Cartersville

Okay okay okay.
Here I sit in Cartersville! my lovely new area. I feel like I am really in the south now!
I already love this place and the ward so much. I am excited for the miracles I am going to see here. I must admit though that this was a very very difficult week leaving my beloved millcreek branch. But it is okay. I know I must move forward and be the missionary the Lord wants me to be. I am excited for all the miracles and families here in this blessed place.
Cartersville is very humble. Not as rich as the past area's I have served in. It is also very country. :) I am going to come home from this place with a very thick southern accent :)
get excited everyone!
My new companion is the mighty Sister Pitcher! She is a doll and I already love her so much! She is tall and skinny and is from Orem. She is down to earth and she loves the lord. She has already taught me so much.
We have both been out on our missions the same amount of time... 10 mighty moths of miracles we have seen. I love that we both kinda know what we are doing! She is doing a great job showing me the Cartersville ropes though :)
This week has felt so long! but I guess that is what happens with transfers. :)
When I got to Cartersville, we were able to put a great mom on date for baptism on the 20th of April. Her name is Heather and she is SO prepared. She has a big family she will bring along with her. If ya'll could pray for her that would be just amazing.
In life often things change and it can be hard but I know that the Lord is with each of us and he is helping us along the way. The gospel is one thing that will never change in our lives, this I am thankful for!
I know that God is real and I know that he sent his son Jesus Christ so that we can be happy forever. I know that the fullness of the gospel is on the earth in these days!
I know that the temple is the house of God and I am thankful to have it in my life.
LOVE MY FAMILY!!!!
have a fantastic week ya'll!
Be prayin' for Cartersville. WE WILL SEE MEERCLES (that's how we say it in the south)
Love your guts!
Sister Emily Barnett

farewell to the branch

I am having some bitter sweet feelings today. I will be transferring out of the branch this Wednesday. I am sad because I have come to loves these people more then I ever thought I could and I will miss them. But I am also excited because I know there is a reason for me to be going somewhere else.
At the end of next transfer I will be just about at my 1 year mark. How weird is it that time goes by so quickly.
Yesterday I had the great opportunity to speak in sacrament meeting. I was able to talk about the principle of Faith. I spoke about how I have learned to have power in my life because of the Faith I have had. It was a great moment for me to reflect and share with the branch all they have done for me in my own personal development.
I have realized something amazing that the branch and my mission has given to me. I have been given more depth of character. I am so much better because of the decision I made to serve a mission.
I want to give a little shout out to lil's in this letter home.... I am so proud of you for the great decision you have made! I promise it will change your life for the better. You are going to be an amazing missionary!
So we almost had a baptism this week. Ya'll have heard about me talk about Summer so many times... Well last week during weekly planning Sis Nielsen and I decided we wanted a baptism before I left the branch. We made a list of all of our investigators who had the potential to be baptized in the next few days. We had a lesson with Summer that evening and we decided to invite her to be baptized on Saturday. That night she accepted but then the next day she decided it wasn't what she wanted. Although it didn't happen it was an amazing miracle because it was the first time she had actually considered being baptized. It will happen when she is ready.
Thank you little black name tag that gives me the authority to invite others to follow Jesus Christ, even if they don't accept.
I am so thankful for the time I have had in the branch. It has changed my life forever. I have come to know my savior. 
 2 Nephi 22: 2. Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and not be afraid; for the Lord Jehovah is my strength and my song; he also has become my salvation.

He has become my salvation.
I love each of you more than you know. Thank you for all you do for me. I hope you have a wonderful day and week.
With so much love,
Sister Em Barnett

The sun is shining!

Dear Family,
This week has been dramitically better. There were so many amazing things that happened and the spirit was felt ever so strongly in my life. I am thankful for trials and opposition in my life becasue it helps me to be a stronger and better person.

 

 Last week we were asked from President Harding to find someone to invite to baptism for a specific date so we could all reach the top together. All week we were working so hard to find people to talk to but we weren't having any luck. Finally on friday evening at about 8 pm with only an hour left I felt the inspiration to go to a store called 5 below. When we got there we went over to the tshirts and starting talking to one of the employees named shequia. As we were talking to her the spirit was strong and we were able to invite her to baptism, she accept a specific date. It was one of the coolest experieces because of how directed we were. Unfortunatly she isn't a YSA so we will need to pass her to other missionaries. I feel so thankful that I was able to be an instrument in the hands of the Lord. 

 

We also got to meet with Elder Cook this last week on saturday, the meeting was really amazing and we learned a lot of great things for our area and how to be better teachers. He told us all that we are exactly where we need to be right now. I was so thankful to hear that from him. He also talked to us a lot about agency and the importance of having faith. "if the missionaries have more faith they will have more success." it is as simple as that!

After the meeting as we were driving through Atlanta to get home (such an amazing place!) we went and got some food from chipotle. I was so happy becasue I haven't had food from there in a really long time. It was a treat for me!

 

Guess how many people we had at church this week? it was a record breaking 3 investigators!!!!!!! I haven't seen that happen in so long. It was so refreshing and wonderful. Jonathan came (the guy from hibbets) and he really liked it but now he has a ton of questions.

 

I am so thankful for the miracles we have seen and for the opportunity I have to be a missionary! I love being here and I love this gospel! :) Thank you for all of your love and support.
With love,
Sister Emily Barnett

2 in a row

Okay! here we go again!
This was one of the most interesting weeks of my mission, and I hate to say one of the hardest. But all is well because hope is shining brightly before us and we KNOW that deliverance is nigh!
Do ya'll remember my investigator Eric? Well on my birthday we received a call from his family informing us that he had passed away from an overdose. I was a little bit devastated, but something amazing happened. I felt the overwhelming peace that the knowledge of the gospel and the Plan of Salvation brings. I know that there is someone teaching him on the other side and I know that he will accept the gospel.
Some other things happened this week that made it less than Ideal but i am trying to keep the best attitude about all of it and continue moving forward. I was able to receive a blessing this week and in it I was told that my family is my support and that many prayers are being said in my behalf. I want to thank each of you so much for being my support and comfort when trial comes about. I couldn't do all of this without you.
This week we are expecting many miracles to come our way. One miracle is that we will be able to meet Elder Cook! He is coming to our mission and we are all so excited! This will be the second general authority that I will have the opportunity of meeting on my mission.
A few weeks ago we were out contacting in the mall and we saw one of our former investigators named David. We were able to stop and talk to him and meet his friend Ashley. A few days later we taught Ashley the restoration, it was a good lesson but she was a little bit confused because it was a lot different from the Pentecostal church. Well.... A few days ago we were talking to some other sisters about some YSA's that they have been working with and they told us that they had been teaching Ashley's mom! Nothing says prepared as much as that! We are so excited to see where this goes with both of them. I love when we meet people and I know that Angels have been with them preparing them to receive the gospel!
I wanted to tell ya'll today that I know that God is real. I promise you that he loves you and is watching out for all of us. I am so thankful to be a missionary and that I get to represent my Savior.
I love ya'll so much.
I hope you have a fantastic week!
Sister Emily Katherine Louise Barnett

 12 And now, my sons, remember, remember that it is upon the arock of our Redeemer, who is Christ, the Son of God, that ye must build your bfoundation; that when the devil shall send forth his mighty winds, yea, his shafts in the whirlwind, yea, when all his hail and his mighty cstorm 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.

 

 

 

Happy monday!
Happy Birthday to me!
Next week when you get my email I will be 21... I am not sure how I feel about it.... It's like the time when I turned 11 and I cried about it. I will make it a happy birthday though, no need to fear!
Sister Nielsen had a good birthday, we were able to meet with lots of people and see a lot of cool things happen! We ended up meeting with Summer (do ya'll remember her? the one that had her dad pass away a few months ago when I was with Sister Diehl?) Well she is doing well and she wants to start meeting again!
Sara Pearl, our current investigator came to church on sunday! She said she liked it, which is always a good thing :) It was a little bit awkward becasue in Sunday School we talked about a lot of really deep doctrine... She didn't seem to mention it though so maybe she wasn't paying attention (which in this situation could be a good thing)
Tonight we will be meeting with Teah! We have a super awesome lesson about Faith planned for her!
Last week we were driving back to our apartment after District meeting for lunch and we passed this guy on the side of the road who was just taking a walk. We got out of the Car and went and talked to him, I love moments like that when I really feel like a missionary in action. We were able to set a return appointment and meet with him the next day. His name is Akwo and he has been in America for 2 months! We taught him about the restoration and he told us he would read and pray about the Book of Mormon. The reason this was such a cool experience is becasue we listened to the spirit and we really felt like we needed to pull over and talk to him, and becasue we did that now he knows that there is more! Experiences like this have happened a few times on my mission and every time I am so thankful that we decide to talk to these people. The Lord loves all the people and now so do I! How cool is it that we can come to love people that we don't even know?
The tempurature has been wonderful here, I no longer need a coat!
I am feelling a lot better than I did last week and I am just so happy to be a missionary!
Thank you for all of the support and love! also thank you for the Birthday wishes :) They mean so much to me!
I pray everyone is happy and doing well!
I love you and I will talk to you next week.
Love,
Sister Em Barnett

Valentines and Strep Throat!

Thank you so much for all the Valentines wishes!
I hope everyone had a great day filled with love and happiness!!! My Valentines was pretty great! I would probably have to say it was one of the best ones i have ever had! No stress, no worry, just sharing the gospel with the people in Georgia!

This last week was very interesting.... Guess who got strep throat? I did! Luckily we had a really bad weather day and we weren't really supposed to leave becasue of all the ice on the day when I got really sick. That day I was able to sleep! I am also now on antibiotics so I am feeling a lot better! Hopefully this week we will be back in the swing of things :)

 

We were able to teach a lot of our investigators and meet with some of our new investigators this last week, I sure love being a missionary! We taught a great lesson about the restoration to our investigator Teah that I told you about a few weeks ago! We told her that she could come to know that the Book of Mormon is true by the 8th of march. Unfortunately she didn't come to church, we will meet with her again on wednesday! 
On sunday lilly and Gerard, the recent converts, were asked to stand on sunday and bear their testimonies. It was so exciting and Sister Nielsen and I were both very proud of them :) It is amazing to see the change that comes to peoples lives because of the Gospel, they are both proof of that.

This week I also had quite a bit of time to study and catch up on a lot of the things I want to read. I was able to get more into the book Jesus the Christ by James Talmage. Becasue of this book I am learning a lot more about my Savior and his earthly ministry. It is also really helpful becasue I recently finished reading the four gospels in the bible.

This week is Sister Nielsens 21 birthday! Hopefully for her Birthday we can find someone amazing who wants to learn more about the Gospel and how they can come closer to their Father in Heaven! I am going to hopefully make her a cake :) I will take pictures and show you next week.

I love ya'll so much and I will talk to you next week! Hopefully I will have more things to talk about!
I love you
Sister Emily Barnett

Happy Half-way!

Family!
Congratulations! Happy Half-way! We have made it this far and I just can't believe it! We are now on the down ward slope and I know there are many amazing miracles still coming!
So I know Grandma and Grandpa really want to know... I am not being transferred! I will be in my dear branch for at least 1 more transfer :)
I am very happy about the whole thing and I am so excited that I don't have to leave yet. I am a little bit sad though because one of the Elders that I have served around for 7.5 months is being transferred, I am going to miss that Elder! Sister Nielsen and I are also staying companions a little longer as well :) I am happy about this because I have truly come to love her. This is going to be the prime of our companionship, we know how to work together and we know what to expect. We can't go wrong!
So apparently Georgia is in another state of emergency, but I don't think it is anything to be worried about. We hopefully will be able to get out and do a lot of work and make a lot of phone calls if we have to stay in.
This last week we went on exchanges with the sisters in the Lost Mountain ward (my last area) it was fun to go back and be in a family ward for a day, we saw a lot of amazing miracles and met some really cool people.
Last night at president Bristols home we had a "cottage meeting" where all the recent converts came and we discussed somethings that may be foreign or new to them, we discussed the orgin of the Bible and I learned a lot of new things! President Bristol formally taught seminary, he has so much knowledge! I really hope that one day I will get the opportunity to teach seminary, it's my dream calling.
This week will be the 1 year anniversary of when i received my mission call. It is hard to believe that it was a short year ago... so much has happened and I truly feel like a completely new person. I was thinking the other day that here on my mission I have learned to see things in my life in a completely new way. It has been an amazing miracle and blessing in my life. I love people more than I ever have and I can see the potential that they each have, it is truly an amazing gift!
I am so thankful for the knowledge of the restored gospel, i am so thankful to know that I will be with those I love forever. I know that we have an important choice to make, and that choice is to be HAPPY!
I know that my Savior and that happiness comes from him :)
I love you
have a great week
Sister Em Barnett

Snowy days

Hello my dear family and friends!!!
This week was a crazy crazy week in Georgia! We had an amazing snow storm, I was so happy when I saw the snow but I don't think the rest of Georgia was as happy as I was.... We weren't allowed to drive our cars for about 3 days and we spent a lot of time calling people and teaching them over the phone. It was awesome but by the end of the 3 day I was itching to get out of the apartment and go somewhere!
Now we are back to the normal weather which is dandy :) I am happy to say that I only fell one time on the ice and I only have a little bruise on my knee. Other than that I think Georgians are crazy and they need to learn how to deal with the snow. The people here went CRAZY! It was funny.  We talked to some people that were stuck in traffic for 12 hours for a normal 30 minute drive.... When the snow started we were just ending our district meeting and we were supposed to go on exchanges but we ended up canceling and heading home to grab some lunch. on the way home we say a bunch of accidents and a car completely flipped over then our mission president told all the missionaries that we had couldn't drive.
As for the rest of the week after that fun winter adventure we spent a lot of time contacting people in malls and big stores near where we live. We didn't teach very many lessons to investigators because somehow  they all disappeared and have decided not to talk to us any more thus the search for new people who do want to talk to us!
This week I was really able to dive into Jesus the Christ while I have been studying, I have also been continuing my study of the New Testament and the Book of Mormon. I feel like I have been learning a lot and so many things are more clear to my understanding than ever before! Something I have been pondering a lot is how we can each come to know our Savior and not just know about him. A few ways that i have figured we can accomplish this is by coming to love him. When we love him we are willing to do what he asks us to do and then we can feel is love for us in our lives. We can also come to know him by spending our time in holy places such as immersed in the scriptures, in the temple and among those things that invite the spirit. Without the spirit we cannot come to know our Savior, this is why the Book of Mormon is so pivitol. This book brings us the spiritual side of the gospel, this is where our spirituality flows from.
"Nothing is going to suprise us more when we pass through the veil to the other side than to realize how well we know our Father and how familiar his face is to us." - Ezra Taft Benson
I want to make it a point in my life to come to know my savior, not just know about him.
I hope that this week ya'll can read out of the pages of the Book of Mormon and that you can come to know your Savior a little bit more :)
I love you!
Sister Emily Barnett!!
Next week is transfer week, I am hoping i will stay but we just never know! I will let ya'll know what the plan is next week!