ALOHA!

    

       So sorry for a short email this week! We have had kind of a crazy week! We have about 5 baptisms set for the 18th of June. I am supposed to be training a sister from Japan starting Wednesday. I'll let you know how it goes! I wish I had more time! I will make sure to let you know details next week!

Love, Sister Barber

Aloah! May 24

ALOHA!

   So much happened last week that I don't even know where to start!

1.  We went to the temple on Tuesday, which was fabulous! It is always such a great day when we can go to the temple. 
2. We weren't able to see as many people as we had hoped. Everyone was so busy! Most of them were either not home, or they told us that they were too busy to meet with us. However, we did receive some referrals, so we were able to contact them all a lot sooner, because our appointments fell through. Most of the referrals we received ended up being people who weren't really interested, but there was this one family that seemed really excited to see us, and who invited us to come back today. 
3. Something really cool that happened: Sister Whipple got a referral from her sister, who served in Guam (Chuukese speaking), for a member, with the name of Doniba, that moved to Hawaii from Guam. We went to go contact her, but the building she lives in is one of the buildings where you have to have them buzz you in. So, We stood there trying to buzz in, but no one answered. So, Sister Whipple tried calling the number that her sister gave us. While she was calling, there was a woman who was going into the building. She asked if we needed in and we said yes. Then I said thank you in Chuukese. She turned and looked at us with this surprised expression and then looked at our name tags and asked if we were "mormon missionaries." We told her that we were and she said that her mom has been looking everywhere for mormon missionaries. Sister Whipple asked what her mom's name was and she said, "Doniba." Oh man. We were so excited. We told her that that was who we were looking for. She told us that Doniba is in Chuuke, but that she wants us to teach her and her children the lessons. If that isn't a miracle, I don't know what is. :) So amazing.
4. Sister Jolley and her companion got to stay with Sister Whipple and me last night, because they had MLC! It was SO amazing to be able to catch up with her! I am going to miss having her in the mission, for sure! 
5. In Kahala ward, it is ASL speaking as well as an English ward. There is a senior couple named the Krakowiaks, who are deaf and who have been helping out a lot with the deaf group. The thing is, the Krakowiacs leave the same week that Sister Whipple leaves. The Kahala ward members keep telling me that I am going to need to pick up where they left off with my new companion... I am really excited, because it is such a great opportunity to learn some sign language and try something new, but man am I terrified. We will practically be covering two language wards. I kind of hope that I can just stay in this ward for my last 4 transfers so that I can learn Chuukese and Sign language, but I don't know if that's going to happen. I just hope that I can help with what ever needs to be done. I know that Heavenly Father will help my new companion and I. I just need to make sure that we continue to work hard and are diligent in all that we do to help with the work. 

Well, that is all I have time for this week. I love you all so much! Thank you again for all of your prayers and support.

Love, Sister Barber

Aloha!

Aloha!

     This week was pretty superb. We met so many people and there was so much to do!

1. We met another family this week. We went to contact a referral that we received, but she wasn't home. Instead, her brother and his girlfriend answered the door. We set another time to come, because they were Chuukese, and didn't speak much English, so we thought it would be better to bring someone with us. So, Saturday, we took one of our members, Slopia, to meet the family. We shared the Restoration with them and Slopia translated. We invited him to be be baptized, along with his girlfriend and mother, and they said that they would, if they came to know that it was true. When we left, Slopia said that the brother really wants to be baptized. He just needs to read and pray. It was pretty neat.
2. One of our Chuukese member's Sister is a non-member and she has always wanted to be baptized, but she is living with her boyfriend. However, we asked if we could teach her and help to prepare her for baptism. She said yes. She said that she wants to repent and be baptized no matter what. She is a strong woman and has a lot of faith. She is so amazing and such an example to me. 

I wish I could write more, but I am out of time. I hopefully can share more next week! I love you so much! Remember: with God's help, nothing is impossible!

Love, Sister Barber

Honolulu

ALOHA!

    

It has definitely been interesting serving so close to the mission office and president. I'll have to admit that I was kind of disappointed at first to be serving in town. I am not too crazy about the city, and I was hoping to go off island, but just like always, the people have made it all worth it. I love the Chuukese and the people in Kahala ward are so so sweet. I'm not doing any office work. They have the Senior couples take care of all of the work in the office. We are pretty busy with the Chuukese anyways. We do get to see the senior couples a lot though, so that is really nice. 

I am glad that temple work is doing really well back home. That, to me, is just as rewarding as lots of baptisms sometimes. I love it when you see a family or individual making the next step towards eternal progression. So awesome. 

This week has been pretty miraculous. We have been meeting mainly with two Chuukese families: The Narian family and the Nowe family. Both were referrals and have become very solid investigators. We started out just teaching a few in both families, but we are now teaching both of the families completely. The hardest thing is trying to catch them when they are all home. They are all willing to listen, and even set appointments when they should all be home, but it rarely works out. Also, we aren't even close to being fluent in Chuukese, so we try to get a Chuukese-speaking member out with us as much as we can. It is good when we can get a member out with us, but it can make it hard some times when we can't get a member out with us, or if we are meeting the family for the first time. The language barrier is a struggle. So, Sister Whipple and I are trying to make sure that we have an hour every day to do language study. The only problem with that, is that we don't have anyone to help us with pronunciation. It can get frustrating at times, but I know that Heavenly Father will help us with all of our righteous desires. As long as we continue to try our best, and work as hard as we can, He will help us to help these people. 

   There is also a girl in Kahala ward who we are teaching. Her name is Darian. She wants to be baptized so bad, and she is so ready, but her parents are not supportive. We have an appointment set to meet with her parents, so we can answer some of their questions. I just feel bad, because Darian is going to have to push back her date, so that we can meet with her parents first. It will work out though. I can feel it.

   There is a boy named Richard that we are also teaching right now. He is kind of skeptical when it comes to religion, so it is a bit of a challenge sometimes. He has had all of the lessons, and we just finished teaching them to him again, when I came. I feel though that there is potential in him. We talked about the Book of Mormon this past week and, in the beginning, he didn't seem to sure about how to be sincere while reading. I talked with him about how it is easier to be sincere while reading, when you are sincerely searching for answers to our questions. He wasn't sure what questions he even wanted to ask, so we read Moroni 10 with him. After we read, Sister Whipple asked him what he thought of the verses that he read. He said that it meant that the church is true if you know what you read is true. I then explained that that can be his first sincere question: "Is the church true?" It seemed to make more sense to him after that.

    It is amazing how God speaks to his children so differently. We may not always recognize the answer at first, but He ALWAYS answers.

I love you all! I hope you have a wonderful week!

Love, Sister B

May 2

ALOHA!

  This week was so busy!! We saw a lot of people that we had planned to, and in the meantime, met a lot of new people!

   One of the people we are teaching right now is an 18 year old girl. She has a baptismal date for May 21st. Her name is Darrien. She is such a sweetheart. You can tell that she is learning for the right reasons, and that she is so ready. Her parents aren't too excited about her taking the lessons though, so we are trying to meet with them, so that we can answer any questions. She is going to college pretty soon in Oregon, so I was pretty excited about that as well. 

   Another investigator that we have is a 22 year old girl. Her name is Alma. She is Chuukese and she is so golden. You can tell that she believes everything that we have taught. She has a date for May 28th. She hasn't come to church yet, which is the only problem, so we are trying to work something out, so that she can come. 

   There is also a family of 9 that we are teaching. They all seem pretty interested, but they don't speak very much English. It can sometimes be a challenge to work out a time for members to come with us, and the family isn't usually home all at the same time, so sometimes it can be hard to work that out as well.

  I know that there are always going to be challenges that come up, but I also know that Heavenly Father will provide a way for the things that seems impossible to be made possible. 

I love you all!!

Sister Barber