Vi ses i morgen!

Hej Mom! I LOVE YOU! See you tomorrow. :)

Go big or go home... or both!

Well, I'm not sure what will be happening next Monday so I think this will probably be the last big note home of my mission. OH MY the time has just flown!

I don't really know what to say - there have been so many miracles, struggles, high points, low points, and everything in between that I can't really sum it up in any other way than to just bear my testimony.

I know that living the gospel of Jesus Christ is the best way to achieve happiness in this life as well as the life to come. It's not just words on a page or an idea in a book - it is fixing things that are broken, seeing the good in others and yourself and improving upon it, learning to love and be loved, finding opportunities to do simple acts of service, following God's commandments, and holding on to hope and faith whether circumstances are good or bad. And so much more. If you want to dive deep into the doctrine, you can, but the simple truths of Jesus Christ's teachings are simple enough for a child to understand. I know that I am a disciple of Jesus Christ. I used to think the word disciple must mean you're a perfect person, but a disciple is a student and a follower. Anyone can follow Jesus Christ. The more we learn about Him, the closer we want to be to Him, and the more we want to do exactly what He has asked us to do. Talking about it isn't enough, and thinking about it isn't enough - we have to get out there and do things! So get out there and find a way to help someone else! It's pretty amazing how when you forget yourself and go to work, the good you do comes back to bless you so much more than you'd ever expected. :)

I love you all! Thank you for your support and love my whole mission long, and thank you for the examples you have been to me. Life is good. Happiness is a choice. Answers to life's questions are found through scripture STUDY (not just reading! even though it's easier that way!), sincere prayer, and paying attention in church.

Denmark is the greatest country in the world! It breaks my heart to leave it - I love these people so much! But onward and upward. We'll all see each other again someday. :)

Ha' det godt! Vi ses!

(Note from Hannah's mom: Hannah sent that note to friends and family, and then sent one more note to her dad, that I thought you might like to see, too. One more week until she is home!) 

Hello hello!

Miracles WILL happen. I'm running to the finish line, not walking!

this is going to be really short - you can hear what I've been up to in like a week. ;)

But everything is going SO well. I had a really neat blessing a few days ago from President Sederholm and I am going full steam ahead. We have a lot to do this week and a lot of people to take care of (and meet!), and it's all going to go well. I'm trying to stay current in my journal because these are days never to be forgotten! It's hard to keep things in an eternal perspective - the natural sister Barrett in me is saying "this is hard! I am tired! I want to sleep!" but I have to keep reminding myself that I'll NEVER be able to come back to this. So I  need to love and serve as much as I can.

I love the work! I love you all SO MUCH. Have a great week! I'll probably write you a little note next week one more time, but until then, keep on moving forward! Keep being amazing! Thank you, thank you, thank you for the support and love. And for helping me to not be trunky by not talking about home too much.

See you on the other side! Love you!

Love,

Sister Barrett

PS Doctrine & Covenants 128:22. :) 

This Wonderful Week

OK before I tell you about this wonderful week I have some important questions.

1. Do you have to do anything to make sure the stake president knows I need to be released?

2. Am I giving a homecoming talk? And if so, when?

3. Is there going to be a family trip to Denmark this summer?

It's March! AHHH! It's starting to look even more like spring outside (crocuses! Vintergækker! Påskelilje!) and it's really beautiful. I love Denmark in the spring. I love it all the time but oh, it's just lovely right now. And it's getting so light! It's funny what a difference light can do... people just seem happier.

Oh man I wish I would have done a better job at writing to Syd, Em, and John on the mission. I've done my best! I know they know I love them, and I know they love me back! That's what is important, right? riiiiiight? I hope they get my letters soon!

It's been an awesome week! So many good things happening! We were out of the area a lot, for exchanges and our leadership council. We were in Århus for 2 days and that was so fun! I was with Sister Landvatter - she's been in Denmark for 3 whole weeks! Oh it was so fun being with her - that new missionary fire is so motivating. We worked on contacting together, because when ya barely know the language and you aren't used to talking to strangers all day it can be reeeeeeally hard to know what to say! Sister Landvatter has the most beautiful smile, and such a happy countenance. It rubbed off on me and everyone we talked to! Seriously, it was incredible. Every time she opened her mouth to say something people got happier. 

I always wanted to serve in Århus - it's the second biggest city in Denmark and it's so charming. There are so many friendly people around - we had a lot of great conversations on the street! And they have great investigators there, we met with M who said he's really uncomfortable praying but we invited him to say the closing prayer at the end and he said a really beautiful prayer! It did not sound like he felt awkward about praying at all! So that was delightful, we had set a goal that in 2 weeks he would say a prayer out loud but we changed the goal to him praying every day for the next 2 weeks because he already says some rockin' prayers.

-that reminds me. Before my mission I was lucky if I remembered to pray once a day. I can't even imagine life without prayer anymore! It keeps me connected with Heavenly Father and with myself. If I'm ever having a hard time or struggling with knowing what to do, I just have to say a prayer!-

We had a great appointment with H on Wednesday. She is such a great lady! We talked about the gospel of Jesus Christ, and she totally understood it and feels like she's already living it to a degree. And we visited G, which was fabulous as usual. He always has such great questions!

 

Leadership council was amazing! It was surreal knowing that was the last time I would be there. I'm really excited because we're focusing on how to recognize and follow the Spirit this month (see PMG chapter 4!) - which was what I was hoping we would be focusing on! It's really interesting how we get used to having the gift of the Holy Ghost, and don't take the time to use it. I find that every time I take the time to really listen to the Spirit, there's always something I can do or say or be better at. 

Søster Van Orden is a champ, she totally ran the big run with me (it's like a 5k and has a few really steep hills) the morning of leadership. We almost died. But we made it back and didn't have to feel guilty eating waffles for breakfast! ;)

Right after we got back from leadership, we picked up the Aalborg sisters for exchanges in Horsens. I was with Søster Williams, who has also been in Denmark for 3 whole weeks! She's way tall. And can pretty much do anything - dance, cook, sing, everything! Her mom taught her a saying that has been a huge strength to her in a lot of hard situations - "It is a commandment to love, not to be loved." That's probably one of the saddest things I've ever heard, but when you think about it a little more, it's really comforting! If you're doing your best to love others, then it doesn't really matter if they love you back - you're doing everything you can. 

Sister Williams also said that she focuses on the positive, because what you focus on tends to expand - if you focus on the negative, life becomes more negative. If you focus on the positive, the reverse happens! That was really uplifting to me. I have been stressing out about my mission - have I done enough? Have I improved? Am I going to continue on the path of discipleship? Am I strong enough to leave this behind? But I do NOT want the last weeks of my mission to be filled up with worry and concern! Keep moving forward! The best is yet to come! We never see the full results of the good that we do. 

We had stake conference yesterday and THAT was a tender mercy. I saw a lot of people I really love from my whole mission. Families from Aalborg, Odense, and even one of my friends from Copenhagen. J and J were there. J had a pin on his suit of the angel Moroni. He told me that when I go home and start dating someone, I have to get his approval before I decide to get married. ;) 

C and her daughters C and C were there. M S, who helped find M in Aalborg, was there and is engaged to N, who was baptized in 2013 in Odense. And so so so many more people that have blessed my life. Hopefully I've been able to give them a little bit in return. It just filled my heart. I also realized it's probably the last stake conference I'll ever attend in Denmark, and OH! I will miss the people here and their strong testimonies and commitment to the gospel! There were some amazing things said in conference - a lot of talks focused on being a disciple of Christ, going to the temple, and going home to Heavenly Father.

We stopped by a potential yesterday after church named A - he's this sweet old man I met on exchanges with Søster Floyd last transfer. We rang on his buzzbox and he stuck his head out the window and said "Oh it's you two!" - I thought he might have meant it in a bad way. Turns out he was actually really happy to see us! He is so open for the gospel and so ready to receive it!!! We taught him on his doorstep and invited him to baptism (he said yes!). When we said the closing prayer he was so touched and said something like "that's the kind of thing that makes you feel free inside!" It was so sweet. We're going to give him over to the elders so they can teach him with K - an older man who was baptized about a year ago. They would be PERFECT friends for each other. It's so exciting!

This week we're going to have zone trainings! My last 2 ever! So sad! A few days after I leave there's going to be a zone conference, and they're playing Meet the Mormons. I was super disappointed that I won't be able to see it, but then I remembered - I'll be able to watch that movie and whatever else I want! Heh heh heh.

We're also meeting with all of our great people this week, and a couple of new - A, hopefully S, hopefully M. Oh and hopefully G and A, but they kind of dropped us last week :O

There's a lot to look forward to (not just movies)! There's a lot to leave behind. I've been quite emotional these last few days and I think it'll probably just continue. Good thing I can come back to Denmark! I am fully planning on coming back to visit, hopefully multiple times. Maybe I'll get a job as a flight attendant so I can fly for free. ;)

I love you all! I love the gospel of Jesus Christ and I'm so grateful for everything I've learned by living it. It is seriously the perfect pattern to success in life. I'm so grateful for the Savior and all He has done for me. I want to be better at using the gift of the Atonement. And being more grateful! this week Søster Van Orden and I are going to try praying only prayers of gratitude. I'm looking forward to it. :)

Ha' det godt! Vi ses!

Knus,

Søster Barrett

PS word of the day: Påskelilje - Easter Lily, or Daffodil. :)

PPS PICTURES! Yes, that's right, I got my camera back! Here's a bit of a catch up from my last few days in Slagelse and the last week!

Horsens is on FIRE!

So last night I had the trunkiest dream ever. Seriously! The whole fam came here to Denmark to pick me up, and the moment I saw you all I started to cry (tears of joy of course). I'm not feeling too trunky, I love being here where I am, but I'm definitely excited to see y'all! And I'll try not to actually cry. No promises though.

OH MY GOSH HORSENS IS JUST ON FIRE RIGHT NOW. Can I say that one more time? HORSENS IS ON FIRE RIGHT NOW! Not literally. Thankfully. But as far as the work goes... my goodness! We are having so much fun and seeing so much good! There have been several appointments and contacts in the last few weeks where Søster Van Orden and I have left looking at each other and saying "What. Just. Happened?! That was amazing!" Really good things are happening.

A had to cancel our appointment on Tuesday, but we ran into her on Sunday and made another appointment - she was happy to see us and said that she's read a little bit in the Book of Mormon. 

Sister Van Orden and Sister Sorensen went to see K and R while we were on exchanges. B, a really amazing girl from the ward who is getting ready to go on a mission came with and did an amazing job. R is a little more hesitant than K, and they both agreed to come to church but only K ended up coming, so we're planning on focusing a little more on R's needs next time we meet. K is just amazing. He came to all 3 hours of church and contributed some meaningful insights in gæsteklass. He was really moved by the talks in sacrament meeting and really seemed to enjoy himself. 

G and A, our investigators from Romania, also came to church! They're getting to be friends with people in the ward and A LOVES AH (She's the most spry 82-year-old I've ever met! She comes to a lot of our lessons and can befriend ANYONE, no matter how much younger they are than she is). G came to CUV as well and had a really good time! 

We also met with H, who is a really sweet Danish woman in her 40's. She has no doubt the church is true, and said she left church (she came for the first time on Søster Hale's last Sunday) feeling like a better person. That was an amazing thing to hear! In the last 6 weeks she's gone from being unsure about our message and telling us every time we met that she didn't want to meet again to asking when we're coming back and reading everything we give her to read. She is a really special lady. It's been so neat to see her open up.

Heavenly Father is so aware of each of us and our needs. I got a blessing this week because I was worried about going home, and in it Elder Jewkes said something that was so interesting, and pierced me right to the heart - it was that Heavenly Father loves those who never leave the fold just as much as those who fall away. It was kind of random and unexpected, but it strengthened my testimony of Priesthood blessings because it addressed a concern that I've had inside of myself for a long time - that maybe because I've never had a huge rebellion or desire to leave the church, then my testimony isn't authentic or based on personal experience, and I'm not as true to Heavenly Father as I should be. I know that is not true. I know now more because of what was said in the blessing I got. Testimonies come from living the gospel, not leaving it! 

I got to be with Søster Hadfield again last week!!! I don't think there's anything Søster Hadfield can't handle. The transfer away from your first area is a big adjustment, but Søster Hadfield is so positive and full of love! She is definitely a little overwhelmed, but not more than she can handle. And she treats Sister Mølholt as an equal and a friend. They're doing really well together.

We were with Odense 2 søstre on Friday and I got to be with Sister Moseley again! Oh she is the greatest - SUCH a funny, quirky girl and so comfortable being herself. I think it's really awesome - I want to be that way! She and Sister Sorensen are a really quirky companionship - one night, to prank the other sisters when they got home for the night, they set up a murder scene in the Apartment (it was Friday the 13th) with fake blood and the whole deal. Creative! They're doing it again this next Friday the 13th. I'm hoping to see some pictures.

We're going out with Århus tonight, and Aalborg is coming to us on Friday. We're also traveling to Copenhagen for leadership on Thursday, and back to Århus on Sunday for Stake Conference. It's going to be a craaaaazy week! And a really good one! All of our appointments with our people are crammed into the 2 full days we will be home. :D

I love you so much - tell everyone hi from me.

Vi snakkes ved!

P.S. Word of the week - bekvem. It means comfortable!

Danish Word of the Week: Fnug

It has been a wonderful Monday! Søster Van Orden, my new companion, is a rock star. She is so diligent and hard-working and so so motivating to be around. She's also hilarious and has an amazing singing voice - she's studying music, theater, and dance at BYU so she's obviously full of all kinds of artistic talent. It's awesome! 

Hopefully I am showing her everything in Horsens! We're going to the big teeter totter today with the Elders, and then heading to Odense (we'll be on exchange there tonight!). Hopefully we'll get there early enough to see some of the sights before Pday is over. 

Our apartment is beautiful! We live in a castle. I'm getting my camera back today (Sister Hadfield has it! She transferred to Odense and we're going to be together on exchanges! WOO!) so I'll send you a picture of our castle next week. It has heated bathroom floors. And a washer and dryer. And our neighbors are some of the friendliest people around - last week we gave cookies to our neighbor Svend, a really nice old man we run into a lot, and he left flowers at our doorstep! How sweet is that?! 

We bike everywhere and rarely take the bus - Horsens is a small town, so we don't really need the bus unless we have sisters visiting or a bunch of stuff to carry home.

We're having stake conference in 2 weeks! I am hoping to see friends from Aalborg there. I love that place!

This week has been pretty wonderful! A lot of appointments fell through, like with G and a lady named G, but we had some really good ones as well. We visited G, A, and Z (I think I sent you a picture of Sister Hale and I with G, when he had a rockstar hair wig on that we gave him). Oh they are the sweetest family. They are going through some really hard things right now, but really enjoy meeting with us. Z doesn't speak English or Danish, so her son G translates for her. She even had him translate the opening and closing prayers for her, and the spirit was especially strong through that. Z had to leave Denmark on Friday, so we went by to say goodbye. I don't know if I'll ever see her again because she's not sure when she'll come back to Denmark, but I got her email so we can stay in touch!

On Friday we had some really great appointments with new investigators! First we met with A, who is studying at VIA and from China. She was soooo excited to get her own Book of Mormon. She let us teach her how to pray and it was a really tender moment - teaching people how to pray is one of my favorite things to do. 

That night we met with K, who Søster Hale and I met last week. K is from Nigeria and is half Danish, and just graduated from college. He is one of the most sincere seekers of truth I've ever met, and really wants to find out if the gospel will help him. And of course it will! His friend R came to the appointment as well... that was pretty awesome, because we ran into K on Thursday and he was walking with R - we just said hi to them in passing, but then afterwards K must have told R a little bit about who we were and he said he wanted to hear about our message too! Ooooh it was just a really great lesson.

The week ended on a really good note last night when we stopped by an inactive member... we just had her address from the ward list so we decided to stop by. It was way far out there, and I kept getting us lost (that whole area take-over thing is always a little stressful as far as figuring out where the heck we are!), but we made it eventually. I was worried we would scare the lady because it was 8:40 at night and it's rare for anyone to knock on your door in Denmark, even more so late at night. But E answered the door and was so happy to see us - because of some really difficult circumstances she can't be active in the church but has an AMAZING testimony. We were so glad we were able to meet her. I really hope we can meet with her again. There are a few members that keep in touch with her and she gets the Liahona Magazine every month, but it's really hard to have contact with her and we're definitely going to be keeping her in our prayers.

I don't know if you heard about the shooting that happened in Copenhagen this weekend, but a couple of people were killed and it was pretty scary/sad to hear about.  Things like that never happen in Denmark and it felt really close to home! The missionaries in the Copenhagen area aren't allowed to go downtown for the time being. Keep the families who were affected in your prayers! It was so unexpected and just so sad.  

This week I have a goal of CATCHING UP ON MY JOURNAL! Ahh! I am so behind and I don't want to forget any of the wonderful things that are happening! Eek.

Søster Hale and her parents came back to Horsens for a few days and we ran into them a few times/had dinner together one night. It was so fun to meet Søster Hale's parents after hearing so much about them!

Anyways everything is going well! Crazy things are happening in the world but the gospel is so reliable. There are some tough questions and Heavenly Father hasn't answered all of our questions but I know He knows each of us personally and has a plan. I'm grateful that I can trust in Him, and that He is so patient and loving to me. I know that the best way we can help other people is by teaching them to live the gospel. Looking back over the last 18 months I can see that I have made a lot of changes in how I do missionary work, and how I live the gospel, but I am still me and I really like being me. :)

Have a great week! Stay warm and safe! I will do the same. :)

Love you so much! Vi ses!

Love,

Søster Barrett

PS Søster Van Orden writes a Danish word of the week home to her family, and I think that's a great idea so here is your word of the week! Sorry I didn't start doing this like 18 months ago! ;)

Fnug - the lint you clean out of the dryer after finishing a load of laundry.

It all comes back to love

Hejsa!

I am getting so ready for valentines day! Thanks to a great package you sent, or two! Thanks so much for both of them! It was really sweet to get love from home! The CTR rings are so cute... I'll make good use of them!

It's a great day. It's been a fun adventure - Søster Hale left this morning (I serenaded her on the way to the train station by playing God Be With You Til we Meet Again on my harmonica) and I waited in Vejle to pick up my new companion Søster Van Orden... but she never came! 

Turns out she took the train straight to Horsens and I ended up having to travel alone from Vejle back to Horsens... scary!!! Seriously. I literally felt like I was going to have a heart attack. But instead I talked to the girl sitting across from me, her name was L, and she's not interested in learning about the gospel yet but she wants to be friends with me on Facebook in a month! Woo!

My new companion, Søster Van Orden is an awesome søsta, she's only been out 6 months and is going to be a great Sister Training Leader. And I'm excited to see what we can do together in the area!

This last week has been so great. We had some amazing appointments. We met with G twice - it went so well! He has the greatest questions I've ever heard. Sometimes when we start teaching someone it's awkward the first few times, but with G it's been so easygoing from the beginning. There's never a pause in the conversation - it's great! 

And we saw G and J (so sweet!), who fed us an incredibly large amount of rice, adobo, and something that resembled mini lumpia. I love Filipino food so much. G is going back to the Philippines on March 2 (She spends 3 months in Denmark and 3 months in the Philippines because she doesn't have a permanent visa yet) and I am hoping we can see them a lot before then, and continue teaching J when G is gone. Sister Hale had the brilliant idea of inviting J and G to pray together every night - because J has never been religious, and isn't comfortable praying on his own - but he agreed to having family prayer, as long as G is the one who says it. :)

We had a MIRACLE happen with T! So we fasted on Sunday to see him again on the street. On Monday night, we walked out of our apartment and before we went out, prayed that we would see T on our way. We got out to the main street, turned to our left, and saw 3 guys walking our way in the distance. I thought in my head, "wouldn't it be so funny if one of those guys was T?" And then Sister Hale said, "It's T!" I looked closer and... yes! It was T!!! 

We had a good chat with him and his friends. It turns out he lost his phone and couldn't get ahold of us, and was also a little overwhelmed by the commitment to being baptized. Oops. But we made another appointment for Saturday! And we saw him again on Tuesday... I don't know what happened between Tuesday and Saturday, but he didn't show up on Saturday. ): But hey, chances are we'll see him again! :)

We visited N yesterday, who is a beautiful, amazing Dane with the cutest daughter L. N's boyfriend, B (also awesome - he's traveled all over the World trying to find truth!) was out of town on a ski trip, but we had a really great conversation about the Book of Mormon. We invited N to baptism, and she said that she's afraid of the commitment to one religion when there's so much good in many religions, which I can totally understand. But we talked about how faith isn't confirmed until after you take the step - and I really think N is going to make a date sometime soon. 

She said that when we come she can tell that there's a difference in her life. That was really flattering - I've never had someone say that to me, and it was a reminder of how strong the Spirit is with us even when we're not aware of it. It's so wonderful to see the difference the gospel is making in N's life - she is gaining a testimony of the Book of Mormon and I love being able to see that happen. N also gave us the sweetest gift - some really good Pukka tea (herbal of course!) and these chocolate sticks - it kind of looks like a chocolate lolly pop, but you stick one in hot milk and it becomes hot chocolate! So delicious!!!

I think this email is going to end up being short, but I don't have much else to say! Other than that... well, today was kind of a wake-up call. All of the emails I got had something to do with me going home, and it hit me: I am not going to be here forever. 

I am going to MISS Denmark. The people here are so dear to me! The land is so beautiful! The language is so charming and I am so far from fluent in it! 

So I want to work so hard and have so much fun and take it all in stride. I love the gospel and I love that we can all work together to share it. In the spirit of Valentine's day, it all comes back to love! 

The work is so good. It's accelerating! This week there were 12 baptismal dates made in the mission! And we keep finding REALLY positive, solid potentials who actually text/call us back and want to meet. It's so exciting!

Anywho I love ya! I hope you have a great week, and I'll talk to you next week!!!

Knus,

Søster Barrett

PS - Sorry, no pictures! Sister Hadfield is bringing me my camera (she transferred to Odense! She's going to do so well there! Also, that reminds me - F IS REACTIVATED! That's T's fiance in Slagelse! So good to hear that he is coming back!)

LOVE YOU SO MUCH!

PPS any requests of Things I should buy/bring home?

A Privilege

Time goes SO FAST! But it hasn't really hit me yet, like, I know I'm going home in a month but I feel like I'll be here for the rest of my life. Sometimes it does get to me though, like when we're walking on cobblestone streets and the sun is setting and the sky is pink, or when we're sitting in church with all of the amazing, faithful people here and they show me so much more love than I deserve - and I realize I won't get to experience it every day forever. Sister Hale getting ready to go home in a week makes it feel a lot more real, too. Craziness.

District activity - broken bike

It's been an AWESOME day so far! Sister Hale and I decided this morning while we were planning for our little part of zone training that we are going to finish a song I've been working on, and sing it at zone training! It should be really fun. It's about the Savior. Ya know, before my mission if I ever tried to write a song it was usually about love or a boy or something, but now it's a lot easier to write about life truths, and the gospel, and I think it's because my perspective has really been enlarged by serving the Lord. I've been able to see a lot of different walks of life. It's really wonderful, and such a privilege. 

Someone asked me a few days ago how I would describe my mission, and the best thing I can come up with is that it is a privilege. It's a privilege to serve the Lord, it's a privilege to feel of His love, it's a privilege to invite other people to feel of it as well. I love it.

District Activity - 50's Diner

Today is Søster Hale's last Pday here in Denmark! So we're going allllll out - and by that I mean we're going shopping and she has to pack. ;) It's a good time!

This week we have zone trainings, and the Vejle sisters coming on exchanges, and a lot of appointments! We're meeting with G. I haven't told you about G yet. HE IS AWESOME. We met him on the train home from the last zone training - he was sitting next to me, so I asked where he was going. Horsens, of course! Then we asked where he is from - Canada! So of course we all got reeeeallly excited. G has been living in Europe since he was 18, and has been a Catholic priest and a monk, but is now a social worker living in Denmark.

The thing is, I've taught people who know a LOT  less about religion than Gregg does, and none of them have ever been as open or willing to listen as he is. He's really sincere. I don't know how long it will take for him to gain a testimony of the gospel, but he is SO SINCERE and SO SO SO AWESOME. He's someone I want to be friends with for the rest of my life! Sister Hale and I have been talking about G every day since the appointment! We're meeting again tomorrow night. I am so excited!

There's a lot of good happening. Our ward is amazing, and yesterday they set goals for the year - it was so exciting to hear their goals for helping the ward grow and keeping everyone who is there active. I hope that we can support the goals and help them achieve them!!

District Activity - exploring island in Silkeborg

Basically it's all just going really well! It's weird that Sister Hale is almost done, and weird that if I hadn't extended I would be too! But it feels so right to stay - and if I hadn't stayed, I wouldn't be able to be with Søster Hale right now! I found out a few days ago that a Sister is going home from her mission a transfer early and another sister in the MTC got reassigned to a stateside mission, so if I hadn't extended an area would have been closed for a transfer. 

It's kind of crazy how things always work out - that was a big testimony builder for me, and I really want to do better at following every prompting I get even if I think it's silly, because you really never know what will come of a prompting until after you act on it, even if it's intimidating or inconvenient. It is a work in progress! I am a work in progress! We all are, I suppose. :)

I love you so much! I hope you have a great week and that everyone has a lot of fun in all their different activities! Give everyone a hug from me. :)

I love you lots!

Love,

Søsta B

PPS Pictures - our district activity kind of died last week, because Elder Sullivans bike broke (first picture). So we couldn't get out to Himmelbjerg ): but we found a neat 50's diner to eat at! And we explored a little island in Silkeborg! It was reeeeal fun.

A Lovely Snow Day

I agree, time is slipping by so so fast. It's kind of making me have a panic attack, you know what I mean? Sister Hale has two weeks. TWO WEEKS left on her mission. If I hadn't extended, I would also have 2 weeks left! I'm really really glad I extended, for lots of reasons, but most of all right now because I don't have to worry about going home yet! ;) 

This week has been so so good. It got reeeeally cold for a few days (and almost 100% humidity!) and we had a snow storm, but the next day the sun was out and the snow was melting away. If that's the worst it'll get this winter, I'll be very very happy! Ok I'll find a way to be happy either way but it's always nice when I can feel my fingers and toes.

It was a lovely snow day!

Last week Sister Hale and I decided that the next time we were in the library, we would get some hot chocolate from this hot chocolate machine. It was only 5 crowns, and it tasted delicious! Plus it was really entertaining to watch it make the hot chocolate. 

Søster Barrett and Søster Hale

So, T, our friend with baptismal date, has disappeared! He hasn't answered our calls or texted us back, and we don't have his address because he always met us at the church... it's way sad because we have no idea what happened, and he was SO happy for the message. I know it'll all work out in the Lord's timing, and I hope he's ok. Sister Hale and I are totally disappointed though! Sådan er det bare. Keep him in your prayers. Hopefully we'll run into him this week. It's happened before, it could happen again!

Exchanges were fun and crazy and awesome! This week I was with Søster Rovig on Monday and Søster Moseley on Friday. They're both relatively new sistas, and it was really motivating to be with them! On Tuesday, Søster Rovig and I had an appointment with our investigator Y, in VIA (the local university). We were waiting for Y and decided to find someone to start a conversation with - we found D, who is from somewhere in Eastern Europe I believe! We have another appointment set up with her for this Wednesday, so I'm really excited to see what happens there. 

And the appointment with Y was great! She is the sweetest girl, from Africa, and very believing. She came to church yesterday and is coming to dinner with us tonight. So fun! I think she's around my age, and I know that I am away from my family in a foreign country, but if it was for school, not a mission, I don't think I would be brave enough to leave my family so far away! Her brother lives here in Horsens as well though, so at least they have each other.

We had a lot of computer work this week because we had to do the monthly zone reports for all of the sisters in Jylland and on Fyn. I can't believe I once spent 3 or more hours staring at a computer screen and enjoyed it! Ick!

A few weeks ago Søster Hale and I saw that our apartment complex was going to hold a late Julefrokost on the 23rd for anyone who wanted to participate. We thought it would be really hyggeligt, so we signed up! We realized this week that we would be on exchanges on that day, and started worrying that the dinner would be reeal awkward. But Søster Moseley and I went and it was so fun!!! We were a few minutes late getting there, and before we opened the door we could hear them saying "Those Latter-day Saint girls were supposed to come!" We walked in and everyone was really happy to see us - I thought it was so sweet of them. 

So we ate a delicious dinner with a lot of the old men and ladies in our complex, got to know them a lot better, and played a few games together. Everyone was asking us about what we did as missionaries - I'm sure they've been curious about it ever since missionaries started living here, but people are really respectful of privacy here so I would imagine none of them have ever really asked before - so it was a good chance to explain a little bit about the church. We live with some really awesome people! Søster Hale and I are going to make them all cookies in our free time this week. Fest!

I love the way church is set up here - we have Relief Society and Sunday School before Sacrament Meeting. It was kind of a weird adjustment but I think it helps me get more prepared to take the sacrament. And this week the topic for Relief Society/Priesthood was partaking of the sacrament. It was such a great lesson, and I was so reminded of how great it is that we get to renew our baptismal covenants every week. 

I want to do a better job of  setting personal goals every Sunday for how to follow Jesus Christ better so I can renew my commitment to Him with more conviction - I think it would help me be a lot more effective in how I follow Jesus Christ. I've been pondering on Him a lot in the last few days. 

We shared a spiritual thought with a family last night where we offered everyone there a cookie, and in order for them to get the cookie someone had to do 5 pushups (I don't know if missionaries have ever done this spiritual thought with you, but I think it's a pretty common one). But even if they didn't want the cookie, that person still did pushups to give them the opportunity to accept it or not. It's supposed to illustrate what Christ did for us - He Atoned for each and every one of us, so that we would each have the opportunity to choose to accept His sacrifice or not. 

It got me thinking about the Atonement - Heavenly Father must love us so much, if he would send His son knowing that not everyone would accept or even appreciate the sacrifice, and Christ must love us just as much if he would be willing to go through that for us knowing the same. So I need to use the gift He's given me! And I NEED to share it with others! So we're doing it, as much as we can!!

Today we're taking an essentials P-day, because on Thursday we're having a District Activity and going to Himmelbjerg! The highest hill in Denmark! ;)

President Sederholm is going to do my endorsement, and I just got an email from BYU saying that as long as I remember to do the endorsement, my scholarship for next year will be reactivated for me! Woo woo! I don't think there's a ton you need to do before I get back - but you could look into the Colony and see when their deadline is for signing up for housing.

Yesterday a really awesome lady in the ward gave a great talk - and she mentioned some of the things people who are dying say they regret the most. I can't remember all of them, but some of them were that they wished they had let themselves be happier, and spent more time with the people they loved, and spent less time focusing on their job. I don't want to finish my mission wishing I had let myself be happier, or wishing I had savored every moment more. I want to reach out and love as much as I can, and accept that sometimes things don't go according to plan, but find a way to be Christlike in every circumstance. I still have time left! I'm going to do better!

I love you all so much. Thank you for being so great. Thank you for raising my vision and helping me see things with a better perspective.

Have a good week!

Love,

Søster Barrett