6/15/2015

Hey Dad,

I know this is going to be tough in the upcoming time, and actually a sister in church got up to speak this Sunday and talked about an experience she had where her husband was in the military and they were living in Germany. She didn't speak the language and she barely ever saw her husband. She eventually found that she found solace and enjoyment in her scripture study? How has your scripture reading been going dad? I am very grateful that I have found that I can always rely on the scriptures to, at the very least, keep me going. I love those type of lessons where the spirit just absolutely takes over and influences everyone in the room. There's a promise given to those who are teaching actually in D&C 50:13-14,17-22. Those who teach and testify, as they feel the spirit, those whom are listening will feel it as well, even if they don't know it's the spirit they still feel it. I know that that woman felt the spirit in that class and it's because you as the teacher followed a prompting you received which allowed others to bear testimony as well. Thank you for sharing that.

I was able to get registered... It was so stressful. So this week was crazy because Wednesday night, my companion felt some pain in his stomach and when he woke up it was there and he was feeling sick overnight. So we go to urgent care Thursday morning and they tell him, it looks like you got appendicitis. So I'm not going to district meeting now and as the district leader I am supposed to lead the meeting and discussion, so I call up another elder, who is awesome just a spiritual giant really, and I ask him if he can take over. He accepts, super nervous because he had no preparation haha. Anyway, we run over to the ER and after a couple hours and a few tests they tell him, yup you got appendicitis so we're going to go into surgery now. Everything went well, it was really weird just sitting in the waiting room all alone... I just felt strange and out of place. I was going to try and talk to people but shortly after I got in there I was the only one. Everything went well though and we had to stay overnight at the hospital and I slept in a chair, a good one but still. I was pretty stressed out because I'm thinking, registration is the next day and I have no way of doing it here. A recent convert, Sara, was super nice and brought over her laptop so I could get on but that was at like 12, and registration opened at 8 am my time. But then the chemistry department didn't have me cleared so after an hour and a half, and my phone dying and scrambling to find a charger so I could get this whole thing settled. I was finally able to get a hold of them and get them to allow me to register (I didn't have a graduation plan set so I didn't have clearance, I guess a few science departments do that). So around1:30 I am finally able to register for classes, I was able to get most of the ones I wanted, my chem teacher didn't have great reviews but I'll just work hard and allow my love for science just over power that. 

Anyway Elder Westmann can't really drive under the medication he's on and my license is expired, and he can barely walk so we've been trapped in the apartment and I've been making phone calls basically. I still don't enjoy talking over the phone haha. 

My companion is doing well but he still has limited mobility and even though I hate being trapped inside I am grateful for the chance I have to do service for him. 

I hope you feel better and I invite you to read These 3 chapters in the boom this week: 2 Nephi 4, Helaman 5, and 3 Nephi 17. I feel you would really love them:)

I love you Dad!

Love,

Elder Barker

Ps. Could I get brother O'reily's email? I want to thank him for the mission prep class and all his help.

6/9/2015

Hey Dad,

Okay so first, as far as flight times and everything you are going to have to call the mission for that. I have very limited knowledge of these things, normally the parents are told this stuff long before the missionary. I didn't ask Amanda to register I asked her to look up teacher ratings so I could know which teachers are better. I will have to look but if you could (or amber or Amanda) look up prerequisites for pharmacy schools (most of them are the same I believe). I might take a world class then since I'm already taking calculus and chem, I'll look later at them. Registration is this Friday so I'll be doing it then. 

Well this week went very well and I found out that I am staying here in Stroudsburg for another transfer so I'll be ending my mission here — unless they move me for just 10 days. 

On Tuesday, we went and saw Lisa and Ron and read a little bit from the Book of Mormon with them and answered some questions they had. One she brought up was view of the God head and the trinity. We gave her some scriptures from the New Testament that testify that they are 3 distinct beings — among which are the baptism of Jesus, stoning of Stephan, Christ pleading to the Father in Gethsemane and on the cross — so that she can read and pray about them and find out for herself what is truth. It went really well I feel and afterwards we went straight to another appointment which had been set up just 2 hours before. It was with a man named George and he has been meeting with the missionaries since February I believe and is really great friends with the new Bishop. He had some questions about things he had been reading so we helped explain them. He said he believes the Book of Mormon to be true, he's just not ready for baptism yet. 

On Wednesday we went on exchanges and we had some cool lessons there I was in Lehighton with Elder Harmon. We met with a investigator named Ben they're teaching who is an atheist, is really trying to find out whether or not there is a God. He told us that he recognizes a difference from praying and he loved both of our "conversion" stories and our experiences with the Scriptures. We then stopped by another man they are teaching named Paris and we shared with him the gospel of Jesus Christ and invited him to be baptized on July 6, he actually picked that date. We then met with a man named Jeff. He is Jewish and he was really cool, we talked a lot about the Old Testament (I am so happy that I've been studying that or else I wouldn't have been able to converse with him haha) he said he was impressed with my knowledge of the Torah. I was shocked by that because I feel I have an average knowledge of it. He made us homemade cotton candy which was pretty good.

The next day, Thursday, I was in Stroudsburg with Elder Zolman who's a boss! We got to talk to a few golden people on the street. We then had a frantic ride to a dinner appointment and then back to an appointment where we find out they were waiting for us and they even made us dinner! I was so full already. But I prayed I wouldn't throw up and I didn't haha, we had a really good discussion though with them about baptism and what is keeping them from committing even though they know it's true.

On Saturday we had some things fall through but we had an awesome lesson out of nowhere with a recent convert's granddaughter. She was raised Catholic but never felt that God was there when she went to church. Eventually it became a "does he exist?" type of feeling for her. We asked her some more questions which really made her think about her efforts in trying to have a relationship with God, and bore testimony that He lives and loves us. It was really powerful the spirit was there strong and I know that she felt it. She came to church the next day too! 

That was my week in a nutshell haha. I am excited to be staying here in Stroudsburg and for the growth that is waiting to happen:)

I love you Dad.

Love,

Elder Barker

6/1/2015

Hey Dad,

I'm glad to hear you had a good birthday week, that's awesome that they all were able to coordinate that. I got the pictures of the girls and it seems like you had a fun time at the beach. Oh and what's with the cat? Haha

Well this week we had a lot of quality lessons with new investigators. On Monday Lisa had us over for dinner and that was really cool and we had a big water gun fight with her kids even though we were in our shirts and ties still haha. While driving home we decided to stop by to see a recent convert and we were able to see him for the first time in a couple weeks. He started a job so he's hard to get in touch with and I guess yesterday he was sick so he didn't come to church again. 

On Tuesday we had an FHE appointment with the Rolons but when we got there the wife asked if we could come the next day. So I left them the plate of cookies I made (I finally made cookies for the first time on my mission) and we went to a less actives house. We were with a member (Brother Anderson) and he knew this sister very well so we went and finally saw her for the first time since March. Afterwards we went back to the church and a sister in the ward wanted to introduce us to her friend who is from Romania. His name is Radu and he had been going through some tough times and he wanted a blessing. So we talked with him for a bit about the Plan of Salvation especially the Atonement. We then gave him a blessing which he asked me to perform. Afterwards he said he felt as if electricity was running through his body. We set up an appointment for a couple days later and gave him a Plan of Salvation pamphlet to read. So that was awesome!

Wednesday we got to meet with the Rolons. They actually had their friends over that had been asking questions about us. So we started teaching and answering questions they had. We started going into Plan of Salvation but it didn't feel right and then it just transitioned into the Restoration and ran much smoother from there. It was really great and they both asked for a Book of Mormon! 

Thursday we had another lesson with Radu and went over the Plan of Salvation. He read the whole thing and had great questions as well. We invited him to be baptized and he accepted. He said he knew the Plan of Salvation to be true. He said he and his 12 year old daughter would go to church.

Friday I went to Missionary Leadership Council, I left the apartment at 5:40 am and got back at 9:25 pm. Just one big meeting haha it was good seeing everyone though haha. 

Sunday we finally had ward council. It was really nice having. Anyway, Radu and his daughter came so that was great and they both seemed to really enjoy it:) after church we had a lesson with our WML Brother Jnbaptiste's friend Kyle. We went over the Plan of Salvation as well and it went really well and he wants "to be Mormon" haha.  It was a good week Dad:)

It's been amazing seeing the changes that people go through and how much happier they become as they bring God more into their lives. I am very happy that I have chosen to serve as a missionary.

I love you Dad

Love,

Elder Barker

5/25/2015

Hey Dad,

Happy Birthday! Youve done such an amazing job magnifying your calling as a father, and though I am a little biased, you have raised us kids and have always strived to stress the gospel in our home and I thank you for that. That's awesome about Nate good for him, I still encourage him to use tutors up at college, I'm going to. I really do love my mission, I had a dream last night, or maybe it was a day dream while trying to get myself to workout where I was Philly again during a heatwave and I missed it. It was hot and I constantly had sweat dripping as we walked down the streets or rode the busses, but oh it was great and I will always remember these days. Oh and I lifted 257. I want to go for 300 by the time I get home. With that, my release date will be August 1st. It's basically whenever mom flies in in August. With the watch, I have no idea but I'll take it haha that's pretty weird. Nate already is going to become an Elder?! That's so crazy!!

This week was good we had some really good lessons. We met again with Lisa and talked about the Book of Mormon and read 3 Nephi 11. It helped her see that the Book of Mormon is about Christ. She came to church! Her and 10 of her adopted children! 7 of them had special needs and were all sweet. I love those kids so much they're really funny. We're actually going there tonight for Memorial Day. We picked up a new investigator as well named Mel. She has met with missionaries in the past a lot but hasn't since October. She has read the Book of Mormon 3 times! And has recently quit smoking and drinking coffee on her own because of the word of wisdom! She lives kinda far from the church but is willing to drive up there. She seems like a great woman and is already very close to baptism. I'm excited to work with her. We had another great lesson with a less active sister. It got scheduled out of nowhere but the spirit definitely help guide it and her home teacher, who came with us, did such an awesome job. She's making a lot of good decisions for herself and I'm happy for her. 

Things here in stroudsburg are going well:) we just started week 5 in the transfer.

I love you Dad.

Love,

Elder Barker

5/18/2015

Hey Dad,

I have to say, I don't want my mission to end I really don't. Sure I am excited to see everyone again and everything, but I really have just loved my mission so much. This has been my life for nearly 2 years, the gospel has all I've really had to think about really. I don't want to lose that, you always hear about elders who go home and get back into old habits and I don't want that to happen. I want to stay who I've become, I feel like I still am the old me but I have a relationship with God now and I don't want it to diminish, only to grow. I look at the music I listened to all the time back home, that rappity hippidy hop, and I can't listen to it if I want to keep my mind set the same, I've recognized how much of a challenge that is going to be when I'm home. I want to still set aside an hour a day for my scriptures, I feel like I've grown to know each writer in them especially the Book of Mormon. In district meeting we talked about the importance of using the Book of Mormon, and in preparation I basically looked up all of the dying testimonies of the prophets. My favorite I have to say is Moroni's. I mapped out a few verses to sum it all up and here are the verses I put together: Mormon 8:2-4, 34-35 Moroni 10:29, 32-34. Moroni went through so much and saw everyone he knew throw their faith away and die until it was only him. He could have written on anything and he chose to write on faith, on hope, and on the Atonement of Christ. You find that with every writer; they all were willing to give their lives (and some did) for their testimony in God the Father and Jesus Christ. How has your scripture reading been going? Daily scripture reading has been such a great source of strength these past 20-21 months. I'm going to miss it out here, I really have grown to love a lot of people. I hope to go out with the missionaries as much as I can when I'm home. Are there elders there? I think going out with them if you can would really help. You will have so many spiritual experiences as you watch people grow closer to our Father. Whenever you can I would invite you to tell them you can go out. Members coming out is such a huge help. We met with this woman named Lisa for the first time (she had met with the other elders) and it went really well. A member who just moved in the ward (Greg K) came out with us and he's awesome he even offered to go tracking with us!! Who does that?! But we helped answer and address some questions and concerns she had and it led to us basically going over the latter part of the Plan of Salvation and she told us that it all made sense. We invited her to be baptized when she feels it's true and she said she would. She added that at times she has felt that this is the true church but sometimes just doubts creep in shortly after, Satan is good at that. I do believe that she will be baptized, she is an honest seeker and one of the most Christ like individuals I have ever met. 

I love this gospel and I am so grateful for the atonement and its enabling power. 

I love you Dad.

Love,

Elder Barker

5/11/15

5/11

Hey Dad,

it was really great to see you all yesterday i was glad to be able to talk to everyone. I can't believe how big the girls are getting!  Utah would be nice and it would be great to have everyone closer. So if you do move up there i am completely behind you. 

This week went a lot better than last week for sure, last week we only got 4 lessons, this week we got 13 and we should continue to get more. On Saturday we just stopped by a whole lot of people we mapped out in the southern part of our area and dedicated the whole day to down there. We stopped by some inactive members that haven't been in contact with the church for years and one of them told us how just 2 weeks ago, his active family members (who he hasn't talked to in 15 years) stopped by and he just felt love and then out of nowhere we stop by and that he didn't want to run from the gospel anymore. Other people we stopped by also were very willing to have us over and they haven't been in contact with the church either in years. Later that night we were walking to another house and we stopped and talked to this guy who was just sitting on a chair on his porch and he told us to take a seat after a few minutes of talking. He was a really cool guy named Kyle and we talked about the Book of Mormon and cleared up some misconceptions he had and gave him a copy. Towards the end he asked us when we were going to be stopping by again, so hopefully we are able to see him again this week and talk more. 

The Santiago family, the man who said hi on skype yesterday. Was talking to me yesterday afterwards and he told me how much his family has grown stronger in the gospel since they started having us over for dinner weekly (Elder Mask and me) and having "Deep Dish" haha. Their oldest son, 15, never was sure about a mission but now he talks about it more and his Brother Santiago believes it is because of the Spirit that has been present when they have had us over and it really meant a lot to me to hear that. I definitely want to visit them again after I am home. They're oldest daughter, Zoila, is leaving for her mission in the Dominican Republic where she was born on the 20. It's weird to think that my mission is almost over, so i just don't think about it haha. I have seen Elders get trunky, and I don't wan that to happen. 

I have loved my mission so much thank you again for helping me decide from an early age to serve!

I love you Dad

Love,

Elder Barker

ps. be sure to have Nate email those videos of the dunk contest he won!!!!

Email from 5/4

5/4

Hey Dad,

A couple things first, could you give me the DMV number so I can call them and work it out like last time? This week was the first time I had driven for the first time since I was still being trained in Tamaqua and I have loved it. I decided a long time ago that when I am home one of the first things I need to learn is how to drive a stick. So maybe Steve or Mitch can show me how.

With the call next week, I'll just call after church. I don't have wifi in the apartment anymore since we moved so I might have to go to the church. I don't know if I'd want to impend on a member on Mother's Day so most likely it will be at church. Oh for college before I forget I am looking at some places my old comp sent me and I'll let you know. Here is what he's sent me: Mountain Lofts,The Towers, North Point, The Gates, & Windsor Manor. 

Baptizing someone in Spanish was really cool and super nerve racking, in a way it was talked about in my patriarchal blessing. I am really sad I won't be able to meet with them anymore. Those baptisms were the 5th and 6th on my mission but my first where I did the baptizing. If possible I'd really love to talk to Nate one on one whenever. When does Dixie st start? I'd really like just some time where we can hang out and talk when I'm home. No news on my release either President said he'll let me know.

This week was pretty stressful since we basically doubled in, or white washed the area. We don't  have any plans from the past elders so it was pretty slow this week. Thursday was District Meeting and the first one I've ever led. I didn't know what to plan on so on Tuesday I prayed and said I'm going to flip to a random page in PMG and I'm going to talk on that subject. So I did and flipped to finding people. So I started searching and so many things started to flood to my mind it was really cool. But I'm still nervous for having to do that again this week haha.

Someone in Spanish that we found came to church! That was really cool, a lot of Spanish people came up to me and gave me a hug, I guess they do miss me, I always thought I was just "the gringo" and I realized even more how much I miss them. 

We confirmed Tiseam (got baptized two weeks earlier) and as we were sitting in testimony meeting, I leaned over and challenged him to go up if I do. He got up after I did and bore just a simple and sincere testimony it was really powerful. Things are going to go better this week. I can feel it, just thinking of the week ahead I can feel the spirit and I am so excited:)

I love you Dad!

Love,

Elder Barkerd