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