Elder Thomas Farr: I'm Going To Cote d'Ivoire! (For Sure This Time)

Bonjour tout le monde!

This week consisted of a whole lot of service and a whole lot of being stuck inside.

Our stake president asks that we get in at least 10 hours of service each week which means that almost every day we're out doing some form of service!

For one, every week we go and help out at this church and help prepare meals for people. But this week there wasn't as much food prep to be done so we spent a couple of hours clearing out their whole pantry and sanitizing it shelf by shelf. Once we were done, we reorganized everything inside of the pantry. It was definitely a big job.

One service opportunity that we get two or three times a week is with the Sanford Backpack Program, which puts together big bags of groceries and hands them out for free to kids as they come out of school. We usually start out with close to a couple hundred bags and are usually down to just a dozen or so by the end of it. It's a fun opportunity and just about the only time we get to be around people.

This week we were locked down for a few days for some snow storms so the only thing we could do outside was go on walks. So Elder Greene and I went on many. These walks felt less like casual strolls though the park and more like intense endurance challenges where we tried to see how long we could last in the cold, dark, Maine winter. One of these walks, all but the road was covered in knee-high snow. So, rather than dejectedly returning to our apartment, we braved through the blizzard and marched through that knee-high snow. We've yet to turn back on a walk and we don't plan on doing so in the future.

This Sunday, I was asked to bear my testimony in church, marking the third time I've been asked to speak in church since arriving in New England a little over a month ago. It was nice though and we got to hear some awesome testimonies.

Big News! Last Wednesday, I received word that my travel plans for Cote d'Ivoire have not only been restored, but that I'll be leaving even earlier now than before! So instead of leaving on March 10, I'll now be flying out on the 5th! That's only 3 1/2 weeks away! So it seems I'll be in Cote d'Ivoire earlier than expected and the only thing I can say is what a blessing. In less than a month I'll be serving in the place where I was originally called to serve with the people whom I was originally called to serve. I feel so blessed and grateful for this opportunity and to be able to spend so much of my mission over there.

This week, I really focused on gaining a greater appreciation for the people we read about in the Book of Mormon. I can say with full confidence that these were real people. They were all just regular people who, by the power and blessings of God, were able to accomplish such extraordinary things as we read about in the Book of Mormon.

I love you all, and I hope you have the best week.

Avec amour,

Elder Farr