To Obey is Better Than to Sacrifice

To answer your questions...Mom: girl in tagalog is babae (pronounced bah bah eh) and boy is lalake (prounounced la la key). Well Im doing really good. I liked the pictures Lou, so we have a baptism on the 16th. Which is really exciting. The dad was baptized in the eighties. We found him and he came back to church with his family, so all the rest now will be baptized. President Monahan did something that shocked me the other day. He repealed a rule after adding a whole bunch. We can now email to any girl outside of mission boundaries legally. President has been hard on obedience, but one scripture that he shared to us was great. I think you'll find it in  1 samuel 15:8? To obey is better than to sacrifice. A lot of sins have been committed with good intentions, so we need to be careful and ask ourselves who we're serving. The human mind is an interesting thing. A man can justify even murder and reject the sign of the holy ghost if he fights against it. Dad if your up for some reading then read "day of defense" haha. or maybe you already have. I have been working with the ward to start being more reverent in sacrament. I wish we were allowed to film sacrament in our ward and watch it, or who knows maybe the people in zion are just as equally irreverent and apathetic to the sacrament and their home and visiting teaching. Bishop Andrews emailed me again. He understands that once you have been called to be a bishop youre always a bishop. He's awesome. Well we had apartment checks the other day. That's always fun haha. Mom I'm glad youre safe. I have moments like that too where i feel the spirit guide me away from people who want to harm me or from dangerous situations. Always be worthy of the spirit. Like the leper that returned to jesus ..give thanks! I sure will. The one thing i do every night is prayer for everyone of you. I love you all. Read your scriptures :)

Love elder barney

Had a Great Week!

Well i have had a great week. They just called the new baguio mission president. He is from cebu. He is a filipino so who knows where i will be assigned. So yeah were really working with the parayaoan family their a family of eight. They are the poorest people i have ever met, but they are very very happy. President Monahan has a new focus for the missionaries and we have had some fun experiences this week. He wants us to preach by the way (mga may kotse) to the people that have cars. We need leaders and people who arent afraid to speak. It's sad but poverty among the members is hurting growth. So we try to teach to people that have cars and rich but their hard to find because only few people can afford a car. We found out the vice mayor was baptized a while back. His brother is the mayor and his dad was the ex mayor who was gunned down in the san carlos plaze several years ago. His name is "bogs". We found his house it looked like a drug cartel compound in a james bond movie. The fence was so high. Luckily a guy came out with one of the workers and let us in. No big deal through the garage. We knocked on a big door and a man came open it up and let us in to a courtyard thing with a bunch of guys watching some movie. They were all his bodyguards and there was a big desk. They just let us in. I guess they figured the mormon missionaries are the last people to be carrying a gun with them. They said he was taking a shower and he would be with us shortly. Then we just sat there smiling at all the body guards and then they brought out soda and food. It was funny. Then he came out. He was the biggest filipino i have ever seen and by biggest i mean fattest. He was way nice and said he still believes but i could tell he is worried about coming back to church because of his political career. But he said after the election he might come or maybe just one time before the election. We gave him a book of mormon and he gave us his number. I also met the legendary Bishop Zafra here in the area. He is like the pioneer here in pangasinan. ex u.s. air force. He was sick and saw us walking and wanted us to give him a blessing. He usually isnt there because he is always away on different assignments from the church. He is like best friends with Elder Oaks. Lexi's letter was great haha. I felt really out of touch with understanding the lingo of valley girls. My companion has a cavity so we're going to the dentist later i dont think I'm going to open my mouth for her but she is a member who knows. I'm sorry i dont have any pictures for today but i'll get around to it haha. ~Elder Barney  

ALMA 7. IT'S EFFECTIVE AND BOLD.

Dad if you meet this boyfriend of cecilia's use your gaydar to determine whether or not he's a man's man. Vegas is boring. It's only fun one night a year if there is a bowl game. The other day when i was getting my haircut the filipinos were watching the nba all star game it was funny watching their faces trying to understand the english of shaq, kenny smith, charles barkley. They also had a few other old players that I didnt recognize. I saw one dunk of kenny smith's way awesome he bounced the ball between his legs and it bounced back of the back board and he three sixtie dunked it. His shorts were way to short. I just need a cool family picture and yeah it would be great to get some contact solution. My talk went good at the funeral. The family of the sister were all catholic and their faces were great to watch when i spoke tagalog. Elder Tijap said afterwards if you spoke in pangasinan the old grandma's probably would have fainted. 

Family is pamilya in tagalog and love can be pagibig or pagmamahal. It's been a great week. We had a baptism last saturday. I'll send some pictures it was brother domingo's baptism. The other family still has their child in the hospital, so they werent able to be baptized. But we are finding really good families that are accepting the invitation to be baptized. The hardest part is getting them to church. I loved the pictures lexi with her diaper hat and kylie's picture scared me the one with the suns dancer because she looked so old. We have been using the atonement of jesus christ coupled with the invitation to be baptized found in alma 7. It's effective and bold. Dont worry dad I'm very bold with people. It's always worked in my favor and Elder Rabanes is a very happy missionary and the work is great. The bishop is way good. Yeah i dont know if i will stay in the urdaneta mission. I might be able to be assigned in alaminos which i really want. Who knows? We workshopped last week to the youth and to the missionaries and on wednesday i workshop again. I was pretty scared the other day because president mortensen the counselor of president monahan came to my workshop, but he had great insights that made it great. I loved reading Elder Gherkins emails. I kind of miss american humor. 

Anyways i love you all.

Sorry so Short.  Ingat

Elder Barney

I HAD MY FIRST BAPTISMAL INTERVIEW.

So they are going to split the mission i think you have seen the changes. I am still thinking about it. I'll probably not see a lot of friends like my trainee elder macabenta because he will be in an another mission. Those thoughts were the first thing that entered in my mind, but im happy that im still with president monahan and elder savage is still in my area. I hope youre doing ok mom. I'm honestly fine. This week is going to be big. Your right dad the adversary works hard. The parayaoan family's youngest son broke his foot when he fell from a mango tree. They wanted to postpone the baptism but bishop cancino talked to them and it should still be okay this week and also brother domingo is sure for 1 o'clock on saturday. We had ward conference last week and it was awesome to hear the choir sing I am a child of god in pangasinan and tagalog. The best hands down was "pamilyay sa diyos". I have heard the song in english before but i forgot the name. It was good. I kept looking at our other investigator family the deguzman family to see how they were doing while listening. It was impossible not to feel the spirit. I'd love for you to send me a picture of us all together as a family where we dont look to rich so that i can show to people when we proselyte. My zone leader did it with a "preach by the way". Even the hardest catholics become softer when you show them a picture of your family haha. Ky I'm going to send you a letter today for your birthday and then I'm going to cut my hair and get my soles on my shoes fixed haha so when it rains i dont feel the water in my shoes. Dallin emailed me. His first week sounds a lot like my first week, but he told it all to his family i didnt hahaha.  Bishop wrote me he's awesome. I had my first baptismal interview. It was one of the most spiritual hours of my mission. I finally understand a little, not a lot, because that would be blasphemous like Elder jeffrey r. holland said of the atonement and the love of the savior for sinners and for us. His talk is one of the best talks i have ever heard, as a missionary we will have to walk where he walked.  I just re-read the letter from president about the mission changes. Technically the missionaries havent been finalized. If I'm in the urdaneta mission then it's good thing i got that frog wallet just in time in baguio hahahahahahahaha  Dad i loved your home teaching stories. I like stuff like that. Mag-ingat  Elder Barney

"Preach By The Way" Opportunities

Yeah im doing okay. I played basketball earlier. With the kidney stones who knows what i ate? I haven't been drinking soda or eating pancit noodles. I like the area. There are a lot of members, hard to say for certain, because they formed a branch in some of the far barangays so thats outside my area. But theres a lot and to make it worse there are a lot of members who were teaching and trying to get back to church but we have no record in the branch...which makes me feel good inside haha. I cant imagine if bishop porter lost my record. Anyway the funeral of sister domingo is on wednesday. I was chosen to be a speaker which is fine i have something to say. We lost the key to the apartment, but i found it so we dont have to break into the apartment like a bunch of thieves using laminated cards and a great device that we made composing of my belt and an umbrella. We have 6 baptisms on the 23rd the paraoayan family and then brother domingo. In march we are hoping to get some more. President told me that he thinks san carlos can be the highest baptizing area in the mission and i dont doubt it. They are going to add sisters and cut our area smaller. I'm excited for the new missionaries then again i dont know how sisters will be. I have heard a lot of stories but i have the zone leaders in my house and they are a good help for me. I have been eating french toast every morning to fatten up. I thinks its working. We have a dinner appointment later i think were going to eat fried chicken which is really good. I watched special witnesses of christ the other day that was awesome. I really liked the testimony of neal a maxwell. President Monahan wants us to start talking to people and being more aggressive in our "preach by the way" opportunities. The rescue has been very slow and tedious and we're starting to balance back more into a stronger focus on investigators. I'm sorry my letters short i have little to write about but thanks for the pictures. I hope for more anyways until next week ~Elder Barney 

Not The Best Call To Receive...But he's On the Mend!

So we finally got an email from Tee.  We got a call sunday night that he had been in the hospital. (not the best call to receive!) They finally determined a kidney stone.  It looks like it finally passed.  If further treatment is needed then he will go to Manila to a private hospital that the church has privleges at with an American LDS physician (sevice missionary).  His mission President and Sis Monahan have been great communicating with us each day.  Thanks for all of the prayers of those that had heard about his situation.  We have a lot to be grateful for here in the states.   PS  Sis Monahan said that Elder Barney was pretty happy on pain meds.  I dont think he has been on pain meds...even with wisdom teeth he didnt want them...?  PSS  Mom can finally get some sleep!



Thursday, February 7th

hey

Well i finally got to get out!! My head still hurts from all the pain medication, and i say and do really dumb things but i need to work today because we were supposed to have a baptism on saturday. Brother Domingo who is partially deaf, he's huge, he's so tall for a filipino but he is the nicest person i have ever met in my life. Anyways his whole family was baptized three weeks ago. He has two daughters they have no permanent job and his wife is now blind because of diabetes and other complications but they pay tithing. Brother Domingo was delayed because of the word of wisdom but he doesnt have any problems anymore. Anyways the day i went in the hospital for kidney stones Sister Domingo was checked into a hospital. She passed away a short time later. The ward and us were devastated. There was so much hope for this family, but i know that the timing of the gospel entering into her life was a blessing and they can be sealed one day. We will visit their family after this. Brother wants a mormon funeral service which is super rare in the philippines even for mormon families. Because the parents and the brothers and sisters of the deceased will force it into a catholic funeral. But brother domingo wants it done the right way which i have great respect for he stood up to the whole family. So yeah that and i got your valentines package, i got aarons package, i got brother willets letter, and bishop porters letter which i was grateful for and grandma and grandpa taylors valentines card today at zone interviews in bayambang. Today at zone interviews president said were going to do something different today. You have ten minutes to find a contact you need to teach them a brief part of the plan of salvation and get their name and number for a follow up visit. We found a group of standbys or a bunch of teenager punks who i never "preach by the way" to because they usually end bad, but my companion said lets try them alright sige. We talked to them and there was a lot. I noticed that in big groups they sifted themselves out from the wheat from the tares the ones who werent interested walked away and the ones who stayed seemed okay and they gave exact addresses so i know they were. The point was if you dont doubt you can be successful. I really wish you could watch president monahan workshops. It's something like none other. So when i was in the hospital i was visited by the ward that was nice and president and sister monahan came to help me out. I dont think I'll go into the other details, but I'll just say it was bad. I dont know if the stone is out. I have no way to see if it is. The doctor says its a stone but he wasnt sure. He only had two teeth. Dad what is your advice for me so i never get that again. President said it might be because of the mineral water im drinking. I hope not because that's my only clean drinking water. So please let me know. The pain is gone but if it returns I'll probably go to manila for a ct scan. I loved your valentines card especially dubas " dont bring home a filipina". Here's the deal doobs. You find me the prettiest american mormon girl (that is temple worthy) that I'm not related to and you put her on hold and we have a deal midget. haha. Love you all thanks for the triple combination. I read psalms 23:4 a couple of times over when the pain got bad. I'm glad your safe mom from your trip. I worried about you. I love you all. And lexi why did you ask luke to sadies you wont be able to go to prom together?? teenagers never learn. haha ~Elder Barney

I Have Been Transferred to San Carlos City Pangasinan

kamusta po (hello)

Nalipat ako sa san carlos city brgy palaris, pangasinan. (I have been transfered to san carlos city pangasinan). Natanggap ko and package ni uncle aaron. (I received the package of uncle aaron).  Thanks for the letters. Babers made it very clear she does not like going to jacksons practices and jackson doesnt like watching her dance haha i remember those days getting drug to watch ballet dancing. haha  So mom there's some tagalog haha. Well so yeah we got pulled out of agoo 3 luckily only shot gun pull out so yeah only temporary. I talked with the missionaries who are going in one's a mexican the other american. I'm really good friends with the one american. Elder Kauer from idaho. Great missionary. He's younger than me in the mission, but its funny because we both started training at the same time and now we both have been called to district leader. When we got word we were both pulled out i was devastated. We were obedient. We had great relationships with the members, so i thought maybe because the numbers are low. But agoo is the lowest and most challenging zone if we look at stats alone. The people are nice but yeah just not open to the gospel. I really thought i had done something wrong maybe i wasnt as productive as i should have been. So we got on the jeepney and headed to urdaneta for transfer meeting. I thought i was going to follow up train or just be senior because the call to train again never came a week before. So we sat in the meeting i really wanted to talk to president monahan why i was pulled out. Then one of the zone leaders said... elder barney president wants to talk to you. I was so scared when I entered the room there was a 3 other elders. They said it was the district leader/zone leader training meeting. I laughed i didnt believe them. president monahan and president mortenson entered and said well thanks for accepting the call to be district leader and zone leaders. I sat down and was thinking i never accepted any call i dont know what he's talking about. Then he looked at me and said elder barney is still contemplating the call. His level of spirit is so high like ammon he can discern thoughts its scary, but of course dad taught me we need to always be ready to receive a calling and ready to be released from a calling. So now I'm a follow up trainer and I'm a district leader my new companion is elder rabanes from cebu. I'm in a real ward san carlos 2 ward. Bishop cancino is the bishop and he's sharp and very service based. I still need to get used to ...the word bishop and ward mission leader because i keep calling him president and branch mission leader haha. So yeah this month there will be a lot of baptisms here 7 in the month of february because the ward mission leader is a past missionary and he's way good. The area is exploding around the temple and bayambang zone is definantly feeling the spirit. Not many elders but in march my district will get really big because like 60 missionaries will enter the mission. There are no sisters in this zone which is great for pdays. We can play football and basketball and ultimate as a zone and no one will get mad. So im in the boys zone. There was four missionaries in our apartment which means its more dirty but it also means its more fun and loud and more food at the house and the chance is higher that one of them knows how to cook. They are all filipinos and they have taught me so many new words its great. I thought I could be a cleaner missionary in my last area. I thought i had room to improve on my arrival here. I'll let you know i have come a long way. When i arrived at the apartment i was shocked. I thought of the second law of thermodynamics ...in a closed system right everything will move towards disorder and confusion. these missionaries had a closed system ...the house. They let the natural forces of nature run their course. The result was bad. There werent any rats or or cockroaches so that was good. Well i like it here. It will be challenging but there is a lot of cornfields and it reminds me more of america sometimes except for there are no mountains here. (and no ocean but thats fine). We helped build a house last friday. I wanted to nail things and help build a bed. Filipinos really think that americans have no clue how to do things like that or do hard work. It bugs me sometimes but i helped tie the bamboo to the bed together. So yeah thats my life here. I finally got to eat mcdonalds because they have that here. I hope i answered your questions oh by the way they are not ilokono here. I'm having the hardest time here because their pangasinan speaking. I actually picked up a lot of ilokono i got pretty good at it. So i know english tagalog and hopefully I'll pick up some other dialects here. Tagalog by the far is the most smooth and its nice to listen to. Ilokono sounds more tribal like jungle language sometimes and so does pangasinan. Yeah mom we can watch 17 miracles but we cant watch anything we want but occasionally president will make exceptions according to our obedience to the rules. If we are faithful with a few things we will be given more things if we follow the spirit of the rules. I love you all be safe and read helaman 15: 7-9. I think it is the process of conversion...it's great!

`Elder Barney

How Do I Cry Repentance When I Don't Have a Voice?

musta

I loved the emails. Yeah i knew grandpa's birthday was soon and i cant forget the birthday of aunt jani. I know its some time in this month haha so happy birthday. Uhm the baptism happened it was good we're still working on dad. Transfer day is on friday and either i or elder macabenta will be transferred who knows. I wont be training again because i wasnt called into the "train the trainers" mtg. The baptism was good i am sending some pictures. Sounds like dallin is happy truthfully you just got to get in the field and it will fly by. We are being blessed. Jonah dungan when i first arrived told me i need to respect her religion and now she is counting the days until her baptism and when she and her family all go over to america. I havent said to them but i'd love to witness the sealing there in san diego if we get her and her husband on the right track. Well also in the future if you want to burn me a copy of 17 miracles and put that in the box please haha. We were supposed to have a zone activity today and watch that but yeah one of the elders gave the copy away to a sister going home as remembrance. District conference here is this week. President Monahan will come with a member of the 70, and he may or may not be happy about the progress in the district. I have a feeling it will be more of a chastising visit for the district but not for the missionaries. Wow dad thats great high priest group leader. What deep church issues will you tackle first? Where is cain, the three nephites and john the beloved? maybe the adamic alphabet or how long it takes to high to kolob? I'm excited to find out the mysteries of the kingdom in your next email. I have no voice... good thing Im emailing to you and not calling. How do i cry repentance when i dont have a voice haha. Everyone in the branch thinks its the sign I'm being transferred. Like Zacharias i cant speak. I'ts getting better haha thats great about the house. Here when it stinks we look for the dead rat because yeah... thats usually what stinks. I love you all. Take care i may or may not be able to continue this letter....EB

THIS WEEK HAS BEEN THE HAPPIEST WEEK OF MY LIFE...PRETTY STRESSFUL AS WELL.

Wow this week has been the happiest week of my life pretty stressful as well. So the baptismal candidates passed so two baptisms on january 19. We're starting to commit these part members to baptism and we are using the AP's workshop on how to give ibd's. So yeah i need new contacts. I'm glad you mentioned that at least to get me home seeing alright haha. Well we're in baguio today, but we dont have much time. I need to buy slacks because yeah i need to. I'll buy two pairs and i heard they have mexican food there at sm baguio so im gonna find it. I liked the rattlesnake picture haha i love pictures from when you were all younger haha. Dad i live right across from cabu funeral home in a big yellow looking house. We basically live in the garage of that big yellow house haha. Dad im going to buy some frog wallets too, so that your dream will become a reality hahah. Well anyways there is  one sister in the compound of the district president dungan. They're all dungans in their compound. The sister in law of the president was married back in november to her husband in the US (the brother of president) but they said nothing to the missionaries that they were married in our church. So yeah we missed the opportunity to give the lessons anyways her name is jonah dungan. Her family all lives in america and they are members and it sounds like she will head over as well, but she has had persecution that if she changes her religion they wont accept her into the states. I wanted to say we americans hate catholics in america so change it haha but of course i didnt. We have a really good relationship of trust with her and her kids. Her husband is being brought into activity in california in san diego through his dad. Anyways sister jonah likes to talk a lot but she also likes to learn so we finally got control of the lesson. Her baby who is always loud and out of control suddenly became quiet we hadnt planned to give the IBD to her last night but on the 17th. But we prayed and found out that the 23 of February would be a good time for her to prepare. Anyways i started talking about how she needed to act on her faith in jesus christ. She really liked a talk by a sister about repentance in church earlier that day so we talked about that and then i said the next step is baptism. I wanted to give the date but i forgot it. I didnt want to look at the calendar and look like it wasnt planned because it was planned and it came from heavenly father. So i said to my self soft invitation instead. Then i heard a voice... "no give the real thing the date is exactly a year from the day you entered into the mtc. feb 23!"  It came back to me so i gave it and she accepted it and then laughed. She nudged her cousin next to her who was a new investigator in that lesson and said you too! hahah I almost groaned. She didnt understand how serious that was, but elder macabenta explained that we need to prepare for the day through repentance then she said well i was hoping for next year but maybe youre right elders maybe it's the right time. I then testified "sister it is the right time". She stared at me and nodded. Then i closed the lesson and invited her to give a prayer and learn for herself and learn that it was right. I am dead serious when i say this...her prayer was the longest and most humble prayer i have ever heard. She started crying in the middle of it. We were kneeling on tile it was hard and long, but i didnt care. She knew it was right. She asked why am i crying and our fellowshipper explained so I'm excited and we're going to help her get there it was so awesome i can't forget it.......so yeah thats our struggle getting the people to be more missionary minded and alert and i know the referrals will come. Yes i went on exchanges in bauang it was a lot of fun. I learned a lot. In the middle of the night the one elder of us four there had an asthma attack. They freaked out and called sister monahan  I asked him if he had pain in his arm (heart attack) because his chest was way heavy and he is a big guy. We had no medicine no inhaler so his companion elder spiers from england gave the blessing. I annointed and his breathing returned to normal. This week has been a spiritual one i leave this all to you whether or not you wish to send this to people. I love this mission and I love my family but i know that as i get more lost in the work the time gets faster and faster. I know you are praying for me, and I am as well for you. ~Elder Barney

EXCHANGES! GOING AGAIN ON TUESDAY.

Hey Family!

This week has been great. I got to go on exchanges and i will go on exchanges again on tuesday with the district leader in buaung. I forget how they spell it up there but supposedly their apartment and area is awesome and im excited to go and learn. Mom i took a picture of the christmas tree in our house. I might leave it for the next elders in the apartment, so they can have the spirit of christmas all the year. Well yeah i like news...I'm glad brent kleinman got approved again. Dad i hope your logging into my facebook every so often because i heard all those pictures will be lost if you dont every six months so please save those pictures. Some are good to have when im old and fat and i can show my kids that i really used to be on the mens toro distance crew. Kylie read the liahona. Theres an article about you on page 58 the january addition. Dont be mad haha i know its not about you, but i laughed when i saw the name kylie with the exact name. If it makes you feel better they even stated at the beginning that they changed the name for the article haha. Yes dad the ibds are progressing but the dad isnt. The branch is taking some great steps forward and our branch fast was powerful. I feel it wasnt well announced. I hope in february they will teach that this is just as much as a commandment as any other. If you dont believe me look in chapter 3 of preach my gospel under commandments. Well yesterday we had a great lesson with the Camat family. The Sister wont come to church, but we finally got found her concerns why she wont come. When she was feeling the spirit. then we shared the first vision to her. She stopped me before i could finish at first i was thinking what is she doing?? you dont interrupt people when their speaking but im glad she did. She shared a story when she was 14 or so she had a dream where she saw the savior she said he talked to her and she was so scared she ran and hid. She woke up sweating and she then asked us why was i scared. Then she asked can God speak through dreams. We looked at each other my companion and i and we're all opo sister...yes sister. We gave her many reading assignments so the book of mormon is becoming more relevant for her. I felt something when i met them and i dont want to drop them even though she wont come to church because she is a member of a catholic foundation. I really feel like they have been looking for this unlike most people. I know that deep inside that anyone who asks the missionaries to come back deep inside is not satisfied with their religion. There is a reason growing up we never had jehovah witnesses, gideons, or other faiths in our home. We have found the pearl of great price and everything else is just cheap. Well brother lumague is not progressing which is kind of nerve wracking but president mariano will use the spirit to know how to decide who in their family will baptize the two younger children. The mom had really repented and has gotten a change of heart (sister lumague) she asked us to stay and help her with her primary lesson about joseph smiths upbringing. She is putting so much effort into her callings. She is working so much during the week so she can be at church for three hours. She is asking us how to pay tithing and she is doing it and all her kids are as well. Shes doing everything she can. One day brother lumague will see how important this all is to his family and salvation. Mom i thought the letter you sent me was amazing. I'd love to hear more stories like that. I also like your letters too dad. January Barney asked me the other day what do we do on pdays here? Well i like to eat at jollybee because my eyes are now slanted from eating so much rice. We play basketball and monopoly yes we can play monopoly. One elder thought we were gambling the other day until we showed him the money was definantly fake because here in the pines the money is multi colored.

----------------------

Sorry i was cut from the computer because of a black out. Well president called an emergency zone companionship study. That was fun i thought we were going to get chastised but it ended up being a good experience. This zone and mangaldan zone are the 2 out of the 9 zones here in the baguio mission that are still districts because of many many dumb problems. The adversary works very very hard on the hearts. He gets families that have four sons who have served missions and are sealed to become inactive and return to the catholic church. I guess that's what happens when youre active in this church but not active in the gospel!! Well i feel good about this year. I hope that I answered the questions i hate typing on computers. Dad here's a verse you might like...Hebrews 5:8-9 i believe it is. It's a favorite of president monahan's.

~Elder Barney

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......