It’s always hard to say goodbye to another group of missionaries. In October, 9 Elders completed their 24 months of missionary service in the Tennessee Knoxville Mission. It’s hard to describe the change that occurs over that time. These missionaries have faced a lot of challenges, grown great faith, learned much about the Doctrine of Christ, their motives align where they are driven by their love for God and their love for the people here in Tennessee, and they have truly become disciples of Jesus Christ.
For this round of the TKM Family Olympics, we had four events:
Corn Hole Kub Bocce Ping Pong
It was a beautiful day in Knoxville and we had a lot of fun together.
In the end, Elder VanderStek carried Team VanderStek/Barlow to victory! President Barlow didn’t feel too good about accepting the award, so he gave a participation award to Elder Purles and Elder Marlor who went 0-4 (haha). It all wraps up with a special award ceremony.
We will always be grateful for the incredible contributions of this great group of missionaries. They have made a tremendous difference in the Tennessee Knoxville Mission.
While it has only been just over three months, we have a deep love for each of these men. We tell them there are few people more invested in them. Me and Kimberly are ALL IN! We hope to celebrate with them all of their greatest moments in life, and we hope they will call on us if there is ever anything they need.
The Lord has great plans for them and so many important things He will ask them to do. And they are ready. The experiences over these last 24 months have prepared them for everything that lies ahead.
Once a year, leaders of our church are assigned to come to the Tennessee Knoxville Mission for a “Mission Tour”. They are assigned by President Ballard, who is the Acting President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. We received a letter right before we arrived in Tennessee that Elder Shayne M. Bowen and Elder Ahmad S. Corbitt of the Seventy had been assigned to tour our mission on October 9-11. Elder Bowen is the First Counselor in the North America Southeast Area Presidency.
We attended the Asheville North Carolina Stake Conference on October 7th and 8th where President Van was released as the stake president and President Gillett was called as the new stake president. We drove back to Knoxville that afternoon and welcomed the Bowens and Corbitts to the mission home for dinner Sunday evening. Thank you to our amazing office missionaries for helping us with dinner! At dinner, Elder Bowen shared that this would be the 75th mission tour during his time as a Seventy.
The tour then began the next morning with a meeting with the office missionaries followed by a meeting with the Mission Leadership Council. Elder Bowen told MLC the meeting might be a little uncomfortable because we think we are doing everything we can, but that he didn’t believe that. He invited us to never go backward again in our life, to always be moving forward and closer to the Savior. To be the kind of person where the Savior can ask to do anything, and we will do it. He invited us to be more obedient, to talk to more people, and seek to teach more lessons.
Elder Corbitt reminded MLC that as the leaders in the mission, the mission will never be better than this group. They would set the standard that others would reach for and follow.
That afternoon, Elder Bowen and Elder Corbitt interviewed missionaries and we traveled to three different apartments to do apartment inspections. That was a great opportunity to meet with missionaries in their home, and encourage and teach them there.
Monday evening we invited the senior couples to the mission home for a devotional. Most of that was question and answer. It is always a great blessing to gather the senior couples together.
Tuesday morning we started early and traveled out to Greeneville, Tennessee where we held zone conference with the Kingsport, Asheville, and Cumberland Zones. In that zone conference, Sister Bowen asked a question we hadn’t thought of before. “Have you every thought that you might be offending someone if you don’t talk to them? They know you have a message you want to share, and usually expect you to say something to them.”
Elder Bowen invited us to change our mission by changing our mindset. He cautioned us against assumed limitations that can be formed that limit our potential. He explained this with the parable of the fleas. Fleas get around by jumping, and can jump up to 15 feet. If you place a flea in a jar, it will immediately jump out. If you then put a lid on the jar, the flea will jump and repeatedly bang into the lid while trying to escape. After a short amount of time, the flea begins to learn that it cannot escape, and thus stops jumping as high as it did in the beginning to avoid hitting the lid.
Once a flea learns it can’t escape, you can remove the lid and the flea will continue to jump only to this limited height where the lid was, and never escape the jar. Since the flea believes it cannot escape the jar, it stops trying.
Elder Bowen taught this can happen in life and in missionary work when we impose limitations on what we are able to do and accept it as reality. He then asked, “What are examples of limitations in the Tennessee Knoxville Mission?”
With this in mind, he invited us to do specific things, and promised if we would do so, it would change our mission. This included being obedient and getting up on time each morning, talking to more people every day, teaching more lessons each week, be more dedicated to planning with the Spirit, being dignified in always representing Jesus Christ, and acting with greater urgency.
Sister Corbitt talked about the importance of obedience. She noted that when we think what we do does not matter to anyone else, we are wrong. She encouraged us to be more exact in our efforts because our combined goodness would bring great power to our work.
Elder Corbitt then taught us to increase our faith. He used Alma 5:15 and the question, “Do you look forward with an eye of faith?” to teach us how true faith always looks forward to the future, and that we should “Look forward with an eye of faith to see the Lord’s promises fulfilled!”
Elder Bowen concluded by helping us better understand who we are. He noted that when someone understands who they are, they will act differently. He taught us about what it means to be children of Abraham and of the House of Israel, and the great promises that come with being the seed of Abraham.
At the conclusion of the conference, Elder and Sister Bowen invited us to return to the stand to sit in front of our missionaries. They then asked, “In just a single word, what are the attributes you see in President and Sister Barlow that you admire most?” The missionaries then shared the things that had observed and appreciated. It was very humbling for us to hear these missionaries share their gratitude, and we feel a great love for each and every one of them.
That afternoon, Elder Bowen and Elder Corbitt again interviewed a bunch of missionaries and we stopped by three apartments on the way back to Knoxville for more inspections.
As the Bowens and the Corbitts had never been to Buccee’s, we stopped by Buccee’s on the way home, had dinner together at the mission home, and then took them back to their hotel.
Wednesday was a repeat of Tuesday, but this time with the Knoxville, Chattanooga, Cleveland, and Cookeville Zones in Knoxville.
We are so grateful for the Bowens and Corbitts, and now count them as great friends. They were so kind and supportive of us as mission leaders. We learned a lot in three days, and it has been exciting to see how the missionaries have already responded to their invitations.
Lastly, during this mission tour was Samantha’s 16th Birthday. We were worried about how to make her 16th birthday special while balancing the needs and expectations of this mission tour. To make it even more challenging, fall break at the high school was the same week as the mission tour.
Once again, southern hospitality is very real, and the members here have been incredible. A family in our ward, the Moody’s, were so kind to invite Samantha to go with their family to a beach house in Destin, Florida for her birthday and the Fall break. She had an incredible time and we feel so grateful for everyone here in Tennessee, but especially in the Farragut Ward, who have made Samantha feel so welcome.
Sister Bowen was so kind to leave Samantha a gift (from Bucee’s…haha!). The missionaries in the Tennessee Knoxville Mission did their part too. We love them! And we love Samantha!
Sister Harpole and I were looking for someone that the missionaries had been teaching a few months ago. Every time we went to their house, a man would answer the door and tell us that we just barely missed them. We would ask him if he was interested in our message, and he would tell us no, and we would leave.
Then the next week we would try again to get into contact with those people, and the same scenario happened again.
This happened 3 or more times! The man would answer the door, and tell us the people we were looking for had just left.
The man who always answered the door was Brandon.
Transfers came, and we became a trio! On Sister Matheny’s first day in the mission field, we again went to try one last time to get in contact with the people who lived at Brandon’s house.
Once again, Brandon answered the door and told us that we just barely missed them. This time we told Brandon that it wasn’t a coincidence that it was always him answering the door and asked once more if he would want to meet with us. This time he said YES! He decided he would finally give these 3 persistent missionaries on his porch a chance. Brandon recognized that he wanted to turn his life around and help his 10-year old son, Dominic, grow up in a church.
From that point on, we began to have lessons with Brandon and Dominic. Brandon has gone through a lot of hard things, and he recognized that his life would improve if he started living his life for God. He and his son started to read the Book of Mormon every day together, began to live the commandments, and come to church every Sunday.
The members of the ward made an incredible difference. They rallied around Brandon and Dominic and helped them with the things they needed as they began their journey towards baptism. Beginning with their first Sunday at church, the members took them in. Before they could stand up at the end of Sacrament meeting, a little boy and his mother invited Dominic to attend primary with him.
One of my favorite experiences was teaching Dominic to pray! Brandon and Dominic were able to recognize the blessings of living the gospel. Dominic mentioned how much their life had improved in the past 2 weeks as they had started to meet with us and apply the things that we taught.
We invited them to be baptized and they were so excited! Dominic would need to get permission from his mother to be baptized, and through the power of our collective prayers, she gave him permission. Brandon was able to overcome addictions in a short amount of time with the help and encouragement of the members, and on September 16th & 17th Brandon and Dominic were baptized and confirmed.
Brandon and Dominic are proof to me that making covenants with God doesn’t make life easy, but it makes life easier as we yoke ourselves to the Savior!
Last week was zone conference week! It’s alway a great week as we get to see every missionary in the mission. We gather from 10am to 3pm to provide training and to role play in building skills.
It’s been inspiring to watch these missionaries since last zone conference build their commitment to talk with everyone. As they talk with everyone, missionaries actually face more rejection because they are talking to more people. But even as they face more rejection, I’ve observed how they are happier because they are focused on their missionary purpose of inviting all to come unto Christ. This takes a lot of faith. It’s usually uncomfortable. It requires a lot of determination and effort. But we are seeing these wonderful missionaries lean into it with faith, and miracles are happening.
Here is an example of the determination of the missionaries in the Tennessee Knoxville Mission. We could share dozens of examples of this kind of effort:
We continue to be inspired by these amazing missionaries.
The focus of this zone conference was “Unite with Members” and expanding our efforts to find. We love how the title of chapter 13 of Preach My Gospel changed from “How Do I Work with Stake and Ward Leaders?” to “Unite with Leaders and Members to Establish the Church.” That’s the goal…to UNITE! Preach My Gospel teaches us the following about “Unite with Members”:
“You are united with leaders and members by your love for God and His children.”
“Regularly ask yourself, ‘Am I a blessing to local leaders?’ Develop an attitude of ‘How can I help?'”
“Work with members of the church to find people to teach.”
“Like Ammon in the Book of Mormon, approach local leaders with an attitude of service.”
“Help members understand the remarkable blessings for sharing the gospel.”
“Relationships with members can bless you for the rest of your life.”
“You build trust with members as they feel the Spirit with you.”
“He will magnify your efforts to the degree you work in unity with local leaders and members.”
Sister Barlow used a powerful object lesson to teach about uniting with members. She had a sister come up and put on an orange University of Tennessee shirt and hat symbolizing the love we have for members. She then pinned different cards representing how we unite with them, including “Great people with enthusiasm!” “Pray for them in their homes.” “Be on time.” “Express thanks!” “Follow through.” “How can I help?” Here she is with Sister Jensen at the zone conference for Cumberland and Knoxville Zones:
We also did training and role plays focus on finding using Facebook, and are excited to learn to use this as another way to meet new people.
Zone Conference: Chattanooga, Cleveland, and Cookeville Zones
Zone Conference: Asheville and Kingsport Zones
Zone Conference: Cumberland and Knoxville Zones
With each meeting, we had missionaries who shared some wonderful musical numbers.
We closed each meeting with singing “Love One Another”.
We also enjoyed time to have lunch together, and greatly appreciate the members who are always so generous to serve the missionaries by providing these lunches.
At the end, the Elders surprised President Barlow with a group hug. Not sure who organized all of that, but it was much appreciated.
As part of these meetings, we also held training for District Leaders. The focus of this training was how leaders can minister to the people they lead. Sister Chan and Sister Cunningham taught about the tools we have to help us understand the needs of missionaries. Elder Johnson taught about speaking directly, but with kindness and support. And Elder Criddle took us through some scenarios to discuss what to do.
Lastly, over the last two weeks, we’ve had the opportunity to participate in two “Zone Blitz”. We do these on Monday nights after preparation day where the missionaries in a zone all join together to find more people to teach in one area in the zone. These help jump start the teaching pools and build really strong camaraderie amongst the missionaries.
For the zone blitz in the Cleveland Zone, we met up in Hixson. What was powerful about this zone blitz is members of the Hixson Ward joined us to go out finding. I loved being out with Elder Clark that night and learned a lot from this great missionary.
This last Monday night we did a zone blitz with the Knoxville Zone. I had the opportunity to go out with Elder Buchholz and Elder Escobar, two really great Elders. We went to a park and literally talked with everyone!
On Wednesday, September 20th, we brought the new missionaries from this transfer and their trainers back into Knoxville for “New Missionary Follow Up”. We do this follow up in the middle of their first transfer to provide some additional training. With both new missionaries and trainers, this involved 48 missionaries.
In the past, this training has mostly focused on “Adjusting to Missionary Life”. But last transfer, Sister Barlow worked with Brother Taggart to start a new weekly meeting for new missionaries called “Missionary Resilience Class”. Once a week during their first transfer, the new missionaries now meet on Zoom with Brother Taggart for a class based on the info in both Adjusting to Missionary Life and the Self Reliance: Emotional Resilience class. This has been a great addition in supporting our new missionaries.
With the Missionary Resilience Class now in place, we decided to pivot “New Missionary Follow Up” to focus on foundational skills from Preach My Gospel. The entire morning was focused on “The Faith to Find”.
In Preach My Gospel, “The Faith to Find” is explained in this way:
“Faith is a principle of action and power . Have faith that the Lord is preparing people to receive the restored gospel. Have patient confidence that He will lead you to them, or them to you. Act on your faith by setting goals, making plans, and carrying out your plans to find people to teach (see chapter 8).” (Preach My Gospel, Chapter 9: “Find People to Teach”)
We believe that God is preparing people all around us to receive His gospel. As He prepares their hearts, He then leads them to us or us to them. “Faith is a principle of action and power.” Faith will always lead to action, and acting in faith allows us to receive power from God. With the faith to find, that action is the commitment to talk with everyone. As we strive to talk with everyone, we find those who God has prepared as they cross our path.
As you can imagine, the commitment to talk with everyone takes a lot of courage and is a big adjustment for new missionaries. It isn’t natural for them to walk up to people they don’t know and begin a conversation. To build these skills as missionaries takes a lot of practice. And the way we practice as missionaries is through role plays.
We teach these missionaries some important skills from Preach My Gospel, including things like how to introduce their purpose, asking questions to understand needs, how to introduce the Book of Mormon, and how to invite people to learn more. We then practice these skills in role plays. Focusing on these skills builds their confidence to talk with everyone.
So we spent the entire training focused on these foundational skills, and practicing them through role plays.
That Friday, we also had our Senior Missionary Lunch at the mission home. It’s always great to spend time with these couples. They are amazing and continue to make an incredible difference in the Tennessee Knoxville Mission. We are so grateful for them!
This is the last time we will be together with the Smiths and the Henningsons as they both are completing their missions and returning home. We love them and will miss them!
Another big milestone happened at our house! Samantha had her first date!
It seemed appropriate that her first date would be at the University of Tennessee football home opener at Neyland Stadium. We are so proud of Samantha and the way she has embraced the opportunity to be here in Tennessee. She has made many new friends and we are very grateful that we have so many people thinking about her.
My mom sent me this copy of the Book of Mormon. She helped organize an activity with the congregation at home where members were invited to write their testimonies in copies of the Book of Mormon.
She sent this Book of Mormon to me, and I gave this Book of Mormon to someone we met on a Wednesday at a car wash. He was super excited about it and wanted to read it! We also gave him a restoration pamphlet. He placed them both inside so he could get back to work. Then Sister Stapley and I had a lesson with another one of our friends in the car wash. Before we left I just felt like I should put our number on the pamphlet, so I did.
Saturday morning rolls around and we got a call from Dustin. Dustin said he found this restoration pamphlet and Book of Mormon on the side of the road as he was riding his bike. As he read the verse and testimony in the front of the Book of Mormon, he said he felt something powerful. He said he felt he should try to return this book to its owner..
As he flipped through the book, he found that the pamphlet that had our number on it, so he called us.
We explained our purpose as missionaries to help others come unto Christ by teaching them His restored gospel. As we talked to him on the phone, he described how much the Book of Mormon intrigued him, and how he’s been looking to strengthen his relationship with Christ. As we continued to get to know Dustin, we realized he was over the bridge and about 15 miles from the car wash where we first gave that book away!
We arranged to meet Dustin later that night, and went with the East Ridge Elders to teach him more about the Book of Mormon. It was remarkable how happy he was to learn more, and he share with us a lot more of his life story. He said ‘the Book found him”! He wanted to read the whole book in a week. The Elders really clicked with him and it was a great lesson.
Christine Wilson: she’s the woman who wrote her testimony in the book. My mom found her in the stake and told her about the story and she was so happy! She said the scripture she wrote (Ether 12:27) has absolutely changed her life. .
And if men come unto me I will show unto them their weakness. I give unto men weakness that they may be humble; and my grace is sufficient for all men that humble themselves before me; for if they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make weak things become strong unto them.
Ether 12:27
There were so many last minute pieces of revelation that happened for Dustin to get that book:
My mom’s idea to have people sign their testimonies was a last minute addition to a different activity…
Christine said she just walked by and took a double take to quickly write her testimony of her life changing scripture…
It was a last minute idea for me to write down our number on the pamphlet…
And then something had to happen for the Book to move from a car wash in Hixson to a street in Chattanooga.
The concept of “the tender mercies of the Lord” is so apparent in this story and its been super special for my parents, me, Christine and hopefully Dustin!
We found Mary, or in reality, Mary found us, and that was the real tender mercy in this story.
Mary found us as we were walking around an apartment complex and doing some inspired knocking. As we were walking around, Mary came up to us and asked us if we were Mormons. We told her yes, that we were members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.
We then taught Mary about the Book of Mormon and set up a time to come back. When we came back, we taught her about the Restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and invited her to attend church with us, which she accepted.
Mary ended up coming that Sunday and had an amazing experience. The members of the ward were so welcoming and friendly to her. Over the next 3 months as we taught her, her understanding and testimony of the Gospel grew rapidly. An abundance of faith and joy entered her life.
Mary’s faith is incredible. I remember the first few weeks we were teaching her, she asked about tithing. So we taught her about it and the blessings that come from paying tithing. The very next week at church, she paid tithing! And she hadn’t even been baptized yet! She has so much faith.
About 3 months into our teaching, Mary accepted the invitaion to be baptized. She was baptized on September 2, 2023 in the Oconaluftee River. Her Baptism was so special. The Spirit was so strong as we witnessed her enter into that sacred covenant with our Heavenly Father. There was a peace and warmth that filled the air. The joy that she had as she came out of the water born anew is a moment I will never forget.
This last week, we were so excited to welcome 21 missionaries to the Tennessee Knoxville Mission! In this group are 16 missionaries assigned to the Tennessee Knoxville Mission, three sisters who join us after serving six months at church history missions, three waiting for visas to the Peru Lima North Mission, one waiting for a visa to the Brazil Santos Mission, and one waiting for a visa to the Uganda Kampala Mission. We are grateful to have each one as Tennessee Knoxville Missionaries!
We were missing Sister Katelyn Spencer as she was sick and couldn’t travel from the New York and Pennsylvania Historic Sites Mission on transfer day. We will look forward to getting a picture with her at zone conference in two weeks.
We feel the most important decision with each transfer is who should be the trainers for these new missionaries. A trainer is the most important leadership role of the mission because the trainers get these new missionaries started in the right way, they help them understand the culture and expectations, and they help these new missionaries adjust to missionary life…which is a really big adjustment.
We are very grateful for each of these new missionaries, and we are especially grateful for their trainers. Amazing experiences and incredible growth await each of them!
Alma 5:14 And now behold, I ask of you, my brethren of the church, have ye spiritually been born of God? Have ye received his image in your countenances? Have ye experienced this mighty change in your hearts?
As Written by Mike and Ada Farmer
This story begins on a bright and cold brisk day in Jamestown, TN where Mike and Ada Farber had lived since January 12th of this year. The Farbers had just left Florida, and they were both excited about the new ventures they would have. Before their departure from Florida, Ada told Mike that he would have to seek help for his depression/PTSD, which he has struggled with after 20 years in the Navy. Long sleepless nights, nightmares, and many other symptoms were normal for Mike. This caused Mike to get easily aggravated, high strung, and agitated, and many arguments began to ensue between the Farbers. Mike continued to see a psychologist via telehealth on the computer and although the medication seemed to help a bit, they continued to up his dosage. The arguments continued to get worse, and after a big argument between Mike and Ada’s son the two began to talk about divorce.
It was under these conditions, that on April 6th, Elders Brown and Bluemel stopped by for the first time. As they drove down a dead-end road Elder Brown had an inclination that we needed help, and they ignored the no trespassing sign that was visible at the front of the drive, they ventured down the long driveway to the house. Mike was ready to send them on their way when he saw them coming down the long, gravel driveway but with the circumstances, decided to hear what they had to say, accept a Book of Mormon and allow them to come back on a later date. Ada was calling around and trying to come up with an amicable agreement between her and Mike and how they were going to split the assets and bills they had, once she had a plan together, she gave it to Mike and once he agreed she sought out an attorney to file the paperwork with the court, which she did, they advised her the divorce would be final on 7/7/23, both her and Mike signed the paperwork.
Mike finally told the missionaries the situation between him and Ada, and Elder Bluemel asked if he should speak to Ada, “Mike said no, Ada’s not in the right state of mind right now to speak to you”, he thought it would just make matters worse. The missionaries gave Mike a priesthood blessing out on the front porch and advised Mike they would look for a church in Evansville, Indiana as this is where Mike would live.
Mike was at the lowest part of his life, and deep-down Ada was concerned about what Mike would do, which made it difficult to know what she should do. She cried so many tears, had so much heartache and really had no idea as to what she would do. Mike pleaded with her to give him another chance.
Mike continued to study with the missionaries, but Ada was very skeptical that Mike could change, especially after all they had been through, and all the things he had tried in the past that didn’t work. It was a Sunday afternoon, and Mike had decided that he would go to Evansville so he could seek out a new place to live, as the divorce paperwork was signed by them both, he had 6 months to get all his belongings. So, Mike began to load the truck with some of his stuff and he was on his way to Evansville to stay with his high school friend Joe. As Mike drove away, Ada felt that this wasn’t the right decision, and as she walked into the bedroom she asked, “God what should I do” and she had the strongest feeling that she should call Mike and tell him to come home, which she did.
Once he arrived back at the house, she told him this was only a trial period, as she was still so skeptical that he could change. Mike continued to read the Book of Mormon and his studies with the missionaries and advised Ada he wanted to be baptized. The missionaries were coming to the house twice a week to get Mike ready to be baptized and Mike continued to attend church without Ada. Mike and the missionaries set a date of June 4th for his baptism and asked Ada to come, which she did. Ada couldn’t believe the profound change in Mike since meeting with the missionaries; he was more humble, loving, and caring.
Elder Bluemel, Mike, and Elder Brown.
Ada decided to start sitting in on Mike’s new member lessons. About a month after his baptism, Mike received the Aaronic Priesthood.
While Ada originally had some concerns about joining the church, she read Acts 8:36-38 in the weekly Come, Follow Me study which tells the story of an Ethiopian eunuch who is baptized after he confesses his belief in Christ. This scripture touched Ada and she knew she needed to be baptized because she believed in God. The Farbers and the missionaries set a date for July 26th for Ada’s baptism.
Ada advised her children that she was getting baptized and her daughter Valerie said she wanted to attend. On July 26th, Ada was baptized by her husband Mike. It was a very spiritual and humbling experience. A couple days later, the Farbers attended the Nashville Temple, the day before its closing for 6 months.
Elder Bluemel, Ada, Mike, and Elder McClellan
Valerie attended the baptisms, and she received a priesthood blessing due to some problems she was experiencing, and it had a profound impact on her. Once she returned home, she sought out an LDS church in her area and is now studying the Book of Mormon with the sisters. Valerie had a dream that she would be in the celestial kingdom with God which she knew nothing about and asked the sisters about her dream and they told her yes that was real and explained to her the different levels of heaven. Valerie plans to get baptized in November.
Elder Bluemel’s Perspective
Our day started out pretty normally. We got up, did our normal routine and got out the door. We had decided to try to find more people to teach along a long dirt and gravel road. We knocked a couple houses and had limited success.
At one point we passed a long driveway with a no trespassing sign on our way to the next house. After a little while longer we were on our way back when Elder Brown turned down the driveway. I noted the no trespassing sign in my mind but didn’t say anything. We walked on the porch and heard a bunch of killer dogs inside the house barking like crazy.
We knocked on the door and a guy opened it. He said his name was Mike and we walked through a short introduction of our purpose as missionaries and what the Book of Mormon is. He seemed pretty closed off but did accept a Book of Mormon and Restoration Pamphlet. He said he would read the pamphlet and we set up a time to come by in a week or so.
When we came back we knocked on the door but nobody was there. We started to walk back to the car but I felt like we should try to go down to the other building on the bottom side of the property. We started going over there when we saw Mike down by the chicken coop. We were able to talk to him and he had actually read the pamphlet! We asked if we could teach him about what the pamphlet contained. He said yes and asked how long it would take. We said maybe 15 or 20 minutes. It ended up being around an hour.
I remember wondering if Mike was an undercover member. He so easily accepted the things we were teaching. It astounded me. He continued to show us that attitude until his baptism just a month later. He made changes so rapidly and willingly. I loved teaching Mike.
Eventually Ada began joining Mike’s new member lessons but remained skeptical. The lessons shifted into being focused on her. Eventually she surprised us by saying that she had started listening to the Book of Mormon and after praying about it, knew that it was true.
From that time on the lessons became much easier. She wasn’t yet ready for baptism but after a Come Follow Me class that we had, she told us she was ready to be baptized. I had the privilege of confirming Ada a member of the church and giving her the Gift of the Holy Ghost. The blessing that I gave afterwards was one of the greatest experiences that I’ve had on my mission. I know that the things I said came directly from Heavenly Father. I am so grateful for the supreme impact the Farber’s have had on my life and for the trust which my Father in Heaven has placed in me.
Elder McClellan’s Perspective
One of my favorite drives is driving over to the Farber’s house in Allardt, TN. Everytime I drive to their house I think, “How in the world did the Elders find this place?!”
On my first day in Jamestown, I had the pleasure of meeting Mike and Ada Farber. On our way to the teaching appointment that we had with them, Elder Bluemel told me that they found Mike by knocking on doors. As we drove down to their house, I remember asking Elder Bluemel; “you guys knocked into them?” Before I even met them, I knew that the way the Farbers were found by the missionaries was divinely inspired. Meeting Mike and Ada was such a joy.
The Elders had been teaching the new member lessons to Mike when Ada began to sit in on the lessons too. My first lesson with them was the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The Spirit was so strong, as it always was with Mike and Ada as we discussed and testified of gospel truths. One of the most spiritually powerful experiences of my life happened while teaching the Farbers when they opened up to us about the circumstances that they were going through when found by the missionaries, and the change in Mike’s behavior, attitude, and countenance since meeting with the Elders. It was so powerful, and that was when we extended a baptismal invitation to Ada. She told us there were some things that she had to let go of before she could make that commitment, and she explained that she did not yet have a testimony of the Book of Mormon. But we knew that she had a testimony of the Gospel.
Just a few weeks later, we had another powerful lesson with the Farbers, when our discussion, completely led by the Spirit, turned towards baptism. That was when Ada told us that she had been talking to Mike about getting baptized! She told us she knew the Book of Mormon was divinely inspired and she had decided that she needed to be baptized. We were so excited! Elder Bluemel and I celebrated with a McFlurry that night.
Ada’s baptism was amazing. The Spirit was so strong and it was amazing to see Mike baptize his wife. I will never forget the Farbers and I am so grateful to God for allowing me the privilege to teach the Farbers. They are such a testament to me that God is there, and loves us each individually.
During this last transfer, we said goodbye to an amazing group of missionaries. After 18 or 24 months of serving the people here in Tennessee, 17 missionaries returned home to begin the next phase of their life. We are so grateful for each them and the incredible contributions they’ve made in the Tennessee Knoxville Mission:
Sister Kessly Strong
Sister Ashley Asay
Elder Caleb Cobos
Elder Caleb Dougal
Elder Trevin Hubbard
Elder Jamison Stagg
Elder and Sister Larson
Elder Jakob Bowler
Sister Brinly Stapley
Elder Jarek Burnett
Elder Christian Clark
Sister Lexi Colson
Sister McKenzie Emmett
Elder Randy Hughes
Elder Ethan Lewis
Sister Emily Reyes
Sister Rachel Saul
Half of these missionaries left during the transfer to return home in time to begin the Fall semester at different universities, leaving eight to participate in the 2nd TKM Family Olympics.
For their last day as missionaries, we celebrate these missionaries and their accomplishments. We hold their final interviews and discuss their goals and important ways they can continue to be life-long disciples of Jesus Christ. President Barlow had the opportunity to give each of them a priesthood blessing, which is a very special experience for him. We then bring them all to the mission home for an afternoon of fun that we call the TKM Family Olympics. With 8 missionaries here on the final day, we divided them into four teams and had them compete in four events:
Corn Hole Bocce Kub Chalk Art
The competition was intense as each team battled it out for the gold medal.
In the end Elder Lewis and Elder Clark won silver medal, solely driven by their 1st place finish in the Chalk Art competition. All of the chalk art was impressive, but Elders Lewis and Clark locked in the win for that category. By the way, lots of symbolism in that art.
But the big winners, going undefeated in Corn Hole, Kub, and Bocce, while securing a solid finish in Chalk Art, were Sister Colson and Sister Reyes. Congratulations to our gold medalists for the 2nd TKM Family Olympics!
After the TKM Family Olympics, we gathered for dinner and these 8 missionaries recorded their final “Tender Mercy Video”.
Everyone changed clothes and we had a very special testimony meeting where each of these missionaries shared their feelings about the Savior, their experiences in Tennessee, and the many lessons learned through this service.
We finished the evening at Bruster’s Ice Cream.
We love each of these missionaries and wonder how the TKM will continue on without them. They will definitely be missed and we know Heavenly Father has great things planned for each of them.
During this transfer we had two missionaries transfer to service missions, and we are very proud of Sister Blundell and Elder Morris and feel so grateful for their service in the TKM. We also had Sister Wood return home for health reasons and she will be greatly missed.
Lastly, we had two missionaries, Elder Thurman and Elder Moore, who served one transfer in the Tennessee Knoxville Mission while waiting for their visas to be able to go to the Peru Lima North Mission. We hoped to have them longer, but feel so grateful for our time serving with them.
Our hope is to be connected to each of these missionaries for the rest of their lives. They have sacrificed so much to come and serve the Lord and the people of Tennessee, and in return they have been blessed with amazing experiences and taught so many critical lessons that will be very valuable in the days to come. We will be cheering them on, always willing to help them in any way we can, and we can’t wait to see what the future holds for each of them.
Barlows in TKM 