Thursday, July 26, 2012

Learning to Listen to the Spirit


Hello family and friends!!
 
So first off...HAPPY BIRTHDAY SARAH!!! If anyone sees or talks to her, tell her happy birthday. She is just a baby and just turned 19. What a late bloomer!! Ha  ha.

And secondly, friends you aren't very good at writing or you sent me some letters to Spain and as you all know I didn’t quite make it there. The letters probably won’t make it here to Provo because the post office takes forever to forward stuff. So please send me some letters friends!! In Provo!! I would love to hear how things are going.

Thirdly, Aunt Sue sorry I don’t have your email in front of me; I forgot my address book in the room. But thank you for the wedding invitation! It’s good to know I am still in the loop :) and thanks for the dear elder! It sounds like everyone is super busy but in the best of ways. And yes, I have worked my tail off to learn Spanish and I still have a long LONG ways to go. But the spirit is helping me more then I will ever know.

Ok favorite experience for the week. At the MTC you teach investigators everyday in Spanish. (No they aren’t real, people role play for us. The Lord has commanded us to learn through role playing and it seems very real). So me and my comp Elder Roney had prepared a lesson on repentance for our investigator. We prepared really really hard and had confidence going into the lesson. But we did not say a single word on repentance. Carlos (our investigator) wanted to know that Joseph Smith was really a prophet and really saw Jesus Christ and Heavenly Father. So we asked him to pray right then and there with us to know if he was a prophet. When we asked him that we probably sat in silence for 30 seconds. You could feel the spirit so strong!! He finally said ok and prayed. It was so powerful. Then we again sat in silence after the prayer to let the spirit do its work. It was the best lesson we had ever given and I had never felt the spirit so strongly in our lessons.

The point I am trying to make is we prepared very hard to teach on repentance, and studied Spanish for repentance but we didn’t say a word about that, the spirit guided us to do other things and answer his questions. And our Spanish was great, even though we were not prepared for that, we were prepared to teach. It just showed me that if we put in the work and try our best, we will be guided by the Holy Spirit. The spirit guided us and it was the best lesson we had given and we spoke great Spanish. Thanks to the Holy Ghost. Seek not to declare my word, but first seek to obtain it.

So ya, other than that, just another week in boot camp here. I only have about 3 and a half weeks left!! I can’t wait to get out of here and experience life again and be in the real world. Even though it will be scary, I have become a robot in here doing the same thing day after day ha ha. And for those who would always make fun of my OCD cleanliness go read D&C 42:41 :) I was just following what the Lord tells us to do!

Ok I love you all and hope to hear from some of you sometime soon before I leave Provo! Write me or use dear elder.

Love,

Elder Farah

p.s. my health is totally fine now, and I am back to normal.

Friday, July 20, 2012

Elder Farah's Missionary Photos


 



Half Way Point


Hola familia y amigos!!!

Well Wednesday was the month mark, about halfway done!!! I am already itching to get to Spain. I can’t wait. It is going to be great. I am starting to eat, live, and breathe Spanish. It is crazy! Sometimes I want to explode though since I have to try really hard to understand Spanish. But it is coming, slowly but surely. Our teacher asked the other day if we were doing all that we could do to qualify for the gift of tongues. Yes it is a gift we receive, but we have to try our best in order to receive it. Learning a language like this is beyond our natural capability, so that is why we have this gift. But we have to work as hard as we possibly can to receive it. So I’m trying. I have the first vision in Spanish pretty much down and memorized and when I was working on that I really felt like the Spanish was starting to click and I was understanding it. That was a really neat experience.

Ok my favorite experience that I had this week. I was in class yesterday and we were just having a conversation about those crazy questions like how there are different worlds and how Christ’s atonement was infinite and so on. But we got talking about the prophet and one of our teachers all of the sudden said I know that president Monson has physically seen God face to face. And then I said "so you think that all of our prophets see God?" and then he proceeded to look me in the eye and say "I don’t think, I know." The spirit hit me like a ton of bricks!!! I began to ponder that statement. In the scriptures it says there are special witnesses of Christ and Joseph Smith was a prophet and saw Christ, so why not the other prophets? Our teacher said in this dispensation the prophet has to see God in order to reveal things to us in the church. He firmly KNOWS that President Monson has see God face to face in the temple in the holy of holy rooms and that other members in the Quorum of the 12 have as well. Now that was just his testimony but it is something that I have been thinking about a lot.

Of course I didnt sleep last night because I was pondering that question but I think that God does appear to his prophets. There are so many things that you do not know about this church that we won’t learn until we are with Heavenly Father in heaven, that is why we just need to exercise faith as members. So that could be the million dollar question for the week. Has the present day prophet and other Quorum of the 12 members physically seen God face to face? I want to gain a testimony and a belief on that question. The teacher that told me he knows President Monson has seen Christ physically, I’ve never felt such a stronger belief from someone. The church is awesome.

Ok I hope you all have a good week!!!

Love,

Elder Farah

Thursday, July 12, 2012

Staying at Provo MTC

Hello family and friends!!

So I thought I would be writing this from the country of Spain, but, due to my stomach problems and losing a lot of weight the doctors were very hesitant to send me halfway around the world. They kept me here just for precautionary reasons. At first I was very dissappoitned and a little upset but now I have come to terms with the decision and I am ok with it. I am in the best of hands here at the MTC and the brethren prayed and thought a lot about this decision. So I am staying in Provo, probably for the duration of my training. But we will see. Being able to stay has let me stay with my district and my companion who hasn’t received his visa yet. I love all these elders so much, so that was a huge positive in staying. Sadly elder Schwartz left us. I hope he is doing alright. So if anyone chooses to write/write me back I will be in the Provo MTC for a while!!

Not too much happened in the MTC this week, just another week of training. The Spanish can be frustrating at times and it is hard not to want to learn it all in one day but I have come so far from when I first got here. The worst is when we are teaching our investigators and I want to say something so bad but I can’t think of what to say! But it is amazing how the spirit can help you. Even though this is all practice, you can still feel the spirit so strong. I have learned that I don’t teach anything, the spirit does. I am just an instrument in the Lords hands. So the stronger my relationship with him, the more easily the spirit can guide me.

My favorite spiritual moment this week; If you can't recall, when I passed the sacrament to the Quorum of the 12, the missionary choir sang “Consider the Lilies.” Every Tuesday we have a devotional here in the MTC and this week my district and I had the opportunity to sing in it, and guess what song we sang, yep “Consider the Lilies.” I feel like I have a special connection with the Lord when I sing that song, I feel the spirit so much. I could barely hold myself together when we were rehearsing. Ha, I am such a cry baby now. But I love that song. I love how strong the spirit is through music. I wrote down the words in my journal after and just read them over and over again. I can't wait to strengthen my relationship everyday and be closer with the Lord.

So one funny story really quick; there are these two elders, Elder Waite and Elder Vincent. Their companionship makes me laugh so much. Elder  Waite is the most serious, hard working, clean, neat organized elder here. Elder Vincent on the other hand is this kid from Brigham City. He sweats a lot and is very loud and forgetful, and his favorite line is "Da Gum!!!" like Mater says from the movie “Cars” ha ha. Anyway one day we are all studying and it is dead silent in the room and all of the sudden Elder Vincent says " uh oh, code red!" and sprints out of the room. We all sat there in shock and were really confused. He had gotten halfway down the hall and remembered his companion who was still sitting in the room in disbelief. He comes running back jumping up and down in the doorway saying "I’m serious I got to go!" then sprints to the bathroom. Elder Waite said he came out smiling 10 minutes later. It was really funny. So whenever someone is having a problem we say code red. Oh and yesterday he forgot where his laundry was... so we searched 200 dryers for it. it was funny. I love these two.

I just want all of you to know that the mission is so hard, but I am already reaping rewards from it and I know my family is being blessed. In 2 Nephi chapter 31, it outlines our purpose as missionaries and our purpose in life. It is an amazing chapter; I encourage you all to read it. I wanted to mark every single scripture. I am already itching to get to the field to start teaching, sometimes we get jealous of the English missionaries who are here for two weeks. But I know this is my calling and I know there are people in Spain waiting for me. I just know it. I can’t wait to get there and see my mission president and go to work. That man is a called brother from heaven and I KNOW he will be the best mission president any missionary can ask for. I can’t wait to see him and his wife when I get to Barcelona. I know the Lord is right by my side, every step of the way. All I have to do is my best and that is exactly what I am doing.
 
Love,

Elder Farah

Monday, July 9, 2012

Grounded

A bad stomach and a long flight to Spain do not mix so Elder Farah has been grounded by the Doctor. He is staying back with the rest of his district who didn't get their visas until he feels better. So that means you need to keep sending your letters to the Provo MTC until he can take flight. He appreciates your support!

Friday, July 6, 2012

Greeting a Newly Minted Missionary and Friend!


Elder Farah meets Elder Moser as he arrives at the MTC. What a joyous reunion!






Elder Farah was also greeted by one of his good friends, Elder Willes, when he entered the MTC.






I couldn't resist posting this picture of the brothers!

Thursday, July 5, 2012

Another Week Down at the MTC

Hello family and friends!!!!

So another week down here in the MTC. This week wasn’t as exciting as the last since the Quorum of the 12 and the First Presidency wasn't here but being in the MTC is always a spiritual experience.

On Monday, I think it was, we received our travel plans and I am receiving my VISA tomorrow. My flight leaves for Madrid on Tuesday at 8 am. I can’t believe it has already been almost three weeks. Off to Spain and the MTC over there!!! I had finally just gotten my feet under me here but now I have to leave again. I am excited but at the same time pretty scared and sad. We have already bonded with so many other elders here and gotten close but now we have to leave. And one of my companions, Elder Roney, hasn’t received his visa yet so me and Elder Schwartz have to go without him.

Alright one experience I had stuck out to me this week. An elder in my district received a letter from home one day. Now this elder is a Tongan form Hawaii. He looks so intimidating but he is the nicest elder ever and has such a big heart. Back home I guess his brother has gone out of control drinking and smoking and stealing and doing whatever he wants. His parents can’t control him because he is so much bigger than them and he will swing back. So Elder Finau just completely loses it and starts crying because he feels so bad for his mom and wants his brother to do good so bad. So me and half my district try to go calm him down and be there for him. We just let him talk it out, but he could barely talk he was so sad and hurt. This went on for about 5 minutes. Then we sat there in silence for about minute while he was sobbing. Then out of nowhere he wipes away his tears and says "let’s go to work." Immediately we all grab our books and leave the class room to get on the computer to start studying Spanish.

It didn’t occur to me till yesterday what happened there. It was incredible. One minute this elder is so hurt and sad and wants to go home and then out of nowhere we go to work and he was totally fine. The spirit and miracles of God are real. That wouldn’t just happen on its own. I have never seen a man or anyone go from uncontrolled sobbing to a working mindset like that.

MIRACLES ARE REAL! Exact obedience will bring miracles in the work and that’s exactly what happened. His faith was so strong that he wanted to focus on his purpose and be a missionary and the Lord did the rest.

I look up to everyone in this district and I am very sad to leave them on Tuesday. I’m scared as well. But my branch president told me ships are always safe in the harbor, but they were meant to sail. Looks like I am sailing off on Tuesday.

I love this gospel. This is so hard but I know I need to do it. Learning a language in 9 weeks is beyond the natural mans capable ability. The gift of tongues is real. I am becoming a living testimony of it.

Hope everything is good!!

Love,

Elder Farah