Month: March 2018

So. I wrote y’all a bomb email TWICE this morning but my email freaked out and didn’t work! So now, you get what you get haha. It’s not going to be as good as the first two, but it’ll have to do.

Monday–We ended up having a really long P-day because a guy backed into us at a gas station and then drove away yelling at us. We had to file a report to SLC and everything, but thankfully the damage wasn’t bad enough for them to take our car to get it fixed. We cover one whole stake and part of another, so there’s no way we could have gotten everything done on foot! We also got to end the night by having dinner with Ali and his brother and sister-in-law, who are both members! We had a good time, and Ali’s brother is getting really excited to be able to baptize him!

Tuesday–It wasn’t a super exciting day because I was still tired and recovering from being sick. However, we did have a fun new finding activity! We joined Elder Johnson with singing while he played hymns on his guitar in a park! We weren’t able to find any new investigators because we didn’t see any Hispanics there, but it was really cool to help the English missionaries find new people to teach through music. Elder Johnson is really good and plans to get famous, so Hna Vazquez and I told him that we will have to get his signature before transfers haha.

Wednesday–Our district meeting was ON FIRE!!! Holy cow, what an answer to my prayers. I am so grateful for my district and all of the things I have learned from them this transfer. We also had a great time after district meeting, because we all ran to grab some Little Caesar’s! Our district is made up of all elders so I shouldn’t have been shocked, but never have I seen that much pizza disappear so quickly! We have fun together chowing down on pizza, and then we headed right back out to work!

Also on Wednesday, my mission president let me know that I will probably be in this mission for at least another two transfers. Honestly, I feel pretty okay about it. I will kind of be getting the best of both worlds, because that would mean I’ll spend roughly half of my mission here, and the other half in Puerto Rico. I just have to come to accept that my answer to “Where did you serve your mission?” will never be a simple one haha.

Thursday–We taught Ali about el sacerdocio (the priesthood) because he is super solid in his knowledge and testimony of all of the missionary lessons. I am so grateful for the privilege I have of teaching him and for the things I have learned as a missionary so far. I know that these precious experiences are preparing me to be a better disciple of Jesus Christ in everything that I will do in my life.

Friday–Hna Vazquez and I had an experience that was literally insane!!! We tried to teach a former investigator, but it devolved into one of the worst bashes in history. She told us terrible things about us, our church, the Book of Mormon, and basically everything else that we believe in and hold dear. It was pretty awful, and all we could do was share some solid scriptures, bear our testimonies de la verdad, and invite her to truly read and pray with a sincere heart. It was extra scary because we both felt that it was more than just this woman bashing us, there were real and sinister forces of the adversary there, trying to tear down our testimonies in any way possible. However, we were bearing such powerful testimonies by the Spirit that it was almost like her words were being deflected around us, unable to harm us or our testimonies. It was a very memorable experience for sure. I know I experienced the gift of tongues because I was bearing testimony of things I don’t know how to say in Spanish on my own. I know that the things Hna Vazquez and I testified of are true–The Book of Mormon is the word of God, we do have a loving Father in Heaven, and He does answer our prayers. Never ever hesitate to take your questions to Him–I promise He will answer because He loves you!

Saturday–Thankfully, Saturday was much less eventful. I did receive some mail from my family, which was a bright spot in my day!

Sunday–Well, last night was pretty creepy because we came home and our lights were on! We never leave the apartment without turning all the lights off, so we were a little freaked out. Our district leader came and checked it out but he didn’t find anything. So we were probably just being paranoid. But, we decided that it is better to be safe than sorry when something seems amiss. The rest of our day was pretty great, though. I played a musical number on my flute in sacrament meeting, three investigators came to church, and Ali told us he’s finally really confident that he’s received an answer about being baptized! He is so so awesome, and really prepared to be a member of this church. I know that the decision he’s making is going to change his life, and I am so happy to see him take this step.

Have a great April Fools Day and Easter! And get super pumped for General Conference! Also, please don’t ever hesitate if you have any questions for me, about the gospel, about life, or just what I’m doing out here in general!

Love,
Hermana O’Barr

1. My cute companion at Hna Sanchez’s house
2. Random creepy wig hanging from a sign. Why? Because we’re in Portland. #keepPortlandweird
3. Elder Hall got a little…stuck
4. Look how cute this new portrait of the first presidency is! Watch General Conference to hear these awesome men speak!
5. Some of the elders hiding the evidence of how much pizza we devoured haha
6. Miss me yet?
7. The scratch in our pretty little Toyota Corolla
8. Elder Hall likes to take over our district video calls haha
9. Ali gave us Oreos and hot chocolate (because he’s no longer drinking coffee!)
10. All of the Alameda missionaries! The English missionaries wanted a picture because they’re going to run an ad in the newspaper!

Wow, this week was rough. It involved a lot of trials and crying and did not go as planned. However, I’m really grateful for all of the miracles that we were still able to have, and the way I was able to feel Heavenly Father’s love for me.

Also, on a side note, what is with members trying to set all the missionaries up for when they go home?? According to them, I have about 5 or 6 future spouse options already picked out hahaha. And we seemed to get an inordinate amount of marriage advice this week. I think it’s hilarious because as missionaries we can’t be focused on that right now! But, I will tuck all of their sage advice away for later, when I will actually need it. Anyway, on to the rest of what happened this week.

Monday–We had a SUPER great P-day playing soccer and being match-y and cute like all good companionships. I finally have a few pictures from that to share. Also on Monday night, we had a video call lesson with Ali to read the scriptures and we all just about started crying! He was bearing his testimony to us and talking about how much the stuff we taught him has blessed his life! I can’t wait until this guy gets baptized! Hna Vazquez and I both feel like we have gained an eternal friend, and it’s so cool to continue to see Ali’s progression in the gospel.

Tuesday–We dropped off a present and heart-attacked a member’s door for her birthday! She called us on the phone crying and said it was the best birthday present she got! We also had a GREAT lesson with Maria about setting goals and making plans, which comes from our new chapter of Preach My Gospel that we have here in this mission.

Wednesday–We had another amazing district meeting! Here are some of the highlights of things I learned:
*There is no one right way or best way to do missionary work (this includes member missionary work!). When we commit to give it our all, and act out of love and by the Spirit, then the rest is in the Lord’s hands.
*”The more we understand, the more under we stand.” -Wise words from Elder Fouts. We truly become more humble the more we understand the nature of God and all that He has done for us. But the good thing is, we can glory in His greatness instead of wallowing in our own imperfection (something I do too often). I am so grateful for a knowledge of my Savior, and a knowledge that though sometimes I can barely do anything on my own, I can do ANYTHING through Him.
After District Meeting, we had lunch with the Sister Training Leaders at a Korean BBQ place, which was super fun. Portland is strange and sometimes scary but boy, does it have good food.

Thursday–Thursday was nuts! We were trying to organize a temple trip and we had to make about a thousand calls (My mom knows how much I hate those haha. It’s even worse in Spanish!)! But eventually we got everything organized, with the promise of more cookies to our ward mission leader haha.

We also had a GREAT lesson with Ali. He decided he wants to move his baptismal date to April 15th because he just wants to strengthen his testimony of prophets first, but he says he’s for sure going through with it! If I’m not here after transfers, hopefully I either get to come or see pictures! He’s already talked to his brother about baptizing him, and tonight we’re having dinner with Ali, his brother, and his sister-in-law, so we’re super excited to finally meet them.

Friday–We took Maria and Maricela to the temple visitors center!!! It was a very special and spiritual experience and there was lots more crying involved (those of you who know me well, know that all of this crying is very strange for me). But, I’m so glad that our investigators felt the Spirit touch their hearts. Also, Maria came because of our lesson about setting goals and making plans! And because Maricela is her friend, she encouraged her the whole week. It was awesome!

Saturday–Saturday was where things started going really downhill fast. I woke up with the stomach flu and a fever of 100.5. So basically, I felt like death. We also had to cancel EVERYTHING we had planned, which made me feel even worse. What are you as a missionary, if you can’t even do any missionary work?? I felt so bad having to neglect our investigators for a day. I’m so glad that I have an awesome companion, though. She contacted basically every one of our investigators, to send them scriptures, invite them to church, and let some of them know that we couldn’t meet. And then because we couldn’t make it to our member dinner, Hna Sanchez sent home a ton of food, including pozole (It’s sooo good!). Eventually, by like 8:30 pm, some elders were also able to make their way over to our apartment and give me a priesthood blessing, which I was grateful for. Other than that, I don’t remember a whole lot about Saturday. Just that everything was awful haha.

Sunday–I still didn’t feel all that great on Sunday morning, so the STLs came and did an exchange with us so that Hna Vazquez could go to the first 2 hours of church and support all of our members and investigators. Then later, I decided I felt well enough to go to Noche de Hogar (Family Home Evening) with the Spanish group, but apparently I didn’t look well enough haha. They were all so worried about me and it was really sweet and made me feel super loved. I was also uncomfortable, because as many of you know, I really don’t like anyone to worry about me. But, it was also a really nice confirmation that the ward does love me and care about me. They are the best! When we got home, I started crying because of how nice everyone had been (I know, more crying. What the even heck.). But anyway, I’m just so grateful to have the opportunity to serve here with such great people!

Today I’m still not feeling one hundred percent but I’m much, much better. Hopefully I will be able to go participate in P-day activities with the other missionaries. I love you all, thanks for reading my emails! Trust that Heavenly Father loves you and will answer your prayers, sometimes through the other people around you! If you reach out to Him, He will reach out to you! It may not always be in the way you expect, but make sure to watch out for those little miracles that surround us every day. And have a great week!

Love,
Hermana O’Barr

1. and 2. Portland temple!!!
3. Cookies are the best way to show your appreciation. Just saying.
4. People in Portland have slowly been doing this to all of the stop signs in the area haha
5. The day before I almost died! Look how happy I was! I didn’t know what was about to hit me!
6. Soccer last week
7. Koreannn…yummm

Another incredible, yet incredibly hard week! I am so grateful for all of the challenges I have the opportunity to face on my mission because I can see myself growing through each one. Anyway, here’s the rundown of what happened this week.

Monday–We went to the funeral I mentioned last week. It was difficult to keep tears out of my eyes to play Be Still, My Soul at the service, but I’m so grateful I had the privilege of playing for the family. The service was beautiful and full of the Spirit, which hopefully all of the non-members were able to feel. Many powerful testimonies of the Plan of Salvation were shared, and it definitely strengthened my testimony of it. For those of you who don’t know what the Plan of Salvation is, we believe that God has a loving plan for each of us, and part of that plan is that we can live with our families forever if we make sacred covenants in the temple and then try to live righteously.

Tuesday–The day didn’t start off great because we were supposed to have a trip to the temple visitors center with 3 people, and they all ended up canceling on us. But, we ended up having 3 great lessons during the day. On Tuesday I also received a package from my wonderful mother!

Wednesday–We had an fantastic district meeting! We all counseled together to see if we could come up with some solutions to problems we are facing in our areas, and it was so helpful! Hna Vazquez and I received lots of revelation for how to help our investigators and members.

Oh, one more thing about Wednesday–I had one of the scariest moments of my life! I was baking cookies for a member (that’s how I thank them for doing things for us haha) and I used a kitchen rag to pull the pan out of the oven, since we don’t have oven mitts or anything. I don’t know why, but it immediately went up in flames!!! Luckily I was able to toss it in the sink and turn on the water fast enough to keep it from spreading anywhere else or burning me. Hna Vazquez was in the bathroom when this happened, so she came out to see me frantically opening all the windows to let all the smoke out. Boy, was she confused. The parts of the rag that got burned completely crumbled into ash! But mom, you’ll be happy to know that we are planning on buying oven mitts today haha.

Thursday–Thursday was great!!! We helped out at a food bank, committed Maricela to come to church, ate copy-cat Cafe Rio at a members’ house, and then brought one of our new ward missionaries to a lesson with Ali! He is getting so close to baptism and when he shared his testimony with us, it was so powerful! I can’t even begin to describe what a privilege it is to teach God’s children and watch them grow.

Friday–It was a pretty hard day. I started to feel pretty inadequate as a missionary and was wondering what I could do to be better. But mi querida compañera reminded me that just as we can’t lower the Lord’s standards, we’re not authorized to raise them either. By holding myself to a higher standard than the Lord, I’m being prideful and putting my will above His. All He asks of us each day is that we try a little harder to be a little better. I’m going to try really hard to report my effort to the Lord through prayer and ask for His help to see my progress, not in comparison to anyone else’s.

Saturday–It was a long but really good day. We ate some amazing food, talked with a bunch of potential investigators, and taught Anthony and Luz.

Sunday–Sunday was fun and productive! Maricella came to church for the first time, and she brought her daughter and the two kids she babysits! All of them loved church and want to come back! Sunday was also good because the weather is getting really nice, and we had an AMAZING dinner with a family from the ward (SPICY Indian food!!!).

Thanks for reading yet another email from me! I miss everyone so much. If you feel like it, please send me pictures of home and your cute families so I can continue bragging about you! Remember that I love you, and that your Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ love you. Have a great week, and please serve someone around you if you get the chance! Spread the light!

Love,
Hermana O’Barr