Email from Elder Lofthouse 7/21/14 Farmsville! Here to stay

 love Farmersville and I love Elder Herrera. He is such an amazing person. He is from Ecuador but has lived in L.A. the last 12 years, and he has an amazing conversion story.  The pictures he showed me of who he was 4 years ago are physical proof of the power of the atonement of Jesus Christ. He can bear such a powerful witness of that power because he has experienced it so deeply. He is so loving, generous and is always looking out for the needs of others. So, he's a really easy companion to get along with and he does a lot of good in the lives of the people of this area. 

Farmersville is a small community about 5 minutes from Visalia.  We also cover Exeter which is also about 5 minutes from Farmersville.  I really, really like this area.  The Visalia area I mean.  My companion and I are both thinking that maybe one day we'd live here.  There are ten missionaries in our ward (the Visalia 5th ward).  Two pairs of sisters, the zone leaders, us, and the Woodlake Elders (another little town about five minutes from Exeter).  Elder Herrera and I live in what is known throughout the mission as "The Shack."  I'll have to get some pictures of it for you.  It's a tiny little house and I absolutely love it!  

I feel so not trunky right now. I really hope to conserve that over these next few months. I have the mentality that I will be here in Farmersville until November and I have work to do here. 4 months is not a lot of time and I don't want to waste a minute of it. I don't feel for a second that I'm anywhere near completing what God sent me to this mission to do. 

I feel our focus right now needs to be in getting lessons with a member present. What most of our investigators need is fellowship. We also need to find a bit more, but we've been focusing a lot on that this week and we're starting to increase our pool. That will continue this week. We had three investigators at church this week, one of which has a baptismal date, and the other two will soon have a date I'm certain. One of those is I. She lives right around the corner from us, she's been to church several times, she reads and prays, but she's afraid of what her mom will do if she gets baptized. Elder Herrera and I both feel that humility is the key for her, and I feel that if she will fast to know when to get baptized or to have the strength to do what she knows she needs to, that she will be baptized soon after.

Anyway, being in a new area is always a bit hard for me at first. I'm even quieter than normal when I'm around lots of people I don't know. But I expect with a little time to be able to work closely with the members here to bless the people of Farmersville. Who knows? Maybe one day we'll have a branch in Farmersville and Exeter (the other nearby city we cover). 

I've been reading the Book of Mormon from the beginning (in Spanish) with the goal of finishing it before I leave.  I love the Book of Mormon.  Every day as I ponder the verses I read, I get something out of it that I never got before.  I know that it is a Book meant for us and that as we prayerfully study it, "the words of Christ will tell you all things what [we] should do."  

Have a fantastic week!
Love,
Elder Lofthouse