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

ALOHA!!

 Here we go! Another week in the wonderful land of Honoka'a!

1. This week we were able to meet with one of our investigators who wasn't sure if she had been baptized or not. It turns out she was not baptized, so we committed her to be baptized on the 22nd of October. She is so sweet. She does, however, have an addiction to smoking cigarettes. One of our members is also recovering/struggling with an addiction to cigarettes. So, we decided to take her with us to the lesson. When we walked in, they saw each other and just lit up! They had worked together for over 5 years and were good friends! They instantly connected and now are a great support for one another.
2. Sister Hwang and I were asked to speak in sacrament meeting on Sunday. As I wrote my talk, I reflected on my mission. Things that made me want to serve a mission since I was little, things that got me out on my mission, things that kept me on my mission, and things that I want to take home with me after my mission. It was very special for me to be able to share these thoughts with Honoka'a ward. I enjoyed listening to Sister Hwang's talk, in which she made a connection between kimchee and the salt of the earth. Genious, if you ask me. I love her so much. :)
3. Another investigator that we have also committed to be baptized. She is Pohnpein. She is the sweetest. She is 22 and she told us the very first day that we met her that she wants to serve a mission. So, we told her we could help her do that. As we taught the restoration, she understood it so well and asked the perfect questions. By the end, she was excited to accept the baptismal date and was grateful to have the opportunity to part of the church of Jesus Christ. 

 My heart is so full.. full of gratitude for these people, for the gospel, for the Savior, for my family, and for my Heavenly Father, who has trusted me with this sacred calling as a full-time missionary in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I love it. 

  Sister Sydney Barber

ALOHA!

    Here are the highlights of this week:

1. It is so country here! We see horses and cows every single day on the side of the road and all of the guys wear cowboy boots! It doesn't get any better than that!
2. There is an investigator here who only speak Spanish. I have to brush up on my Spanish skills, but I was able to hold a VERY simple conversation with him. They seem pretty interested! I am excited to see them again... I pray constantly for the gift of tongues! Who knew that I would need to speak Spanish in Hawaii?
3. We met a father and son on the street in Honoka'a. They are Filipino and SO sweet. They had taken the lessons before, but then their house burnt down, so they had to move while it is being rebuilt. They lost contact with the Sisters because of it. So, we are going to start teaching them again!
4. Last Friday was my last Zone Conference. All of the departing missionaries bore their testimonies. I was one of them... I couldn't even talk. I just got choked up and stood there for a minute. It didn't even seem real.. I still feel like I am brand new in the mission..
5. Sacrament meeting was amazing. A family who is moving away each spoke on families. There were a lot of people in the congregation who needed that topic to be spoke on. Then, one of the members who lost their father and daughter only two days apart, had time at the end to bear his testimony on the Plan of Salvation. It was a beautiful sacrament meeting. 
6. The Bishop is awesome! A very humble man. We were talking to him about ward missionaries and we had a name we wanted to bring up (Brother Bungitak), but when we were asking him about who he felt would be good, he was quiet for a minute and then said, "Brother Bungitak would be great, wouldn't he?" So in tune. It was awesome. :)

  Something that has been on my mind lately is the principle of commitment. If you commit to do something, it is more likely that that thing will happen. There are so many people that we talk to who, when we extend commitments say, "I know that it is important, but I will not promise anything. I don't want to promise to do it, and then not do it." To me, that is so sad, because I know that if they do commit, that it will be so much easier to follow through, and as a result, receive blessings. I have committed to commit. I will commit to do the things that the Lord has asked me to do, and not think twice. 

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

Love, Sister Barber

ALOOHA!

     

     This week we saw so many miracles!!

1. We saw an investigator who was struggling with recognizing answers to his prayers about the Book of Mormon. We asked him what he was looking for as an answer and then we helped him to see that he did receive an answer. Then, Sister Hwang started to teach the restoration. After we finished teaching him the restoration, we invited him to be baptized. He said, "Well, I guess I need to, don't I?" We of course said yes!!! He was really happy when he saw that God did answer his prayer and that he was on the right path! He has a date set for the 8th of October.
2. We met with an investigator who when we asked if she what she felt about the Book of Mormon as she read it, we responded that it was... interesting.. Then, Sister Hwang said, "Sister Barber is Hawaiian!" Then she started talking about her nationality and then it went on and on and on. It was good though, because as she was talking she ended up saying that her mom was mormon and that she isn't sure if she was baptized mormon, but she remembers going to church in the mormon church. We asked if she is not a member if she would want to be baptized.  She said yes! We asked the ward clerk if she is a member and he said that there are no records for her. So, we are excited for our next appointment!
3. Sister Hwang is just amazing. We have been working really hard and it is so easy to keep pushing forward when you are both on the same page. I love Honoka'a. It is so lovely. The people and the scenery. I miss Honolulu a lot, but I know that I will come to love these people too. 

I am grateful for the gospel and the life that it has given me. 

Love, Sister Barber

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

 

 

 

ALOHA!

   This week was really...good. :) We said goodbye to Sister Kaitaua on Tuesday morning and then went to work again!

• We did service at a library for one of the members! It seemed like it took forever, but it looked really good afterwards! 
• We had a lesson with Linsel and we taught about the Law of Chastity. She told us that she was going to talk to her boyfriend and get married, because she knows that the church is true and that she needs to get baptized. So golden. :) Her 15 year old daughter also wants to get baptized. Their family is so awesome. 
• Richard, one of our investigators in Kahala, was supposed to get baptized last week, but he got back from China later than expected, so we changed it for this week instead. He is so awesome. He has really grown so much as he has lived the gospel. 
• We were able to meet with a lot of new people this week who have a lot of potential! That's always exciting! Transfer news is this week... I am really nervous, like always, but I know it will all be good. I am hoping I can spend my last two transfers in this area, but I know that I will love my next area, if I get transferred. 
• Sister Ogawa is as amazing as ever. I continue to learn from her every day. 

  I have been thinking a lot about the Savior's way of teaching. He was so good at being bold and loving at the same time. He never condoned sin or wrongdoing, but he was understanding of people's weaknesses as human beings. He did not allow himself to become angry or frustrated with the flaws and ignorance of those around him. He was patient and loving. The perfect teacher. The perfect friend. 

  I know that this gospel is true. It is the only way to return to God with our families. If we live it to the best of our ability, we will be blessed and we will be saved.

 I love you all!!

Sister Sydney Barber

Aloooooha

ALOOOOHA!

       So here is the update for this week:

• We will have a baptism this Saturday! Yay! It is for a 10 year old girl. Her name is Nei. Her mom is Doniva, whom I have mentioned before. She is such a good girl. Their family has really been going through a lot lately, but she has still been strong in her desire/decision to be baptized. She's so great. :)
• We also will be having Richard's baptism the following week. He has been in China, where we cannot communicate with him, so we have been praying a lot. We are really hoping that he still has a desire to be baptized when he gets home. 
• The following week after Richard's baptism, we will have another baptism. The woman getting baptized is Linsel. She is a Chuukese woman who is family with one of our members. She has come to church every week and you can tell that her testimony is growing rapidly. Her son has joined her at church, but we are going to work on getting the rest of the family to come as well. 
• We met a woman at church today, who is the niece of one of our investigators. She took lessons before, but the missionaries lost touch eventually. We went to see her yesterday and she told us that she knows that the BOM is true. Also, she knows that this is the true church. So many wonderful elect people out here! 

 We also had the opportunity to go to the temple today. It was, as usual, a very special experience. I am so grateful to be able to go to the temple once a quarter. The temple is such a blessing. Every time I go, I have an even stronger desire to help every family in Hawaii to be able to go to the temple with their families some day. The church is true. Jesus Christ is our Savior. Missionary work is what the Gospel of Jesus Christ is all about. I am so grateful to be a part of it every day. 

 I love you all! Thank you for your love, prayers and support!!

Love, Sister Barber