school...anything. When she picked out her question, we had her say a prayer and ask God to answer the question that she needed answers to. Then we had her open the Book of Mormon to a random page and start to read. We all turned there with her. As we read, the Spirit came into the room. It was such a sweet and peaceful feeling. We sat there and had her search for her answer after she had read 10 or so verses. But it didn't take her long. She just said, "wow. There it is.." It was so neat. It answered her question directly. When we opened the Book of Mormon to where she had chosen, I was a little bit nervous at first. I wasn't sure that it would be what she needed, but it was exactly what she needed. And the spirit really testified. It was powerful! It was then that she really started to read the Book of Mormon. She would read it when she was eating, or waiting for something. Then Sister Parker and I have started to call them every evening at 7pm to have family prayer with them over the phone. All of this combined really brought the Spirit into the home and into their lives. The other night, the Elders went over there for dinner and as they ate, Sister Hanshew brought up how she was praying about a baptismal date. And she said that she was going to get baptized on March 29th. She wanted to be a Mormon. She knew it was true and it felt right. Then she turned to her husband and asked him if he was going to do it too and he said yes! How amazing!!!! :D :D The Elders called us right afterwards so excited. They told us the wonderful news and Sister Parker and I were just beaming with happiness. We are so excited for them! They want it and they are ready to be baptized. Continue to keep them in your prayers!!

Then we had a neat experience with our investigator, Sherri. We just stopped in one day and she had 2 other friends over. We started to talk to her and all of them. As we continued to talk, we started to talk about the Book of Mormon and the restoration a little bit. Her friends, Myrtle and Henry, started to listen quite intently. As we talked more, Henry brought up some concerns that he had with our church. He had heard some anti and had some misconceptions of what we believe. As we talked through them and cleared up the confusion he had, they continued to listen more and more. At the end of our visit, we asked them if they would like to come to church, and they said they would! We then proceeded to talk about baptism and asked them if they came to know that this church was true if they each would be baptized. and all three of them said yes. (!!!) how amazing is that?? The power of the spirit is amazing. The way the Lord can soften the hearts of people amazes me every time. Last night we had another lesson with Myrtle and it was so powerful. We talked more about the Spirit and the restoration of the gospel. In many points the spirit was so strong that she would tear up. I would tear up. The member we brought would tear up. It was just beautiful. I love the power the Spirit brings. It would be useless to try to share this gospel without it. We would just talk and talk, but nothing would ever come of it.

This church is true! It is the Kingdom of God on the earth. It is the only church with the fullness of the teachings of Jesus Christ. It is the only gospel that has God's full plan for us. We know who God is and what He wants for us. He is our Father. He loves us. We have a purpose! I love the spirit I feel each and every time I share the Plan of Salvation. I never fail to have it testified to me over and over that this church is true. If you don't know that yet, pray and ask your Father in Heaven and then search for His answer. Remember, it is seek and you shall find. We have to seek and search. We must do our part. Everything doesn't just get handed to us. We have to work for it. I have worked very hard the past 13 months to come to know more about this gospel. And I have come to know it is true. Oh goodness :) I just love it!! :D And I love you all too! So very much. Thank you for your prayers and support.

Love,
Sister Emilee Farr

p.s. I repented and brought my cord to send pictures, but now my cord isn't working! So...I may have to buy a new one. I am sorry! I will do better. I promise :)

02/24/14-Week 55 {Week 1 of Transfer 10} "Korean, Tobacco, Garage..."

Hello :) :) :)

It has just been a wonderful week! I have some news! I have been transferred! To....drum roll.............New Haven, Indiana! It is just about 45 minutes north of Huntington. I am still in the same stake :) I guess I will just stay in good old Indiana!! :D Here is my new address:

Sister Emilee Farr

860 State Road 930 East #82

New Haven, Indiana 46774

My new companion is Sister April Parker. She is from Oxford, Idaho and the 4th of 9 kids. She is so sweet and adorable! She is a powerful missionary too! We are the STL's here in our zone. We are over just 2 other sets of sisters (that is a big change from last transfer). It has just been so great to be Sister Parker's companion. We got doubled into our area into an area that just had elders. Let's just say the apartment was a little dirty.....ya know, mold in the bathroom, trash in boxes all over, dirty dishes in the sink, un-vacuumed.... I don't know how Elders can live like that. haha. It opened my eyes a little bit! Sister Parker and I had to spend quite a while cleaning our apartment the next few days. But now we have a cute little home that we love. We even have a real piano in our apartment!! So during some breaks I play some songs from memory. It is great!

It has been a week full of laughter. Sister Parker and I have just had so many awkward missionary experiences. Here are a few:

-We were tracting at an apartment complex and decided to knock on two doors at once to make it interesting. After we knocked I said "What if they both answer??" She said "I don't  know..." One door opened and we started to talk to the guy, and then sure enough the next door opened and a lady came out. So Sister Parker jumped over and started talking to her, while I talked to him. It was suuuuuuuper awkward and funny. He said "Did you knock on my door...?" I said, "Yeah, we knocked on both!" He looked so confused. hahaha. It was just great.

-We changed our GPS voice to a Korean woman. And when ever it says to turn left it says "chow Asian!" when it said to turn right it says "ooo raisin" It cracks us up. (we are easily entertained....)

-We walked all over downtown Fort Wayne trying to find a map of our area. Finally people directed us to Regiels which is a tobacco and smoke shop to get some maps...that was a little interesting....I came out with a headache!!
-We were knocking on some neighbors door to a LA and we walked up to the front door and there was a sign that said to use the back door. So we walked around the house and saw a door in a garage that was open and it looked like it had a doorbell. So we went inside and pushed on the door bell. But...it turned out not to be a doorbell...the garage door started to close.....hahaha!!! Sister Parker and I were kind of freaking out and saying "no! no! no! stop! no!" it was funny. We pushed it again and the door opened. Then we opened the screen door to knock, and the other door opened because of the pressure change. We looked in to see a little boy on a computer watching a talking cat video. He slowly turned around and came over. We asked if his mom was there and he wouldn't respond. But we asked again and he said no. We asked if his dad was there and he said yes. We asked if he would get him and he said no. Then he told us to come in and we said to get his dad. Eventually after asking him numerous times to go and get an adult and him refusing, he just walked back to the computer and watched his video. So we awkwardly walked outside of their garage and laughed for a few minutes after that :)

-We were talking to this man walking outside and asked him if we could come over sometime and talk to him about Jesus. He opened up his arms and said "you can come into my bedroom anytime.." Sister Parker said "That would be highly inappropriate!" And he looked away ashamed and said "I know." <- missionary smack down! It was super awkward though.

-Our GPS stopped working at about 9 at night one day and we were lost. We ended up calling our District Leader and asking him to help us find our way back home. It was great fun. We were all doubled in (us and the elders) so we were all just lost. But we made it home in one piece! :) It was so much fun.

In the past couple of days we have seen miracles here too! We found a new lady to teach outside when we were taking our loads of trash to the dumpster. She stopped us and asked if we were from a church. We talked with her and she told us how she wanted to change her life. She had been drinking and she knew that she needed to do better. We talked with her for a while and it was really good. She was crying and hugged us. It was a miracle that Heavenly Father gave us right in our apartment complex! :) We ended up meeting her mom too and are teaching her!

We picked up a family that the Elders were teaching here before. The first time we met Sister Hanshew, she told us that she wanted to know more about the church. She said that she was trying to decided on baptism, but she didn't know enough to make her decision. She told us that she has never felt the spirit with the missionaries before. Well, Sister Parker and I thought that we better change that! As we talked with her she started to mention how things in their family were hard and that she needed more peace. We ended up offering her to get a blessing. The Elders came over and gave her a powerful blessing. Afterwards we asked her how she felt and she explained that she had felt the Spirit. She felt calm and peaceful. We testified that it was the Spirit. It was such a neat experience! 

It has been wonderful! I love my new area, the ward, my companion. I am so excited to work here. I am excited for the challenges that lie ahead and the miracles we will see. I know I have so much to learn and become. Sister Parker has taught me so much already. :) This church is incredible. Each time that I teach someone the Restoration or the Plan of Salvation, my testimony grows stronger. This church does have all of the answers. We hold the truth. We have what everyone needs to fill the gaps that are in their souls. Only through this gospel can they truly be healed. Only through this gospel can they fully access the Atonement of Jesus Christ. I just love this gospel! :D :D 

I love you all so so much! :D

Sister Emilee Farr

p.s. I forgot my cord to send pictures...so I will have to send you pictures next week. Sorry!! 

02/17/14-Week 54 [Week 6 of Transfer 9] "Cold Feet"

Big news!! I am getting transferred!! Who would have thought?? I have been here in Huntington, Indiana for 9 months now. I just figured I was never leaving. I spent half of my mission here. But I am packing up and getting ready to face a new adventure. I will find out tomorrow morning where I am going and who I am going with. It will be exciting. :) 

So: don't send any more letters to the 337 William street address. I do not live there anymore.

I will let you know next week what my new address is. 

I also have some sad news, Wayne did not end up getting baptized on Saturday :( He ended up getting nervous and decided not to get baptized this week. But he said that he DOES want to be baptized, but he just got "cold feet" as he put it. As I put it, he is a little bit of a spiritual snail :) He just moves a little bit slower spiritually. But I still love him to pieces! I am going to miss him a lot. He is like an older brother to me...a much older brother, haha. Keep him in your prayers still, he needs support and love. It is a big step for him and it is going to take a lot of faith. But we had a really good lesson with him on Saturday! We had a couple come with us and they were perfect! Sister Smith talked about how her family was just like him and nervous and hesitant. "They didn't want to make the wrong decision." But she told him how much the church has helped her and her family and how she now looks back and thinks, "what was the big deal?" It was really good for him I think. I have no doubt that he will be baptized soon. 

Yesterday we had a super busy day!! But I had a pretty cool experience. We had what is called a "Cottage Meeting" which is pretty much just a very informal fireside for investigators and less-actives. They show a short film and then we discuss it and have refreshments. Well, yesterday a youth in the ward came and brought her friend with her. I saw her friend when we came in, but we had some investigators there that we went and sat by. At the end when everyone was eating and chatting, I decided that I had better go over and talk to her. And it was really neat! We had a really good conversation. It started out with her talking about how involved she was in her church to talking about how she wasn't really happy in her church. We talked about how there were so many different churches and they claimed to be "Christian" but don't really live it. We talked about how the Bible can be confusing. It was just perfect! I just thought, "Man, this girl just needs the restoration!" So we set up a time to meet up again, but unfortunately she lives in the other sisters' area, so we had to hand her off, but it was still a really neat experience! I was nervous to go over and start the conversation, but it went really well! Heavenly Father has definitely been guiding me and helping me. I just love the thrill that comes when you share the gospel!

Gracie & Sister Farr

We had 4 investigators at church yesterday!! The Martin family and then Gracie {she is the cute girl in the picture that I am hugging} :) We were so excited! And other less-actives came. It was just a wonderful day! 

I went on lots of exchanges again this week. One up in Kendallville with Sister Rolfe. She is so cute and sweet! We had a wonderful lesson with a young man named Jack, at the church! We were walking around the building and stopped at a picture of Christ getting baptized, and he talked about how he had never been baptized, and so we asked him right there if he would and he said yes! {!!!!} 

Then I was in Aboite with Sister Standage and we had a miracle happen with a blessing. Their investigator Taylor has been really struggling recently. As we were teaching her, I was sharing a personal experience with how I was able to get through with the Priesthood, and it hit me that she needed a blessing. We went straight over to a members' home and the husband gave her a blessing and it was beautiful! The Priesthood is real. I know that more than ever. 

Then we had an exchange with the Decatur sisters, Sister Memmott. We had a fun day! We were busy busy busy. But we had a wonderful lesson with our investigators Lavon and Richard. {And they have been having family prayer!!!!!} <--we had been trying to get them to do that for weeks. We talked about how the Book of Mormon can help them and their family even more. It was a wonderful lesson! And then they let us make them breakfast in the morning before church! And they came to church! And they came to the Cottage Meeting!!!! :D :D It was amazing! They are doing so well.

But yes, in a nutshell, that was my week. This morning we helped in seminary and it was lots of fun! We had to wake up at 5 in the morning. But we acted like the teachers and treated them like they just got the MTC. They were so out of it...it was funny :) hahah. But it was lots of fun to be able to interact with them more. We talked about how important the Book of Mormon is in everything that we do as missionaries and members. The Book of Mormon is what holds our church together. Without the Book of Mormon we really don't have much of anything. It proves the entire Restoration...which brings about our whole church. We told them how important it is for them to gain a testimony of the Book of Mormon. You can resolve any conflict that people have with the church by bringing it back to the Book of Mormon. If they object with the Word of Wisdom, Law of Chastity, Temples, anything! You can tie it back to the Restoration and the Book of Mormon. I never really understood how important the Book of Mormon is. I love that book. I read it every day. I challenge all of you to take any concern that you have and relate it back to the Book of Mormon. If you don't know the Book of Mormon is true, then read it and sincerely pray. I promise you that the Holy Ghost will testify of its truthfulness. I love this gospel. I love the opportunity I have to share it with others!!

Thank you for all of your support. I love you all!!!

All my love,

Sister Farr