ALOOOOHA!

  So, this week was pretty eventful! 

1. I got food poisoning! Yay!! It was Tuesday. Luckily, it only lasted for about a day, so it didn't effect the work too much. It was pretty miserable for a while, but it is all good now!
2. Richard was baptized! I am so amazed every time someone gets baptized. Not because they wanted to, but because of the sacrifices that people make in order to. I think that that truly just goes to show how much God loves us and how the gospel is 100% true. It was a beautiful service. The talks were perfect and Richard's mom came! On Sunday, he was confirmed and the blessing was beautiful. I am so happy for him.
3. We met a new family this week! They were a referral from a couple of the other missionaries. The mom is super sweet and super open. Following our lesson on the restoration, she said that she would be baptized, but that she really wants to know if Joseph Smith was really a prophet of God. She is so amazing. She is a really wonderful example to her to girls and the spirit was so strong in their home. 
4. We met another family who is interested in the gospel! They are sisters who are both living with their boyfriends, but they are so open! They also agreed to be baptized. They are really seeking the truth, and I know that they will find it in this gospel, as they continue to receive the lessons. 
5. I am getting transferred.. I am going to Honoka'a in Kona on the Big Island. I am not too happy, to be honest. I really love it here, and I was hoping to die here, but it's okay. I know that God needs me in Honoka'a, and just like every area that I have served in, I will come to love my next area. I am excited to see another island and I am going to be companions with Sister Hwang (the Korean sister that Sis. Jolley/Alldrege and I shared a pad with in Waianae). It will be good. I am excited to continue to learn in a new area with new people. 

   This week I was thinking a lot about the things that have kept my testimony continually growing. I think one of the biggest causes of my growth in my testimony and depth in my conversion is the Book of Mormon. So, I am going to start it all over again and read, and study deeply, one chapter every day until the end of my mission. I want to invite my family to do this with me, so that we can discuss it when I get home and continue to read together after I get home. I would like to invite everyone else who is reading this to do it as well. I know that as we do this, that our testimonies of this gospel will continue to grow and we will begin to receive even more inspiration than we already do! I love the Book of Mormon so much. It has been my lifeline in times of doubt and questioning and it has given me strength and comfort in the hardest and darkest of times. I know it can be the same for anyone who reads it, ponders it, and prays sincerely about it. So, today, I started with 1 Nephi Chapter 1. I invite you all to also read 1 Nephi Chapter 1, ponder about the things that it says and then to pray about it with a sincere heart.

 

    I love you all so much! I hope you have a wonderful week and that you are able to recognize the blessings that come as we read the Book of Mormon together. 

 

Love, Sister Sydney Barber