Tuesday, September 24, 2013

You like Carlos Santana!?



I'm just going to jump right into the good stuff today... here are the highlights of Sister Barfuss' week!
Turns out that at Bible study every week the sister missionaries are in charge of singing a musical number. Well if any of you remember anything about me, it's that I don't really love singing in small groups, let alone acapella, 2 part, and in someone's living room. But Heavenly Father refuses to leave me where I'm at! And by golly, I want to grow! So Sister Bodine and I sang,  "There is a Green Hill Far Away" and I about fell over. But then something great happened, it wasn't that bad! Then we went to a woman's house later that week and sang her a song while Sister Bodine played the Ukulele. Guess who has to sing again tonight!? Yep. Here's what I've learned. Heavenly Father can really (for reals, He can and will) make weak things become strong. My ability to improve my comfort level while singing is correlated exactly to my faith.
We went to the Mormon Battalion twice this week! I LOVE that place. I decided to email you the pictures we take so that you can secretly know what I'm up to that day! (You can email the pictures right there at the Battalion). The first picture with the older lady is Sister ----. The ward has been trying to get in and help her for years and she has always refused to accept help. Well one day we went over and I asked her a bunch of questions... she told me that she doesn't feel very good everyday. Soon enough I figured out that she has Chronic Pain and Fatigue and she doesn't like how everyone thinks she is just "making up" her pain. She told me all about her pain and that she "puts a show on" at church because she hurts so bad. Then she talked about how she has always done everything herself and she will always do everything herself even if it kills her.
I thought about all of this for a second and then I felt like I should share my experiences with people that have similar challenges. I told her that my mom has to deal with the same thing and that she in no way inflicted it on herself and that IT IS REAL. I told her about how my mom didn't like slowing down at first and still tried to do everything she was doing before. Sister ---- asked me about mom's symptoms and I told her a few and she matched them all pretty well. I just looked at her and said with all the love I had, that "I know you want to do everything yourself. I know that it's frustrating and that you hate it. But I also know that I have the particular mom I have for a reason. I have had lots of experience helping her with things, so I know what hurts the most. Sister ----, where is your vacuum? Let us vacuum for you."
She smiled, gave us some treats and invited us over for the next day. We did about 6 hours of service for her and she fed us lunch :) As Sister Hinkley once said "Everything you are learning now, is preparing you for something else." Pay attention to every situation you are in, there is a very specific reason! Funny fact: every time we go over to Sister ---- she makes us a root beer float and calls it "rooty toot float time." Haha! Love her!
Oh and PS- the other sister you are seeing in all those pictures is Sister -----. She is a Battalion sister that served in Spring Valley and knows all the people we bring, so she gives us the tour and gets in the pictures! She's great!
Now I would like to move to a section called
 "Awkward Moments Rebounded Off Of - Staring Sister Barfuss"
 Haha! Get pumped! I have two stories to tell today. The first being about a Mariachi band :)
So we went to the Battalion with Sister ----- (did you end up sending her a letter? i can't remember) this week and after she took us out to lunch. We went to a super good Mexican restaurant and all the sudden we see this mariachi band walking around. So of course they see our table and think, "We need to go embarrass them and then ask them for money!" Naturally I am on the end that is closest to them. 30 seconds later they came over and said "You like good music!??" And since I am mastering the art of making potentially awkward moments not awkward, I said, "You bet I do!" They said back to me "You like Carlos Santana!?" Me: "You bet I do!" *que mariachi band* Thank goodness that Sister -----
knows how to have fun, so we started moving and dancing. At some point one of the band members tried to scare me -  I just kept acting like this was a normal thing for me... I look over and Sister Bodine has her camera out and is recording it all... I'll send that video sometime soon. When they are all done they said "You chicas are fun!!" *que me letting out the biggest sigh of relief that that was over* We gave them 2 bucks :) Situation awkward or not awkward?? - NOT AWKWARD!!!
Last story in this section... We walked up to a house where a less active lived and there was someone on the porch. Naturally I started talking to him and he said that he knew about Mormons and didn't need to talk to us. We asked if we could share a scripture anyway, we did, and then I asked if we could pray with him before we left. He said yes and then I asked him to say it. So he looked at me for a second and then looked down for about 25 seconds. I wasn't sure what he was doing but I assumed that he was getting ready to pray or something, so I bowed my head and kept one eye open to see what he was doing. Pretty soon he looked up at me and smiled.
(Uhhhhhh... wait so did you just pray in your head?? Or uhhh did you think I was going to pray? Or uhhh... I'm super confused?) So I just said "Heavenly Father loved hearing from you right then! Thank you so much for praying with us. You have a nice evening alright!?" *walk off* Situation awkward or not awkward?? - NOT AWKWARD!!!
Best quote of the week... "Heavenly Father loves us how we are, but He refuses to leave us that way."
I'm so happy that He supports me all the time. He loves me. 
He wants me to push myself everyday so that I can see how good it feels to align my will with His.
Pretty cool stuff if you ask me.
I love you!!

Sister Barfuss

Wednesday, September 18, 2013

SPRING VALLEY For The Win!

Good for Gunnar! Man i would have given anything to be there for that...  I'll be praying for him big time, because I for sure can tell you that the first 3 months of a mission are HARD. He can do it though. He just needs to stay strong and keep truckin'. That's what Sister Strasser used to stay to me all the time... "Keep truckin'!" hahaha I miss her so much darn it.
 
What are you going to do to celebrate Dad's 50th bday!? anything rude? or just a yummy treat and some presents? haha!

So here are some funny things that have happened to me since I came to Spring Valley... I held a parrot, people have been asking me where I'm from because I have an accent, I taught a 97 year old investigator, and I got a note from Sister Tina Morgan because she is serving in the home ward of one of the people in the Pacific Beach ward (small world! i love her). My district is the one that the Laotion speaking elders in the mission are in! They have been out for about 3 weeks, so they are still learning the language... well to "help them out" we learn a new laotion word at district meeting every week! Haha! My favorite story so far from them is that they were teaching a lesson and at the end, one of the elders said to the other elder "Will your leg pray?" and he answered back "Alcohol." Hahaha! Since it's a tonal language they are having some troubles... but bless their hearts, they are good sports! Prayers baby, prayers!
 
Our ward has an exclusive club for the sisters over seventy called "SOS." The big joke is that half the ward is in the club :) We have a big time southern baptist pastor in our ward the converted about 20 years ago. So we have bible study at his house every Tuesday night!!! Talk about coolest thing of my life right there! 

There are nasty lizards running around our apartment complex and I really don't do well with them. I can do spiders and bugs, but not lizards. I seriously run like a little girl... it's embarrassing, but real.
 
So we live right across the street from the high school right? So all week it's been nice because we go and run laps. Yay! And on Friday nights we listen to the football games that sound like fun! Well on Saturday we were doing personal study and all the sudden there is music BLARING. Turns out that there was a Ford car show in the parking lot and they were playing oldies music for it. So secretly I was enjoying myself because it was the good music that everyone loves that isn't dirty and terrible. Well 9:00 rolled around and it was time to say my closing prayer and move on to companion study... so I get on my knees and all the sudden I hear "OOOOHHH SAY CAN YOU SEEEEEEEEE! BY THE DAAAAAWNS EARLYYY LIGHTTTTT!!!!!" And I just started cracking up! The speakers were so loud that the lady singing the National Anthem might of been in our bathroom! Hahaha I just sat there and soaked it all in, I think Heavenly Father was okay with me getting all patriotic for a second :) i love my life.
 
We volunteered at an old folks home this week and I was in charge of helping four ladies play scrabble. Pretty much it ended up being me playing myself, but four different ways! Hahaha! They would say "Sister Barfuss! Come look at my letters! I can't think of anything to spell! Sister Barfuss! Come here! Can I have some Pepsi!?" My favorite part of it all was when (forgive my childish humor right here) I went to look at one of the ladies letters and she told me that she already had her word picked out and her letters spelled "Wheenie." Hehehehehehe :) ohhhhh man! I LOVE MY LIFE!!
 
We went and talked with a lady this week who lives in a trailer park, has tatoos all up her arms, legs, neck, hands, and face, she had 15 piercings in each ear, and her tongue is pierced. AND SHE IS AWESOME. We talked for about an hour and she was smoking the whole time, she even offered us a cigarette.

 Pretty much I learned that you can't judge a book by it's cover. You just can't. So if you are, stop it! Heavenly Father doesn't need judgers, just lovers.
 
Sorry I was so random this week! I love you!!
Sister Barfuss 
 
 

Wednesday, September 11, 2013

I'm Going To Be Super Fast This Week!!!

We have hardly anytime because we went to the temple today, so I'm going to be super fast and I promise I'll give you all the details next week in a really great email :) 

Here is the down low... my new companion is Sister Bodine (as in, i took Bo Bowie to dine at the diner) hahaha! She is 20, from Lehi and loves to dance, We get along really well! We serve in Spring Valley where it's 113 degrees and everyone is super old :) haha   IT'S HOT!!!!!!!! Our ward mission leader is a solid 65, and our ward missionaries are 75... not even joking. So it's a big change from Pacific Beach. We are the only white people in our apartment complex, there are lots of nice and smiley African Americans to talk to! I love people that are nice and that smile :) what a relief!

 Basically when i went to church there were fifty nice old ladies that came and gave me hugs and invited us over for root beer floats next week :) YAY!!! Our average age in the ward is probably 57, and that's because Sister Bodine and i bring it down a whole bunch ;)
 
Thank you for telling me about Sister Honey... secretly i thought i came off too bold with her because she called Sister Bodine a "crab" when we left and me a "bully." So it's good to hear that she was probably joking (hope so!) I'll check on her address... (Sis. Honey called us after she met Marysa - she has a nephew that married a Barfuss, and is named Jason and lives on the East Coast - that all adds up for us, but we discovered it is not Marysa's cousin named Jason)
 
The temple was perfect. absolutely perfect. i'll go into more detail next week on this too, but moral of the story is that we sat in the celestial room after the session for an hour and a half. it was perfect, silent, beautiful, bliss. Only 3 more months until i get to go again! (that's Christmas time people!!)

1. me and Lucia doing our secret handshake :) ps... it was 105 degrees. that's why i look so nasty!
 
2. THIS IS AL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! my very last moment in Pacific Beach was spent going to Al's. we went over there right before transfer meeting and I totally just kept it real with him. aka- when he answered the door and got all mad at us for coming i said "Al!! We're not here to share a message! We're here because I'm getting transferred in an hour and I wanted to see you before I left. I wanted to see you because I love you and I want to tell you that you have been an answer to my prayers. Now can I get a picture with you or what!?" :) Then he hugged me (who cares if people can't hug us!) and let us come in. We talked for just a minute and then I said a prayer. It was perfect :)
 
ps- i hit 5 months next week! what in the world!??
 
i love you mamas :) you're my favorite :) :)

sister barfuss



Tuesday, September 3, 2013

"No, God was right." :)


1. me about to eat a chicken foot at the Dim Sum restaurant our Taiwanese member took us to! (it was super good!!) 
2.  us at the restaurant again
3. the French's. Brother French was the one that called you  that one time
4. our view from la jolla
5. having fun at district lunch
6. me and the temple... i love my life!
7. jumping Chet's car after our lesson at the temple
8. this is real life for me baby :) every single day
9. my very favorite investigators. hopefully they will get married soon so they can get baptized
10. Sister Montgomery's birthday party yesterday
11. Sister Montgomery at the hoarders house.  we helped clean up this week (that's three now!!!)











Just got our transfer call and we had 27 different options (for reals!!) that we knew could happen.... AND the one we least expected did! They said that Sister Montgomery and I both needed to pack our bags :/ booooooooo. Won't lie, I REALLY thought that I would stay in Pacific Beach because this is Sister Strasser's 6th transfer here! Man! But the Lord knows what I need and apparently I need to leave everybody I love in Pacific Beach behind. I really don't want to be a debbie downer, but just keeping it real, it is so hard to leave all of the people you have learned to love. These are the people that helped fill the void that I had in my heart when I left all of you guys... so it's hard and scary. But onward ever onward! I'll know where I'm headed tomorrow. Moral of the story, when you feel comfortable, you're coasting, and that's not good enough. Heavenly Father wants more.

Luckily my last week here was awesome! It's been so hot that we have been getting our hair wet and our clothes wet and sleeping with a fan on us! WHEW! We really need some AC in that apartment! Last Pday we hiked up a "mountain" at 3:00 in the afternoon... worst decision of my life Haha! It was so stinkin hot and we were hiking on sand! With no trees! Man, I need myself some green forest right now!

Since it was Labor Day weekend everyone and their dog came to Pacific Beach and partied, just like the 4th of July. The police camper was parked at the beach so they could wrangle all the drunkards into it again... There were SO many people!!

Fun Facts:
1. I'm sooo excited for conference!!! Less than a month! I want to get challenged and chastised baby!
2. I don't have to got back to school this year!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Do you know how awesome that feels? I do. Nah nah nah nah nah nah :)
3. A lady guessed how old we all were this week and she said Sister Strasser was 18, Sister Montgomery was 15, and that I was 24.... no sure if that's a compliment or not???
4. A different lady was guessing our first names and she said that mine was either Harriet or Vickie. Hahaha!
5. A lady in our stake got baptized on Saturday after coming to church for 34 years! The Lord will soften hearts if we keep the faith! Never stop praying.

And the award for moment that I laughed the most this week goes to... Chet!!! Okay so I want you to visualize this with me... here I am in the temple waiting room teaching a lesson to a 50 year old man who is trying to come back to church. He is trying to kick his smoking and drinking addictions, so he is always under the influence of something. We're at a point in the lesson where we are sharing experiences that solidified our testimonies that God is there and that He loves us. While Sister Montgomery is sharing hers, I see this little moth out of the corner of my eye. I say to myself "Hey little mothy! Get out of here! This is the temple for heavens sake!" It continues to do it's thing and then it decides to come mess with me. The moth lands on me and I try to just brush it off. Then it comes back to sass me again. Pretty soon I can tell that everyone else is wondering what I'm doing. The moth then flies in the middle of all of us and we start to laugh (aka- the Spirit leaves). Now I'm ticked that this moth thinks it can ruin our lesson, so I stand up and try to kill it by clapping my hands together and smooshing it. Well!!! Turns out Chet loves animals and NEVER kills bugs... so he jumps up and knocks me over and says "Don't kill it!! He has a spirit too!".............so I sit my bum back down and said in my head "whaaaaaat the *awkward* heck????" So then the moth keeps doing it's thing our whole lesson and I keep trying to kill it by shooting it rude looks. He won. 

Best moment of all: We had a lady come to our Bishop to get some financial help. He said that the church would help, but that she needed to meet with the missionaries so that she could understand why the church can help. We got an appointment with her and she was nice. We talked for about an hour and pretty soon she started getting mad. She said "I know your church will help me, but they will only give me a check, not cash! And I need cash!" Ummm, sorry what did you just say!? We told her that if she had faith she would be able to find a place to stay that would accept checks and then she went crazy on us! She was ticked off that we thought that her life would just "be okay." She told us how we didn't understand the situation and that we are too light minded. Well then a promise was made and it went a little bit like this... "Darcy, if you have enough faith that this will happen and pray to God and promise to do whatever He tells you, HE WILL PROVIDE A WAY." She just looked at us and said "Well when I'm homeless and living in my car on the 9th, I'll call your sorry butts and you can tell me how 'wonderful' God is." I just looked at her with out a single worry. So on Sunday she came to church and ran into us in the hallway... here are the words that came out of her mouth, "You were right." We just looked at her, smiled, and said "No, God was right." :)

I love you! Pray that I'll be willing to learn what Heavenly Father wants me to learn this transfer.
I love you.
-Sister Barfuss