Work Our Rear Ends Off (And Off to Brazil!)

 

Sister Barkdull today before she left for Brazil.

 

Hey Family!

So, I'm sure you all know now that my visa to Brazil has arrived!

This week has been pretty stressful. We had our tri-ward mutual activity on Wednesday that ended up taking a lot more than we'd anticipated. Members were really willing to help, but getting them to actually do it was like pulling teeth (I may have used that metaphor wrong..). I learned to appreciate people for their great intentions, but if you really want something done, you've got to go at it and do it yourself! The activity was really fun, though, and we had a pretty good turn out. We had this line of tables set out with pictures and souvenirs from about 20 current and former missionaries on display, kind of like a "your missionary heritage" sort of thing. Getting the pictures was the frustrating part with the members, but we got a lot of thank you's afterwards, not just from the people who got to see all the funny pictures, but from the people who had served the missions. I guess it brought back memories and feelings from their time of service, and we're hoping that it lit the fire of missionary work in their bones again. We also had five booths set up with people who'd served in various parts of the world taking about their missions. At the end of it all, we had the youth go through the "missionary morning program". They "woke up" at 6:25 to "exercise", or wheel barrow the length of the gym. 7:00 was breakfast where they had to choose 3 food options, blend it together, and then their companion had to drink. Some companions needed an inventory after that... 7:30 is time to get ready- we had a family that just moved out donate a bunch of clothes. For personal study time at 8:00 we had a scriptures chase, and then at 10 they had to ride a mini scooter or bike to the other side of the gym. Whoever knocked on the "golden investigator's" door first won.

After like 2 days of not proselyting, we had to work our rear ends off! It was a little hard, though, because we were stressed about transfer calls. Everyone kept saying Sister Glenn was going to be transferred, which would've been awful! Seriously, the work has just exploded here. We're working with at least 15 less actives/families, and our number of investigators has tripled. We've really built up our relationship and trust with the ward too. So, when President Wirthlin called Friday night instead of Saturday to say that I was being transferred to BRAZIL, we were pretty devastated... to say the least.

I'm REALLY going to miss everyone we've been working with and my companion. My biggest sadness is that I'm pretty sure they had much more of an impact on my life than I did on theirs. I've learned so much from them, and I would like to say what, but that would make this email really long, and we've got to go, as usual. I know I'm going to see them again, though, if not after my mission, then definitely in the celestial kingdom. They are the elect. I could not have had the privilege of being a part of a more amazing peoples' lives. I know Heavenly Father has a plan for me, but more importantly, I know he has a plan for them, and in my heart of hearts, I know everything will be okay. Any change that occurred in their lives wasn't because of me, anyway, it was the spirit.

I love the gospel! I'm extremely sad to be leaving everyone in New York, but I'm terrified and excited to get to work again in Brazil! Thank you for fasting for me, I did feel it, and I hope to continue to feel it through these first few hard transfers.

I love you all!

Bye now!

Sister Barkdull