E-Mail #4

Sorry guys it has been a little while since we got this e-mail and life got crazy for all of us and didn't get it posted right away but here it is and also different family members got some fun pictures from her so we will scan those in next week for everyone to see...Enjoy!!!!

 

 

June 27th, 2011

Hi Family!!!

 

I don't even know where to start. I swear the first week is the LONGEST!! It was SOO long at the MTC, and SOO long here. I am not a fan of it!! Well i guess we'll start with my flight out here. I woke up at 335 Wednesday morning to say goodbye to my companions who left at 4 that morning. So it was a long day. The plane we rode was not very big at all, which kinda freaked me out. We also met on the plane Elder Hollands son, which was pretty cool. A sister on the plane passed a book of Mormon and gave the first lesson to the person she was sitting next to, that was pretty cool! I was fine on the flight until the landing, then i got really sick, basically the same way i feel when I'm car sick, and i HATED IT!!! We were greeted by our President VanKomen and his wife. Loaded our bags and off we went, which i hated because i was still sick, and the van we were in was making it WORSE!! i almost started bawling right there and then, but i had to suck it up because i was around a bunch of people i didn't know and i didn't want to be the baby. We stopped by the temple they are building in Kansas City? its way pretty, we got a few pictures. Then we went off to the mission presidents home. Super nice house. The sisters got to pick what rooms they were going to stay in, i got to stay in the 'general authority room' which was nice because i was by myself and had a big bed all to myself. HAPPY DAY!!! They gave us about 20-30 minutes down time to take a nap or whatever, and i was still feeling super sick and WAY overwhelmed with emotions, so i went and i prayed and prayed and prayed and then i slept for like 20 minutes. (at this point i will insert the funny story at the bottom of my email) We then went to meet with all the people who are in charge, i cant even remember their names. But they gave us this orientation and all that jazz. Oh, i also met sister and brother Hansen? they came to the mission home just to meet me, which i thought was nice, even though I'm not sure i remember them! lol. but they were super friendly so that made me feel better. So we also had our interview and got assigned where we would be for our first transfer.....and I'm in.....da da da da......JUNCTION CITY KANSAS!!! surprisingly its very pretty here. Its a town that has a TON of army in it because the base Fort Riley is right in town. So i'm working with a LOT of women who's husbands are deployed and so on. Which i love because if i cant help brittney, then I'm going to help these people. So the next morning we woke up bright and early, and were off to get on the bus to go to our destinations. We (as in ALL of the missionaries in this area) met at the stake center, and holy macarolie there were a lot of missionaries, people just kept hugging us and asking us the same questions, i just wanted to cry. I didn't want to leave elder Hall because he was the only thing that was familiar, i wanted to hug him and cling to him for dear life. lol. But....i couldn't, so off to Junction City....It was 1 1/2 hour bus drive, i slept the entire TIME, and then i met my companion Sister Dent, and we drove another 50 minutes to Junction City. Sister Dent is pretty cool, she again is super quiet and has a way quiet voice so I'm always saying 'HUH' She said she didn't want to be a trainer because she feels like she is always learning, and at times i don't feel like I'm being trained at all, which gets way overwhelming cause i just feel super emotional and confused a lot of the time. I want to be rude and snappy because i have so many pent up emotions but I'm trying to keep that under control. I would give anything to call you(mom) right now and just let it out. Sister Dent is a great person though, and i know i have a lot to learn from her. I just am struggling being away from home. Anyways, I'm going to stop being a baby because I'm totally crying in the library right now and that's just down right embarrassing.

 

So when i got to the area, right off to work we went. We met Sister Vega who is relief society president of the Spanish branch and she and sister dent and me were off to find some Spanish investigators. Its kinda fun to watch them do Spanish stuff and stand there confused. I feel like the days blurred since then. I have been trying to figure things out, get in the groove of how to be a missionary. I keep falling asleep during personal study time and then i get mad at myself because I'm just disappointing my Heavenly Father, i need to figure out what to do so i can stay awake. Studying that early in the morning just is not helpful. The bed i sleep on, ooohh it hurt my body so much, i feel like an 80 year old woman every time i get up.

 

On a spiritual side of things, i have felt myself continue to change in ways that i have never thought possible. It just amazes me how much my Heavenly Father is carrying me. I have never felt so weak and yet so strong at the same time. When I'm feeling down and like things are impossible i just pray and pray and pray and plead, and promise that if he helps me i will work my hardest, and I've felt that, I've felt him help me. And i have done my best to work my hardest (except the falling asleep during pst) I just know that I'm not going to make it these 18 months without his help. Which part of me struggles because i think i came here to give my Heavenly Father 18 months of me, and he's just carrying me non-stop, I'm never going to be able to re-pay him for all he's done in my life. I have felt my most home sick since being here, but i know i can push through. We have been teaching a few people and its just been great. I want to share a couple experiences to end.

 

1st, we were driving around, we stopped at someone we've been teaching and she wasn't' home. I felt prompted to go talk to this guy mowing his lawn. I wasn't sure what to do with it, so i told my companion and we decided to go talk to him. It ended up being a boy, not a guy mowing the lawn. Then his dad showed up.....we gave him a plan of salvation pamphlet. afterward i felt SO AMAZING i knew that what happened was guided by heavenly father!! It was great!! we haven't heard from this guy since, but it was so awesome to do that, maybe we planted the seed, maybe he'll call tomorrow.....you just never know, either way, it was awesome!

2nd, last night was the first commitment to baptism!! AHHH!! it was the BEST ENERGY RUSH EVER!!! I loved it, he didn't commit fully, but he didn't say know, he needs to keep learning for himself, but i KNOW he is going to be baptized!!!!!!!!!! I'm so excited for him!!!!

 

So also, this is my address for this transfer. Now when i give you this address it is only temporary for about 5 weeks until i find out if I'm getting transferred or staying. So if you send mail here, keep in mind this is not the address for the entire 18 months, just for the next 5 weeks.

 

104 W 4th St #207

Junction City KS 66441

 

If your not sure where to send the mail, just send it to the mission office address. It will eventually get to me

~~Another mail note: If you send a package it needs to be sent Priority USPS, that is the only way they can forward it to me wherever i am located.

 

Next week Monday is the 4th, so we wont get to email until Tuesday. So I'll talk to you all again then. I found out i have an hour on the computer. so if i get emails, i might have enough time to read them, but i still prefer letters. (mom, please email me every week, your the only exception, i cant handle not hearing from you every week/day)

 

I miss everyone so much, and i cant wait until i get letters and so forth. Sending great big heartfelt missing home hugs to all of you!!!

 

Love you all

Sister Brookie Barnum

 

Funny story:

So i took that nap at the mission home and guess what?!!?? MY DOOR WOULDN'T OPEN!!! YES I WAS STUCK IN MY ROOM AT THE MISSION HOME!!!! I was starting to freak out because how embarrassing will it be when they discover I'm not downstairs and they come to find me and I'm STUCK!! Well thankfully i heard the sister in the room next to me come out, so i knocked and told her i was stuck, she tried getting me out but the door wouldn't open!!! I was seriously freaking out. Then all the sudden it just opened without a problem. I was so relieved, none of the elders, or the mission president, or even the other sisters knew about it. But now all of you do. We laughed about it the rest of the night!

 

PS: tell Nola thanks for the 'greenie' package!!! IT WAS SO GREAT!!!! it made me feel better to have something like that from her on such a high emotions day!!!!