The Roller Coaster

Hello Everyone!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO DAD AND MANDY THIS WEEK!!!!! LOVE YOU!!!!

When I decided to come on a mission I had no idea what an emotional roller coaster it is. My teacher described it perfectly when he said it is a roller coaster with exciting highs, terrifying lows, amazing thrills, and times when you just want to throw up. Luckily we have a companion, or in my case 2, who will pull us back in when we threaten to jump ship.

I am honestly so eternally grateful for my family and friends. I have felt so much love and support from everyone. I can't describe the joy I feel when the mail comes and I have another dear elder from one of the amazing people I love. It seems you are all so inspired and always tell me exactly what I need to hear. Not all missionaries get this kind of support so from the bottom of my heart THANK YOU!!

Ok on to the email:

I have not yet had BYU Ice Cream here! It makes me sad to think about eating it because I used to enjoy it so much with my friends! I hope one day I'll get it and not cry! haha

It actually isn't too bad sitting in a desk all day long. My bum hasn't gotten sore at all! Knock on Wood! I LOVE language study even though it is insanely difficult!!! I feel so far behind ALL THE TIME! But I have faith that the language will come.

Typical Day. This is where I sit 60+ hours a week!

One of the counselors in my branch presidency had his wife pass away and remarried to a lady whose husband passed away. I have been able to find great comfort in talking to him and am so grateful the Lord placed me in his branch!

There is so much pressure here at the MTC and although I am lacking in confidence and feel like I am oftentimes not living up to my best self I have faith that i will get there. Faith that the Lord has placed me here for a reason and I will be able to make it!

As far as the teaching goes it is so hard! It is so difficult teaching in English so imagine how rough it is teaching in Finnish!! hahah! It is so hard to communicate when you know so little vocabulary! It is a humbling experience that truly invites the spirit and teaches us to trust in the Lord. I know it will come!! We have started to SYL a little more frequently and we have our first TRC experience tonight! Pray for us because it will be an adventure!! I am pretty confident in saying small prayers and testimonies in Finnish now but if I were to meet a Finn on the street I could only talk to them about the gospel! Lots of work to do!!

When I read aloud in Finnish I feel like I am back in 3rd grade terrified to read aloud! My heart races so much even though I know what to do. It's so funny! To give you an idea of how difficult Finnish is. Tapaa means to meet and Tapa means to kill. So imagine I meet someone and say glad to meet you. If I cut the a off too short I say glad to kill you. hahahahah! I'm gonna say some ridiculous stuff when I get there!

Finnish Words can get huge!! Personal surprise to anyone who can guess what that says without looking it up! Dear Elder me your guesses :)

TeAnna I might use your bathroom trick a little too much. :) Thanks for your advice I have never said so many prayers. :)

FUNNY STORY! So those of you who have seen me when I'm super tired know I have this uncanny ability to dream and seem awake at the same time. Well that ability reached a new level this Friday. I caught a cold and was EXTREMELY tired from lack of sleep and the medication I had taken and I was sitting in my 5th hour of class for the day. I was taking notes and everything and all of a sudden I was at the Provo library and in my notes I wrote "remember to get library card." This woke me up and I realized where I was! I almost laughed out loud when I read my notes. I was embarrassed so I hurried and scribbled it out but I have a picture Ill send of the page! So funny!!

Sleepy Notes...I'm sad now I scribbled it out! haha

Most embarrassing moment of the week though was in one of our Finnish Lessons with our "teacher" as an investigator. I have a crazy cough and during the middle of my part I had a coughing attack and could not stop coughing! I could tell my teacher didn't know what to do! I ran out grabbed my water bottle and tried to salvage the lesson. I couldn't remember any Finnish though so that was fun! hahaha. Good times!

I have started to LOVE gym! We play volleyball with some Elders headed to Mexico, some who went to Timpanogos. They are HILARIOUS! Yesterday they were singing Disney songs as they did Ninja moves. They make me laugh so much. I will be sad when they leave in a few days!

My favorite part of the MTC is the choir! It is so amazing to get to sing with so many missionaries. This week for the devotional we sang Sweet Hour of Prayer. It was the most amazing rendition I had ever heard. I cried a little as we practiced it. The director challenged us to think about a prayer we had given that had changed our lives and I had so many amazing prayers come back to my mind. It is interesting to think about your trials in terms of the prayers you gave while you were going through it. It helped me to remember just how much I had been through and how much the Lord has blessed me in my life. It was a tender mercy for me while I have been struggling so much. It helped me to remember how much the Lord has already blessed me and how I can count on His peace and comfort.

I guess something special is happening. The sisters who are not leaving before October 1st are doing something special with a choir. We all think it might be singing for the General Young Women or Relief Society Broadcast. Whichever is coming up. So...if you can you might want to get tickets. :) I'd love to be in the same room as you again. :) Whatever it is we are all looking forward to it! There isn't much variety at the MTC and so we all treasure the moments we do get!

Our district has now shrunk to just the 16 of us Finnish missionaries!! Because of this my companions and I were called as Sister Training Leaders! I'm excited for the training this calling will bring and the opportunities we will get to have. I guess it's basically like the Zone Leader but we are called to specifically watch over the Sisters.

Finnish Districts at Lunch. We are all getting so close! I love them!!

Lunch Food! Pretty good!

Learning to live without technology has been difficult. We started talking about twitter in our district the other day and I laughed so much. I forget sometimes that most of these elders and sisters just got out of high school. I'll have to tell you about the hashtag we came up with. It was so funny!! I don't have it with me right now though so you'll have to wait til next week.

I am so thankful for getting to see Connie and for my companions letting us visit her. I am so thankful for the hilarious elders I get to spend my days with, and thankful that I get to spend this time learning to trust in my Savior Jesus Christ. At times I feel like Nephi in 1 Nephi 2:16 where I doubt that where I am is right, but I have Faith that the Lord will guide my life.

Connie!! BEST PART OF MY WEEK! :)

Subway!

I hope this letter finds all of you doing well! Keep writing! I miss you all and love you so much!!

Sisar Farnworth

P.S. Paisley and Kenzie I'm still waiting for your emails in a Dear Elder! :) I want to hear all about your lives so send it soooooooon!!!!! PLEASE! :D