ELDER MACFARLANE'S Awesome Australian Adventures

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