The Will of God

My dearest & loveliest family!!

How are you all!? How was Father's Day!? I hope it was a wonderful day

and that our dearest dad was greatly recognized and appreciated for

all that he has done and continues to do for us, his family and

everyone he comes into contact with. Dad, I love you so much!! I

thought about you all of yesterday too!! During Sacrament Meeting us 6

missionaries, the 4 sisters and 2 elders sang a musical number to "Oh

my Father" and it was beautiful! I thought about you and my dear

Heavenly Father the entire time and at times it made my eyes well up

with tears. I couldn't have felt more blessed or happy. I have the

most incredible two fathers a girl could ask for!!

President Weston said today in his email to us missionaries:

"Yesterday was a wonderful day to honor our fathers and those men in

our life who have blessed us. We are grateful for our fathers,

grandfathers, and so many men who have helped us to have high

expectations of ourselves. We are most grateful for our Heavenly

Father."

I couldn't agree more. My own father and grandfathers have influenced

and impacted my life ohh soo much as well with many other men in my

life. Including future fathers!! And I am so grateful for everyone of

them and of course most importantly, our perfect Father who is in

Heaven. Amazing. I also love how he said they have helped us have

"high expectations of ourselves." What a blessing that is for me to

recognize this in my own life. I feel soo grateful for everyone,

especially my very own dad & Father in Heaven, who continually help me

have high expectations for myself and also always help me see & work

towards my potential. I am ohh so thankful. Also, dad... I hope you

got my package!!!!! I love you!!!!

Okay, so for this week. I don't know exactly what to say! It has been

a crazy week!! So let's see... I think I will put my random thoughts

into bullet points. Haha sorry if it's all over the place.

1. Our investigator Luis is progressing a ton and wants to be

baptized! Which is a miracle because he has had a crazy, rough past.

But he has such faith and such a strong desire to change so it's very

humbling & sweet to watch. However, he is on probation so he couldn't

get baptized for a year... So we are going to try our best to keep

motivating him to change and help him convert more and more so he can

be prepared very well when that time comes.

2. We had another wonderful lesson with the Vargas family! Beatriz &

Antonio are so darling and are starting to progress!! They truly are

so sweet and also have such a sincere desire to learn so we are

expecting many miracles to happen with them! More updates to come.

3. We taught Pedro Fung this past week and we are trying to figure

this situation out. He is still very stuck on his Buddhism/Catholic

beliefs however his beliefs on both contradict each other and he

admitted he doesn't really believe/support many of the Catholic

beliefs and he doesn't really know a ton about Buddhism but his wife

is committed to being Catholic, as of now, so he said he doesn't want

to change that. We'll see. It's hard to work with people who don't

have a desire to change but at the same time he has an open mind....

we'll see.

4. We didn't get any new investigators this week because we had a lot

going on and didn't see as much success in that department but we are

fully dedicating ourselves this upcoming week to finding new people!!

We need them desperately.

5. A lot of our less-actives are still progressing & changing a ton.

Including a young 14 year old named Maria. When we first started

visiting her she was super snobby and wanted nothing to do with the

church. Well, we've become friends with her... I love her to death..

even her sassy comments & faces hahaha... and she now enjoys our

company a lot, wants us to come over all the time and has been taking

our lessons more seriously. Including the fact that she said she will

start reading from the Book of Mormon and will pray every night!! She

is changing drastically and I love it so much. She is in Southern Cali

for the next few weeks though so we will have more updates in the

future.

6. We have a darling 13 year old YW in our branch named Giselle who

loves working with us sister missionaries. She always asks if she can

come teach with us so we've had her come out with us 2 days now and it

has been great! She loves tracting & visiting less-actives &

investigators and whenever she shares comments and/or her testimony it

is always so pure & sweet. She brings a great spirit to the work and

we love having her company! She also helped us make rolo cookies at

the church the other day during lunch to go deliver to people! So fun.

7. Our Punjab neighbor Sahil came to church with us yesterday!! He has

been asking to come and we kept telling him it was all in Spanish, in

which he barely knows English, but he still wanted to come with us and

he did! And although he didn't understand a thing, he loved it! A lot

of members thought he was Hispanic too haha so they kept talking to

him and he would get a little red and smile and say, "¿Hola, como

está? Dónde trabaja?" Haha what he learned from work. I love it. So

fun. Hermana Hughes spoke too so that was super fun. Also, for lunch

the other day we went over and said hi to him & his mom and she made

us a huge Indian feast!! She is so darling!! And the food was pretty

good! He also was telling us tons about the Indian culture and about

their Gods & everything. Krishna and what not. Pretty cool! I want to

go to India way bad one day!!! Also, like I have mentioned before...

there are Punjab's everywhere here and the other day one, with his

turban and all, started bowing to us and thanking us while we walked

by and he said, "MORMONS!" And we know how to say hi now in Punjabi

haha so he loved that.

8. We had trainer/trainee this week and unfortunately they split the

mission into two meetings so I didn't get to see Hermana Piggott....

soo sad. But I saw Hermana Richards and it made me sooo happy!!!! I

seriously love that girl more than I can say and I cannot wait to hang

out with her all the time after the mission. She is seriously the

coolest and I admire & look up to her so much. She really is so

awesome and just has the greatest personality. She is also so gorgeous

and just overalls the best person ever!! I love her! Also, cool

story... her mom served in Northern Cali and around these areas and so

recently her mom told her to look up someone who lives near Chico...

her mom baptized this man and long story short... she was going on an

exchange to Chico with Hermana Lee and Hermana Lee found the man and

he either is a Bishop or was a Bishop and anyways... they set up a

dinner and so when Hermana Richards got to Chico she met and had

dinner with one of her mom's converts!!! How amazing!?!? She said he

showed her tons of pictures too and it was overall a very special &

emotional get together. Wow, how cool. I was almost brought to tears

hearing her talk about it. Sooo incredible!!!! But yeah

trainer/trainee was amazing, of course, and it was also the last time

we got to see President Weston!! Ahh killed me. I was so sad. But he

said to me, "I will see you soon!!" and him and a Sister Weston said

goodbye as if they weren't leaving (I think they're in denial) haha

but I am so sad that was the last time I got to see & hear from him as

my mission president!!!!! I love that man soooo much. I cannot even

explain it. I know I will see him tons when I get home but I just

can't believe my time with him on the mission is already through.

Also, mom & dad... He emailed me today and gave me the information for

their homecoming:

".... You can let your parents know that Sister Weston and I will be

speaking on July 13th in the Murray 12th Ward located at 363 East Vine

Street, Murray, Utah 84107. The sacrament meeting starts at 1pm.

Sister Weston and I love you so very much!"

I am so jealous you get to go!!! Mom, if possible... you should take a

recorder and record it for me!!! Haha I am not kidding. I cherish and

soak in every word that man says. I know his homecoming will be

incredible. And I am sure soo many RM's from our mission will be there

too!! Soo fun!!!!! I am so happy I live so close to the Weston's at

home too. I will be seeing them a lot and President said we will have

tons of reunions! It will be amazing!

9. We found out that the JW who was trying to bash us is one of the

recent convert's ex-husband!!!! I almost fell over when I found out.

But we absolutely love the recent convert and her kids. Her name is

Lola, she is only 28 and has a 14 year old. Sad story with that one.

But she is hilarious, has a very fun and young spirited personality

and she always stares at me hahaha. She says she likes my eyes and so

when we're teaching her or at church, I often catch her just staring

at me and then she'll smile and say something. Sounds creepy hahaha

but you have to know her. She is sooo funny and like nobody I've ever

met. Also, her 14 year old Kayleen is so awesome and I love her lots.

Also, Emilce her 11 year old is so darling. She latches on to me like

a leech whenever we're with them but I love her so much and love this

family. We're also helping them paint their house this week so I can't

wait!! I just still cannot get over the fact that she was married to

the JW who disliked us so much haha. Crazy. That's Emilce and their

little brother Adrian's dad.

10. Funny story... one night this past week I woke up to myself

speaking out loud, super loud actually, and speaking pure

jibberish!!!! I was sooo confused when I caught myself and what made

it even funnier was Hermana Hughes started talking after I finished

and she started rambling about Jesus Christ, etc.... we we're sleep

talking to each other!!!! Hahaha sooo hilarious!! When I realized what

was happening I chuckled to myself and then went back to sleep. So

classic!

11. Great news!! This past week I got a darling letter with pictures

from Hermana Howe!!!! I miss & love that girl so much!!! And I also

got an amazing letter from my angel Yamara!!!! It was seriously the

cutest letter I have ever received and she sent me a drawing she did

for me as well.... I literally couldn't stop smiling!!! And I have

read the letter over & over. She is so amazing!!!!! I honestly

couldn't be more proud of that girl and she is still as strong as

ever. I love her sooo much and I was thinking about it and even if I

came on my mission solely to see her be converted and baptized and see

how the gospel has completely changed & uplifted her life.... I would

call my mission a success. I love her and cannot wait for you all to

meet her!! Also, Abs... she told me she is sending you a letter so

watch for it!!! Haha she is so cute!!!!!

12. This past week we didn't study "knowledge" like we were going to

because Hermana Hughes needed to write her talk and we want to study

it together... we're doing it this week... but so along with studying

my Book of Mormon I studied & read some other things including "our

search for happiness" by Elder Ballard.... wow. It was a quick read, I

read it during personal study one morning but I recommend everyone to

read it!!!!! He wrote it to help those outside the church get a true

"understanding" for us members of The Church of Jesus Christ of

Latter-Day Saints but I think it is incredible for us members to read

as well. You should all read it when you have a little bit of time and

tell me what you think!!!! I felt sooo inspired and uplifted after

reading it!!!!!

Also, I want to share with you something President Weston shared with

us missionaries in his email this morning.....

The Savior taught “I came into the world to do the will of my Father.”

(3 Ne 27:13) All that we really have to offer our loving Heavenly

Father is our complete will and submission to Him.

Elder Neal A. Maxwell in the October 1995 General Conference taught us

the following: “So many of us are kept from eventual consecration

because we mistakenly think that, somehow, by letting our will be

swallowed up in the will of God, we lose our individuality (see Mosiah

15:7). What we are really worried about, of course, is not giving up

self, but selfish things—like our roles, our time, our preeminence,

and our possessions. No wonder we are instructed by the Savior to lose

ourselves (see Luke 9:24). He is only asking us to lose the old self

in order to find the new self. It is not a question of one’s losing

identity but of finding his true identity! Ironically, so many people

already lose themselves anyway in their consuming hobbies and

preoccupations but with far, far lesser things. Ever observant, in

both the first and second estates, consecrated Jesus always knew in

which direction He faced: He consistently emulated His Father: “The

Son can do nothing of himself, but what he seeth the Father do: for

what things soever he doeth, these also doeth the Son likewise” (John

5:19), for “I have suffered the will of the Father in all things from

the beginning” (3 Ne. 11:11).” (Elder Neal A. Maxwell, October 1995

General Conference, “Swallowed Up in the Will of the Father”)

As we reflect upon our desire to submit our will to our perfect and

loving Heavenly Father, the following teachings of Alma ring true:

•    “[H]ave you spiritually been born of God? Have ye received his

image in your countenances? Have ye experienced this mighty change in

your hearts?” (Alma 5:14);

•    “Do you look forward with an eye of faith;” (Alma 5:15);

•    “[C]an you look up, having the image of God engraven upon your

countenances?” (Alma 5:19);

•    Have ye “experienced a change of heart”? (Alma 5:26)

And for us missionaries he said this but I think it applies to everyone:

"May we continue to be servants of the Lord who are lead by the Spirit

and work hard all day, because of our love for Him and His children.

Please have strong prayers to help you achieve your goals and to seek

to understand how to help your investigators progress to the

ordinances of baptism and confirmation and ultimately to the temple.

Remember, that (1) faith in Jesus Christ is the power; (2) obedience

is the price; (3) love is our motive; (4) the spirit is the key; (5)

Jesus Christ is the reason; and (6) joy is the reward. This work is

wonderful and we will be tested, but as we submit our will to our

Heavenly Father He will bless us."

I absolutely love this and was actually pondering over the same

subject this morning. I was thinking about our loving Heavenly Father,

reading that book by Elder Ballard along with studying my scriptures

has helped me feel an even deeper & greater appreciation & love for

Him... and I was pondering over how the more love I feel from & for

Him, the more I truly desire to submit and align my will with His. The

more I want to do all I can to please Him and make Him proud and the

more I want to live with & be in His sweet presence again one day. Our

investigator Luis said during our lesson the other day that after this

life he wants to, "Satisfy God and make Him feel proud and respected."

Don't we all want that??? And by aligning our will with His we can and

will do that. Incredible. I hope we can all work a little bit each day

on that. I know I am trying my best to. Also, I love those 6 points

President Weston mentioned. We must remember those each day. Also, in

Zone Meeting the Zone Leaders mentioned something that was spoken at

our last Zone Conference with President Weston...

"The only things that Heavenly Father does not have yet is our mind &

heart. We must accept God's will, align our will with His and give

ourselves completely to Him."

God, our Heavenly King, is our loving, caring, comforting and perfect

Heavenly Father.... just patiently waiting for us to come to Him, pray

to Him and waiting simply to bless us and have us return home to

Him!!!! Shouldn't we be able to, and not only that... shouldn't we

want to give those things, our heart & mind... our will... completely

to Him!?! For He is the only one who can give us eternal peace,

complete joy and happiness. I know I do!!! And I will continually work

on it for the rest of my life.

"The natural man is an enemy to God" .... let's give ourselves to God,

not the natural man!!!

Haha sorry for all of my rambling.

I love you all sooooo much!!!!!

Have a wonderful Monday & week my lovelies!!!!

Con amor y un gran abrazo,

Hermana Barth