March 30, 2015- "The aftermath of Bambi"

Today we moved a piano. It is the primary reason I am on so much later than normal. So yeah, that was fun.

This past week has been crazy and intense with all that went on. First off, the weather was remarkably kind to us. Usually when an Elder is forced onto walk week for any reason Mother Nature tries to add insult to injury by making it as wet as possible. The plus side to that though is you can hear all of the frogs going crazy just outside of your house. Apparently they like the moisture or something like that! But yeah, it was up in the 70's all week, with the one exception where it was raining lightly. Super nice for us as more people are out and about.

HeLives.mormon.org --> Awesome Easter Message. Check it out and send it on to all your friends!

On Monday we were able to email over at the Cockrum's house and spend some time with them. It was nice to be a (somewhat) normal human being again and just get to geek out a little bit playing some board games with the Ward Mission Leader and his family. Afterward we had supper at Sister Gates's home with a FHE afterward. It was an interesting experience, more so because we had A*** there with us too.

Tuesday was our District Meeting, which was super awesome. We set goals for this upcoming month, and then set specific steps and goals to help us reach those "master goals". Brother Sigler was kind enough to help us out in getting down there and also took us out to eat afterward at Western Sizzlin', a steakhouse/buffet place In Russelville. It was sooooo good, and I enjoyed myself a little bit too much; by the time we made it back home my stomach and head were not happy with me. I think it started somewhere around plate three when I went back for my second helping of chicken legs and blackberry cobbler, but I'm not entirely sure about that. It could have also been the mashed potatoes and gravy or even half-dozen rolls I ate. Again, just a hypothesis, but it could have been those too. (totally worth it)

WHile we were in Russelville we also stopped by and got a Spanish copy of the Book of Mormon from the Spanish set there. (Random cool side tangent, one of the two elders was a student of some sort a few years back at Weber High. We flipped out a little bit when we made that connection.) We had met a guy named J***a while ago in Morrilton and he wanted a copy of the BoM that was in Spanish. We were happy to oblige him

​. 

Wednesday was crazy in that we visited so many people, but out of about 30 people we tried only 2 were home. To make it even better we had a member with us that afternoon, a guy named Troy who is preparing to serve his own mission once he is able. Yeah, great impressions..... #RealMissionaryWork. That evening we taught the Isiah chapters of the Book of Mormon, and that was really fun. 

Thursday we met a really awesome family on our way to go and see A***. Because of where we live in relation to the rest of the town it takes us about an hour of walking just to get to a point where we can easily move from one person's house to the next. Because of this we really don't see it a big deal to spend a few minutes to go out of our way to go and knock on a seemingly random door. This is how we met V*** and L***. We had an awesome lesson with them about our purpose as missionaries (to bring everyone to Christ) and how the scriptures, particularly the Book of Mormon, helps with that purpose. We have as yet been unable to set a return appointment due to their crazy schedules (L*** is a church singer working on getting a CD published!) but, just as he promised us he would, he gave us a call on Sunday to try and set something up with us. We will be getting in contact with him hopefully tomorrow again. 

We also saw A***that day, and talked a little bit about smoking. It was interesting in that before we had gone over there the plan was to go through the Missionary Stop-Smoking program to help them get ready both for her baptism and also for her son coming home from the military (he got diagnosed with asthma. ugh...). Before we went over there, however, the Spirit told me that this wasn't what she needed at the time, that she had to be truly ready to make that change in her life first, and it wasn't something that we could just do for her - she has to ask. I didn't like that idea very much, but I have found that arguing with God is an even worse idea, so I went with it. She will stop when she is ready to stop, and we will be there to help her once she gets to that point.

After our Weekly Planning on Friday we got to try and see a lot of very nice people and got rejected by a lot of other people. It was just one of those kinda days, the ones that help you repeat the mantra "At least the Church is True" over and over to yourself. If there ever is a testimony builder, it is days like those where you run face first into a brick wall, but then ask a passing angel to give you a bit of a lift over it so you can keep on going being awesome. Angels are pretty chill like that. The Passing Angel in this case was an older man I'll call Mr. Young

​. He is a minister at his own small baptist church here in Morrilton, and has been doing so for many years.

The thing that makes him so cool is that even though he was a preacher at another church he was still willing to stand and talk with us for a short while. We talked a bit about the differences between his church and ours, and some of the ways that we are helping others get ready for Christ's Second Coming and keep our families strong. It was a really good conversation. Before we left I reached into my bag and pulled out a Restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ pamphlet (I usually carry about 6 with me at all times) and gave it to him with a simple invitation to read it so he could know more fully what it is that we believe. Of course, the end goal is that he will feel the Spirit and want to talk to us again, resulting in baptism, but even if that does not happen he is in a position where he can help dispel some of the falsehoods that are preached in some churches about our faith. I honestly doubt very much that we will every be able to see him and teach him again, but I know that the Lord leads us to specific people every day so that we can be a good influence in their life and bring about some sort of eternal Good.

Saturday was a lot like Wednesday, complete with a member being with us. Perhaps the highlight was a visit with a guy named Mr. H***. He's going in for an operation relatively soon, which means we most likely won't see him again for some time. We've been over there several times to visit with him and to help him progress towards Christ and the Salvation He offers, but he just can't get past the fact that Christ would ever speak to anyone outside of Jerusalem, or that said person would have the audacity to write down what Christ said to them. I dunno why this is such a hard thing to believe, but I do know part of it has to do with the condition of the heart. The Pharisees and Sadducees of the New Testament knew more scripture than anyone save Christ himself, but that didn't help them any in believing what Christ was trying to tell them. However, look at the power and effect that Christ's words had on a few simple fisherman. The difference between the two, other than their scriptural knowledge? How soft their hearts were. It does not take a scriptorian to be close to God; it just takes a heart willing to recognize the truth when it is heard.

Sunday we met a woman named S***. She has been going through a really rough time lately, and is working on getting her kids back after being in jail for a short time. While she was in there she attended a daily bible study and came to have a faith in Christ that she didn't have before. When we went over there yesterday and met her for the first time we introduced the Book of Mormon to her and just just soaked it all up like a sponge. She loved the idea that there is more of Christ's word that she can read, and said she can't wait for us to come back again. It is people like her that make everything we do worth it.

Then we get to today, where I am frantically typing as fast as I can to get this done before curfew. The piano made things fun (sorry Mom, no pics this time), as was the email service being down globally for missionaries earlier today. But all is better now!

I hope your day/week/other was just absolutely fantastic, and look forward to hearing from you again! Thanks to all those who take the time to write your missionaries; even just a simple conversation with your sister can mean the world on a day that otherwise was just quite painful.

Carpe Diem! Seize the Day!

~Elder Barker

March 23, 2015 - "Bambi caught air!"

This is what happens when you hit a yearling going 55 mph! Nobody was hurt, but sadly, Bambi didn't make it..... She caught at least a solid second of air time!

Pretty awesome stuff, right? This was by far one of the most exciting thing that has happened to me so far. Yes, it was fun running off the road into a ditch last year (if "fun is the right word for it"), but this was me hitting a deer it doesnt usually happen every day. Mozt people are also glad for that fact. 

Last monday we started off at Sister Gates's home with brother Stover to have FHE with them. We had a really good meal of some sort of caggabe and chicken stew and finished it off with a good helping of getting my butt kicked in basket ball.

Tuesday we were able to go and talk with two people, A*** and Sister M*** Sister M*** has been really having a hard time with her testimony, but I was able to see firsthand again how awesome it is to have a member with you when you go teacing. We were with a member of the stake presidency and the power of that man's testimony and knowledge od the scriptures was truly incredible and I know that the Spirit would not have been there nearly as strong had we been there just by ourself. She was able to come to church again yesterday.  When we were with A*** we had a great discussion all about the Word of Wisdom and the blessings God gives us when we keep all of his commandments. 

Wednesday we were able to go to the Zone Meeting down in Conway. Apparently we are supposed to get iPads in May. I dunno, I am still just a little bit skeptical because we have been hearing that they will be coming for the past at least three years. But perhaps they really will be coming now. Maybe. After the meeting with all of the excitement that it had we drove home in the car we had just barely gotten at the end of the meeting, simply enjoying the feeling of not having to walk everywhere anymore. we enjoyed our newfound freedom by driving to an investigator we havent seen in a few weeks due to home far he lives away from us. We then drove up to Springfield, a small town with a whopping 500 people in it, where our dinner appointment was. The meal was wonderful and we left there with some homebaked bread. and then we hit the deer.....  Yeah..... Back to two more weeks of full walking! Whoot!

Thursday we walked around talking to people about getting our car fixed. That was pretty much it.

Friday we saw R***and A*** again, and they were both really good appointments. Both of them came to church yesterday.

Running out of time, somI will just say that Saturday was awesome and we takid to a bindh of. Really wonderful people about the gospel. Sunday was more of the same, just livigng up the life of a missionary. It involved me teying to use my limited Spanish to talk with a man who spoke only limited English. It was great! I also was told in the most polite manner i have ever experinced that I was an anti-christ. 

Love you all, and I really hope things arw going well for you. Keep things exciting, but always remember that deer do not like to fly!

Cheers!

~Elder Barker

March 17, 2015- "Da Fog!!"

I almost feel like saying in a really deep raspy voice, "Welcome to Zombie Territory." Sadly, the fog doesn't usually last though. It disappears with the sun.

Moving right along to this week, it has been good, but a bit slower than I would like. In a meeting we recently when through a bunch of the ways we measure our numbers has changed, and that altered things quite a bit, but I know the changes will be for the better. It will force us to grow and be more effective at teaching.

A*** is doing really well. She's been going to church regularly the past several weeks and loving it! I'm so happy for her, and look forward to talking with her again later today with Bishop Moll. I've not seen someone who is not a member of the Church this fired up about God's word in a long time. We are going to discuss the role of prophets when we go over there today.

On Wednesday and Thursday I spent a good amount of time over in Danville on Exchanges with Elder Meza. He's a Spanish missionary, and a super awesome speaker. By the end of our 24-hour work together we had found 8 new people for the Danville Elders to teach. By the end of the week they had found a total of 32 new people. This is nothing short of a miracle for the Danville Branch, which has always struggled with teaching new people. 

In some of our own work here in Morrilton, we have also been able to find many truly wonderful people. Not quite 32, but a good number. One event was just our walking down the road and a man in a white SUV pulled up next to us and started talking to us. He had been talking with the missionaries for almost 4 years, and we had no idea about it. I'd never seen him before. but just being outside and walking around, trying to do our job, miracles are happening. You just have to look a little bit to see them.

A*** is also doing well. He is still working on the Book of Mormon 30 day challenge. All it takes is a bit of dedication and 18 pages a day and you can read the whole thing, cover to cover, within a month (now that it's not February I can actually say that)! His goal is to gain a testimony of it by reading it all, and we had a great lesson with Brother Stover all about gaining the desire to know the truth. In the end, that's all it takes, because if you really want to know something, and I mean really know, then you will do whatever it takes to find out your answer.

Yesterday we were unable to email because the Sisters were at the temple, and they are the ones with the key to the room with the computer. And, very conveniently I might add, the library is closed on Mondays. I"m not bitter, but I do find it incredibly ironic that the one day we could really use a library open on is a Monday, and that is one of the few days it is closed. Haha. Anyway, that's why I get to email today instead! Yay!

Also yesterday we had a great FHE with Sister Gates and her two kids. It was all about the Holy Ghost and His role in teaching us the truth, and ended in my getting my butt handed to me on a silver platter by an 11 year old when we played basketball. Luckily he's light and much smaller than I am so I could cheat and just pick him up to get the ball from him. We both had a great time. Also on Monday, Elder North and I played a board game he brought from home for days like this called "Betrayal at House on the Hill". It is crazy fun, and totally worth buying it. 

Have an awesome week, and enjoy the nice weather while it lasts! Cheers!

~Elder Barker

March 12, 2015 - "Slow and Steady"

Hello fellow mortals! If there be typos in this email please just ignore them; I am currently emailing on a member's iPad just before we play a new game I recently learned how to play called Betrayal at the House on the Hill. It is glorious. We have been teaching the J*** family this past week. They are super smart and have some questions that put our new found missionary biblical knowledge to the test. I love it. I heard a missionary recently say that if you want to learn a foreign language go to another country. If you want to learn a foreign language and the bible like a boss go to the south! I have found it to be so true because I would not know my scriptures as well as I do now had I not been sent to the Bible Belt. 

We have also been able to find an older man and his family who had been talking with the missionaries over 10 years ago. 10 years ago! Its crazy particulary that we have no record of it from previous missionaries. Just fyi, that's another thing we are working on right now. My time is running out, me and the ipad arent getting along very well, but please know that everything is going well here in Arkansas. The church is true!

~Elder barker

March 2, 2015 - "The Holy Land"

At the end of each month the miles on our car resets. Well, we were really good at saving miles, perhaps a little bit too good, so we decided to just drive to Jerusalem. Because we could. 

This week was a tougher one as far as work goes, but Elder North and I are working hard here in Morrilton, and I just know things will be going awesomely sooner than later.

THe highlight of the week was when both A*** and A*** came to church! We are super stoked about that, and are continually preparing them to be baptized a member of Christ's church. Just this past Thursday we also were able to use the vacuum cleaner the sisters accidentally left at our house and we spent all day over at Anna's helping her get the place looking awesome in preparation for her son coming home from the Army. Her house is a duplex, and we cleaning up the other side, which had been desecrated by cats. But the desecration and the defecation has long since been cleaned up. We only had to take apart the vacuum three times while we did so!

Saturday we had a great lesson with A*** about faith and the scriptures. He wants to read the BoM in 30 days, and we are going to go over there more frequently to help him do so. This should help him be able to gain the faith needed to move forward spiritually.

As of right now we are at the Cockrum home, who very kindly allowed us to use their computers for the day (For you missionaries shaking your head, it was approved. ;) We are going to hit up the card games and the board games in a P-Day extravaganza before returning to the grind-stone. It will be awesome. I will also be learning how to play Hero Scape. Yessir, the world will never be the same again! Bwahahaha!

One more interesting thing of note; yesterday we werea able to help out a homeless person, and now have a return appointment with him for Tuesday. He seems pretty legit. ;D

My friends and family, I am out of time, but hold to the truth in the scriptures. If you have doubts, another fallible source of information will not give you the solace that you need. Seek what is real and unchanging, not what is fake and changing.

Yours in Christ,

Elder Barker

These were pictures taken around Christmas time by the Latina Sister below.  She is deaf and is here on an ASL mission.

March 2, 2015- "To the missionaries of the world"

I know your time is short, so here's a short thought that I had a short while ago in Zone Conference:

If a person knew the day they were going to die, what would he change? How much faster would he do all of his work? How much more frequently would he tell people he cares about them? What things would he do to prepare to meet God?

You and I, we know the day we are going to 'die' and go back home. It's on our Ecclesiastical Endorsement, signed by a prophet of the Lord. It doesn't matter whether you have over a year left or just a week, you know when the 'end' will come. Now what are you going to do about it? What are you going to do differently?

Elders, one week of your mission is almost exactly 1% of your mission. Sisters, every month is about 5%. Just bringing things into perspective. Now is the time to kick it into high gear and work all the harder. Keep up the good work.

~Elder Barker

February 25, 2015 - "And it came to pass...actually it was just a big snowball in the face!"

Hello on the Homefront!

Just to make all of you deeply jealous, check this out!

Now, if  you aren't incredibly jealous, it is probably because you are somewhere in the Eastern half of the US and are absolutely sick of the stuff. Now, to take away the jealous-ness, here's something you can be glad you don't have!

Mmm. Yummy, right? (*cough cough gag*) If you want a Jar, just let me know. I'll just print off a haz-mat symbol to put on the package first! Lol

Anywho, the snow here is awesome. This is what it looks like as of about an hour ago:

Sister Tu'ifua, one of the missionaries here in Morrilton, is originally from Tonga, so naturally I talk about how wonderful the snow and cold is as much as possible while I'm in her presence. She shows her appreciation for my kindness by repeatedly giving me Tongan Death-Glares and threatening to eat my dog, all the while doing her very best to not shiver! She goes home in 6 weeks to her island paradise, so this is good for her. Her companion, Sister Neal, goes home tomorrow, so she will be getting a new companion for her last transfer! As they were leaving the building just a few minutes ago, Elder Ford and I ran outside and started throwing snowballs at them both. Sister Neal returned fire, but Sister Tu'ifua hurried and jumped in the car. Just before they drove off I ran to Tu'ifua's window and drew a large smiley face with the tongue sticking out on the window in the snow plastered there. Just a little something to remember us Elders by. ;D

And speaking of transfers, both Elder Ford and Elder Petty will be leaving! This means the end of all the poorly thought out puns we think up as we walk around, but that's perfectly OK! I'm looking forward to getting a new comp and just tearing it up here in Morrilton. I've got no ideas what is going down, but I just know it's going to be great.

A few highlights from this past week:

>T** has started smoking again, this time cigars. He says those will be easier for him to stop in the near future. We will be going over the 15-step Stop Smoking program every missionary has to help him stop again. It's all up to him though on whether it works or not.

>Stake Conference was this past Sunday, and it was super good. We talked a great deal about Missionary Work (my favorite!) and about strengthening our own conversion. Before we can help others we first have to help ourselves.

>Wednesday we had a bit of fun with the Danville Sisters. More on that in a bit.

>Thursday we had Lunch with T**. I sang my happy-birthday song, and I think it is starting to be a bit famous around the mission. We also had quite a few interesting conversations, not the least being one with a man probably in his late 20's shortly after offering him a picture of Christ. It went something like this:

<Us> Would you like a picture of our Savior?

<Him> I don't need no picture! I already knows what he looks like.

<Us> Really?

<Him> Yep, he's my son. I'm God!

<Us> *stunned silence, not sure what to say...*

<Him> *lights a cigarette* You boys be good now! *gets in truck and drives away*

That same day we were also able to have a great lesson with A*** and share with here some of the Mormon Messages with her so she can hear the words of the Prophets and Apostles herself. Everything in Christ's church is based upon faith, but not blind faith, and to know if someone speaks the words of God it does a remarkable amount of good to know what those words are!

>Friday I we had Zone Conference, and that was super awesome. It was all about becoming a consecrated disciple of Jesus Christ. Afterward I got a haircut from a member there (You are welcome, Mom), and had a great interview with President Wakolo.

>Saturday and Sunday we had stake conference, and then Sunday evening we got snowed in. Yeah, that was fun, but we did get to go to bed early that night!

I do believe that's everything! Have a blast, wherever you are. Remember who you are and who you represent.

The Morrilton Missionaries

~Elder Barker

I just realized I didn't tell y'all about the Danville thing. They were having it really rough over there with little member support and a even smaller group of people interested in hearing about Jesus Christ, so because of this and also partly just because we could we spent the first part of Wednesday morning making a pineapple cobbler/cake from a recipe that my family sent from home and then drove for about 90 minutes to Danville. With the help of there neighbor across the hall (they live in an apartment complex) we finished frosting it, making a hurried trip to a local grocery store for supplies we had forgotten, and stashed it in their refrigerator. We had to re-frost it after this picture was taken because the stuff we used was applied  just a few minutes after we pulled it out of the oven, and the letters sort of melted... yeah, not my best moment. Alas, I neglected to take a picture of the final product after we fixed it up in all of the excitement, but here's this at least!

We had this same nice neighbor help us by calling the Sisters on their phone and tell them that there was some "suspicious men creeping about [their] door" and that they "should come home as soon as possible". It was the best (and nicest) prank I think elders have ever pulled on Sister missionaries. Haha!

~Elder Barker