last week... C-Ville

Cartersville is awesome! 
This week I almost got killed by a pitbull and I met some of the most interesting people around! I sure love how these people are humble and full of personality. I also have never met more people in my life who have been to prison. 
Conference was just what I needed in my life. I learned so many things and I am excited to study more the conference edition when it comes out next month. I loved the talks on missionary work and hastening the work of salvation. 
I am learning how to knock doors again. It is so much fun! yesterday we even knocked in the rain! We have found some awesome people that we will go and talk to again this week. 
We had one of our investigators come to conference and a member brought one of his friends! It was really cool to see them feel the spirit as they heard the prophets voice. I loved in conference how they focused so much on the basic principles of the gospel. This is something that we can never know enough about. I have learned on my mission the depth that is in the basics. 
I am learning a lot from Sister Pitcher. She is really good at planning things and she is always so considerate and kind to people. I look up to her a lot and I know we are companions for a reason. 
During the week I was getting down a lot on myself, I felt like I wasn't a very good missionary because I do things a little differently from my companion. I was doing a lot of comparing. I knelt and I said a prayer and I felt in my heart that the Lord loves me for me. He doesn't need me to be anyone else, he needs me to be Sister Emily Katherine Louise Barnett. My whole week changed after this experience. 
I want each of you to know that God loves you for being you! I also love each of you for being you. Thank you for the influence each of you have had on me. I am better because of the people I know. 
I pray that you will each have a great week! 
I am really going to work on writing better emails each week :) 
Happy Birthday to my dear brother in law and Baby Gwenyth (welcome to the world)! Happy anniversary to my James and Malissa!!!!! 

Love my family!!!! 
Sister Emily Barnett 

Happy Easter!

Good Morning! (for just a minute longer here in Georgia!) 
This week we have been truly blessed of the Lord. I am so Thankful for the opportunity that I have to be a representative of Jesus Christ! Especially at this beautiful time of the year! Easter has always been one of the best holidays. Although I won't get to meet easter roladin this year I am thankful that I get to be here and I know it is well worth the sacrifice. 
I wanted to share my testimony with each of you today. 
I have come to know my Savior in a much more personal way while I have been on my mission. I have learned about him and each day I have been able to testify of his divinity as the only begotten son of our Heavenly Father. Although I am not perfect He has given me strength to continue moving forward when I wanted to give up. I have felt the forgiveness and the peace that He brings. I have been happy, happier than I have ever been as I have had the chance to serve Him. 
I know that He died for each of us but more than that... I know that he Lives again! This knowledge has made me whole. I know that it can make each of you whole again. No matter who you are or where you are in life, know that there is peace in Christ. 
I love the Lord. I know that his kingdom has been restored to the earth again. 
I leave my testimony with you and I stand as a witness. I know through the Holy Ghost that these things are true. If you know nothing else about me... Know that I know that Christ lives! 
Yesterday we had an amazing miracle! We were able to take a sweet young women out with us. We went around to some of our investigators and then we decided to go tracting a little bit with her. We drove into this neighborhood and then we went to 1 house. The lady came out and accept the invitation to say a prayer with us. She let us into her home and we were able to teach her about the restoration and about the power of prayer! It was amazing. 
I am so blessed to be able to serve here in Cartersville! The people are humble and they have real struggles but I know the Lord loves them. I have never desired peoples happiness like I do now. 
We also met an amazing lady named Kim! She is so open to the Gospel and wants the peace that comes. She told us the other day she was waiting for us to come. She was a miracle in my life! 
The weather is getting warm here and the pollen is going crazy! Allergies are horrible around these parts. I am thankful for antihistamines! 
I hope everyone is doing well! I hope that this week is like the best week ever. I hope you all know how much I love and care about each of you. You are in my prayers each day. 
Happy Easter! 
LOVE MY FAMILY!
Sister Emily Barnett 

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