07/01/13-Week 21 [Week 4 of Transfer 4] "Ohio, Cincinnati!! Here I...am? Yes!"

Hello friends and family!!

Today 2 zones in the Indiana Mission have received a commandment from the Lord - D&C 38:32. He has called us to Ohio where we will be "endowed with power". (hahaha..our Zone Leaders sent us that in a funny voice mail this morning). Starting today, July 1st I am now in the Ohio Cincinnati mission with President and Sister Porter from Morgan, UT (AKA Alyson Porter's parents) as my mission president and wife! Crazy. I know. I am very excited though! It will be great. Now I get to serve in 2 missions and 2 states. I feel kind of special. Not really. I am just tired today, and a little bit loopy.

This week has been great!! We had a great follow up lesson with Jeremiah! He is the investigator who really liked the Book of Mormon because he is part Indian. We came back to his house and we talked to him as he was cooking dinner. It was a very different kind of lesson, but the spirit kept saying "Teach People, Not Lessons." We planned to go into his home and sit down with his family and teach them about the restoration, but as we chatted with him in his kitchen, we decided that what he really needed was the Plan of Salvation. We asked him about who he thought God was and his conception of Jesus Christ. He started to tell us some really cool thoughts that he had....that actually lined right up with our deeper doctrine. He mentioned that he thought that God must have walked the earth and lived on earth or something so that he knew what we would experience. He said "God wouldn't just throw us into a world where he didn't know anything about. It would be like me, making this spaghetti sauce and throwing some stuff in it and then feeding it to my family without even tasting it!" We talked to him about where we thought God came from and he totally agreed! He said "that makes a LOT of sense!" He even mentioned how he thought that there must be other galaxies and universes who have other planets just like ours who have their own Gods...it was crazy. I am telling you. We asked him, "So, what do you think the purpose of life is?" He said "Well, to be tested and tried, to find my family and loved ones, and prepare myself to return to God." Umm...are you sure you aren't a Mormon?? Because that is exactly what we teach! Plus the fact of gaining a body. It was incredible. Sister Colton and I were just standing there getting our minds blown as he talked with us. Never have I had an investigator say anything like that. It was amazing! We are teaching him again on Thursday, and we invited his wife and family to join us. Oh so great!!!!

We found a really cool new investigator this week. Her name is Elizabeth. She has a 2 year old son who had a heart transplant at 1 week old. She has had a lot of challenges in her family life, but still stayed strong. But how we found her was really cool. We had planned to tract a street named Briant, but we didn't 'feel' right about it. So we prayed and asked Heavenly Father to help us to know where we were supposed to be. I started looking through my planner and Sister Colton pulled out the ward roster. The name Davisson stuck out to me, but not the people who I had down (there are tons of Davissons in the ward). Then Sister Colton said "Amber Davisson?" I said "Yes!" That felt right. So we went over to her house, but no one was there. So we decided 'well, God sent us here for a reason..' and started to walk around looking for people outside. I said a silent prayer to Heavenly Father asking him to help me know who he has who is prepared here. I asked him if he would help them to go outside so that I would know. As we turned the corner, we saw Elizabeth sitting outside on her porch swing. My heart skipped! Horray! She is prepared! Heavenly Father answered my prayers. We went over and immediately Sister Colton and I thought that we needed to talk about the Family Proclamation, so we did. We talked about Eternal Families and how the Gospel blesses families. We gave her a pamphlet and have a return appointment tonight! Say an extra prayer for us! It is amazing to have Heavenly Father work through you to find the people He has prepared. I love it!!! I love my calling as a missionary!

We had some funny times this week....
First, was with Sister Hazelet. We were teaching her about the Christ-like attribute of hope, and my stomach would NOT stop growling!! I wasn't even hungry. All of us would awkwardly pause and listen as my stomach would rip out a loud growl..bahaha. It was funny. We all laughed together. I just have to say though....I blame dad ;)
Then, another night I woke up in the middle of the night and went to turn on the fan. Sister Colton thought that I had said something, but I didn't. But because she had no energy (she was half asleep), she just grunted at me.  Confused...I grunted back. The next morning, she asked me if I had said something to her and I said that I hadn't. She explained that she grunted because she couldn't muster up the strength to say anything. We had a good laugh about that.
It has been lots of fun here in Indiana! We have had some crazy storms and some fun times! We are working hard and the fruits are starting to come.

Also, I am no longer in the Indianapolis Indiana Mission, so don't send any mail to that address! It has changed. I don't know the new Mission Home address, but when I get it, I will let you know. In the meantime you can send it right to my apartment in Huntington. Thanks!!
I love you all! Continue to always read in your scriptures and stay close to our Father in Heaven. It is only through Christ that we can be happy!

With Love,

Sister Farr

06/24/13 - Week 20 in Indianna. [Week 3 of Transfer 4]

Hello family and friends!

Were any of you able to watch the broadcast last night??!!! Oh.my.goodness. It blew my mind! If you did not, I realllllly hope you can find it online! It was broadcasted from the Marriott Center in Provo all over the world to the churches. It was about missionary work and it was wonderful. I guess that we will start having technology in our missions....like iPad technology...and facebook accounts.. this changes EVERYTHING! It will be crazy. I am so excited, but really nervous. I was doing great without having to worry about the whole technology thing. But yeah, it was amazing. You HAVE TO watch it.

It has been a busy week. and a reallly hot week. The humidity here is killer. You just sit outside and feel the sweat drip down your back the whole time. Your clothes stick to you, and it is just nasty. But I will get through it! I just try not to think about it. haha.

On Tuesday, Sister Colton was sick :( the poor thing. So I had a day inside...studying...the whole day. Lets just say I got a headache. But I learned some really cool stuff! I was able to read an entire book called "Our Search for Happiness" by Elder Ballard. It is amazing! It talks a lot about the restoration and our basic beliefs. It is SUCH a good book! I would highly recommend it to everyone to read. It helps you understand some of the "whys" behind the gospel. It is pretty great. I also read a lot in the Book of Mormon. I just love that book. I can't explain it. The Book of Mormon is the word of God. There is no doubt in my mind that it is true. It speaks of real people who talked with God and were lead by Him to the America's. But the things that we can learn from that book are things beyond the veil. There is a deeper meaning in every verse. I have loved studying the Book of Mormon more in depth. It is the most correct book from God.

I was able to give out the Book of Mormon to a guy this week who is actually part Indian. It was cool to see his eyes light up because it told the story of how his ancestors got here. We will be teaching him this next week more about it. His name is Jeremiah. I found him on Saturday when I was on an exchange with Sister Francis. He was sitting on his porch smoking with his friend Adam (also a new investigator) and so we walked up to him and started talking. At first, he wasn't so interested. He had talked to Elders before, but he said they would just give him a card and keep walking. But I just felt like we needed to stay and chat. I just started asking him casual questions about his life, and then went back into the gospel..he still wasn't intererested so I decided to give him a card. I felt like I should give him the card with the Salt Lake temple picture on the back side. When I gave him that card, he turned it around and said "Wow!! What is this?!" I explained a little bit about the temple and he just thought that it was amazing. So we started talking again. Then he told us he wished us luck with our missions and that we could stop by any time...but I could feel that there was more. So I casually chatted with him and then brought up the gospel again. Then the thought came to me that I should talk about the Book of Mormon. Right when I brought it up, you could see that his interest level just sparked! It was soo cool! He asked us straight up where he could get a copy of it. We gave him a copy and we committed to come back the next week and talk about it. It was sooo cool! I give no credit to myself. If you know me, I am the opposite of talkative. I am not the kind of person to do much "small chat" but with the help of Heavenly Father, he is making weak things become strong (just as it says in Ether 12:6). That day, we found 3 new investigators!! It was an incredible day.

But also, there was a crazy rain storm! It just rolled in unannounced. There was a fair going on in the town and everyone was scattering like ants to get out of the coming storm. The clouds were so black and just rolling in. In Utah, we have the mountains to slow it down and stop it, but here they just FLY by. It was a pretty intense storm.. we got pretty wet...but it was also lots of fun!! I love the rain.

Also, yesterday we were doing a finding fast (Sister Colton and I). It is something that President Collins challenged the whole mission to do. And it was the hardest fast sunday ever!!! We went to church, and the first person who came up to us gave us a card with a gift card to Applebee's in it. Now, that wasn't too bad because it was just a gift card. But then in Relief Society, as part of the lesson, Sister Sackett made cookie dough batter as she taught about strong marriages. She handed out cookies at the end. Sister Colton and I just looked at the cookies with our mouths watering and looked at each other and wanted to cry. We could smell them so strongly! It was awful. Sister Colton even started to get shaky. bahaha. Then Sister George came up to us after and gave us a huge plate of peanut butter bars. At that point, we almost lost it...but we held strong!! It was a very tempting fast sunday for us. But we did it...you should be proud! ;)

The work is plugging a long here in Huntington! It is just a matter of finding people to teach and everything else will work out! We are visiting less-active people and having a blast! We met with Sister Stine this week. She is 99 years old! And still walking and talking and stuff. She loved having us over and gave us some referrals to her granddaughters. She said that the one thing that she wants before she dies is for her family to be in the church....we will see what we can do about that. It may be hard! But we can do it....maybe. With the Lord, all things are possible.

Also, I finally got a picture of Wanda and Andrew at their baptism!! Horray!
 The picture is of old downtown Huntington :D  I love it!

I am out of time. But I love you all!!!! Keep following God and it will all work out.

Love, Sister Farr

06/17/13-Week 19 in Indiana [Week 2 of Transfer 4] "Bird Pooh."

Helllo all.

First of all: HAPPY FATHERS DAY, DAD!!!!! I love you! Although I couldn't be there with the family yesterday, know that I love you and thought of you. But being away from home made me think of my Heavenly Father more and how it is also His Fathers Day. I love you!

Now, let me explain the title. You see, as missionaries they tell you to talk to EVERYONE. Literally. Sometimes it is really hard, because I feel awkward confronting people who are already doing something, but I have learned quite a few things. Heavenly Father always helps me. So! We were talking to these two ladies, Melinda and Christy who were outside talking. We walked up and starting talking to them a little bit. We asked them about their religious background and started to talk about the restoration. I had just finished telling Joesph Smith's Vision to them and then low and behold, I felt something wet hit my neck and my foot.... I got bombarded by bird pooh! I had a streak down my dress and a couple drops on my shoe. [bahahahha] They said "God works in mysterious ways..." and laughed. I asked them straight up if they thought that the bird poohing on me was a sign from God that it wasn't true. They just said "I don't know..." with a smirk on their face. But I just bore powerful testimony of the Prophet Joseph Smith and the spirit just exploded. It was really cool! Even though they didn't become interested, I still have no doubt that Joseph Smith is a prophet. I mean, who knows...maybe one day in the future when more missionaries come knocking at their door they will say, "Hey, I talked to one of your missionaries before! And a bird poohed on her..." Then they will have a fun discussion about that with each other and end up getting baptized. I am going to keep my hopes high. haha.

Also! I have a mighty fine tan line on my feet from my shoes...and I am starting to get calluses on my knuckles from how many doors I have knocked on. I guess those are pretty good signs that I am working hard! It has been a crazy week! We have been driving all over the place and trying to talk to everyone that we see outside. We had 10 other lessons just with people outside on their porch or at their door step. There are lots of really cool people here in Huntington! They are all so nice and willing to talk. The hard part is getting them to have a specific return appointment with us so that they can become investigators. But, we have been increasing a lot of people's faith! We helped one girl, Jenna, believe that God was in her life. We got a new investigator, Amy, who is a mom of 3. We helped a girl named Mary pick up tree branches in her yard............That reminds me!!!! I had my first tornado experience this week!!!!!!!

STORY TIME. This past Wednesday night, there was bad weather headed towards Indiana. People had been telling us about it as we were out and about. And that night, we heard lots and lots of rain and thunder...then the lightening came. We looked outside and the sky was just lighting up every which direction! It was literally like fireworks. I can't even explain it. I have never seen anything like it in Utah. Then we were about to get in bed when we get a text on our phone that says "Tornado Warning! Take cover!" We look at each other, unsure of what to do....and then we hear the tornado sirens go off. We look at each other and start laughing....out of pure terror. We grab our blankets and pillows (and maybe I grabbed my stuffed animal...), the phone, water bottles, a flash light and hid in the closet underneath the stairs in the middle of our house/apartment. We stayed in there......and stayed there....and stayed there.....unsure of when it was safe to come out. Then we heard this loud train noise....I said "Is that a train!? That stupid train! It is going to get picked up by the tornado! And hit our house!!" We continued to stay in the closet and then the sirens went off (about 30 minutes later). We stayed in there for a while longer and finally texted the elders in our ward and asked them what we should do. They told us to kneel in companion prayer and then go to bed. We did...and we were safe! However, I found out the next day (talking with Mary) that the really loud train sound we heard....was the tornado going over-head.......It was supposed to touch down a couple streets down from ours, but ended up going farther. AAHHH!! I survived a tornado!!!! Thanks to Heavenly Father. It was a crazy experience. The next day there were tree branches everywhere and it was just crazy. There wasn't too much damage to anything, I don't think that anyone was hurt in Huntington, but it was something I will never forget. I felt like Dorothy in the Wizard of OZ. haha.

We have been going around trying to help as many people as we can and talk with them. It has proven to be quite successful!

We had another experience this week...you see we found a new investigator, Kevin. He was outside on his porch when we were walking around, so we went up and talked to him. He seemed sooo prepared! He was listening to us. We told him pretty much the entire restoration, we talked to him about the plan of salvation...everything! He asked a lot of really good questions and seemed like he genuinely wanted to learn more about the gospel. He told us that we were "blowing his mind" when we were answering all of his questions.We got a follow-up appointment with him and gave him our cell phone number so that he could get a hold of us in case he had questions. We were really excited!  He seemed really interested. Then the next day we got a text.....it said...."are u guys single?" crap. Really???! Really? So we explained to him that as misisonaries we don't date...and we ended up giving him to the Elders. I guess that he wasn't as interested in the gospel as we thought he was. That was exciting....haha.

Anyways, I don't have any more time. The work is going good! Training is hard, but I am relying on Heavenly Father. It is great!! Thank you all!!

Love, Sister Emilee Farr

06/10/13-Week 18 in Indiana [Week 1 of Transfer 4]

Hi friends!

I am doing great!!! So, lets just get the news out of the way :D

I am now serving as a trainer with Sister Katie Colton of Alpine, Utah in Huntington, Indiana! ( <-- a new sister area) and YES, on July 1st, I will be part of the Ohio Cincinnati Mission!! With President and Sister Porter as my new mission presidents! Crazy stuff. I just knew that I would be going to Ohio!

My address is:

337 William St

Huntington, Indiana 46750

But!! They are trying to get us an apartment in Aboyt, Indiana (idk how to spell it) because they want us to work more in the Fort Wayne area of our ward. Our ward is huge! Well, the boundaries are! To get to Fort Wayne from Huntington is about a 40 minute drive. But it is wonderful!

Aaaaand, no, I was not able to attend Wanda and Andrew's baptism :( I live about 2.5-3 hours away from the Indy 1st area now. But Sister Cordner emailed me and said that it was amazing! She said that Wanda "felt it." Meaning that she could feel her sins and mistakes washed away! She didn't send me pictures, but she said that next week she will. I am sooo happy for her!! Wanda was sad when I told her that I wasn't going to attend, but she told me that it was okay because now I could go and give other people His Word. She is just so amazing!

This week has been crazy! Sister Colton and I drove after the transfer meeting for about 2 hours to get to our cute little house/apartment! We called our Ward Mission Leader, Brother Kennedy, and he directed us right there! We pulled up to our address and we live in the down-stairs floor of a cute yellow house that has been made into an apartment (pictures to come next week..I forgot my camera card). It is cute and has its own style and antiquness about it. I love it! The ward stocked the cupboards full of food and got us all of the basic necessities for us! People donated all of the furniture and food just for us. We have had people stopping by periodically with bags of groceries and treats! They are just so wonderful here! I love the ward and the people here in Huntington! So we got there, and we had nothing....no maps, no area book, no investigators, not even a roster....so! And only 5 numbers on our phone. President and Sister Collins, Elder Munguia (an AP), our Ward Mission Leader, and the Elders for our ward. We have had quite a fun adventure getting everything together!

After getting settled in our apartment, Brother and Sister Kennedy took us out to dinner at Los Amigos and we got to know them a little bit. They are an adorable old couple who is willing to help us with everything! They have been working really hard to get stuff all put together for us. The next morning we met up with the Elders we are splitting the area with, Elder Price and Callister. We have put a boundary on our ward and we cover half of it including half of Huntington, half of Markle, Roanoke, and part of Fort Wayne. It is huge! But we will find our way...eventually. haha :)

We have been spending our time tracting, trying to visit members of the ward, finding maps of our area so we can put everyone on it ((((if you looked in a missionaries apartment, you would probably think that they were stokers by they way we have peoples names pinned onto a huge map)))), getting lost driving, laughing a lot, following the spirit..... you know, normal missionary stuff. It has been crazy because we didn't have anything besides a ward roster for 4 days! Now we have a couple Former Investigators that we are going to try and some Potential investigators that we will try to contact again, but we are really starting from scratch! It has been hard to train because I have no clue who anyone is! But, Sister Colton is an AMAZING missionary already :D I think that she came out pre-trained! She learns really quickly. Of course, when it comes to tracting, I do all of the talking, but she will eventually get the hang of it. We are going to baptize everyone here...we decided that a couple of days ago.

I want to tell you about an experience that we had on Saturday evening. We were trying to visit a couple of less active people and looking at the map on our GPS  to find a certain road to drive to, but we couldn't find it for the life of us! We kept seeing the same street (Division St) over and over. We knew we were supposed to be somewhere, but we couldn't figure it out! When we pushed the back button on the GPS, it randomly had a destination for us to follow. So..wondering if it was Heavenly Father trying to direct us, we tried to follow it. But it lead us into the middle of a Brethren College Campus (mind you..Brethren's pretty much hate us, we found that out day 2 here). To get to the real destination on the GPS, we would have had to get out of our car and walk to where it wanted us to. We couldn't decide if our hesitancy to get out was our own fear of Brethren people or it was the spirit. We said a prayer and still couldn't tell. We decided to get out of the car and start slowly walking away, and as we did, the spirit warned us to get back in. So...we did and ran as fast as we could. But we still didn't know where to go. We decided to try one of the less-actives that we were going to see, and sure enough, they lived on Division St (mentioned above). So we drove quickly over there. We went to the house of the Less-Active on that street, and no one was home. A little bit confused, we went and knocked on a few doors and went back to our car. As we sat there trying to find out the next place to go, I saw a few people walk past our car and I just felt like we needed to get out of our car and start walking...so we did. We walked and would knock on some doors as the spirit directed. We came to a specific door and were about to knock when we saw the No Soliciting sign. Our mission president has told us that we should not knock on those doors, so we left. I expected someone to be outside, but no one was. So we kept walking. We finally came to a street and decided to head back to our car from the way we came without any success. As we walked back, we saw a lady sitting outside weeding her flower pot. We approached her and started to talk with her about the gospel. We found out that she was a Quaker and acted dis-interested, but polite. I continued to talk with her and recited Joseph Smith's first vision to her and mentioned about the Book of Mormon. That really caught her attention. She started to ask questions about it more and more. We ended up leaving her with a card and our cell phone number. She said that a couple of things we said really interested her and that she wanted to do more research. We told her that we do this full time and offered to come back, but she wanted to do it on her own. We said a prayer with her, and left. The spirit was soooo strong! And guess what?? She was in the "No Soliciting" house! Heavenly Father made us keep walking, so that he could get her outside. Even if we only started a seed, I know that we were meant to talk to that women that day. It was a really strong spiritual experience!

I just love being a missionary! It is really hard and exhausting, but worth it! I am doing great and loving everything! Thank you all for all that you do!!!

Love you!!

Sister Emilee Farr

06/03/13-Week 17 in Indiana! [Last Week of Transfer 3]

Hello all!

First things first! I got the transfer call last night! AND........I am leaving. I don't know where I am going yet, but I do know that I am going to be opening a new area. (I will be 1 of 5 doing that) AND I will be training a new baby missionary. I.am.so.scared. I have only been out 4 months? How in the world can I teach a baby missionary how to be a missionary! I am still a baby missionary! And let alone, I will have no idea where I am or who the people are. I guess I will be on a new adventure. Sometimes Heavenly Father has a sense of humor. He thinks He is funny...but He is not. ;) I am just kidding. I know that I am going wherever I need to be. He has a plan for me and although I may not know what it is, as long as he does, I know that I will be okay. I will be praying 24/7. I know that being a trainer is not a compliment to me as a missionary, but it is just where the Lord needs me and who He needs me with. I will let all of you know where I am located next Monday! In the time being, if you send any letters or packages, send them to the Mission office (1980 E 116th St STE 200 Carmel, IN 46032) <- and yes, I have that memorized :D haha. 

Let see...this week has gone by very slowly! I can't remember half of it! I think I was so scared about transfer calls that the time slowed waaaaaaaaaaaaaaay down. But there is some sad news about the transfer, I might miss Wanda and Andrew's baptism :( If I am transferred more than 1 hour away from Indy 1st, then I can't go. But if I am within an hours drive, I can go to it. I really hope I don't miss it! I would be so sad! But I would ask Sister Cordner to send me pictures of them of course! Sister Cordner is staying in the area and training a new missionary too! I will miss her dearly! But I know that we will still be best buds. 

I had a really cool experience this week tracting. We were knocking on doors in a nicer neighborhood, and at one door, a black man came to the door. He came out side and was very nice and open. He asked us quite a few questions and we answered the best that we could. We taught him about the restoration and the Book of Mormon and he thought it was all very interesting. After a while of talking, he told us that he had heard that in the past, black people could not hold leadership positions in our church. At first, I related it to how Christ only taught the gospel to the Jews until later, when Peter had the vision and was told that the Gentiles could now hear the gospel. I tried to relate that to how the priesthood was, but he did not really accept it. He said that he thought that God loved all of his children and wouldn't care what their skin color was. After talking for a little bit more, I was just praying to Heavenly Father to help me know how to help this man understand and be touched. As I sat there I felt the spirit start teaching me about it. I then opened my mouth, and the spirit spoke through me and explained the priesthood and blacks in a very different way than I had ever heard it put. I really can't remember much about what I said, but I know I mentioned about the political side and spiritual responsibility. It was an amazing experience. I felt as if I was receiving revelation as we stood on his door step and the spirit was speaking through my lips. I did not think that on my mission I would use the gift of tongues very much, but I know that I did at that moment.

Also, the weather here is CRAZY! We were doing planning this past Thursday, and within 20 minutes, the weather went from blue skies, to hailing, to pouring rain, to blue skies again! Uhh....is that normal? I don't think so. You start to learn to stop listening to the weather man..because he is never right. You can tell the weather by looking outside just as well as they can predict it. hahah. Gotta love Indiana :D

Other than that, I honestly can't remember what happened last week! Oh! I went on exchanges with Sister Bunnell in North Vernon and we had an amazing day! We taught 5 other lessons and found 2 new investigators! We went tracting quite a bit, but had a lot of fun doing it! She has only been out 3 months, and she is amazing. I love all of the sisters here, they are all so wonderful. 

Sister Cordner and I bought cookie dough and vanilla ice cream to make a cookie-zookie today for our last big harrah! It will be delicious! I will think of you all when I eat it :) 

Here is a funny picture of us from yesterday. And a picture of my district.  

 I love you all! I am off to...somewhere. I am excited for this new adventure, but also very scared. I will need all of the prayers that I can get! I know that with God all things are possible! 

Thank you for everything that you all do! I love you all so much!!

Sister Emilee Brooke Farr

05/27/13-Week 16 in Indiana [Week 6 of Transfer 3]

Hello!

 

I am doing very well! I am struggling to remember what has even happened this week..haha. Good thing we have nifty planners that spell out what has happened. Otherwise, I would have nothing to say.

 

First things, first. I forgot to tell you about Cheryl and Zach coming to church last week! Well, I don't know if you remember them from the past, but they were the people who were suuuper prepared...she was the one who asked US if WE wanted to start studying with her. They loved the story of Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon. They are truly golden. But then, they got really sick. They kept on cancelling appointments and we were having a very rough time getting in touch with them. But then Sister Buckles in our ward started visiting them and working with them using DoTerra oils. And last week, they came to church!!! Ah! It was sooo exciting. Everything in church was just directed to them. The speakers, the lessons in classes, everything! In Sunday School, Sister Cordner and I were teaching about the restoration of the gospel and started to talk about when Joseph Smith saw God the Father and Jesus Christ. We recited the first vision and when we said personages, Cheryl asked us what we meant. We told her that God has a body of flesh and bones....and she was taken a back. She gasped and put her hand over her mouth and tears started coming to her eyes. She said something about it confirming an experience that she had that week. It was a very cool experience. You could tell that they both felt the spirit so very strongly. It was incredible. They are so prepared! At the end, we bore our testimonies and there were tears in the room. I have such a firm testimony of the restoration of this gospel! I know that we are the only true church on the earth. I know that we have the fullness of the gospel. I know that we have a living prophet who speaks to Jesus Christ.This church is just so true! I can't even handle it. :D

 

We had another cool experience this week. We taught Carol and Charlie (potentials from the past) about the restoration of the Gospel. Charlie was more closed than Carol was, but it was cool to see them change as we taught them. When I recited the first vision to Carol, tears literally came to her eyes. You could tell that the spirit spoke to her so strongly that she couldn't deny what she felt. We asked her how she felt and she said "different" (in a good way). It was incredible! We have not had someone react to the first vision that way before. But Charlie asked us 'what we were trying to do..' and we told him that we were trying to bring him closer to Jesus Christ. Throughout most of the lesson he was kind of stand-offish and would not accept much of it. But at the end, I bore my testimony of the restored gospel, and you could see him change. At the end he said "I am sorry for what I said. I can tell that you know more about things than I do." (and he is probably in his 70's). We gave them the Book of Mormon to start reading and they accepted it. It was such a great lesson! I love the power of the spirit. It can truly soften hearts and change people. Sometimes when others will not accept the message of the restored gospel, all you can do is bare a simple but powerful testimony, and the spirit can enter into their heart and change them. It is amazing!! I just love this work!

 

We had a funny experience the other day...we were sitting outside of Manor Care (a nursing home where we volunteer playing Bingo) and this old man walks past to go inside. A few minutes later he walks out and says "hello. What are you ladies doing here?" We told him that we were missionaries and that we volunteered playing Bingo with the old folks. Then he says "Oh! Well, I am a retired minister." He chats for just a minute, and then walks out to his car. A few minutes later, he walks back up to us and says " I just want to say one thing." Sister Cordner and I were bracing ourselves for a lot of anti-Mormon stuff, or some type of a bashing situation. But instead this old man starts to tell us a little bit of a story. He tells us that "there was this lady who is currently married to a funeral director and was talking to her friend about all of her past marriages. She said that first she was married to a banker, then she married a ring master for a circus, then she was married to a Pastor, and now she is married to a funeral director (or something along those lines). Then the friend says, wait a minute.... that sounds like... one for the money, two for the show, three to get ready, and four to go!!" Sister Cordner and I just crack up laughing. Then he says, "Well! Have a good day!!" and walks back to his car. Sister Cordner and I are laughing quite hard at this point and thinking 'what just happened?' We were not expecting that at all! Then the man drove up to us in his car and says, "most of all, Good luck with your ministry!" and drives away. We could not stop laughing....It was very funny...and very unexpected. Later that night, after we had turned out the lights for bed I whispered "one for the money.." and we both laughed and laughed. It has been quite the joke for the past couple of days. You have gotta love the people here in Indiana! They are just a hoot.

 

I didn't tell you about Dawnitta and Jay last week I don't think. But I was on an exchange with Sister Fullmer last week and we had a really cool experience! We were trying to contact a former investigator, and when we knocked on the door a woman came to the door and had a very confused look on her face at first, but was very friendly and invited us right in! She had a 10 year old son who came in and was going to get a ball to play with outside. She told him that he was welcome to go outside and play with his ball, but we were ladies from a church and we were going to talk about church stuff. He then decided that he wanted to stay and listen to us! (what 10 year old boy would rather listen to missionaries than play with a ball? I don't know, but he was an amazing boy!) He sat through the entire restoration quietly and very respectfully! Dawnitta was so sweet! Her and her son loved hearing about our message and were so open to it! They accepted it all. When we finished the restoration, I asked her how she was feeling, and she said "Where can I get a Book of Mormon?!" And we said, "You can have this one!" and handed ours over. It was amazing. She told us that we could definitely come back! She even told us that we could come back every day if we wanted to! When we were leaving, I committed Sister Fullmer to inviting them to baptism the next time, and yesterday I followed up with her, and Dawnitta and Jay have a baptismal date!! Dawnitta was even telling us how she wanted to be a missionary just like we were and do what we do. I don't know if any of that makes sense, but they are just amazing! Soooo prepared! :D

 

Then I went on two more exchanges this week. One with Sister McDowell (from Gilbert, AZ) and another with Sister Saunders from Utah. We had a lot of fun! We had some great experiences! Sister McDowell and I got lost numerous times on random dirt roads in the country, but we eventually found our way! It has been a blast getting to know all of the sisters! I have loved going on all of these exchanges..even though it is completely exhausting!!

 

Other than that, this week has been great! Our numbers are soaring and we are just having so much fun! I wish I had more time to tell you about other things, but time is limited. I love you all! Thank you for your help and prayers! I definitely need them.

 

With Love,

Sister Emilee Farr

05/20/13-Week 15 in Indiana [Week 5 of Transfer 3]

Hi there...family and friends!

This week has been wonderful!! I love it here in the Indy 1st ward! I am learning so much from each of the people that I meet! I can't believe that I am already nearing the end of this transfer, it has just flown by! I love all of the people who we are meeting and talking with! Yesterday we were knocking on doors on Miracle Rd (cool name,huh?) and we met the nicest Catholic lady ever! -- Not saying Catholics aren't nice! They just don't usually talk to us. -- She opened the door, and we talked to her for quite a while. She told us about her family and we read a little bit out of the Family Proclamation to her. Then she talked to us about how she believed she was part of the one true church. Then we told her about Joseph Smith's first vision and the Book of Mormon all on her door step. You could tell that she felt the spirit. She said that she felt good as we talked to her, and I invited her to pray and ask God if what we shared could bless her family. She told us that she would. When we left she prayed for us and called us "Soldiers of Christ" and asked Christ to help us as we "taught the truths of Jesus Christ." It was just great! I love the people who we have met recently! The work here in Indiana is really so amazing!!

Wanda and Andrew are still progressing so quickly towards their baptismal date on June 8th! Last week we taught them about Tithing and did a fun object lesson for Andrew and Carter. We gave them 10 jelly beans in a cup and asked them to give us their "tithing" on the jelly beans. So they gave us one back. Then we read with them the scripture in Malachi where the verse talks about how there will be so many blessings that "there won't be room enough to receive it," and then we poured a bunch of jelly beans in their cup. They got really excited! haha, it was adorable. Then when we asked Wanda if she would pay her tithing, she said "Of course!" She is just too amazing! She pretty much teaches us and her children. I am so excited for her to be a member!! They are a wonderful family. We have another lesson with them tonight!

We had another cool experience following up with a guy who we met a couple of weeks ago. We went back to his house and asked him if he was able to talk with his girlfriend about having us over. He told us that he had decided that at this time, it wasn't right for him (the girlfriend had an ex-husband who was a mormon...so it was a touchy subject). So, instead of just saying "Oh...okay! Well, bye!" I decided to give him the Restoration pamphlet. So I gave him the pamphlet and told him briefly about what was inside. I told him about Joseph Smith and about the Priesthood authority of God, and as I talked about it he started to flip through the pages of the pamphlet. Then I bore strong testimony about the truth of our message and he was just silent. The spirit was sooooo strong. He was just looking down at the pamphlet, and you could see that the spirit was speaking to him. We invited him to pray and to look at mormon.org and we said a prayer with him, and left. It was amazing!!! When someone feels the spirit after the testimony at the end, you have to pray and get out so the spirit can continue to teach them. Oh man! It was just soo cool! It was really bold...and scary....but with Heavenly Father and the spirit guiding me, I was able to plant a seed in his heart. Ah! I just love this work!!

I gained a strong testimony about how Heavenly Father answers prayers!! Out here in Indiana, you get A LOT of anti-mormon stuff thrown at you. There are specials on TV, and series about things we do that are just not true! So the other day, someone told me that the things that they do in the Masonic temples are similar to what happens in our temple....and that Joseph Smith was a free mason. At first, that really weirded me out. I was confused and doubted a lot. I kept going back to how I knew that the Book of Mormon was true, but I just kept wondering. The way it was said made it sound like Joseph Smith just copied the Masons and started his own religion. I prayed a lot. I searched the scriptures a lot. I asked a lot of questions. And then the next day on our exchange in North Vernon, I was talking to one of the Sisters and we had both been wondering about the same thing! We had a big discussion, but couldn't figure it out. That night, I really prayed hard. I wanted to have a reconfirmation that Joseph Smith was a true prophet. That he really did restore the true church of Christ to the earth. And I didn't feel anything...I didn't have a voice come into my head..I didn't become overwhelmed with the spirit...I just kind of felt a "wait." So I tried to be patient and continue to look for his answer. Then the next day we had a correlation meeting with the ward mission leader. He is a convert of about 4 years and so before joining, he did a lot of research. Somehow the topic of free masons came up. I asked him if he knew about who they were and how they started, etc. And then he answered my prayer! The free masons started back in the time of Christ. When the priests in the temple were starting to become corrupt, the free masons climbed up the temple and would look in the windows and write down everything that they saw. Then they went and started their own practice of the things. When he explained that, it was just so much MORE of a testimony to me that Joseph Smith was and is a true prophet. The things we do in the temple have been done since the beginning of time. God IS the same yesterday, today, and forever. I know that Joseph Smith is a prophet of God. I know that he restored the truth to the earth. I know that he brought to pass the dispensation of the fullness of times in these the last days. I know that we have a living prophet today who does talk to God and Jesus Christ and receives revelation for our day and time. I am so grateful for the opportunity I have to share this gospel with so many people! Even though the majority of them reject it, I am still grateful to be a representative of my Savior Jesus Christ who died for me. 

I attached a picture of the Book of Mormon that belongs to Sister Pfieffer. I told you about her story a while back, but I actually got a picture of it! 

She had a house fire and everything around the Book was burnt to a crisp, but her Book of Mormon was barely touched. This church is just SO true!! I can't even handle it. haha. 

Anyways, this week has been great as always! I am loving the work! It is by far the hardest thing I have ever done in my life, but I know that it will be worth it. I am grateful for the experiences I will be able to share with my future children and family.

Thank you for all of your love and support! I can feel the strength of heaven all around me. Keep on reading your scriptures, having family prayer and scripture study, and going to the temple regularly! I know that as we are obedient to ALL of God's commandments, we will be blessed. God can't bless us unless we are obedient..D&C 58:21. We have to have faith to allow God to work in our life...just as it says in Ether 12: 12. God loves us and cares about each of us. I know that this gospel is true. If you aren't sure, ask God yourself! As a representative of Jesus Christ, I can promise you that He will ALWAYS answer you. But you must ask with faith and real intent (meaning you will act on your answer). Thank you all again!! I love you!

Sister Emilee Farr