I Mustache You a question!

Elder Farrow found this 6 inch friend outside his door one morning!

The Green Mansion! the biggest house in Cananea. show Grandpa Moon!!! he wrote me about this

 

 

- debbie farrow passes on her buns to her son

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

26 Noviembre 2012

Como esta mi familia!!!! This week was another great week in Cananea! I cannot tell you how much I love the people here, every single mexicano i meet is so unique and always has an incredibly random, dangerous, funny, sad, or mind-blowing story to tell. just a little update on my spanish speaking: it is getting better and better every day and I find myself speaking tons more and even thinking in spanish! aaand its always a great sign when I am teaching the Plan of Salvation while I sleep talk hahaha! Every morning I read the Book of Mormon in Spanish, and my comp says that the book of Mormon is my best spanish textbook to study from! My sentences are getting more fluid and i am feeling more confident. Everyone is impressed when I tell them it is only my 3rd week in Mexico. I tell them it pays off when you stay up late watching marathon after marathon of Dora the Explorer!

This week the days were very long. We spent many hours biking from casa to casa trying to teach, give service, or anything that LDS missionaries could help with. The truth is many of our inverstagators are not progressing. We made the decision to drop some of the people we have been teaching these last couple weeks. This was my 1st experience ''letting go'' of the people I had grown to love, care about, and pray for by name daily! This was difficult. After hearing excuse after excuse and getting rejected at our door aproaches, we really needed some success. I realized the field IS white already to harvest, and we just need to find those who are ready to embrace this Gospel!

So! this week, starting thursdayish, we began finding new people to teach! and oh man was I loving this. I got to talk to everyone and anyone! I look forward to the times that I get to share my testimony with these mustache, churro-eating, mariachi dancing, mexican strangers! Together Elder Villegas and I wrote in our agendas the names and addresses of 30 plus people that are willing and wanting to hear a little bit more of our message of families and growing closer to God and Jesus Christ!

Also this week, I got word from the mission office that I needed to bus down to Hermosillo to work on my Visa. So, I shuttled by my self from Cananea down to Hermosillo [about a 5 and half our ride[ took a cab to the immigration offices and met up with the assistants. I signed 10 or so papers and waited for an hour, then I was told that I could go back to my area. so, I took another 5 and a half bus ride home to Cananea. hahah . On the way home, I was lucky enough to sit next to a woman that had a billion questions about our religion and missionaries. I did my best to answer her questions, and taught her 2 lessons, and placed a book of mormon! HAH! she even read it for 20 or so minutes. but yes, really that was my entire day on Saturday.

Each day I wake up to a new adventure. I want you all to know that I am working my tail off. harder than I every have before. My companion calls me a greenie, laughs, and makes fun of me during the day because of my drive. I dont really care what he says, or what he tells other missionaries, this is the kind of missionary I am, and the kind of missionary I will be for my entire mission. Daily I strive to improve, and strive to be the Elder that my family is praying I will be. The days are rough, but the words of my Dad run through my head as I bike up the steepest hills I've ever climbed, ''When the going get's tough, the tough get tougher!''

I love serving my Lord Jesus Christ. I love putting on my name tag every morning, I love looking in the mirror and reading the words, ELDER FARROW La Iglesia de Jesucristo de Los Santos de Los Ultimos Dias. I am blessed to be a missionary at this time in my life. My testimony is growing and I have a love for this Gospel like never before in my life. I know my Father in Heaven is aware of his son Blake in Mexico. Already I have felt his influence in my mission. I Know his angels are round about his missionaries today. On this thanksgiving weeks, I am grateful for a loving Mother and Father who taught me correct principles growing up. I am graeful for loving beautiful sisters who live righteously. I am grateful for cousins who have become my brothers and have been examples to me all my life. I am grateful for a special cousin serving with me in Argentina. I am grateful for my family. You are all an amazing support group. You are in my prayers, and I love each one of one of you!!!!

Your Missionary,

-Elder Farrow

ok so this address is the address of a sisters home in Douglas Arizona and she makes a trip to Agua Prieta every weekend. you can send packages to this address and she will bring them to the missionaries here in Agua Prieta. I go there every Sunday. Sending packages and letters this way is way faster and cheaper. Kinda cool huh?! one of the pros from serving close to the border! I could get packages and letters within the week!

Elder Farrow
C/O Elba Lopez Nunez
1231 E 18th St
Apt B
Douglas, AZ 85607-1788
 

2nd Week in the Field

Habanero attack!!!

Elder Farrow and his Companion attend mutual.

Epic clouds!!!!!

19 Noviembre 2012

Hola mi familia! Another week in México has gone by! Its still crazy to think that I am here living a Mexican life haha I love it. I am slowly getting the hang of things in Cananea. At first all of the streets looked exactly the same to me. the same scraggly dogs, the same piles of trash on both sidewalks, but now I pretty much know my way around town. As I mentioned in my last email, Cananea is a very large area and we were doing tons of speed walking throughout the day. I suggested bikes! hah so I spent 550 pesos on a new bici (about 50 bucks). Its a piece of junk, but its faster than walking. Cananea has tons of hills and my legs ache like crazy by the end of the day, but soon I will have some James Weeks thighs!

This week Elder Villegas and I had a good week. We picked up 4 new investagators and taught some great lessons. In one lesson with a couple, Teresa and Daniel, we opened by watching a powerful 30 minute movie on the Savior and His life, followed up with the 1st lesson of Preach my Gospel, about the aspostacy, restauration and the Book of Mormon. the Spirit was there! It was like the Holy Ghost flew into the room and dropped a truth bomb, because everything we said, they agreed about and it all seemed like it made sense to them. We commited them to baptism and they wanted to go to church! Those are the kind of lessons missionaries look forward to. Each morning we pray for the hearts and minds of the people of Cananea to be opened as we go out and share what we know to be true, and when we have an experience like we did this week, it makes the 40 minute bike ride out to the ghetto of Cananea worth it :)

That was a highlight of my week, other than that mostly just a lot of short "lessons" with our investagators. We go all the way out to their homes and have prepared lessons for them and they have excuses for why they cant have us stay for too long. so often it becomes a 10 minute door aproach on the importance of going to church, or a follow up on their book of mormon reading, or things along those lines. The people are so darn nice to us, but the truth is they are living relatively good lives and they dont see the need to change. They are content with their, family work, home, etc. and dont really want to go to church on sunday.

I do stay positive and am constantly smiling, but sometimes its hard to be optimistic when you invite 15 people to come to church on Sunday, 12 accept, and 0 come Sunday morning!! oh man! our sacrament meeting starts at 10am and there were 18 people seated in the chapel when we sang the opening hymn. 10 or so more members shuffled in during the rest of the hour.

My spanish is coming along! I am speaking up a lot more in lessons and it seems I am speaking faster! but yeah its still very difficult to express myself, and depending on the mexican I can either understand 80% or 5%, some people here talk so fast or mumble like crazy. I mostly survive conversations by laughing nodding my head, and saying "siiiiiii" haha. its tons of fun making people smile, and i wave at absolutely everyone haha most the time they dont wave back. The food is amazing, and I continue to try a new kind of food every day! this week I took a bite out of a Jabenero pepper (google search that one) and 15 seconds after munchin on that thing i was sweating bullets! no joke!

All in all, a very good week. I am growing, learning, feeling the spirit and having fun. There is no greater calling then to be a set apart servant of the Lord. I love this little town and the people that live here. I want my family to know how much I love them and appreciate their support. I know Garret and I will be missed very much these next 2 years for Thanksgiving. We really are the 2 coolest family members... besides Tristo. Thank you for you package family, it was pretty hillarious opening it up and only seeing greeeeen! Have a great week, and I will write again next Monday! Love you all

-Elder Farrow

First Week in the Field

Lots of murals around town!

Decorations for Cananea.

Everyone drives VW bugs.

Panorama of the city Elder Farrow is serving.

12 Noviembre 2012
Hola Familia!!!

Besides almost getting thrown in jail wednesday night, and getting my backpack, scriptures and camera stolen, this week was incredible! hahahaha Just Kidding!!!!

What an incredible week. I dont even know where to start. I guess I´ll begin by saying that I am in a completely different world! it is crazy how much is different. We Americans have been so spoiled our entire lives. Cananea is a very poor town and Elder Villegas and I have been blessed and privileged to serve here. Today I am writing my e-mail in a city called Agua Prieta. Super close to the border. I will go here every Sunday night for our district meeting. but oh my gosh I absolutely love Mexico..

I told you a bit about mi casa and mi compañero. Living conditions are gonna be just fine, but it is strange to sleep in a room that has walls infested with cockroaches haha. my showers are less than 2 minutes, because the water is ice! we get warm water once a day at 3 oclock randomly, and we are never home at that time. my comp and I get along just fine. He is very patient with me and we seem to mesh well. He reigns from Pueblo Mexico and is a convert of 3 years.

All the mexicans don't believe me when I tell them that it is my first week in spanish. They say I look like a movie star and speak very well. Of course I am having difficulties with the language. I understand ALMOST everything people say, but have a hard time expressing myself in español. I might not be able to have an adult conversation with people, but dang can I testify! You would not believe the kind of people I have taught this week. So many weirdos. So many amazing people.

Cananea is a small pueblo where 90% of the people work in the bronze mine on the west side of the town. There is only one branch here of ablout 35 active members. there are 300 plus inactive members, and most struggle with working on Sunday´s. For the most part mexicans are extremely friendly and I enjoy making them smile. My comp says I walk like a cholo haha (Brooke or Bails, or a Jonas brother) Elder Villegas and I are the only 2 missionaries in cananea and do tons of walking! Close to 10 miles daily! my feet ache when we return to our home every night. I love workin hard. I am ready to whip this mission into shape. I have already seen the struggles some missionaries have with obedience. Villegas says he has been waiting for a companion like me. Cananea hasn't seen a baptism in 5 months... Weeez about to change that. The days are very long, and already I have experienced rejection! Its depressing! We have a message so great and so beautiful, but people just wont listen and we get the door slammed in our face. But hey, when they do that I stay positive. I am grateful for the breeze that they made from closing their door so quickly :))

I have taught 2 homeless men! We taught a lesson in his shack? crazy, he treated us like his guests of honor and he sat on a stump while my companion and I sat on his torn computer chair and metal folding chair. We taught a great first lesson to him! we checked up on him the next day and he memorized like 10 or so names of Book of mormon Prophets because we gave him a copy and when he had trouble reading Moroni, we showed him the pronunciation pages in the back of the book! haha this man has faith! Pray for Armondo.

We also teach a single mother named Yurie, a widowed woman named Norma, Angelica, Maritza, and others! I love teaching lessons. I swear my spanish gets better every single day. I pick up 20 to 30 words a day. the fooood!!!! Its good!!! half the time I don't know what I am eating, but I eat it all and I love it. I see know why Grandma Moon is so good at her mexican meals! every woman here loves to cook and loves to make gringos happy. And man is everything spicy haha I have just accepted that everything I eat is going to be spicy, so I now put hot sauce on everything. People aren't kidding when they say real mexican food is hot going in AND coming out. I have spent some good time in the bathroom this week. I hope I can get accustomed to the food quick!

I have tons to tell, but I have a bus to catch shipping me back to Cananea. I absolutely love being a missionary. I look forward to the next weeks, months and years here in this crazy, beautiful, strange, loud, dirty, amazing country! I am so thankful for the family and support that I have over the border ;) I know I am loved and i promise I will make you all proud. I am striving to be the missionary my family and my Savior needs me to be.

Love,

Elder Farrow

p.s. a little bird told me that Obama won the election. actually I found out while watching the news on a little TV at a market. but yes. good luck Americans.

I'm gonna try to send some pictures right now

Message from Mission Home

Welcome at airport!

Alberto E. and Maria A. Hernandez (Mission Presidents) and their missionaries!

Dear Farrow Family:

We are so glad to tell you that Elder Farrow arrived here well to the Mexico-Hermosillo Mission. We're very happy to have him with us. He's serving with his new companion and trainer.

We invite you to keep supporting him in your weekly letters, and to remind him to be obedient, diligent, and loyal to the Lord.

If you have any questions or if there's anything else we can do to help you out, please let us know.

Kind regards,

Misión México Hermosillo

Estoy Bien!

This area looks to me like it's a mining town;)

Hey fam!
  Mission president gave us permission to send home a quick email! I am safe! I arrived in Hermosillo yesterday at about 1 and was greeted by the mission prez, his wife, and los asistentes. Hermosillo is a desert! flying over the city was a crazy experience, all I could do was smile and say a prayer in my heart! We made our way to the mission home (a 20 second walk to the temple!) and had lunch with them and the new missionaries, about 12 of us. there were new ones from the mexican mtc too!! anyways, we had a brief meeting and were paired up with our new companions! I have been selected to serve with Elder Villegas in the area of Cananea! He is a massive 5 foot 2, and is pretty laid back, but he is ready to go to work! esta area es muy cerca de Arizona! I took a 5 hour bus ride from Hermosillo to Cananea in a crazy bus haha seats were comfy but we were boucin all over the place! the roads are a mess, filled with potholes! But oh my gosh, Mexico is crazy haha I dont know if it was what I expected, but I love it. Elder Villegas and I live in a pretty good sized apartment! 2 rooms, with a semi kitchen, and makeshift closset and a nice bathroom. yo dormí buenísimo y tuve un sueno de mariposas y hadas. lo mejor. Today we studied were out the door by 11. I can tell this is going to be tons of fun and a lot of work. Tonight I have 3 lessons!!!!!! hahahah I am so happy to be starting this crazy adventure. I promise I´ll send more pictures and give more details next week!

My P days are going to be on mondays and I will write you then. So happy to finally be in Mexico!



more pics coming next week. weird how todays emails worked out. half hour at a members house, another halfy at la papelaria!!!! yeeeehawww this life is gooood. and very huble, and dirty, loks of dogs and the food isnt sitting welll. oh and everything is spicy hahah love you 

Love,

Elder Farrow

Last Few days in the MTC

Highlight of Elder Farrow's week was helping traffic in the new Elders on Halloween!

Who knew that the otter tie would come in handy on Halloween;)

jussss workin out!

 My teacher Brother Lloyd! Our last day with him! He also taught Garret at the MTC!!!

Elder Sam Walker!!!!! from Weblos! hes all grown up :)

 Nov. 3, 2012

Hola Mi familia!!!

It is incredible to think that I will be in Mexico in less than 48 hours!! Oh my Gosh! It's really happening! Much has happened this week. I expressed a little in my last e-mail how my district and i were experiencing a wave of "senioritis" and that we were so excited to get to Mexico! Knowing Hermosillo was so close,  motivated me to work especially hard at the MTC this week, so I could hit the ground running on Monday! I was able to finish the Book of Mormon last night! What a confirmation of my testimony of the truthfulness of that Book! More than ever before 3rd Nephi stood out to me the most, as we know that is when Jesus Christs visits the Americas and established His church! What a privileged dispensation we are to have the Book of Mormon!

Let's see.. Tuesday night I sang in the MTC choir! I wasn't going to sing, but then an Elder from my zone asked me join him, it was our last devotional and we had seats on the 1st row! Everybody said no to him, and since I had been Zone Leader in the past I knew that this Elder had been struggling a bit, so I decided to join him!   He described his thoughts of the MTC and I was able to give him some good advise about this next week and preparing for the field. That night we heard the words of Don R. Clarke! He spoke of the importance of Baptism and working with the Members!

Also this week I was able to be a traffic directed for the new missionaries that came in on Wednesday. It's sad that that's a huge highlight of my week, I had a lot of fun with it haha Halloween was different than it had ever been before. naturally, I felt the spirit of the holiday and tried my best to include halloween puns throughout the day. Most were lame, but i got a few laughs here and there. Thursday night my district held a fake baptismal service for our fake investigator Andres. We had worked with him for a month giving him lessons and what not, and this baptism felt pretty real! I had the chance to conduct the service and we really had hyms, prayers, talks and a special musical number! I cant wait to have a real one in a few short weeks!

The Truth is I could go on and on about little details of what happened this week, but I will chose to express some of my thoughts as I prepare to serve my Lord in Mexico! I have lived an incredible life and know that everything that happened has built me up and prepared me for this next 2 years of my life. I am ready. I promise you that your son, brother, cousin, grandson, friend or whatever else I might be to you, will be the hardest working elder Mexico has to offer. I am dedicated to this work. Nothing brings me more happiness then thinking of sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ with everybody I meet. I am ready for what ever God has in store for me! I know this church is true! That the tomb is empty and that my Savior Jesus lives! Through Him and his atoning sacrifice we will be able to return with our father in heaven again! I know this, I have had a continued confirmation throughout my life and especially here at the MTC that these things are true. The fullness of the gospel is here today. I have studied it, I believe it, I live it, I love it, and now I am going to teach it! I am a part of the greatest work the world has to offer and can't wait for the future! Mexico bring it on!

I love you family, thank you for your love and support! Thank you for your letters these last few weeks. Mom be expecting a call soon :) I will be in the airport from 6-8 Utah time. I will call your cell sometime between then.

Love you all! Remember the Nails

- Elder Farrow

Ps brookie good job with applying to schools! this is a fun year in your life! live it up and enjoy yourself. Balls thank you for you letter I love you so much. All jokes aside you are cool. oooonga