Eduardo Is Baptized!!

Hola familia y amigos!!
This week has been an incredible week!! not only did I get oddles of mail from all of you I also got two packages filled with goodies from Zach and Kelly and also one from Amber!! Also the cutest letter I have ever received came from Lacee this week.. she had her primary class all write me letters about being a missionary...It was so cute!! Thanks Lee!! Well I guess Stewart got blessed yesterday without me there but i hope my card made it to him... Charlene tried to send me pictures but the computer at the library wouldn't let me open them and i was pretty bummed. You all sound like you are doing amazing... Aunt Diane, I hope you know I love you and you are in my prayers every day.. day and night.
This week honestly has been amazing.. I started the week last Monday by getting to go and get the two new sisters from the mission home to take them out for their first night in Texas. It was one english sister named Sister Crawley and a spanish sister from samoa/missouri named Hermana Ulberg. We took them to a spanish lesson with the familia Gonzales who we have been working with for quite some time and they just aren't getting the concept of praying and recieving an anwser but our lesson with them was AMAZING... they actually prayed and we were able to help them connect the good feelings they
had after they prayed to an anwser from the holy ghost.... the light CLICK!!! love that. Then the teenage daughter Claudia had been promising me for two visits she would say the closing prayer but never would and this time i was not letter her get off the hook... she made excuse after excuse and finally found out she didn't feel comfortable praying in spanish.. so she said the most beautiful pray in english and will never forget her thanking heavenly father that we were there and that her family could learn about Jesus Christ. This is such an amazing job.. being an missionary.. nothing better! The family also came to church on Sunday and loved it.. the two teenage daughters loved young womans and the little girl who is a doll didn't scream her head off like she had the times before when she came.. (probably because I bribed her with candy.. I guess i am learning something from Mindy :)!!) After the Gonzales we went to a FHE with a recent convert english family the Elmores and it was fun seeing the dad trying to be such a faithful member doing everything he has been asked to do.. he prepared a lesson on honesty and the kids were SO ROWDY, and joking and wouldn't be serious.. he was getting frustrated and all i could do was laugh because I felt like home again!! ha ha!!! We then took the sisters back to the mission home and it is ALWAYS fun getting to see President and Sister Smith.. they're amazing.. but what was even weirder to me is that it was 3 months ago I was going out for my first night in Texas... man does time fly!! I remember it like it was yesterday.. seriously!!
Well we are teaching a lady named Esperanza from Honduras that i have told y'all about before but she has stopped coming to church and we were getting really frustrated because she told us her "espovio" (live in boyfriend) told her she couldn't go to church because she wasn't home in time to make her lunch... well we asked her if she would let us come and teach him and talk to him. I was a little nervous because i didn't think he was going to take the aspect of two young ladies telling him what to do.. but honestly the lesson was amazing! We showed up on Saturday and not only was Miguel and Esperanza there but also his brother sat in for the lesson. We taught him the first lesson and he asked us to come back and said it was beautiful... he also said he was going to come with Esperanza to church next week!! man does the Lord bless us and guide us in this work. Well we had to go to the car to get another Book of Mormon for Miguel but it was the most incredible sight to see that as we were walking back up to the apartment Miguel's brother Ivan was already on the back porch reading from the Book of Mormon... he was honestly "feasting" on the words!! It made me realize how much I take for granted this amazing book and the guidance and help we receive as members because of it! We also got to teach a recent convert new member lesson this week to a man named Brother Gregory and his daughter April who is 10 years old. We showed up to the lesson and couldn't get a woman to come with us so we had to teach him on his porch but the best part about this lesson was April had invited two of her ten year old friends to come over to play and be at the lesson. The whole lesson she explained to them what things were, why we believed them, and why we needed them. It was so simple for her to share her testimony... she has been a member less than a year and she is TEN and she had no reserve in sharing what she knew to be true. Share your testimony with everyone... don't be embarressed or think it will ruin your friendship... the greatest gift you could give someone you love is your
testimony and the amazing blessings that come with this gospel.
We are teaching another lady named Elsy and she was so close to being baptized... we went into the lesson with thoughts of setting a date... She has been so entuned with the spirit since the first lesson and loves the story of Joseph Smith.. she started giving the restoration videos we gave her away to her friends... well long story short we asked her to get baptized and she just looked at us and said.. i'm not gonna lie.. i was already baptized in 1990... so no wonder she was no entuned to the spirit she has the gift of the holy ghost!! A lot of the work in this area is less active work but it is so amazing when she them walk in to church on Sunday or realize the importance of the sacrament in their lives...
We got food poisioning twice this week from eating with members...thats all
i'm going to say about that...
Sunday was the best day of my mission so far.. we had eight people in sacrament meeting which means more stress for the misisonaries but that is our game day.. that is what we work for so it was awesome! Then after church we had dinner with a recent convert family who sent their brother-in-law who is not a member to buy us pizzas for dinner... I felt like a sinner eating the pizza on the Sabbath.. ha ha i guess out next lesson with them should be Keep the Sabbath day holy!! after dinner the Quinn Couple from the englishward drove us to Iriving for Eduardo's baptism.. IT WAS LIKE COMING HOME!!! I walked in the building Eduardo was sitting on the couch waiting to see me with a huge smile all dressed up in his church pants, white shirt and tie!! I can't even explain the feelings I had that day.. i've never felt them before. I saw all my family in Irving... got so many hugs, kisses on the cheek, smiles.. I miss them so much and man do they miss me.. :) ha ha they all said they're praying for me come back.. i hope i finish my mission in Irving! Well the baptism service was awesome and the WHOLE ward was there.. the chapel was FILLED... we had a talk on Baptism then Eduardo was baptized by the old first counselor in the bishopric Hermano Magana.. and i started crying during his baptism.. all the little kids looked at me and were like why are you crying Hermana Barbie.. ha ha.. then we had a talk on the Holy Ghost then Eduardo got up and bore his testimony and thanked God for the Misioneras that found him and saved his life. he then said he felt alone before he found the church and looked out and said now i have a bigger
family then i know what to do with!! ha ha.. he then said this was the best decision he has ever made in his life!! and I agree!! ha ha... i gave him the stain glass dove that Aunt Janene made and gave me that symbolized the holy ghost during the story of Jesus getting baptized and is suppose to remind him of his baptism day... i also gave Eduardo a three page letter I wrote in ALL SPANISH!!! aren't you so proud of me? I'm sure it has tons of mistakes and took me three days of language study to write but I did it!! ha ha... I will never forget the smile on Eduardo's face, the tears in his eyes, and the strength of his testimony.... This work is so worth it! It effects people's eternities!!
Well family I am doing amazing and Hermana Richardson and I are going to rock this transfer... we work so well together and we see miracles and the lord's hand in thiswork everyday!! Keep praying for our investigators!!
love you so much! thanks for the love, support and prayers!
con amor,
Hermana Katie Barber