Everyday He gives me a little Present

We had our first personal interview this week. Pres Schmitt asked to take a picture with me and said...

 "will you forward this to your family? I want to thank them for sending and supporting their daughter!"

Best regards,

Jonathan S. Schmitt
California San Diego Mission

7-22-14
HAHAHA!! Oh man, i laughed at the storm story forever! I can just see it now, dad getting NAILED by the water! We need that water down here! Tyler is doing great! We have kept good contact with him and he is getting the Priesthood on Sunday! I'm praying super hard that the iPads come before I leave!!! But honestly, i don't really have 400 bones to blow on one of those babies for just a month of using it.... so yeah either way is good :)  IT'S ABOUT THE TEMPLE KELLIE!! hahaha i love her so much! And man, the story about tiff is awesome! Stuff like that is what missionary work is ALL about! Stories like that keep me going. Way to be a missionary mamas :) i love it when you tell me that you take the sisters shopping and go out teaching with them. YOU ARE AMAZING!!! you have no idea how much members like you mean to us missionaries :) oh and ps- i was waiting for you to say FLAP :) hehe

FUN FACTS:

1. i got a box of cracker jacks this week and my "prize" (that's pushing it) was a sticker with a canadian baseball team on it.... BOO YOU CRACKER JACK

2. last pday i was talking to an elder and i remembered that he can do back flips, so i said "do a back flip!!" well i didn't know that he did them on command and he did one right into the sister behind him and DESTROYED her. it was SOOO awkward. she's okay now.

3. popcorn and hot tamales is the best combination of life. you must try it. 

4. chew with your mouth closed

5. the new insult in our house from the grandkids is... "you're a diaper!" "you're a diaper face!!" "you're a smelly diaper!!!"

6. i met the blonde version of wolverine this week. BWAHAHAHA!

7. had a member pull out their weed wacker and ask if anyone there knew how to use one.... #toowell.......

well well well... another week eh!? man, about 2 weeks ago I asked Heavenly Father for help in making my prayers more sincere. To keep it short, my companion and i have had numerous experiences the last two weeks to give EXTREMELY SINCERE prayers. I'm so grateful that Heavenly Father always listens to me. I know He is there. I know He cares. The reason I know He cares is because everyday He gives me a little present. Sometimes the present is in the form of someone calling and asking for a appointment. Sometimes the present is that a memory comes back to my mind of something i loved. Sometimes the gift is a member that feeds us. Sometimes it's a cloud in the sky. Some of my very favorite presents recently have been realizing how much of my "load" Christ has accepted from me as I slowly give it to Him. Another favorite is understanding the New Testament better then in the past. I've been trying to see the slow progression that Heavenly Father has guided me through the past while. I'm so grateful He is patient. And understanding.... let's talk about being understanding for a bit. 

Understanding.... People (myself included) often think that Heavenly Father gets mad at them when they mess up. We think that He looks at us differently and gives up on us. But what really happens is that WE think that about OURSELVES. He doesn't think we're stupid for doing something stupid. WHY? because He understands us better than we understand ourselves. He's been my Father in Heaven for a super long time and He knows what my tendencies are and where they came from. He knows what upsets me and what I do when I am upset. He knows why I get embarrassed doing certain things and He knows when I am giving my best effort. He doesn't look at where I've been, but looks at where I am going! Can you even imagine the plans He has for you!? Man, He wants to get us to Him and give us everything He is! (spoiler alert... that's EVERYTHING!) So sometimes we might think Heavenly Father is distant or that He is mad, but we have to remember that is WRONG. WRONG WRONG WRONG. He never leaves us alone. He never betrays our agency. He never forces us to do anything. He patiently waits, while fully understanding us, until we are ready to fully understand Him.

i love you! i love you!

sister barfuss

7-15-14

nah, you don't need to worry about sending me mail.... i pretty much came to terms with the fact that no one was really going to send snail mail to me for the rest of my mission. haha! it's all good! moo's stories about boys are THE BEST. like seriously, i was crying because i was laughing so dang hard!!! she is a good sport! but it's because she is TOO dang good looking! the pingpong story is the best! that is CLASSIC idaho right there.... classic. oh man! moo is wiping bums now!!?? hahahahhah! EWWWWW! i dont even like wiping my own bum. #wipeywipey 

FUN FACTS!

1. it rained for like 3 minutes this week while i was eating breakfast! i closed my eyes and soaked it up!! it was such a beautiful moment.

2. one time i ordered a hamburger at a mexican restaurant.... the waiter was disappointing in me. he was like "look at this WHOLE menu! and you want a hamburger???" hahaha i was sick of mexican food that day.

3. did any of my grandmas or great great great great grandmas serve a mission when they were young? am i the first? maybe.

4. i found a hand dryer in the Target women's bathroom that blows so hard that it makes me skin flab back and forth in the wind tunnel it creates! like when you jump out of an airplane and your face gets flabby?? well my hand was getting flabby and i was getting PUMPED.

5. you know how we have the TIWI in our car that records everything we do and it yells at us?? well i kicked it out on accident this week and our fleet coordinator called and said "what are you two doing!!??" hahahahaha

6. we moved rooms in quiggle's house! i sleep on the top bunk of bunk beds now (since i'm the shorter of the companionship..... NOT!!)

7. FREE 7/11 SLURPIES!!!! :D

8. have you ever had Takis? they are yummmmmmmm

9. we see hot air balloons every single day

10. remember when i grew up in idaho and i was afraid to drive on a 2 lane interstate? well now i drive on like 9 lane interstates and it's no biggie...

11. we've been playing air hockey with the quiggle's grandskids this week and I am the reigning champion!!!!! BOOYAH LITTLE KIDS!!

12. we got a New York Giant Pizza this week and it 28 inches across

13. taught the stop smoking program to a guy this last week and it worked!! he's been smoke free for a week plus!

14. i've served in the following kinds of areas.... the beach, rich rich rich, high rise apartments, dangerous hooligan areas, UCSDs campus, SDSUs campus,  and country roads. it's been fun :) what area is next??

15. been out for 15 months

16. i was thinking about how mom and dad used to come pray with us at night and help us with out personal prayers...  i LOVED that!

so we got an "anti throw-down" from one of our investigators this week... it was rough. man, it hurts when people think that youtube is more reliable than my testimony... but here's a little tid bit of the conversation.... after he went off on us for 15 minutes with rude and not true cr*p, i just sat there quietly and asked "are you done?" he said yes. and then i started talking. he instantly interrupted me and i said "whoa whoa. i sat quietly and listened to EVERYTHING you just said that whole time, now you listen quietly to me." he stopped talking and i kept going... but then he interrupted me again and i said "hey now. there you go again." after i finished bearing my testimony i told him that we're not going to tell him what he wants to hear... we're just going to tell him what God has told us.

"I knew it, and I knew that God knew it, and i could not deny it."  -joseph smith 

i love you bunches :) please send me grumpy cat memes (and funny memes too!!) i love those!

sister barfuss

"you talk TO a dog. you talk WITH people."

4 of the 5 Companions Marysa has had

 Schmitt kids

 Schmitt Family

 4th of July

FUN FACTS: July 8, 2014

1. the Preece reunion is my favorite thing on the earth. i'm so glad i NEVER have to suffer through not being at one of those again! SHEEZE!

2. the Arabic elders in our mission had their first baptism!! they've been building it up for A YEAR. A YEAR people.

3. drove past a kid texting while riding his horse on the side of the road. NO PHONE ZONE BRO!!!

4. a member in our stake had a prompting to pull over and talk to a girl on the side of the road. she did and turns out the girl had just wrote a goodbye note to her parents and was walking to where she was going to go commit suicide. the member stopped the whole thing. WOW. 

5. rang a door bell this week and the "chime" was The National Anthem. good thing we were already standing.

6. #grumpycat. will someone PLEASE send me some grumpy cat memes!!?? BRENNAN????

7. Quote from someone - "Sorry. I had to talk to him on the phone for a bit. He's cool though. He's in a warewolf band."

8. finally talked to that guy that i thought i had a class with at BYU. yeah, he was totally in my class.

9. gave a giant hug to my favorite friend right before church and got her makeup ALL over my white sleeve. the whole ward took this as an opportunity to say "SOMEBODY GOT YA!!!!" like 87 billion times hahaha

FUN FACTS ABOUT THE SCHMITTS: (new Mission President)

1. they have 4 kids from 6-15 years old. they are all super social and smart. not surprised!

2. they recorded opening their call and they all danced around going "BOOYAH!!!! BOOYAH!!!!!!!" it was so funny to watch

3. they have just a touch of an accent :) but one of the boys said "i was going to say 'hey yall', but that's too texan."

4. the Schmitts are in their early 40s. we did the math.

5. the Schmitt kids favorite thing is that the mission home has cable and "we never had cable back home because our parents hate everything about cable."

6. Elder Bednar set them apart

7. when they got called they were told they were going to preside over a "spanish speaking mission" they thought they were going foreign for sure

8. President Schmitt was a bishop and then a stake president for like 8 years. he knows his stuff.

9. he ran like 2 marathons earlier this year

10. we invited him and his boys to come play basketball with us today and they are coming!! haha! since he has a family his Pday is on saturday, so he gets to have fun with us on tuesdays!

so basically the Schmitts have brought some amazing energy to the mission! i love them to death already. like seriously. at MLC he kept it SUPER real with us (you know i appreciate that) and asked what the mission is good at and what need to improve. we set some great goals. he has kept all the rules we had in the past, so not much has changed in that regard. i can tell he is going to be VERY influential here because he will come to our level and play BB with us, but still demands dedication and enthusiasm. he keeps saying "you talk TO a dog. you talk WITH people." another favorite... "of all the people on the earth we should be smiling the most! get a bigger smile on!!!" 

well i'm just doing jolly over here in SD. it's hot, but man, i don't even care that i sweat now. LET IT POUR BABY! the sun comes out everyday all day. the nights are cool and crisp. palm trees are still stunning. my bed is my worldly treasure. i love my companion. my mission president and his family are wonderful. i love my family back home (so much that i can't even think about them). it's july! i got to send home like 6 billion pictures this week. the Quiggles have doritos waiting for us at home. we get to play BB today! the Van Alfens come back from Utah this week! seriously... life is gooooood. double good. :) like a double double with onions, fries, and a chocolate shake. #innoutburger 

loves and stuff  :)

sister barfuss

FUN FACTS:      July 1, 2014

1. I got highlights last pday!! i was SOOO sick of my hair. i was going to shave it off. but instead i got some highlights. ohhhhh yeah....

2. we played missionary mafia for pday last week. SO FUN! i forgot how much i love mafia. and guess what... my companion and i were the "murderers" and we TOTALLY won like a bunch of bosses.

3. a lady TOTALLY paid for our groceries last week!!! interesting to note that i only had like 10 bucks left on my missionary card and Heavenly Father took care of me!

4. one night at like 8:50 PM we were in our car with the windows rolled down in our driveway making some phone calls and all the sudden "BAM!!!!" yeah. a dog got hit by a car like 15 feet away from us.... it died....... ohhhhh man it was terrible.....

5. after such a horrific moment as that night i decided to wake up the next morning saying "i love my life i love my life i love my life" it made me feel good :)

6. the Quiggles got their fire pit going and we had smores the other night :) yeahhhh boy

7. we had to call President Schmitt yesterday for permission to do something and it was SO crazy!!! after we hung up we both started jumping up and down and screaming! haha we meet him tomorrow!!!!

8. for the 4th of july we can only let freedom ring until 7:00 PM and then we have to come inside. I remember last 4th of july.... that was bad. man i missed you guys SO much and EVERYONE in pacific beach was partying for the whole week! 

9. whenever i tell people i started my mission in Pacific beach they say "ohhhhh man. i'm sorry." PARTY CAPITAL OF SAN DIEGO.

10. you know how i don't like dogs? like at all??? well this week i ate my words. i fell in love with a dog. LOVE, TRUE LOVE. like seriously i would buy her if i could. her name is Mandy and i love her :)

11. there is a girl in our ward named Hollah. like seriously. so whenever i say "HOLLAH!!!!" when i'm excited she thinks i'm calling her name :) hehe

12. i drank 3 liters of water everyday this week. yesh.

so i got a blessing yesterday and in it it said "i bless you that you will be able to think rationally and slowly." VERY good word choice there. very good. 

i love you!!!!!

sister barfuss