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

Elder oaks

Hello!
I was expecting a much more beautiful fall here in Georgia considering all of the tree's... hopefully it is still on the way but as for now I will dream of the beautiful Utah fall!
I have been sick this last week with a cold and a sinus infection, I was put on antibiotics for the sinus infection and the cold is just something i have to deal with- hopefully it will be gone in the next few days so I won't be such a hard companion to deal with. :)
On Saturday I had the great privledge of being able to shake Elder Oaks hand, it was such an amazing experience to be able to be that close to someone who is a special witness of Jesus Christ. It talked about a lot of things but there are two subjects which really stood out to me. The first one being the Sacrament, throughout our life we will partake of the sacrament 1000's of times but it is because we need each and every one of those times to be able to fully repent and renew our baptisimal covenants so we can continue to enjoy the blessing of having the Holy Ghost with us at all time. The gift of the Holy Ghost is what makes us different, what a blessing it is to have him with us at all time :)
The second thing he talked about was the 10 things missionaries should take home from a mission.
1. A testimony of the Father and the Son
2. A greatly enlarged testimony of the gospel
3. Love for the people among whom you labor.
4. Greater love and appreciation for your parents
5. Understanding the meaning of hard work
6. Understanding the meaning and importance of personal virtue
7. Increased polish and poise
8. Courage to act
9. Faith to try
10. Humility to pray  
I thought these were cool and something I wish to have by the end of my mission- to truly become a missionary by realizing that this is not my time but the Lords.
I was able to drive through Atlanta for the first time since being here, it's a cool city! I also ate at the famous resturatnt The Varsity, my arteries feel very clogged from the food I ate.... I probably won"t ever eat there again but thats okay- it was a good experience (I am sorry if I repeat myself in letters- time is very jumbled) This coming week we have Mission Leadership council at the mission home, it will be my first time going there :) I am excited to be able to be at this council and talk about the progress of the mission.
We have been working with a lot of less active members and recent converts- It has been really good! I love these people.
This morning I was thinking about how blessed I have been, today I feel overwhelemed with gratitude.
I am so thankful to have the love and support back at home, I am thankful to be a part of the Georgia Atlanta Mission, and I am so thankful for the blessing of the gospel in my life and the testimony that I have.
I love you all so very much and I hope you have a great week :)
Love,
Em

Hi There

Hello!
Another week has come and gone, here we are again. Currently we are in the children's section of the library so there are little kids sitting behind me playing games on the computer... oh to be a kid again!
Things have been super busy here in millcreek. This last week we had Elder Evans of the 70 come to our mission and talk to us about a lot of things- he also changed quite a few of the things that we do in the mission- which is exciting!
This coming week Elder Oaks of the 12 apostles is coming to talk to this mission and the north mission!!!! ( I get to see my MTC mission friends!!! woohooo!) I am so excited to hear him speak!
This morning we were able to go help plant flowers on the temple ground- it was really cool that we were able to be on the temple ground for a few hours to be able to serve the lord in that capacity.
I am doing pretty good, this week my goal is to drink more water and to eat right- I realize that when I don't do these things I am a lot more tired and I am not able to do everything to the best of my ability... so thus the new goal!
I realize it is getting a little hard being with the same person for three months straight. I love Sister Diehl but I am grateful when we have exchanges every week because it gives us each a little time to breathe. I have been learning so much from all the other sisters, hopefully they are learning a little something from me too! I usually like to make commitments with each of the sisters, a personal commitment and work commitment, they seem to be going well and they help me to make my own commitments for my own personal progression.
We have been working with two guys who are super religious (non-denominational with a baptist influence) they ask so many questions at every lesson. Sometimes (most times) I get really frustrated because I can't even finish a sentence without them asking all these nity gritty questions. Thus I have been doing a lot of studying to try and help them understand... This last week I may or may not have told one of them that their bible may not be absolutely completely true because of errors due to translation and grammatical misinterpretation- the guy may or may not have gotten really mad at me... ( my comp and the member with us may have been even more livid at me....) not a great situation I ended up getting myself in.... I was able to smooth the conversation over but I realized that sometimes I just need to keep my mouth shut because I am passionate and stubborn. This can be good and it can also be bad... Moderation in all things right?
Missions are funny because they expose everything under the sun that I struggle with/am bad at... I am happy that I still have a little bit of life left ahead of me where I can work to be a better person. here a little there a little. precept by precept!
Thank you for listen to me ramble today, I love ya'll so much!
I will talk to you soon :)
Love,
Em

Squirrels and cockroaches

Dear Family friends and country men! Lend me your ears.
Things are going pretty well here in the GAM. This last week we didn't have a car so we haven't been able to get around as easily but no fret hopefully we will be getting it back today!
Funny story- so the other day the zone leaders were walking out of the church building and they were holding something behind their backs- I asked them what it was and they told me that I really didn't want to know... well I was stubborn and I made them show me... They had intentionally killed a squirrel with their car on the way to the building and they had put it in a plastic bag with the intent to skin it later. Lets just say I was a little mortified with them and their actions ... But then I touched it and it had gone into rigor mortis, I wasn't so upset by it at that point- mainly because it was cool and I like body things... but that is what the missionaries do in Georgia apparently- I thought I would give you a little insight. Hopefully no one is grossed out... remind me not to tell you about how the eye ball came out of it's head ;)
Anyways....
The powder springs stake has stake conference this last weekend. Elder Evans of the Seventy came to speak to us- he talked a lot about missionary work and inviting others to participate in the work of salvation for themselves and others. He invited everyone to go to the temple often and to pray for missionary opportunities. It was edifying and wonderful!
This week in my personal study I have been studying a lot about the influence of the Holy Ghost and the plan of salvation- there is a really cool talk I have that I need to send to pa because I think he would really like it (so I just need to get around to that) But anyways... This morning I learned something really cool! As we pray we can be led by the Holy ghost to know what to pray for and that way we align our wills to the will of the Father- Isn't that cool? I guess I never understood that before.- it's amazing the things that I have been learning on my mission!
Grandma, thank you so much for the package that you sent me! I was so excited and the cute little BYU bear made me happy.
I really wish I could express my gratitude to all of you. I honestly couldn't do this without all of your prayers and love. I think about ya'll often, I worry but I know you are taken care of. I am excited to talk to you in 75 days (not that I am counting down or anything :)) I think it is so strange that it has been almost 4 months since I have heard your voices and almost 5 months since I have seen ya'll. absence makes the heart grow fonder right? You all must really be fond of me by this point ;)
Oh also I may have given you the wrong zip code on my address it's 30127
Well! I love you! Take care and have an awesome week.
from your little missionary in the Georgia woods.
Sister Barnett
P.s did you know cockroaches fly? nasty