Ran annim!

        

             This week was SO amazing! We have seen so many miracles. My new companion is Sister Whipple. We actually served together in Waipahu for 6 months, so we know each other already fairly well. She is awesome. She is such a hard working missionary. She goes home at the end of this transfer, but she is so focused still. I can tell that this is going to be a great transfer already. We are in the Micronesian Branch and the Kahala ward, like I mentioned last week. They are so different from each other, but I love them both already so much! The micronesian branch has Chuukese, Marshallese, and Pohnpeian members. They all meet together for sacrament and then split up into their different languages for classes. The organization is so amazing to me. Such different cultures all in one branch yet, somehow, they make it work. Kahala ward has mostly older members, but I love it. I have always gotten along more with the "older crowd" anyways. ;) I wish i had more time to tell you every little thing about the area, but sadly, I am out of time. I will try to add more details next week. I love you all!!

Love, Sister B

ALOHA!!!

   This week was challenging, but it was so wonderful. We were not able to see everyone we had hoped to, for various reasons. Sister Alldredge got pretty sick on Tuesday, so she slept most of the day.Then, a lot of our lessons fell through with our investigators. We were able to meet some new potential investigators though. There is a couple who lives next door to one of the sisters in the ward who seems pretty interested. She is so sweet. She wasn't able to meet with us last week, but we set an appointment for later this week, so hopefully it works out. 

        Some transfer news came on Friday. I found out that I will be serving in Honolulu in the Kahala ward (President Warner's ward), as well as the Chuukese ward. I am excited to have new experiences and adventures, but I am really going to miss Waianae. It doesn't get easier each time I have to go somewhere new. I have been so blessed to serve in only two areas and three wards over the past year. The relationships that I have been able to make are irreplaceable. I have been able to really get to know the people in the areas I have served, and that is a blessing that not every missionary is able to have. I am so grateful to be one who has. Missionary work is great. 

       I am sad to have to move on to a new area, but I am grateful for the friendships I will always have in Waianae. 

      Well, that is all I have time for this week, but I am excited to give you updates on my new area. I love you all and I hope you have a wonderful week!

Love, Sister Barber

      

         

       

ALOHA!

           I am going to have to keep this week pretty short and sweet but here are my highlights:

1. Trisha went to her first addiction recovery class and said it went really really well! She was so cute at church. People kept crying and she kept walking over to them and saying, "Sister!" and then gave them a huge hug! She is such a sweetheart. She is schizophrenic, so she is really different, but it gives her this charm that is unbeatable. She is seriously one of my favorite people ever.
2. Mika kept cancelling this week, but we are hoping that when we meet with him this week, we will be able to help him figure out priorities. Prioritizing seems to be the real struggle here. 
3. We met with 2 of our recent converts. Their names are Zion & Kingston. They are the cutest little boys! We read the Book of Mormon stories with them. The amazing thing is that they actually listen!!! They are so good!
4. We helped Sister Pa'a'aina in her garden. She's an amazing gardener. She is very talented. She gardens and she is a painter as well. We had a lot of fun with her. We planted some taro and other exotic plants. I'm pretty much a pro gardener now, so.. ;)
5. The transfer is over next week... I am starting to get really anxious, because I have spent 6 months here, and I know how hard it was when I had to leave Ewa Beach after 6 months... I know that the Lord will put me where he needs me, but I also know that that will not make it any less difficult to leave. It will all be okay, I know. So, I just need to keep doing missionary work, and put my whole heart in it until the end. 

Well, I love you all. Keep being awesome! Hopefully I will be able to write more next week!!

Love, Sister Barber

        

ALOHA!

ALOHA!

  So many miracles this week! So much to tell! 

1.  About 4 months ago, Sister Jolley and I ran into this guy named Mika at a car wash. He told us that he used to take lessons and that he really wanted to start taking them again, but he was in Waianae ward. We weren't in Waianae ward at the time, so we referred him to the missionaries who were in the ward. Then, when we were at one of our LA member's house, we saw him walk out from behind the house (there are houses behind the member's house) and he was shocked to see us! We kept trying to set appointments with him, but they all fell through. Then, we finally were able to meet with him last week! He told us that he knows that the church is true and that he wants to be baptized. He even said that he wants to quit his job, so that he doesn't work Sundays. So dedicated.😂 He is set to be baptized on the 7th of June. 
2. Savana and Shanaia's mom came to General Conference with them!!!! It was really awesome. She sat through the whole thing, and Sister Alldredge made this bingo game for the girls, but the mom did it the whole time. It was really cute. We have really high hopes for their family. They have a long way to go, but I think that they will make it. 
3. General Conference was so great. I really loved Elder Holland's at the end. I felt like I could do anything after his talk. I am so grateful for everyone who spoke. It was exactly what I needed. 

  I have been thinking a lot about the Holy Ghost lately. It is amazing that Heavenly Father has given us someone to guide us to all of the right answers in the test of life. He won't give us the answers, necessarily, but he will guide us to them, if we are willing to do our part. We always have our agency to act according to the answers that we discover. This time as a missionary is becoming more and more precious to me as i see how much closer I am to the Holy Ghost than I ever have before. I feel that I am being trained to more easily recognize the Holy Ghost in my life, so that when I get home and no longer am serving a full-time mission, I still have the Holy Ghost constantly guiding me in my life. What a blessing it is to have such a precious gift. 

   Anywho.. I love you all! I hope you have a great week!!! 

Love, Sister Barber