Here we go again

Okie dokie! here we go again!
This last week went by really fast, I am not sure what to say about it but I will do my best!
I am going to send ya'll a picture along with this email of my little branch that I serve in, I sure love these people!!!
Our Branch President, President Bristol went into surgery this last week, he is doing well now! The last three months I have gotten really close to the Bristol family, I don't know what I would have done without them here in the Branch. They are the family that we will be spending Christmas with and calling from their home!
One of our investigators, Gerard has decided to be baptized! we are so so so excited for him and the great blessing this will be in his life! I was really excited when he told us this, my companion started filming me but the video is too long to send over email so I will have to show ya'll when I get home!
lilly is doing amazing! We had a new member lesson with her this last week and we were able to go and eat dinner with her and her family on Wednesday night, they are really great people! Although her brother asked me some very interesting questions regarding the church, sometimes the questions people ask make me laugh!
on Friday we had zone conference, it was a Christmas program and it was really good! they even played a Grinch song which made me so so so happy! I can't wait to watch that movie next year!!!!
Saturday we spent the vast majority of the day just trying to talk to people around stores, everyone was rushing around became of Christmas's.
Yesterday after church we went to the petitta's home (grandma sis petitta is going to come see you when they are in Utah coming up :) she is bringing a small bag of things I don't need home) Hopefully this won't be the last time I see them on my mission... they won't be back from their daughters wedding until after transfers (which are in 2 weeks! time is going fast!)
This evening the branch is having an annual branch Christmas party, we are going to have a white elephant gift exchange... Lots of people usually show up to this! I am excited :) 
I  hear the weather in Utah has been freezing! i am sorry ya'll have to suffer through that!!!
I want to bear my testimony to each of you about the power of prayer in our lives. I know that I have a Heavenly Father in my life who loves me and listens to my needs and desires and who helps me through the tough times which are many. I know he is there for all of you as well :) Trust in him and believe in good things to come!
Thank you for everything :)
Mail would be nice :)
Love,
Sister Emily Barnett

New Address and other mission things

Family!
Another week has some and gone in the life of sister barnett. It was a crazy week... but that's how it is in the life of a missionary I guess! On wednesday it will have been 28 weeks since I walked away from ya'll at the MTC. those precious weeks in the service of my Savior, weeks that have changed me forever!
Last week we moved to a new apartment! it is a lot warmer than my last one... I am thankful about that!
my new address is....

Sister Emily Barnett
151 Cleburne Pkwy
apt # 1215
Hiram, GA 30141

In the move we lost a few things.... like our dinner calendar. Also I don't have a functional desk yet... one of the legs wasn't working right so they couldn't put it together (I really don't know why I just told you about that really not important aspect of my life... my mind is everywhere today) But it is slowly feeling like a nice little home fro missionaries to live it!
Friday the baptism of Lilly went really well! I was honestly suprised at how smoothly it went... I love when things work out how they are supposed to! On sunday she was confirmed a member of the church by our Branch Mission Leader who happens to be 19- it was a really cool opportunity to be able to watch him use his preisthood keys, he has been an amazing BML and has been so patient with all of my growing pains. He is going to be a great missionary, he has and will change many peoples lives! I am going to miss that kid when I have to leave this branch.
This last week I spent a few hours on the phone talking to my mission president about a situation that happened last week with the sister training leaders in the zone. President Harding has taught me so much about faith and forgiveness truly he is an amazing inspired leader. Sometimes I feel like I was specifically sent to this mission for him- I needed his love and help in my life more than I knew I needed.
Things are going well with Sister Nielsen, she is an amazing missionary and I am so grateful for her love and example to me! We have our struggles but things are getting much better than they were before! I know she is supposed to be here in the branch and I know she is supposed to be my companion.
I have been thinking a lot about Christmas recently (I know it's an odd thought to be having around this time of year) and It is hard not being home but honestly I will never have a Christmas like this again. We celebrate this season to remember our Savior Jesus Christ who was sent to this earth for each of us. There is nothing I could be doing that could be better than focusing my life on him at this time- I feel so blessedto get this opportunity. 
Thank you to all of you who support me in my mission, because I have your support I get to help others feel love that comes from God! 
I hope ya'll have a great week! Remember that you can find skrength (thats how the georgians say it)  in scriptures! Remember that I love ya'll! 
Have a blessed week my dear family :) 
Love, 
Sister Emily Katherine Louise Barnett (I have a really long name....)  

DECEMBER

Hello!!!
It was a good fat thanksgiving. I ate some delicious smoked turkey (I never want any other kind of turkey ever) and had a lovely thanksamony with the bristol family, I even got to dress up as a pilgrim for a little bit. I didn't even have to purge becasue of all the members feeding us :)
I got sick this last week and had to spend some time in bed (I felt so guilty) but I am now feeling a lot better! Which is good because Sister Nielsen and I are going to tear it up this week! We are going to find more people to teach so that we can stay busy with the end of the year fast approaching!
It was interesting not being able to talk to the fam this thanksgiving but I feel special that ya'll set a place for the missionary at the table. I sure missed eating saurkraut and mashed potatoes with ya'll but I am so grateful that I was able to spend this thanksgiving doing something I love more than anything in the world- sharing my testimony with others.
This Friday lilly will be baptized, it has been an amazing privledge to be able to teach her about the restored gospel. I truly feel like the Lord placed this very prepared individual in my life as a testimony to me that this work truly is his. I realize a lot of times that I don't really need to be here- that the Lord could do this without me but he has given me the great opportunity to be here at this time in my life.
Yesterday I felt very prompted to go and bear my testimony during sacrament meeting. I didn't know what I was going to say but as I stood in front of all of the YSA's I felt and exceeding love for them, a love that I have only felt a few times in my life. They always said that on a mission you grow to love the people you serve, I guess I didn't really understand or know what that love was like until yesterday. I desire for all these people to find happiness and joy, I want them to be able to understand how far reaching the atonement is. I want these people to be okay!
I can't believe it is the month of December and that I get to be here on a mission this Christmas, this is going to be the best Christmas of my life for this reason- I am a representative of Jesus Christ!
This Tuesday we get to move to a new apartment, which is exciting and stressful... I realize I should probably get rid of some of my stuff if i am ever going to want to get it all back home... who taught me to like clothing so much? if it makes you feel any better I haven't purchased any article of clothing for more than 18$ here on my mission (other than my boots...) Next week I will know my address for sure so I will be able to let you know what it is :)
Well friends, family, country men! Thank you for all you do! I love ya'll and I am so grateful that I have such a great family :)
Keep staying amazing!
Sis Emily Barnett

Thanksgiving

Transfer #5
Happy thanksgiving!!!!!!
I hope everyone has a great week and remembers to be thankful for everything they've got! I am grateful for so many things right now in my life... but I will spare you of the entire list :)
I have a new companion, her name is Sister Nielsen and she is a great woman! I actually knew her before because she has been serving in the same zone as me in the Lost Mountain Ward (my last area) We went on exchanges with each other a few weeks ago. She is from Pueblo Colorado and she also went to BYU for 2 years before the mission. She is a very kind, loving, strong individual and I feel very strongly that she has a lot to give to this little branch :) I am excited for this transfer!
So do you remember me telling you about Lily last week? well she is doing awesome and is set to be baptized on the 6th of December :) I honestly feel like she is a tender mercy of the Lord, she doesn't need me but I need her! I need to see success and so I am being blessed with this privilege :)
Things without sister Diehl is kind of weird.... I miss her a lot but she is doing great things I am sure of that!
This next week for thanksgiving we will be going to a few of the members homes who I have gotten very close with- it will be a great day and I will probably be really really full!
Also in the next week or so we will be moving into a new apartment but If there is mail that accidentally gets sent to the old apartment I will get it because my district leader is going to be living there and he will give it to me. but I will let you know what my new address is when I get it!
This week I have been reading a lot about the life and ministry of Jesus Christ in the New Testament, I am really growing to love the bible as I have never before. I could study it all day long but unfortunately we have other things that we must be doing. While reading this I have received an additional witness through prayer that Jesus Christ truly is my Savior and Redeemer- He is my mediator. Through him all is okay :)
Today I am thankful for Jesus Christ and his gospel, I am thankful for my family and friends who love and support me, I am so thankful to be here in Georgia, and I am thankful for all that my future has in store!
I hope ya'll have a great thanksgiving :) and a blessed week!
Love,
Sister Em Barnett

Another late one

Hey Family,

Things are going well, this next week I will be getting a new companion. The days of the big diehl are over and I will be the senior companion for the first time on my mission! I am stoked!!!!!

We may be moving apartments as well but I am not sure what is going on yet, I will let ya'll know the deal next week.

I am so excited for the work that we have to do here in this area the next six weeks, we have an amazing new investigator named lily (she is about six feet and 2 inches tall- funny how that works) i really am so excited about her and the potential she has.

I am so glad that things are going well at home. continue to keep going forward.

I am sure ya'll are wondering about Mark. It was one of the craziest experiences of my life, and it brought up a lot more emotions and feelings than i thought it would have. It was hard not having the immediate support from my family and friends but some how I did it. I am grateful that I had the support around me that I did. These people here in Georgia are my family and I love them all dearly.

Mark is a really good guy, he is a great father and a hard worker. It makes me happy to know that he turned out just fine.

I am really going to miss sister diehl, she changed my life in which I will forever be grateful for. She was there for me through so many hard times and she watched me grow in so many ways. She is a good woman and I know she will continue to change lives :) I will make sure she comes and visits ya'll at home in 7 months when her mission is over.

Well family- there is much to be done!

I love you so much and you are all constantly in my prayers! I can't wait to talk to you in 37 days!!!!
love,

Sister Emily Barnett

Few weeks late... Sorry

Dearest Family!

Can  you believe that it has been six months this Wednesday since we have seen each other? I feel like so much has changed and it has been such a crazy few months since the moment I said goodbye at the gates of the MTC.

33% completed with a full time mission- that's pretty cool huh? I never thought I could do it!

Also don't get too excited but..... Christmas is coming so soon and we will be able to talk to each other!

Woohoo!!!!!!

Oh also some very exciting news..... This Friday I will hopefully be meeting my half brother, I was able to get permission from my president and so it is happening!

I am so excited to see him :) I feel so blessed that I get this opportunity!

This last week has been really good,  we went on two exchanges and I was able to stay in my area for both of them. it was really cool because I finally felt for the first time on my mission that I was a missionary and that I could do this by myself.... I guess that 's what you get after 6 months right? haha

We also had zone training this last week, we were able to go to the temple and then we were taught by our mission president and other local leaders of our mission, we talked a lot about faith in the work... I definitely need to work more on having faith in the Lord.

Heleman 11:10-19 in this scripture Nephi is recording his prayer to the Lord.... I want to be better at praying like Nephi- persuasive and humble.

I realize there is so much I want to change in my life and about myself in the next year. I want it to go fast but at the same time I am so excited for all the miracles and the amazing blessing this next year will be for the rest of eternity!

I truly believe that this last six months has been the best for my life. I love this work and I love the Lord! I am so excited for my future and for the amazing life I have ahead of me :)

I love you all so much! have a great week and I shall talk to you next Monday!

Love,

Sister Emily Barnett

Fall

In my last letter I made mention that the fall wasn't as beautiful as I was expecting... Well that changed! The falls in this place are amazing! I guess I just wasn't patient enough :) That's something I am working on!
Things have been well this week, I am not feeling sick any more and things have been happy! We had Mission leadership council on wednesday, it was a great council in which we talked about a lot of different things pertaining to the mission and the work in this part of the lords vineyard. President really stressed the importance of obedience to the mission rules to bring about miracles in this work, I know I still have a long way to go but I know that as we are obedient that we do see miracles. I have seen miracles from being obedient on my mission.
It's crazy to say but I am creeping up on six months in the next week... I can't believe how fast the time has gone and I can't believe that in a short year I will be on my way home- maybe already home depending on the transfers and where they hit. In a way it is kind of a sobering fact, I don't know how I will be able to leave this place but mostly the people that I love. I thought 18 months was a lot longer than it actually is when I started out.
I know that this is the work of God, I can not deny it at all. I know and I have had unmistakable experiences to know that the Book of Mormon is true and that the church it is espoused to is the Lords kingdom on the earth. I know that families can be together forever becasue of the binding priesthood power. I know that Christ lives. I know that Joseph Smith is a Prophet of God.
I desire all to know these things as well, that is why I am here serving a mission.
This coming week we will be going to the Temple for zone training meeting, it will be an amazing experience because it always is. I miss the Temple because that is where I feel at home. I feel so blessed that I have the opportunity to go so often while on my mission, not everyone has the blessing of this on their mission. The Temple will always be the focus in my life.
We are working on building our teaching pool back up again after it fell apart a few weeks ago- we have been able to find a lot of people to talk to through the members and also other missionaries! We have been asking most of the members who they know who would be interested in recieving the gospel- this method is working really well world wide and they are trying to impliment it even more among the missions in the united states!
Oh also did I tell ya'll that in the next few months our mission will be getting IPads and facebook! I am not sure what the stipulations will be but we are excited to use these tools in our teaching and finding efforts.
oh I forgot to tell ya'll the other week... but I bought some boots that are really cute and they were on sale, I got them half off. (that was random but maybe you wanted to know)
we went of exchanges with some sisters down in timbuk2- it was really fun :) I am sending a few pictures of that exchange! The sister I was with cooked for me twice that day! she is amazing!
Have I ever mentioned that I love food? because I do- I want to cook a lot more when I get home one day, that is a goal of mine!
okay I think I have talked enough.
I love you guys and I miss you so very much :)
53 days until christmas!!!!!!
love,
Em