Great Transition in to the Field

Dear Dad, Heidi, Matt, Lindsay, and whoever else reads this email,

As of the 18th of October, I have been on my mission for 3 months! Crazy... Feels like I got into the MTC just yesterday. And I can't believe Matt Petersen and Kyle Wheelhouse are already getting ready to LEAVE the MTC! I'm excited for them and the new life they get to live for the next two years that will change them in so many ways like my mission has changed me. 

So this week we had a lot of lessons fall through, and Eugene (our progressing investigator) wasn't able to come to church. Really bummed about it, but we get to start a new week! My companion and his last companion had a family of three who they hadn't met for a while, and so last week, I finally got to meet them. Their names are Alex, Marina, and Sasha. We had planned to talk to them about the importance of going to church, but they provided dinner (which was my FIRST Moldovan meal: they were these pizza-like tortillas that were stuffed with potatoes, cottage chesse, chesse, and cherries. It was really good!) anyway, this really kept us from teaching our lesson because they wanted to get to know me, I wanted to get to know them, and they just kept talking about everything that was going on in their lives. Eventually Ct. Smith got the Liahona from his backpack, commited them to read it, and then Alex gave us a ride home. The impressions I got from that meeting was that Marina seemed really interested in the gospel, but Alex, not so much. So, hopefully we can help him with that! Another interesting experience was when we taught Eugene about the story of Enos. We read it with him, and explained the process of repentance. We invited him to repent of his sins, and he said... no.... This really surprised us! So we explained that repentance is a blessing, and we use it so we can be truly happy... So we invited him again to use repentance every day, and he said... he would. To be honest, I think he just didn't understand the first time because we're teaching him in English, but after that we asked him if there was anything we could do for him and he said, "You've already done so much to help me in my life. Thank you." And I thought to myself, "It's not us, it's the gospel!" And boy is that the statement of the century. I wish everyone in the whole world could realize this, but if it was that way, then we'd already be in the Celestial kingdom!

I haven't had one single bad day out here in Moldova, and one of the Sisters noticed. Last Monday, after I finished my email, we went out as a district to celebrate one of the Romanian Sisters 2 year anniversary of being a member of the church. As we all sat down at Andy's Pizza, Sister Jones said to me, "You know what? You're doing really good for you first two weeks in the field Elder Farnworth. Usually the new missionaries have those times of panic within the first two weeks, and they struggle a lot on the inside, but it seems like you aren't struggling at all." This was seriously a shocker to me. I mean, I haven't struggled transitioning into the mission field, but I didn't think I was doing great! I guess that's a good thing, right?

Thanks for the emails! I really enjoy reading what's going on back at home. It's such a blessing to have such an amazing family. Your support means everything to me, and I hope you all know how much I love you! I also found a shorter scripture for my missionary plaque: 

Alma 7: 23-24. Бог с тобой, доколе свидимся!

 23 And now I would that ye should be ^ahumble, and be^bsubmissive and gentle; easy to be entreated; full of patience and long-suffering; being temperate in all things; being diligent in keeping the commandments of God at all times; asking for whatsoever things ye stand in need, both spiritual and temporal; always returning thanks unto God for whatsoever things ye do receive.

 24 And see that ye have ^afaith, hope, and charity, and then ye will always abound in good works.

-Elder Farnworth