Quiet, Peaceful, Gig

 January 18, 2021

Hi friends!

I've been doing so good here in Washington. I love serving the Lord. Its definitely been a process, but the longer I've been out and the harder I work, the closer I come to my Savior. I thought I'd start on a little spiritual note this time :) 

Me and my companion have been working a lot and teaching a lot this week. We found a bunch of new people to teach! They all came from knocking doors too, which was such a surprise and a blessing. Knocking on a random person's door and talking about the church was very difficult for me at first, but I think I've grown so much since 6 months ago. We've had really good interactions with all of them and we hope to just continue teaching and helping them.

The house is WAY quiet now. There used to be seven of us in the house and now there's only four. We've all gotten super close to each other. They are some of the best guys you'll ever meet. We talk basketball a lot and go into these long debates of who's the greatest of all time and all that. Haha! It's a good time. We've played bball in the mornings a couples times too. It's way fun and helps me get up in the mornings (and stay up). 

I have so much to be grateful for. The more time I spend here in Washington, the more I realize that. I am grateful for everyone I've met and had a chance to interact with. I am SO grateful for my family. They keep me going. I'm grateful for music. I am grateful for the church and for a living prophet. I'm grateful to be serving a mission at this time. And so much more! 

Trust yourself and have confidence in yourself. Trust that God knows what he's doing. I've though of this a lot especially as a missionary. God trusts us all so much, so we should have that same level of trust in ourselves. Don't get caught up in what isn't important in this life, do all you can to serve those around you and build those relationships. Cause that's what matters

Love you all,

Elder Macfarlane 

Pics 1-2: Me and Elder Stanger at the dock

Pic 3: A sign we found while knocking 

Pic 4: Super nice lady that gave us papa John's gift cards

Almost in Quarantine

 January 4, 2021

Hey friends!

Happy New Year! Can't believe its 2021. That's nuts. All the missionaries got together and had dinner new years eve. We all had a big potluck and just talked. We went around and everyone shared there favorite memories of this past year. I said the temple and being in quarantine with my family (at the start of covid). We had a testimony meeting too at the end and... wow... it was AMAZING. People shared their stories of why they're out on a mission and there were some crazy spiritual experiences. The spirit was so strong. I had mega goosebumps as well. 

We went on exchanges this past week too with the zone leaders. I was with Elder Schauerhamer and we had a great day. Exchanges are fun cause it's a change of pace. We had a member lesson with one of the Gig Harbor members and it was pretty good. At the end,  they told us that church was going to be cancelled this week! We were very shocked and very confused. Apparently someone in the ward tested positive to covid and went to sacrament meeting without knowing (last week)!! The ENTIRE ward is in a two week quarantine. We didn't see that coming but everything turned out well in the end. We thought we'd have to be quarantined too but we talked with the mission nurse and we got the clear to keep doing missionary work. We weren't in direct contact with anyone that tested positive so that's why. Anyways, that was a tender mercy for us cause transfers is also this coming week!!

We got our transfer calls on Saturday! It was so funny cause the APs called us while we were ordering food at Qdoba. I quickly answered the phone while my comp checked out for me haha. We are both staying in Gig Harbor for another transfer!! I'm happy I'm staying and I'm way pumped for what's to come. The ZLs quad is turning into a duo so there will only be 4 of us in the house from now on. There is gonna be soooo much space. I'm loving it here and serving the Lord.

Elder Macfarlane 

Pic 1: Transfer lunch with the district 

Pic 2: A rainbow