The end of the "trio-ship"

My Family!

Hey all! how is it going?? i've been hearing crazy stuff about tons of snow and all of that stuff! whats been happening?

This past week was pretty good! we got transfer calls on Saturday and I'm staying in LaGrande for 1 more transfer! which is awesome because I'll get to see Mallory and Jon get Baptized! We are also getting super close with this guy named Brian Davis! I really hope I can see him Baptized to but we'll see how it goes! We were still all over the place this week lol. 

We teach this super woman named Ann who's only friends are us and her dog right now.. We've been helping her out around her house to try and keep it manageable I really hope she realizes that it is just to much for her right now and will move close to family but until that happens we are going to keep doing all we can. She's had a tough life and has some very deep trust issues about religion and people but we are just trying to show her how much happier she could be and yeah I'll let you know how that goes. 

Mallory has been super nervous about her baptism and she been saying that the whole water dunking part seems super awkward .. lol so we took her to a baptism yesterday and It did alot to calm her down about the whole thing! She and Jon will have their interviews next Wensday and be baptized next Saturday so we are gunna keep plugin along. We knocked on the door of this woman named Jonna who we've been trying to meet with for awhile and she was finally home and she let us in and she totally opened up to us and told us how much she needed church in her life! haha unfortunately she was major drunk.. but she promised to come with us to church and she remembered and came and we are going to start teaching her here pretty soon! 

We also started teaching this EOU student named James who is a little shy and akward but he is way cool and honestly wants to learn more! that's always cool! we left him a BOM and challenged him to read and pray about it! Mallory is the one that introduced us to him and she is helping out in his lessons which is so cool because she totally bore her testimony to him about the Book of Mormon and how it would change his life and it was a awesome experience! 

We taught a Youth Fireside last night on how the youth can do missionary work. I'm not gunna lie it was pretty much the best thing ever! We tought them how to awnser questions and did some roleplays and we showed them how to use Mormon.org and talked about how powerful it is and all of that good stuff! We watched a couple mormon messages with them and showed them how to link all of that stuff to Facebook(which was hard without actually being able to get on FB lol).. We ended by giveing them all the 21 day member missionary Challenge and promising them if they would do it all the way through they would be able to have a missionary experience! Anyways it was fun and all the kids seemed to have had a good time! Haha we also are gunna be playing bball with our young men today so that will be awesome to get to know them better and be their friends and help them realize that a mission is an awesome idea!

Thats about it for me! things are gunna be back to normal this week Elder Bennett is getting a new comp today sooo the trio is over! haha it was fun but I'm glad lol! anyways Miranda! how is your collarbone?? Miranda and Micalea and Joesph how is school going? what has been going on?? do yall want Oregon shirts now that I'm going to be here for awhile longer??  lol! let me know how you all are doing! I love and miss you guys a ton(haha all of you guys!!!) Love Your brother/son/friend/missionary- Elder Macfarlane!

6 months out!! and Happy Birthday Dad!

My Family!

Hey Everyone!! Holy cow this was a hectic week! Yet awesome! 

Well I'm not sure if yall know this but I hit my 6 month mark this week! Pretty crazy right?? time flies but I've heard as long as you can keep your focus it will only speed up from hear! Soo first off, Miranda, Micalea, and Kera(so sisters) you should send me emails so I have your individual email addresses! I obviously suck to the highest at getting you individual letters so I would love to beable to shoot you at least a quick email each week! Miranda!!! I'm so sorry to hear about your collar bone... Get feeling better ok?? I know how tough injuries can be.. I am flippin proud of you though! I can't believe that you had your senior night already! your awesome and I know that you are going to be freakin awesome in college!! Just try not to beat yourself up and stay positive! Your definitely an all-star in my book!!!(sooner then you think everyone else as well !!

My week as I said be fore was craycray lol! Having to cover both areas in Lagrande is a challenge but awesome! We got to go to Elgine Oregon which is about 40min out of Lagrande and teach some super cool hill billy people up there lol! hahaha they called Lagrande the city and Lagrande has maybe 10,000 people in it and yeah... is pretty small but these people were so funny about it! They have a 100 year old opera house in Elgine that the community runs so we got to do some awesome service for awhile helping build sets and dropping backgrounds!! Learned a ton about theater and stuff lol! Those big canvas drops weigh a flip ton! haha The other elders have a guy who is getting baptized up there named Jeff 2 Horse lol! he legally changed his name after having a vision about him riding 2 horses at the same time... haha its apart of his native american heritage.  

We taught Jon Jian 2 times this past week!! He is seriously awesome! we tought him the restoration and Joesph Smith and he on his own time researched all about early church history! He calls it "our" churches history! He told us how touched he was that they sacrificed so much to bring us the truth! Sooo yeah he's getting baptized on March 2nd!!!!! I am so happy for him! He is seriously a spiritual giant and I know that he is going to have a big part in bringing the gospel to the people of China! We met with Mallory twice this week as well and after allot of praying we decided on the 2nd of march for her baptism as well!! She told her family and they said they would support her and still love her even if she is a member of a cult lol! She really is awesome and way strong! She has an awesome knowledge of the scriptures and a real desire to learn the truth! She texts us gospel questions all the time throughout the week! She is awesome! 

We had a bunch of cool experiences with less active members this week as well and It is so amazing to see someone who knows they need to make a change and then go out and do it! It is even better when they tell you how much happier they are because of it! It just feels rewarding! haha so that was my week in a nut shell! Lots of driving around and a ton of miracles! 

I love you all and hope your doing well! I am doing awesome! Love Elder Macfarlane!!

P.S hey so cool experience, Saturday I got super sick with a head cold flu thing that has been going around.. Everyone told me that it took them 4 days to get it out of there system and that I had the worst ahead of me.. I received a blessing Saturday night and by the morning I was feeling alot better! Today almost all my symptoms are completely gone and I'm just a tiny bit tired from it! I'm being looked after for sure and I know it because I have work I need to do and I need to be healthy to do it! Love you all! I'm looking forward to an awesome week! hope you all are to!

P.S.S DAD! Happy birthday!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Hope all yall Mac's do something awesome to celebrate!

Temple baptisms, Go Ravens!, and a new truck :)

Hey Everyone!!!!!!!!

Hahaha it was seriously another crazy week!!! so first off!!! Go Ravens!!! I'm stoked to hear they won! second stuff around here is going good but its been insane! 

last Monday's lesson with Jon Jian was awesome! He is the most humble and the most ready and willing person I've ever met. He walked to our lesson on monday and said the opening prayer and wow it was awesome! He was so sincere and the spirit was super strong we talked about what he had learned form meeting with missionaries in the past and then tought him a little about Christ and the Plan of Salvation and gave him a Chinese book of Mormon and invited him to read and pray this past week. We saw him again at church yesterday and he stayed for all 3 hours!!(HE ALSO WALKED UP TO CHURCH!) he said that he had been praying alot and he felt the spirt when he did! holy awesome!! we are meeting with him tonight and inviting him to be baptized! He is so ready! I'm super stoked to meet with him and work with him! 

We also had an amazeing lesson with Maollry last night!!! She's a college student that goes to EOU and has been meeting with the missionaries for about 3 years.. She had been concerned about not feeling the spirit and recieveing answers to her prayes. We started by teaching her about recognizeiong the spirit and all of the ways we feel it work in our lives. After we talked about that and shared some experiences she broke down crying. She has been trying super hard the past few weeks to keep the commandments and pray and study her scriptures and come closer to heavenly father and she talked about the feelings that she has been haveing for doing all of that! It was so amazeing! she all of the sudden realized how much the Holy Ghost has been testifying to her and the Spirit just flooded the room all at once. We invited her to asked on the awnseres she been getting and follow our Saviors example by being baptised by the proper athoutity. The warmth in the room was incredible and inbetween tears she said that she knew that it was what heavenly father wanted her to do at this time. She shared how her family was very apposed to her being baptized and that they wouldn't be happy with it but she knew that event then she needed to do it. It was the most amazeing feeling in the world! The spirit was so strong! I was able to say things that I wouldn't have said and share scriptures that I haven't read before and it was one of the most powerful spiritual experiemnces I've ever had! she is going to tell her parents about it and we are all going to pray for a date! How awesome is that!!! I love being able to help people see recognize the spirit in their lives! and being able to recieve impressions and feel the holy ghost testify of what is said is extremely amazeing and also humbleing. It really is a testimony to me how badly we need the holy ghost with us and how we couldn't share this message without him! So yeah that was flippin the best ever!!! I am so excited for mallory and all of the decisions sh'e makeing!!

So also the past week we were able to Travel to Boise on Friday and do baptisims for the dead friday night! I found a few names on dad's side that needed their work done and I was able to be baptised for them! That was also an amazeing experience. I could deffinitely feel the difference when I was able to be baptised for one of our family members!!!! I also found some girl names that need work done and I thought it would be super cool If mic and manda could have the chance to be baptised for them! It an awesome experience!!! 

On saterday in Boise we had the opportunity to be taught by Elders Ballard and Christopherson of the 12!!! That was so cool! we met as missionaries with them in a normal chapel and the spirit in that room was amazeing. They talked mainly about being the best we could be and how we could get better each day and that is really what I need to hear right now! We also got to shake their hands and ask them questions which was flippin cool! So yeah I had a bunch of neet expereinces this week but its been a little crazy to. Elder Razo of the other Lagrande area was sent home for medical reasons and me and Lehmullar are now in a tri-panionship with his comp Elder Bennett.. haha we are covering both areas and have the flippin biggest area in the mission to cover right now!!!!! haha we are going to be insainly busy! haha but thats ok! we are excited! Elder Bennett is awesome!! and we are just praying that Elder Razo can get better and get back out here soon! 

So thats about it! this coming week will be nuts but we're excited! I love you all! thank you so much for the love and support! have an awesome week!!!!!!! 

Love Elder Aaron Macattackmacfarlane!  P.S we also traded in our subaru for a 2013 Toyota Tacoma! haha its awesome! I'm not really a truck guy but this thing might have me converted! 

Speaking Chinese, 21-day Member Missionary program

Hey Family!!! haha so this has been a good week! alittle crazy... but good!

Soo after I emailed last Monday we whent to take pictures up in the mountains and Elder Lhemuller drifted our car into a snow bank... The damage wasn't to bad but its enough that after this transfer he will lose his driving privledges. That was super stressful but we are bringing our car in to be fixed today so it'll be nice to just get that done with! haha president wasn't that happy that he crashed the car after 2 days but he is awesome and very forgiving! Other then that me and Elder Lehmuller have been getting along very well! we both love sports and sold security systems and we've clicked pretty well. He is also very willing to work hard so that deffinitly helps to!

We were able to teach 18 lessons last week were this area has only thought around 11 for the past 4 months so that is exciting ! We are also seeing some blessings form that. We were able to pick up a new investigator yesterday at church! he's this super cool Chinese kid who is going to Easter Oregon right now but he just transferred from BYU and was meeting with the missionaries and wants to meet with them again! haha he obviously speaks Chinese and I'm realizing just how rusty i've gotten over the past 2 1/2 years but we are gonna meet acouple times a week and talk some Chinese! We have a lesson with him tonight and we are both super excited! We also have 3 more potentially promising investigators in Union that we are going to start working with this week!

We also have this 21 day member missionary program that we are going to start with our wards so we are hoping that some progress will sprout from that! We also gave talks this past week and will be teaching at a youth fireside in 2 weeks. I'm so glad that the area is beginning to pick up again and we are hopeing that we can bring it back to what it was last year! Our wards also get together at 630 Saturday morning's and we've been going to that and that is super fun! its been good for letting the members get to know us! Im definitely loving the area and the missionaries i'm working with and hopefully in the next few weeks we will find a bunch more instigators and start them on the path toward baptism!

Anyways thats about it.. I did have a question though, Could you guys burn me a cd with those super cheesy scripture mastery songs and also a few EFY cd's I know you can get them for free somewhere on lds.org. Anyways I love you all a ton! Thank you so much for the support! P.S its snowed every night for the past 3 days and we are suppose to get 8 inches Tomorrow sometime... That will be crazy! I'll take some pictures for sure! 

Getting our feet wet in Oregon

Hey all! 
So its been a hectic week here in Oregon! I took most of the week to get used to the area. I really like La Grande, it's in a valley surrounded by mountains so it is extremely beautiful around here! The people are awesome! there is not nearly as many members out here as the were in Idaho so it makes the work a whole ton different! I've noticed that nonmembers out here are much much friendlier and willing to at least talk to you. In Idaho most nonmembers turn us away pretty quickly.. so its a neat experience! 

This stake had over 60 convert baptisms last year and have high hopes for this year so I'm excited. My area is sorta dead right now though.. We don't have many current investigators or people that w met regularly with in general. So a huge focus for me and Bloom is finding people to teach!!! it is kind of cool to come in a dead area, it just means that I'll get to work like crazy and build this area back up! we got to give talks on Sunday and we met with our stake president about our missionary efforts! we have a ton of stuff that we want to start to try and get people excited again! we also are working with a bunch of the recent converts in the area to get them to the temple which is pretty cool! we got to help plan and set up a stake temple prep class! I'm stoked about it! anyways.. its cold and we been trying to keep warm. 

We have a bunch of stuff to get done this week for sure! My comp is awesome! we get along really well and living with another set of missionaries is a lot like the best 2 years so that's interesting lol! haha its fun though the are cool guys Elders Razzo and Bennet. 

Anyways thats about it! haha p-days are going to interesting because the nearest set of missionaries are about 45mins away!! haha! Love and miss you all a bunch! Dad i'm glad to here the surgery went well!!! Miranda get better!!

P.S we cover 2 really small towns named Cove and Union and they are both up in the Mountains and it way pretty up there!! I'll get you all some pictures soon! I forgot my camera cable today...