Mexico MTC

Mexico MTC
emily.barfuss@myldsmail.net

Monday, December 5, 2016

Have faith, have hope, live like his Son, help others on their way

Saying GOODBYE, and THANK YOU
to all the family, neighbors and friends that have supported Hermana Emily the past 1.5 years.💗


Please join us!
Emily speaks Sunday the 11th @ 11:00.
2000 S. Fairway - Pocatello

Come to the house for food after :)












Q&A
1. The live nativity was in Burbank. The Burbank chapel is huge! It used to be a country club. The event draws about 2000 people!
2. Tomorrow I am headed to Santa Clarita at noon for transfer meeting stuff. I will do one last Knock out then I sleep and the Henries will take us to the airport. CAN'T BELIEVE IT!!!
3. Sister Dohner, Hna Warren and Whittingham (from the MTC) will be flying with me! We all get off at SLC. There should be a lot of people there :)
4. I will finish my goodbyes tonight

I am going to keep this short :) I had a super, wonderful, beautiful, and bittersweet week! I absolutely love being a missionary. The Lord has been so good to me. Heavenly Father loves His children. Our Heavenly Father works so hard to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man (Moses 1:39). He truly is in the details of our lives. I am grateful that He sent His son, so that I can have hope, change my heart, and have an eternal family.

Here are some of the most important things I have learned on my mission.

“The ability to qualify for, receive, and act on personal revelation is the single most important skill that can be acquired in this life.”
Julie B. Beck

“Yea, behold, I will tell you in your mind and in your heart, by the Holy Ghost, which shall come upon you and which shall dwell in your heart.
Now, behold, this is the spirit of revelation; behold, this is the spirit by which Moses brought the children of Israel through the Red Sea on dry ground.
Therefore this is thy gift; apply unto it…”
DC 8:2-4


I think this Primary song sums things up nicely...

How could the Father tell the world of love and tenderness?
He sent his Son, a newborn babe, with peace and holiness.
How could the Father show the world the pathway we should go?
He sent his Son to walk with men on earth, that we may know.
How could the Father tell the world of sacrifice, of death?
He sent his Son to die for us and rise with living breath.
What does the Father ask of us? What do the scriptures say?
Have faith, have hope, live like his Son, help others on their way.
What does he ask? Live like his Son.

Have faith, have hope, live like his Son, help others on their way: The perfect formula for happiness!

I love you Mom. I have lots to tell you...and I am starting to cry just typing this! Wednesday is going to be a happy day :)

con amor,
   Hna Moo

Monday, November 28, 2016

Trust God. Trust the Spirit. Go and Do.

Emily will return from The GREAT San Fernando, CA Mission

Dec. 7th!!
She will speak on Sunday, Dec. 11th at 11:00 
2000 South Fairway Drive - Pocatello, ID

                                           Join us for FOOD after - We would love to see you!


Trust God.   Trust the Spirit.   Go and Do.


 Pres. and Sister Henrie








 The Christmas tree looks super foxy mama! 
Guess what we did this morning? The Burbank wards put on a huge live nativity every year for the community, and we got to help put up Christmas trees! I had to teach all the elders how to properly fluff a Christmas tree :) you trained me well!

Next Monday will be a normal pday. I will email! Then on Tuesday I will sleep in Santa Clarita, and then I will give you a giant hug :) Tomorrow we are headed to the temple!

I had a really special week! It started with Thanksgiving, and we spent the entire day with members. We jumped from home to home, and we ate 3 dinners! I love Noho 4to so much. They have a big chunk of my heart.

I was also asked to speak in Sacrament meeting this week. Well...they actually had me plan everything! I had all the elders share their testimonies, Hna Smith and I sang Conmigo quedate Senor (abide with me), and then I got to speak. I made it through the day only crying 5 times. I am such a baby these days. I just really love being a missionary. I will tell you more next week. Stories are always better in person!

Yesterday I had my final interview with Presidente Henrie. I LOVE THE HENRIES. They have taught me how to be a bold, faith-filled, successful missionary. They have given me many opportunities to grow. I truly feel that I have served in the best mission in the world: The Great California San Fernando Mission...sorry Marysa and Brennan, but it's true :)

We have seen a lot of miracles with our part member families and our investigator family we found a few weeks ago! We have stayed busy with lots of lessons and finding opportunities. I am really happy. I love being a missionary.

Here are some funnies from the week:
1. Today at 5 am Hna Smith's laundry detergent fell off her shelf. I thought Hna Dunn (our roomate) had fallen off the bunk bed -  hahaha. We spent a good half an hour cleaning up the spilled detergent on the carpet :)
2. I took a dating a marriage course Saturday morning, and Saturday night I was proposed to by a drunk, 85 year old man from Mexico. He was a pretty funny guy. I'll keep him in mind if nothing works out at home.
3. Speaking of marriage...all the members have been playing match maker for me this week. One member looked at me and one of the other elders and said, "Ooooohhhh se pueden casar ustedes porque tienen ojos azules!!!!!" (You two can get married because you both have blue eyes!) Facepalm.

Alrighty. I love you lots and lots and lots and lots Mama.

I think the #1 thing I have learned on my mission is:
    Trust God. Trust the Spirit. Go and do.
Hna Moo

Tuesday, November 22, 2016

I felt like an over protective mother being in cub scouts with him. "Did he get that knot?" "


Emily will return from the SanFernando, CA mission, on Dec. 7th!!
She will speak on Sunday, Dec. 11th at 11:00  - 2000 South Fairway Drive.

Join us for FOOD after  - We would love to see you!



Hola Mama!

This week we saw a lot of progress in our area. The Lord has been very good to us! Here's the scoop:

1. We are working with a part member family. Grandma is a less active member and her grandson (nathan) is not a member BUT he has interest in coming to church. 



This is Hermana Cienfuegos. She hasn't the coolest last name ever.


Well with a lot of love and invitations Grandma has been to

church 3 weeks in a row, and her grandson came to cub scouts this week. I felt like an over protective mother being in cub scouts with Nathan. I kept asking my comp, "Did he get that knot?" "Are they moving too fast for him?" "Do you think he is having fun?" hahahaa I just love this kid so much :)

2. The family that we found last week is coming to the church this Wednesday to do a church tour! 

3. We had almost all of our investigators come to the Thanksgiving party! We had three part member families come! We ate food, introduced them to the ward, and listened to some good music! Ward activities are the bomb. We had a church full of members, less active members, and investigators THEN at church yesterday we had a chapel full of people worshiping God. It was beautiful! 

I hope you have a SUPER FELIZ DIA DE LA ACCION DE GRACIAS. I am grateful for many things. My family who supports me and loves me, my family here in California who have taught me so much about sacrifice and love, my Heavenly Father who works so hard with us to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man, my Savior who made God's perfect plan of happiness possible, the Spirit who never leaves me hanging. I have a lot to be grateful for! Remember:

"The joy we feel has little to do with the circumstances of our lives and everything to do with the focus of our lives." -Presidente Nelson 

Focus on gratitude!

I love you Mom! See you soon :)

LOVE
  Hna Moo

 We went on a little hike last pday!


Elder Torres... I love him so much hahah

Hna Salegio
 These Pupusas were dang good.

 The Crows took me out to eat again...they are too nice to me!!
 La familia Sierra was sealed! We decorated their door. The sign says Just Sealed!



 daily planning sometimes looks a little like this.

Monday, November 7, 2016

missionaries just can't handle watching the love story between Emma and Joseph..

 LOOK WHAT WE HAVE!!!


Halloween PDAY
 Twinning with Sis. Ames


Hna Hopkins

Treats from Damron's (there's a long Girl's Camp, Youth Conference History with Gardetto's)





Count down one month until I can give you a big bear hug! LOVE YOU!

   This was my last week of long missionary meetings! I went to mission leadership council, and I gave some trainings at our zone training meeting! Hermana Warren and I got to train on the love of God (my fav topic) and the Christmas Initiative! We got to watch the video and talk about how we can use it in our missionary work. The initiative starts the day after Thanksgiving! It is going to be great!


Here are my two happiest moments from the week!
1. We had a less active come to church this week who has not been to church in over 6 months. She was overcome with the love she felt from God and from the ward members as she came back to church. It was wonderful!
2. We found a new investigator who told us after our lesson, "There is a reason you are here. I never open my door, but for some reason I felt pushed to open the door to you two!" It is so cool to see how involved the Spirit is in missionary work. 

Here are the 3 funniest moments from the week!
1. Every once and a while we like to do our language study with a member. Yesterday we learned all the animal noises in spanish. The funniest noise was the rooster. Apparently the "gallos latinos" say keyde-keyde-keyde. They could not believe "gallos americanos" say cock-a-doodle-do. Well now that I think of it...those are both pretty silly hahaa!

2. We got to watch the Restoration video for Halloween! A chapel full of missionaries just can't handle watching the love story between Emma and Joseph...we are all too awkward. 

3. Speaking of awkward, We had a super awkward lesson with this couple who has not been sealed in the temple. We went over to encourage them to set goals and make plans, but they ended up just dumping their marriage problems on us. Well I did the only thing I know how to do when it comes to relationships. COMPANIONSHIP INVENTORY. If you don't know what comp inventory is, you should try it out. It is found in PMG and it helps companions have good relationships. Basically we read through the points with them, we committed them to doing a Husband and Wife Inventory, then we peaced out. Nothing can get in the way between us and our goal of eternal families! The blessing of an eternal family is too great!

I love you Mom! I hope you have a super duper week. Stay happy!

LOVE,

  Hna Moo

Monday, October 31, 2016

"This is the last time I am coming to church. I don't want to do this anymore."




Here is my pic for Marci and Landon's Harry Potter party!
We were asked to help set up a haunted hallway at an adult dare care center. It was lots o fun!


 SPOOOOKY




 Aunt Kayloni gave us some pumpkin pancake mix that we saved for this morning. They were delicious!!

Ok. In the words of Marysa Barfuss, I am going to keep this real. This was a tough week! Here is my Missionary Work Real Talk for the week. We had worked really hard to get a part member family and one of our investigators to Stake Conference. The part member family cancelled 10 minutes before conference and the investigator (that I have been working with since Mayo) came to conference, but out of the blue he walked out. We chased him down and he told us, "This is the last time I am coming to church. I don't want to do this anymore." We thanked him for his time and told him it was not time wasted. We let him know he could call us if he ever needed anything or had any questions. We shook hands, and then he left. 

We went back to watch the rest of Stake Conference. We sat in the very back of the gym and I sat on my metal chair and cried. My plans of having the best transfer of my life seemed to be crumbling to pieces. I am not telling you this to have a Hna Barfuss pity party. I am telling you this because in that moment I think I felt the tiniest bit of just how much God loves every one of his children. Pain in an inevitable part of loving people. I love that investigator. He has had his ups and downs, but it hurt my heart to see him walk out the church doors, and I can only imagine God's pain as he sees his children turn away from Him. God loves us so much. This work has so little to do with me and so much to do with God rescuing His children.

So missionary work isn't all baptisms and butterflies, but it is beautiful! I love being a missionary. The past 17 months have taught me just how involved God is in our lives. He is in the details. He works so hard to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man. 
Look who I saw at Stake Conference!


I love you mom! I hope you have a happy halloween. I am happy and enjoying the cooler weather AND RAIN here in Noho :)

CON MUCHO AMOR
   Hna Moo


This random parade went by our apartment. It must have been catholic holiday! They all had these capes with the Virgen Guadalupe on them





Here are some beautiful song lyrics: 
not now, but in the coming years
it may not be when we demand
we'll read the meaning of our tears
and there, sometime, we'll understand
why what we've longed for most of all
eludes our open pleading hand
whatever silence meets our call 
somewhere, sometime we'll understand

so trust in god through all thy days
fear not; for he doth hold thy hand
though dark thy way still sing and praise
sometime, sometime we'll understand

sometime we'll fall on bended knee
and feel them graven on his hand
sometime with tearless eyes we'll see
what here we could not understand

so trust in god through all thy days
fear not; for he doth hold thy hand
though dark thy way still sing and praise
sometime, sometime we'll understand

though dark they way still sing and praise
sometime, sometime, we'll understand

Monday, October 24, 2016

I am told I have to set dating goals. gross.


Temple! They tore up all the grass!


 zone leaders and assistants
 picture from our ward talent show!

 Hola Mom!

For my last transfer (dramatic pause) I will be staying in Noho 4to with Hna Smith! I am also staying as Sister Training Leader. I am VERY happy! This will be my 5th transfer in North Hollywood. It is rare to do 5 transfers in an area, but I did five in Canoga Park and will be doing five in NoHo! I can't believe I am on my last transfer. It does not feel real...I am starting something called MyPlan this week. It is a program that helps me set goals for the future. I am told I have to set dating goals. gross.

Kayloni and Greg are so sneaky! Too bad I was at the temple, but they left me some snacks..I love them so much! Hna Warren and Dunn and the Elders that live below us said that Aunt Kayloni was super nice :)

The temple was wonderful! Oh I just love the LA temple so much. We had lot's of time after our session while we waited for our ride to pick us up. We went to the visitor center, and we watched all the District Where Are They Now videos. We also got to watch the new Meet the Mormons videos! It was a very peaceful, fun day. A perfect birthday present.
Miracle for the week:
Yesterday we were out looking for less active/part member families. I felt a prompting to visit a specific family, but I knew the mom would not be there because she works in the afternoons, so I pushed the prompting aside. Well if I have learned anything on my mission it is FOLLOW THE SPIRIT, so I pulled the car around and we went and visited the B....... family. Literally right when we got to their gate a random lady pulled her car into the driveway. We started talking with her, and turns out she just moved here with her family from Virginia (where my comp is from). She is related to the B........ family, so she is staying with them for the next few months. She was baptized in Guatemala when she was 8 but has been less active for over 20 years! She has three kids and she wants them to go to primary and YWs!!! Can you believe that!? I love this quote from Presidente Monson,
  
 "The sweetest feeling I know of in life is to receive a prompting and act upon it...I always want the Lord to know that if He needs an errand run, Tom Monson will run that errand for Him." Trust God and follow the Spirit...what can go wrong?

Another Miracle:
Remember that crazy exchange I went on about 2 months ago...my tummy was growling and I stepped in a wad of gum?? That man we found during that exchange got baptized on Saturday!!! I got to go to the baptism, and it was a beautiful day!

Random:
I got my flu shot this week. I got a 5 dollar gift card to Target for getting a flu shot! So I signed up for a Target membership, but it ended up being more extensive than i thought...I hope I didn't sign my life away. I think it is coming to the house mailbox. Can you keep your eye on that? The cashier was just so nice and she wanted to talk about the gospel, so I signed up for a membership so we could talk longer....missionary problems :)

I think that is all! I love you Mom! Have a super duper week. LOOOOOOVE YOU! Save a Fatboy for me in the freezer ;)

Hna Moo



 my comp got a new bag!