Mikel's Missionary Blog

Mikel's second mailed letter

2010-02-20T17:39:00.002-07:00

she's talking about how fast time is going by. she said she will call us between nine and ten thirty-ish she found out she flies out with five other elders so that's a relief she won't be flying alone, but she still hasn't met anyone going to Vancouver. she thanks everyone for the packages and letters.
"I'm in the MTC choir, i love that! We sing before Tuesday night devotions when the church authorities come and speak to us. it's really neat. i told you about the man that came on Sunday. man, was he an amazing speaker. i loved listening to him! i wish you all could come here just for one day and feel the spirit it is so neat!"
She goes on to say that her companions had a little blow-out, Sister Hansen and Sister Cambell had a little dis-agreement on doctrine and the built up tension between them came out. it was very uncomfortable, she wasn't part of it but she was senior companion that week so she felt she needed to do something. she said " sisters this is not okay. we have two options: Go back in the room and continue planning our lessons or have companion inventory." (we obviously chose companion inventory) i told them we can't have the spirit with contention so we really wanted to work this out. we need to discuss ways to improve our companionship. "as i was speaking to them something President Allred said to me before i lift really struck me." He said,"treat your companion as your number one investigator. i didn't exactly understand what that meant before i got here but as we've loved to learn how to love our investigators, and what that really means, it's taken on a whole new meaning. we learn to tailor our message to fit their needs. we need to love them and serve them with all our hearts. likewise with our companions we need to tailor ourselves and our actions to create an atmosphere in which they can feel the spirit and feel loved. it's not about me and what i want, it's about them and what they need. we came to find out that they each had difficult experiences in the past that has made them the way they are. I felt the spirit of the lord bear testimony of his love for each of them through that meeting. They set goals for things they could do to forgetselves and serve their companion. It was such a neat expirience.
She has also been reading the Book of Mormon a ton almost 15 chapters a day. Pres. Benson promised that, "The day you begin a serious study of the book of mormon (with faith) our Father in Heaven will pour out his spirit upon you." She encourages each of us to really study the book of mormon. "if you approach it with real intent, a sincere heart, and with true study in mind. I promise it will change your life.
she end this letter by saying. The church is true! God loves each one of us. I know that if we are true and faithful we can be together forever! The gospel brings happiness. read Alma 32:27. I challenge you to find one thing, just one, that you can make better in your life and "experiment" on the promise of God. he will bless you, I testify of that. I love you. Love for eternity Sister Barfuss

Another great week!

2010-01-31T12:55:00.000-07:00

Hello Everyone! I love you all so much!This week has been another great week at the MTC. I have been so happy and I have felt so much peace. There have definitely been some times of frustration, but I know that the Lord is preparing me and helping me to become better. I love Ether 12:27. The lord will make weak things become stong unto us if we humble ourself and have faith in him. I have truly been humbled much in the last two weeks.So we had a really awesome fireside on Sunday night. I'm kicking myself because I don't have my notes to tell you the speakers name but he was from the General Missionary Board. He was awesome! He was funny but powerful! I hope to be like him in my teaching. He was telling a story about he and a little boy at the drinking fountains in a church building. You know how the pressure when they are both being used is a little funny.... the little boy was taking a drink and the man would push his button. The pressure would go way down and so the boy would put his face closer to the water; when he did that, the man would let go of his button and the water would hit the boy right in the face. This was repeated about 8 times. The poor little boy never knew the source of his grief even though it was the stake president standing right next to him haha. The man related this to our lives and to satan. Sometimes we are experiencing much grief and anguish in our lives, and we don't realize that it is satan. He surrounds us; he is in our music, he is on our televisions, he can be in our thoughts. But we know the source of our relief! It is only made possible throught the magnificent atonement of our savior Jesus Christ. I am so grateful to him; insomuch that I can't adequately express my gratitude. It is a sacrifice to be out here on a mission, but it is the least that I can do for my savior who has done so much for me.At this same fireside he had about 10 elders stand up and name one thing they had given up to come on their mission. One elder stood up and in front of 2000 + people told us that he had given up marriage. The man asked him if he had been engaged and the elder replied, "Pretty much" then the man asked him, "Has she Dear John'd you yet elder? Or is she still writing?" It was super funny but the best part was that the elder replied, "No, she is here too. We are both serving missions". Then the man who was speaking made the sister stand up and she was BRIGHT red! It was hilarious!!! We had a good laugh at that, it couldn't have been planned any better than that. You had to be there to get the full effect, but it was awesome! I truly love this work so much! I miss you all so much, but there is no where that I would rather be than right here, serving the Lord. It's such an amazing feeling and the spirit is so strong! One thing that he said was that he used to sit in south america and watch the planes flying to the United States. He and his companion were sitting there one night and his companion said, "Elder, I challenge you. Live your life and serve your mission so that when your time comes to sit on that plane you will feel the spirit of the lord whisper to you, ' Well done thou good and faithful servant'". Wow! The spirit hit me so hard and that is my continutal goal! I am so excited to be able to do his work. I'm so sorry to hear about Grandpa Delmer passing away. I know that must be so hard on everyone, especially grandma clea. Please pass my love to her. Let her know that she is in my prayers. We have been studying about the plan of salvation this week and I think that it was perfect timing for me.I was called into the district presidents office on Monday, I had no clue what for. We were speculating about what it could be: Maybe a calling, maybe I was going to be asked to learn a language ;) haha. When I got in there and he let me know that Grandpa had passed away it hit me really hard because I wasn't expecting it! Then as I sat in his office and pondered what I had just heard, a great sense of peace came over me and I felt like he was with me in my heart. I am so grateful that grandpa and grandma were able to come to my farewell and able to come with me to the temple. They told me so many times how much they loved me and how proud they were of me and I feel like the lord was preparing me. I have felt the spirit bear testimony to me of the great family heritage that I have been born into. I'm so grateful for my Barfuss side and my Reynolds side. I have felt so much love and support and strength from both. It's so neat to wear the name of "Sister Barfuss" over my heart while I serve. It's funny sometimes when people ask my name, they get that look on their faces like, "Is she being serious right now" haha but I know that as I wear it, I'm bearing the name of not only our savior, but also of my family. I gain great strength in knowing that I am becoming a representative of them and their great family legacy. It definitely helps me strive with all my heart, might, and mind as I try to live up to the great names of Barfuss and of our savior.I hope and pray that you each will be able to feel the spirit bear testimony to you of the great plan of salvation and the purpose of each of our lives while here on this earth. I bear testimony to you that the lord has a plan for each of us and if we "experiment upon his words" that he will guide us in the direction that he would have us go, which will lead to eternal life with our father in heaven and with each other. My companion, Sister Hansen, shared a great scriputure with me this week in Genesis 21:6. it says: "And Sarah (substitute your name here) said, "God hath made to to laugh that all who hear will laugh with me". I hope that you can keep this in mind as you experience trial and tribulation and sorrow. The lord has made us to be happy and to share that happiness with all that we come in contact with. I testify that that happiness is founded on the gospel of jesus christ. I testify that the scriptures and prayer can help us to answer every question of the soul that we might have. Please read the scriptures. I promise you that the moment you begin a serious study of them that the lord will POUR out his spirit upon you. So I have my travel plans. I cannot believe that I fly out in a week from today! It has FLOWN by! I can tell already that the mission is going to go by way too fast.Whoa! I have less than 5 minutes. I have to hurry.I fly out on February 3rd. My flight leaves at 11 ish so I will be calling sometimes between 9 and 11 mom and dad. I will write more detail in a letter but I better wrap this up. Thank you all for your letters and love and support! It means so much to me! I love you all! The church is true!!!! I know that with all of my heart!I will write again next week. Love forever,Sister Barfuss

Mikel's first letter mailed home.

2010-01-31T11:39:00.005-07:00

We got our first letter from Mikel on the 20th of January and is sounds like she is doing really well! She started off by telling us how strong the spirit is at the MTC, and how much she loves being a missionary! On her first day there they had a "new missionary orientaion" to tell them about rules, what to expect, and how much the lord loves his children. Towards the end of the meeting Elder Jeffrey R. Holland walked in and shared a few words with them. He told them that their missions could change their lives forever if they let it and to commit to themselves to never again be the same person that they were before the came to the MTC.
Mikel has two companions and she says they're great! Sister Hansen is from Illinois and she is serving in Georgia. Mikel said she's funny, crazy, sarcastic, and a little rebellious. "...she swears sometimes haha but she is the freiendliest, spunkiest, and most outgoing person I've ever met." Sister Campbell is from Colorado and is going to the Mesa Arizona Temple visitors center. She's very orginazed and is and very detail oriented. She's independent, and is always trying to think of doctrine in a new way. Her companions are pretty much opposites and she knows she has a lot to learn from them both. The Elders in her district gave them all nicknames. Sister Hansen is the sarcastic one, Sister Campbell is the argumentative one, and Mikel is the one that wants everyone to love each other. haha
"They really teach exact obedience here becasue we really need the help of the lord and his spirit to be able to learn and teach as the lord would have us do." She again emphasized how strong the spirit is there. She knows that the lord is preparing not only herself but also the people of Canado to hear the message that her companions and herself will share with them.
Time is going by so quickly! She said she can already tell that her mission is going to be over to soon, and that the days go by so fast, its hard to separate them! She loves studying the scpritures and went into detail saying that they study for about 10 hours a day. She reads from the BOM about 3 hours a day, and it still doesnt seem like enough time!
Mikel then went on to thank all her family and friends for their continued love and support. She's so grateful for the letter, prayers, and packages that she has recieved and wishes us all the love that she posseses. "I miss you and I love you dearly! I hope you know that and I wish I could express it better. I Love You!!!"

HI family! I miss you!!!

2010-01-20T20:36:00.002-07:00

Hello Family,
Whoa! Time is short today on the emailing so I'm going to type as fast as I can. I'm sorry if I don't get it all in, but I've written letters so expect those soon and be looking for them :) Sorry that I didn't get a chance to write earlier. We can only write letters and email on P-day which is wednesday here. So expect that from now on.
How is everyone doing?! Thank you guys so much for all of your letters and support! I love you more than I can explain! I miss you. The MTC is great! I love it here, the spirit is so strong! We study our scriptures and how to teach and the principles of the gospel for close to ten hours a day and it still doesn't feel like long enough. Time just goes by so fast! I can already tell that my mission is going to go by too fast and I'm not going to be ready for the mission to end.
My companions are great. I have two of them: Sister Hansen is going to Georgia and Sister Campbell is going to Arizona, temple visitors center. I have yet to meet anyone in this MTC who is going to Vancouver with me. People have said that if there was one, they probably would have been my companion or at least in my district so I might be flying solo to Canada. I guess the Lord knows exactly what we need huh? I have never flown by myself and I was scared about going to the airport and now I get to do it by myself haha. It will be ok though. New experiences are good for us.
So I can officially say that out of the 5 pair of nylons/tights t hat I brought with me, I have but a run in 4 of them haha. I'm not doing well with the tights. They have a bookstore here though that I can buy stuff like that so it will be ok.
The schedule here is crazy! haha they give us 30 minutes each morning to get ready! Can you imagine me getting showered, dressed, everything in 30 minutes? neither can I. My companions and I get up a half hour early so that we can have an hour to get ready. I have come to find that companionships really are inspired of the lord and I have learned so much about myself, and about love, and about sacrifice even in the one week that I've been here. We aren't allowed to go anywhere by ourselves, we always have to be with our companions. We have to wake up at the same time and everything. It is such a neat feeling to be able to sacrifice your wants and needs for them so that they can accomplish the t hings that they want to accomplish. It's also such a great feeling when you see your sister do the same for you. I think it creates such a feeling of love. I know that the lord has blessed me with an increased amount of patience and love since I've been here in the MTC. I know that some of the things that I've been through would have really been a challenge for Mikel, but as I grow into Sister Barfuss who is trying to become more like her savior Jesus Christ and who is trying to strengthen her testimony to be able to teach to the people of the world his message of love and hope and forgiveness, that he has blessed me with the blessings that I've needed to be able to do that.
Missionary work is HARD! haha mostly, I'm just kind of unsure of myself and so it's more of a confidence issue. We as a compaionship decided to try and teach the elders in our district a lesson for the first time last Friday or so......hahaha you would have died laughing at us! We sounded like idiots!!!! I could not stop laughing and I know that sister Campbell was getting so mad at me because she was the one talking at that point in time. It wasn't her though, I' just felt so stupid! But I've been studying in preach my gospel and as I've been studying the scriptures and the things that the lord would have me study, I've felt his spirit and I've felt him recall into my mind the things that I've studied that I need to teach at that moment. In preach my gospel there is a sentence that has stuck with me since I read it. It says: " You cannot convert someone beyond the level of your own conversion" I love that and I know it's true! Since then I've been striving to increase my testimony and my faith in the savior so that I do not become the limiting factor for our investigators. I want to be able to give them every opportunity that they can to increase in love and in faith and in testimony of our savior jesus christ. I know that this gospel is true! I know that the Lord has a work for me to do in Canada and if I am obedient I will be able to see the blessings of that work in my life and the life of the investigators.
I found out that I fly out on the 3rd of February so it's coming up fast. They have even given me an approximated release date which is the 22 of June so that will be neat! I will be back right around Morgan's birthday next year probably!
I miss you all so much! But I want you to know that the Lord is sustaining me. I know that at this point in my life there is no where else that I should be but here in the MTC preparing to teach to the people of British columbia.
I'm going to send this so I can make sure I don't get kicked off before this is sent but I will continue in a minute.
I love you all so much!
Please feel free to send this to everyone. I don't have all of their emails at the moment so I'm not able to do so right now. I will next week..
I love you all. The gospel is true. You are always in my thoughts and prayers!
Please keep me in yours as well! I love you!

MTC...

2010-01-17T23:57:00.002-07:00

Our family dropped Sister Barfuss off @ the MTC on Jan. 13th. It was a difficult, yet rewarding moment for our family. We are so very proud of her for choosing to serve a mission! We know that she will have a huge impact on the Saints in Canada!! Although we will count the days until her return, we know that the Lord is with her and will bless her as she strives to be faithful and serve diligently!

Welcome to my blog!

2010-01-12T20:41:00.004-07:00

Hi Everyone,
I am getting ready to leave for an LDS mission to Vancouver Canada! I leave on January 13th!
I just wanted to thank everyone for their friendship and support! I know some of the best people in the world! I love you all and I will see you in 18 months :)

If you would like to write a sister I would LOVE to hear from any and all of you!
You can write to me at the MTC at:

Sister Mikel Johana Barfuss
MTC Mailbox # 153
CAN-VAN 0203
2005 N 900 E
Provo, UT. 84604-1793

My first Canadian Address is:

Sister Mikel Johana Barfuss
Canada, Vancouver Mission
8440 Williams Rd.
Richmond, BC V7A 1G6
Canada

My family will be updating my blog so check back often! :)
Thanks again!

Love,
Sister Barfuss