I totally forgot that you're going to Utah! Oops. Well, have
fun without me :) not possible, right? We use the computers in Three Rivers
Community College, a local college that allows people to use their computer lab
for free if they have an ID. The public library here doesn't allow people to
use their computers for more than an hour, and I guess you have to pay? It
makes some sense though, a lot of people here don't have Internet of their own.
My apartment is new, in the sense that missionaries haven't lived here very
long, so it's pretty bare. We have folding chairs and folding tables. Classy :)
And the walls are mostly bare as well. We try to have a few homey touches
though! I got the CD--thank you very much. Sister Richardson also just bought a
Les Miserables CD, so we've had some good music on our car rides.
I'm getting to know
all of the people that we're teaching, and a lot of people in the ward. Before
I forget to tell you: The Relief Society President sounds just like Eulalie
Shinn from The Music Man. Like I said before, it's a pretty small ward numbers
wise, but it's a huge area geographically. If you want, you can look it up--we
go from Poplar Bluff out to Doniphan, Ellsinore, Neelyville, Qulin, etc... It's
a huge area! It's divided right down the middle between us and the elders. We
try to stay mostly in our area, but we teach quite a few people on their side
of Poplar Bluff. They have the richer side of Poplar Bluff. We usually get
females and they get males (or at least the scary ones). But anyway,
technically the sisters are in the Poplar Bluff 2 area, and the elders are in
the Poplar Bluff 1 area.
The bugs have not
been as bad this week. At least, not on my legs. it's starting to get colder,
so hopefully that will scare them off. it's mostly just mosquito bites (or
chiggers) and they come from walking around outside. Don't worry about my
apartment, it's quite clean and mostly bug free.
I need some recipes! I do have to cook a lot. We don't often
eat with the members. I made the cream cheese cookies, which people loved, and
banana bread, in a 9x13 pan because it's the only one we have, and spaghetti
for my companions and I. I was going to make Pad Thai, but neither grocery
store had rice noodles! Can you believe that? Walmart didn't have them! I was
shocked. But then again, there are about zero Asian people here, so maybe it's
not that surprising. It's still sad!
Missouri... It's humid. Not so bad today, actually. The
people here are different than people in Washington. They are definitely more
welcoming in some ways, and they are all very solicitous. Like, they'll warn us
if they see us in the worse neighborhoods. The difficult part is that they are
set in their ways, because a lot of them have lived here in Missouri, or in
Poplar Bluff, forever. The trees here are very pretty. It's kind of strange to
see so many trees but hardly any evergreens.
General Conference was so good. I actually stayed awake for
all sessions, which is a bit of a miracle in itself. We watched it at the
church building. None of our investigators came on Saturday, so it was us, the
elders, and three or four other members. But on Sunday, we had SIX
investigators come! It was so cool.
Time for some spiritual thoughts, about what I got out of
conference.
President Uchtdorf gave an outstanding talk. I think it
might win my "Best Overall" award. The quote that both my companions
and I love was "Doubt your doubts before you doubt your faith." This
applies to everyone, especially our investigators. Sometimes we get so wrapped
up in the questions that we have that we forget about the things that we
know. Remember your testimony. Don't
ignore your questions, but if it comes down to it, doubt your doubt before you
doubt your faith.
Elder Richard G. Scott talked about fortifying ourselves
against our weaknesses. I love what he said about how the Lord views weaknesses
differently than rebellion. When we sin, we are rebelling against God. He
cannot tolerate that. But He understands that we are mortal and weak. And when
He looks upon our weaknesses, He views us with mercy.
And some themes overall:
"Come unto me, all ye that are heavy laden" That's
what I'm inviting people to do every day! If we have burdens, they can be
lightened through the Lord's aid. When we are suffering, the Lord can assist
us.
Daily decisions shape us, and have eternal consequences.
It's easy to think that one day doesn't make that much of a difference in the
long run, but that's what Satan wants us to think. Every single day is
important in our lives, and we should be making decisions every single day that
draw us closer to God.
Missionary work! Pray for the missionaries, because we sure
need it. Support the missionaries. I was thinking after conference about this.
I asked myself, If the missionaries could have the members do one thing, what
would it be? Now, my answer could change over the next 17 1/2 months, but
here's my answer today: I would want a member family to walk up to me and say,
"Hello Sister Barret. We have a family that we're friends with. For a while
now, we've been talking to them about the gospel, and they've seemed really
interested. We have invited them to some activities, and they came and enjoyed
themselves. So we asked them if they would be willing to meet with the
full-time missionaries. They agreed. Will you come by our house Tuesdays and
Thursdays at 6 pm to teach them?" I think I'd about faint with happiness.
And if they fed us dinner...!
Be "Anxiously Engaged"
Finally: Elder Holland's talk. That talk was amazing. Mom, I
hope you print it out and read it again. I was going to print it here, but it's
not up yet, so that will have to wait until next week I guess. Remember,
remember: God's love is always there. Believe in miracles. Hope is never lost.
I love personal study
time. It may be my favorite time of the day. It's an hour of just studying the
gospel. I usually read the Book of Mormon for thirty minutes, then study the
lessons and the doctrines.
haha, funny story
time. So, we had exchanges with the Sister Training Leaders this week. That's
where the two sister leaders come and proselyte with you separately (splitting
up). So we drove out to Ellsinore--Hermana White, me and one of the STLs. But
we didn't have an address, and we kind of had no clue where we were going. So
we drove out there... and found what we thought was the right road... and
started knocking on doors. no luck finding the less active sister's home. We
knocked on one door, kind of countryish, and two people come out. The man is
wearing a huge gun on his hip. We asked them if they know where the sister
lives, and they said, "No! Never heard of her, and I've lived here my
whole life!" So, astute as we are, we realized that they didn't really
want us there, so we said, "Ok, thanks. Bye!" We were opening the doors
to the car when we heard a gunshot and all three of us jumped! The man had gone
to his backyard and fired his gun--not at us, just as like a warning shot I
guess? We couldn't believe it! We were leaving, after all. We certainly left
faster after that, though.
I got to see one of the pictures of Lyvia's hair. I think
that pictures work if they are in the body of the email instead of as an
attachment. It's cute! How does it look curly? It's got a very 1920s vibe. I've
been getting the letters that you sent to the mission home. It's kind of hard to respond to them, because
I don't know when they are all written in relation to each other and to my
emails, so I just try to enjoy them. I enjoyed reading about Quinn's soap
experiments :) What scientific principles are you supposed to be learning from
that??
Mission life is busy,
exciting, hard, crazy... Honestly though, I'm doing really well. It kind of
freaks me out how well I'm doing. Everyone keeps asking me how I'm doing, do I
have any concerns, don't get discouraged... And I'm just fine. My adjustment
has been smooth. I am doing things that I would normally hate--speaking to
strangers, going to their homes, not contacting family, putting myself out
there--but I come home happy each day. Tired, but happy. Even on days when it feels
like we've accomplished nothing and just been rejected, I'm downright cheerful.
Like I said, it's actually a bit worrisome. I wonder sometimes if I'll wake up
one day in the middle of my mission and all that anticipated discouragement
will come crashing down on me. But I already know how to avoid that--after all,
they gave me the answer in General Conference. Persevere. Build up endurance.
Give service. Make the daily decisions that keep me on the right path. Be
obedient. Love God and love my neighbor.
Anyway, this email is getting super long and I have no idea
if I've responded to everyone or not, and you're probably bored by now. But oh
well! (I've learned missionaries are weird, by the way. Whole different culture
out here).
I love each and every one of you, and I pray for each of you
each night. Be good. Be examples of the believers. Reach out to the people
around you. Pray for me, Hermana White, and Sister Richardson. Pray for the
missionaries in your wards.
I don't think I need
you to send me anything (other than letters ;) but I'll let you know!
Love,
Sister Barret
3 Nephi 18:34
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