"i would rather boil in tar than dance."

 does this picture not look like the moment when the Grinch crashes the mini "Who car" and the gas leaks and he gets up to run away and it blows up behind him and it's all in slow motion????

HAHAHHAHAHHHAHAHAHAHAAAA YES. YES IT DOES

JUNE 25

oh my lanta. what a week. so basically it was the longest/best/hardest/mostwonderful/weirdest/lovely week of my life....

FUN FACTS:

1. Sister Quiggle's mom passed away. And Brother Quiggle told us that his parents got sealed when they were 88 and 90!! whoa! They set a record for the San Diego temple!

2. This week we tried contacting someone by text in French hahaha -  they didn't respond, but we tried!

3. I ate a hot dog this week and thought, "i'm eating this so fast that i feel like joey chesnut!" hahahaha i thought it was funny

4. sister landeen has a space pen and i tested it out by writing upside down for a while... it still worked!

5. i gave a geography lesson this week to a person that pocatello was next to boise. i made the whole mid west to the west west map and it was fun.

6. there was a YSA conference for the whole san diego region this week that we helped at and they fed them a meal... there were 15 crock pots around the church with pulled pork and 16 watermelons!

7. you know Jennifer Hamson that plays volleyball and basketball for BYU?? well this week we met a Hamson boy that was super tall and i thought to myself.... "he's gotta be in the family!" i asked him and she was totally her cousin!! he said that Jennifer's brother is 7'3" and on a mission in california!! WHOA.

8. we cleaned the quiggle's windows and now all the birds are running into them... heck yeah! we did a DANG good job!!

9. sister quiggle has a essential oil diffuser and man, i love using it. the oils might be voodoo, but i love the smell of them!

10. I SAW THE MARTINS FROM SPRING VALLEY AT THE YSA CONFERENCE!!!!!!! i seriously almost died. they are my favorites. they saved my mission in spring valley. angels from above!

11. just got our transfer call and we're both staying again! that means this will be three transfers for us together here! haha HOLLAH!

12. at the YSA Sacrament meeting there were 5 Sacrament tables and 28 guys passing the Sacrament. whefff.

13. president clayton goes home in 4 days... president schmitt comes in 4 days!!!!!! crazy bus. we'll meet him next friday! 4th of july!

Tyler told us that he wanted to get baptized this week rather than in August!! we couldn't even believe it.. seriously. talk about having a "fourth watch God" ("Bread and stones: Understanding the God we pray to." Michael Wilcox). Sometimes we have to wait a REALLY long time in between baptisms and then at the very bitter end we have to have an anxiety attack for no blasted reason... but THEN the miracles come and we become useful to Christ!! talk about "being proved." Heavenly Father pushes us to the limit, but always gives us the strength we need. so in the long run we'll have more strength!!!

Tyler's baptism was lovely. absolutely wonderful! the ward came for fhe and everything went perfectly! he knows that the gospel is true because of the Book of Mormon. that's where it's at. seriously though. I LOOOOVE the Book of Mormon. i just started it over again and i love Nephi. like seriously.... he gets it. he gets the gospel. he lives it. i want to be like him. TODAY!

i love the gospel. faith, repentance, baptism, the Holy Ghost, enduring to the endure.

doesn't get much better than that.  :)

loves loves loves,

sister barfuss

June 18

Well hello peoples :) my eyes hurt so bad from looking at the screen... what is that??? haha

FUN FACTS:

1. we have been running and biking for exercise and man, my legs are feeling it. one day my legs will be BEAST MODE.

2. i invited someone to be baptized this week! haven't said that for a while!

3. i received a "token of friendship" from my district leader. it's a plastic lizard. he chose that because he knows how much the little lizards that run around here freak me out!!

4. it was sister landeen's birthday on fathers day, so the quiggles made us breakfast! we had cake too. yum face. 

5. everyone that gave sister landeen a present, gave one to me too because the said they felt awkward just giving it to one of us :) hahaha YAY FOR PRESENTS EVEN THOUGH IT'S NOT MY BIRTHDAY!!!

6. had a sweet potato cinnamon roll this week

7. helped moved someone on the third floor. ended up walking up/down 800 stairs. yay for leg muscles!

8. "i know who Jesus is! Everyone thinks they know who He is, but i REALLY know! It's Bill Clinton's son!!" ummmmm...... not quite.

9. last week at Target i saw a variety pack of flaming hot chips and i said "I WANT THAT" (napoleon dynamite vioce). so i bought them! i LOVE hot stuff!!

10. one night this week when sister landeen and i came in to our room at night, i turned off the lights and came at her with a glow stick and somehow she knew exactly what i was doing and ripped one out to attack me with! we basically played "ninja" in our room for like 15 minutes until she slew all my limbs off and i was dead on the floor. 

11. i almost hit a vulture while we were driving in the back country of Ramona. those things are UGLY (super super ugly)

12. for FHE yesterday they learned how to line dance. a bunch of people were trying to get us to come dance and i have NEVER been more grateful for my name tag in my whole entire life (sorry we can't!! imma missionary!) . elder van alfen put it best "i would rather boil in tar than dance." hahahaha

13. sometimes you want you 14th fun fact to come sooner so you make up a 13th fun fact :) haha

14. today is 14 months

we had our last zone conference with the claytons yesterday and it was so good and so sad :( after it was over we all signed a table cloth for them and then we got to hug them both. i just sobbed and sobbed. they have NO IDEA how much they have changed my life. because of them, i will never be the same. i didn't know what to say to them, the only thing i could say was "thank you. thank you." over and over. that kinda how i think it will be when we see Christ. we won't have any words, just tears. thank you isn't going to be enough but that's all we'll be able to say. I'm so grateful for my Savior. 

been trying to learn more about the Holy Ghost... seriously though. not like the "how do i pay attention to His promptings" stuff. more of the WHO is He? We know He is VERY important.... questions questions questions :)

love you!!
sister barfuss

It's "get your BIG GIRL PANTIES ON" week

 the BYU hat came from a guy that walked past us :) haha  mormons are everywhere!!

well well well.... looks like what goes around comes around eh!?? i get so pumped when i hear that moomoo is sassing you :) hahaha "it's an honor mom!!" haha! i love her. you'll do great mamas. seriously though, you're a beast. you've been through hard things, you've handled them with grace. you know how to make people laugh :) you know how to speak in public and you've been able to observe a lot of important people in your life. you've got everything you need. SEND ME A COPY OF THE TALK!!??? my only piece of advice... personal stories, personal stories, personal stories. that way you're not preaching, you're sharing! helps me a lot. (you help me a lot too mamas. i love you)

FUN FACTS:

1. the people in my ward that came to Pocatello never stop talking about the juice you gave them to drink! they always talk about it! STILL!! haha

2. we were so tired this week that we decided to have companion inventory under the stars. at 9:30 we put on sweats, went in the back yard, and laid down under the stars until like 10:28. ohhhh yeah. 

3. i walked in our room one day this week and there were like 15 flies on my bed...? not black ones, not fruit ones. whattttt theeeeee? do i smell THAT bad?

4. went on an exchange this week and a sister talked to me until midnight about all her boy folk. hahahahahahahahaha. sometimes you really don't want to talk about boys. ("sometimes" is actually "always" on a mission)

5. we did some service for a family and the little kids we were helping were kinda (super) annoying. i had a thought *WASH MY CAR!!* they totally washed our car. am i an evil person?

6. during sacrament meeting i heard someone snoring... naturally i started laughing but holding it in... so it all came out of my body by shaking. but then the whole bench was shaking. bad idea in a singles ward. well turns out it was the senior missionary behind me :) hehehehehe i gave him SO much grief for that one

7. are you kitten me right meow!??

8. an elder in my district is Elder Murdoch. well yesterday i asked him "do you know mary murray murdoch??" and he replied "WEE GRANNY!!!???" so yeah. we're cousins. he's from shelley :) hahahaha

9. i received the best "excuse text" this week of my WHOLE MISSION. it reads "I'm sorry i can't come to church today. i didn't sleep well. the medication i am using for my warts made me feel like my fingers were being chopped off." hahahahahahah whew. and he was SERIOUS too.

10. i've gotten really good at drawing palm trees. i draw them on everything. they are usually included in a beach scene. i always draw a shark jumping out of the water behind them. heehhee. the shark is super ugly.

11. sister landeen's birthday is on sunday! HAPPY FATHER'S DAY DADDY!! (dont worry this isn't all the recognition you will receive hehe)

12. we have somebody with a baptismal date for the 23rd! OH MAN I LOVE TEACHING!! he is dating a girl in our ward :) ahhhhhh lovey love love. 

okay peoples... the sisters brunch thingy went great! i talked about TRYING to be like Jesus. went through the whole children's song. talked about Alma TRYING to teach the wicked zoramites. also that we should TRY the word of God with an experiment like Alma 32:36 tells us. basically i kept it real and said that Jesus does not expect us to be like him today. we're fallen. we're human. we're a work in progress. but He does expect us to be TRYING to be like Him. when the scriptures say to be "perfect" like Christ is, the real meaning is "complete." perfection comes with time. LOTS OF TIME. Heavenly Father wants people who are willing and open to new things. people with soft hearts. people that will TRY. and guess what!? "triers" become "doers."  :) i will go and do the things that the Lord hath commanded. boom.

i love ya. i love ya so darn much it's not even funny. WHY DO I GET SO LUCKY AS TO SPEND ETERNITY WITH YOU!!!??? bahhhhh YES!!!

sister barfuss

ps- i'm always disappointed at how short my emails are. i spend like 14 hours on them and then i look up and they are super short. i promise this is my best effort!

I'm at the San Diego ZOO - saved $60 bucks baby!

 Well this week i'm emailing kinda late because we went to the zoo as soon as our day started! We have some members that can get people in free if they go, so they took us!! YES! Saved 60 bucks baby!! 

FUN FACTS!

1. at the zoo 9 different mormon families stopped us and said hi!

2. i got the packy!! thank for the ginger snaps :) oh my lanta those are so good. last time you sent them to me i served in the same zone as the Lao elders and they ate like 50 of them each. so i took them some of these ones and they said "WE LOVE MAMA BARFUSS!!!" so yeah, they say thanks too :) and my quad is awesome too!!

3. i got to go on an exchange with sister strasser! we stayed up until like midnight yacking in the dark! hahaha she goes home in 8 weeks! isn't that crazy!!??

4. since our members all work at fast food places we get free food from them every once in a while. on thursday we got free Taco Taco and free Coldstone! HOLLAH.

5. you know the senior couple we serve with in our ward? the van alfens? well elder van alfen told me that on fast sunday everyone has "moose breath" hahahhahahaha could not have described that better :) heh

6. there is a girl in our ward that has cerebral palsy and she doesn't have the function of almost anything in her body. she uses a power chair to get around. i have become her "take the sacrament helper!" i take the bread and rip it to the smallest little piece and put it on her tongue and then with the water i put the cup up so it barely touches her lips. reminds me of helping out Buddy in seminary!!! I LOVE HIM!!

7. for FHE this week we had a pool party and then we learned how to crochet. hahahhaa. yes, i know can crochet you something for Christmas. any requests??? it's weird how many non members come to these activities!! it's the best place for missionary work!

8. elder christofferson is coming this next week for some Priesthood leadership training and then he is doing an investigator/recent convert fireside and missionaries don't get to go :( sadddddd day

9. there is a elder in my zone that went to mountain crest mamas!! i told him that you chose the colors and mascot of all that! oh yeah.

10. there is a guy in my ward that i had a sociology class with at BYU. it's kinda weirding me out. i haven't told him yet. i don't think he recognizes me.

11. we only have 1 person from utah in our district. THAT'S UNHEARD OF.

12. the Laotian elders and the Arabic elders both had a baptism last month!! the first ones they have had since they added those languages like 9 months ago! whoa.

13. there are 5 zones assigned to street contact in down town all day since the Book of Mormon play is out right now. they said it's been crazy!! people think they are cast members and want their autograph!! hahaha

14. did a whole bunch of service at a horse arena again this week. we raked and shoveled horse poopoo for like 4 hours!! i felt like a REAL woman right then. after we were all done the owner showed us his horses and i brushed one of them! she ended up getting all close to me and gave me a horse hug :) one of the elders has the pictures of it so i'll have to steal them from him... but it was tender. i've grown a tad bit more fond of animals on my mission. NOT DOGS THOUGH. bleh. 

we are having a "sisters retreat" next pday where all the sisters in the mission go to the SDSU institute and eat lunch and then have like an hour meeting about sister stuff. i got asked to give a talk at it that is "motivating and uplifting" BAHHHHHHHHHH who gave someone that idea!?!?? BLAST YOU!!!! so next week i'll probably email late again... if i don't pass out and die during my talk!! I'll probably work in my Trafalga story ;) hhehehehe I use that one EVERY TIME!! that's a money story. 

well sister landeen and i went to the Claytons very last mission leadership council meeting this week :( they go home in like 20 days. sad face. they gave us all the info on how the transition is going to work and when President Schmitt is going to bring his family to meet all of us...it's so crazy!!! Basically President Clayton said that if you call after 11:00 am on the 28th that President Schmitt is going to answer. whoa. i'm really excited to meet them!! President Clayton talked to us about opposition and how satan is working hard on our mission right now because he knows it is a time that he could get into our hearts more than usual. i've not going to lie, the last two weeks i have felt it and noticed it. we've been having problems with all sorts of silly things that haven't been a problem in the past in our zone. so sister landeen and i are trying hard to be good examples of a few specific things hahaa. 

all the missionaries in our zone say "I'm so sorry you have to serve in a YSA ward!! that must be so hard. especially in the summer when nobody has school and they are always hanging out and partying and dating!!" so yeah, that's been a fun challenge for us. Basically if I'm keeping it real with you all right now, here is my life....... Pool parties, fun FHEs, 20 something year old girls, 20 something year old guys, the summer, institute, Bible study, and yet i can DO NONE OF IT!!!!!!!! 

i'm basically living in the life i left at BYU but i can't let myself be part of it. We HAVE to go to all the activities because that is where we meet all the members' nonmember friends!! that is a challenge. okay i'm going to stop whining. but seriously, keeping yourself on task and focused at all times in a YSA ward in sunny san diego is not something i thought my mission was going to consist of..... bahhhhahahhaha whatevs. 

on the upside, our bishopric is AMAZING!!! they really take care of me and sister landeen :) out of the 150 companionships in our mission (not counting senior couples) there are 8 that serve in YSA wards. yay for us!!

okay my eyes hurt now. i'm not used to staring at technology for this long..... hahaha

LOVES!!!

sister barfuss :) :)