Oh boy

I love you all so much and do I have some news for you all. Our investigator Laura hull was set for Feb 10 & 11 to be Baptized and confirmed. We were worried about this date because it was so soon. She hadn’t talked to her mother yet and she had only been to the single’s ward once. We didn’t want her to feel like she had to wait until she could be baptized but we didn’t feel good about the date and neither did President Cowley.

We prayed and fasted that everything would work out. When we went to go finish up the commandments we asked her how she was feeling about the date she said “ oh I guess you haven’t heard but I was praying about the date and I just didn’t feel right about it but I was praying about the weekend of the 24 and it feels right.” Oh boy we were so happy to see the lord working out the rough spots and answering prays. Were so proud of Laura for praying it out, figuring it out on her own and coming to do the lords will. We would have had to tell her that she had to wait until she attended the singles ward more than once, even though she had been attending her home ward for about a year. She is Amazing. She is telling her boyfriend what to do. She has great questions and wears the scripture sock that we made for her. We are looking forward to hearing all about the baptism in two week cause we will not be able to leave our mission to go down to Richmond where she is from. She wanted to have the baptism close to her house so it will be easier for her mom to decide to come. Plus she knows that ward. It’s her day and we are just so happy that she is making the greatest choice ever!!

We are now teaching Samson and his best friend Zack. They were telling us about how we came to their lives at this time for a reason. It was so neat to hear that. We shared the Restoration! It went extremely well. They grasped the material. We really stressed the priesthood and how important it was to restore the full gospel and not try to put pieces here and there, they were devouring it. We invited them to be baptized, they said that they will read and pray. They were soaked everything up.My companion and I are helping out a young lady in our ward with her prom dress… We saw a dress at a little shop on Main. (Where people will bring in their old clothing to be sold, and then once it is sold, they will receive a portion of the sale.) Anyways, we went in there on one afternoon, near the beginning of the transfer. There was this one dress in particular that caught our eye. I would guess it was from the 1950’s. The fabric is a heavier material, and is a crème, with ultra thin, light gold stripes. They give it a slight shimmer, and it is gorgeous! It has a V-neck, with a fitted upper waist, followed with a princess skirt. It is a timeless piece, and we hope that it will fit Jane perfectly!Working on campus with the students has been a blast!

Laura is set for baptism on the 24th! She says she can’t stop smiling. Laura is an incredible friend and missionary to her roommate, Darbey. Darbey asks questions; Laura listens, and then finds her the answer! Darbey now has her own copy of The Book of Mormon! Accentuating the positive, and blessing others by our words of encouragement are key, in helping others come closer to the Savior.We told Laura in one of our lessons about President Hinckley, and his encouragement for us to smile. Elder Tauteoli, another amazing missionary shared the following scripture with us in a joint meeting with Miss Laura, it is in 2 Nephi 9:39. ...Remember to be carnally-minded is death, and to be spiritually-minded is life eternal. It spells out S-M-I-L-E. See! I know that we can decide be a happy people today!Last night, because of the weather conditions, but Brother Cramer brought dinner over to our apartment instead of us trying to drive over in the ice, it wasn’t delivery it was brother Cramer!I am so grateful for the wonderful work! I am pleased to be a part of it, and I am grateful for the Restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ! We are so blessed!

It’s the weirdest thing 5 months ago I would not put any spaghetti sauce on my noodles, dip my chips in salsa, drink soy milk, wear a jumper, or have nails longer then a millimeter on all ten fingers, blush and turn my head away from a kissing scene, not like loud rap music, decline dessert, want to study, want to read, want to be on time, and want to go to bed at 9:00. But it has happened…I’m officially weird!
I love you all
Sister Barrand