Sweet Haircuts!!

Hi Mom! (and everyone else),

Sounds like everyone is doing pretty good back home! I can't believe that 
Brian is already graduating from high school! And that he already has his 
mission call! I still can't get over that... He is going to be a stud Spanish 
missionary. Speaking of Spanish elders... That is who I am with right now.  They 
have a member who works off of University Boulevard at a place called "Haircut 
200." It is not even like America around this part of town though. Majority are 
Latinos, Africans, and Indians!  The cool thing is that everything is super 
authentic and really good! The downside is I can't speak ANY of their languages.  
And tons of people speak Spanish here so I need to learn it quick so I can refer 
people to the Spanish elders.  Anyway, back to the haircut! This place is 
awesome! They edge your hair with old school razors and with shaving cream! The 
member is from El Salvador and speaks very little English.  So the Spanish came 
and translated for us :) they are pretty good to us.  They kept speaking to her 
though and laughing so I thought they were going to shave off all my hair! But 
it looks good, so I am happy! And she only charges 6 bucks!!! Last time I got a 
hair cut I asked for a gentleman's cut and I got a $18 buzz!  Looks like I found 
my new "go-to" spot!

Things are going great here, besides feeling like I am in Mexico.  We have 
been talking with a lot of people and how gotten a lot of info on less active 
members and also unknown members -- like where they moved to, if they are still 
interested, etc.  We had a couple of bummer things happen, like Robyn isn't on 
date anymore and our investigators didn't make it to church.  But luckily they 
all still want to meet with us and still want to visit the church.  Also, we met 
an awesome Less-Active guy named Philip! He was baptized at 20 in Gaithersburg 
and went to DC and has not been active for 4 years.  He knows where the church 
is and now that we have visited him and brought members he has become excited to 
go! Since he works every other weekend we will get to see him this upcoming 
week.  So that was a cool miracle! Especially since no one knew about him.  As 
we have been working hard and being obedient the Lord has blessed us with many 
miracles in finding people on the unknown member list.  So we are enjoying the 
work and finding new ways to work with the members in the College Park ward. :)

Oh! Something new that I tried this week was vinegar on ice cream! The elders 
said that everyone has to try it at least once, so of course I did! It was very 
interesting! There was strawberry vinegar, raspberry, and even fig flavored!

Coming up we have zone conference, so we are getting busy planning that.  That 
will be this week and we also have a couple exchanges as well.  And then the 
week after that we have zone activity!  The zone is doing amazing! As we have 
been doing the process of purification we have all seen so many miracles!! There 
were 9 baptisms this month in the zone and it looks like a lot will be coming in 
May too! Wow... I can't believe April has flown by so fast. I am really enjoying 
this area and being able to be around the zone.  I love serving.  It always 
makes me really happy to know that what I am doing is the work of God. Even when 
it is hard, and gets discouraging at times... I know that what I am sharing is 
true.

I love you and miss you and all the family and friends back home.  I hope 
everyone is taking Elder Ballard's challenge to invite someone to hear the 
gospel 4 times a year(every quarter).  I know that is a worthy goal for everyone 
to strive for and I can promise that anyone who does so will see a TON of 
miracles and blessings in their life.
Keep up the great work -- love you!


Love,
Sean

Happy Easter

Elder Hansen & Elder Farley

Hey Mom!

Thanks for the email!  It was super great being able to talk to you, Dad, Brian and all the family that was present for the opening of Brian's mission call! I am so stoked for him!! Carlsbad, California!!  It is a good thing I didn't get sent there... all I would think about would be the ocean ha-ha!  He is going to be such a stud missionary.  I am excited for him to speak spanish too!  A good chunk of our area is full people who only speak spanish, so I am trying to pick up a few phrases ;)

Sounds like things for the home ward are doing well!  I will be praying and hoping for those the elders are teaching there will change their lives and follow the Savior.  Speaking of Easter, it was a good one!  I hope that all the family enjoyed themselves.  Out here in the College Park ward our Ward Mission Leader, Brother Turner, and his wife invited us over for dinner after church with them and their two boys. Since there are 4 elders in the ward we all went over and we had a really great time! Oh, and guess what?! Sister Turner served her mission in the Carlsbad, California mission and she was Spanish speaking as well!  Small world, huh? The Turners are amazing and Brother Turner really is doing a lot for the missionaries and to help the work progress in the ward!  

This Sunday we were hoping that our investigators would be at church, since we committed them to come the day before.  We waited outside the door greeting all the members and visitors that were here for easter, but no luck.  Even though they didn't come there were others that came who the East elders are now beginning to teach, so that was a cool miracle!  Our investigators, Oneil and Nadia, are a couple we met a while ago but just this past week were able to sit down and have a really awesome discussion about the church.  We talked first about missionary service and also about the Prophet and the Apostles and how they call both guys and girls out to certain areas of the world to share the gospel.  Following that we taught them about the Restoration and the Book of Mormon and they agreed to baptism when they come to know it is true for themselves!  So if all goes according to plan and they start coming to church, they will be baptized on May 18.  (Oh and they didn't come to church because, "the bed was too comfortable" Sunday morning and they woke up late... smh.  -__- )  So we will probably teach them of the importance of going to church to receive an answer... again. ha-ha.

Unfortunately, we were not able to meet with Robyn this last week because she fell and hurt her hip and had to go to the hospital! So it looks like Satan if trying hard to keep her from meeting with us.  But we know she is still interested and we will meet with her soon!  So keep her in your prayers as well please.  

Keep up the Family History mom!! That is so cool!  The mission is making a huge push for all the Elders and Sisters to learn how to use familysearch.org and to teach others how to use it!  A few missionaries in the mission are pretty tech savvy and President has them putting together this production that is getting sent to Salt Lake that will teach missionaries how to use Family History and teach it to those them come in contact with.  I am sure you have seen that as you begin to really get into it, it becomes exciting!  I love that the site allows a section for their own personal stories, memories, and pictures! It is the best :) I really want to get into it out here, and especially back home. 

Elder Hansen and I are getting along great.  We are striving to perfect ourselves each day and to help serve one another, along with our Zone, so that we can be a more unified companionship in leading, teaching and working.  I am very blessed to be able to have Elder Hansen as my companion at this point in my mission.  He is very obedient, helpful and hardworking!  I have a feeling and almost a vision of the great things that are going to happen in this area as we work together!! I am so happy and excited to be out here serving the Lord in His vineyard. I know that there are miracles to be seen everyday!  My brothers and sisters are out there searching, waiting and wondering where to find the truth.  I know that by hard work coupled with faith and obedience is the secret to seeing miracles from heaven.  

I know that this is the true church of Jesus Christ, and I plan my whole life to be dedicated to serving Him and bringing His children to the knowledge of this great latter-day work.

I love you mom, and tell everyone else I love them too and hope that they are seeing miracles and opportunities to share the gospel back home.  D&C 88:73 - The work is hastening NOW!! Get on board everyone! 

Love your happy son,

Elder Sean B. Farley

I think I am finally starting to learn how to cook and make healthy food taste good! haha

Cherry Blossoms on the Mall

Elder Rushton and Elder Farley, plus two "Shadows in the back seat"!

Hey Mom!!

Sounds like everyone is REALLY busy back at  home, but again it seems to be a good busy.  It always is that way in Spring and rolling into Summer time. I cannot believe Brian's call is coming so soon! And I am so pumped to be able to call and talk with you all for a little when he opens it up! SO AWESOME! And then a few weeks later we get to Skype for Mother's Day! Yay! Best Spring ever. 
Today we went to see the Cherry Blossoms (at least what was left of them anyway) on the Mall in DC.  It was a really great time! Elder Hansen and I got some great pictures that I will send to you soon.  Sorry I haven't sent that SD card yet! I will send it for sure this week.  I will be sure to put it in a envelope today. 
Things in the zone are going well!  The zone has a new 10th Key, which is: letting people know before the lesson that at the end of the lesson, we are going to invite them to be baptized. SO that should really pick up the Baptismal Dates and Baptisms in the whole mission. I really love everyone in the zone already.  Our district leaders are great and all the missionaries who I have gotten to meet are really hard workers and seem to really be enjoying their time out here serving The Lord. 
Elder Hansen and I are getting along GREAT! We are working hard to utilize every tool we have as missionaries to bring more unity between the ward and the missionaries.  We recently went and checked on a potential who's name is Robyn.  She was found because she had an interest in Family History.  So we got to talking about Temples and Genealogy work.  As we talked we ended up teaching her the whole plan of Salvation and inviting her to be baptized on May11th! She accepted and told us that as long as she got an answer before that time, then she would go through with the baptism. So we were really excited for the miracle and to be able to meet her and teach her about the Gospel.  Our next visit, which is tomorrow, we will probably teach her about the Restoration in depth so that she can understand the Priesthood and the importance of Christ's Gospel being restored.  It will also give us an opportunity to share more about the Book of Mormon and it's purpose. So overall this has been a great week!
Tonight we are going to see the A. Family, who are from Ethiopia, and they are cooking for us.  The wife, who is not a member, cooks really good! And she and her sister, who is also not a member, come to church every week.  The unfortunate thing is that there is quite the language barrier between us so there is a lot of translation with teaching.  But little by little is better than none at all! 
Things are going great for me and I am really excited for next Spring in DC to spend with you and Dad! I like that idea better I think :) DC in January isn't that great in the city haha.
Love you and miss you! 
Your boy,

Elder Sean B. Farley

Happy Pizza Day!!

Back in College Park!

Elder Farley and Elder Hansen

Hey Mom! 

Dang, it has been a really awesome week!  I am now with Elder Hansen, who was in my MTC district, and we are having a great time! Most of Elder Hansen's mission he has been in DC.  He is a very hard worker and very obedient, so he has been and still is a great example to me!  I am really excited for this transfer, and hopefully the following ones in College Park with him.  He likes to workout and learn more about lifting and stuff so that is awesome too! :)  We have a great ward mission leader, Brother Turner, who is really helpful and seems to really have some things figured out. 

Pretty Sure that this picture is for Summer! lol

There are also some other wonderful members I have already met!  While at the Silver Spring Stake center for the 2nd Session of GC & Priesthood Session there was a Pizza social in the cultural hall (which, funny enough, is the same place I had my teeth knocked out!!).  There I met Brother Dixon and Brother Wilson who are in the College Park ward's Elder's quorum.  They both were asking us about the missionary work here and how they could help in "Hastening the Work." We talked about getting the members excited and having them invite friends and family to meals and get-togethers where we would be present so that they could be introduced to us.  In order for us to get to that point where the members would be so actively engaged in the work, we would have to first get the members out with us to teaching appointments so that they could be touched by the missionary spirit. So we are going to be setting many appointments with Less-Active members, recent coverts, and investigators.  We want to make sure that these appointments are solid (easier said than done!) so that each member that comes out with us will be able to see how hard we are working and how exciting this work is, along with how passionate we are about doing this great work.
Sorry about the long explanation! I am just SO PUMPED right now!  I feel as if at this time in my mission, with Elder Hansen, I have the opportunity to progress so much more as a servant of The Lord.  
This transfer the whole mission will be participating in the "Process of Purification."  It is a 40 day fast from the things that are holding us back from having our whole heart, might, mind and strength 100% in doing the Lord's work. It is an opportunity for us to be able to sanctify ourselves and to do our VERY BEST to remove ourselves from the ways of the world.  Personally, I am beyond excited for it.  I know if will be hard and take a lot of focus and praying to be perfect in it.  But with the help of Christ and His Atonement, anything is possible. 
We have a few people we are working with and hopefully some more soon! Right now I am still meeting everyone and haven't even been to church because of General Conference so I will be able to tell you more about our investigators and members then. 
I am very thankful to be able to have such a wonderful family who loves me.  I love you.  I pray everyday for your safety and for your success in sharing the gospel.  We as members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints have so much to rejoice for and be grateful for because we know the truth.  I know that for the rest of my life I want to be a missionary.  I hope that everyone sees the importance to forget themselves and do EVERYTHING they can to share the gospel.  There is no excuse to shun away from doing missionary work because everyone can!  
Thank you for being such a wonderful example to me Mom and for always doing everything you could to watch out for me and make me happy.  I love you more than words can say.  And I am so excited for the eternity we have to be together as a family!  God truly does love us for creating this way to be together forever.
Keep up the great work in Farmington!  I am excited to hear about Brian's call!  I am so proud of him! Give my love to everyone <3

Love your son,

Elder Sean B. Farley

Transferred from Anacostia

Farley and Rushton

Hey Mom and Dad!

I am glad to hear you all got home safely from the Spring Break
trip!  A little hectic, but it sounded like it went well and everyone
had fun!
This week is transfer week and I will be leaving to be Zone Leader
in another area.  But like I told Brian, it will be a area I know a
little bit... but a lot of new ground to cover.  Next week I will be
able to tell you who it will be with and what area :) since I don't
want any Elder's to see my blog and find out before tomorrow night
when everyone finds out where they are going and with what companion.
I can just say that my companion is LEGIT and I already know him
pretty well.
This past week has FLOWN by.  We got to go visit the J. family
this week and share the Restoration again with them.  It was more of a
review for BJ (Will) but it was very helpful and answered a lot of
their questions.  We watched the full length movie "Joseph Smith:
Prophet of the Restoration" with them but only to watch the first 20
minutes after the Priesthood is restored and the Book of Mormon is
published.  We had a big Q&A session afterward and BJ had a lot of
concerns with the Priesthood but his wife Kim was very helpful and
answered a lot of them.  She really focuses in the lessons and likes
to learn and find out the truth for herself.  The main thing she
wanted to do before getting baptized was to come to church.  So thanks
to the new Senior Couple who arrived two days ago in the ward, we were
able to get them a ride and they stayed for all of church! :) It was
great!  They still have a lot of concerns with Joseph Smith, but I am
VERY glad they ask us more questions instead of just getting antied
without getting the full story.
That is one thing that I LOVE to see on my mission: when people are
searching for truth and even when Satan throws false ideas and
concerns in their paths, they keep seeking to find out if it is true.
They all have opportunities to feel the Spirit, so they just have to
decide whether they will act on that impression from the Holy Ghost,
or if they will deny it.  That is why we are all down here! Good ol'
agency! haha it is frustrating as missionaries sometimes, but then I
remember how dumb I am sometimes and how frustrated God must be with
me.
I am very thankful to The Lord for allowing me to be a part of the
people's lives here in the Anacostia ward/Capitol heights area for
these short 3 months.  I will miss it a lot and miss the people I have
made friendships with.  But I know that my next area will be full of
future opportunities and experiences that will help me become more
like the man God wants me to be.  Thank goodness for this Gospel!  It
allows all of us to find peace through the Atonement, even when we are
constantly messing up each day.  I am grateful for the opportunity The
Lord gives us to get better and to try again.  This church is truly
the Church of Christ.  I KNOW that.  And I will never deny that, no
matter what. I hope to ever be a witness of The Lord and his Gospel
until I leave this mortal life. It is the most important thing we can
do.  We have the truth... now all we have to do is SHARE IT!
I love you so much and am very happy that our family is blessed to
be so engaged in missionary work at this time.  Keep working hard, and
ENJOY it! :)

Love,
Elder Sean B. Farley

Farley, Humphrey, Chapman, Rushton

14 Months!

Birthday gift from the Lacey's

Hey Momma!

  Sorry for getting back to you so late, things have been crazy today
with our zone activity!  We had probably one of the best I have ever
had.  We had everyone pitch in 5 dollars in the zone and we had a
member, Brother Tyner, go to Costco and pick up rib-eye steaks for
everyone.  Each person had their own 12-14 ounce steak, baked potato,
serving of corn and green beans.  It was amazing! Brother Tyner
seriously makes the best steaks ever and he went WAY out of his way to
make this such a great zone activity... could never thank him enough.
Everyone loved it and had a great time, there were not any injuries
and most importantly-Not one person lost any of their teeth! haha
  This past week has gone pretty well!  Elder Rushton and I were able
to see a lot of our investigators and help them prepare for Church and
General Conference.  Unfortunately, none of our investigators were
able to make it to church this week. :/  They committed to coming this
week though so we are excited to meet with them, along with a few
other people who we finally have come back in contact with and who are
interested again :D
  Our investigators Will and Kim  have seen a LOT of miracles
lately.  Will was having a really tough time getting a job.  He sent us a text today
and said he finally got a job!!! So sweet!  And he also said he and his wife
have been growing a lot closer from reading the Book of Mormon and they
are doing really well right now.  So that was really great to hear and it made me
really happy!
   This is the last full week of this transfer so it is pretty weird.
I feel like these last two transfers with Elder Rushton have FLOWN by.
I have had such a blast here in Anacostia.  I love the zone and the
area.  Most likely Elder Rushton and I will no longer be companions
for the next one though.
   Besides all that I don't have too much else to say.  I am really
excited for General Conference though!  There is going to be a lot on
Hastening the Work and on how we as members can be united with the
missionaries.  I also know that the messages that will be shared will
help us for the following 6 months until Conference in the fall, so we
need to be ready to listen, learn and apply what we are taught.  I
recommend Elder Hales talk from last Conference called "General
Conference: Strengthening Faith and Testimony."  It speaks about what
we can get out of Conference and how is can bless us in our lives if
we prepare for it correctly!  Everyone should read it-it is super
good!
Anyway, I love you and hope the family is doing great :)  Keep
working hard sharing the Gospel and remember that when we open our
mouths to share it with others, the Holy Ghost will help us know what
to say.  So all we need is the courage to open our mouths!

Much Love
Your son,

Elder Sean B. Farley

P.S. I got Summer and Jonnys package for my birthday! I love the Duck
Copmmander Shirt :'D haha it is awesome.  Tell them thank you!  Also,
I got Rachel's too with the SUPER cool Underarmour shorts in them!
They are from the NFL Combine!  And thank the Lacey family too! They
sent me out a missionary pillow cover and a "Mormon Dude" shirt that
looks like the "Mountain Dew" logo! Haha Thank you everyone!  You made
my 20th birthday awesome! Love you! :) I will have to send some
pictures of the gifts!

Elder Farley's 20th Birthday!

Sean's 20th Birthday -TODAY!!

Hi Momma!

Wow! What a great day! today is our P-day... even though it is Tuesday, because we had a snow day yesterday and were not able to go shop or do anything else really.  Luckily in the evening we were notified that we were able to go out and to see people if we had appointments set up with them. 
I woke up and I feel a year older already! But not really... haha I was telling Dad in my email that I feel like I just had my 18th Birthday.  That might only be since I spent these last two in the field.  This year has been an awesome birthday though, so far. Brother Weitzner made us Beef Stroganoff, Corn Beef and Cabbage, and he gave me some awesome presents! He also took Elder Rushton and I out to Red Lobster last Friday! He is the best! 
Two nights ago, on Sunday, we went to the "Why I Believe" at the WDC Temple's Visitor Center.  There we got to hear from a couple who had recently returned from their Mission in South Africa.  They were the mission President(and wife) there for 4 1/2 years! Usually it is just 3 years, so that was really interesting.  I guess he must have been pretty good! haha We brought our investigator Melody with us and a member of the ward, Brother Harrison, took us there.  It was starting to snow a little bit on the way up, but really didn't start coming down until later that night!  I was also able to see the King family, as you saw on FB!  They gave me a cake, a present, and we got to take a few pictures! They are awesome :) I was very glad to be able to see them and catch up with them! 

ZL's - Elder Rushton & Elder Farley

As for the work: we have been able to see some pretty sweet miracles with the people we have been working with.  The Ned family, was able to meet with us and her oldest just got out of the hospital!  He was in there for a while and we are really happy to see him out again.  She read the Plan of Salvation pamphlet with her kids so that when we stop by she will be ready with questions and also to hear the lesson and we review with her.  Another awesome miracle was that we got to meet with William again and this time his wife sat in on the lesson!  She was not very excited about last time we came and didn't really believe in the whole story with Joseph Smith and the First Vision.  This time she explained she had read the Book of Mormon one day when her Husband left it by her bedside.  She had a lot of awesome questions for us and we were able to answer all of Kim's and William's that day (Saturday).  They are great because when they hear something about the church or when they see something online they research it, ask us later, and then pray about it.  She talked about how she can just feel/sense when things are right or wrong.  So overall it was a GREAT lesson and we are really excited for the whole family!
It is crazy to me how fast these last two transfers with Elder Rushton have gone.  We are having a great time together and have been able to work very well together as we go out and preach the gospel.  
Good job on sharing the gospel mom!  Just keep looking for opportunities and I know Heavenly Father will lead you to the people you and help.  I love how engaged our family is now in missionary work!  It is so great!  I hope everyone and their families can start getting more and more excited about spreading the good news of the great gospel! Keep up the creative thinking on ward activities and getting people out to meet more members.  That is truly how people are affected the most I believe –– by meeting the members of the ward and interacting with them.
I am happy to hear everything is going well back at home.  I am especially excited to see Brian's papers going in so soon!  I hope all that gets worked out and can get in so we can know where he will be serving the Lord!  
Love you and miss you!

Love your boy, 

Elder Sean B. Farley

P.S. Thank you Mom, Dad, Brian for your gifts and also Grandma and Grandpa for your gifts as well!  Love you all so much! It is an awesome birthday! That's for sure :D 

P.S.S. Do you talk to McKala still now and then? Tell her I say thank you too for her gift! It was very sweet :)