ALOHA!

   First off, so sorry about last week. I totally forgot to send a group email. This week was great! 

1. We were able to set a wedding and baptismal date with Tunisha and Lexton. They are a young couple that we have been working with a really long time. They are so awesome. They are both very dedicated and optimistic that if they continue to work towards their goals, with Heavenly Father's help, they will be able to obtain all of the blessings that He wants to give them. 
2. We had so many people come to church on Sunday for the primary program. The spirit was so strong, and I know that many, if not all, hearts were touched. 
3. I continue to learn every day about the atonement as I see others, as well as myself, make important changes in their lives in order to follow the Savior more closely. 

    As this is the week of Thanksgiving, I have been reflecting a lot on the things that I am grateful for. I am so grateful for the time that I have to continue to share the gospel with everyone. I am grateful for the testimony that I have gained of the Book of Mormon. I am grateful for my family, who has supported me in every righteous desire that I have had. I am grateful for missionary work. For the hope and peace that it brings into the lives of everyone involved. I am grateful for church leaders who lovingly guide and direct us as to the things that will help us find the most joy in this life as well as the next. I am grateful for ward families. I am grateful for the beautiful islands of Hawaii. For the love and aloha that they are filled with. I am grateful for a loving Heavenly Father, who has a plan for ALL of his children. I am grateful for my Savior, Jesus Christ. I am grateful for his atonement which helps me to overcome weaknesses, shortcomings, sin, doubt, fear, pain, and anything else that may keep me from progressing further towards eternal joy. I know that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is Christ's church. It is the only church in which we can receive the complete truths and all of the blessings that our Father in Heaven wants to give us. I know that the Book of Mormon is the word of God. I know that by reading it, studying it, pondering it,and praying about it, you can gain a testimony of its divinity and truthfulness. It will change your life and it will help you through anything that you may go through in this life. I love you all. I am grateful for all that you do to support me as well as the other missionaries around the world. This work is true. It is so true. 

Love, Sister Sydney Barber

ALOHA!

ALOHA!

 This week was really great! It was busy!

 Last night at dinner, we were eating a meal that had little bones that were hidden in the meat. Well, I took a nice hard bite of what I thought was meat and cracked my tooth. There is a long fracture right down the middle of one of my top teeth. I told them that I cracked it and then they said, "That's okay" and gave me a plate of panipopos (Samoan dessert). Gotta love Hawaii. 

 We had a lesson with a family who hasn't been to church regularly in a long time. We taught them the Plan of Salvation and by the end the spirit was so strong. The mom started to cry and we asked, as a family, if they were willing to make having an eternal family a goal. They said that they were and then we asked what some goals were that they could make in order to be able to reach the ultimate goal. The first thing she said was "we need to come to church." We then committed them to come to church every Sunday. It was a miracle. 

   Sunday the chapel was so full that we had to open up the back. Everyone bore their testimonies on the temple, eternal families and church attendance. It was perfect. The Saints are definitely being gathered. I am so grateful for the gospel. It is the refuge that we all need to make it through these challenging times. 

   The gospel is true. The work is great. We are blessed to be a part of it. 

Love, Sister Barber

ALOHA!

 Aloha, my lovely family and friends!!!

    Here is an overview of last week!!!

  Monday was a regular day, so we went to visit people until the evening, when we made chili for the Trunk or Treat! We made spam chili! It was interesting, for sure! We cut our spam into little ghosts and skeletons and pumpkins and then put whatever we had into the chili! It was fun!

  We were supposed to go to the temple on Tuesday for pday, but we got stuck in traffic, so we missed our session. So, we were pretty bummed, until we were invited to do initiatories and sealings. It was amazing. I have never done them before, so it was really special! Then, we had to take our car in for a 1 o'clock appointment to get our oil changed, but then it ended up that it didn't get changed until 4... so we were there pretty much all day. It was okay though, because we got to talk to some people. Then, we had to email real fast and then go to the Trunk or Treat! It ended up being a really big turn out! Lots of non members and investigators! It was great! We also won "most creative" for the chili contest so... you know.. no big deal!

  We were able to meet with 2 families for the first time this week! One of the families was a part member family. The wife(the member) was a little bit nervous at first, because her and her husband just got married, but it was a really nice lesson, and he agreed to have us come again! The other family hasn't been to church in a long time, because of work, but they just got work off on Sundays, so we said, "So, you are going to be at church Sunday, right?" The husband just smiled and laughed at first, but then finally agreed. 

   Sunday was wonderful! We had more investigators and less-active members at church than I ever have in this area! Alintar and Liliana, one of our investigating couples, finally came. We really didn't expect them, because it has been a long struggle to get them there, but finally they made it! It was a miracle, really! 

   So, overall, a pretty amazing week! I love being a missionary. I hope you all are safe and have a Happy Halloween! Remember that miracles happen every day. You just have to slow down sometimes, so you can look around and recognize them. 

Love, Sister Barber

ALOHA!

  Here it is:

1. So, my new sister is Sister Brandenburg! She is from the Netherlands! Her and two other sisters came from Europe this transfer! Pretty neat! Sister B served for 9 weeks in the Netherlands/Belgium mission while she waited for her visa, but now she is here!!!! I'm pretty sure she had to wait for her visa, so that I could be companions with her. She is awesome! Such a diligent, hard working, missionary! Aah. I am so blessed. 😂 She is fluent in Dutch, so that is just another language I will add to my list that I would like to pick up some phrases from. 
2. The work is moving along! We have seen a lot of, who we thought were, our most solid investigators not keep commitments and drop us, but it has left the ones that are really looking to have the gospel in their lives shining brighter than ever! The people that we are working with, and focusing on, right now have big hurdles ahead of them, but we know that they will do wonderful once they get there! 
3. One of these individuals is struggling, because her husband wants to be the same religion as her, but he wants her to baptize Catholic (He doesn't want to change to be Mormon). So, she asked us what she should do, because she knows that the church is true and that the priesthood is necessary, but she doesn't want to be different from her husband. We read James 1:5 with her and asked her what the scripture was saying to her. She responded that it was telling her to ask God. We then asked why God would be the best person to ask, to which she responded that He would be able to answer her question better than anyone else. We then invited her to read Mosiah 18, as well as any other scripture from the BOM that she felt prompted to read and to pray specifically to receive answers to her specific questions. She is really so wonderful. I pray that she will be open to the spirit directing her to the path that will bless her and her husband's life the most. 
4. Here is a really humbling experience I had this week: Several times this week, Sister B and I have needed our Preach My Gospel in different situations, but we didn't have it with us. I kept getting the prompting, also just common sense, that I needed to have my Preach My Gospel with me all the time. Well, this happened several times, and I just never made it a priority or wrote it down, so I kept forgetting. Well, on Sunday, Sister B spoke and I sang in sacrament meeting. Also speaking was Elder Auna (area of the seventy). He had the YM sitting near us ask if he could use one of our Preach My Gospel. Of course, because I had been to lazy to remember to put my PMG in my bag, we had to respond that we didn't have it with us... I felt so silly. Of course Elder Auna was very kind and humble about it, but how different of an experience would it have been to have a General Authority use your PMG in their talk.. I even had the line that he read underlined. Oh well... it was a learning experience for sure. :/

Well, it was another wonderful week in the Hawaii Honolulu Mission. Lots of ups and downs. Lots of opportunities to learn something new. I love being a missionary. :)

Love, Sister Sydney Barber

ALOHA!!

  Unfortunately, this will be another short one! For big news:

• Sister Hwang is going to Pearl City in the Waipahu Zone! She is going to be with a Korean. She's pretty stoked about that.. :)
• I am training again. It will be good for me to train my last transfer. Keep me strong! ;) When President called he was like, "Sister Barber, I got a call from Salt Lake. You will be extending another 6 months!" I was like, "I wish!" and he was like, "Yeah, so do we.." Man.. So close! Well, I am looking forward to another wonderful transfer, full of surprises and wonderful memories to be! :)

   Love you all!!! Aloha!

Sister Sydney Barber

ALOHA!

ALOHA!

     Last week was kind of nuts!

Monday: We went down Waipio Valley, which is this really steep road down into this beautiful valley! It is where a lot of locals live to get away from everyone, but ironically a place that tourists always go to see. We met some less active members while we were down there and saw some wild horses! It was quite the experience!

Tuesday: We had a zone meeting because we just had a meeting with the head of the missionary department. They flew in the Sister Training Leaders and Zone Leaders from the other islands for it, so it was interesting getting on a plane and flying over for the day. We were able to stay overnight with Sister Ogawa and Sister Smith though, so that was a treat, for sure. :) The training talked a lot about what missionary work should be and how we are spending too much time tracting and not enough time working with members. So, when we got back, we started making phone calls and setting up things with the members. It has made a great improvement in our area. 

Wednesday: We went on exchanges with the Honomu Sisters. I was able to go to Honomu to be with Sister Biggs, whom I came out with, so that was fun! We had a really neat experience, which will kind of go against what I just said that the training was, but I am still going to share it.. ;) We went tracting in the morning and we found this guy named Rowland. He is Filipino and so sweet! He listened as we shared about the restoration and asked really awesome questions! I felt the prompting to invite him to be baptized, so I did. He didn't accept, but he really considered it. We shared that that is an act of faith that will bring the light and truth into his life that he and his family need. He didn't disagree. They will be meeting with him again and I am anxious to hear how it goes. 

Thursday: Due to conflicting schedules in the past weeks, we went on exchanges with the Kilauea sisters on Thursday. So, Sister Hwang and I didn't see each other for two days in a row, pretty much. We had service in the morning. We helped this man cut down a bunch of trees in the jungle behind his house. We used machetes part of the time and then chain saws the other. It was a blast! Also, Sister Baumgardner (the Sister I exchanged with) almost got cut in half with a chain that was being used as a dog's leash... Yeah... it was quite the day.. haha

Friday: Finally Sister Hwang and I were reunited! It was lovely. We just got back to work and met with an investigator named Dianne. She has a Buddhist background, but has expressed that she wants something more in her life. We talked about the Book of Mormon and Faith. She has had all of the lessons multiple times, but has been struggling to find answers. We then found out after some questions that she has not been praying about the Book of Mormon. She explained that, if she wants specific answers, she is going to need to ask specific questions. She agreed. I look forward to seeing the progress she has made, assuming she has begun to pray as she agreed to. 

Saturday & Sunday: General Conference! It was wonderful! So many talks on faith and missionary work! I especially loved the talk by President Uchtdorf on the Plan of Salvation. It is  beautiful when our church leaders go back to the basics and explain it simply. 

Monday: We went to the temple to help clean it. Sister Hwang and I cleaned the chandeliers. It was so tedious, but so worth it! 

Well, it was another wonderful week! I hope you are all doing well and that you remember how special this gospel is! 

Love, Sister Barber

ALOHA!!

   This week was a good one! Unfortunately, I don't have time to write too much about it! So sorry! I promise next week I will write more! Something I was reminded this week: Members are ESSENTIAL in missionary work. We need the members. That is how long-lasting conversion happens. It is a joint effort to bring people unto Christ. 

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

Love, Sister Barber