Mele Kalikimaka

Aloha! It was kind of a hectic week for Sister Jolley and I, but we made it! Here is the rundown:

• We tried our best to juggle our time between Waianae and Makaha. We went around, trying to meet all of the investigators and members, so that we could kind of figure out where most of the focus has been. The Elders left the area book in pretty good shape, so it was fairly easy to figure out who they had been seeing and who was progressing. It turns out that they don't have any progressing.. but that is okay! We will change that! We were able to meet a lot of members at the ward Christmas party, so that was good. They are all a lot of fun! Their ward is fairly small, but it is definitely bigger than Makaha. Speaking of Makaha:
• We found out that Junior's name isn't Junior...yeah.. it's Albert..but that's okay! We walked to church with him and his mom, Kanita! We took Kanita to all of the classes with us, and she seemed to enjoy it. Withey did not come to church, which means that she will not be able to be baptized on the 26th, but we are still planning on helping her to prepare for baptism in January. Billy isn't getting baptized either, because he has to stop smoking still and he feels like he doesn't understand the Book of Mormon yet. I think that the hardest thing with him is that there is a language barrier. He doesn't understand English very well, so it is hard for him to be in church, because he doesn't know what is going on. The closest church where he could have other Pilipinos is in Waipahu, which is going to be difficult, because he has a hard time walking, and the bus stop isn't that close. We will try to figure something out though. We did find a miracle though! At church on Sunday, one of the Young Women's friends, who has already taken all of the lessons, but just hasn't been to church in a while came. She wants to be baptized, so we set a date in January! We are so excited for her! You can tell that she really wants to be a member of the church. There are a few others, who are potential investigators, that we feel fairly confident will get baptized soon. It has been so amazing to see the Lord work on the hearts of these people!
• Sister Jolley and I are doing great! We are having such a wonderful time serving together! I am very grateful that I will be with her for Christmas! 

Well, I hope that you all enjoy your Christmas! I am grateful for the opportunity that I have to be a missionary during this time of the year. It has made me look at Christmas in a completely different way. I am so grateful for Heavenly Father. I am grateful that he sent his son, so that he could atone for us and die for us. I know that the Savior lives, and that He loves us each so much! I love you all! Be safe!

Love, Sister Barber

Aloha!

  This week we had a lot going on! Here is some of what happened:

• Sister Jolley and I found out that we will be taking over Waianae ward as well as Makaha, so we will have two wards next transfer. We are both really excited, but we both know that it will definitely have its challenges. Obedience and diligence will be our key to success, I know. We are going to be twice as busy. We are still going to be STLs too, so there won't be a lot of time to spare... SO wonderful!! :) 
• We were able to get new investigator! His name is Junior. He has been to church a couple of times before I got here, but hasn't been able to lately. He just turned 9, and his mom is a less-active member. They are a Marshallese family, so there is a bit of a language barrier, which is why they haven't really come to church very many times. We met her, and she told us that she really wants to come back to church, and then we talked to Junior and he says he really wants to be baptized. So, he is going to be baptized on the 26th with Withy. 
• Withey came to church and she told us that she wants to go on a mission! She is so awesome! She just turned 18 on Monday, and she is already trying to prepare herself to serve a mission. She is such an example to me of one of the elect. 
• We had Stake Conference on Sunday, and the speakers talked a lot about Family Councils. I love this. I know that my family has always tried to do family councils weekly, and I think that it helped us to come closer together. I want the same thing for my future family as well as my family now (my comp). I think that communication will be easier, if we counsel often.

   I love this gospel so much!! I love the people of Hawaii so much!! I love Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ so much! I am grateful for the things that they are teaching me as a missionary, because I know that they will bless me in my future as a friend, a daughter, a sibling, a wife, a mother, a coworker, and as anything else that the Lord has in store for me. Thank you so much for your love and support! 

    Aloha Nui Loa! Sister Barber

Aloha!!!

Well, last week was kind of an interesting week. Sister Jolley and I had to go to Honolulu twice, because had to get retested for TB, so that took up two days, because we are on the opposite side of the island, and traffic is awful here. Then, Sister Jolley got super super sick. She couldn't even stand up, so I stayed in and studied, and then I also made a tree topper for our sad little Christmas tree. So, overall, the week was pretty slow. However, we did get to meet a lot of people! We talked to a bunch of people when we were in Honolulu for our TB test. We met a woman who has a journal full of phone numbers of people that have offered her help, so that was interesting. Then, we met a kid from American Samoa, who actually ended up being a member. Then, while going to meet up with a family, so that we could walk them to church (I'll tell you about them later), we met a man, who ended up being the father of one of our investigators. He was super nice, and we are going to try to get their whole family to come to church this Sunday! Pretty cool. 

  Anyways, the family I was talking about is a less-active family in the ward. They rarely ever come, because they don't have a car and, even though they live super close to the chapel, they don't want to walk. So, Sister Jolley and I offered to walk with them, so that they didn't have to come alone. They agreed two Sundays ago, and they came, but this last Sunday they told us last minute that they weren't coming. Most of our investigators didn't come this week either, but one of them did, so that's good. 

   We had MLC and Mission Tour, which were both amazing! All of the training really made me reflect a lot on the work that I am doing, and the areas that I need to improve on. I have a lot to change. Sister Jolley and I both decided that we are going to change right now. We had an appointment with an investigator as soon as we got home, and the investigator and his wife LOVE to talk story. It's always a struggle to have the discussion completely focused, and it is especially hard to keep the lesson under an hour. We prayed before we went into the appointment that we would be able to know how to keep the focus on the lesson, as well as how to keep the lesson short, but still have it be a spiritual experience that would help our investigator have the desire to keep his commitments. We discussed a few ways that we could accomplish the goals that we had set, and then walked up to the house. Our investigator's father, who is not a member, happened to be at their house, and he loves to talk story just as much as the other two. I was nervous at first, but then I remembered the training that we had received earlier, and I knew that I needed to have faith that the Lord would help us, if we were willing to do our part. So, I brought out my Book of Mormon and began to tell the story of the Anti-Nephi-Lehies. The story caught the attention of all three of them. They all listened attentively to me and they did for Sister Jolley as well. They also gave very great comments, that helped us to know what they needed, which then allowed us to know how to better extend the commitments to them, so that they would keep them. The lesson was about 45 minutes, and it was one of the best lessons we have ever had with them. I know that it is because of our desire to be obedient, as well as our love for our investigators that we were able to accomplish both of our goals. Heavenly Father blesses those who are pure in heart and who desire to do His will the way that He wants it done. I am not perfect, and I know that perfection is not something that i will achieve any time soon, but I can be exact in my obedience. I love this gospel, and I know that it is true. They Lord will help us, if we are willing to listen and obey. I love you all! Have a wonderful week!! 

Sister Barber

Thanks Giving

  Well, this week was something! We had exchanges this week, so on Tuesday I was with Sister Maher. Sister Maher is so fun! We went to see the Davidson family in the evening for FHE. Brother Davidson is not a member, so we have been teaching him the lessons. I had assumed that he had already been introduced to the Book of Mormon, but I quickly realized that the past missionaries had never even challenged him to read it. Sister Davidson said that she had a Book of Mormon she had been waiting to give him, but the missionaries never even brought up the Book of Mormon, so she never gave it to him. I just about fell over! Brother Davidson has been very hesitant about baptism. Our first lesson with him, I invited him to be baptized, but he said that he wasn't ready, and that we were moving too fast. Now I know why! I shared my testimony about the Book of Mormon, and then Sister Maher and I challenged him to read it and pray about it. He agreed to, so now I am praying that he keeps his heart and mind open as he reads and prays. I know that he is close. He just needs to stay motivated. 

 On Thanksgiving Sister Jolley and I went to a Marshallese party!!! They are SO fun! They sang and danced and sang and danced and sang and danced and then sang and danced some more! We just sat and watched, but it was very entertaining! Withy, William, Wilson and Andrew were there, so we got to spend a lot of time with them, which was good. 

 Sister Jolley and I are really hoping that we get to stay together next transfer. Christmas would just not be right with Sister Jolley around.  

 We had Pday today because we went to the temple. It was wonderful, just like always. We are still looking for more people to teach, but we have confidence that we will find the elect as we continue to be diligent! 

 I love being a missionary! I can't believe how much I have learned in such a short amount of time! I am excited to see how much I continue to grow as I work hard and forget myself. Thank you all for your love and support!

Love, Sister Barber