Well. Saturday night,
Elder Monroe (the zone leader for Moldova) called me and told me, "Hey
Elder Farnworth, guess who your new companion is? ME!" So that means him
and I will be zone leaders together for a while! It was really sudden, but
that's normal for us Russian missionaries. It's great to be back with an elder
I grew a lot with, and we both look forward to the work ahead of us.
Ever since I've been
here though, we've had baptismal dates set by a lot of investigators, but none
of them have gone through... But I have some really good news for
ya'll.... one of the sisters.... from our English class.... Is 100% commited
and ready.... for her baptism on the 8th of June!!!! She chose Elder
Monroe to baptize her, and me to confirm her. What a priveledge it is for me to
be able to give her the gift of the Holy Ghost, and to be a part of one of the
most important decisions she'll ever make in her life. This will be the first
baptism the Chisinau branch has had since last July; the members, and the
missionaries are very excited for her! She'll be an amazing member, and a big
help to the missionary work here. I'm sad to leave Elder Garlick, but his
experience will really help Elder Hammer grow in his missionary work. I'm also
sad to leave Дима because he's such a happy kid to be around, and he also
expressed his desire to be baptized. One night we were walking him back to his
home to get permission from his Dad to go to EFY, and he said, "I'm a
member of your church, right?" We simply answered, "No, not
yet." He seemed disappointed by our answer but continued to say,
"Well how can I be?" That's a great question! "Baptism." He
seemed to really ponder how he can get to that point, but that's why we're
here! To help him get to that point, and to help him understand that through
the Atonement of Jesus Christ we all can change.
During personal
study one day last week, I was reading in Our Search for Happiness (if you
haven't read this, READ IT!) and I came across the quote we all know from
Joseph Smith, "Why persecute me for telling the truth?" I think
that's a big question all missionaries/members have. This was apparent to me as
I was up in Balti (for the first time) and we had a lesson with a guy who kept
telling us that he doesn't agree with our beliefs and how his faith is just in
the Bible, but I told him, "No, your faith should be in Jesus Christ, not
a book. The Bible is an instrument to build your faith." And these
scriptures always pop into my mind when I'm teaching people about the
restoration: 3 Nephi 27: 8-11
8 And how be
it amy bchurch save
it be called in my name? For if a church be called in Moses’ name then it be
Moses’ church; or if it be called in the name of a man then it be the church of
a man; but if it be called in my name then it is my church, if it so be that
they are built upon my gospel.
9 Verily I say
unto you, that ye are built upon my gospel; therefore ye shall call whatsoever
things ye do call, in my name; therefore if ye call upon the Father, for the
church, if it be in my name the Father will hear you;
10 And if it so
be that the church is built upon my gospel then will the Father show forth his
own works in it.
11 But if it be
not built upon my gospel, and is built upon the works of men, or upon the works
of the devil, verily I say unto you they have joy in their works for a season,
and by and by the end cometh, and they are ahewn down
and cast into the bfire, from
whence there is no return.
This IS the Church
of Jesus Christ, and it IS built upon His gospel. Nothing anyone says will ever
hurt my testimony of our message. "It's true, isn't it? Then what else
matters?" - Neil L. Andersen. I love missionary work. I love how much it
has MADE me grow. I love the companions I've had, and I look forward with faith
to the many miracles ahead. Jesus Christ is my Savior, and your Savior. His
church has been restored, and it's the only true church on earth today and for
eternity. I love every single one of you, and I hope you have a wonderful week!
-Elder Farnworth
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