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
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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!!
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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
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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
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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!
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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
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| At the shops in Adelaide |
The great and dreaded Chinese Food
ELDER BARNETT and ELDER MCMURRAY
