I'm having a baby!!

So, this week was super crazy! On Monday, I caught two fish from the ocean! They were pretty good size too! I'll try to send some pictures.. 

We visited a lot of people this week, so we were super super busy. This week flew by. On Thursday, Sister Soriao and I were planning, and we got a phone call from President Warner. Sister Soriao is training in Kaneohe and I am training here in Ewa. I will be training Sister Blackner from Cedar City Utah. I am so excited! I was not expecting to be training this quickly, but I am really excited to meet her and learn from her, and hopefully teach her a little bit from my experiences so far. I am going to miss Sister Soriao, but I am so grateful for the time we were able to serve together. They call the new missionaries babies, so that is why I said I am having a baby.. I don't really care for the whole baby thing really, but I thought it was an exciting way to head the email... anywho..

This week I have been thinking a lot about the Sabbath-day. I think I have talked about it before, but I am so amazed at the difference that Sabbath-day observance can make in the life of every individual and in the life of every family. If families and individuals are keeping the Sabbath-day holy, they are choosing to take a whole day out of their busy schedule to dedicate to Heavenly Father. We should always remember Heavenly Father every day, but I believe that if we choose to really honor the Sabbath-day, our families will be strengthened, and we will have the spirit in our homes. The home should be a place where the spirit can always dwell. If the spirit is always dwelling in our home, there will be no room for anger and contention. I am so blessed to be able to see the difference that Sabbath-day observance has in the different families in our ward. 

I am also grateful for the opportunity that I have to get to know every woman in the ward so well. I was sitting in Relief Society this Sunday, and I was thinking howblessed  I am to be able to attend Relief Society with such incredible women each week. There is one Sister who's family is faced with a new extremely difficult challenge every week, it seems. Even though her trials only seem to get bigger every week, her faith gets bigger right along with them. She is a recent convert and she has such an amazing and strong testimony of this Gospel. She loves Heavenly Father with her whole heart, and she would do anything for Him. She is such an example to me. Whenever we go visit her, I learn so much from her. She has an incredible understanding of the gospel, and of Heavenly Father's plan for her and her family. 

I am truly blessed to be serving in this area. I am so excited to introduce Sister Blackner to the area, so that she can share in my love for it. I hope that you all have a wonderful week! Thank you for your love and support! Aloha!!

Love, Sister Sydney Barber