Happy New Year

Well, it finally happened....I at Mopani Worms! I got a good picture of them. They were spiky, and crunchy, yet slimy all at the same time! (figure that one out, but it is true) I ate them because an investigator that I may never see again offered them to me, so I had to take them. I may never see this family again because, I am finally being transferred! Out of my greenie area. But before you all get excited let me explain something to you about transfers among the sisters here in Botswana. There are only eight sisters in the whole mission, we are all serving in Gaborone, covering two wards, so not much room for change. So this transfer I will be getting transfered to the other area in the same ward I have been serving in. It is the same apartment, the same ward, pretty much same everything except companion and car I drive! Pretty funny, we don't really call it transfer, we call it a change of rooms! But I am excited. It will be nice. I am glad I am not leaving the ward I am in now. I really enjoy the ward I am in. That is the main news from this week. Christmas in Botswana was nice. We woke up and did nothing for a few hours, then we went to the senior couple's home, so my companion could call home, then we went to the Elder's flat (house) and played games, then went back to the senior couple's so I could call home, then went back and played more games at the Elder's flat....That was pretty much my Christmas....Exciting, I know. It was actually very nice, and I enjoyed it alot. Christmas here is definitely different from back home. We went caroling earlier in the week to some homes and to the hospital, and I was dripping sweat, just standing there it was so hot. I believe it got to about 107'F during the week. Quite the different caroling experience than I am used to in the freezing Iowa winters! But the spirit was still the same. It was nice. That is about all I have to report on this week. I hope your Christmas was great, and I hope that you carry the wonderful Christmas spirit throughout all of 2010. Make 2010 a great year! Happy New Year!!!

Merry Christmas

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL. This year I recieved the best Christmas gift I have ever recieved in my life. Yesterday was definitely the best day I have had mission this far. It was wonderful. I learned this past week at our Christmas conference that wonderful in hebrew means miracle. So yesterday definitely was wonderful. It was so amazing, I have never felt so much joy in my life. What happened yesterday trumps anything up to my life this far. It was sweeter than playing in the state basketball tournament in high school. Sweeter than Beck to Harline to beat Utah (I know sounds crazy, right?)! But it is true. so last week I told you how Joshua Isaac got baptized, right? Well, this week he was confirmed, and he received the aaronic priesthood. The most amazing part of this experience was that his wife Akie, ditched work to make sure she was there for that. We didn't know he would be receiving the priesthood yesterday, but the bishop saw that his wife was with him, and made sure she would be there to see him recieve the priesthood. It was the most amazing thing! He was so happy. I asked him after he met with the bishop when he would be receiving the priesthood, and he got this big smile on his face, looked at me and said he just did! It was wonderful, and then before leaving he looked at me and said, "I'm a man now aren't I?" Hahaha...It made me laugh. But it is true. He really is a man of God now, and holds God's power, and will one day be a great leader here in Botswana. So, that was the best gift his family could have ever received, and it is no coincidence it happened this time of the year. It was also such a sweet experience for me. My joy was so full after that moment. Words cannot describe how much joy and happiness I felt. A joy that is lasting. Even sweeter than BYU beating Utah with no time on the clock. It was wonderful. And I am so happy for what this priesthood will do for Joshua and his family, expecially as he will be baptizing his wife in a couple of months! The church is true. It changes lifes. It has changed mine, and continues to change mine daily. So this Christmas remember the true meaning of Christmas, and the greatest gift that has ever been given to anyone, the gift of the Atonement. Think about it this Christmas, enjoy the temporal gifts you will be given, but please, more importantly remember the spiritual gifts your Father in Heaven and your Savior, Jesus Christ have given you. I love all you, and wish you all a Merry Christmas!

Don't forget to serve

This week was definitely a lot better than last week. It was wonderful actually. The best part of the week was definitely yesterday. We had two baptisms! It was such a neat experience. Especially for Joshua Isaac. I love this man. He is this big tough soldier man on the exterior, but inside he is a big softie, and he makes me smile. And his baptism came as somewhat of a suprise. He told us last week that he wanted to be baptized last Sunday, but everytime we went to visit him he was not around, so we didn't know what the deal was...remember last week was the week every appointment ditched us. So we didn't know what would happen, but we finally got a hold of him early this week, and he still expressed the desire to be baptized, so we set up to have his interview on Thursday, and Elder Torr said he would determine when it was best for him to be baptized, and he said joshua was more than ready to be baptized on the coming Sunday. So we had to rush and get everything organized, but it was SO worth it. He was so happy. It was one of the greatest experiences on mission so far. I am excited for the future of his family, his wife also desires to be baptized, but her work schedule won't allow for it yet, but next year she will also be baptized. It was just wonderful. Words can't describe it. and I know i didnt do a great job of explaining the situation, but believe me, it was a sweet experience. We focus our mission on finding and teaching fathers and families, and yesterday, a father set the example for his family. it was amazing. Our other baptism was of a 9 year old boy whose both parents are members, but the father is less active. He is a fun one, and i was very happy for him as well. It was just a good day yesterday. I wish all of you could have been there with us, and join the joyous moment. This work is great, and will continue to progress as the Lord has his hand here in Africa! so, i think it is about Christmas time, so merry christmas to all of you. Christmas is not such a big deal here in Botswana, so it doesn't feel much like Christmas. it is different. But Merry Christmas to all of you. Remember to do your random act of service, especially during this time of year :)

Slow Week

This was not a very exciting week. It was one of those weeks on mission when almost every single appointment you have made falls through, those of you who are returned missionaries know what I am talking about. It was also very hot this week. So, it was alot of fun having no appointments and spending the day contacting and tracting in the friendly sun :) But things like that happen. Even our great, progressing investigators were not available to meet with us, but we met a lot of great people, so it wasn't so bad. I just hope this week goes better, because I am not sure I would survive another week like that. So, I don't have much to report this week. But the month of November was very exciting the Johannesburg South Africa mission, record settting, and we are also having a record setting year. Here are the statistics received from my mission president. I thought you might be interested in these, I was anyway. It is really amazing the work we are engaged in here. So here are the statistics:

Dear Elders and Sisters,
Please note the expression of appreciation from our Area President, Elder Koelliker, for the wonderful work you are doing bringing many souls unto Christ. It is worthy of note that in November, the large majority of our missionary companionships (80%) had investigators enter the waters of baptism.
Another milestone of note is the first Sacrament meeting of the new group in Mochudi, Botswana which took place on December 6. It was remarkable that 56 individuals attended the wonderful meeting.
Just short note to document two milestones in the mission.
1) This past weekend the new Tzaneen South Africa District was formally created, consisting of the five branches Mokopane, Polokwane, Lenyenye, Tzaneen, and Modjadji.
2) The mission baptized 196 individuals in November—this is a record monthly high. This brings the year to date total to 1,528.

I am pretty sure that last year the entire year they had less than 1000 baptisms, this year is much better. we are working hard everyday, and the work here is progressing in remarkable amounts. This truly is the Lord's work, and He is preparing His people. I am so lucky to be a part of the Lord's army at this exciting time.
Sister Barber

Pictures

Coming Soon! I have Ashley's memory card and will post pictures this week. Happy Holidays everyone.

Happy (Late) Thanksgiving!

This past week, Sister Nkohla and I decided we need to do more service. So we decided to do a random act of service every day. And we dubbed it RAS. So every day we are trying to do a RAS. It is great. We decided to do this because we listened to a talk by James E. Faust on how we need to do service daily. So we are trying, and President Monson talked this past conference on charity, so we decided we need to do it. So we have been doing our best to complete on RAS a day. And it is not as easy as it sounds. We offer to help people all the time, but they don't always accept it, so a few times we had to do service for the other missionaries here because people weren't letting us serve them randomly. But it was a good week, and it made a huge difference in the work. This past Zone Conference we were told this quote by Henry B. Eyring where he said to a future missionary, "Show the people Jesus Christ loves them by the way you treat them." So, we are doing our very best to try and portray the Savior's love for these people in Botswana every day through RAS and other ways. This week really was good, I have no complaints, but then again I rarely ever have complaints :) Have a great week, and thanks for reading.