Hello hello hello! This week was a lot of non-missionary work.. With medical problems occurring and heaps of other meetings going on this week, this was certainly unusual. To start off, let me tell you a bit about my stomach ulcer since that is everyone's favorite topic to email me about :) So I had to go in to the doctors a few times this week to set up the appointment, get checked up, and finally I had the procedure... but this wasn't just any procedure. I got an Ultrasound!! Uh... isn't that for pregnant women or something? Not for 19 year old men who have a stomach ache... I couldn't be serious while it was happening, the lady doing the ultrasound asked me what I was smiling about and I just told her straight up "isn't this for women who are pregnant?" She informed me that ultrasounds have a lot of uses, one of them being when a mother is pregnant, but that is not the only use, men get ultrasounds all the time. I still wasn't convinced... I think she was just trying to make me feel less weird about the whole situation. So anyways, I went through the whole procedure and they may have found the problem or another problem. They say I might have a stone inside me! It's not a kidney stone and I sure hope it's nothing like that because that is not fun to deal with! I've got another appointment tomorrow to find out more about the stomach ulcer itself and taking a urea test... whatever that is? So yeah, that's the update on the medical life of Elder Macfarlane. Moving on! This week we got to participate in a great service! We helped a member in our ward, Sister Egan, move out of her old house and into the new house. We were able to get heaps of work done in a relatively short amount of time. They were thinking it would take a few days to finish but we did it in about 7 hours! We also got food afterwards so that's always a benefit ;) I must say, I love giving service! Not for the food, not for opportunity to work out during the day, not even for getting to wear normal clothes instead of having to dress up every day. But because when I give service I know I'm doing what's right. I know I'm helping someone's life become a little bit easier, a little bit better. I came across this scripture this week when studying the Book of Mormon and it's one that I really like. Mosiah 2:17 "And behold, I tell you these things that ye may learn wisdom; that ye may learn that when ye are in the service of your fellow beings ye are only in the service of your God." As we can see here, when we serve others, we are actually serving God. When we show love and compassion to others, we make Heavenly Father happy because we are loving His children, our brothers and sisters. Another way we can show service is through singing. I loved having the opportunity to be in my high school choir back home. Now I don't get that opportunity to sing in the choir, but I still sing. I get to sing hymns in church, I get to sing in church choir, I get to sing before and after meetings as a missionary, I get to sing in the car as we drive around to various appointments, I get to sing when walking around my home. There's actually another scripture in the Doctrine & Covenants that talks about music. D&C 25:12 "For my soul delighteth in the song of the heart; yeah, the song of the righteous is a prayer unto me, and it shall be answered with a blessing upon their heads." God loves music. Music is a great way to worship and show love for Jesus Christ, and also (as stated before) a great way to serve others. Music can uplift and motivate people to become better and improve. One thing that I get to do this upcoming week is sing with a group of youth at a fireside. We're singing one of my favorite church songs, the EFY Medley. For those of you who know this medley, it is beautiful and makes you feel the Spirit with so much power! Music is a wonderful gift from God. Now, to conclude I want to leave everyone with an invitation/challenge. It's simple, go out and serve! But I want you to take it a step further. I want you to go out of your way to serve someone AT LEAST once this week. That means you are physically doing something that makes you have to stop for a moment or change plans slightly. That could mean helping an elderly person cross the street, or offering to help mow someone's lawn. Something you can do to make someone's day just a little bit brighter. An additional step of this challenge is to go about your day with a smile. A simple smile could make all the difference in someone else's life. It will also bless you. You will be happier and see the good things in life better as the appear. I love you all very much and hope you do this challenge that I've set for you. It's simple, it's easy, and it WORKS! Go out and do good in the world, be the answer to someone's prayer this week. Elder Macfarlane  Nick's medicine  Nick loved his package! Christmas in August for this sweet missionary!! Nick's new companion

These past two weeks have been.. exciting. Lots of changes and new things happening! The first big news change is I have a stomach ulcer... what!? Yes, you read that correctly. I had to go to the hospital this past week (which is why I didn't get to write last week) and I found out I have the beginning stages of a stomach ulcer. Yeah, NO FUN! It has made it pretty difficult to visit people and give service when I need to eat pretty much all day or else I get crazy cramps in my stomach. I'll be getting a procedure this week to see what's going on. But no need to be worried, I know the Lord will keep me safe. Something good will come from this in the end.
Now for some more uplifting, happier news! Transfers came and went this past weekend and I'm staying in Bankstown for 6 more weeks! But my companion has moved. My new companion is Elder Vaelua, he is from Samoa and he is the man! I'll try to send some pictures soon so you can see what he actually looks like. The other two Elders in our flat, Elder Willis and Elder Semu, also stayed so we get to all keep working hard together! I'm excited for this transfer with Elder Vaelua. We're going to experience heaps of miracles, I know it! :)
Speaking of miracles, we were asked by our beloved zone leaders to record 17 miracles (referencing the movie "17 Miracles") that we get to experience and/or be apart of during the month of July. WOW! That was such a cool thing for me. I never realized how many miracles actually occur in my life every day, all you've gotta do is look for them! I would highly recommend trying this! Maybe do it for a shorter period of time or something but trust me, it's a miracle in itself!

One thing that was interesting about this week was actually at church sunday. I was asked to teach the last hour of church in "Elders Quorum." That is the class for basically all the men 19 years old and up. I have no worries teaching lessons or public speaking so I said, "yeah, no problem. I'd love to!" Then the man told me the topic I was to teach about... Eternal Marriage. What? Out of all the men in the class, they chose the missionary who is the least experienced in this subject? Plus I'm not even supposed to be thinking about marriage right now, I'm a missionary for goodness sake. But I accepted the invitation regardless and taught the class. It went really well and surprisingly smoothly. We talked a lot about how families can be together forever and how life doesn't end at death. I am so grateful for the knowledge that our church has on this subject. Knowing that I will see my family again after I die. I love this gospel :)

Last night we had a lesson at our bishop's home. Just so everyone is aware. A bishop is the man who is "in charge" of the members in a certain area. For those of you reading this that know me decently well, my dad was the bishop in Andover for the last few years and was recently released from that calling. If you have further questions about what a bishop is or what they do, email me and ask :) Anyways, back to the story! Our bishop, Bishop Tufuga, is the man! We had dinner at his house last Sunday and he invited his two brothers and one sister to visit with us so we can get to know them and possibly teach them about our church. Then last night he invited us over again and one of his brothers, his sister, and his mother was there, all interested in learning about the church. I'm so excited to teach them more about the Gospel of Jesus Christ and be able to witness the change that will take place in their life as they come to the knowledge of the truth! I love seeing the gospel bless families and bring them closer together! I love being a missionary! :)
I hope everyone has a fantastic week with heaps of miracles! Love you heaps!
Elder Macfarlane

This week has been slow, but is starting to pick up again. I've been sick with the flu, which is no fun, so we had to take a couple sick days to sleep and recover, but now I'm back and ready to go! Feeling much better :) This week my companion and I went on trade-offs with the zone leaders, Elder Larson and Elder Tai. I went with Elder Tai and worked in our area teaching people and contacting referrals. It was a great day and a great experience to learn and work with someone new.
This weekend was definitely the highlight of my week. Adel got baptized! Adel is one of the most humble men I've ever met in my life and I'm so proud of the decision he's made to come closer to his Saviour and be baptised. It was also a really special day because although none of his family are members of the church, they were all there to support and love him. That's one great family! The next day, Sunday, Adel was asked to speak in a Recent Convert Fireside (kind of like a devotional) and he did wonderfully! He bore an extremely powerful testimony and I was so proud of him! Also at the Fireside, I was asked to sing in it with four other young men. It was me, Elder Willis, the Aguso brothers and Sam, who were all from the Samoan ward, except for me. I was the only white guy up there and I got a lot of comments on it afterwards because they are all big samoan men, and I'm this little white American.. It was pretty funny :) I'll send a picture next week of the group!

One last comment before I let you go. While at the Fireside there were many great and inspiring talks and testimonies given. I would like to share one thing that I really like that was said there. The man was talking about the importance of following the Savior and doing what's right. He said, "Two people can do anything when God is one of them." I just love that! When we turn to the Lord and have Him on our side, anything is possible!
I love you all! Talk to ya next week!
Elder Macfarlane

 This is what "refreshments" mean after a baptism..islander style!

This is Nick's lunch...horse!