Aloha

ALOHA!

     This week was really really wonderful. So much happened! Here, let me tell you about it:

1. This week we met with Savannah &Shanaia (the two girls I mentioned last week) and their mom sat in on the lesson. Then, something interesting happened.. we found out that Savannah and her older brother Toni are already members. So, we had to find their records and everything. The mom softened up a lot though, last time we were there, and said she would come to church with them this week. Kind of a huge miracle, if you ask me. :)
2. Trisha, the investigator that is a heavy smoker, came to church again and committed to a date. She is going to be baptized on June 5th. I really feel good about that date, because we had her choose it and pray about it. She is so excited to reach that goal. I know that she will hit it, if she continues to keep her commitments to Heavenly Father.
3. There is a woman that just moved into our ward and she is super inactive. So, we went to find her. However, the address that we had for her was kind of non-existent... So, we decided to try the house number that was closest to the one we had for her. There were some guys in front of the house, and they were like, "Are you looking for someone?'' So we told him,

                      "Yes. Is there a Robin that lives here?" and he said,

                      "Yes. Up those stairs." So we walked up the stairs and knocked on the door. A little boy answered the door and we asked him if his mom was home and he said no. So then we asked if there is a Robin that lives there and he said yeah. Then Robin came to the door....It was a guy... yeah. So, we asked if we could come back and share the gospel with their family and they said yes. Super crazy! Two Robins!

         

  Anywho....

   

         4. We had zone conference and got the Tiwi system installed in our car. Basically, it is a little black box that sits on the left hand corner of your windshield and yells at you if you drive bad. Luckily, I haven't been yelled at yet.... 

         5. The General Women's Broadcast! It was really wonderful!!! I learned so much. I wish some of our investigators would have been able to go. Hopefully they will be able to go to both sessions of General Conference.

  Well, that's all I have time for today. I am so excited for General Conference! I know that it is going to help a lot of our investigators and myself. I hope you are all doing great! I love you all!!

Love, Sister Barber

ALOHA

ALOHA!!!!

     This week was really wonderful! Here's why:

• There is an investigator who has been investigating the church for over 7 years. She wants to be baptized, but she is a heavy smoker. She is trying really hard to quit though, and she came to church and LOVED it. She has a lot of good friends in the ward, so that helps a lot too. She's amazing. I know that she will be able to achieve the baptismal goal, if she is really serious about it.
• There are these two girls who have a really tough family life, but their mom let them come to church. They seemed to really like it. I know that the gospel is just what they need to help them to stay on the right track, so that they can have good lives. I have had to pray a lot about them, because there is only so much we can do. I am truly being tested on my trust in Heavenly Father. I know that he will help them, if we do all that we possibly can.
• We met with a boy named Tama. He is 11 years old and really likes the LDS church. He is the only one at home, with his parents, now. We have an appointment this week with him, so we are hoping that his parents will be as receptive as he is.
• Our zone hit all of our goals this week, so we are going to be having pancakes with the Warners. That'll be fun. 
• Sis. Alldredge and I taught Relief Society. The women really opened up and it was a very spiritual lesson. We have such amazing women in our ward. it may be a small group, but I know that they each make a big difference in the lives of others.

I have been thinking a lot this week about timing. I am so grateful to know that Heavenly Father has perfect timing for me. I don't need to stress about time. He will take care of me in His time, as long as I am diligent in what he needs me to do right now. I want to do all that He has sent me on Earth to do, whenever He wants it done. I like to control everything, but being on a mission has really taught me that the only thing I can really control is myself. I have to be content with that. When I am able accept that, I find so much peace, because I know that Heavenly Father is in control of everything else. I have to trust that that means that I will be okay no matter what happens around me, or even to me. I have seen miracles in not only my life, but in the lives of others as well, when we just trust in Heavenly Fathers wisdom and timing. 

I love you all! I hope you are having a great week and that you have a wonderful Easter. 

Love, Sister Barber

ALOHA

ALOHA!

    So, There have been some changes. The day before transfers, President called me and told me that the sister who was supposed to be with me needed to go off island, so now I am with Sister Alldredge. She is so great! We are pretty different, but we get along really well. I think it will be really good for me to be with someone who is a lot different than me. I miss Sister Jolley a lot, but we have been so busy! Here are some of the highlights of last week:

1. We had so many appointments this week! Almost all of the appointments that we had planned fell through, but we ended up having appointments with other people instead. We met a lot of people who seem really interested. Hopefully some of them will progress as we meet with them.
2. We had an appointment with a man named Aki. He is Chuukese. We talked to him about the Family: a Proclamation to the World. He loved it. He said that he is going to read it with his family. 
3. We haven't heard from Lovelynn since we did the chapel tour Monday... She isn't responding to any phone calls or anything.. I am a little worried, but I know that whatever Heavenly Father's timing is, it is the perfect timing. I am being taught patience, that's for sure. 
4. The bishop's kids call me Sister Barbie. Something so funny happened at church! The youngest boy saw me right after the sacrament was finished, and he yells: "Mom! Sister Barbie is here!" I tried so hard not to laugh! I think he got embarrassed when people kept bringing it up in front of him, because he didn't talk to me for the rest of the day. hahaha so cute.
5. We met with a woman who has struggled a lot since she was baptized. She kind of disappeared a while back, but now she wants to become active again and work towards the temple. I am really excited for her to start making changes in her life. She is so amazing!
6. There is so much work to do! I know this transfer is going to fly, which is why there is absolutely no time to waste! Busy busy busy! :)

Well, I hope that you are all well! I will try to send some pictures next week. I need to get better about doing that... Love you all!!!

Sister B

Aloha

Hello!

 This week, I am going to be honest, was kind of a blur. It was such a busy week! We had so many appointments! We were able to see a lot of wonderful people, so that's good. So, here we go:

1. Sister Rowland:

• We went out with Sister Rowland, so we could see some of the ladies on her visiting teaching route. It was really neat, because Sister Jolley and I have been trying to get ahold of one of the ladies for a long time. She just lost her husband, and it has been so hard on her. We had a really good lesson though with her. She seemed to really get a lot out of it.
• We met with another Sister who's kids have been struggling, but now she is flying to the mainland, because their family is getting baptized!

       2. Lynda:

• We met a former investigator named Lynda. She is interesting.. I'll tell you more about her next week.

       3. Transfers:

• Sister Jolley is going to Kona to finish her mission. :(
• I am training a Tongan sister from California. 
• It's super bitter-sweet. 
• Bitter: Sister Jolley is leaving
• Sweet: I will be in Waianae for more than a third of my mission.

That is, unfortunately, all I have time for today. I hope that you are all safe, and enjoying life. I love you all! Until next week,

Sister Barber

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