Best Week Evahhhhhhhh!!!

Can I just start off by saying that I love my life?? Okay cool. Thanks for letting me start off that way :) So basically this week was the most crazy exciting week of my mission so far... let's just get right down to it okay!? So first of all Sister Strasser and I made it through transfers untouched!!! We thought for sure that she would get transferred because NO ONE stays with their trainer after they are done training now days. But I am the luckiest sister on the planet! :D Seriously our whole zone got destroyed and people got transferred all over the mission, but not the good ole Pacific Beach sisters! So we went on with life... but then we realized all of our friends were getting transferred (cue my heart dropping)... seriously if there is anything that makes my heart hurt more I will let you know. These missionaries have seriously become my family and it's so hard to see them go. After we had our last Pday sports with them, we all said goodbye and then Sister Strasser and I got in the car and just cried. But this cry is not quite the usual cry for me. I was crying because I was SOO happy that Heavenly Father let me be friends with them if it was only for a few weeks. The only other time in my life that I've cried like that was when Katelyn and Todd said they were pregnant after the Brian Regan show we went to. I remember I just wept and wept and wept! It was because I was so excited and so sad that they were moving but I was SOOOOO excited! I'm convinced that my mission is just as much about meeting certain missionaries as it is about meeting certain investigators. Every single day I feel like one missionary or another does something or says something that blows my mind. They make me think. They make me change.

So uh no big deal or anything but the work is hastening in San Diego. Why do you ask? Well let's just say that President Clayton at transfer meeting called two English speaking elders to learn Arabic. ARABIC!!!!!!!!!! Did I just say Arabic?? Yes I did!! Here's the scoop... the 2nd largest group of Arabic speakers in the nation is in El Cajon and President wants to reach out to them. So he decided that we needed Arabic speakers and since the MTC doesn't teach that (aka- there is no such thing as Arabic speaking missionaries) he decided to make them up! He prayerfully picked two elders that have been here for 2 transfers each and asked them to dive right in. WHAAAAAAT!??? So you heard it here first... Arabic speaking missionaries are going to change the world! They need prayers from everyone.

Let's see here, now we're about to Wednesday this last week. Well life went on as normal and then we got to Monday morning. Sister Strasser and I were just studying and such and then BAM!!! we get this phone call form our zone leaders. They are the type that mess with you, so we never believe anything they say (granted I may have egged some of that on... hahaha) but they told us that one of the sisters in our zone that has been waiting for her visa to Australia got it and she was leaving in a few hours!! They asked us to take her and her companion to the airport in a few hours and we said yes. And then they told us that we were going to form into a tripanionship with her companion and double cover both of our areas.... WHAAAAT!??? So now I am proud to announce that both Sea World and the San Diego Temple are in our area!! :D :D :D We are double covering over in University City with Sister Montgomery!!!

Sis. Montgomery is so stinkin cool! The reason I really like her is because she has so many things working against her but she doesn't let anything stop her. She has a bad hip that has given her lots of pain her whole life and she has dyslexia. Despite all of those struggles, she is as nice as can be and super supportive. For example, we went running this morning and she is a monster when it comes to running. Here I am moving at 0.2 miles per hour and she is running up and down the street and every time she comes by me she says "Sister Barfuss you look so good! You're doing so great! Keep it going baby!" And she's being genuine! I can't wait to see what this transfer brings. So far we know we will be going to 6 hours of church every Sunday, we'll be putting in a lot of miles on the car, and we'll be planning for two areas everyday. I'm SUPER excited! Seriously though, bring it on.

FUNNY STUFF FROM THE WEEK:

1. I went to throw away our garbage one night when it was kind of dark and when I got up to the dumpster there was someone in it just chillin there. I'm being serious. There was a person just standing in the dumpster. Yeah talk about awkward right!? So I said "Hey! Uhhh could I sneak this in there real quick. Okay sweet thanks!" Hahaha! I love my life!

2. Apparently rollerblading is cool now? Someone please tell me! Because people around here come flying by on their blades all the time and I can't even handle it! :D Haha  Seriously... isn't that how Napoleon Dynamite got around Idaho?? Yes. That's what I thought too.

3. We were over at Nancy and Cameron's house the other day and Cameron decided he wanted to add both of us on facebook. So he asked me what my first name was and then he said that I looked like a Marysa. Then he asked Sister Strasser what her name was and she said "Marnie." Nancy and Cameron started laughing so hard and they were all like "That's our neighbor's dog's name!! Hahaha!" And of course I had to join in... Hahaha Seriously though, those two are so great! They are getting baptized this Wednesday!! We are so thrilled :) So mamas if a Cameron asks to be my friend on facebook say yes!

4. Every time we go to a members house to eat I always ask to go to the bathroom so I can snoop around their bathroom and find a scale. Well guess what!? Sister Montgomery has a scale!! I jumped on there last night and I haven't gained any weight... thank heavens.

5. We helped a lady move this week and she had us use a whole bunch of tie-downs. Well once we got to the new house we needed to loosen all of them and the Elders were being all manly and not letting us help. So they tried to loosen them and in the process made them tighter and tighter and tighter (sound familiar?). Pretty soon the organ the tie-downs were keeping steady was lifting off the ground because they were getting so tight! I knew that I knew how to loosen those things because dad taught me forever ago and he always had me help him with them... but I didn't want to say anything and hurt the Elders' pride (bahahaha). After 10 minutes I said,  "Hey, so can I take a crack at them real quick? I think I know how to use them." BAM!!! Sister Barfuss loosens them for the win. The Elders were like, "Yeah it looks like it was caught and your little fingers were able to loosen it." My response: "Are you all even for reals right now!?" :) hehehe

And as the closer to this email this fine Tuesday morning... ELDER BALLARD IS COMING TO OUR MISSION TOMORROW!!!!!!!!! :D From 10-12 we get to sit there and learn from an apostle. Could tomorrow get any better? I submit that it cannot. (Elder Ballard is the mission president father-in-law)

I love you tons and tons! Keep having fun! Keep telling Heavenly Father about your day!

Sister Barfuss

1. the font hasn't been cleaned or used for a while so we got it all sparkly for Nancy and Cameron!

2. both of us in the font :) haha

3. down town San Diego baby! right after we dropped Sister Bennion off at the airport

4. Nancy and Cameron!!!!! :)

5. A plumaria for my hair :)

6. The Elder Blair croquet pose

7.  taking our recycling to the place where they pay you for it! this is a collection of about 6 missionaries for       about a month... we got 11 bucks :) haha i love california!

8. Sister Barfuss at mission bay

Get OFF My Red Curb!!!!!

It's good to see that you all are engaging in "discussions" now days... I thought Brennan and I were the only one who liked to "discuss" things, but that has changed hasn't it!? ;) haha! Thank you so much again for the clothes mamas! Both the shirts are perfect! And honestly the blue one is my new favorite! I've worn it like 3 times since you sent it! And Sister Strasser loves the perfume you sent... seriously we both are smelling delightful these days!

THIS WEEKS HIGHLIGHT REAL:

1. We went to the Mormon Battalion a bunch this last week! It's really fun because you get to feel the spirit AND get dressed up in pioneer gear! They always ask for a volunteer to dress up and NOBODY ever wants to do it, so I usually get volunteered for that one. Not sure why... Check out the picture of me in all the stuff!

2. We gave out 2 copies of True To The Faith this week! It was seriously as exciting as giving out a Book of Mormon because I LOVE THAT BOOK!!! My favorite as of now :)

3. We only live 23 miles from the Mexico border! Seriously though. And we're serving in the north part of the mission! One day I'm going to serve down in Chula Vista. Some people call it "Chulajuana." :) Haha

4. We went to a member's house this week and she made us a smoothie with chia seeds in it... the same ones that are in a chia pet (those one plants that look like super long hair on someone's head) Hahaha It was awesome. 

5. So one day we went to a person's house who was less active and we parked. Then we came out and Sister Strasser was backing me while I was in reverse. We got all done with that and she got in the passenger side. THEN THIS COP COMES FLYING AROUND THE CORNER AND CUTS ME OFF SO I CAN'T MOVE. The cop rolled down the window and so I rolled down mine. Here is what came out of her mouth, "You have one chance to tell me why you are on my red curb!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" I surveyed the situation and told her I was on it because we were just backing up to leave, but then I got stopped by her so now I'm on it. She then answered with,  "Nice try. WHY ARE YOU ON MY RED CURB!!!!!!!!" I then told her that I was being serious and that we were seriously just leaving. (I was still even in reverse for goodness sake!!) Then, I'm not even joking, she just sat there and looked at me. Skanked me out 100% and then said "NEXT TIME IT'S A 80 DOLLAR FINE!!!!!!!!!" I told her thank you for the information and to have a nice afternoon (and to get her panties out of a wad) and we drove off without a ticket. BUT GOODNESS PEOPLE! Sister Strasser laughed at me for a solid 20 minutes... it was SO ridiculous. But now I know... NEVER touch that police woman's red curb.

6.This week was the ComiCon Convention in San Diego, so there were weirdos running around everywhere! Comic Convention is basically when all the comic crazies get together and party... and they ALL dress up. So one day we saw Link from the Legend of Zelda at the bus stop. HAHAHA See attached picture :) 

7. So Sea World is in our area which means that Shamu is in our area right!? I have decided that in a parallel universe I would totally "sea contact" him instead of "street contact" :) hehehe Can you even believe that though!? Shamu i a mile or two away from me at this VERY moment. My life totally rocks. 

Now for the cherry on top of the week! Dinner with Al! So here are the details... Sister Strasser and I show up to the Smith's house and Al is sitting there with the two cakes he made because he wasn't sure which one we would like more. (And Al acts like he doesn't like us!?) We chit chatted and then sat down for dinner outside on the porch. The conversation was light and lovely. The people over 50 chose to talk about things that only people over 50 know about, so Sister Strasser and I just sat there and smiled and nodded every few seconds. Every once in a while we would chime in and such, things were going great. After we had some of Al's cake, Al surprised us and said, "Well we all know why we are gathered here tonight. Let's get down to it!" He then started asking us tons of questions about mission life and how it all goes. It was fun for him to ask something about us because he seriously has NEVER asked us one thing. We got all that out of the way and then he just said "Why do you think you can cure me of my wife's death!?" "Why does everyone think they can just fix everything with their new quick fix!?" "Why would God do this to me!?" "Whatever happened to God hearing my prayers that she would live!?" And then he just looked right me.

I'm not sure why Al seems to shout only at me, but he does. It's very interesting and I'm still trying to figure it all out... But I looked right back at him and then just sat there in silence for a bit. I always say a very special prayer before we go and talk to Al and because of that, I always feel the Spirit's comfort and guidance when we talk. I thought for a bit and then gave him a pretty simple and quiet answer. He, like usual, didn't address my answer and asked some more very important questions. Every single time he would ask and then just stare at me waiting for me to tell him he was right and that he is justified in everything. BUT THAT IS NOT TRUE. It is not okay to be bitter at his wife's doctors and at God. It is not okay to hate other people who have tried to help you. It is not okay to justify yourself and say that you can never change. The reason it's not okay is not because he's being a bad person or that he is being rude or something like that, it's because he is denying the Atonement's very best resources. I basically told him that Jesus Christ knows how it feels to have your heart crushed. He knows what it feels like to be so angry that you can't even sit still. Jesus Christ knows what it feels like to be alone every single night and to sit in your bed and relive the memories of your past over and over. He is the only one that knows though. I told Al that I had NO IDEA how much he has been through. I can't even for a minute pretend to say that my heart has even been hurt that bad. I DON'T! But the Savior does. He HAS to be your best friend because He is the only one that can give you specific council and comfort to your very individualized experiences. After I said this and some other stuff, he said some other stuff and the night was over. But I think it was good for all of us. Al told us that he was going to "mull" over our thoughts. I came away with a renewed trust in Jesus Christ. Because honestly, that was a big promise that I gave Al. But I know that My Savior will be Al's Savior too. There's no question about that.

I love you. Thank you for your prayers and your love, it really means the world to me!

Sister Barfuss 

Nothing is a coincidence my friends. Nothing.

Thank you for the packies mamas!  (Brennan called packages, packies.....) Everything is  perfect!! Now I'm going to be looking fresh AND smelling fresh! :) You're so great! I am absolutely spoiled rotten! And thank you to Aunt Kayloni and Malia and Savi who sent me a little package too! They put some cute notes and a big picture of Santa at the beach in it! They said that the celebration starts now because Christmas is only 6 months away :D The Hansen's are my kind of people!! 

I got my retainers this week and they are so sweet! The Orthodontist moved one of my teeth on the bottom, so I wear that one 24/7 and then my top one only at night. When I put them in you totally can't even see them AND I don't get a lisp from them! Woohoo! Haha! 

When are you guys headed to California? You're going to absolutely love it here. Not going to lie... I'm turning into a little bit of California snob. :)

Some funnies from the week... 

1. We got a "new move-ins" list from the ward and we've been trying to meet everyone on it. WELL we put one of the address into the GPS and we ended up at a Presbyterian church. Haha! Good one whoever said that was their address ;) Then later in the week we put in another address and we ended up at Baskin- Robbins :D Hahahaha So basically someone up above was trying to tell us to go get some ice cream... but we resisted the temptation. 

2. I had a dream the other night that I walked into church and One Direction was sitting in the congregation. Some how Cassidy Excell was there too talking with them? Haha I think that idea must have come from the fact that the day before Sister Strasser got a hair cut and I was sitting in the waiting area next to a bunch of magazines with them on the cover :) hehehe.

3.It's so humid here that if I leave my chewy vitamins out on the counter on accident for the whole day they melt into the table and I have to get new ones out. BOO!! 

4. The sister trainer leader and I were on an exchange on Friday so we went and got a little sandwich right!? Well they asked if I wanted a drink and chip combo and I usually say no. BUT! I looked over at the chips and there was this bag that said "VooDoo Chips"(check out VooDoo Donuts in Portland) and I HAD to get them. Turns out they were so yummy. Ask Sister Strasser what my favorite word to use now days and she'll say voodoo. It describes a lot of the things I see so very, very, very well :) I've even got her to use it a couple of times! Haha

5. I'm going to be a beast at going on blind dates when I get home.... why is this do you ask!? Well I basically go on one every single night. Here's how it goes... we look at our dinner calendar to see who is feeding us that night and most of the time we really don't know them at all. Usually just their name (sounding familiar yet!?). Then we meet them and sit down and chit chat for a solid hour,  all while trying not to spill on myself or talk with food in my mouth. I won't lie... I feel like being decent at this is a blessing. And I CANNOT even tell you how many times I've been able to connect with a family because Heavenly Father made sure I learned about a specific thing before my mission. "Everything you are learning now is preparing you for something in the future." -Sister Hinkley. So basically... I go on a blind date every night. It's awesome. :)

We have dinner with Al this week!!!!!!!!! We are going to eat at his next door neighbor's house... the wife is an active member and her husband is super anti. So it's going to be an intense dinner, BUT! I absolutely love this kind of stuff now! I used to be way scared of dinners with people that you "can't mess it up" with, but seriously, now I'm all "YESSS!!! TRY AND MAKE ME FEEL AWKWARD!" I'm starting to love making people feel awkward... let me rephrase that....they can choose whether or not to feel awkward... but I choose to not feel that way anymore. It really helps me be less anxious and to just be myself. Moral of the story, it takes two people to make something awkward, so glory in your not awkward bliss!!! :D

Nancy and Cameron decided to move their baptism back to the 27th which I think is wise, so we're all good! Last night we had a lesson with Nancy in the dark on a bench that over looked the Bay. This little spot is right by the trailer park where she lives. Sea World was off to the right and the moon was beautiful! Pretty much it was the best lesson location I've had yet. We were talking about tithing and the Spirit was so strong! As we sat there I gave a little secret prayer for how perfect this moment was. Seriously, it was perfect. After we had been teaching for 20 minutes or so and it had gotten pretty dark, Sister Strasser was starting to talk about fasting and then all the sudden she gasped super loud and jumped off the bench. I about wet my skirt because she scared me so bad and Nancy may or may not of sworn... well turns out that one second later this aerial firework that someone a couple trailers down shot off made a huge boom and the fire part of it that you see before the boom had scared Sister Strasser. I was turned the other way so I didn't see it, but all three of us laughed and laughed and laughed and laughed for a solid 5 minutes! It was so good for us to have a not so seriously moment with Nancy because then she got to see more of our personalities and realized that we're real people too. It's so funny how Heavenly Father sets up situations for us so we can experience new things. Even if it's a silly kid shooting fireworks into the Bay! Hahaha!

Anyone want to hear about a miracle?? I do! Okay let's do this! So about a month and a half ago we did some service painting at the Pacific Beach Rec Center. The girl in charge was named Jenna and she had an assistant named Roman. We painted for a solid 3 hours and talked to them the whole time. We gave Jenna a Book of Mormon after the visit and told her to call us with future projects they needed help on. Well we hadn't heard from them in a while so we decided to go to the Rec Center yesterday. We walked in and Roman saw us and waved and told us to come over. We asked him how it was going and he said this past few weeks have been really rough for him. He asked us if we remembered Jenna and we told him we for sure did! He then told us that about 3 weeks ago she passed away. We were stunned. She was the nicest and cutest 23 year old ever. He said that he has been feeling numb the past few weeks and that he's never been so shocked and full of sorrow in his whole life. He also said that ever since she died he's been trying to connect with God and pray more because Jenna was very religious. Then he asked us if we could teach him how to pray better. Side note time... Moments like this as a missionary are impossible to describe. It's only happened a few times now, but when someone like this asks me a question that I have an answer to, and I KNOW that what I have to offer will change their life forever, my vision and view on life seems to focus in and tune itself so perfectly. My heart then can instantly feel love for this person I really don't know, and I can feel the Savior's love for him trying to envelope them. It's such an amazing experience to have. Back to the story... We told him we would LOVE to do that. I also told him that we know where Jenna is right now and that it's a good place. He just looked at us and said "It's not a coincidence that you two came here today." Could not agree more. 

Nothing is a coincidence my friends. Nothing. What things have happened to you TODAY that are not a coincidence? Let me know! I'm always up for hearing about things like this! :)

I love you!

Sister Barfuss

God Bless America!

So the 4th of July was so fun!

The excitement for the holiday started to show a few days before, so the police department parked their RVs  up and down  the beach. We asked a cop what they used them for and she said that they get so many drunk people that they just handcuff them to the inside of the RV and then once it's full they drive it downtown and get all of them taken care of at once. WOW. On the 4th we had lunch with our district and then interviews with President Clayton. Can I just say that he listens to the Holy Ghost so well! I was amazed at the things he talked to me about because they were EXACTLY what I needed to hear. I love the Spirit :) Later that night we ate at a members and they fed us the classic 4th of July food... hamburgers and corn on the cob. And might I just say that that was the 1st time I had corn on the cob since my bottom retainer popped off! And it was SO AMAZING! Man, I never knew what I was missing out on! ps- I get my new retainers tomorrow! I got a clear one on top and bottom. YAY! Then we had to be in by 7:00 for safety reasons. We ended up parking about half a mile from our apartment because there were so many people. But it's all good because the walk gave us time to see everybody's America gear. People had America shirts, pants, underwear, swim suits, bandannas, scarves, hats, sunglasses, flip flops, you name it and we saw it! 'MERICA!!! That day we counted 44 boats and 66 surfers from just one look out on the ocean! Whew!

Random things: We went to Trader Joe's for the first time this week! I remember Annie loved that place so much so we decided to check it out. That place is totally rad! I got some practically homemade wheat bread for 1.99! I also got some super sharp Wisconsin cheese for 2.50 and then a big baggy of granola for 3 bucks!? What's that you say!? So I'm thinking that it would be cool to shop there in the future. Oh! Oh! And I got a chunky bag of dried cranberries for 3 bucks. Need I say more...? Did you see that Laura had her baby!? She sent me some pictures of little Lumi and I almost died! She is so precious! AND Dallin leaves on the 24th!? Oh man I'm so excited for him! Another Elder Preece for the world to love :D You're going to be amazing Dallin! Make me proud! :) 

Drum role please....................... (in my best announcer voice) WE HAVE 2 INVESTIGATORS WITH BAPTISMAL DATES!!!!!!!!! The mom's name is Nancy and her son is Cameron. They are so wonderful. We've known them for about a month and they have come to church three times in a row now! Nancy is the most humble person I know and Cameron is so respectful and kind. They really love the gospel. They chose the 20th to be the day they get baptized, TOGETHER! I won't lie, it has been so refreshing to see someone actually believe what Sister Strasser and I teach. They listen so intently and have tons and tons of questions. I'm also so grateful for the timing of all of all of this because now that I know what it feels like to not have a progressing investigator for 3 months, I'M ABSOLUTELY THRILLED! :) There is no better feeling than guiding one of Heavenly Father's children back to Him. We pray for their testimonies all the time. What a wonderful time in their lives!

Speaking of wonderful times in people's lives.... My life changed this week and it's never going back! Ever. In my last email I told you about how I got a blessing. In that blessing I was given specific guidance on something that only Heavenly Father knew I needed help with. This experience plus my next story I'm going to tell were so spiritual that my testimony of God's awareness and care has been solidified! ......We had a zone conference last week and it was nice as usual. We had a 10 minute break and then we sat back down for the last hour. The zone leaders brought around napkins to everyone and then they pulled out a box of donuts. We were sitting in a circle of about 24 people, so they asked the first elder if he wanted a do-nut. He said yes and then Elder Blair, my district leader who was sitting right next to me, got up and went to the middle of us all and did 10 push ups. I was like "what the hay was that!?? He is so weird."

Then they asked the next elder if he wanted one. He said yes and then Elder Blair did 10 push ups. This went on for about 6 people and then I started catching on to the pattern. The next elder said he didn't want one but Elder Blair did 10 push ups anyway. Pretty soon he had done 100 push ups and he was huffing and puffing.Then the zone leaders got to Sister Strasser and they said no one was allowed to make any noise from now on. Sister Strasser signaled that she wanted one and then it hit me. This was a object lesson on the Atonement. Elder Blair did her push ups and now that we were silent we could hear how hard it was for him. My heart just dropped. For the first time in my life I imagined what it would have sounded like to go through all of that pain. The Atonement became a very real thing to me very quickly. I started to feel emotional because I was starting to see how horrific and overbearing Christ's sacrifice for me was. I watched Elder Blair do all 10 for Sister Strasser while his face was bright red and I could hear how uncomfortable he was. 

Then they came to me, I grabbed my do-nut and I couldn't even watch Elder Blair because I felt so bad. By the time he got to my push ups he was extremely tired. He was breathing so hard. And when he got done with mine he didn't even look and me, he just put his face on the ground and got ready for the next 10. Once they had gone through everyone, Elder Blair had done 240 push ups in a matter of minutes. He got up came back to his chair right next to me and we all sat in silence. I couldn't even look at him because I didn't know what to say! I felt so bad but I was so grateful. 

After letting the Spirit teach us for a few minutes they told us to get with someone who wasn't our companion and bear our testimony of the Atonement. Elder Blair and I then had one the best conversations I've had so far in San Diego. I now know that Jesus Christ is my everything. I am forever grateful for Him. I know that My Savior loves me and the He is the only reason I have a chance in this life. He is my everything. As I allow Christ's love into my life more and more each day, I know that I can be everything Heavenly Father wants and knows I can be. 

This is the week that I finally said, "I love what I do!" I'm so grateful the Heavenly Father prompted me to go on a mission and to stretch myself. I needed this. I HAD to go on a mission. There are things that I could only learn here in San Diego. What a blessing to have this opportunity.

I love you!

Sister Barfuss

Chuck Norris, wearing the same outfits, at the beach

*ain't nobody got time for Satan!!*

HELLO!!

Answers: It hasn't been too hot... just hot enough for me to sweat off all my make up with in half an hour :) Haha! I don't really need anymore clothes, I'm just super bored of my clothes. But that's all good. Just part of being a missionary! Imagine being an elder! We haven't heard anything about using an iPad or church tours. President Clayton said NOTHING at zone conference. Pretty crazy! The 4th of July is going to be nuts down here! Everyone is going to come hang out at the beaches for sure. We have to come in at 6:00 that night... we're super bummed because 6-9 are our best proselyting hours! BAH! But there are going to be too many parties/drunk drivers/fireworks/madness going on, so we get to study inside for those 3 hours. 

Randomness: We hear and see an ice cream truck about twice a week. The guys that drive them are always way creepy... whew doggy! It's been "misting" around here lately. It's weird because it feels like it's raining but it's not falling from the sky, it's just like chilling in the air. Haha! We had for realsies Mexican food last night! The family we went to eat with is going to our ward so they can learn English, so we had a HUGE burrito, shrimp tacos, meat skewers, and 45 million pounds of mango. I WAS SO FULL and only half my plate was gone. Then they got out the ice cream... NOOOOOO! Now I know why there's a big joke in the mission about how all the Spanish speaking missionaries get fat. WHEW! I really had to go to the bathroom last night (unrelated to our dinner appointment Hahaha) while we were out and about, so we stopped at Del Taco to use the restroom. Well turns out that they had a lock on it and to unlock it you had to insert a quarter... WHAT!?? Last time Del Taco ever sees me in their presence! I learned some more Sign Language this past week! Now I can say "Hi my name is Sister Barfuss. I don't know sign language, but I have a cool card!" (Que the ASL elders pass a long card) SO COOL HUH!? :)

This month Sister Strasser and I have made some pretty big goals! We have dubbed July as the "MONTH OF AWESOME!!" We are ready to see things take off here and we're bound and determined to do it. Satan is completely dedicated to stopping us, but NOPE! (*ain't nobody got time for satan!!*) I'll keep you posted on how each week progresses, but let's just say that we are ready to go baby! We each received a blessing on Saturday which were each perfect, specific, and straight from Heavenly Father, we fasted, and we have been praying praying praying. We have 3 new families to teach (!!!!!!!) and by golly families are a blessing to be able to teach! The conversion process is easier when a family does it together. Thank goodness for our families. Sister Strasser and I are giddy about the future! :D

Very cool experience from this week: We were driving to visit a man who was less active and I was just looking out the window and such. I saw this girl ahead of us on her bike right!? Well she was on the side walk just riding and then all the sudden she stopped and started shaking. Then right as we drove past she fell over and was convulsing like crazy on the ground. I freaked out and told Sister Strasser to flip the car around and get back to her fast. We got a parking spot and came around the corner where I saw her fall and she was on the ground still shaking. Another person had seen it all happen and he was on the phone with 911. We stayed just in case they wanted a witness for some details. Within a few minutes there was a whole crowd there and the EMT dudes took care of her. As we walked off I thought to myself, "Why did that just happen to me? Obviously I wasn't needed. What was Heavenly Father trying to teach me? (because let's be real... He's ALWAYS trying to teach me something!) I thought about it and then asked Sister Strasser what she thought. We came to the conclusion that Heavenly Father wants us to be willing to stop everything and pull over! Do anything He prompts us to do! This experience had been a trial run of it all... So we came away with a new dedication to doing ANYTHING Heavenly Father asks of us.

WELL! Later that day we pulled up to a house where we were going to try and visit a man and we parked next to a lady with 3 dogs running around like crazy. Sister Strasser looked at them and then at me and said, "Sister Barfuss you need to talk to her." BAHHHH!!! If anyone wants to know how scary it is to street contact someone right outside of your car let alone with 3 dogs running around, just imagine how scary it would be to see Michael Jackson at the beach. Yeah, THAT bad. So I grab a Book of Mormon, get out of the car, and start talking to her about her dogs while Sister Strasser was getting her stuff together in the car. Pretty soon Sister Strasser meets up with me and stands next to me for moral support. WELL then out of no where this guy rides past on his bike and says "Is that the Book of Mormon!? I love the Book of Mormon!!" And then he starts talking to the lady we're talking to! (WHAT!??) He then bears his testimony in front of this lady for a bit and then tells us he wants to come back to church. Uhhhhhhhh IS THIS REAL LIFE!? So all of this happened because I saw a girl have a seizure on her bike, which taught us a lesson, which lead to the Spirit prompting Sister Strasser to make me talk to the lady, and I grabbed a Book of Mormon that the man saw from the street where he was riding. Miracle right!? We have a return appointment with the man on the bike! :) Well here's the take away I've found... be crazy. Do things you never thought you would do! Overcome your natural tendencies and GO FOR THE GOLD! Heavenly Father needs people who are willing to do some absolutely ridiculous things that end up being wonderful experiences that changes lives! Basically He said to me, "Sister Barfuss. Chill out on yourself. Just trust." And chill out on myself I will.

I love you! Stay safe on the 4th okay!? I'm positive the Preece Reunion is going to be so fun!! I'm proud to be an American! :D

Sister Barfuss