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Week at a Glance‏
From:
Stefanie Nicole Barker (stefanie.barker@myldsmail.net)
Sent:
Mon 2/08/10 4:16 PM
To:
yungyul@hotmail.com
Hi Momma,

I love getting letters from you, so don't worry. I have the same problem; I never really know what to write, but I hope that each letter lets the recipient know how much I care. I know you love me and so don't worry about length.

I'm doing something a little different this week. Here's a peek of what I did each day this past week:

Monday
Today was our P-Day, and everyone was so shocked I had never been to Cosco before so my companions and the two spanish elders in our district took me. Everything is so big! I don't think I'll have to buy string cheese for the rest of my mission.

Tuesday
We gave a church tour to one of our investigators who seems absolutely golden! He asked so many questions, now I know how excited the missionaries who taught me must've been. I love relating the first vision, it's just such a pure humble testimony of Joseph Smith, and I was able to do that for this tour. Then we went on splits and my two companions went tracting in "The Arena" (so named because the first time we pulled up to tract there, we thought we saw Jehovah's Witnesses knocking doors too), and I went with one of the members in our Spanish branch. It's the branch president's wife, and she served her mission in Mexico City and she is FEARLESS. She could convey to anyone how important our message is, and the first man we spoke with I just tried to smile really big so he would think I really am as nice and smart as she was telling him I was. After that I asked her for advice on street contacting, and I gained a new perspective. Now I love it and it's bleeding into our companionship!

Wednesday
I taught about "hope" in district meeting today, about how it is the anchor of our souls when discouragement comes and how it's solid because of our faith in Christ. Later that afternoon during tracting I had the biggest test of hope. One man literally took my pass-along-card for the Book of Mormon, tossed it in my face and said, "I don't want you coming back around again!" Within 10 seconds a man we had met the day before stopped us as we approached him and said "I attend another church, thank you." And the rejection just kept coming. I refused to be a hypocrite though, and I prayed and just tried my best to keep myself mentally focused and strong, and not give into discouragement. But...that night we had an AWESOME lesson on the Sabbath Day to an investigator who is progressing in every sense except she hasn't attended church yet. The lesson was just full of feelings of joy and light, and at the end she expressed her earnest desire to attend church, she just wished there was a way for her to get Sundays off. I fasted for that this past Fast Sunday, so I'll keep everyone updated.

Thursday
We have this hilarious investigator with three teenage boys. We were kind of unsure about how a lesson would go with them, since, well, they're teenagers, and you know how they are. But they asked SO many questions (ok some not so serious, but it's alright) and seem really interested in religion in general. The 14 year old grabbed us for hugs at the end. We were just like, "Um...awkward..."

Friday
We taught our Romanian friend. He told us Joseph Smith was not a prophet. Of all the English words he knows, why does he have to use "false" with us? Aah we had so many other amazing appointments but this e-mail is getting really long...

Saturday
Went to a baptism for the Spanish elders. There is something really tender about those moments when baptizer and baptizee are walking down into the font together. I just want those I teach. How do I make sure I convey how important this progression is? It means everything.

Sunday
We had an investigator fall out of the sky to attend church with us today. We hit it off really well, and she asked her member boyfriend if she and I could hang out with her sometime when I'm not busy.

I sent out photo postcards last week, and I hope everyone is receiving them. I'm not sure how all those hold up in the mail, but they seemed really cute. Also, I really do try to write everyone at least once in a while, but I promise things are busy on P-Day with studies and shopping and cleaning! I love you all though and I truly appreciate letters, even though it may take a while to write back. K well I'd better go. I love you a lot mom.

Love,
Stefanie

Week at a Glance‏

From:	Stefanie Nicole Barker (stefanie.barker@myldsmail.net)
Sent:	Mon 2/08/10 4:16 PM
To:	yungyul@hotmail.com

Hi Momma,

I love getting letters from you, so don't worry. I have the same problem; I never really know what to write, but I hope that each letter lets the recipient know how much I care. I know you love me and so don't worry about length.

I'm doing something a little different this week. Here's a peek of what I did each day this past week:

Monday

Today was our P-Day, and everyone was so shocked I had never been to Cosco before so my companions and the two spanish elders in our district took me. Everything is so big! I don't think I'll have to buy string cheese for the rest of my mission.

Tuesday

We gave a church tour to one of our investigators who seems absolutely golden! He asked so many questions, now I know how excited the missionaries who taught me must've been. I love relating the first vision, it's just such a pure humble testimony of Joseph Smith, and I was able to do that for this tour. Then we went on splits and my two companions went tracting in "The Arena" (so named because the first time we pulled up to tract there, we thought we saw Jehovah's Witnesses knocking doors too), and I went with one of the members in our Spanish branch. It's the branch president's wife, and she served her mission in Mexico City and she is FEARLESS. She could convey to anyone how important our message is, and the first man we spoke with I just tried to smile really big so he would think I really am as nice and smart as she was telling him I was. After that I asked her for advice on street contacting, and I gained a new perspective. Now I love it and it's bleeding into our companionship!

Wednesday

I taught about "hope" in district meeting today, about how it is the anchor of our souls when discouragement comes and how it's solid because of our faith in Christ. Later that afternoon during tracting I had the biggest test of hope. One man literally took my pass-along-card for the Book of Mormon, tossed it in my face and said, "I don't want you coming back around again!" Within 10 seconds a man we had met the day before stopped us as we approached him and said "I attend another church, thank you." And the rejection just kept coming. I refused to be a hypocrite though, and I prayed and just tried my best to keep myself mentally focused and strong, and not give into discouragement. But...that night we had an AWESOME lesson on the Sabbath Day to an investigator who is progressing in every sense except she hasn't attended church yet. The lesson was just full of feelings of joy and light, and at the end she expressed her earnest desire to attend church, she just wished there was a way for her to get Sundays off. I fasted for that this past Fast Sunday, so I'll keep everyone updated.

Thursday

We have this hilarious investigator with three teenage boys. We were kind of unsure about how a lesson would go with them, since, well, they're teenagers, and you know how they are. But they asked SO many questions (ok some not so serious, but it's alright) and seem really interested in religion in general. The 14 year old grabbed us for hugs at the end. We were just like, "Um...awkward..."

Friday

We taught our Romanian friend. He told us Joseph Smith was not a prophet. Of all the English words he knows, why does he have to use "false" with us? Aah we had so many other amazing appointments but this e-mail is getting really long...

Saturday

Went to a baptism for the Spanish elders. There is something really tender about those moments when baptizer and baptizee are walking down into the font together. I just want those I teach. How do I make sure I convey how important this progression is? It means everything.

Sunday

We had an investigator fall out of the sky to attend church with us today. We hit it off really well, and she asked her member boyfriend if she and I could hang out with her sometime when I'm not busy.

I sent out photo postcards last week, and I hope everyone is receiving them. I'm not sure how all those hold up in the mail, but they seemed really cute. Also, I really do try to write everyone at least once in a while, but I promise things are busy on P-Day with studies and shopping and cleaning! I love you all though and I truly appreciate letters, even though it may take a while to write back. K well I'd better go. I love you a lot mom.

Love,

Stefanie

Three's Company‏
From: Stefanie Nicole Barker (stefanie.barker@myldsmail.net)
Sent: Mon 2/01/10 11:24 AM
To: yungyul@hotmail.com

Hi Momma,

I do get all of your replies, and I received your letter in the mail too. But you never tell me about work! I want to hear about how things are going too, and what you've been up to. Are you still taking exercise classes at the college and walking with Ms. Jane? Please tell all the ladies I say hello :) Sometimes I don't get a chance on Pday to write everyone because we still have so much to do, but I really am grateful for everyone's support, please know that.

I'm not sure if I told you last week, but I spoke in Sacrament meeting in my Spanish branch! All six of us (2 sisters and 4 elders) spoke on missionary work. Now I wish I hadn't had used my notes, but I'll just remember that for next time I speak, I suppose. I bore my testimony on when we participate in missionary work we are more fully disciples of Christ, and so we more fully qualify for charity, which is bestowed upon all of his true followers. I've been able to increase in my ability to love and to feel love, so I really enjoyed speaking. I wasn't nervous, but I was shivering because the chapel was FREEZING so everyone probably thought I was terrified to speak.

We have a new hermana! I love her already. She loves to run, eat salad, go to museums and look at art, smile really big when she bears her testimony, and work hard. I think we are going to be friends :) Also, my trainer is letting me teach now that I've been here for 6 weeks, so I love it!

Haha, ok so we met this lady the other day that began to tell us this vision she had about being taken up to a large white marble building, where everyone was bowing and had three eyes and noone spoke and a floating book with wings and she was "feeling the love" and then, asked us, "Are you feeling it too?" There was so much more but I'm running out of time, but I had to bend over and pretend to fix my shoe so she wouldn't see my face. Once we got in the car I just busted up laughing. There is something about being a missionary that makes people want to share their spiritual experiences with you, and I have too low of a laugh tolerance to take them right now.

Being on a mission though, has open up my eyes to how I need to be as a person. That scripture is real when it says that "faith, hope, charity and love qualify him for the work," because I need those attributes to be successful. Ok well I must go, but I love you a lot. I love hearing from you :)

Love,

Stefanie

Apparently I give massages...‏
From: Stefanie Nicole Barker (stefanie.barker@myldsmail.net)
You may not know this sender.Mark as safe|Mark as junk
Sent: Mon 1/25/10 6:45 PM
To: yungyul@hotmail.com

Momma!

K so this week I had real gorditas. I don't know what they make at Taco Bell, but those are not gorditas...I think I like these more than tamales, even. We need to have a girls' night and I'll teach you how to make all this yummy food. Oh! And Nick wrote me too! He is doing really well, but he's so busy he said. He told me he hasn't taken a real shower in 2 weeks, and so he apologized if the paper was 'musty.' Oh, and would you please send me Uncle Steve's address? I don't have it.

This week was probably the most depressing week of tracting I've had yet. I felt like I was crawling, emotionally speaking, on the ground from house to house. One man yelled at me, Mom. Like, yelled. I was thinking "Who on earth would yell at this face?" But! It was the best week for teaching! We are really focusing on teaching the restoration and inviting others to read and pray about the Book of Mormon, and when I was relating Joseph Smith's first vision (my companion told me later) a light broke through from the rainy sky through the window and beamed on our faces. That's what gets people to make commitments. The message of the restoration and the light (figuratively and literally, now :) ) it brings into peoples' homes.

And...apparently I speak Romanian now, because we're teaching this cute little old Romanian man (who ONLY speaks Romanian!) that we found in the park. It's a little similar to Spanish, but we ordered a Romanian Book of Mormon from the mission office, and I have my gospel art book, so it should be good :)

Sorry this is so short, but I don't have a lot of time today.
Tracting Treasure:
My district leader is an English elder, and each time he and his companion tract into a Spanish-speaker, he uses his own home-made, hand-scripted approach: "Podemos enviar a las misioneras quien hablan espanol y pueden dar a usted un mesaje" which is supposed to translate as "We can send sister missionaries who speak Spanish and can give you a message," only he mixed up "message" with "massage." When we found out what he was saying we laughed so hard. He replied "I wondered why I kept getting strange looks," and I said, "I was wondering why we get so many referrals from you."

Love,

Stefanie

|



Let me take your cookies for you...‏
From: Stefanie Barker (stefaniebarker@myldsmail.net)
Sent: Mon 1/18/10 11:16 AM
To: yungyul@hotmail.com

Momma!!!! I loved the bag! It's adorable! They can't forward online orders, etc-type mail to me from the office, so the boxes were waiting for me when I went in for interviews with the mission president last Wednesday! Muchas gracias, Momma! I've been receiving much-needed help in making me cute lately - packages from home with cute accessories, hand-me-down clothes from other missionaries, and make up tips from my companion - she's helping me look older :) It's actually raining here. I was curled up on a lobby sofa drinking herbal gingerbread spice tea while my companion was e-mailing. But don't get the wrong impression, a mission is anything but relaxing. Every morning my body feels like one of those giant cactuses fell on me. But honestly, I'd rather feel like that than feel that I didn't work enough that day. I'm still trying to stay focused throughout the day on my investigators, and to give the Lord my best the whole day instead of to just be out of the apartment the whole day. I thought I knew what it meant to serve God and others before my mission, but I have never experienced this, uplift and purpose that comes from being set apart to serve with all my heart, might, mind, and strength. I am exhausted and discouraged at times even, but I still feel strong. I hope that makes sense... but... ...Mom, I seriously wonder if I'll ever be the kind of missionary I'm supposed to be. Some days I don't feel like I know what I'm doing. Like I'm just floating. I'm trying really hard, and we have our goals and our filled agenda for the day, but I just don't know that I'm doing everything as well or as effectively as I could be. So maybe floating isn't the right way of saying it. Maybe I feel more like I'm making strokes in a wave pool. I study the language and pray for help, but I feel like the people I'm teaching and the members of the branch just look at me like I'm completely unintelligent. I feel like they don't think I understand what's going on, and to be honest, a lot of times, I don't understand the whole conversation, but my goodness they don't have to ask me if I did or not. And I'm 3 1/2 months out, and I still stumble at people's doors trying to explain the Book of Mormon in Spanish? Ok, I'm sure you didn't want to get a downer letter from your daughter, so I'll stop there. And I assure you I'm not discouraged all the time. But...I really can't end on a happy note I'm sorry because we need to go. But I love you lots, and I hope everything is going well. I love getting letters from you too! I'll write again next week, and thank you again for doing some shopping at Bath and Body WOrks for me :) Tracting Treasure of the Week (this one was on me):To a Mexican woman who just told us her brother-in-law is dying of cancer, I THOUGHT I offered to bring cookies, but I actually asked if I could take her cookies. Love, Stefanie

Momma! It was good to hear from you! Aah, and you didn't have to do any shopping at Bath and Body Works for me, but...I am looking forward to the package :) Time is flying by! I had a dream last night that my mission had ended, and I was crying because I missed it so much (and because my Spanish was somewhat, um, less-than-fluent...). I keep having similar dreams. But I really do feel like the Lord is pleased with my efforts each day, which is a good feeling. So for a while I was like, "Everyone talks about how a mission is one the most difficult things you ever do, but this is great. I'm just happy all the time because I've had all these experiences with meeting people who are SO prepared to hear the message of the restoration, I eat yummy Mexican food from members endowed with fantastic senses of humor, and I love my companion - what is so hard?" But...then Saturday happened. Practically all our appointments canceled, and this one investigator hung up the phone on me. And you don't understand Mom, this wasn't just any investigator, he was so ready to hear and accept our message: at the grocery store I kept feeling like I should go talk to him and we kept crossing paths, so finally I was the super creepy missionary and walked up to his truck window to talk to him. But HE started talking to ME immediately, and the highlights of the conversation were him saying things like, "I've just had a lot of things happen in my life lately, and I want to believe in something" and "Oh hey where's y'alls church, and what time does it start?" My mouth was permanently open during the whole conversation. He was golden. And we gave him a church tour a few days later and he said he could really relate to Joseph Smith wanting to know what church was true, and Joseph's subsequent to decision to ask of God. He committed to come to Church on Sunday, and that's the last we heard from him, well, except of course for the "Hello? - [click]" on Saturday. I thought it hurt when a guy wasn't interested in me anymore, but it was seriously nothing compared to that.But...during knocking doors yesterday was so good. I serve in a Spanish and also and English ward, and my companion and I hate tracting into white people because they're, well, less than considerate. We ususally just say, "Oh, um...we cover a Spanish congregation...do you know any of your neighbors who speak Spanish?..." But on the way to church that morning I was thinking, "You know, Abinidai didn't think 'Hmm...Alma over there looks like he'll be nice and receive my message. I'll just go over and talk to him, and leave that old King Noah alone.' No! He taught boldly, because he was called to do so, and he gave up his life for it. I think I can take a few 'I have my religion thanks [slam!]' (I'm really developing a dis-affinity towards my own kind, I must admit...)." And so that day we took a different approach, and taught at every door, not sparing race, and we found this great nice man who is letting us come back. I love this. Tracting Treasure of the Week (you get two this week!): "You look like you're about in the Seventh Grade."and"Is that your mom?" (referring to my companion...who is only 24) Yay! I love you! Talk to you soon! The pictures are in an area with no doors (what were we supposed to do???) and just a picture of me and my companion. Love, Hermana Barker NOTICE: This email message is for the sole use of the intended recipient(s) and may contain confidential and privileged information. Any unauthorized review, use, disclosure or distribution is prohibited. If you are not the intended recipient, please contact the sender by reply email and destroy all copies of the original message.

Feliz Ano‏
From:
Stefanie Barker (stefaniebarker@myldsmail.net)
Sent:
Mon 1/04/10 1:22 PM
To:
yungyul@hotmail.com
Momma, Aah! I forgot to bring my camera to the computer today, but I'll remember next week! I haven't heard from you in a while, are you still alive? I bet things are way busy in the office with all the new students though. If you see Kalyn, please tell her I said 'hello' :) Aah! I have so many inspired experiences but I'll just share this one! So, we have been teaching a woman with an adorable little family, and I guess the sisters had been thinking she wasn't interested anymore because she wasn't coming to church. But she has to work on Sunday mornings, and she always reads. I was praying to know what to do, telling Heavenly Father basically what had been told to me: "Heavenly Father, should we keep teaching her? She doesn't seem to be interested...she's not keeping commitments..." And then there was this very clear, humbling understanding that made it clear that she WAS keeping her commitments - she always read - she just hadn't come to church yet, and that it was MY responsibilty to teach her WHY it's important to come to church, so that she will find a way to come to church. I realized we hadn't even taught her the importance of church and baptism. So we felt we should teach her lesson 3, and we brought Lina, a recently baptized member who shared her testimony of how baptism had changed so much about her life. There was this new interest and light in her eyes, and at the end of the lesson she said, "I don't know how to say this..." I was thinking 'Oh please don't tell us to not come back...' and she said "I think I want to be baptized. But I want to learn more, and I want my husband to learn and be baptized too." I almost fell over. Yay!!! And then I told her we wanted that she had these blessings in her life, and asked her to pray for an opportunity to come to church, like maybe her restaurant would be closed one morning...ok but I actually accidently said "opened" instead of closed, but I hope she understood... K well I have to go, but I love you Mom. Oh, and congrats to Stephen and Rachel and to Cody on your engagements!!!!! April wrote me and I was so excited for y'all! I want an announcement! This Week's Tracting TreasureAfter expressing at the door how beautiful the Spanish language was, a shirtless young adult from Mexico with capped teeth responded with "You are more beautiful than the Spanish language." The best part was that although I didn't know what he said (until my companion translated), I felt the awkward turtle feeling, which surpasses language barriers. Best, Hermana Barker