Sisters are just so great! We are just so likeable!

We found a lake! It is in Castaic! It was beautiful. Never seen so much water in Southern California. I guess there is the ocean...but I've never seen it!

This week flew by. I know I always say this, but before I know it I'm in the library again emailing home trying to think what even happened this week :)

I think the highlight of the week was going to the temple! We left at 5:30 am so we could make the 6:45 session. It was exactly where I wanted to be this Easter weekend. I realized a few things this temple trip, and one of them is that Heavenly Father wants us to be happy. He wants us to be just beaming with joy, and it is possible! In the most difficult times when we feel like hope is lost, we can be cheerful, positive, grateful, happy, and joyful in our circumstances. I was in the temple on Friday. The day of Christ's crucifixion. A terrible, horrible, no good, rotten day, but as I sat in the temple the words, "Don't lose hope" kept running through my head. Sunday is coming! Friday night may feel long, Saturday may feel like it is NEVER going to end, but Sunday will always come. 

This week all the missionaries were asked to speak at church. I decided to speak on Thomas. He has a very interesting but short story in the Bible. Thomas has gone down in history as Doubting Thomas, but as I read his story I started to connect to him and his experience. Thomas had just seen his best friend, the person he trusted most, and was willing to sacrifice and leave everything behind for, be murdered in a horrible way. Then the apostles come running and saying, "Thomas! He's back! We've seen the risen Lord." With those images still fresh in his head, I can see how he doubted, but I also studied how Thomas was there when Jesus raised Lazarus from the tomb. Thomas had seen many miracles, but this miracle maybe seemed too impossible for him to believe. I started to think about my life. Even though I have seen, heard, experienced so many miracles I still doubt if certain things are possible. I don't want to go down in history as Doubting Hermana Barfuss. So I choose to believe! I know too much. I've seen too much. I know nothing is impossible through Jesus Christ and faith in him! 

 Then saith he to Thomas, Reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands; and reach hither thy hand, and thrust itinto my side: and be not faithless, but believing. 

Let's see what else happened this week

1. We ate with the Pethos family (pronounced Peeto) turns out Brother Pethos served in the Highland Stake! It was back in 2000 so I don't remember any of the people he served around.

2. L is getting baptized tomorrow! WEEHOO! We emailed her son who is serving a mission and he got permission to skype his mom tomorrow. She is going to FREAK OUT!

3. We helped an older lady from the Newhall ward clean out her garage. I think I inhaled about a pound of dust, but we found all these old karate and boxing magazines! I also found this random Star Wars magazine from the 70s. I asked Sister Montross if I could keep it and give it to Brennan!

4. I loved Women's Conference! I loved that it was so centered in service. Put down the mirror and start connecting with people! Love it!

5. My companion had two accidents this week during workout hahaa. So I have been trying to run more, and she is not a huge runner so one day she decided to heely behind me (you know those shoes with the wheels in them) but she hit a rock and totally scrapped her knee. The other day I was running around the park and she was playing on the monkey bars, slipped and completely gashed her shin. We are still not sure how it happened! Hahaa funny things happen at 6:30 am.

6. We ate lamb for dinner yesterday. I felt bad. Lambs are so stinkin' cute!

7. The Newhall ward has been signing up to feed us a lot. So much that the Elders serving in their ward have not been getting fed. Whoops! I feel bad, but Sisters are just so great! We are just so likeable! Hahaa that's definitely not what the Elders are thinking muahahaha

Love you all! Have a great week!

Hermana Moo 

I hope we are not posing next to a gang sign...

Sing it loud! Sing it proud! Keep that song in your heart! I Know My Savior lives!

I like this. Take a breath. Remember what is important. Be happy and peaceful.

derp

waiting for food and In n' Out. yummmmm

                                 exchanges! This is Sister Oseen from Idaho Falls! 

This week was pretty relaxed. Nothing too crazy or exciting happened. Mostly it was just normal missionary work. No glitz and glamour, but still very rewarding. 

M and B were confirmed this Sunday which was great! I love those four words: Receive the Holy Ghost. Those 4 words change our lives forever! The girls were very happy, and M is getting ready to go to Trek and Girl's Camp!

 So I am the ward organist and I absolutely love it. Usually I get nervous about playing and I just focus on how many times I messed up, but yesterday we were singing I Know that My Redeemer Lives, and one of the best thing about Latinos is they are not very good singers...hahaa. For some reason it is very hard for the members to blend their voices. I am not being mean. The members always talk about how bad they sing, but it doesn't stop them from singing loud. I sit on the organ bench and I can hear a least ten distinct voices. I can pin point exactly who is singing and all I could think was this is probably the most beautiful thing I have every heard. I could hear individuals, who have suffered so much leaving their countries and trying to provide for their families here, and they were belting, "Yo se que vive mi senor!" Sing it loud! Sing it proud! Keep that song in your heart! I know my Savior lives!

Operation Gratitude had a big event this weekend, and the whole mission had permission to go down to Canoga Park. It was so fun to be in my old area. There were so many houses I wanted to stop by :) Operation Gratitude is always very appreciative of the missionaries. They have us act as Trainers for all the volunteers that come from the community. We teach them how to make para-chord bracelets, how to stuff teddy bears, and how to prepare boxes that will be sent to the troops. It is a great way to be involved in the community!

Here is my favorite quote from the week

"Far better it is TO DARE MIGHTY THINGS, to win glorious triumphs, even though checkered by failure, than to take rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy much nor suffer much, because they live in the gray twilight that knows no victory nor defeat." -Teddy Roosevelt

My goal this week is to dare mighty things. 

Satan brings the spirit of fear. 

Heavenly Father gives us the spirit of power, faith, and courage. 

Go big this week. 

Try something new. 

Step outside the comfort box, and step up our faith a notch or two...or 10!

Fun Stuff:

1. We are going to the temple Friday for Hna Salazar's bday! Can't wait. That will make this Easter week very special.

2. My trainer Hna Day goes home next week! Crazy how time flies. She started training me when she had 9 months left. Now I am in her shoes!

3. I think I actually like cilantro.  I know. Mission miracles.

4. I am currently sitting next to a snoring dog. It sounds a little familiar...maybe like something I used to hear on family vacations :) Love you dad!

Love you.

Have a great Easter!

Hna Moo

 

"Everclean cleaner than Listerine..." hahaa

  I felt A LOT of love this week! We got to eat with Janet Widdison's cousin hahaa. During dinner Brother Smith said, "I have a cousin in Pocatello. Do you know any Widdisons?" You better believe I know some Widdisons! Only my whole life! That was a fun connection to make. 

      Then we got to eat with Kayloni and Greg's friends! Brother and Sister Eddie and their family are so sweet. Oh my goodness they were so nice. No, the boys are not twins...I asked the same question! They took us to Stonefire Grill which was delicious and right around the corner from our apartment.I love our family, and I am so grateful the Eddies brought me a little love from my family back home. Turns out Brother Eddie stayed out our house when I was one-year-old. He said he still remembers how kind and welcoming you were mom :) The Eddies were a tender mercy for me this week.

     I am very excited for Dallin and Ali! I can't wait to meet her. She is very beautiful! Way to go Dallin. I am also suuuuuper pumped for Quinn! He is going to be an awesome missionary.

     Yes we had our baptism yesterday and it was splendid. M and B were baptized by their sisters boyfriend. The sister is in the blue dress. BACKSTORY: she was baptized by her now-boyfriend. He served here a couple years ago and baptized the older sister and is now dating her! Cute. (the tall guy on the left is Hno Henao. He is the second counselor in the branch presidency)  

     Everything went so well yesterday. So many people came to support the girls. It has been a long road for those two, but they have persevered. Everyone was all smiles yesterday. That is what I love about baptisms! Everyone is just so happy! I think Sister Delhoyo sent you a pic of the girls right after they were baptized (those pics are the definition of happiness). I can just see Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ with big smiles on their faces too.

    We went to the visitor center with L. She was so excited to go. As soon as L walked in the visitor center and saw the Christ Statue she started to cry. The spirit was strong! They have a little missionary exhibit where she learned a little bit more about what her son is doing on his mission. I got to invite her to be baptized. I love the experiences where the spirit is just pushing you to do something...invite her, invite her, invite her, so I did and she agreed to baptism March 29! WEEHOO! We are praying that everything will go smoothly for her these next couple weeks! 

    We also watched that dumb Families Are Eternal video where the grandpa passes away. I call it dumb because it makes me cry like a baby hahaa. I try to mentally prepare myself every time we go to the visitor center, but it gets me every time! Eternal families are real. I know it. I LOVE the church's Easter video. Love, Love, Love it! It is the best tool for contacting. "Hey do you have a smart phone?" "Want to watch a short video about families?" It is that easy. Spread the good news this Easter season. I'm going to see Grandpa Preece and Barfuss again, HALLELUJAH! 

Random Stuff:

1. Check out these songs- Randy Travis "Raise Him Up" "When Mama Prays" and "Pray for the Fish" 

                                    

Josh Turner "The Way He was Raised"

                                   

 Calee Reed "She Puts the Music in Me" This one makes me cry every time I listen to it. Love you mom.

2. What does the S in Thomas S. Monson stand for? This question has been bothering me. Sometimes I wish I had google...

3. We had Stake Conference this week. I ran into Kirby Herbourne like 3 times. He sang a musical number at the adult session. I was hoping he would get up at the pulpit and start singing, "Everclean cleaner than Listerine..." hahaa

4. Did anyone watch the Face to Face Elder Holland thingy. I only watched the first 10 minutes and 

can we take a moment to appreciate those two boys who sang the opening song. Whoa. Marysa can take the shorter one and I will take the tall one who sang in Spanish :) Can't wait to hear how Dad's training with Elder Holland will go. What a cool opportunity!

I love you loads. Have a great week. I am glad you are healthy mom. I am glad you are taking care of yourself! It is an answer to my prayers that our family is doing so well!

Besos,

   Hermana Moo                                                                                    yes, we did have a pinata at the baptism...

we focus too much on planting seeds and pulling weeds, but the scriptures tell us the FIELD IS WHITE!

I am sad to hear about Grandma Hedges, but we know she is dancing around in heaven :) It is crazy to think how much of an impact Bench Road has had on my life! 

This week we got to play soccer at a branch activity. 3 members of our branch used to play minor league soccer (or futbol) in their home countries. They are older now, but they still play really well! Some of them are a little on the heavy side, but they have speed! I could not believe how fast they were moving! They kept me on defenso which was a good idea...I am pretty lousy at soccer, but G............ was able to come and make a few more friends, so It was a successful day! Plus I learned a bunch of soccer vocabulary in spanish :)

This tree is outside our church building! Beautiful!!!

Holding a chicken. It has large talons... 

The main focus of our trainings this week was the gospel of Jesus Christ. They talked about how we should be teaching the gospel of Jesus Christ in every lesson (faith, repentance, baptism, receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost, and enduring to the end!) Like 2 Nephi 31:21 tells us: It is the way! It is the only way back home to our Heavenly Father. It is the way to happiness. It is the way to have unity in our families. It is the way to reach our potential as sons and daughters of Heavenly Father. 

We also read DyC 33:6-12. Brother Gonzalez (the man from the mission department) told us that as missionaries we focus too much on planting seeds and pulling weeds, but the scriptures tell us the FIELD IS WHITE! The field is ready! There are many people ready and prepared for baptism. We just need to work hard to find them. DyC 33 tells us to be like Nefi which is kind of interesting. Of all the missionaries in the Book of Mormon he is the least talked about. Usually when we talk about missionaries in the BOM we talk about Alma the younger, Amulek, the Sons of Mosiah, but this scripture tells us to be like Nefi. I think that is because Nefi was a GO and DO missionary. He trusted Heavenly Father with everything! I want to be a little more like Nefi :)

God's Will - HAHA

G........... is doing really well, but we might be postponing her baptism a little bit...we are taking it a day at a time! We do have two baptisms happening this week! Two girls ages 10 and 15 have been coming to church for almost 3 years, but their parents have never given them permission to be baptized. Well the oldest sister who is 19 and baptized decided to take initiative and get her parents to sign the papers! So they will be baptized this Sunday :) They are awesome girls! 

Tonight we are going to the visitor center with L........ I cannot wait!

I think that is everything...I love you so much! Thanks for all the love and support!

Hna Moo

Triplets - Matchy Matchy

The Zone!