5-30-16

Hello Everyone!!

So, crazy story.... I'm leaving the city.  I'm getting transferred to Hayward across the bay.  It's going to be pretty crazy.  I've learned so much from the experiences I've had here.  

This week we some pretty cool miracles.  We've been trying to meet with this lady named Deborah and we finally planned a time.  She's been super stressed out and a lot of hard things have happened to her.  We shared our message about the restoration and it was really powerful because this really just answered her questions and helped her know that she can receive guidance in her life.  I wish everyone could know that!-God wants to give you guidance!!  This city REALLY needs that!!! 

Thank you for all that you've done for me! Have an amazing week!

5-23-16

Hello Everyone!!!

On Saturday we had a zone finding activity where we went with another missionary to a random place not in our area and just talked to people/knocked doors, whatever was necessary to find people to teach. I was with Elder Tu'ua(we went to Wasatch and Timpview together....whoda thunk???) We were tracting a random street and ran across a member who had been praying for priesthood holders to come by.  She was going through some health struggles and just wanted a blessing.  After telling us about how she came to gain a testimony where the spirit filled the entryway, she sat on a bench in her entryway and we gave a blessing.  I had such spiritual witness that if we are doing good and what God wants us to do, the spirit will guide us to the people God wants us to meet and will guide us in the words that we say so that we can truly "invite others to come unto Christ."  To finish the miracle story, I happened to be with Elder Tu'ua who is in the Fijian program.  This lady, Sister Dinoi, just happened to be Fijian.  They just went off. I didn't understand a single word but I felt the spirit in their words.  God works in mysterious but miraculous and mighty ways. I know that God loves each one of us and is watching our every action and wants us to be happy.  

I hope you all have a wonderful week!

5-17-16

Hello Everyone!!!

Wow, I love the Gospel!! Sorry, sometimes I just get really excited about it! On Sunday Elder Hamula and Elder Pimentel of the Seventy came to talk to our Stakes here in San Francisco because the boundaries of the stakes and wards are getting adjusted.  It was so powerful! Elder Pimentel talked about this cool idea relating to the Good Samaritan.  Put your name in each of the people's places-the samaritan, the wounded Jew and the Innkeeper and then you can also put Christ's name in the place of the Samaritan and the innkeeper! It was amazing!

I have a new companion, Elder Puckett!!! He's from Tennessee.  He loves outdoors, movies and especially to be a missionary! He's really awesome, quite a goofball and we're working super hard! 

Experience for the week: We were tracting on this Island in the bay called Treasure Island last Saturday and we found some super solid investigators!!! The island, in a lot of ways is really abandoned and has a lot of poor people but it's cool because whenever people drive on the bay bridge they drive through this tunnel on this island and they miss treasure island completely and we get to cover it!!!

I love it here!!! Miracles are coming on the daily! You are all amazing!  I truly love each and every one of you and I hope you feel it! Have an amazing week!

With Love,

Elder Barnett

5-9-16

Hello Hello!

How's everyone doing?! I'm doing great! :) I hope everyone can look back this week and think of something that made them smile because I can think of plenty experiences! The work here is moving.  We're seeing cool miracles, feeling a cool spirit and it's just fun. Don't get me wrong, it can be hard but man, living, if you are doing your best is just fun!

We got to help a member of the Golden Gate ward cleaning out a bunch of stuff from his apartment! He has a lot of stuff so we're just helping him clean up so that he can feel the spirit more.  I've noticed that a lot on my mission! When things are clean and organized, the spirit has a much easier time of entering in and staying in.  As Larry R. Lawrence said a couple years ago, sometimes we've just got to take a small step to have the spirit more in our lives and start by "cleaning our rooms." I have been so grateful for the Holy Ghost this week! Sometimes we just have to take a breather and then we'll have the spirit to guide us.  God doesn't want us to work harder than we can handle, he just wants us to be diligent(Mosiah 4:27).

A member took us out to eat at this awesome Italian restaurant called Buca Di Peppo! It was soooo good and then we had an awesome lesson on the Plan of Salvation in this noisy restaurant. It was fun! Then we got super chubby with this massive mountain of sugar...

Have a fantastic week!!! :D

With Love,

Elder Barnett

These are pics of our Preparation day activities!

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5-2-16

Hello Everyone!!!

This week has seen some really cool teaching opportunities!! I realized the importance of being bold.  We've had a couple investigators who were just not progressing at all. It was sad to see so we decided to just be really bold and communicate with them what our purpose as missionaries was.  One of them just wasn't ready to commit to this but the other, Marion, responded very positively and now she's progressing towards baptism.  Because we were just clear, and direct with her she was able to see that this matters and that she has to make a choice, and use her agency wisely.  I love this work, I love the Gospel.  This life can be hard but if we're just willing to be willing subjects to God's will we will be able to have happiness.  I love you all! Have a great week!

4-25-16

Hello Everyone!

Wow, life just keeps you hopping!  I never know what to expect and when the next day comes I'm surprised at what has happened.  

This weekend we had a mini missionary come! His name was Brother Pahulu.  He's 15 and he only stayed for 3 days but man, those 3 days were exciting!  On Saturday evening we were just on our way to another appointment, walking through the ghetto part of town with the homeless people on either side and we just started handing out pictures of the temple to everyone.  It was amazing.  These people are so lost in their lives but what is amazing is that God loves each one of them just as much as me.  It's humbling to be among them but sometimes a picture and just a few words can mean a lot to them. So, as a trio, we went right through the ghetto, handing out little rays of sunshine.  Great chance to do good.

Miracle of the weekend was finally being able to meet with Romell again! I don't know if I ever talked about Romell but he was the one who we found randomly, super late at night right after his dog had just died.  We were finally able to go over to his place and we taught him about the plan of salvation.  It applied so directly to his life.  I feel like I've been able to form this really cool connection with him that is really rare.  I love when you're able to comfort someone, especially with the message of Jesus Christ because these bonds form that are clearly by the Holy Ghost.  It's amazing.  I love working with the people here.

Another miracle was a referral from mormon.org.  A woman, Gala, is not a member but her father, noticed that she was going through a hard time and put her name onto mormon.org.  We called her up and met with her in the lobby where she works. We've met with her a couple times and she now calls us her angels.  She said that she knows that this is the path that she needs to take.  It's amazing to see how God blesses us with amazing people to teach as we act on our faith by working hard.  Good things are coming!

I love you all, have an amazing week! Go about doing good!

4-18-16

Hi all,

What a week!! On Saturday night, the Oakland Temple was having a visitors center reopening celebration.  There was this big piano concert that we've been inviting a lot of people to in the past three weeks.  They called it a Gala Concert.  It was beautiful.  They were SO GOOD.  It was cool for me and I think it was really powerful for the investigators that we brought with us.  We've been teaching Ruth and Bobby, an unmarried couple with a 3 year old girl.  They came with us and it was especially powerful to be able to walk around the temple with them.  Eternal families are a reality.  That is just so amazing to me.  I'm so grateful for the Gospel.  We taught them about how they can be together forever and Ruth got especially excited.  It's been amazing to work with them.

These next few weeks I'm going to be focusing on the Christlike attribute of hope.  I love Ether 12:4-"Wherefore, whoso believeth in God might with surety hope for a better world, yea, even a place at the right hand of God, which hope cometh of faith , maketh an anchor to the souls of men, which would make them sure and steadfast, always abounding in good works, being led to glorify God."  So, as we learn, faith leads to hope, but hope also leads to faith, which leads us to be strong, do good things and praise our Heavenly Father.  I'm amazed at the hope that so many strong people have shown to me in my life.  Let us go out and "hope for a better world" this week.  I invite you all to pick one Christlike attribute that you want to focus on this week.  Study about it, write about it and find ways that you can better apply it. I love you all. Have an amazing week.  You're all amazing.

With Love,

Elder Barnett