Wow this past week has been super eventful! I have to say, the highlight of my week was seeing Tyler, the young 11 year old boy, get baptized!! It's been so great seeing him progress in the gospel and come closer to Jesus Christ! I was lucky enough to be the one he asked to baptize him too! I got to baptize him in the PACIFIC OCEAN!!! Is that awesome or what!? The waves were crashing down on us while we were performing the ordinance and it was just great! On top of the spiritually exciting fact that he was getting baptized and coming closer to the Lord and the mentally exciting fact that I get to say I've baptized someone in the ocean, I got to swim back to shore after the baptism was done! Normally missionaries aren't allowed to go swimming because we are obviously supposed to be helping people come closer to Christ, but on the way back to shore I rode a wave coming in! That was awesome! :) The next day (Sunday), Tyler was confirmed a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and received the gift of the holy ghost! That was cool to be apart of that as well!

Friday was Valentine's Day and how did I celebrate it you ask? Just like any other missionary in Australia, of course! Having missionary training in the morning and later playing footie (rugby) for 3 hours with 22 missionaries! That was AWESOME! Rugby is a super fun sport. I've always been interested in it, but now that I live in a country where it's actually a popular sport, it is so awesome! We only play touch since we're missionaries, but it's still fun nonetheless!

Something that was super fun this past weekend was that I got to meet the legendary Elder Somsen! He was a missionary who served in Narooma about a year ago and was very well liked! He finished his two year mission and is traveling around all the areas that he served in with his parents! It was super cool meeting him and his parents! It made me think of my parents and how great it will be going around with them when my mission is over! However, I've still got another 19 months and 3 weeks, but who's counting right? ;)

Yesterday I got to go to Canbera with Sam and Mel Watt, two members of our branch. I was super excited because it's out of our zone and about 2.5 hours away, which means that normally I wouldn't be able to go there. The reason going to Canbera was so exciting is because I got to go to Costco!!! That is one thing that America takes for granted. After the wonderful experience at Costco, we went to the mall with them and pretty much just walked around looking at stuff and eating gelatin and stuff like that :) That night we had a pizza party at Islandview Beach Resort.. wow, that was just an all-around fantastic day! :)

Quick spoiler alert for next weeks letter! I get to meet and shake hands with a member of the quorum of the twelve apostles tomorrow!! :D If you are not mormon, you probably don't know what I just said. Basically, I'm meeting a mormon celebrity who is a spiritual giant and is an apostle of the Lord! It's going to be great!

Here's a quote from my dad that I apply to my daily life, "Be the answer to someone's prayer, everyday." I really take that to heart and it has a great message. Do all that you can to be the best person you can be and help others everywhere you go! You never know who's life you touch each and every day.

I love you all! Have a great week!

Elder Macfarlane

 Racetrack in Moruya

Elder Macfarlane is serving in a beautiful area! So blessed and happy!

 Christmas Cordon Bleu

 Elder Macfarlane and Elder Coats 

Tuesday, February 11, 2014

Hello everyone!
This week has been an eventful one! We taught a bunch of lessons this week to people about our Savior and I loved it! We taught heaps of lessons to Tyler, the 11 year old boy who is getting baptized Saturday, and he's progressing wonderfully! It's been so cool seeing how much the Gospel of Jesus Christ can change someone's life! Hopefully Tyler's family will see his example and want to learn about the gospel too! It could really bless their life! We're teaching him the Plan of Salvation again tomorrow night and I think his family will really enjoy it if they listen in!

A memorable thing happened to me on Monday. I watched my first-ever SuperBowl!! Unfortunately it wasn't a very interesting game to watch and the commercials were Australian one's, not the funny american one's, but nonetheless, still a good experience to have under my belt :) haha Normally, that wouldn't be allowed as a missionary, but we got special permission!

We took a bunch of super cool pictures and videos this week of the beautiful scenery around the area! The pictures don't do this place justice, but at least you'll be able to get an idea of what kind of paradise I live in right now! :D

At church yesterday, we had around 50-60 people in our branch!! Normally we have about 30 so that was huge! The new people who attended were a bunch of sisters all around the south coast area who came down for Women's Conference. I'm not really sure what actually happens at these "Women's Conference" things, but apparantly they are really fun and very spiritually uplifting. We meet for church on the second floor, above an ice creamery, so we were packed in there tight!

Yesterday was my 4 month anniversary as a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints!! I can't believe I've been lucky enough to serve a mission in Australia! I am so blessed in so many ways I can't believe it! I've been out for 4 months and I'll be out for another 20! I love this church so much and for all the blessings that it brings! I'm thankful for the opportunity to be where I am and to devote two years totally to the Lord! I love you all and wish you all the best this week!

Love you all!

Elder Macfarlane

Kathy and Wayne's race...GO GO GO!

Nick's companion---Elder Detton

This last week has been a good one! I have checked off another box on my "things to do in my life" list. I was breathalyzed by a cop for alcohol in my system! Hahaha it really wasn't anything super exciting, cops just sit on the side of the road sometimes around here and pick people randomly to pull over and get tested. I just had to speak into this device and count to ten, he said I was good, then I drove off. I was pretty happy that I got to experience that. I don't drink, nor will I ever drink, so I don't get the chance to get breathalyzed very often. It's a memorable experience ;)
Okay now to actual relevant things going on in my life! We've spent a lot of time with Tim this week, doing lot's of yard work for him! I must say, I genuinely love that man. He is the definition of the perfect southern gentleman! We visited him Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday doing yard work for him. And then we visited him Wednesday at the Narooma Club (kind of like a country club in the states) and just talked with him. We played a game he calls Bible Scrabble, basically it's Scrabble but you are only allowed to use words that can be found in the Bible or Book or Mormon. It was fun, but extremely hard! On Thursday, he introduced us to his neighbor, Bob, who is a super nice guy. He seemed moderately interested in religion so we're going to come back sometime and talk to him about what he believes and maybe teach him about what we believe. I'm looking forward to it!

On Wednesday, we received a referral (a referral is basically someone referring us to an individual who is interested in the church) from way up north, in Darwin. He is an 11 year old boy who's name is Tyler and he's super keen on the church and the scriptures! We talked with him and went over what he's been taught before and then committed him to baptism! He's getting baptized in two weeks!! :D I'm so happy for him! From what I understand, he has totally turned his life around and committed himself to Christ. He's a great kid and I'm excited to see what happens!

Here's a quick thought for you. In the Book of Mormon there is a verse that I really like and has stuck out to me while studying this week. Mosiah 2:17 which reads something to the effect of, "when you are in the service of your fellow man, you are only in the service of your God." I love that verse so much. It testifies of the importance and power of serving others around us. When we are serving others, we are actually serving God. Think about that next time you have the opportunity to serve someone and brighten their day, I can promise they will remember it, and I promise that God will remember it.

I love you all! Have a great week!

Elder Macfarlane

New Companions:

Elder Detton and Elder Macfarlane