Sunday, June 14, 2015

BAPTISM * THE HIGHLIGHT OF THE WEEK!



Man it has been the craziest weekend I have ever had and probably the 2 most fun days as well. We have had such a packed schedule trying to go and see everyone and set up the baptism for yesterday. Everything went so great and we had a really good turn out. The family was getting a little flustered trying to get everything ready and get clothes for Brandon and Ben to wear. Also sorting out the program for the baptism and getting all the talks, hyms. prayers, and food sorted.

So obviously yes the baptism was the highlight of this week and it went really smooth. I gave a talk on baptism and I was super sketched out cause there was gonna be heaps of non-members and I wanted to smash the talk and it was alright but I will always be nervous when I have to give a talk. Also Elder McMurray and I sang I Need Thee Every Hour (a Capella) with one other guy in the ward. It sounded pretty good seeing as we only practiced for 15 min before it all started. haha! Everyone was really able to feel the spirit and it brought Ben's parents to tears who are both non-members. The actual ordinance went great and Ben said all the words perfectly even though he was really nervous. We were able to enjoy some refreshments after the baptism and talk with everyone there and they really enjoyed the service and were able to feel the Spirit.

On Saturday we woke up and left the flat at 9 and went with the Apelgren family to their property where they keep their horse and we did some service for them and washed and brushed their horse...really it was an excuse just for us to go and see some horses and be with their family haha! but it was heaps of fun and I got pictures of everything. Then after that we went to Branden's basketball game for 40 min and watched him play and then went to lunch with them at a sushi restaurant. Then we got home and went to the Pearce's to do some service and help mow the lawn and prune the rose bushes. Then we went home and showered and changed and then we were off to the ward potluck dinner and quiz night and It was sooooo much fun!!! Ahhhh man missionaries live for ward activities and that's like the 3rd or 4th one Ive ever been to!!

Then Sunday we had church and then ward council and then the baptism and dinner and then saw some less actives so It has been a hella hecktic week!!

I LOOOOOOVE all the photos and holy crap my little brother looks my OWN freaking size!!!!! I cant even imagine what he's gonna look like in another year...it kinda breaks my heart that Im not there for him and Sammy while they are in these important years of their life.

I hope you guys are doing so good and I am so jealous of all the fun you are having.
BAPTISM OF BRANDEN RATCLIFF

BEN RATCLIFF, ELDER McMURRAY AND ELDER BARNETT

SISTERS/ELDERS

THESE TWO!  ELDER McMURRAY

BAPTISM SELFIE!?!

SO HAPPY!

IT'S GREAT TO BE 8! * CTR *  i hope they call me on a mission * ARMY OF HELAMAN
 

--
-Elder Barnett

-PO Box 97 Marden, SA 5070 Australia
     _______________________________

Wake Up and Put On My Badge...Proud to Represent.

JUNE 8, 2015

Last week of the Transfer!! Holy cow these past 6 weeks have flown by...I'm now starting to get nervous cause I definitely thought I was leaving and I was kinda exited about it but now I am getting nervous cause I don't wanna go and learn a new area, plus I love the members here so much and I love my companion. Everyone is telling me that once you get comfortable that's when you are gonna leave and I agree with that.

This week has been good but it got a little mixed up cause it was the Queen of England's birthday yesterday and that's why we weren't able to email cause its a public holiday....for the dang Queen that doesn't even live here. Oh and I found out that its not really even her birthday!! Australia get your holidays together. haha. So yesterday was just a normal day of proselyting and it was hard just cause no one was out and all the shops are closed and that's where we usually hang around cause that's where the people are. Also it was cloudy for most of the day and looked like it was gonna rain. (I'm not digging the cold weather and this is supposed to be one cold as winter!!)  Luckily I will be going home in the summer time!!

So today we are gonna go and cause some ruckus in the city and we are all so excited cause we went thrift shopping at Savers and mum.....I got the 2 sickest button up shirts on the planet and we are all rocking the dopest clothes. I really wanna go to the Ferrari dealership and take some cool photos and we also have a nice spot that we are gonna eat for lunch that is a little like rainforest café but the have a lunch special for $9.90! I took heaps of photos already right when we got back from Savers and I also changed how nice my camera takes pictures so I should be able to send photos heaps easier *fingers crossed*

The highlight of this week would probably be yesterday because we had Zone Training in the morning and we were able to listen to a talk given by President Uchtdorf. The talk was given in the Provo MTC in 2014 to all the mission presidents about to go out into the field. He talked about so many great things and honestly I wish I had a copy of the DVD cause I would watch it over and over again. If I was to write all the things that I liked in the talk it would take a few hours to write but in summary it was about fearing no man. He talked about how we are all disciples and we are doing the same thing that the Apostles were doing when Christ was on the earth. He spoke about the story of Peter and I have never really studied much about Peter and it was amazing to hear his story through the mouth of a current day Apostle and all of the insights that he had. The talk really inspired me to go out and to work as hard as I can and not to be afraid of proclaiming the gospel and the things that I know to be true, even if I am mocked and ridiculed. It gives me comfort that I am in the service of my Heavenly Father and I am proud to represent him every time that I wake up and put on my badge.

Branden Ratcliff is doing amazing and we have to see him 2 more times this week while we are preparing him for baptism!! I am so exited for this week man!!

Anyway I gotta email a couple more people and then we are gonna be off but I am sending photos!!

Love you so much!! 



 THRIFT SHOP FINDS :)

ELDER McMURRAY AND ELDER BARNETT

SAVERS Trip - all of their great finds!
MISSING HIS BRANDI GIRL

THIS IS JUST......WRONG!

WITH A SIDE OF CRAZY!!!!!!

SOME THINGS WILL NEVER CHANGE ---  You can take a boy outta the car, put him on a bike and he STILL ends up in a
FERRARI ??  :)
(pssst, the steering wheel is on the wrong side!)







I will keep Purifying my Motives and I will be Sustained in Whatever I am Called to Do



May 3, 2015

Well as all of you know Elder Cook will be leaving me this transfer and will be heading home to Texas. He fly's out on Wednesday and I cant believe the time is already here. Yes I am remaining in Golden Grove and I find out who my next companion is tomorrow at transfer meeting and to be honest I am heaps nervous.... Elder Cook has changed my mission and truly shown me how to find happiness and joy in the mission. He is such a great guy and seriously has taught me so much, more than he probably realizes. I was never comfortable going up and contacting people in the past and now because of this transfer I can go up to anyone and not be afraid to speak and I know that even if they don't wanna talk to me I will just pick myself up and move onto the next one because I know that there is someone in this area that the Lord has in store for me and my new companion to find. I have been really working on increasing my faith that I really am making a difference here and even though this entire transfer we were finding and really haven't found anyone solid to teach I have seen the blessings come from hard work.

I was thinking about the Ratcliff family and why they decided to rock up to church that first week that Elder Cook was here. They moved from Sydney a year ago and have been living here in Adelaide but on that specific day they felt the spirit prompt them to take there family to church and to get their lives back on track. Now why didn't they do that the entire 2 transfers I was here with Elder Rawlings? I know that it was because we weren't being as diligent as we should've been and we weren't pushing the work forward, we were more relaxed and got comfortable. Now the result of that was us becoming depressed and discouraged that we weren't seeing any progression in ourselves or in the area so we slowed down even more. I know that because Elder Cook and I were doing everything we could and we were working all day every day and to the best of our abilities the Lord placed them in our hands and trusted us that we would watch over and guide his lost sheep back to the fold.

I am feeling all the emotions right now of having a new transfer ahead of me and I hate getting a new companion just for the fact that I was comfortable with my previous one and we knew how each other worked and we both know the area and can work together. I am scared that my next companion might be someone a bit slack and I will have to pull more of the weight and do everything the Lord expects of me and to become the missionary he wants me to be. I feel like I have truly started to change my nature instead of just changing my behaviour. I have been acting heaps different then when I left yes.. but was I doing that for the right reason or was I just doing it cause that's what I was supposed to do and that's what my companion wanted me to do? Or was I doing it out of the love that I have for not only the Gospel but also the people here in Golden Grove that I have been called to serve? I would like to think its that latter one but I still need to keep working on it and purifying my motives.

This week it finally hit both Elder Cook and I that he was leaving and I had to once again take over the area and really lead and be the example. I am scared that I might have to take on more responsibility if am put with a younger companion or maybe even called to be the new district leader. There is a lot I don't know and I am nervous but I know I will be sustained in whatever I am called to do.

Yes we had heaps of fun in the city and we went to Krispie Kreme and I shouted the District 2 boxes of doughnuts!! Hahaha we went to a museum and just walked around. We went to China town and we got a massive plate of food for 5 bucks and it was as much as you could put on the plate....needless to say it wasn't good Chinese and .....ughhh so gross.

We saw the Ratcliffs heaps this week and went to a sushi train place for lunch, a pizza night with them on Saturday, and then stopped by yesterday to say goodbye. The kids are sad but they are scared about my new companion as well. Haha! Also Vanessa Ratcliff (the mum) knows Elder Bettridge and they are friends on Facebook!! How crazy is that!! I think he knows the whole family!! Ben (the husband) also knows him and I believe there was one guy Austin served with that he said was the reason he joined!! Man the church in Australia is crazy cause literally everyone knows everyone and everyone is related in some way... 

My headaches have gone down and that has made me really happy. Havent done anything different this week so I wonder why they slowed down. I had one yesterday after church but I reckon that's cause I was fasting and I always get one when I don't eat.

I cant believe the devastating stuff that happens in families! That  happens a lot here but I never knew how frequent it was until I got on the mish and found out how many people are struggling. Im interested to see how the ward is when I get home cause I bet some just put on the Sunday face and goes to church and looks like a happy family but until you are actually involved with their life you don't know that anything is wrong.

I am so stoked that its drews birthday coming up!! Im gonna try and find something today at the shops I can send him, I hope it wont be too expensive.

 AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH  You guys are making me smile ear to ear!!!!!! Freak my family is gorgeous!!! Man I cant wait to see those faces this week!!
I can't believe it's Mothers Day is next week and I cannot wait to see you guys!!! AHHHH man It came so fast!!!! I will figure out what family we are gonna Skype with and let you know the details.

I am gonna email Fuzz and a couple other people but I will send you some photos!!

I love you guys so much!


--
-Elder Barnett
 ____________________________________________________________________

Watching the sun rise on our roof yesterday!! We got up at six and took the couch cushions and hopped up there with blankets and had our jumpers on. The one and only sunrise Elder Cook has ever watched!!

____________________________________________________________________
MAY 17, 2015 

Hey guys!

Well its been a week since I talked with you guys and it feels like its been ages already... Honest I wish I could just talk to you every week cause it doesn't make me home sick at all, but really its just cause I'm too lazy to type everything out haha

The week has been really good but the only downer is that Elder Mcmurray is starting to come down with what I had so hopefully his flu thing doesn't get too bad. Also this morning was the first morning I have ever had where I woke up and had a pounding migrane... that was no fun at all but I have realized that my headaches have died down significantly and I have no idea why cause I haven't really been doing anything different.

Biggest news/highlight of the week!! Brandon Ratcliff is on baptism date for June 13th and transfers are on the 15th!! So I will be here for his baptism!! Man I am so exited that I get to see that kid go all the way from the start of us teaching them to him entering the waters of baptism! The family is going really well and we all went out to eat at a place called Nando's which is a Portuguese chicken place that is sooooo good (dad I will be taking you when we come back) We talked with the parents about making Brandon a baptismal calendar and putting the lessons we still need to teach him on there and then having his date so he can know what we will be talking and teaching about. Honest you guys this kid is like another little brother to me and I see so much of Drewbees in him. When they took us home I had my arm around him in the backseat and he held onto my hand and talked to me about his basketball games and how his AFL teams were doing:) I am gonna get heaps of photos with them. We got to play footy with the kids yesterday and it was so much fun!!

Other than that things have been pretty average and we are truckin along reaaaal nicely haha I am so stoked that its p-day and I paid Ben Ratcliff to make heaps of doughnuts for the whole district today so I am gonna surprise them all:) (he works at a bakery)

How has your week been?! The photos of you and Sammy are sooooooooo cute!! Ahhhhh I died when I saw sissy making the whipped cream!! lolz that is so her!! I will send that photo of my badge with the Roo, are there any other pictures your dying for? 

--

-Elder Barnett

______________________________________________________________________

May 24th, 2015

Ok so P-day isn't today cause we have the temple this Thursday but we are at the library filling out some surveys and I had to jump on the computer and let you know. This week has been really good and I cant believe we are getting Brandon ready for baptism!! Im so excited!! 

He is the best kid mum and he loves me like a brother and he said he is saving up his money so he can get me some AFL stuff before I leave....how cute is that?! Tell Sammy congrats!! She looks gorgeous and I cannot believe that she is graduating....she is so.......OLD!!

Tell Grandma I love her heaps and BTW I sent Drew a letter but Im not sure if its gonna get there on time and I really hope he doesn't hate me for that....

Ask me any questions while im here! Love you 

____________________________________________________________________
May 27, 2015

Well we just ate at KFC and now we are at the library for the next 90 min while we email and then our p-day is over...:( pretty rubbish p-day to be honest even though we got to go to the temple. It was good to get a little spiritual boost and kind of sit there and think for a while. Also I got to see the Chou's who is the family that I absolutely loved back in Semaphore, man the church in Adelaide is so small you're bound to run into someone that was in your previous area. Also I forgot my camera and hard drive so I cant send you pics I have but I will steal Elder McMurrays and send you some of the ones that he has.

The highlight for this week would be seeing Ben Ratcliff ordain his 12 year old son William to the Aaronic priesthood. Ben has been a member for only a couple years and has been less active for most of that time and now he has come back to full activity and is able to be the priesthood holder in that home. What a blessing it was to watch such a humble man lay his hands on his sons head and ordain him and give him a blessing. I was thinking to myself how simple the blessing was and yet it was still so powerful, and that's what I love about the priesthood. It enables imperfect people to act on Gods level and to exercise their faith while doing so. I am grateful for that experience that I was able to have.

Things have been going really good here. David, our previous investigator got back from Venezuela and we will start teaching him again. Brandon is progressing really well and is stoked for his baptism. He is such a smart kid and is already got plans for where he wants to go on his mission, he says he wants to go to Utah and all of our family.

I hope everything went solid for Sammy's graduation and also that Grandma is setting in right. What are the plans for Drew's birthday?

Love ya! 

____________________________________________________________________________

May 31, 2015

Hey mum I just got here!

Man this has been a really interesting past couple of days and last night we went over to Michelle Pearce's house and she told me that the girl that got in the car accident had passed away. I hadn't seen a picture of the girl who got in the wreck and she passed me her phone and my heart dropped....

Mom, I know Ben Anderson and I have been to his house and I have met his family. We have hung out before and I used to go air-softing with him and a group of friends. I couldn't believe what a massive impact it had on me when I was looking at those photos of him hugging his sister for the last time. My heart ached and I couldn't stop reading all of the posts that they had said and all the pictures that they had put up. When I knelt down to pray all I did was pray for them and I felt angry for some reason. I wanted to know why after all of the prayers and blessings and service that everyone around that family had rendered, why she would still be taken from this earth. I wanted to feel some of the sorrow that the family was going through and then instantly I thought of Sam and how I would take it if I had to hug her and say goodbye for the last time. I then realized how thin my faith still is because I didn't know why things like this happen and I thought of how angry I would be with God if it happened to me and my family. I then thought of Abraham and when he had to sacrifice his son and what a trial of faith that was for him. He was taken to the absolute edge of his faith and yet he was still willing to obey God and sacrifice his son who he loved dearly. It was only at the last second when God said that his sacrifice wouldn't be necessary. I couldn't imagine the thoughts that were going through his mind and also the Andersons minds when they were both asked to go through these extreme trials of faith. I want you to please let them know of my love for them and that I am always thinking and praying for them.

This weekend has been pretty good and we are so excited to help Brandon really start preparing for baptism over these next two weeks.

Elder McMurray and I are doing great and are having a blast and I hate thinking that there is a good chance I will be leaving this transfer.

Tell Drew Happy Birthday and let him know how much I love him!!

How is Sam and how was graduation?  Drew looks massive!!!!! How is Grandma doing and how long is she staying there? Any big plans for summer?

Love you so much!!

--
-Elder Barnett
________________________________________________________________________

At the shops in Adelaide

The great and dreaded Chinese Food







ELDER BARNETT and ELDER MCMURRAY








Be As Little Children...

APRIL 6, 2015

This week has been absolutely fantastic. We have still been pounding the pavement yes and we are trying to do prime time finding which is finding from 5 till 7 at night 3 times a week. It really does a number on me being depressed cause I hate taking rejection after rejection for 2 hours straight, and to be honest I've never seen a new investigator come from a door knock. I have only seen people be interested if its through a street contact or a referral from the office or another area. Although the area is still struggling we are really getting a hold of it and doing everything we can to help the area progress. We have been working hard on aligning ourselves with the bishop and stake presidency as well as what the area presidents want us as missionaries to be doing. We have been smashing the ward and really trying to get them involved more with missionary work especially around this Easter time where peoples hearts are softened and they are more open to hearing about Jesus Christ or religion in general.
Yes the weather has been heaps cold and raining pretty consistently which would be totally fine....if we weren't on bikes.... plus my bike keeps having issues and I need to fix a flat that I got the other day when we rode past a BMX track and I took my bike over to show the kids how a real man does it and also that I could do it in a shirt and tie (I got it on video as well) I launched my bike into the air and hit some fun jumps but I got a 3 corner jack in my tire which is just like these little spikey things that are all over so ya that's no good. Great and I can now feel a headache coming on probably due to the lack of food and sleep.

The companionship is still going really good.  Elder Cook is doing a great job but sometimes he realizes that I cant keep going at his pace and I need to take a break and get my mind together. He really is pushing me to do my best and always helps to pump me up to talk to someone or to knock the next door. We get along really well and Im really surprised how good it really is cause I was crapping my pants thinking that my life was gonna be a living hell. Yes I am working like a dog but I am happy a lot more now. On a side note I have been getting a lot of headaches lately and I haven't stopped working but I think they are getting worse. My body hasn't been doing the greatest and I am going into the clinic soon so I will tell you if anything is up

So yes Easter is a lot bigger here in Australia not for the fact that its celebrated more but everyone gets a 4 day weekend. Everyone has Friday off because its good Friday (when Christ died) then they get Monday off as well so that's why we didn't email or do anything yesterday.

The highlight of my week has been being able to really grow with that new family I told you about that moved into the ward last week, the Ratcliff family. Man they are so solid and we have been able to go over to their house 2 times for dinner and then all the 5 kids gather round us and we have a lesson with all of them. Its so much fun to teach really really simply and to get down to their level. Elder Cook was studying in the BOM the other day in 3rd Nephi I believe? Talking about how Christ would always have the little children run up to him and he would bless them and talk with them and it goes on to say that some of the questions that these little children would ask were so profound that they couldn't be recorded down. I couldn't believe how true that was because I saw it first hand when we were teaching these children. They had some of the most amazing questions and some of them were difficult to answer especially in a way that would make sense to them. They are really keen of having all the kids learn and grow together and to almost integrate us into their family so that the kids can be comfortable with us and really open up about any questions or concerns they may have. They lessons take a long time just because they have so many questions and we were teaching them the Gospel of Jesus Christ and we were supposed to get through Faith, Repentance, Baptism, Receiving the Gift of the Holy Ghost, and Enduring to the End and we barely managed to get through Faith haha. Such a great family though and I absolutely love seeing them get so excited about the Gospel and about learning.

   Man I had a touretts moment in the middle of the library when I saw those photos!!AHHHHHHHHHH Both my sisters are gonna be little nurses!  Love those pics! Alrighty we are leaving! I love you guys more than life!! Keep working hard and I will be home in no time!!

--
-Elder Barnett

-PO Box 97 Marden, SA 5070 Australia
_____________________________________________________________________________


April 19, 2015

Well it has been a little while since I've emailed yous but I thought I would let you know how things are going in the Golden Grove area #sacredgrove. To be honest nothing has changed and things are still getting worse and worse with our investigators and we haven't seen really any success with the things we have been doing, even though we have been constantly finding day in and day out. Like I said the other day, our only investigator at the moment is Branden Ratcliff and he and the family are solid but other than that we have no one to teach. On Saturday we were out finding for 7 HOURS..... we have walked some ridiculous amount of kilometres just cause our bikes are a little broken at the moment but we are hoping to get them fixed today.

Even though the area has been rough I am still heaps happy and Elder Cook and I are getting along really well. Its crazy to think that he only has like 2 and a half weeks left. He doesn't like talking about him going home and he is incredibly dedicated and consecrated to this work. If he could he would totally extend his mission but we aren't allowed to do that. I can tell that it is really starting to get on his nerves that nothing is happening in the area even though we are trying our hardest to work and be effective. Last night during planning he said he was sick of not having any people to teach and I don't think my attitude helped cause I am more relaxed about it cause we have always had a tiny amount of people to teach so I have gotten used to it and its been hard for me to have faith that we are actually gonna find someone on the streets that is gonna want to learn more. We have a few people that said they wouldn't mind us coming around but most of them haven't panned out but we talked to a guy yesterday that was really cool, his name was Alex and he lives close to our flat. He told us he wasn't part of any denomination cause he thinks that committing to one faith restricts you and your spirituality. He said he likes to experiment with different things and also said he loves to do LSD and Shrooms and to go on his psychcadelic journeys.... so ya its hard for me to have faith or even a hope that something is gonna come from people like that. I love him and he is a great guy but I don't see anything coming from him, maybe 1 lesson or 2. 

The Ratcliffs are amazing and we had so much fun with them on Friday. We weren't able to go to that place I told you about but we went to a café and had some really good food, they are taking us out again this Friday to Hoggs Breath.

My headaches have still been off and on. We walked to that Wooly's right next to our house and I bought a 24 pack of Pepsi that was on special for like 15 bucks. I told President about it and Sister Carter gave me a call and gave me some tips on what to do when I get one but ultimately she said to take 2 Excedrin and a coke and lay down in the dark....and you know that that's my specialty hahaha 

Other than that it has been a pretty uneventful couple days but I am still lovin it! We are headed to St Kilda again today to that big play ground for adults. Also the weather here has been crap and its been raining heaps and getting really cold. I snatched a jumper from the Semaphore flat when I left but I think I might pick one up today from Big W or something....

Love,
Elder Barnett


ADELAIDE AUSTRALIA TEMPLE