Mexican Crepes in Albania (5/15/17)

So this week was pretty good. It was a pretty quiet week I guess not really much that went on. So at the beginning of the week there was a new senior couple that came in.. They were really nice! They kind of seemed overwhelmed about coming into Albania but they were really cool. Ok so kind of a side note, as a missionary in Albania you kind of get accustom to strange things. So, there are these delicious "Mexican" flavored Crepes that they sell right below our house.. So I was talking about that with our mission president and the new senior couple steps in and says "A Mexican Crepe in Albania?! That sounds wrong." Ha so needless to say I was HAPPY to show them where the place was and to enjoy a crepe with them. I think it got their approval haha. They are SO GOOD. 

Shout out to my comp's girlfriend for getting me an Easter egg :) 

The rest of the week was kind of just boring. We were doing a lot of street contacting which was good. It is getting SO hot though! It is starting to get like California weather here hot and humid ha it is nice though. We have been trying to work hard here but the area is kind of slow right now. We have a few friends we are working with though which is good. I spent a really long time writing a bunch of life's questions and how the Book of Mormon can answer them and stuff and I filled up the front 2 blank pages of a Book of Mormon, and I was all excited to use it then I go up to this guy and invite him to read one of the scriptures that answers a question and he looks at it and says "You are wasting your time here, go back to America." And I was like.... great.... hahaha but it was actually pretty successful a lot of people thought that it was really cool! 

During the meet we met this member who is like really old but really funny hahaha and he was telling us how the Stake tried to give him a calling and he was like "Why would I take a calling? I am anti-communist and pro-America!" HAhahahaha I was dying so much ha he is such a funny guy he always talks about politics to us and we are just like "you know we can't talk about politics as missionaries right?" But he just likes talking to us haha. 

This kid is a stud!

We also had an activity this week where we were doing Albanian traditional line dancing it was loads of fun! I am getting SO GOOD at Albanian dancing like I can hit all of the steps. I am excited to get home and teach you all of it ;) 

So at the end of the week we looked at our numbers and they were... not so hot to say the least so we were like well lets just hope for a miracle on Sunday! And we definitely got one. Church was so great! We had this investigator come and bring his mom and she loved it and invited us to come to their house this week to teach their family! We also had some other random people come that we met while street contacting and we were able to invite them to meet with us so that was a really cool blessing of the Lord! 

Oh yeah and also I Skyped some people on Sunday night it was pretty good I guess. ;) 

Love you so much family you are the best!!!! 
HAPPY MOTHERS DAY MUM! 

Elder Farnworth 

Cleaning, trainings, more cleaning..(5/8/17)

This week was pretty busy but really good! This is going to be a short email though because I am lazy haha sorry everyone. SO at the beginning of the week we gave a training for all of the missionaries that are in there trainee transfer. It was a really good training! We assigned all of the trainings to read some scriptures and then compare to their work and to answer the question "What does it mean to rely on the Lord?" It was a really good training! I love giving trainings it is always such a great Spirit. 

The after product!! 

Then we just street contacted a lot this week. We met with this dude who is hilarious!! He is like 57 years old and is just so funny. I refer to him as the "Albanian Han Solo" he is such a gangster! He like knows very little English and always looks angry and whenever you say something he like stares at you and is like "What?!" It is so funny. He always like sits at pubs and just drinks vodka all the time so it will be a working progress. But he has potential! At first he was kind of just like no no no no God and all this stuff but like the next lesson he opened up and was like "I only drink a lot because I am sad that I have to live far from my kids" And stuff then I testified that God still loves him even more than he loves his kids it was really cool. I love missionary work.  So at the end of the week we got the assignment to clean the office. MAN it was a pretty big task. It was so messy! I am talking about the storage room of the office ha there was so much crap there. It ended up taking us about 9 hours straight to get it all clean! It looks really good now though! It was pretty fun cleaning it but a lot of hard work and we were definitely not dressed in the proper outfits because we got our white shirts really dirty but it was great!
Then on Sunday we had one of our investigators that is really cool and we have been working with for a really long time but hasn't been to church, he came to church! It was cool... Kind of. He walks in and he yells "FARNY, MILLER WHATS UP!" In the middle of some lady giving her testimony then he like sees all the other missionaries around the room and he like yells their names and was like raising his hand to them and stuff it was so funny ha. Then he was like "Tonight, I am going to drink alcohol and do drugs, you guys in?" (side note- we have taught him the word of wisdom, he was just messing with us.. he is such a punk) It was funny then he like took the sacrament and was like "Alright I am out, love you Jesus!" then leaves haha. I love some of the experiences that I have here so much haha. 

Anyway love you all have a great week!! 

Elder Farnworth 

I made it to Bitola!! (5/1/17)

This week was really really great week! Really busy but really great! So the beginning of the week was kind of normal. Just some meetings and some contacting it was fun. CRAZY STORY (but before I tell you, don't worry, Albania is a really safe place.) Okay so we were contacting and I was talking to this dude and the street, meanwhile this like homeless man walks up to me and points to my watch then he holds up this weird things with wires and stuff and lights a lighter underneath it and my heart dropped. I thought it was a bomb! So I started like backing up really fast and yelling but then he just walked away and it was nothing. Then the person I was with was like "Don't worry, we don't have any terrorists in Albania, just crazy people." I was so scared! My life flashed before my eyes! (I lived a pretty good life, in case you were wondering) 

Also here are some random pictures of my shoes..
they are holding up like champs!

Final stretch 5 months left! 

Then we got the assignment to go to a city in Albania called Pogradec, to take some church photo's to their new church building down there. Then from Pogradec we went to do an exchange in a city in Macedonia called Ohrid! It was SO pretty there. There is like this lake there and it is gorgeous! I have been there a couple times before but the other times it has been snowy and dark there so this was the first time I have seen it during the spring and man was it pretty! But yeah it was fun to do an exchange there. I obviously don't speak any Macedonian at all but I was still trying to street contact and stuff it was so much fun! The missionaries there wrote down some phrases for me to say to people so I was just some weird American trying to speak Macedonian to people it was funny. 

But it was just really gorgeous there in Ohrid! There are a lot of tourists that go there because it is referred to by some as the "Jerusalem of Europe" because of how many church's there are and I guess the Apostle Paul went there once or something like that. But it was really cool! Oh yeah and I helped out with a lesson there and this guy totally lived in America for a super long time and said that he was pretty positive that he has seen missionaries before when we lived in Chicago.. So I asked him when he lived in Chicago and he said from 1978-1990 and I was like dude I bet he saw my dad as a missionary in Chicago... Just saying. But anyway Ohrid was just awesome... I highly recommend going there. I mean, it was marked as that 5'th best city in the world to visit on https://www.lonelyplanet.com/best-in-travel/cities... ;) 

Ohrid, Macedonia! Excited to take you all here family!!! 

This is Bitola

So then the second day we were in Macedonia we drove to this city called Bitola! It is this city at the bottom of Macedonia that is like 5 minutes away from Athens Greece. There aren't any missionaries serving there right now but we are looking to sending some missionaries there soon! So we will see! It was pretty cool though because we were able to work there for a few hours, making us some of the first missionaries to ever do missionary work there. It was pretty cool. Anyway that was pretty much my week. We always played soccer on Saturday it was loads of fun but at one point I got knocked over and landed on my tailbone super hard it hurt way bad!! Ha but we are good. I am loving it here so much! Thank you all for your love and support! 

Have a great week! 

Elder Farnworth 

I am happy here in Albania! (4/24/17)

I was trying to take a selfie with Tirana in the background 

but some dude got in the way 

This week was probably one of the most busiest weeks of my entire mission. I know I say that a lot but I just feel like I am getting busier and busier each week! It is really great though I am still loving it so much! Okay so at the beginning of the week we were street contacting but it just didn't really feel like that is what we should be doing.. So I asked my comp what else we could do.. so we both start throwing out idea's and I say a prayer in my head asking what we should do, then it just kind of leads to us decided to go visit this members family that we have visited a couple times before. The member just moved to Switzerland so we wanted to go see how the family was doing.. So we go over there and the entire family is there, which is the first time! (normally when we go over we just end up teaching the member and her mom) But this time her brother and her dad were there and participated in the little FHE we put on! It was such a blessing! At the end of the night we knew that that is where we needed to be that night and we were grateful we listened to the Spirit which took us there. And later we talked to the member that lives in Switzerland and she said it was an answer to her prayers as well it was such a neat experience. 

So then after that this week was just week... A lot of administrative work I guess but it was still good. So we had transfers so we had to drive people places and carry luggage around and arrange people to be taken to there new area it is always fun.. Also the Sister from my MTC group, Sister Willey, finished her mission last week so we had an exit dinner with her and then that night at 3 AM we took her to the airport! It was SO WEIRD seeing her leave. It put into perspective how much longer I have... But I am not thinking about that :) 

Then we had Zone Conference in Tirana which was good fun. It is always great to have a bunch of missionaries gather together ha as well I loving giving trainings so that is always a great time!! Then that night we had another dinner for a new missionary from Tirana that is starting his mission! It was a lot of fun.

The Wreck!!

Later in the week we drove to Kosovo to give a Zone Conference there as well! When we got there we went to this place that sells Himalayan food that is SO GOOD. Back when I lived in Kosovo I used to go there all the time. So like, when I went back all the workers there remembered me haha. So like, I guess at the end of my mission I will be able to say a bunch of random food joints around Albania and Kosovo know who I am so like I had a successful mission right? Right. Anyway, it was way good in Kosovo! The Zone Conference there was really great! Okay crazy story time.. So on the way back from Kosovo we were driving on this highway and there was this huge semi truck full of dirt driving the opposite way, and it like ran into the barrier between the road and flipped over onto the side of the road that we were on! It was crazy! It happened like 30 meters ahead of us it was craaaaazy. We ended up sitting in are car for like 45 minutes because the dirt fell out of the truck and was covering the entire road it was crazy! You never really know what you are going to see next in this mission. 

He was a stud!

Anyway at the end of the week we were able to work in our area a lot which was really good. We also played Basketball, Volleyball and Football (soccer) with the branch which was fun! We met like the most famous freestyle soccer player in Albania he is sick! If you care at all you can look up his YouTube videos his name is Fabion Duro he was incredible. And on a side note, I would say my football skills are getting pretty good as well ;) But yeah, then we did some street contacting and stuff! It is amazing to see how much the Lord blesses us when we actually have time to do normal missionary work. I am convinced that even though I am in this area I still have the same chance or opportunities to meet and teach people as other missionaries do in normal areas. It is so cool! We met a really cool couple on Saturday and they both said that they really wanted to search to know if our message is true or not. They really seem humbled and down to earth and really prepared for the Gospel! 

Not much to say about church this week... I really like church here though. It is nice to be in like a functioning ward ha. My last areas I would pretty much like run the show every week ha but now I can kind of just sit back and enjoy it it is great. 

Anyway I am happy here in Albania it is going so great!! 

Love you all! 

Elder Farnworth

I finished my mission! (4/17/17)

That's what I would say if I were a Sister Missionary. So crazy!! Tomorrow Sister Willey, the sister from my MTC group, is going home!! Like what the heck?? I don't feel like I have been here that long but at the same time I do! (cliche missionary thing to say I know, moving on.) 

I didn't take any pics this week so this is a selfie by my computer.

Anyway this week was great! So at the beginning of the week we went to Elbasan for a Zone Conference and it was so great! It was cool to be apart of the conference with the zone that I used to be zone leader over! All the missionaries there are killing it they do such a great job. But yeah the conference went great but it was just so looooong like it was crazy. Sometimes I just feel like I am in long meeting after long meeting which is exhausting but I love it so much! Every time I grow so much Spiritually which has really helped me so much. 

So then the next day we had District Meeting, which was really good, but again, meetings meetings meetings. Then we were just doing some street contacting and stuff then had another meeting with our President for the upcoming transfer! It was a good meeting though I little meetings with our President because he is just such a Spiritual man! But yeah then the second half of our week wasn't as busy.. we had more time to street contact. We put together a little missionary fireside for our friends and it was really good!! Like, 70 people came to it which is like more than we normally have in church so that was super dope! 

This week we did a lot of street contacting.. And it is starting to get sunny outside so it is hard to get motivated. During one of my personal studies I got the idea to start off every street contact with a question so I would ask everyone I stopped "What is the most important thing in your life?" And it was so cool, because everyone would say Family! Every single person did it was awesome. So I would just tie it into how the Gospel blesses families and it was amazing! Just being able to testify about that over and over again was such a great experience! Made me remember how important my family is to me! I love them all so much!!

Okay so at the end of the week we put together an Easter activity at the park and we did an Easter egg hunt which was so fun haha but there is this crazy lady in our ward that like participated and while we were hiding the eggs she kept trying to like cheat and look where were were hiding them and I was like Sister Hansi you cant cheat! (keep in mind she is like 60 years old) and she was like "put some right in those bushes so I can find them easy" I was like how old are you?! It was so funny. I was just waiting for her to shove some kids out of her way to get the eggs before them.. It was weird! But after the activity me and my comp and this other missionary along with 2 members went and played basketball! It was so much fun. There were a bunch of Albanians playing... and they aren't that good... but we wasted them!! We would play like 5 on 5 full court and we would just beat every team they would put together it was so fun! It was really nice to play a proper game of basketball that was probably my first actually game of basketball my whole mission it was so much fun! 

So then on Sunday we had a great day at church and had a few of our investigators in church so that was nice. Then after we got invite to a lunch by the senior couple that work in the office with us and they made us like a "pass over lunch" which was really yummy! It was a cleaver idea. Then we were invited by an American family that works for the embassy to have dinner at there house! It was so cool and so great to have a nice AMERICAN dinner for Easter! It was awesome! 

Still loving it here! 

 Elder Farnworth

Weeks like these make me want to stay here forever! (4/10/17)

We went into a pet store to hold some puppies!

This week was just soooooooo goooooooooooooood. Man I really really love this place so much!! Okay so at the beginning of the week we did singing street contacting again with the whole zone and it was so successful again! We set up a big poster of Jesus and all the missionaries sang next to it while other missionaries (including me) were walking around and talking to people. It was so good! I met this one guy that was 19 years old and homeless and said that he felt like he has done too many bad things in his life and that God can't forgive him. I kept telling him that God really does love him and hasn't forgotten him and that because of Christ he can be forgiven for all that he has done. Then I taught him about the Restoration and invited him to be baptized and the Spirit was so strong! He accepted the baptism invitation and said that he really feels that this is what God wants him to do. It was a great experience!! I really felt like even if we aren't able to meet him again (because he is on the moves around a lot and doesn't have a phone) I know I made a difference again and planted a seed for him to be baptized one day. 

The next day was really special, we had a Missionary Leadership Counsel with all of the Zone Leaders and the Sister Training leaders and it was so great! Me and my comp gave a training about going the extra mile in missionary work and relying on the Atonement to help you. It was so spiritual! The meeting went like an hour and a half over time but it was so spiritual like no one really cared we were all just on Spiritual highs it was great! Then right after we went to help the Sister's in our area teach their friend, Sidorella. Me and my comp were coming out of that meeting feeling so Spiritual so we were so ready to teach her and help her to feel the Spirit! So we reviewed the Restoration and then talked about 2 Nephi 31 and she said she really liked verse 12 and I said what do you think verse 12 means to you? And there was like silence for like 4 minutes and she didn't say anything but we could all just feel the Spirit testifying to us the truthfulness of the verse and what it was saying in the verse! So I testified to her about the Spirit, and I said that we just experienced first hand what the Spirit does. Then I told her that as verse 12 was saying that if we do what Jesus did, and we follow him, after we are baptized we are promised the gift of the Holy Ghost, AKA that feeling that we just had will always be with us! So then I said do you know what you need to do? And she said "I need to get baptized." So then I was just like "will you get baptized tomorrow?" And she kind of got scared and was thinking but then I invited her to offer a kneeling prayer with us and ask God what she should do. So she did and afterwards we all just sat there and the Spirit was so strong! You could tell that it was testifying to her so much that it was true. So then she said "okay I will" And I invite her to say a prayer again to confirm her answer and she did and the Spirit was just telling her yes yes yes! It was so amazing. Really after the lesson I felt that I didn't even do much it was like 100% the Spirit! It was a testimony builder for like how important the Spirit really is in the work and how little we as missionaries do. All we have to do is make sure we don't get in the way of the Spirit! It was so amazing. 

Anyways, wow this is long I will wrap it up. So on Saturday we played soccer it was loads of fun but the definite highlight of the day was on the way back we were walking and saw a little pet store that had puppies!!! We asked to hold them and she let us they were SO CUTE!!! I will attach pictures of them :) Love you all have a great week!! 

Elder Farnworth 

Training's, Police Man, Exchanges, Conference! (4/3/17)

Me and Elder and Sister Collins in Shkoder! 

Wow what a week this was!! (man before my mission I would always say that I will never be that kind of missionary that always starts off his weekly posts by saying "great week!" or "this week was hard but good" or other cliche stuff like that but here I am now. Sorry everyone.) 

Anyway, so at the beginning of the week we gave a training with our Mission President to all the Tirana missionaries for the "Prince of Peace" Initiative. It was so good!! Then we gave another one, our last one, in my old area Shkoder on Wednesday. It was crazy, on the way to Shkoder I got pulled over going 160 KPH in a 50 KPH zone and the cop came up to the window and said to me and my comp "You two are going to jail and you are losing your license." I was like freeeeeeeeeeeak. But then he went over and talked to his other cop buddy and he looked at my license and saw that I was American and came to our car and said "Just drive slow. You guys are good to go." and didn't even give me a ticket! It was really lucky. Haha, anyway, they trainings went great! = We have done the training like 9 times now to every district in the mission. Each one was so Spiritual it was so awesome!! I really loved it it has brought me so much peace. It is amazing how much God knows us all individual. He gave me this wonderful opportunity to teach all of the missionaries about peace because as I have done it I have gained so much of a better understanding of the true peace that comes from Christ and his resurrection. What a blessing that has been!! 

So then on Thursday we were given the assignment to go to my other old area, Fier and do an exchange there! So we went there and did an exchange with 2 missionaries from my MTC group, Elder Cox and Elder Ellsworth. It was a lot of fun to be with them! It was really hot in Fier though ha. But yeah it was good and it was nice to see some of my old friends/the members from Fier! Also while I was there Elder Cox poured a cup of water on my pants while I was lying on the couch and made it look like I peed my pants.... It was great.... Anyway. Then we had to race back to Tirana for an activity that we were going to do! All the missionaries in Tirana got together on a great big boulevard and did a choir together! It was so much fun. I wasn't apart of the choir though, I was going around and talking to people. It was a lot of fun! A lot of people seemed interested, it was actually pretty successful. Also my Mission President came and started contacting with me it was a lot of fun to be side by side and contact with him!

Saturday was a pretty good day. This guy got baptized in our ward! He has a really cool story actually, he is from Persia, and doesn't speak Albanian or English so they taught him all the lesson's over Google Translate it was crazy! He is a really cool guy though. He said he used to live in Iran and he saw like people being killed and stuff so he decided that he wanted to become Christian ha it was pretty cool! 

When a missionary pours water on your pants....

So then on Sunday we had church and at night we were able to watch conference live! It was so cool! We watched it in English with some of the English speakers of the ward. We were over at the senior couples house. There were a lot of people there so me and my companion and this other missionary had to lay on the floor and some members feet STUNK! It was hard to focus ha it was nasty! But anyway it was a great week! Oh yeah and also today was my MTC comp, Elder Samuel's birthday so we went bowling and to KFC for it it was good fun! I will attach some videos of me bowling with my celebrations :) 
Love you all!! 
Elder Farnworth