E-Mail #43

E-Mail #43

April 4th, 2012

Hello to my friends and family for ETERNITY!!

 

 

 

Hey everyone! sorry my email is coming late this week. (not that you know, because i KNOW my sister hasn't been updating my blog. yes i know you Brittney) :)

 

 

 

Well its finally begun, the busy busy month of APRIL....and i just CANT WAIT!!! Today we head down to the temple to get our 'training' as all the sister missionaries in the mission. This is the first time that ALL the sisters will be together, its going to be SO FUN!!! I am way excited to hear all about what we will be doing at the temple open house, and to finally get to see the INSIDE of it!! woohoo! Our shifts start on Friday, and we will be down there 3 times week for the whole month of April. YEP they extended the open house because it has had so many tickets sale out so fast, they extended it!!! so i will get to work 10 total shifts at the temple. MAN it will be so cool, such a once in a lifetime experience. I don't know any missionaries who have had a temple open in their mission while they were out there. I know there have been some, but not any that i know!

 

 

 

Now time to get down to business on updating you from the last week and a half. Well lets just say Monday night last week was a first in my mission. It was a really hard night. There were some not so nice things said to me by a member, and it was a struggle. BUT things by the end of the week worked out just fine. Its was a very good learning experience i had on my mission, and something that i know will help me through my life. President Uchtdorfs talk in general conference was just what i needed to hear to really fully forgive our member and heal things. Which i am so glad i did. Its helped me realize what my weakness' are and how to improve so situations like that when they arise are handled the best way possible. This week we also got to see one of our investigators who we have not seen in a WHILE. It was nice to finally run into her again and get to talk with her. We invited her to come and listen to the prophet on Sunday. Unfortunately she didn't come. But i am not loosing hope for her yet. Its all about her timing. We also went over to the GREAT Jones family, which i have mentioned in previous emails. They are such a great family. We did the rocket on the book of Mormon trick. It was so fun, then after we took some fun pictures with them. They are such adorable kids! we love them, they steal our heart every time we are around them. One of the little boys decided he wanted to be a dinosaur in the pictures. They whole time we were taking pictures he kept growling like a dinosaur....its was HYSTERICAL. we were laughing so hard! oh and the BIG NEWS.....this week we got someone with a BAPTISM DATE!!! woohooo! the little girl of the part member family, that got up and shared her testimony that i talked about. She wants to get baptized, so we are shooting for the end of April. She is so excited. She is so smart about the things we teach her, and remembers it all so well! i am just so happy we have someone to help work toward a baptism date!

 

 

 

So last week also we have a less active family in our branch that we stop and see every now and then. Well he offered to wash our truck for free with his power washer. So last week we asked him if we could come over and have him wash it. Thinking he will give it a good spray down and it will be good. NOPE not at all what happened. First off, they go get us some lawn chairs to sit in. His wife give us this spa fruit water that she made. and we sit on the porch as they ALL....the entire family WASH our truck. I mean, not just spray it down, but all the little details, scrub it, scrub it, scrub it, until all the bugs are off it. Scrub the tires, everything. Then they wash all our windows inside and out. All this stuff. We felt so weird.....like we were abusing them as we sit on the porch watching all of them go to town on our truck! It was so funny and awesome and weird at the same time. I wish i had gotten my camera out of the truck so you all could see it. But it was just crazy, but man oh man our truck looked NICE after! although it was a total bummer because the next day it RAINED i mean it POURED....oh man it LET LOOSE....we were actually stuck at our house because of how much rain came down. Because of where we live, the drain from the surrounding hills all comes down by our road, so when it rains it floods the bridge and it was too deep for us to drive over. So we had to wait until like 330 before we left for the day because of the rain. but it was lots of fun to watch the lightening, see the hail, and the thunder. It was super fun. I like the rain storms here. They are CRAZY....but awesome. And guess what time of year it almost is....LIGHTENING BUG SEASON!!! WOHOOO!!! I'm going to try and catch one! It will be fun!

 

 

 

This weekend was special in many ways!!!! first off it was General conference, and who doesn't love that?! i mean really....AWESOME!! and then the best best best news ever!!! EVER...EVVEERRR!!! BILL FLIPPO GOT BAPTIZED...CONFIRMED....AND THE AARONIC PRIESTHOOD! YEP....ISN'T THAT AWESOME!!! Our mission president rocks, he let me call them and talk for a few minutes and wish the wonderful flippo family congrats! So it was an all around great weekend! I am going to put some of my favorite conference quotes at the end of this. I loved conference so much. My FAVORITE session was the last one, Sunday afternoon, then of course the Saturday morning which was great!!! but i absolutely LOVED Sunday afternoons. SO GOOD!!! I love general conference, such a great time to evaluate ourselves, and see what it is that our father in heaven wants us to improve on....where we need to work harder to prepare ourselves and our families for the trials and tests that happen in this life. How to stay strong so that way we receive that promise of being eternal families!

 

 

 

well on that spiritual note, i have a funny story to tell you.....hahaha. OKAY...so the last week....or two weeks we have killed a spider EVERY DAY!!! EVERY DAY!!! i don't know if you know, but i HATE spiders....i hate insects....i hate ALL creepy crawling things!! So when i say we killed a spider every day...i mean sister Larson did, as i watched and scream or did other girlie like things. Well, so with all the spider craziness i have been afraid to kneel and pray on the ground, so i have been kneeling on my bed and praying....i also have not gotten up early to work out because i cant see the ground to know if there is a spider on it. well Monday night, that's right 2 days ago.....i was trying on my new clothes i bought, and putting all the stuff away. Well i turn around as I'm putting stuff away and see this spider, all shriveling up and dying, and freaking out as it is dying. and i REALIZED..............I STEPPED ON IT..........THAT'S WHAT KILLED IT...............MY BARE FEET............I STEPPED ON THE SPIDER AND KILLED IT!!! I WAS FREAKING OUT, momma and papa Sperry were just laughing because they were downstairs when this happened. and sister Larson was laughing at me. I'm not kidding you, this spider all shriveled up, was STILL the size of a nickle! AND I STEPPED ON IT WITH MY BARE FEET!!! NASTY!!!! ....................................................................oh man, i hate bugs!

 

 

Well now i should go back to spiritual subjects......here are some of my FAVORITE things said in conference!

 

 

 

**Our Heavenly Father is mindful of each of us, and each of our needs! ~Thomas S Monson

**The Lord wants all the members of his church to be fully converted to his gospel! ~Donald Hallstrom

**You can do it no matter where you are, or how alone you feel. Seek to LIFT others! ~Henry B Eyring

**God wanted you to be polished a little more! ~Henry B Eyring

**The savior promised there will be Angels on our left and right to bear us up, and he ALWAYS keeps his promises ~Henry B Eyring

**Hold on, Work on, SEE IT THROUGH ~Jeffrey R Holland

**His concern is the amount of FAITH you arrive with, not with the hour which you come! ~Jeffrey R Holland

**The moment we judge someone else, is the moment we condemn ourselves! ~Dieter F Uchtdorf

**Don't judge me because i sin differently than you. ~Dieter F Uchtdorf

**Remove any of your fear with FAITH. ~M. Russell Ballard

**None of us will ever be so lost that we cant find our way through Jesus and His teachings. ~M. Russell Ballard

**Be not afraid only BELIEVE. ~Neil L Anderson.

 

 

 

Well i want you all to know how much i love you. I am so thankful for all your love and support through my mission. You are all so great. I am so thankful for the experiences i have had that have really helped me to learn and understand the gospel more and more daily. To really apply the opportunity teaching of the savior into my life and to see what a difference it makes. I am so thankful for the y i have to serve him and to see his love for all of us daily as he sends us to the right people at and the right time, just because he wanted them to know he loves them and is aware of them. I know he is aware of us. I know he is, we can turn to him always!!! I am thankful for that. I am thankful to be a member of this church, i know it is true. I am so thankful to be a part of my family, who i will have for ETERNITY.....such a great family, and i am so thankful they are mine forever. I love you all so much!

Sister Barnum