This week has been good! One of the Tauiliili boys, Ben, got baptized Saturday! And he asked me to baptize him! I was so happy to get the chance to do that for him. He's a really good boy and he's setting a great example for his family. He is one of two members in his family of seven. I can't wait to continue working with the Tauiliili family and help them to continue making changes that bring them closer to Christ!

In other news, Elder Bourne, my new companion is the man! We're getting heaps of work done, with currently very few frustrations. That can only mean one thing, we've got a heap of challenges coming soon! Hopefully I'm wrong and this is just God blessing us for working hard! I love working for the Lord, he's a very good boss to have :)

You asked about PDays... what do we do on PDays? Well after we finished shopping, cleaning, emailing, and eating, we usually do what any 18-21 year old man would do in his free time and go play sport! Basketball and touch (rugby) are the most common sports we play. It's super fun and a very good stress reliever!

Have a fabulous week!

Ben's baptism

This past week has been a good one and a unique one. This past weekend was the first time I've "killed off" a missionary. In the mission we use the term "kill"or "die" when you go home or are the last companion before the companion goes home. Elder Vaele, who I have served with for the past 4.5 months, finished his two years of complete dedication and 24 hour service as a missionary of the Lord. He flies back home to Samoa tomorrow and I'm so proud of him. That was probably one of the greatest things this week, seeing a missionary return with honor and finish strong. That was the first time I've been able to be a missionaries last companion before they go home and it was great to serve with him while at his best.
Another highlight is getting my new companion Elder Bourne! I've served with him for 3 months before while I was in Bankstown and here we are again, this time in Liverpool! He's only been here a day and I've already seen great potential in the amount of work we can accomplish while here because we don't have to figure out how to teach together because we've already done it together. We give eachother time, we both speak english fluently and he speaks Samoan fluently. We are going to see heaps of miracles these next few months! We are already going to be lucky enough to have a baptism this Saturday and hopefully many more to come shortly!

I am very happy and excited to be a servant of the Lord in this area right now. I am so grateful for my family who have supported me mentally, spiritually, and financially in doing this great service to the Lord and to the people of Australia. I hit my "6 months left" mark a couple weeks ago and I feel like there is still so much to do! I love the Lord, I love the Book of Mormon, I love the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, I love my family and friends back home, and I love my new family and friends I've made while here. Loving life, staying strong, no regrets! :)
Love you all!
Elder Macfarlane

 They went to the mall to buy Rugby jersey's

 Nick's companion, Elder Vaele, is going home

 Elder Naidu, Elder Vaele, Elder Togia and Elder Macfarlane

-Their last General Conference as a missionary-

Elder Barlow, Elder Macfarlane, Elder Harry, Elder Vaele, Elder Gardner

-Flatmates for the last 6 weeks-

 Nick, his companion Elder Vaele and the Alao family

Dinner after general conference

 Savannah's baptism

Elder Harry (Vanuatu), Elder Naidu (Samoan), Elder Tafengatoto (Tongan),

and Elder Fisihoi (Tongan)

After priesthood session of conference

What is the hardest samoan word to pronounce?

Tagoiaega is probably the hardest samoan word I've come across thus far. That is Lisa's last name, the 14 year old girl, who got baptized last week! Her name breaks so many rules! Aren't you not suppose to have more than two vowels in a row? This one has 4! Once you learn how to pronounce the letters though, the language is not too bad, even with difficult names like this. The only thing that's hard is memorization, trying to remember what words mean and what word to use in certain situations. I still feel quite useless  in the Samoan language. I've gotten pretty slack about my language studies the past month or so too which is probably why I feel like my Samoan is useless. That's something I want to work on next week, more focused language study.

What do you like most about being a missionary?

Definitely the amount of spiritual impressions I get on a daily basis. As I go out and teach more and more, I feel I am getting better at noticing and following the promptings from the spirit as they come. Sometimes the results of following those impressions are incredible for those we teach, aand sometimes it seems like only I benefitted from following the prompting, but regardless, simply having those spiritual experiences are incredible gifts and testimony strengtheners for me. Another thing is not having to worry about anything other than those I serve, that's also a very nice touch. I was thinking about this the other day. All I do all day is think, worry and pray for those around me. My happiness, my sadness, my frustration, and my joy all come from my desire to serve others and seeing others accept or reject the gospel of Jesus Christ into their lives.

When was your greatest joy on your mission so far?

It has been serving in the Liverpool 2nd ward. There isn't one event or one person that has caused this joy. Just serving in an area where so many people have been prepared by the Lord to hear the gospel and who are willing to make changes and commitments in their lives is what makes me so joyful. Last week I was able to witness Lisa Tagoiaega get baptized and see her parents watch with tears in their eyes as they watch their daughter show faith in our Savior and Redeemer by being baptized. This weekend I was able to see two primary children get baptized who are part of a less active/returning family with similar reactions. Next weekend I get to see Ben Tauiliili make the same covenant and hopefully the rest of his family soon to follow in the next few months. My joy comes not of my own actions, but it comes from seeing the righteous actions of others as they choose to accept the gospel.

Elder Macfarlane

 Nick's district

 Nick ate coconut and drank coconut water and sugar cane

 Half of Nick's zone

 Elder Vaele's last temple trip before he dies (goes home)

 Nick's district at the temple

Lisa's baptism and her bishop

A part of a letter....no blog post

Incredible things are happening here too, I'll write all about it next week! We have a baptism on Saturday this week!! :) Her name is Lisa, she is 14. We should have another 4 or 5 in the next month too, hopefully! Also, having a pool table back home in MN payed off! We started teaching a new less active family a few weeks ago and they are coming back to church, making changes in their life, and seeing blessings that come from those changes. And guess what was the ticket for all of that? Pool :) Islanders are really good at pool (like insanely good) and they always make fun of palagie's for being useless. But I played a game against my companion, beat him. Then played against the father of the family and I won, then he won, then I won the tie breaker! He was very impressed and said that we could stay and teach the family as long as he can first play a game of pool, best two out of three with the white boy, me. We're pretty close in skill level, but I think the Lord helps me a bit because I've made some pretty impressive shots...and as a result, this less active family of 15 people are starting to come back to church!! :) Great stuff :) Maybe ping pong or fooseball will come in handy too later ;)