Week 77: So This is IT...the Final Countdown!

I suppose that I should do something cheesy or sentimental for my last email... a testimony of how much my mission has changed me or something along those lines. It has. Oh my goodness, it really has. I am bolder, nicer, humbler, smarter (except about philosophy, pretty sure I've forgotten all that), more outgoing, more spiritual, more prayerful, more faithful, less selfish, so many other things that I can't even list them all. But I think that most people know that missions are great for that.

I have laughed so hard. I have cried. I have had my heart broken. I've worked harder than I have ever worked in my life. A mission isn't just physically tiring. It is! Don't get me wrong, I'm pretty sure that if I sit still for too long I'll fall asleep anywhere. It's emotionally exhausting... You love people, and sometimes they break your heart. Sometimes you have so much happiness that you are exhausted. It's spiritual boot camp, for sure. You're tested and tried, questioned, mocked, pitied... It's intellectually wearing, trying to stay on top of everything.

And it's all worth it. I am a part of the greatest sister and brotherhood in the world. I am about to get really cheesy, so bear with me. I have loved being a missionary. Every morning, I get to put on my nametag, and I am so so so grateful. It's changed my life, I hope for forever. I'm aiming at forever.

I am so excited to come home, to see my family, to begin another chapter in my life. But I am also sad that I won't be going out everyday as a representative of Jesus Christ, to preach the gospel as a full time missionary. I'll miss it. It's been an amazing, amazing 18 months.

Sister Devynne Barret

Week 76: Happy Birthday to Me!

Yay! I am so glad that my birthday falls on a P-day :) Also, I am sorry that you all are having to live with my manifestations of trunkiness... which mostly consist of not having the desire to write anymore letters or emails. I get to go on Facebook in two weeks anyway, right? And call all the people that I want?

Okay, I know, I'll do better.

Especially because we had a great week! Which culminated in Adrian's baptism this Saturday! It was such a beautiful day. Baptisms are just strong spiritual highlights. The part that a lot of people leave out is that it's also kind of stressful, planning everything and hoping that everyone shows up on time, and making sure that this and that works out... plus, I was the one playing the piano, which is always an added stress! But it all worked out, the service was lovely... The water in the font was very cold, but they just made sure that she went all the way under the first time and it all works out! Haha. She is super shy, so she was kind of nervous about all the people being there, but once everything started happening then it was good!

And the ward's support is definitely coming. That's the tricky part about baptizing a youth, is that there needs to be a lot of ward support. Especially because her family support is pretty slim. Her dad lets her come, but that's about all...

Anyway, that was definitely the highlight of the week! Oh, and I finished the Book of Mormon. I was thinking that I might try to finish it one more time, in my last fifteen days... Then I decided that would be way too fast. So I just started over :) Instead of a topical study, I've decided to just go through and annotate the things that stand out to me and all. Study insight from this morning: Nephi is always talking about how we should be faithful to keeping the commandments of the Lord. I thought about how when we are faithful to the commandments, we are demonstrating our trust that the Lord's plan and His will are so much greater than our own.

I got to go on two exchanges this week... Very fun! One was in Jacksonville. We went to their district meeting and they threw me a surprise birthday lunch, with spaghetti and cupcakes :) Very cute. I also got to go on exchanges with my baby! Sister Edgel and I had a great day together in Springfield!

I can't believe how fast time is going! I thought for sure it would slow down the last transfer, but I think last transfer felt slower than this one! Weird.

Oh well!

I love you all!

Sister Barret

Week 75: Walking through 6 inches = Really Good Exercise!

This week was crazy, but really good! 

We went on two exchanges, had a Zone Leader Training in Champaign, had our interviews with the mission president, and had a ton of snow. That's a basic summary... haha.

Okey dokey. SO.

Tuesday, we had a pretty good day. We visited a part-member family, and a couple of our investigators... average day.

Wednesday, we left at 7 in the morning (ugh) to go to our meetings in Champaign. We had a combined meeting with the zone leaders, district leaders, and us, before the zone leader training. It was kind of neat, because we got to give a training on a letter from Elder Ballard of the 12 Apostles. The zone leaders gave a training on valiance... It was a similar theme to the meeting we had with our zone last week...

Then we exchanged with the Danville sisters... I went to Danville. It was pretty fun, we got to do a lot of contacting :) I also had a Wendy's Frosty for the first time in ages. 

Thursday we had interviews with the mission president. It's always a pleasure to get to sit down with him and talk for those few minutes. It wasn't my exit interview... thank goodness. I'll probably have that within the next couple of weeks though.

Friday, we were on exchanges again, and I had probably the busiest exchange of my mission! We taught seven lessons, had a member dinner, and did service for another member, AND found two new investigators. Crazy! But lots of fun.

Sunday, the snow was six-eight inches, so church was cancelled, and we had to walk everywhere. We were pooped. But we met a less active woman we'd never met before, which was exciting!

Adrian's baptism is scheduled for Saturday! We might have to push it back a little because church was cancelled, but I guess we'll see next week!

Lots of love to everyone,

Sister Barret

Week 74: One More Month?

Today, I just want to share a brief testimony of how amazing it is to be a missionary, to be a part of the work of salvation, and to be a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I love this work. I love being here.

When I came on my mission, I thought that I was doing it to "pay back" Heavenly Father, and to serve others. I was doing it for some of those reasons. But because I thought that I was doing it as a "bonus," because it wasn't something that I was required to do, I thought that it would be okay to just hold back little bit. A little corner of my heart. I wasn't quite willing to turn it all over to the Lord.

Then, about five months in, I had a change of heart. It's hard to describe. Piece by piece, I had been realizing that my mission WAS a requirement for me, and that, like King Benjamin describes, I was being "immediately blessed" for my service. So there was no way I would ever be able to repay the Lord. So I turned more and more of my heart over to the work, and finally I just had that one piece staked out, and I thought, "Nope. This one's mine. I'll give everything else over, but I need this little bit." But I received an answer about that, as I was reading the Book of Mormon one day in my personal study. And I changed. I gave it all up. It was a very, very humbling experience for me.

The next portion of my mission, I think, was learning about the Atonement. Okay, all of my mission has been learning about the Atonement, but I really started to learn how to apply the Atonement. And to recognize the promptings of the Spirit. I had another epiphany about that... I call them epiphanies, but really, they're just moments of revelation. Realizations that sound so simple and obvious when you put them into words, but are really quite profound when you ponder them in your heart and allow them to sink in.

Sunday, I had a turning moment, an epiphany, a moment of revelation. I was sitting in our ward council, the first one since our bishop passed away. It was an absolutely wonderful meeting about the vision of the ward in their efforts to serve and to rescue. But I had a moment when I was sitting there, where I felt sadness that I wouldn't be there as a missionary for much longer. I won't be able to see that vision fulfilled, and I really longed to see it! I knew that miracles were on the horizon, and while I'll be able to see some of them in the next month, I won't see them all. And I felt a twinge of envy for those lucky missionaries who WILL see those moments. But as I sat there, reflecting on this, this thought came to my mind: "I have set my hand to the plow. And I can never turn back."

My mission has blessed my life forever. I have been changed. My heart, my mind, my very nature have been changed. I am not scared to go home. The only thing that scares me is the thought that maybe I'll find that I haven't changed as much as I hope I have. But I'm not worried. The whole purpose of our lives here on Earth is to change and to grow, because that is how we will find joy.

Love

Sister Barret