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