SNOW! (1/9/17)

Korca!

This week was great! We had snow for the first time of the year!! Some people told me it was for the first time in like 20 years in fact! So that was really exciting. In Tirana we pretty much didn't have any snow though, I say we had 1 mm though.... My comp says we didn't have any. But there was snow on the cars in the morning! They all melted off pretty fast though. It has been super freezing this week though so I wouldn't be surprised if it snowed again! 

So this week was good! At the beginning of the week we had some time to do work in our area. We met this really cool guy and his wife who are pretty excited to learn and read the Book of Mormon so that was cool! Then it kind of got crazy around Thursday. So we had MLC training and we had to prepare that, and that went really good. We talked about being bold in extending commitments and ours and presidents training went about 2 hours over time so everyone was hungry. Oops. Then we stayed in the office that night making these cards with the 2017 Mission Goal on them. They looked really great!! I am excited about them. But we had to cut and laminate like a hundred cards. We were feeling all artsy and crafty but then I guess I got a little cocky and cut my finger on a paper cutter... oops. But we whipped them all out and they look great! 

Us being "arts and crafty"!!

The consequences of us being "arts and crafty"!!

Then we went to Zone Training in Tirana, it was really great! It is always fun to see my friends at meetings like those. Then we had to fill up or big van with chairs to take them down south to the new mission branches in Pogradec and Korca! It was a nice drive but there was a TON of snow down there all over the roads so we had to take it nice and slow. So we slept in Korca then the next morning we drive to Elbasan to go to the south zone training. 

The fun part is is on the way to Elbasan the other missionaries car slid on the ice and went off the road! They went down this pretty big hill and almost fell in the lake. They were definitely protected!  But we just waited with them while the tow truck came. They said it would be like 20 minutes for a tow truck to come but then it ended up being like an hour ha. So we just waited in our van which was a blast ha. We played a fun game of Settlers of Catan in the van it was awesome. Then we got that all figured out and just drove back to Tirana. Ended up being in the car for 12 1/2 hours it was crazy!! But yeah just trying to stay warm here!! 

Love you all!! 

lder Farnworth

2017! (1/2/17)

Walking down creepy allies doesn't scare me anymore.

Wow! I cannot believe that it is already 2017. Time flies! It is weird to think that I spent all of 2016 in Albania/Kosovo. And it is even weirder to think that I will be going home in 2017! Like what?! So crazy. Anyway. This week was really good! We weren't that busy and we were able to get a lot of work down in our area so that was nice. We ended up doing a lot of street contacting. There were some days where I was freezing! 

I feel like I constantly need to be wearing a jacket or else I am shivering. And it isn't even that cold! Humidity is just a killer. But it has been alright. 

Bundled Up

So New Years here gets pretty interesting. Everybody gets fireworks and they go crazy! Just throughout the month of December you hear a lot of loud bangs and stuff because people are lighting fire works randomly throughout the day. But New Years day we had to be inside at 4 pm because it is dangerous to be outside.. But it was fun! We just watched movies all day. My missionary mind kicked in and I thought "I don't know if I will be able to watch movies for 8 hours straight..." But then I remembered that I would literally watch Netflix for about 8 hours straight every day my senior year of high school... oops. 

Ha but it was great! My President let us watch Star Wars 7, which was exciting because I was in the MTC for it when it came out last year. It was so great. And yeah we just watched a couple other movies and yeah it was great! Then at midnight I watched the fireworks. 

They were

Star Wars!!

really cool. There were some Elders in my district that told me that some people saw them on their balcony and pointed the fireworks towards them and shot them! They didn't hit them and there was no damage done, but still pretty crazy. I am lucky that didn't happen to me/I kind of wanted that to happen to me because that would be funny. Anyway it has been great here! 

Happy New Years! 

Sub for Santa? (12/26/16)

Eagle Scout ;) 

Such a great week but it was super busy! So at the beginning of the week we didn't have too much work. We just had a few things here and there and we even had time to  meet with some people. Then on Thursday is when it all got crazy. So we were in charge of getting every single missionaries their Christmas packages to them before Christmas! So we drove up to Prishtina, Kosovo, then went straight to Skopje, Macedonia which was a super interesting ride! So on the way there the road started getting really bumpy haha then we realized that our tire had popped about 5 minutes outside the Macedonian boarder! So we pulled over to change it, and it was FREEZING. It was like 3 degrees outside. Luckily, Elder Rogers and I are Eagle Scouts so we had no problem changing a tire ;) But it was fun. 

But it threw us off schedule so we got to Skopje a little late, then we drove to a newly opened city in the mission called Ohrid Macedonia! We ended up sleeping in Ohrid for the night. Then the next morning we got up and going to a city in Albania called Pogradec, then wrapped around to Elbasan then back to Tirana! Ended up being in the car for about 15 hours! It was crazy long but a lot of fun! 

I forgot to mention there is Burger King in Macedonia :) 

So after we got home we had to go straight to a city called Durres to set up for this stake Christmas activity. It was a lot of fun, I forgot to mention that I am in the stake choir... Don't be too impressed because every missionary in Tirana is in it too. If the missionaries weren't in it they would not have a men's section at all haha.  But yeah we just sang with the choir a bunch... In the freezing cold... it was great. 

Our very small Christmas tree with presents 

It is just weird having Christmas here. They don't really celebrate it that much! Obviously it is a big deal between the missionaries but the Albanians don't really care too much. So when Christmas came around it did not feel like it at all! But it was still great. We went to church and then had lunch at a senior couples house it was awesome. I loved my presents from my parents! Really awesome ties and really awesome socks! And the word on the street is that there is a package on the way from the ward so I am super excited for that! Also I spoke with my family over Skype which was awesome! It made me remember again how awesome my family really is! I love them so much they are awesome! Sorry everyone else you don't have families as cool as mine. ;) 

Merry Christmas! 

Elder Farni 

Gëzuar Krishtlindja! (12/19/16)

Man, another super busy week! It has just been getting crazier and crazier it is insane! So last Monday we had FHE with President which is always great. One of the senior couples talked about how in baseball the home plate is always 17 inches and if the pitcher can't throw over it they don't expand the home plate for him they expect him to become better. He compared it to the commandments of the Lord it was really a great lesson! I loved it. It is awesome to go there. 

Gëzuar Krishtlindja

Also we temporarily moved into a new apartment and it has this
super annoying chandelier thing that I hit my head on 

Then on Tuesday we had transfers! So all of the missionaries were in the mission  office and we were helping them get to their new areas.It was pretty crazy! Then that night we had dinner at Presidents house with all of the missionaries that were going home. It was cool hearing all of their wonderful testimonies about the experiences from their missions. So then they all stayed at our house that night and we had to wake up at 3 AM to take them to the airport!! 

It was a pretty sad moment but I was way too tired to feel any emotions haha. So then the next day we went to the airport again to pick up the new missionaries coming in, it was pretty exciting! It reminded me of my first day in the country. They all seemed pretty excited! So yeah we took them around and stuff then we had a dinner with them at Presidents house which was really great. They all seemed so tired from all of the traveling, which makes sense! Then the next day we went up to the spot where Albania was dedicated for missionary work by Dallin H. Oaks. It is such a cool place and awesome to read the dedicatory prayer for Albania. 

Happy boy haha!!

By Friday night things started calming down. we were able to get a few lessons in! We have a couple really cool people that we are teaching I am excited to see them progress more in the Gospel. Also Friday night we went to President's house to meet with this Less Active member. It such an amazing meeting! So this guy was a little bit distressed because he tried so hard to go on a mission but he couldn't get the money to. So he felt the church didn't care for him. So at the beginning of the lesson he was talking about his harsh feelings he had towards the Stake President and different members of the church. But throughout the lesson the Spirit totally took over and he had a totally different feeling by the end! We invited him to get active in the church and to try to go on a mission again and so he said he would fast and pray about it, so we told him we would fast with him. So from Saturday to Sunday we fasted with him and after church we met up with him and said a prayer to break our fast and at the end of the prayer we all just sat there and was feeling the Spirit so much! He then broke the silence and said "I think we all know what I need to do" So he is going to start coming to church again and prepare for a mission! It was such a great experience. I truly felt Christ's love for one of his lost sheep. It was such a powerful moment! God KNOWS us. He LOVES us. I promise you that! 

Have a great week! 

Elder Farni

Tour of my old areas (12/12/16)

In Prishtina! (with the lights) 

This week was pretty busy but really good!! At the beginning of the week we had to give a training to all of the Zone Leaders about Christmas and different things. It was pretty exciting expect I was really tired the entire training and my voice cracked super bad during it.. it was kind of awkward. But oh well. Anyway then we were able to go to my old area, Prishtina (Kosovo) to see one of the Zone Trainings! It was great to go there, Except for we were not there for very long and it was so cold! But yeah we just watched the zone training then ate lunch and then left. It was good to see all the missionaries of my old zone again they are all so great. And yeah then after the training we just drove back to Tirana!  

Really cool stop on the way back from Kosovo. 

I was freezing though as you can tell by my face. 

So when we got back our President calls us and asks if we would be willing to go to Shkoder (area I was trained in) to speak at a fireside in his place! It was really cool to go there. The fireside was cool although there weren't a lot of people that came but we spoke about "Why do I believe?" And yeah it went really good I think. Then the missionaries in Shkoder got up and spoke about "Light the World" and then they taught the restoration, the Plan of Salvation, and the Gospel! The Spirit was so strong it was great! 

This guy came up and talked to me afterwards. It was a guy that is going to get baptized in a couple of weeks! It was cool, because he remembered me from when I was in Shkoder my trainee transfer! Turns out I met him on the street while street contacting a year ago and he saw missionaries again a year later and is meeting with them and is going to get baptized! It is pretty cool!

So yeah after we got back from Shkoder we were pretty tired. A lot of driving this week but it was pretty good. On Sunday we had church and it was so great. We met this 13 year old kid who wants to get baptized before Christmas so we put him on the 24th to get baptized so hopefully that will happen! He is a pretty cool kid. Anyway that was my week! It was great to go to some of my old cities! 

Still loving it here!! :)  

Elder Farni 

Baptism! (12/5/16)

This week was quite the adventure!! I am loving it so  much though! So one thing that is really awesome about being here in Tirana is that on Monday nights we go over to Presidents house to discuss the needs of the mission and stuff, then we hold FHE with him and his wife and a few other senior missionary couples! It is really cool! President gave a really great spiritual thought on why we need the Book of Mormon. It was awesome! He is such a great guy! But yeah it is always great to be able to take part in those family home evenings. 

Tuesday was a pretty crazy as well. We had a ward activity at the church and we were doing some traditional dances and stuff. It was really fun! I have come a long way since my trainee transfer with my traditional dancing skills. I was told by someone that I am quote "A beautiful dancer" by an Albanian.. So that is something to put on the resume after the mission!!
On Wednesday we had to take all of the new missionaries to go to get registered to live in Albania but then there was a bunch of problems so we had to work all of that out then it ended up we not even being able to do it at the place we normally go to! So we have to figure out how to get it done in the new missionaries own individual areas. So that is pretty stressful! Then after that we gave a halfway training. It was pretty great! We talked about all of the trainers and trainees "Strengths and future strengths" it was great. It reminded me of my trainee transfer! It doesn't even feel that long ago but it was almost a year ago! Crazy!

Also this week we just got all of the stuff printed off for the Christmas initiative! It is such an awesome thing! I love the "Light the World" idea it is just amazing! 

Anyway another awesome thing about this week was that we had a baptism! It was this guy named Pellumb. He is a really cool guy he was so prepared to hear the Gospel! His baptism was really awesome as well. And yeah that was pretty much my week! 
Loves! 

Elder Farni 

Thanks Giving!! (11/28/16)

Man, this week was INSANE! It was definitely one of the more insane weeks of my mission. It was so busy! So we were doing a lot of planning for Thanksgiving and stuff. We had it at this really nice place for parties and stuff and it got catered by an American food place so we got all of that together. So the day before and the day of Thanksgiving was crazy because all of the missionaries were all in Tirana and they needed places to stay and stuff so we were trying to control all of that. 

All of us stuck in the elevator!

 Then on Thanksgiving we were just finishing up preparing for the dinner and stuff, and we start to head over to the place where we were going to have it about 30 minutes before it starts. So we try to fit about 10 Elders into an elevator and we start going down when all of a sudden the elevator stops working!! It totally stopped! We were stuck in between two floors in a crowded elevator with 10 Elders! It was crazy! So we were all just kind of chilling in there. Then finally we get the door open and end up crawling out of the door where there is about a 2 foot space! It was crazy. But we made it to Thanksgiving! We were only a few minutes late. 

Me and my comp on Thanksgiving! 

Thanksgiving dinner was great! We had an actually American meal! It was really good. We had turkey and mashed potatoes and everything it was really nice! Then after dinner all of the districts in the mission had to make a skit so we all watched each others skits. It was so funny! But I was nice and stuffed after Thanksgiving dinner it was so great!! Also it was a lot of fun to see all of my friends around the mission! 

Me after long days in the office 

So after Thanksgiving we are told we need to take a portable baptism font and a heater to this area in the south of Albania called Korca. It is about a 7 hour drive there and back. It took soooo long! So we take it there. It was a pretty fun drive but driving makes me so tired, We finally got back at night and I was pleased to see this awesome package waiting for me in my office from my homie Islam in Switzerland! It was so awesome he sent McDonalds in a package from Switzerland!! It was crazy. He knows my love for McDonalds :') haha but sadly once it got into Albania there were a lot of mix ups so it didn't get to me as fast as he intended so it wasn't the freshest McDonalds in the world.... It was still an amazing gift though! 

Haha Elder Farnworth in the mornings in his bathrobe....

Anyways, the rest of the week was pretty quiet. We are just trying to finish up all of the stuff with the Christmas initiative! We have printed out 30,000 pass along cards, now we are trying to get the posters printed out and we are talking to the city to have them put the big "LIGHT THE WORLD" add on the big TV's in downtown Tirana! It would be pretty cool. Oh  yeah, also my Mission President made it back from Switzerland! His surgery went well, he is just beginning the healing process though! Still trying to take it slow so we are trying to help him as much as we can. But yeah things here are really busy but I am still finding joy in the work! I love the holiday season! They are starting to decorate around Tirana and I love it! Plus I have been listening to Christmas music since July to prepare for this season so I am pumped :) 

Love you! 

Elder Farni