Pictures!

Our Beloved Savior

My loveliest and most beautiful family!!!

How are you all my favorite people!? Are you all on as much of a spiritual high as I am??

 I hope so! I don't think I could feel more uplifted, inspired, blessed and excited to be a missionary 

than I do at this very moment. 

GENERAL CONFERENCE WAS BEYOND AMAZING!!!!!!!

Words cannot even begin to describe how much I loved it!! I have been

counting down the DAYS and then when it came down to it, was counting

down the MINUTES till I got to hear from our beloved Prophet, Thomas

S. Monson and his incredible, inspired Apostles!!! As well as other

respected leaders of the church. And it was even better than I could

have imagined!! I truly had permanent chills the entire time and had

my eyes glued. I was soaking in every teeny, tiny word said and trying

to apply it to myself, my life and missionary work as well. I even

found myself with tears in my eyes at times because I could feel the

spirit soo so strongly. It was so spiritual and amazing in every

single way possible. WOW!!!! It's not a joke when missionaries say

General Conference is like Christmas!! And as a matter of fact,

yesterday technically should be Christmas since it's the official day

our beloved Savior was born. Not to mention the official day His

church, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints was

established. Ahhh the church is TRUE and we are apart of it!!!!!! I

could not be more confident about that statement. It is OHHH so true

my dearest family and friends and I feel it so strongly inside of me

that I think I may burst. Good thing I am a full-missionary and have

the ability to preach and share the wonderful gospel and share my

testimony with everyone I meet huh??? 

I LOVE BEING A FULL-TIME

MISSIONARY!!!!!! 

Honestly. I love it so so much and I am so happy....

I don't know how to handle it. If you saw me right now you probably

wouldn't understand how I could be so happy either, due to the fact

that I am definitely getting a little chubby and looking more mishy

every single day haha, it's a real thing... but I couldn't care less

about anything besides the fact that I am privileged enough to

thoroughly study the gospel each and every day and preach it to

others!! I have the opportunity to focus 100% of my thoughts and

efforts on serving my Lord and doing His work. I absolutely LOVE my

calling!! Haha I know you are all probably thinking I am the

cheesiest, nerdiest thing.... and I probably am. But I couldn't care less. 

I am just a very happy soul. But back to General Conference....

I don't even know where to begin with talking about it. It was so so

amazing and I hope each and everyone of you watched all sessions of

it. Including Women's Conference for the girls and Priesthood for the

boys. Haha Hermana Richards and I happened to watch Priesthood too

even... We watched it at the Lopez's when we were over there for

dinner. SO AMAZING. Even though it was directed to the men of the

church, I still learned oh sooo much. Wow. I cannot get over how

amazing it all was. I am so sad it is already over too!!! However, it

feels like yesterday when Hermana Piggott and I were watching

October's General Conference and I remember right after it ended

Hermana Piggott immediately said, "I already am so excited and cannot

wait for the next General Conference!!" And even though we knew it was

6 months away, we still started counting down the days. So crazy though. 

I remember April feeling soo so far away and it is now already

here!! Where has the time gone!? Ah. It's a little scary actually.

Next General Conference Hermana Piggott, Hermana Richards and Elder

Haller.... Will be close to heading home, about a month later. That

freaks me out haha because I will be right around the corner! Okay,

enough with that. Nothing makes me more sad right now than thinking

about my journey here coming to an end. BUT back to Conference yet

again.... I learned ohh so much and absolutely loved how there were so

many trends and ties between all of the talks. I made so many

connections between them all and felt as though the inspiration I was

receiving was becoming more and more clear with each talk given. Also,

something very special to me.. Was before Conference started I prayed

and pondered over specific questions I wanted answered. I ended up

writing down 12 very specific questions and VERY clearly ALL 12 OF MY

QUESTIONS WERE ANSWERED. What a testimony builder for me. I not only

got the answers to my questions but they were all very clearly and

bluntly stated and talked about. It was amazing and I feel so

overwhelmingly blessed. I truly feel as though this General Conference

was all so personally directed at me. I am sure you all feel the same.

Isn't that incredible?? I wish I could go on and on about all the

personal insight, revelation and inspiration I received as well but

unfortunately... I don't even have close to all the time for that. I

actually don't even have enough time to brush over my deepest thoughts

and feelings. And since I am assuming you all watched every bit of

Conference I am just going to brush over a few of my thoughts.

To me personally, it seemed as if all of General Conference revolved

around the love we have for our Savior, Jesus Christ. That is what

everything ultimately comes down to. 

The LOVE we have for our SAVIOR, JESUS CHRIST.

 So I am going to go over a few points leading off of

that....

We must love Jesus Christ unconditionally and if we do....

.. We will follow His perfect example. "For I have given you an

example, that you should do as I have done to you."

.. We will have unshakeable faith. "Live true to the faith." "faith is

truly more than imagination or psychological invention."

.. We will want to be obedient. "Obedience is an emblem of our

faith... It is wisdom and power of the highest authority," "Strong

obedience is where we declare our faith in God," "At times we may be

tempted to practice "natural man's obedience" or "selective"

obedience" ... However we must, remember that "obedience brings

blessings" and "makes us progressingly stronger" therefore, we must

"obediently endure to the end," for... "Our faithfulness through

obedience will ultimately save us."

.. We will want and continually strive to keep all of His

commandments. "Commandments are for us to exercise our agency and

receive blessings" ... "We should not even think about breaking

commandments," "we should not look at sin or even touch it from a

distance."

.. We will love another. We will love our family, friends,

neighbors.... we will love every single person. We are all brothers

and sisters and we must show love always to each other. "Love more and

better," "We cannot fully love God if we don't love others. We cannot

fully love others if we don't love God."

.. We will have respect for one another and never use harsh or hurtful

words to each other. "Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your

mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may

minister grace unto the hearers."

.. We will not despise any one of God's children. Remember, "hate is

an ugly word." We will also have full respect for those who do not

believe as we do or share the same standards.

.. We will continually strive to obtain Christ-like attributes and

qualities. If we want to truly become as He is and follow His words

when he said, "what manner of men ought ye to be? Verily I say unto

you, even as I am," we must truly try to be like him in all ways

possible and continually strive to obtain all of His characteristics,

attributes and qualities.

.. We will trust in The Lord. "Live each day by putting your trust in

God." "Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine

own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall

direct thy paths."

.. We will obtain charity. "But charity is the pure love of Christ,

and it endureth forever; and whoso is found possessed of it at the

last day, it shall be well with him."

.. We will constantly be serving others and looking for ways to do so.

"And behold, I tell you these things that ye may learn wisdom; that ye

may learn that when ye are in the service of your fellow beings ye are

only in the service of your God."

.. We will not be selfish. "Whosoever will come after me, let him deny

himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. For whosoever will save

his life shall lose it; but whosoever shall lose his life for my sake

and the gospel's, the same shall save it."

.. We will strive to obtain Christ-like love. "Christ-like love can

change the world," "Christ-like love is the greatest need we have on

the planet."

.. We will obtain courage. "Look unto me in every thought; doubt not,

fear not." "I will not fail thee, nor forsake thee. Be strong and of a

good courage."

.. We will be true & worthy disciples of Jesus Christ. "Our true

identities are disciples of Jesus Christ." "I am a disciple of Jesus

Christ, the Son of God."

.. We will "stand as witnesses of God at all times and in all things,

and in all places that ye may be in, even until death."

.. We will always have the courage, strength and faith to defend our

Savior, our belief and our faith at all times and in all situations.

"Stand in Holy places and be not moved." We must always stand up for

the truth, no matter what and no matter if others mock us for it or if

it may not seem to be the "popular" thing to do. We must remember we

are in the world but should not be "of the world." We must always

remember where our true treasures are. "Lay not up for yourselves

treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where

thieves break through and steal: But lay up for yourselves treasures

in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves

do not break through nor steal: For where your treasure is, there will

your heart be also." "That ye may not do these things that ye may

boast, but that ye may do these things to lay up for yourselves a

treasure in heaven, yea, which is eternal, and which fadeth not away;

yea, that ye may have that precious gift of eternal life."

.. We will build our foundation upon the rock of our Redeemer...

"And now, my sons, remember, remember that it is upon the rock of our

Redeemer, who is Christ, the Son of God, that ye must build your

foundation; that when the devil shall sent forth his mighty winds,

yea, his shafts in the whirlwind, yea, when all his hail and his

mighty storm shall beat upon you, it shall have no power over you to

drag you down to the gulf of misery and endless wo, because of the

rock upon which ye are built, which is a sure foundation, a foundation

whereon if men build they cannot fall."

.. We will constantly be asking for forgiveness and accessing the gift

and power of the Atonement in our lives. "Come unto me, all ye that

labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke

upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye

shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is

light."

.. We will remember we are a covenant making people and will continue

to make and keep sacred covenants. We will attend the temple

regularly, perform baptisms for the dead, and aim to go to the temple

if we have not done so yet. Including, get married and sealed in the

temple of The Lord.

.. We will have a sincere desire to share the gospel and perform

missionary work. We will remember we have an important role and

responsibility in helping hasten the work of Salvation and will

constantly seek for missionary opportunities. "May we ever be found

doing the work of The Lord." As full-time missionaries and simply as

members of the church, we must remember what our purpose is as

Latter-Day Saints... "We talk of Christ, we rejoice in Christ, we

preach of Christ, we prophesy of Christ, and we write according to our

prophecies, that our children may know to what source they may look

for a remission of their sins."

.. We will feel an urgency to do our very best RIGHT NOW. "For behold,

this life is the time for men to prepare to meet God; yea, behold the

day of this life is the day for men to perform their labors." "It

matters a great deal what we do in this life."

.. We will have daily prayer and scripture study. These actions are so

important and crucial in our spiritual progression. "Wherefore, I said

unto you, feast upon the words of Christ; for behold, the words of

Christ will tell you all things what ye should do."

.. We will be "securely tied to our Father in Heaven." We must

remember that He is close, always watching, always listening, always

there to help us, lift us and direct us.

.. We will stay awake and "not sleep during the Restoration." The

Restoration is happening right now. It is still happening.

.. We will always have GRATITUDE. "We seek gratitude as a disposition,

a way of life" ...

"Instead of being grateful FOR things... we will be grateful IN our

circumstances," "All those who receive things with gratitude will be

made GLORIOUS." "That ye live in thanksgiving daily, for the many

mercies and blessings which he doth bestow upon you."

Now I know we are are all not perfect at any of these things and I am

not saying that means we don't love the Savior with all of our

heart... But we must have the desire to do each of things and

constantly act upon that desire. We must consistently and actively

strive to show our love and be the best sons and daughters of our

Heavenly Father we can possibly be!! We must "ACT and not be ACTED

UPON!!!" And we must prove our love to our Savior and to our Heavenly

Father.

Okay, well I wish I could go on and on about more that I learned and

more that applied. I tried to quickly think of some of the main points

and add in quotes that were given by the Prophet, an Apostle or other

respected leader. With an addition of scripture verses given as well.

So I hope it makes some sense and now you can all add more to it!! The

list goes on and on. I could study those conference talks for hours on

end, as well as over and over and constantly learn something new and

inspiring. But I don't have enough time to go into it all AND today I

am going to send PICTURES!!!!!! So get excited for that. Also, for

updates... everything in Gridley is still soo so amazing and I am

still as happy as can be! Important updates:

.. Elvira's husband is still being a pain but she is fighting for her baptism.

.. Any and Maria unfortunately won't be able to be baptized this

Sunday because they haven't been to church 3 times.. and they can't

come this Sunday because Any has work. However, they came to General

Conference!! And in our lesson we had on the 10 commandments and

keeping the Sabbath Day holy, Any said she is going to ask a lady at

work if they can switch schedules so that she doesn't have to work on

Sunday's and can attend church every week!! She is so golden! Also, we

taught her the wisdom and she said she has been wanting to quit

drinking coffee because it hurts her stomach so when we committed her

to living it she said, "it will be no problem at all." Also, when we

talked about our bodies being temples and read from the bible talking

about it, Any said (in her own words!!) ... "How I see it is is like

for example, when people put tattoos on their body, it's like they are

putting graffiti on a temple." WHAAT!? Haha that's EXACTLY what WE

tell people and she said it herself!!! I am not kidding, she is as

GOLDEN as they get. She's PERFECT. Her and Maria pray every night

together too and are just soo darling. I can barely handle it! And

Any's sister and her daughter came over one day, her sister is

interested but her husband won't let her take lessons..... (Sound

familiar?? Husbands can be awfully frustrating sometimes) ... And

anyways, the little 5 year old girl was talking to Maria and said,

"Are these the sisters from YOUR Mormon church??" Any and Maria have

been telling everyone in their family about them learning from us and

about them being baptized. Any even said her sister asked her how she

could be baptized so soon and Any said, "When you know it's right,

there is no point in waiting." WHAT!?!? She impresses us yet again!!!!

She honestly is so perfect! And if I get transferred next week I won't

technically be hear for their baptism but I am already planning on

getting permission from President and coming back. I cannot wait!!!!!

They are so so cute.

.. We have found some more investigators!! One including one of

Marcella's friends. Updates to come.

Okay, well I really want to send pictures so I am going to end this

email here. I will write more next week and I hope all is well at

home!! I haven't had time to read anyone's emails yet but I will as

soon as I am done sending pictures and everything.

I LOVE YOU ALL SO MUCH.

Con mucho amor y un gran abrazo,

Hermana Barth

Life.

Hello my lovely family,

I have a lot on my mind right now and do not know exactly what to say.

I am pretty speechless at the moment and have tears running down my

face. When I just read your emails, mom, Abby and dad... I was

completely taken off guard by the emotions I felt. This all regarding

the loss of Ann Ostler. I cannot really find the right words to

express how this news hit me... but my heart completely aches for the

Ostler family. I know I don't know everyone in the family very

personally but I do care about and love them very much. So it is hard

to hear the news. I know how special Ann was and is and how wonderful

this family is. The Ostler's truly are one incredible family and one I

admire very very much. I don't think there is one person who can say

anything negative about this family and who doesn't admire and respect

them. I know I admire them very much. From my personal perspective,

and I know many would agree.. The Ostler's are a very humble,

respected and faithful family who truly understand the true meaning of

this life. They seem to have such an eternal perspective in mind and

have such firm, unshakeable testimonies in the gospel of Jesus Christ.

I imagine this is why they have been so strong and held such peace

throughout this journey of their dear mother and wife's sickness. Wow,

I could not be more impressed with them. 

Mom, dad, Abby and Ralph... 

I am soo so happy you all attended the funeral as well. That makes my

heart so happy and I am so glad you were able to show their family our

families love and support. I hope you were able to show them mine as

well. Thank you so much for telling me bits and pieces about the

funeral as well. It sounds like it was overall a very beautiful and

spiritual funeral. How incredible and special that is that every

member in the family spoke as well, including a letter being read that

was written by Elder Ostler, Christian. Ohh I can only imagine the

strong spirit that must have been present during that service and how

it must have touched everyone's hearts. I would have loved to hear

everyone's words and felt their faith, strength, love and testimonies.

I loved hearing about little things each family member said about

their dear mother as well. How precious is that. I only know Ann a

little bit from the time I have spent in their home but I have heard

many wonderful things from Oliver over the years and know how

beautiful of a person she was and is. I remember many things he would

say about her as well. 

He would always say how she was so Christ-like,

loving, thoughtful, giving, self-less, faithful, spiritual, kind and

many other things that are so admirable in the eyes of God. I know he

viewed her as an angel and that alone is so sweet to me. I also

remember him saying she truly never asked for anything or wanted

anything that wasn't of eternal worth and value. She never wanted

gifts or anything "worldly" but just loved being with her family and

doing things for others. 

I am not one bit surprised she never asked

during this experience, "Why me?" but instead said,

 "Why not me?" 

Wow.

What an impressive and inspirational woman. I admire that so much. I

feel very blessed that I was able to meet her and have her as an

example in my life. Although I may not have known her as well as

others, I still admire her and this family's overall example very

much. I hope you truly did give this family my love. It is very hard

to see someone leave this life. Especially because you know how hard

it is for those close to that person to have their presence gone...

But how lucky are we to have a clear knowledge of the gospel of Jesus

Christ? To know that we truly have a Heavenly Father who loves us

unconditionally and has a plan for each and everyone of us. We have a

purpose here on this earth and have an even greater one in the life

hereafter. I love having this great knowledge of God's plan for us,

all of His children and I absolutely love teaching it to people if not

every day, every week. There is a Plan for us. A Plan of Salvation. A

Plan of Happiness. And there is a way for us to follow this plan and

accomplish it. That being through, and only through our loving Savior,

Jesus Christ. With his help, guidance, love, comfort and mercy... We

can endure this life and receive an eternal one. In His and our Father

in Heaven's presence!! 

We can truly live with God again and be with

our families forever!!! 

We know that this life is only for a short

period of time and that we truly will be able to live with all those

we love, forever and in complete peace and happiness. If we remain

faithful servants of our Lord, Jesus Christ and serve Him till the

end. If we cling to Him, seek after Him, trust Him, depend on Him,

continually serve Him, follow Him, love Him and have continual faith

in Him.... He will reward us and we will receive great glory and

eternal life, eternal happiness. This needs to be our goal, what we

aim for and desire after. Ooh this reminds me of the scripture I read

this morning. Now I don't think reading this scripture was any

coincidence. I read this scripture and wrote about my thoughts on it

in my journal and this was before I found out about Ann however, I

feel it fits this topic. This is something I desire my Lord to say to

me when I finish my journey in this life.....

"Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful

over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou

into the joy of The Lord."     Matthew 25:21

I imagine this same thing is being said to dear Ann Ostler and I hope

it is something that will be said to each and every one of us. We have

knowledge of the true gospel of Jesus Christ and with that knowledge

we need to act! We all need to be considered as a "good and faithful

servant" in God's eyes and do all we can to enter into the joy of The

Lord. I know each and every day we must strive to be the best servants

of The Lord we can possibly be. I know I have mentioned this in an

email before but every morning my companion and I quote this

scripture...

"I am a disciple of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. I have been called

of Him, to declare His word, among His people, that they might have

everlasting life." 3 Nephi 5:13

As members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, we are

all disciples of our Savior, Jesus Christ. I loved when, I believe the

Relief Society President, brought this up at the General Women's

Conference. She said how our true identities are being disciples of

the Son of God. 

How are we representing Jesus Christ as one of His

disciples? 

Are we representing him as we should? 

Are we loving one another? 

Obtaining Christ-like qualities and characteristics?? 

Are we rejoicing in the knowledge we have of our true and living God? 

Are we accessing His Atonement? 

Following His example? 

Rejoicing in the knowledge we have that we can live with our Father in Heaven again??

With all those we love sooo very much, again???

 What joy this brings to my heart. 

I really cannot explain how happy it makes me and how

much it comforts me. This gospel truly brings so much peace and joy

into my life and I cannot even imagine not having this great knowledge

in my life. And that is why I am a full-time missionary, preaching and

spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ. Teaching people all that we know

and are taught. Spreading the "good news" that the true church of

Jesus Christ has been restored through a latter-day prophet, Joseph

Smith and is back on the earth again. The same exact church Jesus

Christ established when he was on the earth with the same teachings,

gospel and authority. We have a living prophet on the earth today,

Thomas S. Monson and twelve Apostles!! Who lead and guide us today!!!

And are constantly helping us stay on the path that leads to eternal

life. Leads to us seeing all those we love again and giving us the

chance to live with them forever. I absolutely love being able to

share this knowledge with all those that I can and helping others

receive that greater amount of peace, love and happiness in there life

and helping see the light at the end of the tunnel. I absolutely love

it and thrive off of it every single day. I often wonder why I have

been so lucky as well. I have wondered multiple times why I was chosen

to be born into this church, into such a strong and faithful family

and be surrounded by such wonderful and powerful examples. Although I

do know know why... I know that it is a part of my purpose here on the

earth and I must share what I have been blessed with, with all those

around me. It reminds me of the hymn, "Because I have been given much,

I too must give." I know that I have been blessed with such great

knowledge not to keep it to myself but to share it with others!!!!! To

be a messenger and servant of The Lord and be a tool in His hands.

That is why I am here, for 18 months, serving a full-time mission. Ohh

it is so humbling and sweet to me.

But again, I am so thrilled to have such great knowledge and am so

happy the Ostler's, as well as all others who are facing the loss of

someone or difficult times, have the great knowledge as well. I know

this is how we can remain strong and again, endure through this

difficult world. It is a beautiful life but a hard and fragile one. We

must cherish every moment we have here and do all we can to be the

best we can be.

Well family, I love you all soo very much and I want you to know you

are all constantly in my thoughts and prayers. As well as many others.

Thanks for keeping me updated on everything at home as well and tell

everyone I know how much I love them!! I truly don't think there is a

single person I know that I don't love. I am so thankful for every

person in my life and all of the incredible influences I have around

me. I love you all so much. Never ever forget it.

Con amor,

Hermana Barth

Quick updates...

1. Elvira is still on date for April 6th but her husband is being a

pain and doesn't want her to be baptized. So I am not positive if it

is going to happen but we will try our best to soften his heart and

remember to keep her in your prayers!! She truly is so ready for the

gospel and has gone through a lot in her life, yet always remained

faithful, so she deserves to reap the rewards, benefits and blessings

that come from baptism and the gift of the Holy Ghost!!

2. Any and Maria are on date for April 13th!!! These two are truly the

most golden investigators you can find and it still amazes us how

perfectly golden Any, the mother, is. Every time we teach her she gets

teary eyed and expresses her love for us and for us teaching her of

the gospel. When we invited her to be baptized on this date as well,

she started crying and Maria sat beside her smiling huge, nodding

repeatedly and kept saying.. "yes yes yes" ... It was soo precious and

my heart was so full. They are such a treat to teach and our lessons

are always super power and spiritual. The spirit is always the most

present in the lessons with the humble, prepared and faithful people.

I love it so much!!!

3. Lorenza is still being stubborn on getting a baptismal date but she

has a testimony of everything!! She still loves Joseph Smith so much

and loves everything we teach. We just have to get her to take that

leap of faith and be baptized. With time I know it will happen. And no

matter when her baptism is, I will be there. Her and Antonio both came

to church yesterday too and it was so wonderful. I know they were

touched by the spirit and they are both going to watch General

Conference with us this weekend!! I cannot wait!! Also, Hermana

Richards and I listened to all of the General Women's Conference in

Spanish translation... I loved it! We watched it again with Yamara

last night at the Orme's in English... But I loved listening to it in

Spanish and actually understanding what was being said! Very cool.

4. I bought a new camera!!! I know, finally. I have taken pictures

like crazy this past week too and I have no time to send pictures

today but I will send them next week!!! I promise!! Ahhh I have so

many to send though that I do not know where to start. I'll send them

though. Don't you worry miss Abigail and Barb J. I am not completely

ignoring your requests for pictures.

5. Mom!! Hermana Richards and I got your package!! We absolutely loved

it and Hermana Richards has been wearing the earrings you send ever

since. She keeps talking about how nice and cute you are and she

appreciates it all soo much. As well as your daughter!! You truly are

the best and I am the luckiest! Also, I got Joelle's present!! She is

soo sweet to think of me. Seriously, it means so much to me!! I have

her gift sitting right where I can see it too. I love it!!! Scotty,

tell her thank you thank you!!! I feel so loved and blessed every

single day. I don't even feel like I deserve it. But thank you!!

Okay, well I have no more time but I'll update you more next week!!

Everything is still wonderful here in Gridley, our Orchard house is

still as lovely as ever, it has been raining every day so I am in

Heaven, I couldn't love Hermana Richards more... we really are the

happiest companions and the mission life is still the absolute best!!

I LOVE YOU ALL