The Word on Will

Will's Home

2010-09-05T14:50:00.000-07:00

Here is the WHOLE family waiting excitedly. I was amazed at the resilience of all the little grand kids. They were all happy and excited in spite of the late hour - it was after midnight.

Here we are still waiting. We sent the 4 oldest grand kids up to the top of the stairs to see if they could spot them coming down the hall. They kept a very close watch for what seemed forever.
People from the Atlanta flight kept coming and coming but no Elders. When they saw 3 excited families waiting, the LDS people would get big smiles on their faces and say, "Hey, there are 3 Elders coming behind us. They were at the back of the plane." A few minutes later, someone would ask again, "Did you see any Elders? and some nice person would say, Yup, they are coming. We saw them."
I think the non LDS people coming down were quite surprised to see such a welcoming committee at well after midnight. They must have thought that the folks in SLC were really friendly.
So, when the kids actually spotted them, they came racing down the stairs saying, "They're coming, they're coming." We quickly got our cameras ready and finally, we caught a glimpse of them at the top.

Here he is coming down the escalator.

My first hug in two long years. I couldn't stop crying.

Elder Smith, Elder Lee, Elder Barnard.

Will looks a little older to us but then again, it has been two years.

Returning With Honor

2010-08-09T20:55:00.000-07:00

Will, along with Elders Lee and Smith will be arriving at the SLC airport late Wednesday night (August 18). He will be speaking at the LDS South Stake Center in Evanston, Wyoming the following Sunday in Sacrament Meeting which starts at about 12:30 P.M.

Dear Family,
Well it’s crazy to think how near the end really is. Two years ago from tomorrow I was giving my "farewell" talk. Really it seems like it was much less than 2 years but at the same time it seems like a whole other life ago. wow.
This week has been another good one. I can happily say that I will finish my mission working hard and I have "Fought the good fight" and "kept the faith". I don’t know if I will be around an internet to say anything next Monday so the next time we talk it could be real talking.

But anyhow, this week we have continued working with our investigators and fighting to help them progress and make covenants with God. Martha and Stefani Garcia are doing great and are excited for their baptism on Friday. Sadly, Noe has been away managing their farm and couldn’t be in any lessons or in church this weekend. Is his case we will just have to get hold of him this week and see if he feels prepared to be baptized with his family, but be this week or a few weeks later I know he will be there with them? Another investigator named Slendi who is a teenage girl who lives with a member family will also be baptized, but on Wednesday. The bishop showed up this week with a ten year old girl from a member family whose baptismal records were lost so we will also have to quickly teach her the lessons this week and she will count as a "convert baptism", also on Friday. So it looks like I will be able to finish my last week with a minimum of 4 baptisms and go out on a good note.

Everyone in the ward here has found out that I am going home so we have dinner appointments booked for the whole week. We have gotten along great with the members here so no one misses a chance to ask how long I have left and act amazed at how little it is. The church is putting more emphasis on a few parts of Preach my Gospel so we will receive some more training from Monday to Thursday. We will be spending the mornings doing that and then working normally in the afternoon.

The zone is still doing great, we have already baptized 12 more in the first 2 weeks of this month and we are well on pace to pass 20 at least again. So there had only been 20 or more baptisms here twice before and we are about to drop two in a row. We have been very blessed. I had some areas like Barranca or Sogamoso where we worked our butts off but the people just weren't ready or it wasn’t the right time but the Lord really has blessed us to find many people here. It really is a great way to finish the mish and I can’t say how very grateful I am for it.

I am not scared or nervous about what will happen as I get home. I think everything is lined up very well but just the same, it’s going to be really strange. I will probably be a weird RM for a little while but I know good things are to come and it will go well. I’m excited to start at BYU.

Looks like we will do the baptisms on Friday. On Saturday, they invited us to go to Barranca and do a little Barbecue / Goodbye for Elder Mura and me. So we will go in the morning and come back in the night. Sunday I just happen to have a talk in church and Sunday night it looks like we will head out on a bus to Bogotá. I think Monday will be a free day there and the rumor is that President Camargo is going to invite us over to eat dinner with them. Tuesday we will go to the temple, have the last interview and have a little goodbye dinner / testimony meeting and Wednesday bright and early we will be in the airport. wowsers.

So fam this is the end of the road. It will be sad to leave Colombia behind. I really do love it and love the people here. I imagine I will shed a few tears this next week. I can't describe how great it has been to be a missionary; I wouldn't trade it for anything. It has been the best experience of my life and I’m very grateful that I was called to serve here. It’s a very strange feeling I have as I write this and realize that I am really that close.

I know that we are in the truth and I have a testimony of it. It’s hard to end but I am at peace with the mission I have served. I haven't been perfect by any means but I really can say that I have tried my best and I have always wanted to be the best missionary I could be. I have learned that by ourselves we may be able to do good things, but when we learn to depend on the Lord and humble ourselves is when we really find out our potential. Don’t worry about planning out anything fancy in the airport. I love you mucho and as sad as it is to finish, it will be so nice to see ya again. Take care this week and if I don’t send a quick letter on Monday I will talk to ya next Wednesday. wow crazy. Love Will

August 2, 2010

2010-08-02T14:49:00.000-07:00

As it gets closer to seeing you, I feel less like spending time writing letters but here is the weekly report of another good week in Bucaramanga. Please don't take that as a trunky comment, I feel very untrunky and we are going as hard as ever and the spirit is very strong. But it’s inevitable and all the missionaries and ward members like to constantly remind me how soon I will be home. Actually I may only have one weekly letter left after this one depending on what they do with us.

This was a very good week. We finished the zone leader conference in Bogotá, it was a very good meeting held in the visitors center of the temple. It was nice to see big old Bogotá again and I felt pretty cold. I can’t imagine how dry Utah and Wyoming will feel.

After the conference, those of us who are traveling went to McDonalds and I got myself a nice quarter pounder with cheese and fries. McDonalds is actually funny here, the food is the same but they make it seem like a fancy thing and basically only rich people eat there. After that we went to the terminal and headed out on another all night bus ride back. I tried about every possible position to sleep that you can on a bus but without much luck. We got home at about 6 am, took a quick nap and then had district meeting.

Elder Mura and Elder Romero both know quite a bit of English so we did the meeting in English by their request. I spoke a little about the restoration in English and it was pretty awkward trying to talk about the gospel in English. I have found that when I try to talk more formally or about specific topics it’s pretty weird.

Anyway the week went great. I did divisions with Central and worked there with Elder Romero. They were struggling a lot to find investigators but we worked like crazy and we invited 7 people to be baptized and all accepted.

The Garcia family is doing great. We taught them with the Bishop. Marta and Stefani are very decided about baptism. Noe the dad is still a little unsure but he is progressing slowly but surely and continues with his goal for the 14th.

Also you may remember N. She is showing a lot of progress and starting to seem more like a member of the church and less like an evangelic. She always goes to church etc and is just waiting because she has to have an interview with president Hacking first. He should be here next week. She is reading the BoM like crazy, going to church weekly and even invites her friends to come. She bore a nice testimony yesterday in Sacrament meeting.

Today for Pday we got the zone together and gave out the cool zone t Shirts we had made. They look like the Bucaramanga soccer team jersey but they say “Terrazas Zone.” And there is a little 26 for the new baptism record and all our names on the back. They turned out really well. Then we played a little soccer and Bball and Elder Moen, Butler and I went and ate lunch at the mall here.

The sports pass sounds great and I’m sure it will work out just fine. Mom asked about the other missionaries in our group. Those of us traveling together will be me, Elder Moen - Idaho, Elder Lee - Utah, Elder Smith - Utah, Elder Larsen - Houston TX. So by the time you see us it will just be Elder Lee, Elder Smith and me.

Family I want you to know that I know this is the true church and I know that Joseph Smith was a prophet. I have had the blessing to read and search the book of Mormon and pray about it many, many times and I know that it is true. I think we may be the most blessed people in this whole world if you really think about it. I’m so thankful and happy for the experience my mission has been and the great way the Lord has blessed me to be able to end. Have a great week and I will talk to ya next time. Love Will.

July 26, 2010

2010-07-27T07:50:00.000-07:00

Hola family,
I am here in Bogotá now. Today and tomorrow we are having the zone leader’s conference here in the temples visitor center. We left on a bus last night and drove all night. We got here at about 6 in the morning, caught a nap and then went to a synthetic soccer field they rented and played a little soccer. Here the temple has like a hotel by it because lots of people have to travel a long way to get here so we are staying there and the conference will be in a conference room here. Also today is president Hackings birthday so we will have a little birthday party tonight. It is nice to be back and see Bogotá after almost 9 months, I forgot how gigantic it is, but the weather here is perfect, always cool. We are writing from an internet cafe in Tierra Linda, my old area where I was before I went to the offices and on our way out of the temple we saw an old member from here who I was good buddies with and we traded email adds etc. Good memories.

The weeks keep on flying by like they always have. This week as yall know we went to Barranca for a few days to participate in the Independence Day activity they did. Another good chance to see old members and friends which was very cool and I got to see our old converts from Barranca and they are still firm and active :) The next day we did interchanges with the elders there which went very well. Friday I also went to Real de Minas and did divisions with Elder Thomas (another old area that I was in!). ha so without planning it I have now been in three old areas this week, but cool. We had a very good day working with Elder Thomas. He was just made district leader there for the first time so he has lots of questions and we had some good talks so I think it was a very good chance to help him and give him some confidence.

Things in the area just keep going great. We had 2 baptisms on Saturday, German and Vanesa. Unfortunately after his baptism German basically disappeared and when his mom and sister got to church the next day they told us he had gone with a friend after his baptism to visit and that they hadn’t heard from him yet. So Vanessa was confirmed but not German, hopefully he is alright and we can find out something. Please keep them in your prayers.

With this weekend we finish the month with 26 baptisms here in the zone, breaking the record of 21 :) It is very rewarding to see goals, plans and hard work pay off. We started as soon as we got here to put new ideas etc in place and just try to get the spirit and work hard and it has paid off in the whole zone. This week we designed and ordered zone shirts for everyone with all of our names (the shirt is modeled after the Bucaramanga soccer teams jersey) Now August will be starting so we can’t sit and celebrate because the idea is to keep things going.

We had a very spiritual experience this week with the Garcia Family. Noe, the dad, finally got back from working on their farm so we were finally able to have another lesson with the whole family. They are an awesome family and very good people. I don’t know if I told you but the other day they had special Colombian hats and bags brought in from the coast and gave them to us! They are the first investigators I have ever had that have 2 cars. The daughter studies no where else but in Alberta! She is at the University of Alberta, but she doesn't go back to study for a few months ... But anyway that’s not the spiritual experience. We finally got to teach them all, we planned a special lesson about the restoration and then the Gospel of Jesus Christ. It was a spiritual lesson and we shared some strong testimonies etc and then we "sacamos la fecha" (took out the date, invited them to be baptized) on the 14th of August, my last week in Colombia. The mom Marta said "you know me and Stefani (the daughter) have been talking about baptism and we think we should." So they all said they would prepare to be baptized the 14th of August. The mom and the daughter were both sure and happy about it, the dad was a little bit unsure but his wife put her hand on his shoulder and said "don't worry, you'll be ready to be baptized with us too" and he accepted to prepare for that same date. It was really a spiritual high, even for missionary life. They really are good people and they are looking for the truth and what’s right. I don't want to get ahead of myself because a lot of things can happen in a few weeks, but it would be a really great experience if they could stay strong and make it to their goal. I would love to see them be baptized my last Saturday here. It really is a testimony that the Lord guides his elect to us. If you remember it was one of our first weeks in the area and we had taken a wrong turn looking for a member’s house. They drove by in their SUV and almost kept going but a little ahead of us they stopped and called us over. Honestly, it can’t just be a simple coincidence. I know the Lord led us and them to each other.

So we will be busy working with them, also a few other investigators, and the rest of the zone. I am happy to say I will finish very well and working as hard as ever. I know this is the true church and I know that Christ lives, loves us and knows us. Thanks for all your support and love and have a great week. Mucho Amor, Elder Barnard

July 20, 2010

2010-07-20T20:42:00.000-07:00

July 20, 2010
Hola Familia.
Well it’s been a good old week. We had another baptism and we had the chance to do a few good intercambios. The transfers in the mission were Wednesday, so we saw a few missionaries off and received a few others here in the zone. Unfortunately we have been slowed down (both of us) by un poco de gripa (a little flu) but we haven’t missed any days of work for it so we are still marching along. Right now we are in Barranca doing interchanges with the Elders here and helping them with an activity they will have today. Today is independence day and the 200th anniversary of Colombia. They are showing their patriotism.

We have both had some serious coughs this week and for a few days were feeling a little out of it but we keep working hard and trying to take care of it and now we are starting to get better. The members here have suggested about every remedy there is from certain pills to eating honey with eucalyptus. But just the same we did divisions with the Elders in Giron which turned out very well. I think we were able to help them get more excited about how things were going and we were able to secure a few commitments with investigators and find some new ones as well.

On Saturday we had another baptism, his name is Carlos Rincon and I think he will someday be a very good priesthood leader. His girlfriend is a member, so at first he started coming with her but then she left for a while and he kept coming and progressing. He has a very strong, new testimony and shared it after his baptism. He is very converted and the best part is he isn’t doing it just because his girlfriend dragged him into it. She even told him straight up in one of the lessons that if he was going to do it, it had to be for him and not for her. He really is converted for himself and even established his own baptismal date. In his testimony he thanked us a lot for teaching him and helping him find out for himself and we feel very blessed for another one of los hijos de nuestro pardre celestial who we have been able to help find the real source of happiness.

Lia and Claudia (our recent converts) moved to Bogotá and they are going to church there and settling in great. All 4 members of the Gomez family are more than happy and working great in the ward. Cesar, the dad, is soon going to be called as Elders Quorum secretary and they all seem to be very firm.

Things in the zone are going great, actually the best they have ever been in this zone. The Terrazas zone/stake includes the North Part of Bucaramanga and was the first stake to be established here in Bucaramanga (there are now two stakes in the city). It’s been a stake since the 80s as far as we can tell. The other day we were looking through the history as far as mission stats for the zone and we found out that the most baptisms that the zone has ever had in one month has been 21. Last week with the baptisms of the zone, we reached... 21 for July so far. And this week we will have 2 more baptisms in our area and 2 others in the zone which would leave us at 25, breaking the record by 4. We don't work to attain numbers ever, but numbers must be used to measure progress and are used in every part of the church because each number represents a soul and it gives you something you can easily measure and compare to look for progress. So we are very excited and very grateful for all the success that the Lord has blessed us with and at least for now we can say we were there for the best month this zone ever had.

The days are ticking down faster and faster. I don't in any way, feel trunky like happiness to end the mission, but I know its coming and that I should be content to do what the Lord has called me to do and to finish when he has called me to finish too (Alma 29). I love what I am doing. We are still working are butts off and we are far from finished. I still have faith that I can see the Garcia family and others come into the church and I will do my best till the last day.

I know the church is true and I know that this is the Lords work and that being a missionary is the bomb. Les amo mucho familia, gracias por todo su apoyo y gracias por su amor y sus oraciones. Despues de esta carta, solo escribiré 3 mas como misionero. Espero que estén bien y recuerden que siempre estan en mis oraciones. Con Amor, Elder Barnard

Last Transfer

2010-07-12T17:01:00.000-07:00

Hello Family,
This week has been another fast one and another good one. We spent a lot of time working in divisions with the others in the zone which meant a little time outside our area but we were able to help out some other areas in the zone. Another transfer has come and gone.

Last night the 6 week transfer period ended so everyone was waiting like always to see if they would stay or if they would go. Luckily there were a few changes in the zone but not in our district. Elder Butler will be the missionary that "kills me" as we say. Our 2 roomies, Elder Mura and Romero, will also be here for this transfer. It’s very strange to think that I have begun my last transfer. The next 6 weeks that my planner includes will not just be lessons and meetings but a homecoming talk and... college... weird.

But anyway this week we took 2 days to go to Barranca and work with the missionaries there and make sure they don’t feel forgotten. I got to work with Elder Machacuay in Pinos where I used to be. It was very cool because I got to see quite a few of the members I got to know there and they were all very surprised and happy to see me. That (Barranca) was definitely one of the most challenging parts of my mission but one of the most memorable and I really love the people there.

The next day I worked with Elder M who is from Idaho and from my group (we went thru the MTC together and will go home at the same time). He is a very interesting case if I never told you. His dad is a preacher in an Evangelical church and his family is quite anti Mormon. He was baptized about a year before he came on a mission and is very hard working as a missionary. He will have a lot of challenges after finishing his mish and there are a lot of unsure things so it was good to work with him and talk about plans etc.

Right now it’s "winter" here so although still very hot and humid, Barranca isn’t like it was back in my day during the hot summer months. We got back to work Thursday in our area and Friday we went and worked with the sisters in their area to help them out. It’s very weird to work with sisters because obviously we both have to go which makes us 4 people walking around and trying to teach people. Their names are Sister Berrios from Peru and Sister Wolosko from Argentina. It was a good chance to encourage them and help them keep feeling good about the work.

Our stats dropped in Pinos because we spent over 3 days out of the area but we were still able to have 10 investigators in sacrament meeting (that’s our sixth time in a row with 10+) and there are 5 with baptismal date. This Saturday we have one for sure named Carlos. He is about 27, studying and working and his girlfriend is a member :) But he is developing a strong testimony and he established his baptism date by himself and is very excited. Also for the coming Saturday, there are 2 teenagers (German and Vanesa) who are preparing to be baptized. There mom is a member who was inactive for a while but through our visits and the wards support she is now active and happy in the church and her kids are excited too. Our most interesting investigator is Nury. She went from being atheist, to spending 10 years as a Christian missionary and evangelical pastor to dropping it all and now she is determined that she has found the truth in the church and "needs to start working for Jesus. " She wants with all her heart to be baptized. We only teach her in the church and we are putting challenging commitments to make sure she is doing things for the right reasons. Her plan was to be baptized with her daughter this week but for some reason they didn’t come to church. So this week we will have to see what happened and how she continues to progress.

We are still working with the Garcia family. They are progressing slowly but very surely and we really believe they are one of those golden families. The dad has been out of town working but the rest have been coming to church and receiving the lessons great and we call him every once in a while to see how he is and he is very enthusiastic. So please keep those people in your prayers.

And so begins the last transfer of my mission. I am not trunky at all but I can start to feel the end coming and like President has told us, we have to start wrapping our minds around the fact that the mission is going to end and to be ready for it. But I still have hopes to help many more people make covenants with our Heavenly Father and make this the best transfer yet. I have planned to work like crazy in our area and do as many divisions as possible with the zone and leave everything on the field. I really don’t know what else to write haha, in 5 weeks I can just tell it to you.

Thanks for everything, I love yall and I love this work. Hasta luego. Elder Barnard

White night a great success

2010-07-05T18:06:00.000-07:00

New Members
Elder Butler and Elder Barnard
Stairs to their apartment.

Dear Family,
Hooray. Well it was a great week here. We had lots to prepare and lots to do but all turned out well. We had investigators to finish preparing, a mission conference and interviews to help prepare, and the noche blanca to get all planned out and finalized. And today to celebrate we went with the zone to Chicamocha National Park here in Santander which was very cool.

The first part of the week we spent finishing up all the interviews for Saturday. The zone leaders do baptismal interviews for their district leader so Elder Butler and I spent basically a whole day doing interviews for Central, our district neighbors. They all turned out well.

Also Elder Romero who lives with us got Dengue fever so he had to spend some time in the hospital getting tests done which meant us being short one missionary and one of us spending time with him there. I spent Tuesday sitting in the hospital with him.

Also this week we had a special mission conference with an Area 70 from Venezuela named Elder Mestre. All in all there were about 60 missionaries, everyone from Bucaramanga, Cucuta and Barranca plus the assistants and President and Sister hacking. The conference was held in our chapel so we were in charge of getting everything organized nice and early and arranging for something to eat. We organized with a member here who does catering and we got some nice sandwiches for everyone during the break and everything turned out very well. Elder and Sister Mestre gave very good training sessions and it was a very good conference.

Saturday morning we had interviews with President Hacking. It was a nice short interview. He thanked me for the work we had done in the zone and said it was a clear example of how a few good attitudes can change a whole zone. He expressed that he had no worries about how things would go for me after the mish because I already know where I will be, what I will be doing and I have great family support.

Saturday night at 6 we had our baptism service. We arranged this whole past week the clothes for it. We collected all the white baptism suits we could find in the zone and even had a few brought in from Barranca. We spent Friday night and Saturday afternoon arranging the church and all the last minute details. At the end of the day all 12 baptisms from the zone and 6 from our area went great and were confirmed on Sunday. We had over 100 people attend and many investigators from other areas who absolutely loved it. One of our investigators named Carlos who was trying to decide on a baptism date but was struggling to make the decision went and really really felt the spirit. On Sunday he came up to us by himself and said "I made my decision, I want to be baptized this coming Saturday".

The church has 2 floors, the sacrament / cultural hall and kitchen upstairs and all the classes downstairs. We arranged everything from who would use what bathrooms to get changed faster. We set up a room across from the baptism room with all the white clothes. We started upstairs in the sacrament hall because of the large crowd. We played a short video "finding faith in Christ" from 6 until 6 30 and during that time we got all the famous baptism pictures in white with all the missionaries and families etc. The first counselor from Pinos directed and President Hacking gave a nice talk about baptism and we had a special musical number from some of the members in our ward.

After that we had everyone go down in groups to keep the reverence. We had the baptism room filled with as many chairs as would fit. First we had all those who were baptizing and being baptized go down and we waited in the room across from the font. There we got everyone lined up in their order with their baptizer and explained to them how it would be etc. Then we had them send the investigators down and take up the chairs closest to the font up front. We sent all the members down and they filled up the rest of the chairs and a lot of people had to stand up in the back or in the doors.

Then we started baptizing!! Haha it was so awesome, we just went through the line and started baptizing them like crazy. I baptized 2 of our 6 investigators (Lia and Karla). I was one of the first to baptize and I had time to dry off, change, go upstairs and get my suit and when I got down they were still baptizing people.

Afterwards everyone headed back upstairs and reverently listened to interlude music while the last ones got changed. They gave the time to the new converts to share their testimonies. The only ones that were brave enough were Cesar Gomez and his wife. It was a very spiritual thing, they told about their conversion etc, their testimonies and the new process they were starting. It’s such an amazing feeling to see people and especially families make these changes and become converted.

Nights like Saturday are what it’s all about. I can’t lie - I did drop a tear or two. Baptizing families is what we live for and these people really are converted. To just think about the generations that could change because of this step, the kids, the grandkids, the great grandkids and all the missionaries who will come from them and go find others... it’s the greatest. I am so grateful that the Lord has allowed me to be a missionary and I know that he puts us where we need to be and where his elect are waiting for us. I remember praying in the MTC and knowing that there were families here waiting to hear what my companions and I would tell them and praying that we could be led to them and I really know that we were and just at the right moment. We are far from done with our work here but this is close to a very great way to finish the mish. The stake president gave a very nice welcome to all the new members and everything turned out great.

Today to celebrate (and because it’s been planned for a while) we went with the whole zone to Chicamocha Nat’l Park about an hour from Bucaramanga. Last week we collected 25 dollars from everyone to pay for the trip. We rented two big vans for 8 bucks a person and the rest we used to get into the park and prepare everyone some food. We made 60 peanut butter and Jelly sandwiches and included oreos and chips. We met up early this morning and spent the day in the park. There are all kinds of beautiful views and a cool Gondola thing that takes you to the actual park. I got some good souvenirs and everything turned out great.

Well I’m about out of time but like I said I am loving life and everything is going well. This week we have transfers so we will see what happens in the zone. Pres told me I would not be going anywhere but who knows if my comp will be changed, I hope not but we will see. Despite baptizing 6 people we still had 10 more investigators in church, the work just keeps on going and we can’t quit now. Tonight we will head to Barranca to spend 2 days working with them and then back to our area to keep on keeping on.

I love you fam. Happy 4th of July and Happy birthday Cameryn! I know we are in the truth and I am so grateful for all the blessings we have. Stay great, love life. Love Elder Barnard (PS I have sent about 12 pics of us, our apartment, the baptism and the trip so hopefully they all arrive.

An even greater week

2010-06-28T21:01:00.001-07:00

Well its been another great week here in "la ciudad bonita". We're still working like crazy and it’s looking like our goal of a "noche blanca" (white night) is going to turn out great. The zone is out of the slump it was in when we got here and for July we already have over 30 people with baptism dates as a zone.

The weather has been great, a little rain but nice and cloudy so it doesn’t get too hot and everyone is still going crazy over the world cup (The US lost and got knocked out by Ghana... they'll just have to wait till we play em in Ball). But I have to admit that after 2 years in South America I have grown to like and even understand soccer.

This week we did 2 days of splits with the missionaries in Central and Gijon. I went to Gijon for a day and worked with Elder L. He is from chile and is from my group(ends in August). We studied together and had a very good day. He started in the same zone as me and I worked with him a little as AP so we are kind of buddies so we had some good talks during the day about the mission and ending well etc. We worked hard, got another baptism date for them and set some good goals. Divisions with missionaries, just like lessons with investigators, should always have commitments. so we set goals for them to always pray as a district (the 4 that live in Gijon) each night and morning. It’s really cool to help the other missionaries, you almost have to treat it like when you work with an investigator and think about their needs, plan how and what to do and try to lift them and get them excited. And if you really don’t love them and want to help them, it will never work. They say things are going much better and they now have a good list of progressing investigators so we are very happy.

We have been working very hard with the investigators I mentioned last week. Unfortunately the Garcia family (the ones that knew the Camargo family) went to Bogota for the week so we haven’t talked to them but we have plans to go back. We've been working very hard with the Gomez Family and Lia and Claudia. On Saturday we had 2 baptisms - one at 10 and the other at 6 and between them we had Elder Mura (our district leader) doing all of their interviews. And they all turned out fine!!! Mura was about spiritually drained because an interview can be a very spiritual thing and he was there all day doing them. But that night we bought him some ice cream and had a little celebration.

Afterward we had Lia (22) and Claudia(20) call their mom. She lives across from the church and has been member for almost a year. She has tried with all the missionaries that have been here to get her daughters to follow her example but they just weren’t feeling it and when we started teaching them, she explained to us and told us that all the other Elders had tried and that it was likely that nothing would happen. After they told her (she is in Bogota for a few days) they gave us back the phone and she started crying and thanked us for the way we helped them feel the spirit and our patience with her daughters. We seriously feel like it’s a miracle how the Lord has touched these peoples hearts and they have all progressed just as we planned. So this Saturday the 6 of them will be baptized at 6 o clock and we have possible one more baptism depending on how this week goes. The week really turned out great, our weekly stats improved again and we were able to teach 16 lessons with a member present and 29 lessons in total. I can’t help but feel like the Lord is specially blessing us at the end of my mission with so many great people.

This week was ward conference so the bishopric has been working hard for the last month to get out invitations etc. All the stake leaders came and its turned out very well. Elder Butler and I sang with the ward choir the tenor (I think?) part of I am a child of God. We felt like it was way too high for us but we squeezed it out and the choir sounded good. Also, here the chapel as I have said is very nice, its only a year old and is supposedly the nicest chapel in Colombia. In the Sacrament Hall the piano is big like a normal one but its digital and has all the hymns programmed into it. So you can put it on a special mode where you just push whatever key to the rhythm of the hymn and it plays it as you go. For some reason they haven’t been using it in sacrament meeting so I told the bishop I could program it for ward conference. Ha I tried to make it look like I was playing by myself and afterward a bunch of people congratulated me on how well I played. . Maybe I will keep doing it for the sacrament meetings.

Anyway we had 12! investigators in church. We are yet to have less than 10. Its really ridiculous how much we are being blessed and how well things are going with the ward. We got a reference of another sister from Barranquilla who has been inactive. We visited her this week and invited her to come back and she was very happy, and the best news is that she brought her 2 kids (16 and 11) who aren’t members yet and they are all loved the church.

Also another member brought a friend named Lury. She spent over 10 years as a preacher and missionary in evangelical churches but says that in the end she found out that it just wasn’t what she thought it was. She knows the dang bible from front to cover and had some crazy questions in the class on Sunday but we answered them and taught her a little about the restoration and she left really interested. Later we visited her and she told us that during the stake presidents talk and during our lesson she thought she saw a special light coming from us and him and she felt like she was where she needed to be. We taught her about prophets and gave her the new Liahona from General Conference and she loved it. She told us she wanted to start over and wanted to start working for Jesus haha. She wants to hear from us again ASAP so we set up another lesson and were going tomorrow. She also brought her teenage daughter so there are 2 more great references. She would definitely be a good ward missionary to go and help some of the Protestants.

So basically things are going great. This Saturday will be the "white night" and we are going to hold all the zones baptisms at the same time in our chapel. There will be 6-7 people from our area and possible another 6 or 7 from the rest of the zone. We invited the stake president and he will be coming and somehow President Hacking even heard about it and called to say that he was going to be there too!

I wish I had time to tell you all about our investigators. The Gomez family who will be baptized are people who I really can see going to the temple. They have also spent months investigating the church and gone through various pairs of missionaries but for whatever reason we are the ones who will have the blessing of helping them reach baptism. Cesar the dad is a stud, I think he’s gonna be a bishop someday. Aside from the baptisms Saturday we have more investigators who are going to church and are there with family or friends who are members, at least 7 more. I am very grateful that the Lord has blessed me to be here right now and I know he has heard our prayers and my prayers. I have been praying since I left Barranca for the chance to bring a family into the church and now there are several. The Gomez family will be one..., Lia and Claudia will now complete a family of members and I have been talking every once in a while with Guillermo and Lina and it looks like they will get married this week and then baptized in July

I can't imagine ending my mission in a better way. I’m not trunky by any means but I feel at peace with the way I have lived my mission and the way it is ending. Its hard to believe there’s only 7 weeks left but I feel great. I've just about done what I was called to do. But there is no time to talk about that yet, we've still got much more to do. I know that this is Christs true church and I feel so blessed and humbled for all that I've been given. I love you so much familia, you’re in my prayers and I hope you’re loving life. Love Elder Barnard

Best Week Ever

2010-06-21T17:48:00.000-07:00

My birthday package got here last week. Thank you very much; we have enjoyed all the food. Haha I liked the Hawaii shirt and the ties also.
This has been another great week. We have all kinds of investigators and they just keep coming. This week we had over 11 investigators in sacrament meeting for the third straight time and we now have 10 people preparing for baptismal dates in the next 2 weeks and maybe 11.

I started the week going to do splits in Barranca. I didn’t get to Pinos where I was but I saw a few members from the other branches who remembered me and we worked well with the missionaries.

On Wednesday we had Zone conference here which went very well. We also did divisions with the missionaries from Kennedy. I stayed in our area with Elder Acosta from Peru and Elder Butler went to their area with Elder Vergara. It’s always cool to work with the newbies and get to know them and get them excited or feeling better. They were both a little down but we worked hard and when we met back up they were both more excited and we now have their confidence, so mission accomplished.

Things are going amazing in our area. The other day we were looking for a house and we took a wrong turn and just as we were turning around an SUV pulled over and called us over. It turned out to be a family whose daughter had been friends with President Camargos daughter and they recognized us as being from their church. They said they really liked the example etc. of the Camargos and would like to learn about the church. Serious Jackpot, they are married, well off financially and a very nice family. We went to teach them and they were very nice and receptive. The dad is from Mexico and the mom from here and they have a 19 year old daughter and a young housekeeper girl who lives with them.

Afterwards I found out President Camargos number and called them. It was cool to talk to him and sister Camargo and they sounded very excited to hear from me and asked how I was, how my mission was going etc. I told them about the family and gave them the number so that their daughter could call her old friend and congratulate her etc. They called immediately, turns out that the family is going to Bogotá for 2 days this week so the 2 girls are going to meet up and eat lunch and she is going to talk to her about the church etc.

This Sunday despite the election and raining, they all showed up in their car and it was a great Sunday. The ward had just got back from a temple trip and 4 families have been sealed, so Elder Butler and I each gave a talk and then the 4 couples gave their testimonies about their temple sealing and it was way spiritual. In total we had 11 investigators and apart from the Garcia family we also had another family of 4 (Gomez) who have been investigating for a long time. They both loved it and in gospel principles class we taught about eternal marriage to explain a little more and they all loved it and wanted to know how they could go to the temple and do the same thing. We had a very spiritual lesson with the Gomez family and challenged them to prepare themselves to be baptized on the third of July and they accepted. So we have 2 golden families and we will soon be inviting the Garcia family to be baptized also.

Literally baptisms are falling into our hands. This Saturday we will have 2. Basically we got to church and a member lady approached us and said "hey Elders we have been inactive for a little bit but now we are back coming to church, my daughter is 9 now so I need you to prepare her to be baptized" and basically the same thing has happened with 2 other families. I honestly don’t have time to tell about all the investigators we have but in a few words there are 2 baptisms this week and 8 more planned for next week. It was awesome because everyone was welcoming the new family at church and shaking their hands etc. and the same with our other investigators. The ward is really working great and we are working like crazy ourselves.

Elder Butler and I get along great. He is such a good worker and so humble. This week we will be doing more splits with the missionaries of the zone and getting our investigators ready. Please pray for them that they can keep progressing and not lose sight now. We are very close to doing amazing things here, it’s so rare to find two such great families and I really feel like the Lord is blessing us so much.

Although Colombia just missed making it to the World Cup it’s still a big deal here and everybody had their schedule or their sticker book. I actually bought the world cup sticker album too just to be down with what’s in. It’s got all the teams and you buy packs of stickers with players kind of like Pokemon or baseball cards and then try to collect all the players and stick them in your book. The book only costs $1 so I have it with a few stickers but all the little kids here go crazy about their sticker albums so it’s a good way to start conversation etc. The USA seems to have a decent soccer team now and if they win their next game they will go to the next round. We have little rivalries between the missionaries of whose country will do better although most of the Gringos don’t really know anything about it or our team.

Also the presidential Elections were yesterday so they made us be in our apartment at 4. Santos the conservative guy killed Mockus from the green party like 75 to 25 percent.

Well time is short but I’m loving it and trying to squeeze in everything possible in these last weeks. There are now less than 2 months left... Keep being of good cheer, I love ya, thanks for everything and talk to ya next week. Sorry if my letter is all over the place. Love Elder Barnard

Lizards and Stitches

2010-06-14T19:09:00.000-07:00

Hola Familia,
It’s been another great week here in Bucaramanga. We have been working hard in our area this week and there is lots and lots of potential. We also went to the Zone Leaders Seminar in San Gil which was awesome and had our first baptism here in the area and with it my first trip to the hospital :) The weather here has been great, not really sunny and hot but not raining lots either, just cool and fresh.

Bucaramanga really is the best looking city I think in the mission. Nicer roads and parks etc. and lots of nice big apartment buildings etc. The UIS (Santander Industrial University) which is one of the biggest and nicest in Colombia is here in our area and also the Bucaramanga soccer team stadium is here in our area.

Our apartment is small for the 4 of us and was a huge mess when we got here but today for P day we got it all cleaned up and organized and now it’s looking much better. Our bedroom has a big slide open window with a somewhat view of the city so that’s pretty cool.

Things are going very well with the ward. This is a nice strong ward with good leadership and experience and we are seeing the blessings of that. We are working very well with the Bishop and leaders and things are going great. On Sunday we had 17!!! people in church who aren’t members. Only 12 of them are officially investigators but just the same, that number is great. It’s a challenge to talk to all the people who want to talk to us at church and organize all the visits people want us to make. We have hardly had any time to do contacts since we got here because the planner has been full of appointments with members’ references.

Since arriving, we have been out of our area 4 of the days, we have taught 30 lessons and 27 of them have been with member present. So things are going great and we are working like crazy. We get home every night dead tired, we plan for the next day and update the area book, talk with the district leaders (we have 4 districts so in order to really have good communication with them we talk with 2 each night so that its not a rush etc). For some reason the offices sent us another cell phone so now Elder Butler and I both have our own phone which really helps. It’s really awesome to get to know the missionaries in the zone and see how much some support and encouragement and example can help and how much we have grown to care and worry about them.

On Wednesday morning all the zone leaders from the mission got here (Bucaramanga) because it’s the closest major city to San Gil where the leadership seminar was. We all met together at a chapel and then our rented bus got here and we all went to San Gil. They let us watch some movie about a high school football coach who turns Christian and wins state etc.

It’s funny to see the make up of the zone leaders. When I got here there were about 8 Gringos in the whole mission and now the U.S. is the country that has the highest number of missionaries here and so the majority of the zone leaders are gringos. Since the last time I did a zone leader seminar (as AP) there are none of the same ZL's but I know all of the ones who were there so it was nice to talk to them etc and we had a fun time. I got to see old mission homies like Elder Wagstaff, Larsen, Williams, my son Elder Larson among others.

The first day was basically a free day. First they rented some little fields and we all played soccer, then everybody got cleaned up, ate lunch at our hotel and they gave us a few hours to go into San Gil and look around etc. I bought a plastic ant (they eat big fried ants here) and a cool typical Colombian Hat. Then that night we watched a movie and just relaxed a little bit. The next day was full of training sessions etc. They assigned various Zone Leaders to give training sessions about things that have worked well in their zones which was very cool and we got lots of good ideas to use here. They asked Elder Butler and me to talk about how we are working with the church leaders in our ward and stake. We presented our plan to visit each bishop in the stake and all the things we are doing in our ward and everyone thought it was great. We stayed in a hotel room. Elder Butler and I are getting along great. We both have similar personalities although he is a little more soft-spoken than I have gotten to be. But we have great unity and we are really enjoying and working hard together.

On Friday we had the baptism of Yicell. She is a little girl (10) who is living with her aunt here who is member. She has been going to church forever but the missionaries never talked to her mom to get permission for her to be baptized. We started teaching her, found out she wanted to, then called her mom and she was fine with it. So on Friday we were getting everything ready and as the font was getting filled I noticed that there was a tiny lizard in the water. I started walking down into the font to get it out and luckily I had my almost worn out Rockport shoes with no traction and slipped on the stair. I grabbed the rail but fell and hit my elbow on the other stair. It hurt but I thought it was just pain so I got up and walked back out. Yicell arrived and when I shook her hand she said "me pintaste....you painted me" I looked at my hand and my whole sleeve was covered with blood. We rolled it up and found that the impact had opened a nice big hole right below my elbow. It was like when I cut my shin and you could see right in there. We got it cleaned up a little bit. I wanted to stay and finish the baptism so I covered it with some gauze, finished the baptism service and we headed to the hospital. The mission has insurance with the nice hospital there so they just send a fax and we go right in to the "VIP" service. We went in, talked with the doctors etc. Everyone looked at me kind of weird, for one because I’m a tall white guy with blonde hair and second because I had blood all over my shirt. The doc and nurse looked it over a little bit and decided I would need a pre shot for hepatitis or something even though I already had one and then gave me a numbing shot on my elbow and put in 4 stitches. Haha I had to get the hepatitis shot on my butt which was a tiny bit awkward, but after the stitches went quick and painless. I taught the doctor and the nurse a little as they were doing the stitches and told them how to get to the chapel where they live. So in the end it will be a good remembrance scar of my time in Bucaramanga and next Friday they will take my stitches out.

As of now as soon as I finish writing this Elder Mura and I will take a bus to Barranca. It is part of our zone and they have a possible baptism on Saturday of a guy who I actually met there so I will go with Elder Mura and do interchanges and work with the missionaries until Wednesday which is Zone conference here in Bucaramanga and possibly interview this guy for baptism. And Elder Butler will stay here with Elder Muras comp, Elder Moreno so that they can teach all the lessons we have planned in our area.

Well fam life is great. I think some Colombian post office workers are eating my birthday package haha but who knows, there still is hope. If not at least someone can enjoy it. I'll get to have plenty of whatever was in there after the mish I’m sure. I am trying my hardest and the spirit is very strong. I know we are in the truth and I absolutely love life. It is such a blessing to serve the Lord as a missionary and I’m so grateful that I can. HAPPY FATHERS DAY to Ben Bill and of course Dad. Be of good cheer and enjoy life. talk to ya next week. Love Elder Barnard

Back in Bucaramanga

2010-06-07T17:51:00.001-07:00

Well fam life is great back in Bucaramanga. My companion Elder Butler and I are doing great and working like crazy. Elder Butler is from Houston Texas. He is about 6 foot and used to play basketball and football also. He is a very good missionary and a great guy. He is very humble and easy to get along with and I think we make a veery good team. He is a hard worker and we are doing great. He has about 6 months less than me in the mission. He was here in Bucaramanga as Zone Leader but in Real de Minas (where I started) but now President put the ZLs in Pinos so we are both new here.

It is the strongest ward in the stake and we use the brand new big stake center (it’s the nicest chapel in the mission). The Bishop here has had some problems with the missionaries but we now know that it’s because he has the ward and its plans very organized. He wants to make sure that what needs to be done, gets done. The first thing we did in our area was visit him and tell him we were there to serve him and asked what we could do. He gave us all kinds of ideas and we have been helping him lots. He seems to be really happy with what we are doing. Haha so the ward has very good leadership and he has them helping us like crazy and I think we will do great things.

This week we were all over the place moving into a new house and organizing things. We taught 14 lessons and 13 were with a member present which is almost unheard of. In church we had 11 investigators and all of them have friends and are progressing. This week we will have our first baptism. It’s a girl named Gicell. She is living here with her aunt and been going to church forever but the missionaries didn’t realize that they only had to call her mom and get her permission to be baptized. So we did just that and she will be baptized on Friday.

We live in a huge apartment complex with like 5 towers of 14 floors. We live on a 7th floor apartment with a nice view of downtown, there are 4 of us in the house and it’s a little small but it has a washing machine and its good enough.

We have all kinds of ideas to start helping the zone. Right now there isn’t a whole lot going on in the other areas but there are good missionaries and we are going to try very hard to support them and get them going. We have made a calendar of the whole transfer (6 weeks) with all the splits we will do with each area and all the activities we have planned. Our zone includes 7 companionships in Bucaramanga and the 3 in Barranca and we should do splits with all of them at least once each transfer. That means we are in at least 2 every week from now on. I can’t wait to get started working with them.

Today we gathered the whole zone and did a little training session about some things we thought were lacking and to set goals for this month. Then they played sports for a little while, watched a movie, and the sisters (there are 2 in the zone) and some elders prepared a lunch. We had everybody put in 5 bucks and then they went and bought a bunch of steak and potatoes and we had Argentina style Milanese (basically chicken fried steak) with mashed potatoes. Ha, we spent the whole first part getting things ready etc so my companion and I couldn’t play sports with the others but at the end we finally got to rest for a second. It was a good chance to improve unity in the zone and teach the missionaries and get them pumped for the month.

You can really see the needs that they all have and our job is to elevate them and help them be happy and be able to work as well as they possible can. Ever since we got here we have hardly stopped to take a breath. Even today was like that but on Wednesday and Friday we go to the zone leader council in San Gil so that will be a second to stop and relax for a bit. I think I have always been a hard worker in the mission, but knowing that there are only 2 transfers left I feel an even greater desire to make every second worth it and do everything possible so we have been going like crazy. The spirit is great and I am loving life.

I’m so grateful for all the great experience I have been able to gain throughout the mish and now I feel completely comfortable helping all the missionaries and our investigators. I get almost 3 more months to use all that I’ve been able to learn and it looks like it’s gonna be great. It’s so good to have a good companion. I feel like we are a great team even if we are 2 gringos in Colombia. We have all kinds of things planned and are working as hard and smart as we can.

I know the church is true, thank you for everything, Love you, Gotta run. Talk to ya next week. :) ELder Barnard

New Calling and Transfer

2010-05-31T14:02:00.000-07:00

May 31, 2010
Aloha familia,.It’s been another good week here in Sogamoso. The situation in Sogamoso couldn’t have been better. We had good attendance yesterday in church and all the investigators are progressing and looks like they will all reach their goals.

On Sunday there were presidential elections here so they had us be in the house by 4 in the afternoon in case of any unfavorable reactions. It seems like President Uribe (the president right now) has been really good. He is conservative and has done tons to beat down the guerrilla group, the FARC and Colombia has progressed tons (before he got in they didn’t send American missionaries because of the violence and now its safer). Here, if someone doesn’t take 50% in the first go around, they do another vote 20 days later with the top two to make sure that somebody ends with the majority. The conservative guy, who will keep doing the same stuff as Uribe, won 46 percent to 21 for the other guy who is from the "green party" but since he didn’t get 50 they have to do a second vote on June 20th with just the 2.

Anyway as I was saying, just when it looked like I was going to see the fruits of our labors here in Sogamoso and see all of our investigators join the church... transfers came. Since the whole mission was in their houses early they called the transfers in the afternoon. I of course was expecting nothing. I have a good companion and we are on the verge of seeing the results. Anyway to get to the point, I'm out of here. I will be going to Bucaramanga! I will be in the Terrazas zone, the same one where I started the mission and I will be a Zone Leader. Right now it is the biggest zone in the mission (20 missionaries) and includes my first area Real de Minas and they just made Barranca part of the zone. Haha talk about surprises. Obviously it is tough to leave these special investigators, especially Guillermo and Lina. I worry because my companion and his new companion are both new and inexperienced, but I have talked to the Elder who will stay here as District Leader and Zone Leader and told them to pay extra attention and give them lots of support. Despite that I am STOKED. I think this will be an awesome way to end these last 3 months working like crazy.

My companion is Elder Butler, yeah he’s actually a gringo. He has been out about 5 months less than me and is from Texas. I know him from when I was in the office and he is a very chill easy going guy and he is a very good missionary. Also I will get to do splits every once in a while in Barranca (2 hours from Bucaramanga). I couldn’t hardly sleep because I really am very excited and I had all kinds of ideas running through my head of things we can do there.

I kind of skipped the Zone Leader step in my mission when I was A.P. but I got to spend 6 months working with them and "training" them so I know what needs to be done and I have many special ideas to really get things going. I’m really excited because it’s a position where you can have a lot of impact on the missionaries, especially newer ones. Actually I called President Hacking last night to thank him and the assistants also called to "brief" me a little. They told me that the zone has been struggling a little lately and there are a lot of new missionaries. They told me they wanted to use my experience there to help get things turned around and develop future leaders with some of the new Elders.

My ward is called Pinos and they say it’s the strongest ward in Bucaramanga. The chapel is a brand new stake center and is definitely the nicest chapel in the mission. Elder Butler was already the Zone Leader there but he was in a different area so we will both be arriving new in the ward at the same time. I already know the Stake President from beforehand which will help a lot because the zone corresponds with the stake so we should be able to work very well with him to coordinate things for the whole zone and implement all the ideas we have.

It's gonna be sad to say goodbye like always, but I know this is a great opportunity and an awesome way to end the mission. I will get to use 21 months of experience in every phase of the mission and I get three months to really utilize it. I will get to work with new missionaries, have leadership trainings, work in a great area and I am very very decided that I am going to "leave it all on the court" as we say in basketball. Three months to work my butt off in my favorite part of the mission and do every thing possible. I want to work harder than I ever have and talk to every person possible. Its scary to think that this will be my last chapter of this amazing experience and I want to make the absolute most of it.

I'm so grateful for all your support and I am so happy to be working for the Lord. I know that he lives and I know that we are in the truth. I hope with all my heart that the people I will have to leave here will not leave the path they have started and that I can do my very best in my last part of the mission and I can grow closer to the Lord than I have yet. Well gotta go, I'll be writing next time from sunny Bucaramanga. Love you all, thanks for everything, Elder Barnard

Good week in Sogomoso

2010-05-28T09:14:00.000-07:00

Buenos Dias Familia,
Well its been another very good week here in Sogamoso. My new companion Elder Melendez is here and we are working very hard. We have a good group of progressing investigators and things seem to be really picking up even more. Yesterday they had us go to Duitama (30 minutes on a bus) for a zone P day activity and we got delayed because it rained like crazy so we got home yesterday just in time to work and couldn’t write.

We picked up my new companion Tuesday morning. He is from Tacna, Peru and is 23 years old. He is somewhat tall, maybe like 5'9" (that’s tall here). He is a good guy. He doesn’t really know his dad and his mom died when he was 14 so he has lived with his aunt or by himself since then. He has a good attitude and is willing to work. He is pretty shy but I have been trying very hard to serve him however I can and build a good friendship. I think I am basically training him. He has only 2 months in the mish. I know the idea is to be united in effort so I am going to try very hard to ask him for ideas, suggestions etc. and help him raise his confidence.

As far as the work here things are looking great. This week is already almost booked full with appointments and lessons. This week in church we started a program to have the priesthood members go with us to our lessons etc. We passed around a little calendar with each day of the week and the hours of each day. We sent it around in priesthood so that each brother could sign a time slot to work with us and present us to friends or inactives that he knows. We got about 8 guys to sign up so hopefully that will give good results this week.

It is possible that Nubia will be baptized this week, we will visit her and make sure she is ready and we feel good about it, if not we will wait another week. Manuel finally accepted a solid goal for his baptism on the 5th of June. He is a really good guy and great dad. He is from a religious family so we are veery excited. I know he will be a great leader someday. We found out that he is actually friends with a few members so we are going to take advantage of that and start fellow shipping him really well. Guillermo and Lina are still very excited and preparing for their wedding / baptism. The other day we were talking to them about how we met them etc and they talked about how sad it would be when I get transferred. Haha Guillermo told me I was the one who "started this new book they are writing, ever since I knocked on his door" and that they were very grateful.

We are so blessed to have found good people who have good desires and I hope so much that they can all reach the goals they have placed and endure to the end. It really is amazing how much you get to love the people you teach. Please keep them all in your prayers and pray that we can keep finding the elect . Well I am pumped for another week. I really do feel a special extra energy and I am very happy to be where I am, doing what I’m doing. Next week are transfers but I don’t anticipate any changes here (knock on wood). Thanks for everything fam, Be of good cheer, Love you, Elder Barnard

May 17, 2010

2010-05-17T18:14:00.000-07:00

Hola fam.
It’s been another good old week here in Sogamoso. We had a baptism on Saturday, we secured a few more baptism dates. I am full of ideas to get things moving even more.
The good news is that our baptism turned out fine. Nicolas, who was baptized, is only 11 but by reaching him we have reactivated about 9 other people. His aunt and uncle were inactive members and they have 5 kids. He now lives with his grandma and his 2 brothers. We found out that his mom was inactive so we started visiting them and they slowly started coming back. Then one day we invited her to present someone for us to teach and she said her nephew wasn’t a member but his brothers and grandma were. So we started teaching him and now all 10 of them are back in the church. Four of the boys are now going to receive the priesthood and the young men's leader has them very involved and excited, so it has been a great blessing to be able to find them and see their return.

Apart from that we have also been working with one guy named Manuel. We have now been teaching him and he has gone to church twice. We have invited him to be baptized and he wants to but he feels like he wants to learn more or receive a real answer, so we have been teaching him a lot about the spirit and how to receive and recognize an answer.

Guillermo and Lina have been working very hard as far as the word of wisdom and although she still occasionally falls into smoking, they are progressing a lot. This week he finally got a break from work so they both came to church and loved it. He is a very funny guy and outgoing so he made friends with all the members and even knows a few from before. We committed them to be married and baptized. It was a great lesson and they accepted. We tried to commit them to a sooner date but they decided on June 19 (Saturday) so that they can organize things well and have a nice wedding. Here, only the Catholic church and the government can legally do marriages so we are going to hire the Notario to come do the marriage in the church so we can invite everyone and have a nice meeting. Then afterwards we can baptize them. They are very excited and very committed. The only problem they have is the word of wisdom but this gives us time to work with them and have them very prepared. The only thing that worries me is the long time until that day. There could be a lot of challenges and opportunities for them to fall but I know we can get it done. They have an awesome little kid (4) named Juan Carlos and I can already see him as a missionary. So please pray for them that they can reach their goal and be married and baptized like they have decided to do.

There are more investigators, one named Nubia, that could possibly be baptized next week. Anyway, there will be lots to do. I have lots of ideas of ways to get the members moving and presenting their friends.

Today for P day, we had a ward sports activity and a bunch of members and the 6 missionaries played sports. Our chapel has a nice basketball/soccer court behind it. So we first played a little soccer. haha I basically have no idea how to dribble or kick the soccer ball but I’m a pretty good goalie and I can run with everyone and at least play defense. But afterwards, I got my turn and we played a little bball. It’s not really that exciting to play here because almost no one knows how to play but today there were a few that had an idea so we had a little fun. Then we played some volleyball which was a little more evenly matched and entertaining. Anyway it was a good Pday activity and Guillermo came and played so it was a good chance for him to get to know the members etc.

Also another cool experience from this week. We were walking down the street (Monday) and some kids shouted out "hello" to us in English. I usually have about 10 people a day shout something out in English as they see me walk by or say something about gringos which I usually just ignore, but this time I felt like I should talk to them. We walked over, which surprised them, and presented ourselves. They said they were also Christians and invited us to a meeting at their house the next day. We ended up with Elder Soria so the three of us went to visit them. At first it was just the kid who invited us but then person after person arrived until there were about 14 of people present. Then their Pastor arrived. haha . I have taught a few people of their religion and they are very, very, very, intense and hard to talk to. They believe that Jesus and God are the same person.

We thought it was just going to be a lesson and it turned into a meeting for their church like a fireside in their house. Their pastor welcomed everyone and said that first they would do their normal thing and then give us a little time to share what we came to share. They said about 5 prayers at random times during the meeting. And for the prayer they all stand up and close their eyes and start talking or shouting things at the same time... It was quite confusing so I just stood there and closed my eyes and waited for them to end. Anyway, after that their pastor read some verses from the Bible and shouted a lot and they played a few songs on guitar. Then they gave the time to us and the other 2 missionaries just looked at me haha. At first I was a little afraid to say anything "too Mormon" so they wouldn’t start fighting or anything. I talked about how we both believe in Christ etc. but then I really felt like we should tell them what we tell everyone so we started teaching them about Christ’s ministry and his original church with apostles and prophets. We told them that we believed that those things were lost for a long time and had been restored today and that there were prophets and apostles again in the world. Their pastor tried to clarify that the calling of prophets ended with Jesus but we clearly answered all of his questions and even used his own Bible. We ended up committing all of them to pray and ponder about what we had taught them and finished with our testimonies while the Pastor was looking for something to read them from the Bible. We finished and everyone started asking us questions about where we were from, our cultures, the church, why they call us Mormons etc. We could barely leave on time because they all wanted to talk to us. The family whose home we taught in even went with us outside and asked if we could go back and talk just with them.

This week we will return and teach them. We basically went into a house full of people (who are usually very difficult to talk to) and committed them all to pray about the restoration. We will return to their next meeting and keep visiting them. Who knows if any of them will really progress but it was really a cool experience because the Spirit guided us and for at least that moment they knew it and recognized it.

Well that’s about all the news there is to write this week. I have high hopes for the future and to make this the best part of my mission yet. I know we are in the true church and I feel very blessed to be a missionary. I love you, be of good cheer and I will talk to ya next week. Love Elder B

May 3, 2010

2010-05-03T18:23:00.000-07:00

Well family another week has come and gone just like that. Unfortunately this wasn’t the most productive week as far as stats for various reasons but we will never give up :) But there still was plenty of good this week despite the challenges. We committed Guillermo and Lina to get married. At first he was decisive that his marriage had to be in the Catholic Church with a big family party and everything. But we explained everything and taught them etc. and they realized that a civil marriage was the same as the catholic one, just cheaper. Hehe and they know that they should get married and said they would do it. They still aren't sure about a date but they agreed that this month... so hopefully they will keep progressing. Sadly they didn’t come to church yesterday, He had even changed his day off from Sunday to Saturday to go but for some reason they didn’t come and we haven't been able to contact them since.

Let me tell you it is veeeeery frustrating to have and know what people need to do to be happier and be SAVED and they don’t feel like doing it. I guess it’s up to us to improve as teachers, in commitments and really search to find those who are. But I am very grateful to be serving where I am, despite the difficulties. It’s one of the places in the world where the people are open and prepared to receive the gospel so we are going to do every thing possible to find em. We also are still working with Nicholas (12) and Nubia and they are sooooo close to getting over the hump, if we can just help them find a little bit more desire and increase their faith they will get there.

One of my favorite talks by Elder Holland talks about this more or less. Sometimes it’s hard when we know we have the restored truth, living prophets, ministration of angels etc and we wonder why things aren’t easier, why our only problem isn't getting pneumonia from spending all day in the baptismal font. But he says it’s because Salvation was never a cheap experience. We wear Jesus Christ’s name on our chests and it was never easy for him. He even asked the Father if there wasn't an easier way. So when it’s hard and the people just don't accept, we should remember that if we want to call ourselves Disciples of Christ, we better be willing to take a step or two towards Calvary or feel a second or two of Gethsemane. Obviously it would be sacrilegious to compare what He felt to anything we can feel but you get the point... It was a talk that really helped me and I know that everything is going to turn out great.

I have hopes to do the best I can and keep improving, I know without a doubt that we are in the truth and the closer I get to ending the more I want to do. Thanks for everything family, take care and have a great week. Love Elder Barnard

Testimony

2010-04-26T16:47:00.000-07:00

April 26, 2010
Dear Family,
Well it’s been another good old week here in Sogamoso, la capital de las vacas :) We are working well and this week we put lots of emphasis on finding and finding and finding and it went very well. The other area here got 2 extra missionaries so they divided it in two and now the 4 of them are working in that ward.

As far as good news this was actually a great Sunday. We had 6 investigators at church, and we have found some really good people. One is a 12 year old kid who the government just took from his parents because they have maharani problems. He is now living with his aunt who is a member in our ward. She called us over immediately to visit him so we are going to prepare him to be baptized.

Also, knocking doors we found a really cool couple. They aren’t married but that can be arranged and she went to church (Hewas working but really wants to go this Sunday) and said she loved it. They personally schedule when we will come back to visit and usually have food waiting. Haha last time they had us both a nice hot cup of coffee waiting. We didn’t want to be rude so we drank it... haha just kidding again. So it was a good chance to teach them the word of wisdom. They have a few problems with some of the substances but they really have a desire to know the truth and I know the Lord will answer their prayers and help them know it.

Today for P day we (this district) took a train and went to visit a little old pueblo (tiny town). There really was nothing to do but it was fun to ride the old clanky train and I got some cool pictures.

Well time is flying; it’s hard to believe I'm almost done. I really am trying to take advantage of every day and although clearly I’m not perfect I am trying hard. I was thinking the other day that maybe I don’t share my testimony enough in my letters. The other day at lunch we were talking to one member a little about sports and I told him how I loved basketball and my favorite team was the Jazz. He finished eating, went and got on the internet, came back and told me that they were tied with Denver in the playoff series and were going to play in Salt Lake that night at 8 30 (10 30 here). I remembered how much I LOVED watching bball and especially the jazz in the playoffs. But the jist of the story, that night at 10 30 as I was saying my night time prayer I realized that the game would be just starting and really I felt that I would rather be here in Sogamoso, Colombia saying a prayer than watching the greatest basketball game ever. Don’t get me wrong I was happy to hear that they won and I would like to hear how they do, but really there will be lots more NBA playoffs and this is a once in a lifetime thing.

I had a testimony before coming on the mission but as I have lived it and spent everyday serving the lord that testimony has become much deeper. I really have gotten to know Christ. I have felt his spirit at the times I was most scared or unsure or disappointed and I KNOW that he isn’t just an idea or some unimaginable thing but that he lives and I know that he loves us. I know that this is his church and even though we are so imperfect, he is perfect enough to lift us.

Thanks for all your support family, I love you. Happy birthday little ELLA (hehe Ella in Spanish means she) Congratulations Cameryn on the lead role. Well until next time, Elder Barnard

Plane Tickets for August 18, 2010

2010-04-19T19:18:00.000-07:00

April 19, 2010
Querida Familia.
Well it’s been a great, spiritual week here in Sogamoso. We had interviews with President Hacking, some cool experiences and stake conference in our chapel.

We have been trying to do weekly fasts to get more of the spirit and for specific things to do for us and our investigators. This week it was very cool. I have gained a strong testimony of fasting and prayer and the spirit they can bring when you do them right. We had interviews with the president and we started fasting the day before, especially for our investigators. We got to the interviews with a very good spirit and they were great. President Hacking first talked to us together and then each one alone. Things have been good with my companion. President complimented me in the Interviews and really expressed confidence in me. He was so positive and told me he really trusted me and was thankful for what I was doing. It really is nice to have someone like your mission president be so supportive and encouraging. He is such a good man. It’s humbling and makes me want to improve.

The Stake Conference was in our chapel which was a great chance to invite friends and investigators. Unfortunately the Lopez family, who we committed to baptism all missed except one daughter. We have been very clear with them about the Sabbath Day and about gaining a testimony and they keep saying "of course, sure we want to go" We even had a very spiritual lesson with them and the mom admitted that she felt a special warm feeling but once again something "came up" on Sunday. I think we will teach them this week and let them know that we want to help them with all our heart, but it’s so important for them to keep commitments.

There were however a few surprises, like an investigator who he had stopped teaching a while ago that finally came and really liked it. Also we had a little miracle this week. We got permission to do a sporting activity and invited one of our investigators, who plays basketball, and his team to come and play at the church. Unfortunately it rained all day and they didn’t come. On our way back to the house we realized that Elder R had left the keys inside and we have no spares. We went downstairs (we live on the 3d floor) to see if we could find the owner or anything. A lady walked by on her way out and said, Hi Elders. We asked if she knew how we could get a key or anything and she said that they were on their way to the plaza where there was a locksmith and that we could go with them. As we were walking we asked who she was etc and how she knew the Elders. Turns out that all her kids are baptized and she and her husband at one time were going to get baptized but they couldn’t work out the papers for him to be legally separated from his first wife and for the 2 to get married. They said that they finally got it organized but by that time the missionaries had already stopped coming and they lost contact with the church. They were excited to talk to us and we are now going to visit them (probably today) and start teaching them again. All because we just happened to do a sporting activity that day, we got rained out, and forgot the keys. Otherwise we would have had no idea... and they live on the floor below us. The Lord really puts people in your path and prepares the way if you are ready.

Well everything else is going great here. Don’t worry mom we are eating well and I take lots of pictures. Elder Soria is a really good cook so we often get together as a district and cook etc. It has rained every day for about 2 weeks now and we both left our umbrellas at members houses so the weather has been a challenge but we are doing the best we can and are excited to start another 6 weeks. I spent some time today setting some goals for the transfer as far as studying and other stuff like service and ways to improve in teaching and efficiency etc.

Today for P day we went to the Coliseum here and watched a few girls basketball games (supposedly our investigator Jordy was going to play but there were only girls teams). If you think 9th grade girls are bad at basketball in the US you should see them here haha just kidding. But it was at least nice to hear the sounds of a gym etc. Well fam all is great; I can’t believe they already have my plane tickets! Much love and till next time, Elder Barnard

New Coming Home Date - August 18, 2010

2010-04-11T17:49:00.001-07:00

I can't believe it but they just found out that they will be flying home on August 18, 2010. They left on August 21, 2008 - I don't know where the time has gone.

I laughed when I saw this picture. The arrow is pointing to a clean white sock. He had mentioned once before that they sweat so much that he keeps a sock in his pocket to mop his brow. I suggested that he buy some handkerchiefs. I don't think he has.

April 12, 2010
Well today I am writing from a disobedient keyboard so forgive my spelling errors or random spaces. It’s been quite a good week here in Sogamoso. Here it’s a great climate, just a little bit warm to wear suits so we just work in normal white shirts. The only problem this week is that it has been raining like crazy every single day. After nearly 20 months I finally broke out my rain jacket from Mr. Mac's but I left my umbrella at a member’s house so we have been getting soaking wet.

Amazingly all of my clothes are still ok. My 2 pairs of Ecco shoes are in excellent condition and my other pair is suffering a little but I think they will make it. All of my suits, pants and shirts are fine although some of my white shirts aren’t AS white as they used to be.
We have been working very hard this week and it has been a great week. We have taught a lot of lessons etc. and the investigators FINALLY came to church and really liked it. We are hopeful to have 5 baptisms on the 24th depending on their progress. That is the goal and we will do our best to help them get there.

Here in Sogamoso there are 2 areas, one for each ward and chapel. Our chapel is the stake center for the Duitama stake so it’s very big and nice and the other chapel is little and not so nice. Anyway a family who lives out of town but technically belongs to the other area and has been talking with the other missionaries, came to our ward Sunday because it’s closer to them. They are going to move to Bogotá in a month to start preparing travel stuff to go live in Montreal Canada. They say Canada wants more young families so the government will pay them to go live there with their young children. Anyway they love the church and want to be baptized before they leave so it looks like my companion and I are going to start teaching them as well and see if they can be baptized before leaving.

I had to laugh when I read Kaydee Browns letter. She was so excited to have found three investigators in one week in Denmark. It really is interesting to see how in one part of the world people are so easy going and easy to talk to and in others they are more closed. I have to admire her and missionaries there where it’s harder to find people. I remember weeks in Barranca where we found 20 plus new investigators who invited us to talk to them but then wouldn’t progress.

I sent Elder Soria the letter you wrote mom and he told me some amazing news. The other day President Hacking called him and told him that his mom had called him. She was now working in Spain, had got in contact with the missionaries and was BAPTIZED. haha She sent him some money and it sounds like she is writing him now. He said he could feel the spirit when he read your letter mom, and thanks a ton.

I finished a week early my goal of reading the New Testament this transfer so now I am focusing lots on studying Preach My Gospel more and I want to read Jesus The Christ which is way good.

This week we have interviews with the President which will be nice. President Hacking always helps me get a good spiritual boost and keep looking for ways to improve.

I really like the example you had in your letter mom. I always try to be positive in my letters and although I love the mission like no other, it obviously has discouraging moments. The other day I was praying and thinking about things and the words of President Hinckley’s dad came into my mind, forget yourself and go to work. So I have really been trying to focus on that saying, especially when lessons fall through or we have to run through the rain with wet shoes etc. And it really has helped.
Overall I am loving life and trying my best to be my best. Well I am about out of time but I love you fam and I hope all is well where you are, until next time. Elder Barnard

P.S. Also we have talked to President Hacking about college. Our release date was August 26th but he says we should fly home on August 20th instead (those of my group who need to meet college starting dates). Actually today they were taking out the flight plans because they always do them very early - scary thought, they are already booking our flights! I also sent you a letter from BYU. Thanks. Love Will

Great Conference

2010-04-05T16:07:00.000-07:00

April 5, 2010
Dear Family.
All is well in Sogamoso and it has been another great week. Now that I am a little more settled into the area etc. time is absolutely flying again like it always seems to. This week has been a productive one and the conference was great.

We spent more time this week with the Elders from the other area of Sogamoso. The conference was broadcast in our chapel so they stayed at our apartment from Saturday till Monday. We also did splits one day with them so I worked with Elder Soria in his area etc. The other companionship is a funny pair. The DL is Elder Soria from Brazil. He was born in Brazil and then when he was a teenager he moved to Bolivia. His first language is Portuguese so his Spanish is a little weird but sometimes I have him teach me words in Portuguese. He has 15 months in the mission and is a convert of 2 years. While I was Assistant, his family basically rejected him because they are from another church and his mom wrote him and told him that when he got back, his stuff would be in a neighbor’s house and he had no need to go back to his home. So he has had some tough times but it’s his first time as DL and he is trying very hard to do his best. Elder Soria asked me lots of questions for advice etc. and we talked a lot during the splits. Anyway that’s a little bit about our district.

Elder Quispe was in our area earlier in his mission so while he was with my comp they went to see some old investigators and started teaching them again. We have now visited them a few times and have been teaching them more. They are very excited. We actually invited them to prepare for a baptism date on the 24th and they accepted, but problems came up this weekend and they couldn’t go to the conference so we will have to see. But we are very excited to have found them and to have a family that has a desire to progress, hopefully they can gain a testimony and come along. We also have another family that we are teaching who seems very good from Barranquilla and a 21 year old kid who says he would like to go on a mission so we are working hard and hoping they will progress.

Elder R and I have decided to focus on faith (as one of the Christ like attributes from PMG) so this week we did a special fast to have stronger faith and testimonies and it was a very spiritual experience. I set goals to read the whole New Testament and Preach My Gospel during this transfer so I use my study time and also read a little every night. As of now I am way ahead and if I keep going consistently I should finish them easily. It has really helped because I know lots of scriptures from the Bible that I use to teach. It has also improved my testimony of the Book of Mormon and really how much clearer it is.

The Conference was awesome. As a missionary, conference is like the NBA finals of the super bowl of your life so its always exciting when it comes and I learned a lot. I loved President Monson's talks; he talks about simple things but makes you realize they are the important things. But all the talks were good, especially the Sunday Morning session was great.

It’s raining here and today for Pday we took a bus to a place called Lago Tota (Tota Lake). It’s a lake up in the mountains and has white sand like a beach and it has reeealy beautiful scenery. So we rented a boat and went for a nice swim and enjoyed the beach... haha ok just kidding. I had you nervous. We kept a good distance from the water but I got some good pictures and it’s good to get to know the culture and the sites etc.

Well I am about to head out. Things are going great and I am enjoying very much my mission and trying maybe harder than ever to do the best I can. It’s amazing how fast the time goes so I am trying to progress as much as possible and do as much as possible. It's hard to know if you’re progressing because it is so subjective, but I hope so and I am trying to improve.

I love you family, I always pray for you and I hope you are well. I am very happy. Talk to ya next week. Love Will

Sogamoso is Great

2010-03-29T17:46:00.000-07:00

March 29, 2010
Hola Family,
It’s been another good week in Sogamoso. My comp and I have been working hard and getting along very well. We have been finding new investigators but once again they left us disappointed and only 1 came to church. It’s frustrating when you find people and set good commitments and even go to pick them up and they don’t come through. But we aren’t letting it get us down and we have many plans and ideas to turn things around.

We made a nice sheet and started a "plan" for the missionary work in the ward. I made a table on the computer with the days of this week and the hours of each day. We had them pass it around in the Relief Society and fill in an hour when we can visit every family and share our new "plan" with them and the paper got filled up. Really our secret plan is to visit them, share a message and plan to have a family home evening with a friend that they will choose to invite. So we should be busy this week visiting all the members and hopefully we can get some good references and people who are ready to accept the gospel.

I am starting to get the area down well and I think this should be a good week. It is now Semana Santa here "holy week". It’s a catholic thing where they have all kinds of traditions like not eating meat or listening to music etc. But it means most people will be on vacation and at home so hopefully that is good.

Other than that, the work is going well. My comp is making lots of progress and we are working hard and being very obedient. He really is a good guy.

This Sunday in church I gave a talk and spoke about how members can prepare themselves to share short messages about what we believe and what the church is. Lots of people said they really liked my talk and that I spoke Spanish really well which was nice.

Today we had a good pday. We played basketball and soccer at the church and a few kids and members that actually knew how to play bball a little bit came, so it was fun to get in some good games and work on my shot. After that we cooked lunch as a district in our house. Elder Soria (Brazil) made a steak thing called milanesa. It was way good and we had tons of food.
Well sorry so short but we got here late and it’s time to end p day and start working. I love you fam, have a great week, and thanks for everything. Love Elder Barnard

Bochica - Lamanite Tradition

2010-03-23T09:52:00.000-07:00

March 21, 2010
Hey Fam,
Life is great here in Sogamoso. Sometimes when I'm walking down the middle of the main street and I see horse poop all over I almost think I’m in Wyoming (after the Labor Day Parade with all the horses) haha. But things are going well. I really like this place and we are making much progress with Elder R. Life is much simpler when you’re not assistant or branch president and I am enjoying just focusing on my area and investigators.

This week I don’t have too many dramatic stories to tell. I am starting to get the area down and know where I’m going. Elder R and I are getting along very well. I have been very patient and positive in everything we do and we have been very obedient and working really hard. I ask him how I can improve or compliment him. Since then I have really seen a change in him and have seen that he is trying really hard to be positive.

The people here have been a little difficult but I know we will be successful. The ward, although much bigger than Barranca and with experienced leaders, needs help with unity and most of the people seem to be Sunday members. We are working hard to win their confidence and become their friends. We hope that we can encourage them to introduce us to their friends.

Sunday was also Ward conference here so the Stake pres came and talked. We had high hopes of lots of investigators but unfortunately all but one fell through. We arranged to walk to church with one family but they were no where to be found. Really it was a challenging week. Lots of lessons fell through etc. but we kept working and like I said I know we are close.

Saturday we had a cool experience. After a whole day of not finding anyone, we stopped at 7:30, said a prayer and asked Padre Celestial to help us finish the day well and find someone who was ready to receive us. We looked around as to where to go and I felt like we should go to the street behind our house and knock on doors there. About the third one, a really nice guy, a husband and father of 3, opened the door and happily let us in and we taught him about the importance of the family and how much happiness the family could bring. The spirit was really strong and he seemed to really like our message. The story isn’t all happy because Sunday we couldn’t find them but it was seriously cool to see how quick our prayer was answered and we were blessed for not giving up.

Today we had a good P day. We went to the archaeological museum and saw a bunch of artifacts etc. of the Laminates as we know them here in this part. Here in Sogamoso they had a huge temple that they used for "rituals that had eternal importance to them" it said. Another interesting thing is a tradition called Bochica. The natives of almost every Latin American country have about the same tradition with different names. They say that "Bochica", a tall white bearded god came to them thousands of years ago way before the Spanish and taught them how to live and many skills etc. sounds like 3 Nephi 11.

Anyway I don’t think I have any more news, Time is flying but I am really enjoying things here. If there is anything that comes up as far as college I will let you know. I love you fam, thanks for all your support, be safe and be of good cheer. Love Will

I love Sogomoso

2010-03-16T20:23:00.000-07:00

Hey family,
It’s been a good old week. I am now settled in to my new area in Sogamoso Boyaca. It was sad to leave Barranca but exciting at the same time for a change and a new opportunity.
Monday, after writing we spent the day visiting members etc. One sister invited us over for dinner and thanked me for all the help etc. and a few people cried when we said goodbye haha. I gave away some ties and pictures to a few members etc. It was a pretty long bus ride so I ended up getting to Tunja at about 11:30 P.M. The zone leader, Elder Calton and 2 Elders from Tunja were waiting there in the terminal so I stayed the night with them and then took the bus to Sogamoso and got here in the morning (it’s only about a 40 minute drive).

Sogamoso is a city of about 125,000 people. It has 2 pretty good wards and is part of the Duitama Stake which was just formed last year. When I got there, my comp Elder R was waiting with the 2 other elders from the other ward. We loaded up all the stuff. (Each transfer I have less and less stuff so it’s easier to travel) and headed to the house. I did splits here in my area once before when I was an AP so I already knew a little bit. The apartment is pretty nice and today we spent some good time cleaning it, so it’s in very good shape now.

My first day, we went to visit an investigator that they have had for a while. He is in the army here and every so often he gets sent off to jungle places to fight against and help control Farc (guerilla communist group). He is getting sent to a place on the border of Venezuela and he was telling us that it’s really rough there because Venezuela gives these guys weapons and shelter etc. and then denies it. (Haha but no worries mom it’s a long ways away and it’s very safe here). But anyway, his brothers and dad and wife are all baptized and he had done everything necessary to be baptized but didn’t feel like he knew enough. Turns out he had to report Saturday to get shipped to where he will be stationed for 5 months. We got to the lesson on baptism and he really felt like he needed to be baptized now. So we talked with him about all the details etc. and verified with the mission and Bishop and they said definitely. So my second day here we baptized him and confirmed him right there and he is now in the jungle somewhere. Who knows what will happen where they are but I am very glad that he was able to do what he needed to do before he left. It makes you REALLY appreciate people who will risk themselves to protect their family, country, freedom etc.

Things have actually been going well with Elder R. President Hacking called me the other day and told me that I was with him by his design and that it was a “special assignment”. I have been trying very, very hard to be 100% obedient and very positive and patient and things have gone very well. He is very intelligent and knows a lot of scriptures and expresses himself very well. The thing is that he tends to get discouraged or negative very quickly. I can see where he has had problems with other comps. But I have just let it all pass and be positive and obedient and he is starting to see that it doesn’t work and we are getting along well. I can tell that inside he is a good guy. He is really warming up and I think things will keep getting better. Things are improving every day.

The chapel here was planned to be the stake center but then they moved it to another area so it’s gigantic. It’s really nice and has a little basketball / soccer court and grass etc. There are some good, experienced leaders here. The problem they may have is that there could be more unity, so they all come to church and then go home and only see each other again the next Sunday. But I have tried to be really friendly with all of them and set up lots of appointments to visit them etc. to win their confidence. Oh, the other day I ate a soup that had cooked chicken intestines and FEET. Yes they made a stew and I pulled out my spoon and there was a nice tender chicken foot. haha

Sogamoso is quite a weird town. As you get towards the edges it is like part town. part farm land and you will just see all these empty lots with cows or horses on them. The scenery is really beautiful and actually reminds me a little of the Uinta mountains etc. The weather is peeeerfect. It’s cool all day and chilly in the mornings and night, it basically feels like Evanston in the spring. And it’s not cold enough to have to wear suits so it’s just white shirts.
I have been having some great study sessions and I am really trying hard to take advantage of every second I have. The days keep flying by and next time I write I will have less than 5 months! I know it’s the Lords’ plan for me to be here and with Elder R and I’m confident we can do great things. Well fam thanks again for everything, I’m excited for this new challenge and I know the Lord is going to help us out.
Until next time, Love Will

P.S. As far as the college stuff I think BYU is the plan. I have been thinking and praying about it for a while now and I feel like it's what I should do. I thought a lot about trying to play basketball and then transferring somewhere else but, for various reasons and as much as I love bball, I’m just not feeling it. As far as the Y, I have no idea about the apartments, that one you said, the Omni, looks really nice and if you guys feel like it’s the best choice I do too, cuz I really can’t put any time into researching it. Thank you so much.

New Transfer and Changes

2010-03-08T15:10:00.000-08:00

Well another transfer has come and gone already fam. Since President Hacking had already told me in my interview I knew I was going to be transferred and last night we found out where. The surprise was that my comp also got transferred so I was worried for a little bit that they would leave Pinos without missionaries, but 2 new ones will come in our place.

Yesterday was a nice fast Sunday. I was released as the BP and brother Benavides was sustained. I hope everything will go well and our branch will progress and grow. They still haven’t chosen a counselor but they will keep looking. I hope things work out and the branch can keep going and growing. It was really a good feeling when they gave the vote of thanks to see everyone raise their hand. (haha not that anyone ever doesn’t raise their hand) but I really felt like I had done about as well as I could and that the Lord was happy with the job we did. I got to give the last testimony and thanked all the members and told them I loved them and would miss hot, humid Barranca. We spent most of the day visiting the ward families etc. and saying goodbye and sharing a little message with each one. By the end of the day I was stuffed because about everybody invited us to eat.

Last night Shirley and David had a little goodbye dinner for me and my companion. It really is so sad to leave here and these good people. I never could have guessed that my time here in Barranca would turn out so well. First, we lived in a crowded, derelict, hot apartment without water. Then, we lived in a truck stop hotel for a few weeks. Next, we lived in a tiny bedroom on the other side of the city in the other missionaries house and finally in a house in our own area...I got to be the second (by 2 weeks) American missionary here in 17 years. I was a trainer, a senior companion and a Branch President. I sweated in this 100 plus degree weather more than at any point in my mission and I REALLY loved it. Haha seriously sitting here at this computer and writing it all down and thinking that I have a transfer makes me feel like crying, wuss - right? But the mish really is an amazing experience. I haven’t been perfect here, it’s been the most challenging part of my mission but I really have tried to do my best and I’m proud to say I never wished not to be here or do this. Yesterday in church and in my prayers, I really felt that the Lord understands us and that he accepted these months of work. I have grown to love the people here very much and I will definitely never forget my time in Barrancabermeja. It has been an amazing experience.

But that’s life and there are always changes. I will now be going to a town called Sogamoso. It is a fairly small city in the Boyaca department. It’s a more temperate climate, not so hot and humid. It’s kind of in the mountains and a very cool little city. Its part of the Duitama Stake. It was just made a stake last year. The stake is made up of 4 little cities about 30 minutes away from each other. They have 1 or 2 wards each. Sogamoso has 2 wards and the one I am going to is called Sol (SUN). I did splits one day there and they have a nice, big chapel. Because it is a ward we won’t have to worry about leadership etc. I will be able to focus on just working as a missionary.

President Hacking told me in the interview that he would probably put me with a young missionary or one who was struggling a little to try and help. Haha but it looks like that’s the case. So I now have a new companion. When I was AP I got to know him a little and he had a few problems with obedience etc. Actually one day a long time ago, he and his comp were having problems so I was called to work with them. He ignored my phone calls and left me waiting alone in a park until his comp caught on. But, I think things will turn out well. I will just try to work extra hard and support him and be his friend. And that’s the news. I am sad to leave Barranca but excited to get to know a new place and new people and see what we can accomplish there.

Hope all is well where you are. As far as housing etc. for BYU, I have no idea but try to talk with other moms who know etc. I don’t think RM’s usually live on campus but I really don’t know how it works. Well I’m out of time. I love you fam, I love what I’m doing and you’re in my prayers always, till next week. Elder Barnard

Couple of Baptisms

2010-03-01T20:26:00.001-08:00

March 1, 2010
Qhubo fam,
Another good week here in B/meja. We had a good week working with our focus more on the members and recently baptized. We had the baptisms of Saira and Jonathan on Saturday and the confirmations on Sunday. Also today we had interviews with the president which went really well. We just got back from them. As far as the week we spent a lot of time working with less actives and members who are having problems. We are working really hard with a few priesthood brothers who are less active to help strengthen their testimonies and build up the p hood here in the branch. We also had some good lessons with Saira and Jonathan preparing them for their baptism and everything. They are now going to seminaries Tue thru Friday and have already made good friends with the other youth which is way important because they have a support system and will be less likely to go inactive. We took them out of seminary to teach lessons and then would send them back to class.

On Saturday we had a rush to get all the clothes etc ready but the baptism turned out great. We held the service with the Elders in Parnaso who also had a baptism. The room was full; we had a really good turn out from both branches. I conducted the meeting and we had our two priests baptize the two new members which will be a good experience for them. The youth from Pinos prepared a little musical number and there was a video and a few short talks. Afterwards we went to an after baptism dinner with some members from Parnaso which was also kind of a goodbye for Elder Zari because he is about to end the mish. Sorry if I'm lacking a lot of spaces but this spacebar hardly works. Anyway Brother Benavides had a small eye operation so yesterday I was solo to run everything in the branch but it turned out well. My comp and I confirmed them.

Last night they called us with the surprise info that Pres Hacking would interview us today. He first talked with each of us with our comps and then individually. He thanked me a lot for what we’ve done as Branch President and said that next week they would make the change and put Bro B in as the BP and I would get to be a full time missionary again. It was a really good interview, its always energizing to talk to president Hacking. He told me this would probably be the area I would most remember and this experience would benefit me forever and that I did a really good job with the extra load etc.

He asked me what I thought could be done to improve this district etc because now that the missionaries aren’t going to be in the BP things will be harder. Honestly I think, and told him, that this place shouldn’t be a district yet. For so long everyone has been saying STAKE STAKE STAKE but they are nowhere near it and the little leadership that there is needs to grow and be strengthened. What happens is that all the leaders get called to be in the district and the branches are left without help. The branches can use all the people they have until they grow a little and are ready for a district and someday a stake. He seemed to agree with that and it looks like changes are coming. At least with the progress we have made I think Pinos can support itself and keep growing.

He also told me he wasn’t sure where or in what position but that I was going to be changed this transfer. It’s going to be tough to leave this place. haha. I never would have imagined how much I would learn or grow to love these people and this area. So I have 2 weeks left to do everything possible and leave this place as well as we can. I really have seen the Lords blessings in my time here and President is right that it will never ever be forgotten.

I’m pretty sure that my decision will be to attend BYU this fall. I have been praying and thinking about the options. As much as I love Wyoming and even more, love playing basketball, I feel like it’s what I should do and will turn out to be the best in the long run.

Well I’ve got to run. I pray for you always. I know we are in the truth. I finished the B of M again yesterday just in time for the mission challenge and I learned so much more and really felt yet again that it was true. Well love ya much fam, hope all is well and till next week. Elder Barnard

BYU Provo Acceptance

2010-02-22T14:17:00.000-08:00

Well fam, it’s been another very good week here in Colombia. We have worked very hard this week and it turned out very well.

As I said in the last letter we set a high goal to teach 35 total lessons during the week. It was tough but last night we managed to finish and taught number 35. It’s really cool to see how good goals can help you manage your time and focus on important things. We spent every free second last week looking for ways to help and teach people. It really helped us use ALL of our time working hard for the Lord, which at the end of the day is a very rewarding feeling even if all the people don’t progress.

As far as our investigators, we are about in the same situation. S and J, the two kids, are preparing for their baptism next Saturday and are already attending seminary every night with the other kids and seem to be very excited. Their dad always tells us yes when we talk to him but it is hard to follow through. Working with them should help him progress little by little.

Saturday we had a branch activity that was kind of a walking trip with the Relief Society (they planned it). Everyone met at the church at about 6 and walked to a place outside of town with activities planned and a restaurant etc. It turned out well. The branch unity has really improved tremendously.

I have learned a ton serving as the Branch President. I already said this but the Lord really has blessed me and helped me. There are always new difficulties and problems and trials that the members have and ask you to help them with. You never know when someone is going to call with a problem in their family or come in to talk with you. But it’s amazing how the Lord has helped me to know what to say to people and help them out.

Tuesday night President Hacking called me at about 10 P.M. which was a surprise and said "Want some good news? I just received an e-mail from your parents. You got accepted to BYU." I really have been blessed. I guess I will now have to give it some thought and prayer and see which college I should choose, but right now I’m leaning towards BYU. It seems to be a really good college and I would have plenty of friends that I have made in the mish that have encouraged me to go there. I know that it’s a great environment.

Well sorry if this is short but I am out of time. We are working hard and life is going great here. I love you lots and you’re always in my prayers. Any advice or extra info about studies is welcome. Thanks for everything. Till next week, Elder Barnard