Monday, November 30, 2020

November 30, 2020

 Hey friends and family,


This week was super eventful, but it's probably gonna be a shorter email. I am absolutely loving it here in Gig Harbor. The members are really nice and we are teaching quite a bit. The harbor is beautiful and the city reminds me of a bigger version of poulsbo. I am so glad that I am gonna be here over the holidays. All the guys are way funny and way nice.

We had Thanksgiving this week! We got to all meet up as a zone and have dinner. We had a TON of food. We had so much leftover. It was super fun. We still had to social distance and all that but it was a really good time. President and Sister Metts showed up at the end which was a cool surprise. I had a suspicion they were coming though haha. Holidays are a little weird on the mission but it's nice to have a break. 

We've been teaching a lot and it's been so cool. My last area was slower when it comes to teaching. Apparently Gig Harbor used to be very slow too... but not anymore! We are teaching two guys consistently right now and it's awesome. One of them is on date for the 19th and the other will be on date soon ;) It is so much fun helping people draw closer to Jesus Christ. I have seen the light in our investigators eyes and the chance that the gospel brings.

I am so grateful to be raised in a family that believe in Jesus Christ and has that relationship. The longer I've been out on my mission, the closer of gotten to my Father in Heaven and his Son. Growth is the key. There's a quote I love that goes like: "There's no comfort in the growth zone, and there's no growth in the comfort zone." I live by that!! Love yall and hope you guys continue to strive to grow in everything you do :)

Elder Macfarlane 


Pic 1: Thanksgiving with the zone
Pic 2-3: The Harbor 
Pic 4: Mount Rainier in the distance 







Monday, November 23, 2020

First week at the Gig House

November 23, 2020 

HEY EVERYONE!


Sooo much has happened this week. I got transferred to Gig Harbor and it's been great! My new companions are Elder Stringham and Elder Stanger. They are both super great guys. They are both reassigned from Japan! That's so cool. Elder Stringham is going back to Japan in a couple weeks, so I am going to be solo training Elder Stanger for a but which will be way fun. We live with the ZL quad, so there are seven of us sharing a house! Its packed but it's also a party ;) Its nice to have a house and not an apartment. We live right next door to the church building! We walk over there all the time. 

The members here are AMAZING. We have been fed meals almost everyday this week. We aren't allowed to eat in members homes, but they've been great at dropping food off for us and always making sure we are well fed. Apparently pizza is really big here. Members have given us pizza 5 times this week! I'm not complaining though. 

My very first day in Gig we met this guy named Brian. All seven of us were doing service at Brother Ojas house and we started walking back to our car, and he stopped us and asked if we were the missionaries! Isn't that crazy?? Apparently he talked to missionaries a long time ago and wanted to hear more of what we had to share. We talked to him for the next hour on his driveway in the rain. He's read the whole BOM and we invited him to come to the church and take a tour with us. He accepted! We set it up for Saturday and it went super well. It was my very first church tour. We had the bishop pick him up (cause he doesn't drive) and fellowship. That worked out so well and bishop was great. We took Brian around the building and I think he really could feel the spirit. Once we got to the font, we asked him if he wanted to be baptized!! AND HE SAID YESSSS! We put him on date for December 19th! We have a lot to teach him before then, but I have confidence that the Lord will help us out. He came to church this Sunday which was super cool! I think he really liked it and the ward was phenomenal at making him feel welcome. It was just so amazing.

We did service with this super nice lady on Friday named Clarice. My companions ran into her while knocking earlier this week and set it up. She had a garage full of boxes that she needed moved to her basement. We were literally cleared that day from our mission president to go inside people homes (as long as we are wearing masks) and that was a tender mercy. It took 3.5 hours! She was the sweetest lady and fed us pizza. She originally tried to pay us for our service, but we had to explain why we can't take it. We told her about fast offerings and she donated! It was so cool to see her gratitude for us and it was such a great experience.

Speaking of gratitude, I'd like to quickly share my testimony of our beloved prophet. His message of hope was a message of inspiration for the world. I could feel his love for me and all of God's children while watching. He is a prophet of God. I know that he receives constant revelation of how to lead us in our day. I invite everyone to watch and rewatch his recent message and to apply it. Show gratitude in every way possible. Gratitude leads to joy and I have seen it these past couple months. 

That being said... I'm grateful for my parents. I could never explain in words how much they have taught me and how much I appreciate them. I wouldn't be half the man I am today if it wasn't for them. I am grateful for my friends who make me better and make life easier. I'm grateful for my siblings who are basically my best friends. They have been with me through every step of life. They laugh at my terrible jokes and make me feel at home. I never really express my love for them and my gratitude for there examples. I'm grateful for my past and current companions. God has put amazing young men into my life to help me and to teach me. I'm grateful for all of you. Finally, I am grateful for my Heavenly Father. He is my #1 fan and is rooting for all of us as we go about life. He's answered every prayer and helped me through every trial. He loves you and cares for you. 

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

Elder Macfarlane 


Pic 1: President Nelson's Message of Hope
Pic 2: Service with Clarice
Pic 3: Elder Stringham made Tofu!






Sunday, November 22, 2020

Transfer calls

November 16, 2020 

Hey guys, 


We got transfer calls this week! I was excited cause I was pretty sure I was leaving. I've been in poulsbo for three transfers now. And just like I guessed... I'm leaving! I'm going to Gig Harbor this Wednesday! I'm super stoked. I really like poulsbo but I am ready for something new. AND I am gonna be district leader too!! I don't really know how to be a district leader, but I'll figure it out haha. My comp (Elder Hyer) is staying and he's going with Elder Hassell. That's pretty sick. Elder Bailey is going to Tac North.

Also, This morning we had a member buy our groceries for us! That was amazinggg. Sooo nice of him. It's way more fun to go shopping when you aren't buying ðŸ˜‚😂 There are some really cool families in poulsbo that I'm gonna miss. Me and Elder Bailey have said goodbye to some families these past couple days, before we head out. I'm gonna miss the ward.

Our governor in Washington made some new rules regarding covid which kinda stinks. We are no longer allowed to go inside members or nonmembers homes. We can still knock doors though which is nice. We can't have member meals and that includes Thanksgiving. That all kinda stinks but it's still good to be a missionary and spread the gospel :)

No pictures this week, love yall


Elder Macfarlane 

Tuesday, November 10, 2020

Going to the temple!

November 9, 2020

THIS WEEK WAS WAY GOOD!


First off, I got to see my parents and go through the temple! That was such a great experience. My testimony of the temple and its sacredness has only deepened after this week and I can't wait to continue to learn more about it. Elder Hyer and I listened to a few talks on the way to the temple and back. We listened to Bill Carpenters conversion story and it was amazing!! Give it a listen if you get a chance. My parents were able to fly in which was so cool! We got to hang out with them for up to 2 hours after the temple. Me and Elder Hyer brought them to downtown poulsbo. It was way fun. It was a little hard to say goodbye at the end of the day but totally worth it! My parents are the best there is... and no one can change my mind ðŸ˜Š

The mission president announced that we are allowed to knock doors now! We could knock on people who've met with missionaries in the past, but now we can knock on everybody's. One of my fears of going out on a mission was knocking on random peoples doors. I'm not normally that kind of person. I've learned so much these past couple days and I think I've gotten decently good at it. It's honestly really easy. I still don't love doing it but I'm getting the hang of it.

We've been meeting with these two ladies named Chelsea and Allie and they're super cool. We are doing a church tour on friday with them which is exciting! My first church tour! We have done a bunch of service for them too. I'll keep y'all posted.


Pic 1-3: Temple Trip!
Pic 4-6: Downtown Poulsbo 









Tuesday, November 3, 2020

Halloween

November 2, 2020

 Hope everyone had a fantastic Halloween! I'm not really sure what the rules are for Halloween this year with covid and stuff, but hope you guys all had fun. Holidays are really weird on the mission haha. It's like they're there... but we don't really do much to celebrate it (at least for Halloween that is).


President Metts told all the missionaries we had to clean our apartments for Halloween. It honestly wasn't too bad. We went to a nonmembers Halloween party which was way fun! It was with the whole district and we picked a bunch of apples and made cider. Elder Hyer made a huge fire. They had a ton of candy too so you already know I got sick of that. After the party we went over to Sonic and got corn dogs haha. They were 50 cents a piece and way good.

We also had an event called Pumkins and Prayers this week. Its basically where we hand out free pumpkins and talk to people (and maybe pray with them). We split the zone up in half and went to two different locations. Me and Elder Hyer went to the Silverdale park and it wasn't the best. We were there for about 2 hours and handed out like 3 pumpkins lol. Apparently the other location was super successful though so that's good. It was fun chilling and talking to everything.

I gave my first blessing this week which was so cool! This women in our ward was super sick and asked us if we could go over and give a blessing. It was a really good experience. The spirit is REAL!! Haha. 

We went on exchanges with the ZLs and it was awesome! Elder Flitton and Anderson are so sick. There were six of us all chilling at the apartment. It was a way fun day. We went and did service at FishLine again this week. AND they gave us donuts hehe

Elder Macfarlane 



Pic 1: Pumkins And Prayers
Pic 2: FishLine with the ZLs
Pic 3: An owl just chilling 
Pic 4: Fowlweather Bluffs
Pic 5-6: Really cool story about my ancestor 
Pic 7: Halloween Party