Transfers!!!

My loveliest & dearest family!!!

      Oh my goodness today has been the craziest day!!!! As soon as we

got Hermana Piggott all packed up, and me packed up for the next few

days (I am spending two nights with the Citrus Heights Spanish

Sisters) ... we drove 3 hours to Antelope to the mission office and

then I spent 5 hours there! Which was crazy!!! Hermana Piggott had her

1 hour departing interview and then all of the departing missionaries

kept arriving which was quite the experience. Haha there was a lot of

energy & socializing going on. I tried over & over to write this email

too and I would write a paragraph every here and there but I kept

getting distracted by all that was going on, I would chat with the

missionaries or the ladies in the office, I would help them with

random jobs, etc. ... and then once Hermana Piggott's interview was

over I was with her, Hermana Lee & Hermana Richards (she is going home

tomorrow too!!!) and then we had to get them all situated, help them

check out and then Hermana Lee & I had to drive them to the mission

home for their departing dinner and then Hermana Lee & I went to

dinner (a member ended up paying for us ... soo nice!!) and then we

just visited some people in Lincoln and I am finally getting wifi to

send off this email!!!!! So I am SO sorry this is coming so late!!!!

It really has been the craziest day. And I have so much I want to say

in response to all of your emails but for an update .......

      SO. First things first. TRANSFERS have officially happened and I

am TRAINING!!!! Yes, we are getting two new Hermanas and Hermana

Toledo & I will be training them! So I do not know yet who my new

companion is ... but I am very very excited to meet her!! I already

love her!! It was pretty crazy too because last night the transfer

calls came SO late, I was literally a nervous wreck hahaha and

organizing our study room & my closet to get my mind distracted, my

heart was seriously pumping out of my chest haha but at 9:45 President

Marston called me himself and told me the news. Usually it's the AP's

so I felt very privileged. I love President Marston so much! But then

the actual transfer call/voicemail from the Zone Leaders didn't come

till 10:45! Everyone is supposed to be asleep by then haha so it was

crazy but anyways ... I am soo excited to train again! I sincerely

couldn't ask for a more perfect way to spend my last 12 weeks ... It

is going to be soo much fun!! I will be able to end just as strong as

I desire and ohh it is honestly perfect. This is what I was secretly

wishing for, so I am thrilled. I just hope I get a trainee half as

amazing as Hermana Hughes! I was far too lucky last time. But no

matter what I know I will love my new companion so much too!! SO SO

CRAZY!!!!! I am soo excited!! I will find out who the lovely Hermana

is in just a couple of days! Also, this will have been my last crazy

transfer call because next transfer nothing will change for me. Woot

woot!!! Transfers are the craziest!!!!!!!

     Then the next big news. Hermana Piggott will officially be in

UTAH tomorrow at 1 pm!!! I can hardly believe it!! In reality though,

I truly cannot believe it. It hasn't hit me yet. I don't think it has

even fully hit her yet. We both don't feel like it truly will either

until she gets released and takes her name tag off. Ohhh thinking

about doing that myself literally makes my stomach sick. I cannot even

think about it. I always am taken back to when Scotty got released and

how he started crying when they told him he could remove his black

name tag. It broke my heart back then and I know it will be a million

times worse when I am doing it myself. Oh, it makes me sick. This name

tag is apart of me now. It has become part of my identity!! Well

anyways, enough with that ... Hermana Piggott is heading home!!!!

After 7 1/2 months of pure bliss serving The Lord full-time alongside

her, having life-changing experiences & witnessing miracle after

miracle together, I am finally having to say goodbye. Fortunately I

will be seeing her in a little while but we both agreed that this is

more than a normal goodbye. We are saying goodbye to our mission

companionship, serving as full-time missionaries in the California

Roseville Mission together, preaching the gospel all day every day

together, being forced to be glued at the hip haha, etc. Ohh it hurts

my heart to even think about it. I know I am being a little dramatic

... but she has been such a huge part of my mission experience and is

a big reason for why it has been as incredible & perfect as it has

been. I love my Hermana Piggott soooo much!!!!!! Truly. She means more

to me than I can even express and I feel beyond blessed to have her in

my life. Heavenly Father knew our paths had to cross, we need each

other in our lives and what better place to meet and begin our forever

friendship than here in Northern California doing the work of The Lord

& serving Heavenly Father's children!!! Oh, it is too amazing. Our

friendship is unlike any other and is so so special to me. I am going

to miss having her here with me a whole lot but I am so so happy I get

to have her in my life forever!! Also, we are planning to live

together in Provo when I get home. I am so excited!!!! She is

seriously my other half these days and again, I just love her so much.

I have ever since the first time I saw her too. Haha I will never

forget the moment when I first saw her in the bathroom at the mission

office. She walked in, I saw her, I got the biggest smile on my face &

exclaimed, "Hermana Piggott!" (I had never met her in person before of

course but she was the only one I had spoken to before coming out) and

then I gave her a look (to see if she was my trainer haha since I was

the only Hermana), she nodded with a big smile on her face, we gave

each other the biggest hug, I was the happiest person in the world and

then our friendship officially began. Little did I know in that moment

that I was meeting my best best friend. My "bosom friend" as her cute

mom Kris describes us. She has seriously made such an impact on my

life and completely shaped my mission. I am so grateful for her in so

many ways. I don't think I could love, adore, or admire her more. I

LOVE MY HERMANA PIGGOTT!!!!!!! Also, her homecoming will be this

upcoming Sunday, the 16th at 12:50 in Provo and I am not positive of

the address or the church & neither is she ... but I'll have her send

you a text or call to tell you!!! I am so excited for you to meet

her!!!! And she has heard all about each of you so she feels like she

already knows the fam. Ohh you are going to adore her. So fun.

     Besides these two great announcements, we had such an incredible

week!!! We had sooo many wonderful lessons, met with everyone we

wanted and even received three new investigators!! We found two of

them through tracting and they both seem awesome, especially one - a

mom of 5 kids ... but we also have a miracle new investigator. His

name is Marco and his family are members. We love his family so much

too, his mom Julia is the cutest thing in the world and then his dad

is the sweetest, smiliest guy and then his little sister, Amy, who is

17 - is soo cute. So anyways, we had dinner over at their house the

other night and Marco usually never comes out when we are there but

for some reason this night as we were finishing eating, he did. He

then talked to us for a little and asked us all about our missions,

etc. and we asked about his life and somehow it led to him telling us

about his girlfriend. Well, he then ended up telling us ALL about his

girlfriend, their relationship, etc. She actually sounded like a super

good girl and very darling. So that was good. But we then got talking

some more and ended up teaching him half of the Plan of Salvation!!

His parents sat in as well and it was incredible!!! He actually took

it all in very well and even enjoyed learning everything but he has

one hold up that has actually been one of the reasons he hasn't

invested more in the church. That being the belief that we can truly

become as God is (Gods & Goddesses) ... He can't quite grasp that

idea. It is very deep doctrine though and something that is usually

not addressed to non-members but so we told him we'd study more up on

it so we can hopefully explain it better to him. That night we just

simply told him that he is a son of God and because of that, God, our

Heavenly Father wants us to have all that He has and truly become as

He is. His dad then bore testimony of the same thing. But anyways, we

got a return appointment - which is a HUGE deal, his sister said this

is the first time missionaries have ever been able to teach him - and

I am so excited!! He seemed to get really comfortable & open with us

too so I am so excited to teach him more! Part-member families are

amazing.

      We also had many other wonderful lessons including one with the

Campos family. I seriously love them soo much!! And on Saturday night

they threw a fiesta for Hermana Piggott!!! It was similar to the last

little party we had with them but this time it was all for Hermana

Piggott. It was, of course, such a blast and we truly couldn't love

this family more. They are amazing!!!! Adriana & her Puerto Rican

friend gave us both presents too. I think they didn't want me to feel

bad so they gave me a gift as well haha. So cute! And also, at the

fiesta ... Roberto brought up Joseph Smith, he loves him, and somehow

baptism got brought up as well and Lorena got all excited and started

telling Roberto how he could baptize her, her mom & her sister and

then she told Alfredo that he could baptize their boys. So that made

me very happy that she brought it up, Lorena is totally on board - she

just wants to get baptized with her family - so I hope her family will

soon fully get on board as well!!! I have such a wonderful feeling

about this family. I want to see them all in white soo bad. Please

continue to pray for them!!!! They are incredible!!! Oh, and they are

already talking about coming to visit Hermana Piggott & I in Utah!!

Haha amazing. We love them so much.

      Well, other than all of this ... the past week again, was very

wonderful. We got to see lots of people so that Hermana Piggott could

say goodbye to them, we had some wonderful goodbye dinners, brunches,

Hermana Piggott & I slept over with the Citrus Heights Hermanas -

Hermana Hughes & Hermana Melchor (both of our greenies!!! they are

companions!!) and then I got to spend a day in the Citrus

Heights/Roseville with them & Hermana Lee while Hermana Piggott had

her departing missionary temple trip (I ended up not going because I

talked to President and we decided I should stay and work) and then we

overall fully enjoyed our last week together in the field!!!!! It was

amazing!!! Ohhhh I have so much I could say but I'll save it for next

week.

I LOVE YOU ALL SO MUCH!!!!!

Hermana Barth

Ps. My heart completely broke when I heard about Rory. I don't even

have words to explain how I feel and I actually had tears come to my

eyes as I told Hermana Piggott and read mom's email about it. My heart

still is aching too and I will write more about it next week. Please

please give the Hackett's my love and tell them I am thinking of and

intently praying for them. I love them so much and could not adore

Rory more.

Videos!

I Am a Child of God

My loveliest & most beautiful family!!

     This has been a very crazy week!! I cannot even fully explain why
but a lot has happened and my mind is all over the place!! But here
are a few main highlights!
     1. We had our first zone blitz! It was crazy but such a fun
experience! We tracted, did "tableing" in a shopping outlet for family
history and did visiting teaching of less-actives with ladies from the
Chico 3rd area (where we did the blitz) and overall it was such an
adventure! Every companionship was assigned a specific area to tract
too and in 3 hours, Hermana Piggott & I knocked on 85 doors. We then
did a new door approach called, "the Harvest" where we express how we
are representatives of Jesus Christ and ask if they would like to have
blessing of peace placed upon their home. So, with that ... we ended
up blessing 10 homes and it was a wonderful & very memorable
experience. We also encountered many many different things haha which
will be told at a later time. Oh, tracting. There is absolutely
nothing like it.
     2. Our car ended up having a lot more damage done than was
expected so we have been on bikes for a week now and are still on
them! This has been such an adventure as well. Especially on Halloween
when nobody seemed to be home or available and we had to bike for
hours in the pouring rain!!! We joked that we should have attached
brooms to our bikes and worn black cloaks & witch hats. With the
stormy dark sky, it would have been too perfect! Haha no but we have
had a lot of fun. Also, today after church a bunch of our members were
getting a kick out of watching us ride away on bikes in our Sunday
best. Haha they all whipped out there cameras, etc. We felt so goofy
yet like such classic missionaries. I love it!
     3. Halloween was a wonderful day! Again, we weren't able to meet
with many people but we had a lot of fun in the rain and then we did
service, helped decorate for a Halloween party haha and then we had to
be in for the night at 6 and were told to weekly plan. So we planned
for a couple of hours, made a delicious dinner (sweet potatoes,
quinoa, homemade biscuits ... ) and then carved pumpkins!! I'll send
you a picture. I wanted to be creative and do something different then
a jack-o-lantern face so you'll get to see my attempt ... hopefully
you can tell what I tried to create! It was a great day though and I
am so happy I was able to spend it with Hermana Piggott. Also, we got
your incredible & cutest Halloween package mom!! Thank you so so
much!!!! We love all of it.
     4. On Saturday night we got to go to Yuba City for a combined
Spanish Branch fiesta called, "Salsa y Salsa." There was a salsa
making contest along with salsa music & dancing! Hermana Richards &
Hermana Lee made it happen and it ended up being so much fun! There
was a great turn out and I loved seeing so many members from my Yuba
City Branch, some from Gridley and then lots came from Lincoln. It was
great! I love the incredible people we associate with and the Hispanic
culture!! It is the best and they are such fun people. I can't say I
didn't get a little dance bug in me when they were all salsa dancing
... it looked so so fun! Los Latinos pueden bailar!!
     5. We were able to have some wonderful lessons this past week
including some with new investigators ... one with Ismael & Israel -
the twins - and then one with Mercedes & her boyfriend, Tristen! He
has been coming to our lessons lately, has a ton of interest and we
just found out his grandma & dad are (inactive) members!! I have a
feeling he will be baptized in the near future. Pretty awesome. We are
in need of new investigators so I am very happy.
     6. Yesterday I had my very first experience translating!! We have
some English speakers in our branch (Senior Missionaries, etc.) and
our usual translator for Sacrament Meeting, Brother Whitaker, didn't
show and so Hermana Piggott & I, on the spot, had to do the job. She
translated the beginning and then she was the first to bear her
testimony and so I translated for her and all who followed. It was soo
much fun! I actually absolutely loved it and loved being able to see
my two languages intertwine. What a blessing to be able to do such a
thing. I hope to have more opportunities in the future to translate
more. Primary was a lot of fun yesterday as well and Hermana Piggott
joked how we have literally become the primary presidency. Us &
Hermana Arevalo do it all, every week. I love it though! I love the
primary children so much. They are so innocent, full of faith &
darling. Also, some of there comments & questions are hilarious. Oh,
they are so stinkin cute. I am so excited to have my own little
darlings one day and to teach them the gospel!!

     Also, in primary yesterday we sang the all-time favorite and
worldwide classic primary song & hymn, "I am a child of God." As I was
playing it on the piano, while the little ones sang and Hermana
Piggott directed them ... I all of the sudden had chills come over me
as I realized the beautiful message this song gives. I also thought
about how important it is for every person to come to realize &
recognize their true identity; which is a child of our loving Heavenly
Father. This recognition completely changes people and is what
ultimately leads them back to their Father above. That is one of my
absolute favorite parts of being a missionary is helping people
realize how special, unique, infinitely loved and divine they are.
Helping them truly see themselves as important & precious children of
God, our Heavenly Father. There is nothing like it and as soon as
people start to recognize this, a light enters into them, they begin
to beam and you can see it truly start to radiate off of them. It is
so special and I love it so so much.
     Also, this upcoming week is going to be extremely eventful and
definitely one I will never forget. It is my best friend & compañera
Hermana Piggott's last week in the mission field. Our last week
serving & doing the work of the Lord side by side and her last week
doing the work full-time altogether. It is quite emotional for me
actually and I think is going to be harder than I am anticipating. I
cannot believe this time has already come and that I am actually
saying goodbye to her for her to go home!! I never thought the day
would come. However, this week is going to be full of wonderful
lessons & events including a temple trip with all of the other
departing missionaries and President & Sister Marston (President asked
me if I would like to go too!) and then next week we will see what the
future has in store for me and she will be flying home! Ps. I will
give you more information of her homecoming next week but it will be
on the 17th in Provo. I would love it so much if any of you who can
will go to support & love her! It will pretty much be like you will be
seeing me too haha because we have spent 7 1/2 months together and
literally have morphed into one another. She has become my other half
and I don't know if it would be possible for us to be more similar.
Oh, words cannot describe how much I love & adore my Hermana
Piggott!!! Okay. I am not going to think about it too much more for
now. But anyways ... we have another crazy week ahead of us!!

    I love you all so much & hope you have a wonderful week as well!!

Con mucho amor,

    Hermana Barth

Ps. the first video gives you a tiny glimpse of Hermana Piggott & I
together ... I randomly started filming us the other night after
nightly planning and then I will send the beginning of our spontaneous
singing along to "I am a child of God" from a Mormon message. I will
send the rest of the video in another email. Haha we are such weirdos
but have too much fun together. I love her.