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

Week 72

So, they weren't joking when they said that the emails will die off at the end of your mission. Forty-five minutes into email, I've already emailed everyone back, emailed the mission president, read a couple of the articles on Church News, and I'm starting this email... which I usually don't get to until last. Well, I can understand why though... I am not going to say that I've ever been the best at emailing missionaries! Besides, in SIX WEEKS I'll get to call all of you up and demand to know what's going on in your lives. Or just look on Facebook... 

I can't believe how time flies. I think missionaries probably talk about that more than anyone else, because we are constantly reminded by transfers ticking by. 

This week was a good one. Here's something cool, and a first for my mission! On Tuesday, we went on exchanges with the Danville sisters, and I got to step foot into the third state of our mission! Woohoo! I went to Indiana! :D Fun fact: there is one little town, Covington, in Indiana that's included in our mission, and I got to go there with the sisters! So now I've been to another state :)

It was a fun exchange, too. It's the first time I've left Springfield in a while, so I enjoyed getting to see a different place and meet some new people. And here's a cool story: our first appointment of the day, we were supposed to meet this woman at a shelter. We met a member there... and we asked for the woman at the desk... and she didn't show. Bummer! But we sat there for a while, because we thought that the woman could be late, and another lady came and sat by us. So we started talking to her... turns out her grandpa was Mormon! And the member who came with us knew him! And he used to read the Book of Mormon to her! She accepted a Plan of Salvation pamphlet and a return appointment. It was really cool. Just evidence that we are put where we need to be when we need to be there!

We had a good rest of our exchange. Then headed back Wednesday! Sister Herdman and I did service at the soup kitchen... I've got a real future as a lunch lady, let me tell you. Although, turns out I'm pretty deaf, because I can never hear the people's reply. Probably too much blasting Mormon Tabernacle Choir! 

Thursday, we had our district meeting. I gave a training on how to teach people about the Atonement. It was such a good training for me to prepare. One of my favorite insights I came across while preparing for it was about grace. Grace is the power of God that comes into our lives through the Atonement. The power that can bless us through the Atonement can be broken down into four categories: resurrection, redemption, healing, and strengthening or enabling. Resurrection: pretty straightforward. Redemption: ransoming us from the effects of sin. Healing: spiritual and physical and emotional healing all can come because the Savior suffered for that wound already. The enabling power of the Atonement was what I focused on. This is the power that can give us strength beyond our own, to face our circumstances and to become the ones who act. Each of these powers comes into our lives more and more as we "live the gospel joyfully," as President Uchtdorf counseled us.

Friday, we helped one of our investigators clean the house that she's going to start renting. It was pretty gross... lots of mouse poop and dead cockroaches. No live ones, so that's good! :P One thing about my mission I will not miss: Cockroaches. 

Speaking of which...

So, Saturday morning, we went to a memorial service (I know! No funerals for five years, and then suddenly I'm going to one every weekend). I was asked to say the closing prayer. It was for the mom of a recent convert. Well, afterwards, we went to their home to help them prepare a luncheon for their family in town, and Sister Herdman and I got the job of making deviled eggs. So we cut up the eggs and whip up the middle part, and Sister Herdman takes the job of sprinkling the paprika (she loves paprika). She gets it out of the cupboard, takes a nice whiff--yep, it's paprika--and then shakes it...

And out fall two dead cockroaches (plop plop) right on top of one of the eggs. We both freeze, look at each other... And then I say, "Well, no paprika for these eggs!"

Definitely a bit of a stomach turner.

Sorry about the gross email this week! Welcome to the Midwest ;)

Transfer calls came in, and I will be finishing my mission out here in Springfield with Sister Herdman! Very exciting. I am looking forward to the next six weeks. I'm in my prime, everyone! Haha.

I hope you all enjoy your Valentine's Day! I send my love from Illinois! Just remember Sister Herdman's motto: "love is dead!" At least for missionaries! 

Lots of love,

Sister Barret

Week 73: Kind of a Crazy Week!

But when is it not crazy in the good ol' Midwest! Ah, I love it. We went to the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Museum yesterday with a couple of other sister missionaries, and one of them made a comment about how she thought that this area (it's her second) would be less crazy than her first. And I was like, "Oh honey. It's the Midwest." I love it! I also think that it's simply mission life... It doesn't get much better than this! 

Many, many things happened this week, and I can't even remember the half of them. Typical, for my emails. Typical for my journal too, I feel kind of bad! I hope that I have lots of good mission stories to tell when I get home. Okay, no, there's too many to count, but that's okay. 

I can't believe that Sara gets home so soon! We left the same day!! Foreign missions.

Anyway, some highlights this week... We've been working with our young woman investigator, Adrian. She's working towards baptism either on the 28th of this month or the 7th of next. Super exciting! It's so clear in this case how important fellowship from the ward is though. She is getting great fellowship from some of the adults in the ward, which is good news. 

We had a great lesson with Lori. She had been struggling a bit, and we could sense that there was a concern that she wasn't talking about. But Sister Herdman and I felt prompted to share the Articles of Faith with her, and #6 really answered her prayers. She said that she knew that that was a sign from God that this truly is the church that she's meant to be a part of. There's a part in Preach My Gospel that talks about how investigators' concerns are like icebergs... we only see the tip, and the rest is hidden. But if you are teaching by the Spirit, you really can be blessed with answering questions in their hearts. It's amazing.

It was officially the transfer on Wednesday, but it didn't feel like it, because Sister Herdman and I have already been together! It's a strange feeling, like the transfer is going to last 8 weeks instead of 6. Whatever works! haha. 

Thursday, we drove down to Glen Carbon, to spend the night with the other STLs, because Friday was... Missionary Leadership Council!

Oh, MLC is so great. We learn so much. The mission is doing really well! The work is truly hastening in many different ways. It's a little bit long (10-4) but the time really flies by. Meetings are some of my favorite days on the mission (weird, right?) because the Spirit is so strong when you gather with other missionaries. 

On the way back from MLC, we had a bit of a miracle! We had put all of our stuff in the car, hugged the other sisters good-bye, and gotten in the car. I was driving, and Sister Herdman was backing me. I put the keys in the ignition, and try to start it... and it turns over a couple times then fizzles out. Again. And again. So, we call our vehicle coordinator... doesn't answer. We call the elders... they don't help much. So, we're sitting in the cold car, thinking of how we're going to have to stay another night in Glen Carbon (which we really don't want to do) and how our plans are all going to be changed... And I say, "Let's pray. And try one more time. And then we'll go back inside and tell the sisters what's going on."

So we bow our heads, and the gist of our prayer was, "Heavenly Father, we understand if we're supposed to learn how to deal with trials this way. But please, if it be thy will, let the car start."

And I put the keys in, and it starts up like nothing had ever happened.

It was amazing! The power of prayer, and the power of faith is real!

Valentine's Day was pretty great. Sister Herdman made me breakfast (German pancakes). I made her dinner (Lemony asparagus fettucine alfredo, Italian soup, pan seared veggies, and a salad). Ate it by candlelight, as per my mission tradition. It was a lot of fun. It was a good companionship unity building time ;)

Anyway, that was pretty well our week! Oh, and I counted four hundred dollars in quarters. That was fun too. 

Lots of love! Have a great week!

Sister Barret

Week 71: Plot Twist....Surprise Ending!

Ha, just kidding. I probably will tell you the plot twist pretty soon here, actually.

So this week was pretty full of new things. New snow, new illness (an annoying cold. I've had a sore throat all week, and now it's transitioning to a runny nose. Only the second time I've been sick on my mission, and I do not cope well. I complain), new bishop (he's going to do a great job), new companion...

Wait, what?

Haha. Well, here's what happened. On Tuesday we got a call from the assistants (it's still an adjustment, getting regular calls from the assistants). Actually, we played phone tag with the assistants for about four hours, but eventually we got to talk to them, and they told us that Sister Martinez was going to be going to Glen Carbon IL to be with the STL there, because an STL was going home unexpectedly, and the STL there is going home in a week and they wanted someone to learn the area so that it doesn't fall apart. So Sister Martinez went there, and I got Sister Herdman (I think she's going to be my killer) and her past companion, is with two other sisters. Or more accurately, they're with her. And all these switches went down on Friday! So, from about Tuesday on, our life was fairly hectic. And it has yet to slow down :)

Oh, also, Thursday was Sister Martinez's birthday. I sneaky planned all sorts of fun stuff. We had breakfast with an investigator, a surprise birthday-themed district meeting, lunch at Olive Garden, dinner with our ward mission leader... It was great. It's hard to be sneaky when you're with someone 24/7, but I managed!

I like change though. I think I thrive on the challenge of adjusting to it. Sister Herdman is great. She's from Provo, and she loves missionary work and people, and is a great missionary. Like I said, I suspect that she'll be my last companion. No guarantees, of course. But I hope so, because I think that I have a lot to learn from her.

The latter half of the week really flew by though, because Sister Herdman and I went on exchanges to Jacksonville on Saturday, which meant that we had been together for less than 24 hours when we went on exchanges. Crazy! Haha. Seriously though, I'm being kept on my toes, which is the best thing for me, I think.

For my personal study this week, I have really been focusing (still) on the Atonement. I received a priesthood blessing a week ago Sunday, and one of the pieces of counsel I received was to study with a purpose. So I pondered what my purpose is while studying, and I decided that the greatest purpose I could have would be to strive to understand and apply the Atonement more in my life. Today, I was reading the definition of the Atonement in the Bible Dictionary, and this sentence really stood out to me: "The Atonement is conditional, however, so far as each person’s individual sins are concerned, and touches every one to the degree that he has faith in Jesus Christ, repents of his sins, and obeys the gospel." I loved that last sentence. The Atonement is applied in our life as we follow the basic principles of the gospel! There's no secret formula for bringing the Atonement into our lives. Have faith. Repent. Live the gospel.

Have a wonderful week everyone! Transfer calls are this Saturday, but I'd be pretty surprised if anything happened... You never know though!

Sister Barret