MY 2013 GOALS......

I'm surprised that i have an accent. I have the hardest time talking to president monahan now or the senior couple missionaries in english. I feel so slow and dumb haha. My three words? i didnt put to much effort into the drawing brother borlazza printed it out for me. I have never really been big into art projects and competitions. I had something funny to write for my three words but i was worried president monahan would get mad haha. The best i thought was elder shaw's...."remember lots wife"..... dont look back at sodom and gomorrah. Really inspiring just like the quote of nephi. and my father dwelt in a tent. When i was in seminary i loved using passages like that for scripture thoughts and see how much discussion i could draw out. Well its 2013 wow. Yeah my chance of getting transferred is really high on january 25. The lumague family brother finally came to sacrament. I sat next to his family and jhumel and shiela (10) and (12) and they were really reverent. We sing in english here, and i sing really really loud so the branch wont be embarrassed and will sing loud too. There are a lot of hymns that i've really started to love. Most of them are pioneer hymns. Well mom you want my 2013 goals for our family book..... (1) excercise everyday (2) more effective in personal study (3) heighten my spiritual hearing yeah that ought to do it so you can mark me down for that. I love landon haha. He's right no one should be put through a movie like that. I'm glad they found grandma barneys car. We just had lunch at a members house. They fed us fried chicken and watermelon and I almost asked for purple kool-aid but im sure they wouldnt have gotten the joke. Dad you have to read the infinite atonement again. The doctrine isnt so deep. It's direct and its all stuff we have heard before but just now i have realized. My whole teaching style in the plan of salvation and the gospel of jesus christ has changed. It's amazing. Yeah its really hard to talk to you guys. I felt like i talked about stuff that wasnt really important so the next time we'll focus on the good stuff haha. I really like hyms like, Hark to the trumpeteers, Let zion in her beauty rise, and the nashville tributes stuff like that haha. I know dad you want to say "i told you so" but dont haha. Yes I love church music. I really like listening to church songs after work when i eat my bananas. Well im glad you liked the three words video, i hope its something different the next year. Anyways. i love you all at manigong bagong taon ~Elder Barney

Keep the traditions...Read Luke 2. I love the Christmas Story.

Well well well

Tomorrow is the big day that i get to hear your voices. It hasnt hit me like it did back in may that i will hear your voices. I have been so busy. Christmas conference in baguio was fun but quick There was a great workshop and the food was amazing. There was a chocolate fountain, and i was shocked they had marshmellows and that good stuff and of course rice. I havent met elder campbell yet but he's here. This week is a big week for the tagalan family. On wednesday they and the branch president will talk to the parents of sister rhea about her marriage and baptism. Once they have the go from the parents then i know she will accept the IBD. She wantes to be baptized but family is everything to a filipino and the thought of displeasing your family is avoided at all costs. Hopefully it happens even if im not here in february which is high because the training of my elder is about to finish. I could train here again it just depends. Well im getting back into shape i can dunk on the 8 and half foot rim now. Pathetic i know. Dallin gherkins emailed me and i haven't grinned that hard in so long. We watched the christmas carol for conference and we had our fingers crossed for the dark knight or the hobbit but then again i know president and that wasnt going to happen. The movie was great. The temple i think will start in early spring of 2013 im so excited. The IBD's are progressing but the dad is starting to waver. We need the help of the elders quorum. We'll look at the "three words video" on presidents blog that should be cool. In the call lets just talk about important stuff haha. I had to speak in english last night because there was a family from india that wanted to hear our beliefs but werent interested in being taught. I had no english materials and i even reached in to give them a pamphlet and realized that it was Tagalog. So now i will carry the articles of faith in english where ever i go. Well i have plenty of socks guys. The packages are all here, we have a christmas tree, the food is great, and the music is just what i needed. I love the savior, redeemer of my soul. It's amazing and of course the poor wayfaring man of grief. Also the book is amazing. I'm understanding the true christmas really. I love CD's with church music. If you can find one with the hark! listen to the trumpeteers on it thats awesome. I liked the letters from the other missionaries of the ward. Some gave me hope and i felt the spirit. Dad the other day i had a funny memory after i gave my talk. I remember one time in the kensington ward you were on the stand and lexi and i were sitting next to each other and i jabbed her in the ribs with my elbow. Mom took the handout hit my knee. Then i looked up and saw your face you had your fingers to your lips with your thumb on your chin and stared at me for a good 10 seconds back. Then it wasnt funny, but i laughed when i remember things like that you sitting on the stand. I cant believe that happened to grandma barney. Accidents do happen. We just try our best not to repeat them. Spencer frame what i great kid i bet a great missionary i know that. I hope to see him at byu such an awesome friend and example to me during my junior year of high school. A very rocky year for us all right?? Lexi find friends like him. 
"D" when we call im going to call you by your nickname. I know youre not a baby anymore, but when we talk i still see you as i left you. I know that the christmas story is this. The son of god was born into this world the only light of hope to save mankind and stand up to the evil one. The atonement is everything, and even though i will never understand the atonement fully. The study of it has brought the spirit of christmas into my life and made the weight of the work light. Keep up our traditions. Read luke 2 even though I'm not there. Read the first presidency message and watch the mormon tabernacle musical which I'd love to see haha. Love you all ~Elder Barney

Happy Birthday, Mom!

So you can call me whenever really. Maybe the best is when it's Christmas eve. The only requirements are that youre all together and are ready to talk. Well dad yeah there are a lot of things you could have said about the donkey. One that i just read is that the donkey is a symbol of peace. Even though jesus entered Jerusalem victoriously, he also came in peace the next time it wont be so. Happy birthday mom tomorrow wow. You were born in 1969 so that makes you??? haha I'll let you do the math.  Thanks for all the news truthfully this week has been hard. My record is still 10/10 months and i have worked everyday here in the mission field, but i have been very sick its gone now. I always get sick right before Christmas. Ideas about christ and christmas. Think about what the angels said to the shepherds in the field. We bring ye glad tidings or good news. Good news or the gospel of jesus christ. The priest was also shown the christ child. The wise men only people saw christ if they understood the spiritual mission of christ. Herod thought christ came to take away his kingdom, so he only thought of the savior just as all the jews thought of him. Only as the promised messiah who would be the one to come save them from the romans which he would if they would only accept them as the savior of their eternal salvation. The christmas story really is a celebration of the gospel of jesus christ. Well im sure you heard about the 1000+ people who died in mindanao down south. Luckily his family and members in Elder macabentas ward were not affected. This is the answer of president monahan to the dream of that less active that i shared.

Thanks. Yes, we would have called and we would have heard from his family or ward leaders. I like Luke for Christmas and for the great Christmas story it contains. Thanks for being a great trainer. That was an interesting dream. May the unwatered tree represents the Bible when people don't water it side by side with the second stick--the Book of Mormon. We must nourish both. Let me know when the IBDs are baptized. Thanks for all your good work!

Pres. Monahan

So yeah we're headed to baguio on friday. Uhm yes i have been transferred into a new district. in aringay, so this transfer there are two firsts for me in the mission. Sisters in my district and an american zone leader. American zone leaders are rare. The christmas party here was a hit 120 or so went, but the following day in sacrament theattendance was probably 90. Those thirty people i assume were to too full to go to church or sick i hope. Well i have trained the branch clerk so we're cleaning the records i love watching the overhead drop. When i arrived 435 members and now only 379 so the sacrament attendance will go up and the home teachers, who are not many, have no excuse not to cover the branch. I finally got news from my last area in san quinton. It sounds like President Grande the former branch president got in a nasty accident and broke his legs bad. I feel bad for his family. They are active and sealed and the mom is working abroad in hong kong. I hope they will be okay. 65 new elders and sisters come in january, so I have the feeling I'll be training again. I dont know yet and i have no way of knowing until the day i get a call from urdaneta. 

Love Elder Barney

i really really like my presents!

I went to the Top of the World Today!

Well i went to the top of the world today.

I'll send you pictures. Only my companion and i made it to the top of the highest mountain. Here in Agoo there is a sacred catholic cross on top, and the others were so close but gave up. I tried to tell them it literally was only 7 minutes more. After an hour of tough hiking only 7 minutes more... I could turn this is into a great teaching experience, but i wont. I'll let you figure out how this story ties into the gospel. We then went and ate at a members house it was the zone activity today. I had fun i felt comfortable with the elders and it was great to forget the world for a second and be with them. I saw the pictures of lexi's winter formal. I'm going to sound bold but as an older brother im entitled to say this. I cant tell because of picture quality, but your dress is modest and you are beautiful. Lexi i want you to know that. I have never told this to you. Beauty is god given. Please dont ruin that. Dad i liked your picture...crazy! Dad "po" is a sign of respect. When you add it thats like him calling you "sir" I'm glad you talked with brother norial he has a lot of responsibility and i want to talk about him. When he was younger he converted for a girlfriend, but when they broke up he became inactive and moved to work in rosales pangasinan. When he returned the elders came to him and taught him and invited him to church. He came back instantly. Like it says in the scriptures and like joseph smith said when we have accepted the truth and turn from it we are harder, but he came back instantly. It's a miracle one in a thousand are like that expecially after a year of inactivity or something like that. When he came back he was made young mens leader at the age of 23, and he is now the branch mission leader as well. His aunts family is lds. His dad and mom separated because he dad did some dumb things. His mom and family wont listen to the missionaries, but they allow him to do what he wants. He works with the missionaries 2 times a week 2 pm until 9 ish. I want him to go on a mission, but the branch needs him so bad. He will get the melchezidek priesthood in december. I'm excited for him and hope he gets what he wants.....a temple marriage. Wow Dad you were picked as the donkey. I guess its a step up from santa. Pick your poison. I'm glad for your success at work, i wish i had been more vocal about my mission when i worked there at your office. I think that how i handled my mission before i came was okay. Dont over think it. Just jump into the cold water and before you know it...youre numb to the pain and are ready to swim to the edge and get out and you will be glad you did it. I want to email you my weekly letter to president alright:

President.

Today was our zone activity it went well. We hiked to the cross there in agoo it was fun. Elder Macabenta made it all the way to the top. The others didnt they were to tired. Thanks for the info about christmas call thats fine with me i just wanted to know a head of time thank you. We had an interesting thing happen this week. One inactive lady when we asked her if she had prayed about the book of mormon told us a story.. she was reading back in the day in the war chapters of alma. While she was reading she thought to herself...did this really happen or in other words are the events in this book true. She asked heavenly father if so and right when she fell asleep this is what she saw. There was a burst of water out of the ground there was two trees in the path of this gushing stream. the water only hit one of the trees and didnt reach the other. One tree died and the other was healthy and green. Interesting i havent sat down to think it over. The training is going great he surprised me the other night. He really broke down a scripture in a very applicable and interesting way for one family i told him that he is now finally comfortable in teaching. He is very very smart. We are doing the 12 week program the part we liked this week was the video segments on prayer. Anyways he is doing good his family was near that bagyo that struck in mindanao and he has been worried this whole week. I feel bad for him and told him if there was a problem you would have called him by now and other missionaries said the same. So he has been alright no one really mailed him either. He said earlier i think its all good though. I'm studying in my personal study the life of the savior its something i do every december. I'm in matthew i just started and am trying to get as much as i can out of it. Thanks for all you do. My family is fine but ill tell them hi thank you. ~Elder Barney

His response to last weeks letter is here:

Congrats on your 2 IBDs. For Christmas, phone call only. For Mother's Day, probably Skype. Thanks for the member work and all your effort. How is your companion's training coming along? I am interested in that. Know that we love you. Say hi to your folks for us!

Pres. Monahan

 

So just a call for Christmas

I'm glad aaron got my letter. Yeah pacquio lost, but to the filipinos he still won. Its amazing how they feel like he won. If he hadnt been knocked out he would have one bypoints, so in their minds he won. In some other parallel world where KO doesnt mean anything manny won.(?) And that parallel world is here in the pines. Our christmas party is on the 15. I'm doing okay. I love you all. I enjoyed the first presidencies devotional. Adios

~Elder Barney

I've been memorizing scriptures! And my Birthday dinner!

I have a feeling my emails are barely getting a passing grade im probably in the d range, so ill step it up today. We now have two IBD's. We got one dad through members, a faithful wife and family, prayer, and much fasting to give up his job as a neighborhood guard. They're called barangay tanods. This job required him to stay up all night with non mormons who to keep awake smoke drink and do other dumb stuff. When his family went inactive 3 of his kids weren't able to be baptized. One is 8 now so she will be baptized on the following saturday. The other two on jan 19 hopefully. Earlier like you dad i wanted a christmas baptism but this is all the lords planning. We're seeing some real growth and strength to the branch. Some dads are coming back that is growth to me, and its great to see. The brownies turned out great. The people were like so this is what a brownie tastes like. They have brownies here but it doesnt come close to betty crocker and stuff like that. I got two packages the package and the letters from the barneys, and the christmas package from the taylors. The package with the book hasn't come. But dont worry. I loved the letters and i got a real binder to organize all the letters so i dont just have to use a empty pillowcase in my luggage haha. I yelled "grandpa barney" maybe you remember writing that...I dont know if you heard me. I loved to read the letters. Brandon's letter was great i like tacos...i do too buddy so eat one for me because cousin taylor is in a place where they dont know what that is. Crazy that matt's passing the sacrament and mckenna is getting ready for those youth dances.  Cam and cecilia are doing good as well. My companion enjoyed the box. He wants to write grandma and grandpa taylor and thank them. When i saw the peanut butter i didnt know how he would take to it but he really likes it all and is very grateful. I was fed very well on my birthday. Lumpia with monggo beans inside with sili pepper sauce and adobo chicken. If you want the pictures from the birthday please add norial borlazza he is our branch mission leader on facebook he will send the pictures. O i forgot yes mckenna they know what the gangnam style is here. I was hoping that wasnt in the united states but it is huh? It hasnt rained here in months it feels like haha. I hope you have been saving my pictures because well my card is broken. I'll reformat it today so i can continue to take pictures. I have asked everyone its all good the really funny pictures from my birthday wont be seen in this life. I dont know about the skype ill ask him, so you probably have seen my first letter that i sent. So my departure date has been bounced back to the 25 of feb. Iguess i dont really care. Thanks for the pictures of the rabbit she is really fat. That's great...make her excercise though. Grandma taylor sent me a card that walks you through how to write a proper letter home. I left the card at home haha so this letter might not pass. I dont know what the christmas party for us will be like truthfully. All i know is it's in baguio thats the coldest part of the philippines and the best place to spend christmas in but the problem is its the 21 not the 25. I want to see the fireworks there. Im glad you got my letter mom i was worried it wouldn't get there. The lady at the post office hates me because i always opt for the cheaper mail option. They always assume i want the most expensive way which is irritating some times. Im getting good at memorizing scriptures. It's fun to do. So far the oath and covenant d and c section 4. moroni 6:4. doctrine and covenants 62:3. then im gonna try to memorize dc 121 some parts of it anyways it gives me something to do haha. Well i miss you all i had a funny dream the other night mom and dad were here and mom was mad at some other lady and wanted my airsoft gun to shoot them, but i used all the bb's so i got in trouble. Then i helped kylie draw a picture. I laughed at the kylie part because when i get home she isnt a baby not even close. Well i hope you have a great week and christmas season. ~Elder Barney   

Good Advice

First.,

I want to say to duba,clean the mask. My friends sweaty faces and mine as well have been in that. Well lou, I'm happy for you. Lexi don't over think life and the future. Take care of today and tomorrow will take care of itself. I'm 20!  I'm not going to lie i got a little nostalgic last night and realized that im about to free fall in this mission as far as time goes. Mom and dad you're close but wrong. Mom's more close though. My actual release date is feb 5 on my proselyting card. Who knows how that goes....?  When it's that time I'll be begging president monahan for another transfer, but the church doesnt like that anymore. A member took some pictures of my last night of being a teenager. You may not want to share them because they are bad.  Dont worry about the pictures the cell phone is my branch mission leaders phone and we're at the house have a meeting. He took some weird pics. Well we're still fighting for ibds. President called me earlier. Dad i hope your making me a list of movies im missing. No packages have gotten here. I noticed the other day I'll be up in baguio on the 21 of december which is alright because when the world ends (Mayan calendar) I want to be at the highest point I can get. haha  My companion was relieved that i pointed that out to him. Buy a boat is all the advice i got for you. I'm headed to baguio! Well the branch found out i had a birthday yesterday some members sang the birthday song. Well I'm trying to work smart. Helping the home teaching because if it's strong this problem with activity will go bye bye. My companion will love the gifts thanks mom, but i hope you didnt over do it. My comp and I are close we have one huge similarity our love for american movies. Tonight I'm gonna eat the brownies and then head to another house. I dont expect any food, but i hope at the boac family they make me this one dish its like squash, brussel sprouts and other vegetables it's awesome. I think dad that my range of foods that i wont eat is now smaller than yours. I'm 110 percent sure!! But your mission story is pretty bad. We dont have many dinner appointments, so it's all good. Dad i wish we had you in the branch sometimes. They have questions about the ecclesiastical part of the church and i have no idea. It's funny i didnt realize the job of bishop and PEC. When i was a kid i thought it was where all the old guys in the ward went to your office to eat mm's and peanuts and discuss struggling youth in the ward and told jokes. Dad i want you to look for the prophet josephs description of paul the apostle...is it accurate just curious.

     Love you all ~Elder Barney thanks for the birthday wishes

PS Lexi. did rachel crandell ever recieve my letter i feel like no one is receiving the mail I'm sending. The mail lady hates me because i dont buy the really expensive way to send. Dad im sending a letter to the barneys too. 

My First Earthquake!

Thank for the letters,

I just exchanged the dollars for pisos. The dollar has crashed for sure but the money here is still a lot of money. I dont know when ill use it. I will have a family night on the 26th at the boac home. We will cook the brownies. Well we had an earthquake in baguio. 3 or something on the richtorscale. I was sitting in the middle of companion study and my companion asked me if i was tapping my foot again and shaking the desk. I said no then we realized we had a 10 second shake. It wasnt strong at all but we noticed it. My first earthquake!  Well i had an interesting experience two weeks ago that i forgot to share. We went to contact a indian man named jaswan because he seemed interested. We grabbed a member of the branch presidency and headed out after pday. They call indians here "bumbays". So they asked where the bumbay compound was and we found hundreds of indians in one compound in the middle of a agoo barangay. We found our friend and he told us he wanted to feed us. It was the best food ever. It was like spicy beans and a tortilla thing flat bread and i learned how to say thank you in indian. They all speak tagalog the indians anyways. They told us that we can share our mission haha. Little did we know that they were having a prayer meeting of all the indians so we got roped into an hour and half of listening to them sing in indian. It sounded cool so the last 6 minutes were given to us. I presented the gospel of jesus christ and my companion focused on the atonement. They listened but they are very devoted to their hindu religion. Too bad. Indians would make great church members since they are dedicated. Our sacrament attendance is rolling, but i swear the members are taking turns coming to church. One will come to church and the other stay home to watch the house. I promised to them that the house isnt going anywhere if you come to church. Filipino tradition is that there should be someone always in the house. I'm doing good. We're trying to get a balanced focus. I heard about you girls...Just have fun. Eat pizza and drink chocolate milk for me. Be merry because you're in a great part of life that isnt as hard as it seems. I still struggle in the language, but i understand 95 percent. Here and there they will throw in a word i dont know, but i quickly write it down afterwards. My thanksgiving is my birthday for me haha. I love you all. I'm happy you emailed me and told me about what's going on there in the states. ~elder barney

Geneology...yes they are doing it.

Well i hope i can answer all your questions.

I heard about romney actually im not surprised. Our country is no longer our country or gods country, and when that happens just take a look in the book of mormon. Geneology work...yes they are doing it they are having a hard time. They go to catholic churches and stuff like that for film. It's hard for those that do it and are very faithful. The word has gotten around until that they will increase their sacrament attendance, clean their records, and become more active then the temple will start construction anytime soon. Most are lucky the most skilled genealogist here that i know is back in the 1800's any further than that is really really hard because as a people they are not like the chinese with records. Anyways, I was grateful for the package i dont want to turn 20 at all haha. So about the brownies they dont have ovens here so can i cook it on a stove i want to know. Lexi i am so sorry about everything. I am just going to say this about our family...for some reason that is beyond me. We have been blessed in many ways especially in the gospel, but sometimes so much ignorant hate is grilled up towards us (even in the mission). The only thing that will get you through this is the gospel lexi. Distance yourself from the garbage of high school and if it tries to come close you keep stepping back. People dont have price tags don't let them give you one, especially you lexi and kylie. If you want there is a thing called the baguio beat that you can check out. There is a talk that i listen to from time to time probably the best talk that has ever been given by jeffrey r holland in the mtc. "when you are cast out and spit upon, reviled against and a hiss and a byword know that you are standing with the greatest light the world has ever known the The Lord Jesus Christ!  .... life isnt easy because salvation is not a Cheap Experience...It was never easy for him [Christ] why should it be easy for us?." Everytime I'm rejected i say this to myself!  Dad there is nothing i can say to what you said to me in your email other than the patriarchal blessings have revelation for my family as well as me. God said to me, You have a father and a mother who love you and two sisters and your parents are rearing you in righteousness. I have never doubted your love for me because god, who knows all, promised me himself that you do. There is no apology that you need to give to me. I'm excited to talk to you in a month. I love all the information that you give me. I'm accustomed to the culture kind of. I'm doing everything i can to find a family to baptize for the area. I found one i hope it goes okay. He is a politician. Ricky Camat he is a barangay captain but we made friends with him we will see. Thank you for the picture too. President and Sister monahan came to my church the other day to do interviews. Kind of funny. In the middle of an interview he walks out grabs me and tells me to tell him what this filipino is saying to him. I didn't even know he was there. I was walking to PEC so i asked the filipino where his branch president was. We found him (the branch president was the translater for the temple recommend interview). Then i walked into elders quorum and sister monahan was surrounded by 15 filipino children. I would say while she was showing them pictures of things on her ipad explaining to them in english stuff it was cool to see. She speaks slow and clearly so thats good.  I wont get to go back to baguio until dec 21 but that's alright. I'm glad duba is experiencing my junior high days from the girls point of view. The mission is getting faster and faster somedays i dont have time to think. If we have a lot of appointments its really fast. About the packages i dont need hair gel anymore ever again and thank for everything but the most important thing i will ask for is shaving cream. I think that the cost of shaving cream for them is like us is like 25 bucks. I love you all! Corinthians 4 and 6 were the focuses of presidents talk dad!  It's about countenace or a change of countenance means we have a change of heart~Elder Barney

I'm Training.......

So I'm training a filipino from mindanao.  Elder Macabenta. His last name means literally (able to sell), so everyone laughs at him. They say i bet you can sell a lot come down to the palengke and help me out, but they are nice just being funny. He's a good sport. He's from davao. He was born into the convenant he's solid. He's struggling a little bit in tagalog because he is visaya speaking, but he is still better than me. We correct each other sometimes. It is stressful yet he is so laid back and humble. My biggest worry is that he isnt saying what he feels so im always asking him is that okay with you cause i dont want him to go home. A lot of trainees are having a hard time with foreigners especially so president has started a program to help them get into the life. When i cach my companion staring at the calendar. I know what he is thinking about because i was once there so i teach him something or we listen to music actually pa la!  My camera memory card can hold music. I got the package i loved it. I laughed at the pictures and loved the spiderman stuff. Dad i hope your writing the movies I'm missing haha, and did you have a chance to find the book the infinite atonement by tad callister? I like the nutella from the office girls hahah. Well i lived like an amish for this week. My poor trainee arrived on the week of all saints and souls day that means we stay in the house back before 6 because people are nuts and there are lots of ghosts. No electricty. No running water. He had a rough first week but its over. Thanks yeah doob give my address to erik i hope he's on a mission by now. Yeah i love to hear who's on the mission. Cecilia you can write me here on lds mail. (taylor.barney@myldsmail.net) The rule is family can write and you can email to them. (others I have to send a written letter)  We are blood right, but that stinks that byu wont play utah until 2016. I hope you get a job let me know.  One of our biggest problems is figuring out peoples marriages and coordinating baptismal dates. It was made confusing by president jensen, but i understand now. Here in the pines there is no divorce only annulment which is expensive so they continue living in instead. So they need to be married before they get baptized. It's better to do it on the same day.  

Elder Barney

so here is a picture of the zone shirt im huge and tall and i have sick sword but i have a red afro im on the far right. yeah i thanked the illustrator for his rendition on me. then we had a party for elder rabaca.

New pants and tie..they fit!  Notes in pockets from you guys

  New companion......

WELL, I'M GOING TO HAVE A SON...

Well im going to have a son...This isn't inappropriate i'm going to train here. Yeah like kirby heyborne in the rm i have boils on my face from the stress haha just kiddin. But really i will get a greenie this friday. I have a 75 percent chance of getting an american which means we're going to have lots of fun trying to struggle in tagalog together and no one to answer our questions haha. Well i already have the joseph nashville tribute, but the fires of faith movie would be great to get. Hey dad whats uncle aarons address and can you send me a short synopsis of the casual vacancy by j.k. rowling. Dad honestly our daily work is 90 percent less active lessons here in agoo, 10 percent investigator focus my personal favorite is to cut the referral process and go straight to these part member families. If i baptize one person in their family they usually become active enough to get a calling and get a good kick start. "Preach by the ways" i heard back then maybe a 100 preach by the ways will yield one baptism baptism haha. Halloween here haha well its interesting some kids tried to scare us the other day with cardboard masks i laughed. Well  i feel like i have the trust of the members now so it will be sad that elder rabaca is leaving but im excited to apply my ideas for the area. My focus will be first contacting, then cleaning and teaching. I saw elder tan at the "train the trainers mtg" he was shocked he was all you got skinny but you can speak tagalog now. I laughed id rather be skinny and able to speak then big and dumb. Yeah whats the deal with the missionary picture with the girls just because missionaries are awkward doesnt mean you have to be haha. But I suppose its good that we are awkward. When i try to write a friend about normal stuff i have a hard time. When we went to baguio we went to Mines View Burnham park and sm baguio. We ate at a 50's diner and i had real american food in a diner! Mom id love to go to san diego there are lots of filipinos there and mexicans. I'd love to learn spanish. Dad, i wish i could help you landscape. You know how i used to need a lot of sleep well i run perfect on 8 hours or less. I can get up earlier as well if we have conferences. Elder David Bednar went to connors mission haha he's lucky. haha Dad put the romney sign inside the window at work then they wont steal it. Mom when i get home ill help you with the dishes im really fast at washing dishes hand wash haha. I hope the package gets here soon i could use the slacks i love you here comes the pictures adios!

~Elder Barney

Typical filipino rice patatas

Had a good old American hamburger (awesome!)

FROG WALLETS!  Yes they're real preserved frogs.  The eyes are plastic, of course. 

FINALLY GET TO SEE BAGUIO!

Guess where im at!
Baguio finally im here. But the pday is short, and i hope i can get as
much in as possible. The drive made me sick in a bus. We got
started off late because the bus drivers would refuse to pick us up. I
thought to myself are they a bunch of mormon haters then we found out
that were dumb and it wasnt an unloading and loading area haha. But
yeah dad i saw the game i was stacking chairs and i saw bronco then them
lining up and then the score. I didnt focus on the jerseys. So yeah
fires of faith is okay. In the future if you could send me that and
the joseph nashville cd thatd be great to listen to during lunch. I
dont know what i will do after elder rabaca is transferred for lunches.
I'm in trouble im not good at cooking filipino and the stuff i do know
how to cook is expensive like a pbj sandwhich haha. Yeah dad i thought
we got short changed no you dont need to send an ensign they're free for
us even in tagalog. But yeah if things in america dont shape up im
gonna live in baguio ahha. joke. I feel like either a celebrity or a
circus freak when i walk the streets. They whisper amerikano amerikano.
Its kind of a detractor from them feeling the spirit and not focusing
on my nationality. Here in baguio theyre more educated and it has been a
relief to be another face in the crowd haha. Yeah dad i found the song
hark! listen to the trumpeteers in a church history manual but thank
you for the lyrics. The "in crowd"... dad come on...we
know we dont belong in the social elite of mesa.  So family...i know
lexis favorite scripture in the book of mormon but ky, mom, and dad what
is your favorite only one. Its okay if its more then one verse in the
same chapter. Im working on moms birthday gift right now. I read an
article about the second coming. The thing a lot of things still
happened a lot but we dont know how fast god can and wants them to
happen in a matter of one year the church could explode to the amount
described in the scriptures big enough that we are a serious threat to
the church of the devil. I'm getting closer and closer to 20 yrs. Well
dad right now were in the process of figuring out how to clean the
records here. So im kind of learning about the administrative side of
the church and how important it is. People dont really transfer their
records here so they create a gigantic headache for the missionaries
and branches haha, but im excited to start. Hey dad, you and grandpa
barney are you going to clean up that mistake in the barney line on
family history? I believe there was one. Lexi, duba how are you doing in
school. Lexi do you ever see coach alexander and kylie do you see
coach shindledecker ever or is coach shindi gone no? There is a
indian man in our area who wants to feed us hes nice he wants to learn
more about the bible he doesnt have a turban and dot so its all good.
Thanks for voting for me, i dont think president monahan cares to much to
help us out to vote thats the last thing on his mind haha. I'll send
some pictures of baguio in my next letter. I helped the youth here
find a theme for their halloween party they really dont know how to do
halloween here. 1 peter 2:9 is the scripture about youth and their
theme is prince and princesses, so it kind of fits they were excited but
when i tried to explain what a haunted house was and bobbing for
apples i got some blank stares. I said there are some
great halloween songs to dance to like thriller. They heard the name
michael jackson and thought it would be bad to dance to. I dont know
cause we danced to it with DJ ron haha at the stake dances no problem.
Love you all and thanks for sending the slacks. Adios! ~Elder Barney

Hey mom dad and everyone! doob and lou

I found out about the temples and new age yesterday a kid in our ward heard the news so i told him to go onto to lds.org on his iphone we will watch it all next sat and sunday for us at the stake center. i just had another zone interview with president monahan and it was one of the greatest spiritual experiences of my mission. I'm glad you liked the joseph nashville song the rising is good the one about porter rockwell is good and the one about emma  smith is awesome. We just got back from the beach doing our district activity. the beach wasnt too ugly i built a sand castle and ate rice and chicken and our district leader elder purcell is way awesome he is a samoan american somaon island and he is military. we played football on the beach. him and i with all the philipinos if he wrapped me up i was in trouble but im still skinny and quick haha the rice will do that. a temple in arizona i leave and temples pop all over az. I'm glad utah is awesome. if you do need ideas for what to send i hope you recieved those three things i need back then. but shaving cream was be great as well its hard to find here because well they arent a hairy people haha manny pacquio has a bigote but not to many have facial hair. Well im almost 20 i want to still be a teenager. well let see i'll share my interview with president to you if you feel that its to special to send abroad dad then i second that motion. So i sat down and he asked me if i had any questions or concerns i said i had none he then asked if i could help him with a missionary thats hates being here an american i gave him some ideas to fix the problem i dont know if they well help then he asked me what i wanted to learn about i said what do you want to teach me about he smiled and said do you consider yourself a leader. and i said well in what sense i dont my best to follow all the rules and be nice to the other missionaries but i am a junior companion and still young and not great in the language. he then asked me what a leader is i said its defiantly not what most people here in the baguio mission think it is. Talking a lot and doing things to be seen. I said my dad is a leader. He said how so. i said there is a major problem in the church when people get released from positions they think its a demotion a sign of disrespect they dont understand the doctrine therefore they slack and eventually become inactive or trunky. i saw my dad hold callings that many try to aspire to high council bishop and now he is a home teacher and works in the sunday school (this might have changed) I said but he is still stronger than ever. He then said when he sees me it reminded him of a man in Ajo arizona back a long time ago im still thinking how the story connects to me. In ajo arizona there was a man i will find out the name of the man he was a mormon and owned a dairy farm. the church in there area back then because of the kindness of president kimball back then to the mineworkers back then the church obtained land from a company to build a church house in ajo. The local baptist preacher was infuriated. he railed on the mormons from his pulpit and one day went to the mormons dairy farm to buy his dairy. he didnt say a word just pointed to the things he desired to buy. to show his disapproval to the people of the mormons he peeled out of thier country dirt driveway and headed to his house. Later that day the local sheriff showed up with others at the baptists preacher's front door. they told the baptist preacher that in his rush to leave they ran over the mormon couples one and half year old baby daughter in the driveway. the baptist preach said that he didnt the sheriff took him out and showed him the pieces of hair on the bumper of the car of the tiny baby girl. the preacher sat in agony and wept. later that the night the parents of the baby girl showed up at the preachers door and wanted to talk to him they told him that they forgave him. they left. the baptist preacher was so heartbroken. he paid for the funeral of the baby. it was a beautiful funeral the flowers all paid by the preacher. he didnt know how to repay the life of the baby girl. there really was no restitution for lost life and years. the only thing that would bring peace to his soul is he felt he needed to build the mormon church there on the bought land. every brick in the ajo chapel is paid for by the baptist preacher. there never was an angry  sermon again given from his pulpit against the mormons. President monahan then said when i think of that man. i think of you. you will be a leader here in the mission. and when you train soon. i expect you to be a leader..... . i felt many morals and promptings from his story. one is i can do hard things if im like that man. he said he was a leader by not we said but how he lived. and he told me that i need to speak out sometimes when i know something is wrong not all people will change because of our examples he said. i cant stay silent. I love you all. im happy. i dont know what this mission will do to me but im slowly learning that god knows taylor barney and he is giving me challenges to help me be like my dad and mom. The priesthood is real! the times to use it are never ideal but they are that way so we are always striving to be worthy every second of our life. iniiwan ko ang mga bagay na ito sa pangalan ni jesu cristo amen~Elder Barney

I'M NO LONGER MR.BEAN...I'M TOM CRUISE...I'M BIG TIME NOW!

Hello!
Your last comment reminded me of the testament, "is such pride in my son a sin" said helam to ammoron and he said no haha. Im doing great getting adjusted still. We pdayd with the zone leaders and other elders it was fun we ate spaghetti chicken and kanin. Well in december they will do the three words about christ or the gospel thing again. It's one tradition they will keep. I have some ideas if you have anything else you'd like me to write for the three words that is astig its appreciated. Right now its Man of Christ....never look back...never turned back....i need more ideas your thoughts haha. For the house i'd like you to find the joseph nashville music. Especially listen to the song the rising. It's on my companions ipod their about joseph smith and church history. I hope you find it okay. The rising is awesome. Lexi..for some babylonian music on the other hand haha. Elder Cabauatan taught me "Your call" by secondhand serenade on the guitar. I havent listened to the real one, but i will in 16 months. Well the branch is strong as far as leadership a lot more less actives a lot more but most of the less active are married which is a lot better. We have a real goal for them. Go to the temple and things like that. One cool experience was yesterday brother tagalan and his girlfriend that have two sons. She has been holding out on marriage or civil marriage he opened up in the lesson that he wants to change. He bore testimony and cried and her heart softened she agreed to meet with the branch president. Our branch president is a great negotiator. They plan to be married on december 5, so maybe that's her baptismal date as well. That's filipino law. I dont understand why yet. I'm the junior companion this is his area he has been here a lot longer he will probably leave after one transfer and hand off the baton to me here i just need to learn the area. I might be junior again which is fine with me. I really want to co-senior with someone though. More sharing of ideas and agreeing. No i dont lose things the curse in the book of mormon of things becoming slippery has finally left. My new curse is leaving the "plantsa" on or the iron on after i iron my shirt, so my companion and i will put a sign there to remind me haha. Well here in the branch I'm no longer Mr. Bean to them I'm now...Tom Cruise...I'm big time now. I always laugh because they can't really tell. Uhm right now dad im becoming better with answering questions in a relaxed way to investigators. Example: sometimes when people try to give us a question to test our knowledge I like to give a funny answer to lighten the mood. Last night one less active in a huge group of three or four families asked me what the difference was between espiritu and kaluluwa or what's the difference between spirit and the word soul. The answer is often that a soul has a vessel in the scriptures with exception to a few scriptures in the pearl of great price. I said one is a tagalog word the other is a spanish word haha. It lightened the mood and he accepted our next real answer. I'm sorry i dont have more spiritual experiences to share they are there along with the failures haha. Mom I'm never mad at you you can ask me any question. I am now  6' 2'' my growing is over! I still dont know what i will be for sure for a job or stuff like that. I kind of have an idea of how i want to be in this church. I want to be the best home teacher ever. I want to be the best dad. I want to be the best scout leader. Those are my aspirations in the church. This church has too many leaders it needs followers. If we only have leaders that are active in the church the church will digress. We need people to lift in their callings. I love the news please keep it coming. More pictures of you please. I dont really have any haha. Love you all ~Elder Barney

**Leaving a companion: Hm this last one wasnt so sad. I like him a lot, but i needed to be transferred to grow so i was excited. Elder Rabaca has been here a long time he is the only one in my group that hasnt yet been transferred and he counting the days its really hard on him. Thanks for the money if you want to send it in there that is fine, but i want to live the law of consecration. I wont use my card haha. Well i dont really need anything more for christmas. Save the money for when i come home haha. ~Elder Barney

TRANSFERRED! I'M A REAL BAGUIO MISSIONARY!

I've been transferred out of pangasinan! I am now a real baguio missionary! Not a pangasinan missionary. The joke here, because most of the mission is in the state of pangasinan, is i served in the pangasinan mission. Anyways im in AGOO, third branch, the place is amazing here im close to the ocean which i want to see. I smelled it in damortis on the way here. The spanish influence is way strong here the catholic church is really enticing. I just want to look inside haha but we have to wear missionary attire on pday, so that would be weird watching the mormon missionaries walking into the cathedral during confession time. Well im glad lexi and kylie are doing great in their areas. The language is fine. I think i will grow a lot this transfer. My new companion is actually from my batch Elder Rabaca from cebu city. Batch means the group you entered with into the mission. The branch has a lot of less actives but the leadership is very strong and the biggest problem here is not getting the people married but keeping them married. The language is good. I'll be here for about six months. I would have to say but here in La Union im fine with that. Its green and awesome. Up north more there is a place called vegan which is a pure spanish style town but its in the laoag mission. I'll probably spend christmas here so im happy.  I like my district leader he served in iraq. Elder Purcell from america samoa before he came on a mission i have a lot of friends in this area. The members are nice they try to grab my nose because its sobrang matangos "very pointy". I'm glad the rabbit is alive haha. Dallin emailed me i laughed so hard he will have fun in his mission. Kylie i dont have a picture yet but i love the yarn squares you sent me. They are on my study desk. I'll bring them back you can have one ill have the other ayos ba? oh yeah if people from san quintin try to add me on facebook thats okay! If they start writing on my wall thats weird but yeah. I was surprised when i left at some of the reactions because of the position of me leaving i got a lot of unprogressing investigators to open up for more lessons and i got alot of presents. I had to leave a lot behind there. I thanked everyone for the food. Here in my new area the apartment is very small, but very clean and very nice. No cobwebs this time and my companion is an amazing cook just like home. He cooks and i clean and we half the budget on lunch. I love all the news any kind so please keep it coming. I love the pictures duba looks old. Lexi you can date but tell the guys to keep their hands off!!  Elder Barney

NEVER DENY AN OPPORTUNITY TO SPEAK OR SHARE TESTIMONY OR A CALLING

Hey,
No i havent been transferred yet i'll find out on wednesday so we will see. I'm doing good the work is slowing down but were fighting back. I liked the pictures and thanks lexi for emailing me i want to punch petersen he's lucky the church was nice enough to give him a job because no one else would hire him. Man byu lost? Well they will be good when i get back. Elder Ardern from the first quorum of the 70 visited and it was amazing the best zone conference i have ever been to. He talked about our role here in the philippines. They are phasing out white missionaries out of philippines. I'm a dying breed in the church because of the filipinos are having a hard time supplying an adequate amount of missionaries 70 percent to be precise. And then the philippines will be 100 percent pilipino. China will be ready to receive the gospel. That is the sign that china is ready and the filipinos will take the gospel to china. Amazing really. He is from new zealand he grabbed me after the meeting and we talked. One of the most christ like people i have met in a long time. He gave us good advice and reassured me of some things that i have been thinking about. No mom...my mission is not like what i expected. I think I expected sipping pina coladas on some beach somewhere in the Philippines haha but seriously different I still love it here. I'm glad your having fun. Never deny an opportunity to speak or share testimony or a calling. It is frustrating here to have people go inactive and hide in their homes on sunday when its their turn to teach elders quorum or whatever. It comes down to no or weak faith and we are fighting back. One member has a brother who is a recent convert to islam he was fun to talk with him haha. He has lots of scriptures to show us in the bible while we were waiting for his brothers to finish eating. We directed him to some other scriptures that gave him a clear message that we take our religion seriously, and the spirit remained haha. I always laugh when I pass the j dubs and i think of all of dad's mission stories. They dont mess with us. Well im excited for conference!

I laughed good at kylies pictures as napolean. If he ever had a girlfriend she looked the part. Well right now one big struggle is bad dad's here. Pilipinos are notorious for leaving the country to work abroad its a recipe for disaster. Dad goes abroad finds another girl converts to muslim or whatever leaves his family starving here in the philippines its happened so many times their ripening for gods anger. I have learned good lessons from their bad examples, but i cant do anything really to help these people financially. It's hard to teach people about paying tithing and faith when they dont have money for food. Mom you wanted to know what life's like here...sad...I'm not discouraged. It's the reality of things here. Sorry i dont get enough time to email here haha so im rushing. 

The time is flying here for me. I can barely touch the days sometimes. I did exchanges with the zone leaders this last week and their apartment was like a california apartment, so nice brand spanking new. There is a huge batch coming in one of the biggest ever 18 elders and sisters we need it bad were stretched thin. Where are all the missionaries going? utah?! Send them here we need them more here haha.
Elder Barney

HOW AM I FEELING? I FEEL GREAT!

I'm doing great my email got erased? shoot well ill resend them. I'm

doing good i got to go with elder cabauatan to train the trainers so

either im getting transferred or he is to open an area on sept 21 so

we will see. President surprised us and showed up at our apartment

with the AP's, but they cant fool us. They called to ask what barangay

we lived in and the address so we were ready for them haha. I saw

another snake this week but it was dead i want to see a live one. Well

president is focusing hard on doctrine and getting ready for the day

of defence haha. Well were just trying to push our progressing investigators into IBD's. If elder cabauatan will train here i dont want his trainee to show up like me. No ibd's no success. So i'll prep it up and i have noticed the branch is booming we actually fell short of chairs and reverence in sacrament was a problem

because of how many people were working in tandem with the auxiliaries

and we're going hard at these part member families that are saying they

are waiting. Procrastination is something we have to fight them

with but it's fun. The language is still coming I'm running out of

language study materials which stinks. Well how's doobs and lou? Kylie

and lexi you better not be saying to the boys...this is crazy but

heres my number or call me baby or maybe-carlie jepson somet thing like

that?? Thats always played here on the radio i dont think the boys

here know the meaning of it because they are always yelling it at

me.(?) Dad i read an article in the sept ensign or liahona about the dos

hermanas stake in sevilla spain. The featured author was sister maria

perez sanchez. Do you still have contact with the people there or no? I

never asked. I'm glad dallin is going there. I did tell him he was going to africa. I'm glad utah state won haha. Me homesick? No mom haha. I was after a week in the philippines. There were times when i have been upheld by the spirit, sometimes so many from being too bold before i was withheld because of the language but sometimes matigas and ulo ng less actives they are so hard headed but its all good. I dont want to be 20 yo haha. What am i feeling each night?  Usually great by the end of the night. I need to rest to forget about some

of the parts of the day. My mission is not even close to what i

expected even when i was in the mtc. This isn’t like a cruise

destination spot. This is like the nebraska of the Philippines lots of

fields but i like it. I will miss the members when i am transferred. I

worry sometimes that im not changing as much as I should be or if when

i return home that I’ll be able to do school again. I dont like having

so much future ahead of me..haha. Sharing the gospel is so much easier

when they ask you about it first. There are obvious ways to display our

faith without wearing a "i love mormons shirt", ctr rings, or reading

the book of mormon in public etc. Well i love you all You look at the

calendar and it still reads 2012 but look at it now. I'm 7 months into

my mission and its crazy the first transfer was tough but you just become attached to the growth of the ward, personal, and companionship study.  Well thats all for now folks~

Elder Barney