Only 1 and a 1/2 Weeks!!

Hola my amazing family!! I got so many fun updates today and everyone sounds like they are doing amazing!! First off... MATT AND CHARLENE ARE HAVING A BOY!!! I am so so so so excited!! I definitely agree with the name BONECRUSHER also... I can't wait... I also caught a hint that your MOVING?? did you guy finally find a house? Where? I still need pictures of Jules and I need pictures of you prego Charlene!!! Matt I'm excited for your MBA... When do you think you will start? So many fun changes in your life.. Kara congrats on graduating on Saturday.. i can't wait for
you.. how are you feeling with the baby and everything.. ready to be a mom?? Mike you decided to do more schooling huh?? that is amazing what your bishop said...how many more years of schooling would you be in? so i guess you won't be in Ogden by the time i get back.. Mindy and Tales.. how are you? i will keep praying that
everythign with Tales papers work out great! Brad.. what are you doing with you life?? Amber wrote me yesterday and said she saw you at the gym and you looked HUGE like all you do is go to the gym.. do you go to work?? and the most important question is are you going to school? She also said she saw you with Landrea.. how are the wedding plans coming between you two?? ha ha (love you both!! ) Melissa thanks so much for the calling card.. amazing!!! mom i don't know how long I will get to talk I should get my flight plans today... so i'll let you know! Lacee Lee... CAFE RIO would be amazing... pork salad black beans only lettuce and house dressing if you can figure out how to get it to me.. i will even pay you for it!! ha ha.. i have already started your letter so i will send it out today. Amber.. your long e-mail from dear elder never got to me so i had no clue you are moving and not going to byu anymore.. please send it again if you can.. i am also working on your letter. Mom and Dad I love you.. i'm so excited for your new stove and yes mom all the talk of homecooking did no good for me.. i miss it so bad!! and DAd be super safe flying to Michigan please and give Kara a hug and a huge congrats from me!! that is such an accomplishment... My week here at the MTC has actually been quite slow.. i think my whole district is really anxious to get in the field but still completely humbled by spanish!! We taught in total spanish again during our teaching appointment on friday and the pretend investigator was atheist.. and i am not going to lie.. it was REALLY HARD!! we walked out of the teaching appointment completely humbled.. but the spirit helped so much. There is no way to do this work without the spirit. Saturday was my longest day at the MTC so far.. I think the five minutes between 4:00-4:05 felt like a whole 'nother seven weeks at the MTC. Then Sunday was great as it always is... I love my branch presidency... Thatcher, Hanks, and Lindsey and since there are only three hermanas in our district now the wives are super close to us! I am definitely feeling way better and almost back up to 100% in health which is so nice.. i can actually concentrate on the language! On sunday night we had a devotional by Stephen Allen who is the directors of missionary work or something and it was a great talk.. he talked about how in Alma even Ammon the great missionary had feelings of disappointment and wanted to turn back but that God comforted him in his trials and tribulations.. i am definitely passed the point of wanted to come home but there are
still disappointments there and feelings of inadequacies that if we turn to the lord he will definitely strengthen and comfort us...One cool story i had this week was that as a companionship we decided we needed to have more investigator focused companion study.. so we took the teaching record for our pretend investigator for this Friday and studied for her.. on the teaching record it says she just lost her brother from cancer and got a divorce and is in mourning and grieving.. so we studied
scriptures and quotes together that you could use to console someone who is grieving of the passing of a loved one... well the next day we went to our service assignment and the girl that works there and tells us what we need to clean we found out her cousin was one of the two boys that were 18 and 19 that died in Ogden by getting T-boned by that car with the gang members runnign from the cops or something.. i don't know the whole story.. but it was amazing how everything we had studied came
back into play as I talked to this college aged girl who is actually from ST. George. If we study by the spirit and study with our investigators in mind i know that the Lord will direct us to the specific things we need to learn to bring others unto Christ.. even members!!! On Tuesday night we heard from a seventy named Lynn Robbins and he gave a really good talk about developing Christlike Attributes.. we have to not only have to do what Christ would do but we have to be what he would be...he said it would take a lot of DO's to get to one BE of christ but once you get the the BE stage you will do the DO's automatically!!! Then he said that this, the mission field, is the Lord's University... it is better schooling then oxford and harvard.. we are enrolled in classes such as Cleaning your room 101, Frugality 101,
Patience, and Diligence 502 (advanced course!), and Pre-marriage 504.. he said to pray for a difficult companion and you will really be enrolled in pre-marriage!! I think i have also been enrolled in selflessness 101, charity and love 207, and relying on Christ 357!!! I have learned so much here that i could have not learned anywhere else in my life. I am so thankful and grateful for this opportunity. Then just a little quote from Stephen Allen from Sunday nights devotional for all my sibilings.. he said that if you come home and call yourself a returned missionary then your service was a waste of time!!... during your mission you should become a disiciple of christ.. a calling you will never be released from!!! I just thought that was an amazing thought.. this experience is not just preparing me to teach the gospel for 18 months of my life.. but if i am truely converted i will share this
gospel the rest of my life!! I love you family and am so happy to be here!! Keep the letters coming.. they are like GOLD and make my day!!!
Love you and be safe!
con amor- Hermana Barber