April 20, 2011 -I'll Go Where You Want Me To Go

Familia,
Hey everyone! How is everything going? Everything is going great. My district has been doing a lot better this last week. They still slack off in some areas, but it has been a BIG improvement! They are even doing better at getting up on time.

The zone is awesome! There are only 4 districts in our zone. One district that is about to leave are going to California. Then there is my district. The District below us are going to Chile and Honduras. Then there is the new district and some are going to Argentina. I think one of the Hermanas is going to the Visitors Center in LA. Everyone in our Zone is going Spanish speaking.

This past week Elder Orchard and I have taught 2 really awesome lessons to our progressive investigator, Alison. She knows the church is true but she is still stuck on the Catholic church. She keeps bringing up these doubts and questions, but we do an outstanding job at answering the things. The Spirit was there too. It was awesome! We also taught Hermano Anderson as himself. He was having a hard time so he wanted us to teach him. It was great!

Well, last night was amazing! We finally got a member of the Twelve to speak in Devo. It was Richard G. Scott. When he entered, we all stood up in silence until he sat down. Just like when the Prophet enters for General Conference. Right when he entered you could feel his power. Then when he spoke, the power grew. He said many good things. He said that we should not doubt the Lord and what he can make out of us. He also said that the Holy Ghost will not prompt us to do something that we cannot do. I really liked this. But the thing that hit me the most was him talking about doing mission calls.

Elder Scott said that he most likely made quite a few of the mission calls for the missionaries that were there. He explained that when he would make a call he would have a peaceful feeling. Then sometimes he would be uncomfortable with it, but after he would move back to it and change the call, he had that peace. He also told us that he doesn't make the mission calls. The Lord does. The Lord send us tothe places where we are needed.

Earlier I was having a hard time with the Spanish and I was wondering why I couldn't go English speaking. I thought that if I went to an English mission I would be more useful. I could help more people come unto Christ. But when I heard this, my heart was softened and I was so happy for my call to Chihuahua Mexico! This Devo was amazing and I know it touched every missionary in my district and zone.

After the devo we went back to class for our district meeting. We just sat and talked about the things that touched us during the devo. It was awesome! My whole district was crying and of course, I was too! Hermano Evans was with us for our meeting. When we were done he asked what he could do for us. He always likes to talk and has awesome true stories to share. So he told us his famous septic tank story.

So here it is...The Septic Tank Story.
When Hermano Evans was 18, his dad told him to add some pipe to the septic tank. (I guess it was overflowing nasty stuff). So he was digging at times when he didn't want to be working. It was summer and he would soon be attending BYU. Time went by and soon it was time to head off to college. He didn't finish the job. When he returned back to his dorm one day he was told that he needed to head home right then. His dad was in an airplane and they haven't heard anything about it. The plane was lost. Finally they found the airplane and it had crashed and there were no survivors. The plane was struck by lightning and lost all the dials and controls so they had to fly by sight. They ended up crashing while trying to go around the storm. Hermano Evans could only think about that dumb septic tank and how he didn't finish the job. He then compared his story to Heavenly Father and Jesus christ. Christ was sent here to do His Father's will. Even though he didn't want to do it, he still endured and completed the task. Jesus Christ got to hear from His Father that He was proud of him and that he endured. Then he related this to us as missionaries. We have been called for this job. We need to finish the job, just like the septic tank, even though we may not want to do it.

I know that Chihuahua Mexico is the place for me! I am so happy and excited to be going there! I am so glad that I was blessed to be able to hear these great talks and stories. (there are still more to come!) :)
I love you tons and I miss you a lot!
Love,
Elder Barnes