Blessed Are The Meek This Week!!

Hey there! Okay, well, hmmm this week...

Well, yea, I got super, super sick -- like fever, achy body, couldn’t breathe, couldn’t see, migraine... the works.  We had to cut 2 days of work short so I could go to bed early and recover.  I really needed it.  On the bright side, I feel A TON BETTER now, and our house is full of oranges to keep on top of our Vitamin C! :) 

THE WEATHER HAS BEEN BEAUTIFUL!! Not too hot and not too cold.... jusssttttt right! :)  That’s been such a welcomed treat! 

Other than that, there haven’t really been too many big events going on... it’s been a solid week of work and recovery!! Haha.

This week I studied a lot on being meek... I don’t think I had ever taken the time to study this attribute ever before.

Meekness is really quite special... it does not mean weakness. But it does mean behaving with goodness and kindness. :) 

According to writings from our General Authorities... "Meekness is the quality of those who are God fearing, righteous, humble, teachable, and patient under suffering... those who possess this attribute are willing to follow Christ and gospel teachings as a true disciple (however and under any condition that Christ sees right for us) and the temperment of meekness is more than self-restraint, it is calm, docile, tolerant, kind and gentle, reflecting strength, serenity and self-control."  Meekness is essential because it is crucial for other virtues like faith, hope, and charity.

As we take Christ’s name upon us... we also take upon us the duty of striving to become more like Christ EACH DAY (Matthew 5:48).  I really like that part... each day! 

We are blessed, because we have all been born with the seed of meekness in our hearts. We need to understand that it is not possible to develop and grow that seed in the twinkling of an eye or in a mere moment.  And it would be silly to expect others to change that quickly. We have all been given this time in this life to develop the gentle attributes of Christ :) but, we are human, and all imperfect... And because of this, we should strive to recognize the efforts of everyone :) asi que, and always remember it’s a process and takes time and can only be acquired by experience and effort.

As we acknowledge our shortcomings and strengthen our dedication and perseverance... the Lord will add upon us and give us what we are not able to obtain ourselves due to our imperfections and human weaknesses.

As we learn to control our temper, we will be able to cultivate that seed of meekness and grow in our likeness to Christ. 2 Timothy 2:24-26.

The humble and the meek have the ability to influence those around them to be the same. God’s promise to the humble is that He will lead them by the hand.  We will avoid the detours and sadness in our lives as we walk hand in hand with the Savior.

Christ faced the most extreme suffering, giving us the opportunity to change our spiritual character and become meek, even as He is.  We are not perfect, we are not saints -- that is, unless by saints you mean sinners who keep on trying (I believe that was Nelson Mandela quoted in Elder Renlund's conference talk). Let’s keep putting our best foot forward and this week look for a moment to serve! :) You guys know how to serve like the best of them!! :) You are all so amazing and so special!! I love you all so much!

Keep on keeping on!

Until lunes!

Hermana Fardos

Matthew 11.29

Moroni 10.32

Galations 5.22-25

Photo Update From Paraguay!!

Hola!!

I'm not going to be able to write a letter this week!  This is the first Ciber I've been to that is sending my pictures, and I want to take full advantage!  So, my apologies for skipping the message, but I hope you enjoy some of these pics!! :)

This is our Young Women's President who trekked out with us through flooded streets and really sticky mud to find our beautiful, humble investigators!  She rocks!!

Some of my new best friends in Pedro Juan!! :)  And following is some of my old in Mariano!  Ha!!  Such a treat when I was able to visit my old District in Asuncion a few weeks ago!! :)

I love these ladies!!

A space heater and hot water bottles in our blankets are the only way we can get warm at night!

A few more of our District in Pedro Juan before transfers last week!

So you can see, Brazil really is right across the street!! :D

And finally a zone activity from this morning!!

I hope you all have a fantastic week!!

I love you all!!
Hermana Fardos

Bearing Our Burdens With Patience and Faith!

Hey you guys!!! 

Well, changes came and went once again!  Next month marks my year out here in the field too... woah haha. Crazy, right?! This cambio brought big changes to our District... Three of our 8 missionaries left. Elder Jacobsen went somewhere in Limpio, Elder Watson also went to Limpio and Hna Dunagan went back home to California! Yup, she finished the mission!!

Me and my companion have another change to work hard and grow together. :) We are excited, this change should be really good. We have some beautiful investigators who are progressing and we are also preparing a family of recent converts to be sealed in the Temple. Wow, missionary work is a special work! :)

This week the cold came in and it came hard! Our house actually has a solid wind that runs through it!  Haha!! So I have developed a new habit of sleeping with my space heater and filling water bottles with hot water and putting those in my blankets.  It's quite a fun experience, and it's quite a learning experience too.  I'm learning a lot of fun tips and tricks. If the 'zombie apocolypse' were a real thing... I would totally be able to survive!! ;) Haha! (and don't worry Mom... I don't need more jackets!! :) But thank you for thinking of me!) :)

This week, we had some really cool and spiritual experiences. I learned so much. I wish I could just scan my personal study journal over, that would probably be the easiest way, haha, but since my journals at home.. let me tell you about one of the things I learned this week. It has to do with the title of my email. Bearing our burdens with patience and faith :)  In the scrptures, Nephi is a fantastic expample... over the last 3 weeks I have just been studying Nephi alone! When I was reading chapter 7 (basically Nephi up to this point and again in later chapters... has endured many many many challenges with his brothers -- they ridicule him, abuse him, question him, just about any way you can attack a person.. they did it. But Nephi is a constant example of bearing our burdens with patience and faith)  Now, back to 1 Nephi Chapter 7...  here his brothers tie him up... they tie him right up and he cant move, they were going to leave him for dead.  But Nephi says a faithful and oh so humble prayer.  He said:

O Lord, according to my faith which is in thee, wilt thou deliver me from the hands of my brethren; yea, even give me strength that I may burst these bands with which I am bound.

He didn't ask that his situation would change... he didn't ask why these things were happening. He took it with patience and having faith in the Lord, he humbly asked that the Lord could help him endure this challenge and come out conquerer, that he might have the strength to endure. And in that very moment, the Lord blessed him with strength to face his situation and fulfill the wil of the Lord. It's one small verse, but wow it's powerful!

Patience and faith are two special attribtes... they are not attributes that we recieve alone. They come from our Heavenly Father.  Our trials, our tests, our hardships... whatever they may be, are for our good. The Lord has promised us that. And He only asks that we endure these hard moments with patience and with faith in Him.  As we place our faith in him and we bear these burdens with patience, we become sufficiently humble to see the doors that the Lord is opening and we will be able to LEARN from these life experiences. It is my prayer that we all continue fighting the good fight! :) After all, we know who's team is the winning team!! :) Don't lose hope in the last quarter!! :)

I love you all so much! You are all beautiful people! :)

Be good!

Until Monday!

Hna Fardos

Catching up with Hermana Shakira?! Haha!!

Okay Family... 

Catching up on the last few weeks...  So much to share!!

Last week, well, it was a good one... Let me just apologize ahead of time, that I wasn't able to send photos then (sorry Mom... I love you :) !)  We were sending our updates from the terminal in Asuncion getting ready to travel 8 hours, returning to Pedro Juan Caballero.  We had to come to the office to go to migraciones (we go every now and then on Pdays to make sure that we are here legally in the pais and stuff.... because if we aren't, we will have some problems :) haha!) and basically the terminal Ciber wasn't very high tech and the photos had to be put off for another week.  But, these photos are taking forever to load, so I'm not going to be able to send all that I had intended.  Here's a small handful to hold you over Momma!!  ;) 

But anyways, back to last week... 

We had the Area Seventy come, Elder Gonzalez.  I had the privilege of meeting and talking with him a few times in Mariano, but this time he came to speak to all of us as Mission Zones and Wow, was his talk powerful!  He spoke for about 4 hours and those hours really felt like 4 minutes.  One of the points I really liked was when he talked about tithing.  I would encourage everyone to go and read D&C 29:34 and ask yourselves... How is tithing a spiritual law?  What is it's purpose and What are the spiritual blessings?  I promise that as you do, and you look for the answers... your horizens will be widened and you will come to love this commandment more than ever because your understanding will be greater!! :)

While our time with Elder Gonzales was wonderful, that isn't really what I wanted to share with you!! 

Back to MIGRACIONES... So, like I said... WE WENT TO ASUNCION!  Oh how I have missed Asuncion!!  It felt good to be back!  When we arrived at the office, we found out that the back chapel was going to be used for a funeral and it wasn't just the funeral of anybody, sino... de la familia Rios... a very sweet and dear family that is from my branch in Mariano Roque Alonso. Their grandfather had been fighting with his health for years, it kind of reminded me of Tata.  It's hard because even when you know you have to prepare yourself to say goodbye... you are never really "prepared"...  They were so surprised to see me and asked what in the world I was doing there -- and I told them it was a tender mercy, a gift that I was there because my companion was going to be spending the whole day in migraciones in Asuncion. Who knew that this migraciones trip was so inspired... Inspired, so, that first, my companion can legally be in Paraguay to serve... and second, so I could be there to love and support my beloved Rios family during this tender time.  It was a lovely service and especially special for me to be able to participate... all of us missionaries from Distrito Mariano were there... Elder Silvera, Elder Calderon, Hermana Mera, Hermana Bringhurst... the whole team!  Even Carpio and Caicedo stopped by the office today!!  I got to sing a special number with Silvana Rios and her younger sister and the Spirit was so strong.  Then we had a few other special numbers as a missionary choir.  It was a very emotional day for this beautiful family. But it was so lovely to feel of the strength that came through the Spirit.

The Spirit can give all of us comfort, its a distinct and different warmth. It is a strength that is not ascertainable left to man alone.  It is a companionship more reliable than any other, it is the way that our Heavenly Father communicates to us.  It is a celestial gift given to a terrestrial world - to remind us of our Heavenly Father, who is cheering us on, and remind us of our divine purpose. To give us further knowldege and understanding, so that the mysteries of our Heavenly Father cease to be secrets and enlighten us with strength and knowledge. 

I hope we will always look for the Holy Ghost. May we call on him in prayer... look to recongize his promptings as they come... discern those good feelings and good ideas for the genuine inspiration that they are.  May we always look to be worthy of his consistent and constant companionship -- and be grateful for this heavenly messenger sent by our Father to help us!! :)

So, this week THERE WAS A WEDDING AND A BAPTISM!!  :) The Elders have been working with a lovely couple, Ramon (investigator) and Gessica (member), for the last little while, and last Saturday was Ramon's turn to get baptized!  But before he got baptized, we had a wedding!!  There was a lot of wedding prep, but it all turned out really well!!  The service was so special!!  (and if that doesn't get you excited for your own wedding one day.. I dont know what else will)!!  Haha!!. 

So here is the lovely little Luana, the flower girl, :) and our bride, Gessica!  We got to do her makeup and help get her ready -- she looked beautiful!! :)

I figured it was time to get you a picture of my District while it's still my District (because there are changes tomorrow... I know, right?! Time is just flying by?)!   Let me introduce them to you... starting from the left, top row: Elder Vallejos (Argentina), my companion Hermana Anazca (Peru), Hna Anderson (Utah), Elder Watson (Nicaragua), Elder Jacobson (Arizona), Second Row, starting from the left: Elder Gomez (Brazil), Hna Dunagan (CALIFORNIA!! :)!!), and me in my old lady dress, Hna Fardos (California)!

My District Leader, Elder Jacobson, is really creative and super good at making pretty things out of nothing. So, I told him he should make me something, like chopsticks!!... he asked how... I said, I dont know... out of 2 branches or twigs or something... and he totally did it!!  And they are so cool!! The only thing is. I can't eat with them... becuse they are just way too pretty!!  Ha!! 

I was exchanging emails with a friend who recently returned from his mission.  And there are a lot of missionaries here that will be going home soon... I believe that returned missionaries have such a special power... an influential power.  They have had their whole 2 years or 18 months to serve the Lord as best they can and by the time the end of the mission comes... that is when they really have come to fully embrace HOW to be a missionary.  And next thing you know, they are home and get to apply this great new chapter of learning experiences that they have had and it just speaks with such power... Their glow, their work ethic, their goals, their smiles and good attitudes... it's powerful stuff!! :)  I know that will continue answering many prayers and questions that people they encounter may have... they continue serving as a force for the Lord.

The mission over here is going great. I love it here so much... it's probably the best choice I have ever made in my life. The learning experiences are endless, the love you feel for others is infinite, the friendships are eternal, and the mission as a whole is priceless.  This is my 3rd time training and I am like 100000000% sure that the trainers learn more than the trainees!! Haha!!  It has helped me grow so much!

Tomorrow there are traslados and we will see what happens, Im pretty sure we are just staying here:) but you never know? Haha!! 

I only have like 2 more seconds on the computer but just know that the family is most IMPORTANT!! :)  The famly is ordained of God.  Our families can be eternal and they should be!!  It is the best and most central part of Heavenly Father's Plan of Happiness!! :)

I love you all!  Take care my sweets! You are all beautiful!!

And Mom.. Thank you for the birthday box!!  The selfie stick? Yeah, that is the best thing EVERRR!!   Thank you!!  :)  And just for fun... one more photo, when I was Hna Shakira for a day!! Haha!!, my Comp braided my hair the other day and this is what was the result...  Ha!!  Made me laugh!! :)

XOXO Hermana Fardos

A Birthday, Graduation, and Anniversary!! So Much to Celebrate!!

Hello Family!!

Okayyyy, Well today... I forgot my camera, yesss I know... How on earth did I forget my camera?  But, I did... so the photos will come next week!! :)  

I was hoping to introduce you to my companion, Hermana Anazco, 20 years old, from Peru, but since I don't have my camera to share pictures of her... I'll tell you all about her next week!!

There is so much to celebrate at home this week though...

Let me start by saying Nick! You aren't my little brother anymore!... you are officially a man child. I can't believe you're 17! You are going to look really good in a missionary plaque one day!! :)

Natalie! Holy COW!!! You are almost a woman! Congrats on your graduation! What a big mile stone!  I wrote you a letter the other day, I'll be sending it this next week... so keep an eye out! :)

Mom and Dad!! Happy Anniversary!! 24 years and you have all of forever to look forward too!! :) I love you guys so much! Thank you for being such a great example for me! :)

This week has been a great week, but for right now, I want to take a moment to share and focus on a question that the Relief Society President asked us the other yesterday...

She asked:

"By a show of hands... Cuantos han entrado en los cielos?"["Who here has entered into the Kingdom of Heaven?" nobody raised their hands, she was the only one] and then she continued saying..."You dont know?.. The Temple, my brothers and sisters, the Temple is our little piece of Heaven here on the Earth".

I loved that thought, and it really made me think :) We are so amazingly blessed, our Heavenly Father loves us so much, that He has given us temples!  He has given us a little bit of Heaven here on Earth... We have access, real access to the literal House of the Lord!

May we always take advantage of the blessing that it is to have temple so close to our front doors. Let us always live worthily to enter in and may we always have an up to date recommend to go in.

Thinking along those same lines, thinking about establishing Zion and tasting of the celestial joy that here awaits us. It made me think also about one more place were we can taste of this fruit celestially sweet, this place where we can go and learn more about our persoanl reationship with the Father by observing the righteous family patterns, this place that every single one of us have access to... but every single one of us have to ut in the work to build it up to be Zion. Have I given it away yet? Our homessss!

In the scripture guide (in the very back of the book of mormon) it reads 

Hogar (Casa De Familia or Family Home) 

El Hogar debe ser el centro de las actividades familiares y del evangelio - or -

Home should be the center of family activities in the gospel.

The family is ordained of God, our homes house sons and daughters of our Heavenly Father :) We too can establish Zion in our homes and we should! We need to :) Our homes should be a home of order, a place of love, a house of prayer, a place of refuge, a safe haven. And if we strive to make our home, a home where the Spirit of the Lord can reside. Our very walls will be blessed with His Spirit, from our techos (ceilings) will spill out a celestial love from Him on High. May we always strive to stay in Zion :) meaning in BOTH the temples and in our homes! :)

I love you guys so much!  Have an amazing week and know that I LOVE YOUUUUUUU!!!!

Hermana Fardos (Lo)