I Love my Mission

In the New Testament there is a story that is told in Mark 6:30-44
about Jesus Christ. Many people know it as the feeding of the 5
thousand, the Saviour and His apostles have been teaching people far
out in the desert and there comes a time when the apostles look around
them and ask if they should send all of the people back out to the
towns to buy bread and sustenance for themselves. When the Saviour
hears this, all that He asks of the apostles is to bring him what they
have. It happens to be just 5 loaves of bread and 2 fish, definitely
not enough to feed 5 thousand people! At least, that's what they
thought.
They give their offering to Jesus Christ and in turn He blesses it and
prays over the meager 5 loaves and 2 fish. The apostles, who each have
a basket to distribute to the people now are able to feed 5 thousand
people from the small offering they made to the Saviour. Christ was
able to take what they had and expand it into something useful to help
others.
I share that because that is how I feel about my mission. Harley
Barnes from Utah, with all of her shortcomings and imperfections was
blessed by the Saviour. My mission has taught me that it doesn't
matter what we have to give, all that matters is that we give. Christ
makes up the rest. I am so thankful for Him. I love Him so much.

I love England. I truly love this country and these people. They are
apart of who I am and I will always treasure my experiences I had. My
mission was better than I ever could have imagined, I am thankful for
my wards, my companions, and my investigators. I am so thankful for
President and Sister Stevens, they have helped me to feel the spirit
so strong and to have a clear vision of Eternity.


I have a testimony that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day
Saints is the church that was established by the Lord Jesus Christ. I
know that the power and authority of God has been restored to the
earth and I want to scream it from every rooftop! The Heavens are
open. I know that Joseph Smith was a true prophet of God and that the
Book of Mormon is indeed true. If it wasn't I would not have stayed
out here for 18 months. The Book of Mormon has helped me in powerful
and personal ways each day of my mission. I know that we have 12
modern day Apostles and a prophet on earth today named Russell M.
Nelson, he has surely been called by God. I know that our Father In
Heaven loves us tremendously and has a plan for us. I know that Jesus
Christ is our Brother, Our Friend, Our Saviour. I love Him SO much.

My mission has been the best experience of my life and nothing can
take that away from me!

See you soon!

XOXO
Sister Barnes

The Best People in the World

I have often wondered on my mission how is it that I get to teach the
BEST people on Earth? That's really how I feel. Luke was baptised and
confirmed this weekend as a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter Day Saints. It was a beautiful baptism! He shared his testimony
at it and everything. The ward is so happy and excited for him.
Serving a mission is just one giant miracle, I remember stopping Luke
in the street one of our first days in Northampton and then just one
month later, sitting in sacrament meeting and sustaining him as the
newest member of the church. He is a diamond.
It was also cool because William, my recent convert from Hayes who is
a diamond himself, came to visit us on Saturday up in Northampton. He
got to meet Luke and we had dinner with them and I honestly felt like
I was in Heaven. It was so good to catch up with William and to hear
about all of the good that he is doing. That man has progressed so
much in the Gospel and is planning to receive his endowment in June! I
just love them both SO MUCH. Two of the most amazing people I have
ever taught in one room was just too much joy!
I had a wonderful week here with Sister Moraes and Tivaganon and I
can't wait to start the next one:) I know that this Gospel is true, it
gives me strength every single day.

Love you lots!


XOXO
Sister Barnes

Here Comes the Sun

The sun has been shining in England! For once. We have been spending

every moment of the day outside, the weather has been so nice!
On Thursday we went into London for Zone conference, we drove in with
the zone leaders and we got a flat tire on the way so we had to make
a detour. It was fun to be there for my greenies' first zone
Conference and my last. One thing that really stood out to me was from
a little devotional that Elder Rees gave. He talked about how the
Saviour didn't volunteer to fulfill His role but was chosen by the
Father because God knew that Jesus was the one who could do it. I love
Jesus Christ so much. As much as I loved Him before my mission that
has expanded to AT LEAST 70 times 7. We are so blessed to have the
fullness of the everlasting Gospel in our lives!
Yesterday our investigator passed his baptismal interview!! We are so
happy for him! He just has so much faith and willingness to do what is
right. We are all so thrilled:)
That is a brief summary of the week, I love you all and hope you are
doing amazing.


 XOXO
Sister Barnes

The Heavens are Open

 This week I found myself face to face with Russell M. Nelson's kind
eyes. He took my hand in his and said, "Sister Barnes. It's nice to
meet you!" So needless to say, Sister Barnes is doing pretty good. The
England London Mission had a celestial visit from our dear prophet,
accompanied by Jeffrey R. Holland and their wives. It was good to
shake hands with Elder Holland again. He came back for round 2! Before
I even talk about the magnificent messages that they shared with us, I
just have to say one thing:
Russell M. Nelson is a prophet of God. Rarely in my life have I felt
the spirit testify to my heart so strongly. Meeting him and being able
to look into his eyes was such a spiritual experience. There is such a
bright light in his eyes! Elder Holland has the same sparkle in his
eyes. They are living, re-affirming witnesses this church is led by
Jesus Christ Himself.
It was the most amazing meeting! Sister Holland talked to us about the
power of prayer and shared her powerful witness that when we pray and
visually imagine every detail of the Saviour's face and pour out our
hearts with great energy it changes our lives. I loved her message.

Sister Nelson told us something that has changed my entire mission.
She told us that instead of praying to be led to those that are
prepared to receive the restored Gospel, to pray instead for those
whose ancestors have already accepted the Gospel and who are fervently
praying for their family member to accept the Gospel too so that they
can perform ordinances for them. We have been praying in that way all
week and it has changed the way I look at people so much. We have seen
miracles from it. People have been walking up to us (a man just barely
did his today) and saying that they have family members who have
passed on that were Mormon. Our friend we met today stopped us and
told us he remembers being a little boy and seeing his dad reading the
Book of Mormon. He never quite knew what it was and his father passed
away, he has always looked out for Mormons but never seen them until
today. Miracles like this are happening here now.
Elder Holland shared his majestic powerful witness of Jesus Christ and
our duty as missionaries.
President Nelson just got up and slammed us all with the spirit. He
talked about so many things that I could never sum up but I'll just
say that I am a better missionary now that I have heard what he had to
say to us. Seriously I have never applied counsel so quickly and seen
immediate and miraculous results. He is so wonderful!
The day after our big meeting, our investigator came to meet with us
and told us he wanted to be a member. Um ok! It was so awesome. We
were also able to bring a lot of really amazing people to church this
week, the ward was so welcoming and they loved the service! It has
been a heavenly week.


Sending all my love!

XOXO
Sister Barnes

Mama Barnes

Hahaha oh I am laughing so hard at this subject line. Anyways. This
week has been challenging and super rewarding. I received my new
daughter (this sounds so weird, I know) she is from Thailand and her
name is Sister Tivaganon and she is SO tiny and has the cutest Asian
accent ever. Like I die every day, these two are so cute. They don't
speak very much English and have just barely learned in the MTC and so
it is so funny for all of us to communicate together. They are so
cute. I just can't get over how cute they are. I feel like a
legitimate mother. I love seeing them work every day, they go all in
and just try their best and when they don't know something they both
just look at me. . . It's just adorable and so fun!
We had a pretty hard week but so many good things happened as well.
Our investigators progressing towards baptism are doing incredible! I
am so thankful for that! We have some really good investigators in
Northampton right now. Yesterday one of them couldn't make it to
church for the 1st time because he got called into work early, as soon
as he got off he sent us a text saying that he still really wanted to
come see the church and so he came on the bus and walked forever with
us so that we could give him a chapel tour. And as we were street
contacting this week it was pretty rocky because a lot of our
appointments fell through so we basically just lived on the streets,
during one of our finding sessions we ran into one of our
investigators progressing towards baptism, and she came up and hugged
us and told us her phone had broke! (I could literally hear Angels
singing hallelujah. . . .I had been so worried about her) And she was
standing outside of a phone repair shop and so that's just how you
know it's real. She was so happy to see us! Oh it was so good. We are
excited to see her his week.
I have attached photos of my two foreign hooligans so you can admire
them like I do! Have an awesome week!

I love you!

XOXO
Sister Barnes

He is Risen!

Our 2nd week in Northampton was one for the books! We had the biggest
miracle of my life. We were able to extend some baptismal dates this
week and our investigators are SO awesome. Sister Moraes extended her
first baptismal date on Tuesday to the coolest guy ever, he is now
preparing for baptism on April 28th and is loving the Gospel!! Also on
Tuesday we had a random call from an old investigator in the phone, he
just said "hey, I'm at the library, want to meet?" And so we rushed to
the library and we met with this guy from Moldova and he brought his
wife. They have met missionaries before in Moldova and knew all about
General Conference, Joseph Smith, missionary English class, and sports
night! They gave us their address and we went to visit them the next
day. We taught them about the Restoration and at the end, C, the wife,
gets up and shows us a video she found on the website we gave her. It
was the Hope of God's Light! Such a powerful video, and she loved it
so much! We then went into the next room and they had prepared a
traditional Moldovan meal for us. It was the sweetest thing ever. Also
since she was working morning, C was able to come to Bishop's and
watch General Conference with us! It has been so amazing to teach
them. I am loving it here!
General conference was the most amazing experience. I can't even
gather my thoughts about it because it was that incredible. I sure
love Russell M. Nelson, I know that he is a prophet of God.

Transfer news, there will be a new addition to the party, President
has asked that in addition to Sister Moraes, I also train a new sister
from Thailand. Yay for double training! We are all so excited!

XOXO
Sister Barnes

I Heart Northampton

Wow sometimes I promise, I feel like I am living the dream. The
missionary life dream. Our new area, Northampton is gorgeous. I
thought that it would be hard to adjust from being in London, but it
is so posh here. It's so nice!! And my new companion is so amazing.
Sister Moraes (pronounced like More eyes:) She is from the North of
Brazil (just like my other daughter!) We understand each other 50% of
the time. I love being with language missionaries, the spirit always
surrounds them so strong and it helps so much to be able to focus on
what is really important in missionary work and that is the spirit.
Basically we just Proselyte around all these posh streets and let the
spirit guide. I've never had more fun in my life! The members here are
incredible and gave us a huge, warm welcome. They are excited to have
sisters back in the area.
Our first day here, as we were speaking with people we found a girl
that came and sat right down in the library with us and had a lesson
right then and there. The next day, we had interviews in Bedford and
so we had a Skype lesson with her and she accepted a date to be
baptised! We also met a wonderful guy, S, this week who has been a
huge blessing! He gave us chocolate when we met him and was so excited
to come to church. He came yesterday and absolutely loved it! I was so
humbled and grateful for these miracles.
The work is going well here and I am super excited to continue all of
these good things in Northampton. I know that there are so many
blessings that Heavenly Father is just waiting to give us, all we need
to do is to simply ask. I am so thankful for his truth and I am
thankful to be a missionary!


Christ has no hands but our hands
To do His work today
He has no feet but our feet
To lead men in His way
He has no tongue but our tongues
To tell men how He died
He has no help but our help
To lead men to His side

-author unknown

XOXO

Sister Barnes

New Adventures

Greeting my loves! This week was my last in Enfield and I will be
receiving my new greenie in the morning and traveling out to the
boonies of Northampton. Goodbye London:) Sister Pail and I are
spending the day in a place called Camden Town in central London, it's
a super colorful and fun place, there are pictures below. And also
pictures our ward mission leader in Colchester sent (they came and
surprised us with their cute girls this week) and also a sneak peak of
our finding (in the SNOW again! But we won't talk about it. . .)
There were many miracles in Enfield this week, we met a guy on the
street that wouldn't set up a return appointment with us but ended up
being super solid and coming to church. He is Jamaican and ended up
totally bonding with our Caribbean bishop and all the rest of the
amazing members. He told me then minute he walked in that he would
stay for an hour ONLY. But he ended up staying for all 3 hours:) I
guess that's just what happens when you find the true church.
My testimony was really strengthened this week of setting goals and
involving the Lord in achieving them. Heavenly Father is always here
willing to help us and work with us. It's something that I never
understand before but it has truly changed my mission and my life. I
love the Gospel of Jesus Christ with all of my heart.


Have a wonderful week!!

XOXOSister Barnes

Welcome Spring!

Hello friends and family! This week we were visited by Elder Paul V.
Johnson, General Authority Seventy and the Area President of Europe
and he shared so much with us. I felt so inspired and instructed on
how I can be an even better missionary. The spirit was so strong. One
of my favorite things that he talked about was how in the Olympics
there is a podium, and only those that won gold, silver, or bronze get
to stand on the podium because there is only room for 3 people. It
doesn't matter if someone performed the better than they ever have in
their life, if they are not the best, there is absolutely no room for
them on the podium and they don't get a metal. He compared this to how
sometimes we feel this way in the church, we feel like if we aren't
the best or if we don't have that one calling or if someone's
testimony is more progressed than our own than we will not get to
stand on the podium and get a metal. When in reality, there is no one
that can knock us out of getting into the Celestial Kingdom. If
someone does better, if they fulfill a calling, if they progress in
their testimony, that has nothing to do with you or your salvation.
There is room for everyone in the Celestial Kingdom. The only person
that stops you from going there is yourself. And the person that makes
it all possible is our Savior Jesus Christ. I just love Him so much.
Being His Representative out here in England is truly the best thing I
have ever done or will ever do in my life, I can't say it enough!!
It has warmed up and feels a lot like spring!:) We extended so many
baptismal dates this week to some amazing people. It was really
fulfilling. We are excited for them! We also were able to participate
in Stake sports day! It was THE biggest treat for me because I got to
be reunited with all of my friends from Watford and Hayes. It was
awesome. Such an epic reunion. Members over here just love with all of
their hearts, I was so happy that they all remembered me so well from
serving there a year ago. And there were some recent converts as well
that were SO good to see. All day I would hear, "Hey it's Sista
Bahhhns!!!" (Now I almost don't even respond when someone says my name
and it's not with an English accent because it sounds so foreign when
it is said differently) It was all around a wonderful week and I am so
thankful for my lovely companion Sister Pail and all of the work we
have been able to do here in Enfield! We are living in a 4 man flat
and so we have 2 other Brazilian sisters with us and it is the
funniest thing ever!

Wishing you a joy filled week!

XOXO
Sister Barnes

The Cold Never Bothered Me Anyway

Sorry for being so negligent, I just have really had no time!
Transfers came and although I wasn't expecting it President told me
that he had a special assignment for me. . . It was the most intense
transfer call of my life, we were with our Bishop and he was so
enthralled listening to it haha! But I will be training a new
missionary from Brazil who is learning English, she comes into the
mission in 3 weeks, so for now I am with Sister Pail (from Austria and
from my MTC group!) in Enfield. In 3 weeks I will go open up a new
area in Northampton with my greenie. Pretty crazy stuff! So this week
I said goodbye to Sister De France and all of the amazing families and
people in Colchester and headed to London again!
I have LOVED this week in Enfield. It feels so good to be back in
London with the awesome bus system and a super African ward.  It
stormed really hard this week, there was actual snow in England and a
lot of it! Apparently we got some cold air front from Russia or
something that hit us, they called the storm "beast from the east". To
be very honest, it was the coldest I have ever been in my entire life.
It was FREEZING! Heavenly Father blessed us so much and we were still
able to find people that were willing to talk with us when we went
finding. That says a lot because the world shuts down for English
people when it snows, they really hate it and don't know what to do.
This week there were so many miracles, I think one of the biggest ones
was when we met a guy at a bus stop who basically came up to us and
asked us what we were doing. We had like 5 seconds to talk to him
because our bus came right at that exact moment (thanks satan!) so we
quickly got his number. And then he came to church and brought his
brother!!!!!!! They are both super good and they loved the service, we
are seeing them again this week! Also in the midst of "beast from the
east" we met this other guy and it felt like we literally had to force
him to talk with us. But, after church yesterday he came for a lesson
and is now progressing towards baptism. Miracles have not ceased my
friends!

Sending my love from across the pond!

XOXOSister Barnes

Hard Work Pays Off

You can't tell by the pictures, but this week Sister De France and I
worked harder than I have ever worked in my life. And it paid off so
much. I'm so thankful for the amazing people that we were able to
find! And we extended new baptismal dates to someone every single day
this week! The Lord has really blessed the efforts that we've made.
I don't have much time to write but I just want to quickly bear my
testimony that I know that when we put in work to our prayers, our
efforts are blessed. The quote "Pray as if everything depends on your
Heavenly Father, work as if everything depends on you" is TRUE. I am
so thankful to be a missionary. I love it with all of my heart. We
were able to spend some time on the beach today in Clayton-on-sea and
it was super fun!

Happy Valentines Day!
XOXO
Sister Barnes