CHRISTMAS IN JUNE

Wow sounds like you all had a massive week! I love everything you said about Elder Webb! And mom you seriously got the tooth brush out to clean with!? Hahaha! That's my mamas right there! :) I love when you get to see people's true character. When they come home and don't have to be super professional and such. Then you know who they REALLY are! And to whomever put the 20 bucks in the shorts I asked you to send.. You are a little stinker! :D I love you so much!

Fun facts of the week... every night we hear the firework show that goes off at Sea World! From 10:00-10:05 they go off and every night it sounds like someone is playing basketball in our ally! Haha!

 I've been studying a lot about Joseph Smith this past week because the anniversary of his martyrdom is in a couple of days. He is truly amazing. Anyone want to take a trip to Nauvoo -  October 2014?? Sweet! Let's go! So before companionship study everyday Sister Strasser and I sing a hymn. We started at the beginning of the hymn book and we work through one each day, well this week we have been in the Christmas hymns and you know that I have gone wild with that! I LOVE CHRISTMAS MUSIC! In honor of our Christmas hymn week we have also been listening to Christmas music in the car and it's made me so happy and smiley! We should be celebrating Christ every single day, so why not do it through our music, too!? 

Another fun fact! I'm turning into quite the reader! I know, I know, I know, you're rolling your eyes (especially emily Haha!) but seriously! I can't get enough of reading! Right now I'm in the Book of Mormon, the June Ensign, True To The Faith, the Bible dictionary, the conference Ensign, and Our Search For Happiness! BAHHH! They're all so good and enlightening! So now I need to declare to the world (and especially everyone that I've told that I don't like reading to) I LOVE READING! It's so good for you! Tell me what your favorite books are right now! Why do you like them? What are you learning? What do you want to read next!? Where do you like to read? What time of the day is your favorite?

So remember how I talked about how I loved that we were going to garden this week!? Well man did we garden! We had 3 different service projects outside and we got our sweat on like crazy. I even mowed someone's lawn!!! YES! :D One of my proudest moments as a missionary thus far. We also did a lot of pulling weeds and clipping palm trees. We had truck loads going to the dump. It was so awesome. Plus, we had our whole district there once, so there was an army of missionaries! Nothing softens a heart quicker than a bunch of dorky 20-somethings transforming your yard in an hour or two! *tahhhhduhhhh*

This week we had the opportunity to volunteer at the Bishop's Storehouse in Linda Vista! What a good thing for me to do... Heavenly Father knows that I have always had a little bit of a beef with just giving things to people and trusting that they have good intentions. Well that's terrible Sister Barfuss!!! We got to work in the front with the people who came with orders to get food. We helped them find it, bag it, and then put it in their cars. And the whole time I got to learn what true charity was. The people we were helping were all pretty quiet and self conscious. I imagine that they wished they could provide everything for their family, but that week they could not. I got to witness first hand what the Savior would do if He was on the earth right now. He would give someone diapers for their baby! He would give someone milk and cheese. He would let them take as many bell peppers as they wanted, and He would throw in a free broom! My eyes were opened to my often judgmental heart. I was so embarrassed at the things I was thinking about the people there. But by the end of the day I had learned the lesson Heavenly Father intended for me... that we do not know what people have been through and are currently going through. We HAVE to give them the benefit of the doubt and choose to see them as child of God who is trying to find the path or get on it. People don't need people to judge them, just love them.

With that being said, man the leadership training meeting was amazing right!? What a cool time to be in the mission field! We haven't heard anything from President yet, but my zone has Zone Conference with him tomorrow! So perfect! How exciting! I'm sure he'll say something about the new things we've heard. The main thing I gathered from the evening is that IT'S TIME TO GET DOWN TO BUSINESS! (to defeat the huns!! heed my every order and you MIGHT survive!!!! sorry. i had to. Hahaha) When the Lord wants us to do something, let's just do it! :D Together we can be so helpful to Him. What a huge blessing we could be! Tell me how you are going help the Lord out this week... I'd love to heart about it! I'll pray for you to be brave if you pray for me ;) Sounds like a plan! Israel Israel God is calling!

I LOVE YOU!

Sister Barfuss

Blessing! Blessings! Come Get Your Blessings!

Oh what a beautiful Tuesday! Oh what a beautiful day!! :) So basically today I am grateful. Not because my life is perfect or because anything particular happened, but man, I'm blessed! First blessing... WE GOT TO GO TO THE TEMPLE! Could there be a more wonderful place on earth? I loved it so much because it felt so familiar. Not very many parts of a mission make you feel at home or comfortable, but the temple does! I loved every minute of it. The San Diego Temple has an atrium in it too! We sat there and looked at it forever. It's so peaceful in the temple. And the celestial room. I can't even describe!  I just sat there in awe. It was so quiet, so stunning, and so simple that I just cried. These were tears of love. I felt like I was where I belonged and that everything was perfect at that moment. Perfect. Absolutely perfect. Sister Strasser had a family name for me to take and her name was Mary :) Imagine that! Only 83 days until I get to go again!

Blessing number two... Everything I love keeps showing up all over the place! I can't tell you how many people are like "Will you help me garden? I really need some help." Ummmm YES!!! I LOVE GARDENING! I even started my own little one. I bought the smallest little baby pot (it probably holds a 1/8 cup of dirt) and planted some seeds! See the picture attached! :) I've got to take advantage of living in the perfect climate! We also have a lot of neighbors and friends with orange and tangerine trees and they let us pick them whenever we want. I probably eat an orange every single day!

Blessing number three... I never cease to be entertained by Pacific Beach and La Jolla. For example, there is a Masarati dealer here! And there is a Ferrari dealer right across the street! Talk about money! Then we found a street called Drury Lane... no, the muffin man didn't live there. We looked everywhere for him! I saw a guy walking down the street with a bear head on his head. Just chillin there. I mean why not, I guess!? We have homeless people all over the place that always have funny signs. Sometimes I want to roll down the window and say, "Good one man! You have the best sign I've seen all month! Here's a chocolate chip peanut butter granola bar for your creativity!!"

Blessing number four... I have been taught the Word of Wisdom! Pacific Beach is known throughout the whole San Diego community as the place to go to party. Everyone associates Pacific Beach with bars and babes. We found out that it has the highest number of DUI's in the area, too. We looked in the GPS and there are 26 liquor stores within 5 miles of our apartment. Absolutely amazing to me. Last Saturday night when I was driving, I lost it. Seriously I had had to dodge about 6 different drunk people who just ran out into the streets, there were people driving like maniacs everywhere, and there were cops pulling people over and blocking half of the lanes so they could take care of them. I pulled over the car and had to pray to calm down and realize how much I have been blessed! Look at my life... I am always in control of my actions and my thoughts! I get to make choices for myself instead of "drunk texting" people and getting myself in trouble. We have to keep the Word of Wisdom because it allows us to always be learning and growing. To do that you have to have a clear mind! We have met plenty of people on the side of the road who are hung over in the morning and are trying not to throw up. We try to visit Less Actives but we can't get through their apartment complex because there are too many games of beer pong going on. And to put the cherry on top of these stories... last Friday night right when it was starting to get dark, we saw a guy just laying in the street gutter. LAYING IN THE STREET GUTTER! The Word of Wisdom enables us to be free. Too many times it is thought of as restricting, but man oh man I don't  feel "restricted" when on Saturday mornings I can get up and go exercise and my neighbors are passed out on the roof with their jeans still on. Blessed I am!

Blessing number five... I have the most supportive family on earth. I am going to take a moment to brag okay!? Since it was Father's Day I'm going to start there. Dad is the best person on the planet. He knows how to discipline himself and how to lead. He does things with out even being asked. AND! He knows how to load a dish washer better than anyone I know ;) Mom you are consistent! I NEVER have to wonder how the family is doing. I am always kept in the loop and you always make me smile. No one has better stickers than my mom! Brennan knows how to make me laugh! He is the most witty person I know and gosh darn it, everything I know about getting a laugh comes form him! He also is so respectful and courageous. I can remember when I used to hang out with him in SLC and we would ALWAYS try new things! He knows how to make everyday special! Katelyn is a super mom! When I'm a mommy I want to be just like her! Training for a half marathon! WHAT!? And she is so kind to me. Every week I get a email from her with pictures of Peter! Todd is daaaaahhhh man. (he's laughing right now) But for realsies! Todd works so hard! He has shown me how to be a beast in college and in the big kid world! He's also very knowledgeable and is one of very few people in our family that banters with me. In a good way! He makes me think! I love it! And then there's moomoo! Sweet Emily! What would I do without you!? You are the perfect match for me! Moo knows how to work like a beast and she knows how to shop like a queen! Emily always helps me feel good about myself and makes me try new things :) What would I do with out all of you!? I'm so blessed. So so blessed.

Count how many blessing YOU'VE had this week and let me know!

I love you!

Sister Barfuss

YO..................TACO - Please do not CLIMB on the counter (this includes adults and imaginary creatures)

OH! OH! AND CLOROX WIPES!

This week was full of miracles! :D Imagine that!? We started this thing called "Poo Crew" which has been a success... it consists of us holding a bag and picking up poo and garbage with a plastic glove while street contacting people. It works so well! People here love that we are helping the environment, so they talk to us! YAY! Sister Strasser is in charge of holding the pass a long stuff and I'm in charge of holding the bag of nastiness. It's super weird, but super effective. Truth be told... we only have success when we serve. SO! Poo Crew it is! Let me know of other ideas for service you have!

The elders in my zone are super addicted to Nair. The stuff that  burns your hair off. So every time we get with them, somebody has just Naired their arms or legs! Haha! This week I met someone from Assyria, Australia, Japan, and someone from Switzerland twice! They spoke German and recognized both our last names as VERY German :) It was fun! Strasser means "street" and Barfuss means"barefoot." We also saw a guy sleeping in his trunk  when we went out for our morning walk! Haha! Seriously though, he was in a yellow mustang's trunk with his legs hanging out... Haha! We were going to die! One of my good Elder friends went home today because transfers are tomorrow, so I asked him what his first name was. He said "Justin." Wait for it..... wait for it..... and his last name is Beazer. So he's Justin Beazer from Canada!! WHATTT!!?? Justin Bieber has ruined so many people's lives. Transfers left Sister Strasser and I untouched! Every sisters companionship got mixed up in our zone but us! We were super nervous. But I think it's good they left Pacific Beach alone because we're starting to see improvements! :)

This week we met three different people who were totally prepared for the gospel. They were searching! One was a referral, one we found at a house where a Less Active had moved from, and the last one just walked into the church building asking when we had church. WHAT!!!??? He said he wanted to see what was up with the Mormons. So we sat him down, threw down a 10 minute restoration lesson, and then church started! He even stayed for Sunday School! Heavenly Father is always full of surprises! We have an appointment with him on Wednesday!

We met another referral who loves to garden! I almost died! I begged him that he would let us help because 1) we want to get to know him. 2) I LOVE GARDENING! So we are going over on Saturday to get our garden on with him :) And Al!! We talked to Al again! We went over last night and he opened up the door and told us to never come back. He was all fired up. But turns out it was because he is talking to the city council tomorrow and that's his passion in life. We talked for a solid 20 minutes and we got him laughing and talking about his kids! He was super sarcastic and rude a few times but I brushed it right off and threw it back at him. I think he is intrigued by how not afraid we are of him. When we were getting ready to leave he thanked us for coming and said "You two are good at this. Very personable." YESSSS!!!! And then he invited us for tea sometime! (we'll address the Word of Wisdom later :) hahaha) So moral of the story, Heavenly Father hears our prayers. He knows us and He knows Al. As we try to align ourselves with Heavenly Father's will, miracles do and will happen. Al isn't interested in the gospel at all (YET!), but he knows he has two friends. That's what we want to have happen all over the world!

I love you more than my bed and my pillow! (which are on my "top 15 favorite things in the world" list Hehehe)

Sister Barfuss

ps- I found my future calling in life... I'm going to work for the Special Olympics by coaching a deaf volleyball team who I talk to by ASL. After the games are done and they have a dance, I'm going to do all the girls' hair super cute and paint their nails! :D it combines everything I love the very most! Then I'll clean up after the dance because nothing gets me feeling better than some chemicals and a sponge! OH! OH! And Clorox wipes! Yesssss!!!

we got our pinewood derby car cut in half and then framed by a member. our booth at UCSD

yay for tuesdays! today we're playing softball... im gonna dominate!

(the temple got moved back to next week)

So cool, huh?

June 4, 2013

June!! The weather here is absolutely delightful! Yesterday it was 71 with a light breeze. Whew! That's a gift from above! So to start off last week, on Tuesday I got a classic Sister Barfuss cold. My throat was on fire for a few days and then it moved to my nose and has been hanging out ever since! I can't seen to kick the last of it. Now I'm in the coughing stage. BUT! The coolest part of the week came from me being sick! It got to the point that I didn't feel like I could go out one morning but I didn't want to sit around all day! I was frustrated and Sister Strasser suggested I get a blessing. I won't lie... I've never had a blessing for something that's as silly as a cold, but I knew that I needed help. We met elders from our district at the church for a blessing. When we go there Sister Strasser suggested we sing a hymn before the blessing to invite the Spirit. One of the elders asked if we could sing "I Stand All Amazed" so we did! Then I sat in one of the pews and they gave me the most simple yet powerful blessing. When we were headed to the church I was feeling really weak and light headed, and then after the blessing I still had a stuffy nose and a cough but I felt strong! I knew I could walk all day and be useful to the Lord! We carried on the rest of the day and we only came home early once the whole week for just an hour or so! What a tender mercy from Heavenly Father. I love that Heavenly Father didn't heal me 100%, but rather gave me just enough strength to keep going another day. That seems to be the way He likes to work :)

This week I met a professional Polynesian boxer, a girl form Thailand, and a 3 legged dog!!! I'm being so serious! We were driving to go see a woman who is less active and Sister Strasser just yells "BAHHH! LOOK!" It totally only had three legs. I think I will name him Threego. Here Threego!! Here boy! :D 

I get to drive this week just in case Sister Strasser gets transferred. California is an awesome place to drive... seriously it's not for the faint of heart. I got flipped off within the first hour of driving so that should sum up everything for you! Sister Strasser calls it the "California Howdy!" :) Hahaha I almost died the first time she said that!! So funny.

Our ward mission leader sent us a text this week that said "luvU2" and we were like uhhhhhhhhhhh......? Okay thanks. Love you too. I guess.......? (He's like 65 or 70). Then he texted us back and was dying because that was meant for his wife! Haha We got laughing pretty hard on that one!

We went to UCSD's campus and did a Mormon booth with some other sisters. We were conveniently located in between the "UCSD Students for Tobacco" booth and the "Ask an Athiest" booth. Then the "Student Socialists" booth was across from us. Lets just say that we had fun. People LOOOOVE to come up to me and just burn the church over and over. They tell me I'm deceived and stupid and that they feel bad for me. So I just smile and listen to their whole shpeel... and then I say something like "I'm so glad that God lets us each choose what we want to do with our lives. I talked with God about what would be best for me and He answered with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. So cool huh!?" 

Thank you for your letters and prayers of love and support! I love you to pieces!

Sister Barfuss