Hola From TX!!

Hola mi Familia,
It was so good to hear from you!!! I love getting your letters and hearing all the funny stories from home. Thanks for you letter Kristan Anderson... so good to hear from you and all the updates about my friends!! ha ha.. i can't believe everyone is getting married as soon as i left.. it's like they didn't want me at the weddings.. j/k! That is awesome about Kara's boards.. congrats Kara.. you are so smart!! now here come your little boy!! can't wait for you both you're going to be amazign parents.. how did your trip go? Matt and Charlene... found a house yet?? I love that jules is starting her terrible twos.. keep telling me all the fun stories about getting locked in the basement. Good luck Bradley B. on your training.. dad's said your trainign to be a Papa John's managers but i'm hoping it is still for Jimmy Johns... ha ha... Miny and Tales life sounds really really lovely for ya'll and like everythign is working out PERFECTLY!!! Mom and dad you're life sounds quiet as usual but like you're doing some traveling and not being completely alone will everyone stopping by all the time!! I'm happy that you are forwarding these e-mails to aunt kay!! i don't have tons of time to write letters but i'm gonna try to write her a little something within the next couple weeks.. but make sure she knows i love her!! THanks for your letter Janene.. they always make my dad reading your poems or hearing
updates from your family!! Thanks!! Thanks for all the support from everyone.. i really do love you all and miss you so much. Mom forwarded me a letter this week from a letter that got sent to our home and it was so funny... Mom did you know what that letter was even!! It was from one of mindy's old mission companions named Kimberly Inglish.. or something... she sent me a letter she found that she somehow had from Mindy's mission... So i got a letter from Mindy on her mission.. to me while on my mission... Kinda ironic but cool! The letter was from when she was in Franca with a really hairy companion and I was laughing the whole time because I could finally realy relate!! Well this week was a lot of hard work. We did a lot of tracting.. knocking on doors which is really hard because our area is SO mixed and alot of other areas in Texas aren't. and since we are only allowed to teach in espanol we give a lot of referrals to the English Elders. This is definitely the "Buckle" of the Bible Belt... everyone either has their church or doesn't really want a church so I'm not gonna lie it has been difficult finding people to listen but we just keep trucking along.. or i guess i could say knocking along! We get fed every day by the members here which they are great but they make us eat so much.. we don't want to offend them... one day this week it was raining really hard so i had wrapped all my scriptures up in plastic bags so they wouldn't get wet.. so at dinner with a member we were soooo full and she was in the other room so i took my scriptures out of one of the bags and put like 5 tomales in the bag and hid them in my back pack.. my companion was laughing so hard but i just couldn't eat anymore. It is so weird here because whenever we go to a members to eat they NEVER eat with us.. they always serve the whole time so it's hard to get to know all the members.. and we were talking to a lady after dinner one night and she had just fed 6 missionaries and found out her husband has been out of work for two months and they have like no money.. they are such generous people and have such faith i am constantly amazed! On Thursday we had the opportunity to have interviews and training with President Smith and Sister Smith. He is so funny I can't even explain it. He did our training on DONUTS.. ha ha says every town in Texas is not a town with out a donut shop, Sonic Drive through and a dollar store. He talked about how fattening and tempting donuts are and how they never fill you up and you always have to eat like a dozen to even attempt to feel full and you never are.. He said the donut is like the world..it will never fill you and always leave you wanting more. During my interview with President he was so nice and we talked about how amzing my trainer is and how she is my strength and her smile always pushes me forward even into uncomfortable situations... and he said well learn all you can because someday soon you will be that for another missionary.. He has such confidence in me.. i hope I can live up to what he thinks I can be... Then Sister SMith gave me a hug when we were leaving and said, "We are so happy we got you!! Sorry I didn't call you this week to see how you were doing but i knew you would be doing perfectly fine!!" THey are just such sweet people that radiate their love and all you can do is laugh when you're around them!! I really love them already... Well my spanish comes more and more everyday but I still can't say close to as much as a I want to!! Please pray for me and for this area that we can start finding more success and people to listen to us! Thanks for all your support and love!! Miss you all... and HAPPY MEMORIAL DAY!!!
con amor-
Hermama Katie Barber