Aloha!

ALOHA!

  This week was really good, but it was also very emotionally/mentally draining. 

Tuesday: We were able to go to the temple which was wonderful! We also got to have lunch with Sister Carroll, Sister Hatori and Sister White! They do so much for us! We are very blessed to have them.

 Wednesday: We had exchanges with the Ewa Beach Sisters. I went to Ewa Beach! I was super nervous, because I didn't know if I could handle seeing anyone from the 1st ward. The first person I saw was Brother Iosefa. I was SO excited to see him!!! It was so wonderful to be with him again. He really is such a wonderful Ward Mission Leader and, of course, an amazing person! I was with Sister Chapman on exchanges. She is so sweet. It makes me so happy to know that she is taking care of Ewa Beach. 

Thursday: We got to go out with Sister Rowland to visit some of the Sisters in the ward. It was nice, because she already has such a good relationship with the sisters, so it is easier for us to get to know them. After we finished with Sister Rowland, we got a call from Travis. He is the investigator that was reading the Book of Mormon regularly and who came to church. He called to tell us that he has decided to stop investigating the church and he wants to just go to his own church instead. The rest of the day, Sister Jolley and I didn't say a whole lot, and we just kept going to visit people. That night was rough though. I couldn't keep it together once we got home. It's just so sad. He seemed so prepared, but he slipped away as easily as he came. I know that his heart is still good though. I am sure that if he meets missionaries again down the line that he will at least listen to them. It definitely never gets easier each time an investigator drops you though. 

Friday: We were able to meet with one of our investigators named Lovelynn. She is so sweet! She works with one of the members in our ward, so that is how she got introduced to the church. She is really interested, but she has been sick, so she couldn't come to church on Sunday. I am confident that she will be there next week though. We went to see the Mokiaos in the evening after dinner. They are a very special family. The daughter, Noi, is so amazing. She has such a strong testimony, in spite of such challenging circumstances. The mom is one of my heroes. She loves her kids so much! 

Saturday: We went to Nanakuli's area to do a district flood. We met a lot of people who were not interested in the church whatsoever. We also ran into one of their members though, so that was nice. :) We met a family who seems pretty interested. I will give you more of an update next week after our next appointment.

Sunday: Church was awesome. We had ward conference, which was really awesome. The leaders in our stake are so amazing. Truly men of God. 

Well, that is all I have time for! I hope you all have a great week!

Love, Sister Barber

ALOHA

         Today we went to the temple, which is why I couldn't email today. Unfortunately, that means I don't have much time to email. I will say though that this week was spectacular!

1. Sis. Jolley and I cried for almost all of week plan, because we realized that she is probably going to get transferred next transfer. She is my best friend in the whole world, so it is going to be so hard to try to get used to someone else. That is why I am almost confident she is leaving...
2. We were able to get 14 new investigators this week, which is really good for our area. However, only 1 person came to church. We are so blessed and so grateful to have had Royal (one of our investigators) there though. She's amazing.
3. We got to go to the temple and it was amazing!
4. Our members are awesome! Bishop Velasco is a very hard working bishop and you can really tell that he cares about the ward. The members are all super excited about missionary work! 

WE are very blessed to have this gospel. I love you all. I hope to be able to write more next week!!

Love, Sister B

ALOHAA

ALOHA!!!

   This week was very very busy, which is very very good. We were able to help President and Sister Warner grade planners and area books in Makakilo and Waipahu zone on Tuesday and Wednesday and then on Thursday we had week plan and then we went to see Zion and Kingston. They are recent converts. Zion is 10 and Kingston is 9. They are SO cute! Then we had our district meeting. We had a pretty packed day. 

Then, on Friday, we were able to get our relief society president, Sister Rowland, and Sister Enos to come out with us. They are so cute, and they know everyone, so it was nice. We were able to meet a lot of LA members and non-members. Then, the bishop in Nanakuli ward introduced us to a girl named Fria. She is 13, and she is marshallese. She is super interested in the church, so we are going to start teaching her, and hopefully her family. 

Travis and Jessica didn't come to church this week, which is especially sad, because Sister Jolley said that her and Sister Hwang had a really good lesson on Saturday (we were on exchanges). Royal came to church though, and so did Payton and Hyrum. They are the sons of one of our members. Their dad is less-active, and refuses to let them get baptized, unless he can do it, but he is living with his girlfriend, and is in and out of church. It's so sad, because we even saw them at a funeral, and Payton and Hyrum seemed so scared to talk to us, because their dad was there. We are teaching them the lessons right now though, so hopefully they will at least have that until their dad lets them get baptized.

The regional broadcast was AmAzInG! Such good talks! I wish that more of our investigators would have been there to see it.

Valentines Day was fun. Our members were so sweet. They gave us so much stuff! We love them to death! I am so grateful for every one of them. 

Final Thought: I tend to be very hard on myself. I expect perfection from myself, which is silly, because I am simply an imperfect person who is striving for perfection. These two quotes from these two amazing women made me feel much better:

    "We must have the courage to be imperfect while striving for perfection."

     - Patricia T. Holland

   "We each do the best we can. My best may not be as good as your best, but it's my best. The fact is that we know when we are doing our best and when we are not. If we are not doing our best, it leaves us with a gnawing hunger and frustration. But when we do our level best, we experience a peace."

   - Marjorie Pay Hinckley

 I hope that you all have a wonderful week! 

      Love, Sister Barber 

ALOHA

ALOHA!

       This week was really good. We were able to see so many people! We had to go to Mililani to help President and Sister Warner with interviews (we check area books and planners) and then we had exchanges too, so we were a little bit worried that it would kind of throw off our week, but we worked hard, and it paid off! Here are some things that happened this week:

1.   We had dinner with our bishops house. Bishop had to work, so it was just his wife, kids and us. It was so fun. They have some of the cutest kids I have ever seen! Their youngest son kept saying my name every 5 minutes, and then he would say some random thing or ask me a random question. Then, on Sunday, he ran up and hugged me. Then, after our ward correlation meeting with bishop, he ran up and gave me another hug. I felt so special. Haha he's so cute! 
2.   We went on exchanges with the sisters in the Palehua ward. I was with Sister Jenkins in Palehua. She is an amazing missionary. They just took over Makakilo ward, so we went to contact some of the less-active members. One of the guys that we went to see was outside with a cigarette in his mouth. He asked us what we wanted and if bishop sent us to meet him. We told him that the bishop had not sent us, but that we were just trying to meet the members in the ward. The conversation didn't seem to be softening him up too much, but then he asked us if we would pray for him to find a house, because he was getting kicked out of his. We said that he would and then Sister Jenkins asked if she could share a scripture from the Book of Mormon about faith. As she read the scripture, he began to cry. Then I shared with him that he had shown great faith by asking us to pray for him, and that he would receive blessings for that, but that he could also show his faith by praying to Heavenly Father himself and by going to church. He started crying even more. Then he told us that he would pray and that he would be there on Sunday. I love how the spirit can soften the hearts of anyone. 
3.    On Sunday, we had four of our investigators come to church! The family that I mentioned before, who has a lot of obstacles in their way came. They said that they really enjoyed it, and that they want to come next week too. They stayed all three hours even! Such a miracle!

    Well, my hour is almost over, so I can't say too much else, but I hope that you all have a wonderful week! Thank you again for your prayers and for your support!

       Love, Sister Barber

Waiane

  ALOHA! I am short on time today! I am so sorry! Here is a quick overview of what my week looked like:

1. Elder Holland came! I shook his hand and stared into his eyes... I thought that my heart was going to blow up. He is so amazing. He talked to us a lot about the Book of Mormon. I am so grateful for that. The Book of Mormon is really truly my favorite book. He made it even more so when he talked about it. 
2. Sis. Jolley and I are teaching a lot of people right now. I will tell you more about them next week. I promise!
3.  Sis. Hwang and Sis. Smith are awesome! I didn't know  how I would like sharing a pad with them, but I really love it. They are so much fun.
4. I miss Makaha. But I love Waianae.
5. Sis. Jolley and I have been eating with the members. So awesome!
6. I have almost finished reading the Book of Mormon for my 2nd time on my mission. 
7. I have had a lady in Makaha ward tell me every time I see her that I need to use a special cleanser for my acne... love her to death.
8. I really REALLY love the work. My testimony is growing every day and my conversion is constantly deepening. 

   Final thought: If there is anyone who is wanting to serve a mission, but is still unsure, this is my advice: study the scriptures every day, search for your answer in the scriptures and from the words of the prophets, read your patriarchal blessing with a new perspective, and get down on your knees and talk about it with your Father in Heaven. There is so much joy and peace that comes with serving a mission. It is the most difficult thing I have ever done in my entire life, but I have grown so much, and I have seen the Gospel of Jesus Christ work miracles in my own life, as well as the lives of others. I love you all and I am grateful for your love and prayers.

Love, Sister Sydney Barber