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

Good Times in Horsens

This week has also been very exciting, but in different ways! No museum break-ins for us, but I had YET ANOTHER flat tire and finally gave in and took the bike in to the shop. It's doing really well now, and I'm sure it'll be in good shape for at least a few more days ;)

We went on exchanges with the sisters from Esbjerg and Odense - so fun! I was with Sister Mandla (from Australia!) and Sister Woster (from California - we've been on exchanges together before and I LOVE that sista - she's so fun to be around!). Oh my goodness I learn so much every time. 

This is the first time I've had sisters come to my area, and Sister Hale and I are learning/getting better at planning ahead so we don't end up going to the same places. ;) I love being with the sisters and learning from them, and hopefully being able to help them - we're all trying to do better and be better, and honestly I think it's pretty amazing how the Lord is able to work through us, unqualified and incapable as we may feel.

Some really amazing things happened though - On Tuesday, Sister Hale was out with Sister Henderson. They were on their way home for the night, and Sister Hale was feeling like it had been kind of a bust of an exchange - not much had happened. But then she told Sister Henderson, "I still feel like there's one more miracle out there tonight!" And shortly after felt like she needed to talk to person who was walking behind them. She didn't really want to, because it can be awkward to contact someone walking the same direction you are. But the person sped up to walk around them, and as he passed Sister Hale she decided to talk to him. Sister Hale recognized him, and he recognized her! 

Backing it up a little bit - Sister Hale and Sister Thomsen contacted this boy, T, a few months ago. They had an amazing conversation and agreed to meet up at the church for an appointment - he couldn't give them his number or address for some reason, but he promised he would be there. They showed up for the appointment, he didn't. They were super disappointed, because it didn't seem like T was going to burn them. 

Fast forward to Tuesday, and it was T that Sister Hale felt prompted to talk to on the street. The first thing he said to her was "I came to the church and you weren't there!" Sister Hale said, "We came and YOU weren't there!" It turns out T had gone to the wrong church! They made a new appointment for Thursday and he promised he would be there. 

On Thursday T came, and we had an amazing appointment with him and S, a really awesome member (also a little miracle there - we couldn't find anyone to come to the appointment and we needed another woman to be there, but all of the YSA's were going to be in institute - but S just happened to be there waiting for her brother, and she doesn't go to institute so she had time to come to our appointment). 

T is SO sincere about learning about the gospel, and so ready for it. We set a baptismal date in the first lesson for February 7. We had another appointment on Saturday and talked a little more about what it means to be baptized (T wasn't actually sure what it meant to be baptized... glad we got that cleared up!) - T still wants to be baptized. He couldn't come to church yesterday so we have to move his date back at least a week, but it is HAPPENING! and it's so exciting! 

The ward is really excited and wants to be involved, we've had members offer to come to appointments and to invite him over for dinner - it's so great. T told us on Saturday that after the first appointment, he walked around outside for a long time with a huge smile on his face and he had no idea why he was so happy. He said he feels like a new person. I know that the gospel can help anyone in the world become a new person, but we're not always open to it - even though I live the gospel and have learned about it my whole life, I haven't always been open to it - and it's really a privilege to see someone so open and willing to learn of Jesus Christ.

I am so impressed by Sister Hale's missionary skillz, and I am learning so much from her/with her. We're having SO MUCH FUN, and I love the ward! Last night we visited our ward mission leader and his wife, and it was so nice to hear their mission stories, talk with them about the exciting missionary work that is happening now, and feel the Spirit there with them. It's a good work we're all a part of.

I have to go! But I love you so much, and I pray for you. I hope you all have a great week! I say that every time, haha. But it's all about what you make of it.

If you get the chance, could you check on school stuff? Like when I need to get my ecclesiastical endorsement/sign up for housing and so on? I'll be looking at it too, because Sister Hale has to apply for college (the deadline is Feb 1! ahh!), but it'd be nice to hear what you find as well. Also I just got an email from mah favorite roomies (Katie, Brianna, and Kayla!) and I'm pretty sure we all want to room together again in the fall! That's going to be SO GREAT. So keep your eye out for good housing and all of that! Kayla is in the Colony and really enjoys it - wanna ask other BYU moms what they think?

LOVE YOU! Have a good week!

Love,

Sista B

PS no pictures this week. Sorry! 

Hej Med Jer!

Hej med jer!

It has been way warm here for winter time - I love it! we've mostly gotten rain, not snow - which is kind of sad because I think snow is beautiful, but kind of great because biking in the snow is not the most enjoyable thing. It's been way windy, too! like hurricane level winds apparently! But it's calm now and I think this week should be a little better.

Søster Hale and Søster Barrett

Horsens is so great! Sister Hale and I are having lots of adventures. Here are a couple from the last week:

So, I forgot to tell you that on New Years as we were about to go into A's family's apartment, this girl ran up the stairs out of breath and crying, asking us to call the police. Apparently her boyfriend was abusing her and she ran away and needed help. It was very scary! Elder Jewkes called 911 (or 112 if you're in Denmark!) and the police said they would come in twenty minutes. Sister Hale and I sat with the girl until they came. We sang her some songs and talked to her about all kinds of things (including the gospel of course!) to get her mind off of what was happening because she was freaking out. It was kind of crazy, but so neat to be able to help.

That is a durum kebab for ya - and I ate the whole thing all by myself!

And this week started off great on Monday with us taking the wrong bus to an appointment... we went in the completely wrong direction! I asked the bus driver to let us know when our stop was coming (it's way hard to find the stops out of town) and he said we were going in the wrong direction and the next stop wasn't for a while. So he just let us off on the side of the road, almost in the middle of nowhere. we were pretty close to a little town, but had no idea what it was or where we were. So we said a prayer of course! And right after, we saw a woman walking our direction so we decided to ask her where we were. 

Turns out we were in Hatting, a little bitty town 6  km away from Horsens. The lady we talked to, I__, said that it would be a long walk in the dark on the side of a highway and she was worried about our safety. We asked her if she'd heard about the church, and she said she knew a member, P__! We know her too, of course! I think that connection made I__ feel like she could trust us, so she told us she would drive us back to Horsens. The whole way home, we talked about the gospel. the Spirit was so strong, and I__ ended up accepting a Book of Mormon and making an appointment for us to meet with her. Whaaa?! That doesn't just happen!!! It was such a miracle - and it was amazing to see the way the Lord guided us.

The next morning, I tried to find my wallet and realized that it was missing. I had no idea where it was, and didn't find it at all that day. BUT we did break into a Museum! We had an appointment with a new investigator but couldn't get to his apartment. The door was through a locked gateway (it's really hard to describe this on email, but in cities here all of the buildings are pretty much attached to each other, and the only way to get to the other side of them is through big gateways in the buildings) and we couldn't get through, and he wasn't answering the phone. 

We tried the next gateway over, thinking that maybe there was a way to get through from that building. We opened the door, and there were a bunch of pictures of a building being restored in the hallway, and then another closed door on the other side. we tried that door, still thinking we could get through. A faint beeping sound started going off - we were way confused, and just decided to leave. After we got back out on the main street, a blaring alarm started going off from the gateway!! People on the street started walking over to see what was going on. 

We were freaking out at this point - we had no idea what to do, so we decided to wait there in case the police came. Sure enough, a few minutes later a security guard came and we told him what happened. The owner of the museum (we're pretty sure it was a museum) showed up as well. We explained the whole situation to them, and the security guard asked the owner if he wanted to get our full names. I think the owner thought we couldn't understand him, 'cause he told the security guard it wasn't necessary because we were just 2 dumb girls. Which is kind of true! Anyways, we survived and it was hilarious and sooo embarrassing.

Later, we called I__ to see if I had left my wallet in her car, and I did! So on Wednesday we biked all the way out to her house to get the wallet, and when we got to her door she brought the wallet and the Book of Mormon we had given her. Turns out she didn't want to learn about the church yet anyways. :( But that's okay! We did our best to help her see things differently, but it's just not the right time. As we were getting ready to bike back I realized that my back tire was completely flat. so we walked allllllll the way back to Horsens because I didn't have any of my tire patching stuff. Bleh. 

That night, though, I met D, a less-active here who is awesome! He's such a funny guy! He is pretty atheist, which I think is very interesting.  Sister Hale has worked with a lot of atheists on her mission, she's pretty much the atheist expert (and by atheists I mean real atheists, who completely don't believe in God - a lot of people here say they are atheist, but in reality they do believe in God they just keep it really private) and it's been really neat to hear some of her experiences and thoughts. 

On Thursday we headed to Copenhagen for leadership meeting, and met the greatest family on the train. It was a dad, B, and his two sons - they were sooo cute and crazy, the older brother (they were 4 and 6) kept pulling his younger brother's pants off. we were laughing so hard! B is way positive about learning about the church, and we got his number to give to the missionaries where he lives. 

Leadership Counsel

Leadership counsel was really great - we talked a lot about the worth of souls. It possibly made me have a little emotional breakdown - I think I cry even more now than I did before I started my mission. I get so emotional! the Spirit gets so strong! Anyways it was really motivating and sister Hale and I are PUMPED for exchanges and the zone trainings for the month! And just life in general! I haven't laughed so much in a long time.

Saturday was a special day... not just because we got ready for Sunday! (wahaha) But we had a lot of powerful lessons. This month we're focusing on Preach My Gospel chapter 1 again and it's even more apparent to me how important it is that we remember our calling as missionaries - and how important it is to really believe that we are called as representatives of Jesus Christ. If we don't believe that with all of our hearts, how on earth will anyone else believe it? 

We met with A and his girlfriend A who is from England. She's here visiting A and it was the last chance we had to meet her. Sister Hale and I were a little apprehensive about it but the lesson went WAY well! Sister Hale is so bold! A is really receptive and wants the missionaries to come visit her in England! 

And after that we met with A again, and O (she and her husband J are working here for 4 years from America) came with us - she is such a great lady and role model, and I think she really made a good impression on A. 

At the end of the day we visited N and B, and then S - all wonderful people who have been investigating on and off for a few years (well, not B - we met him because he's N's boyfriend) and not really going anywhere. But I really think that because we've been focusing on the importance and sanctity of our call, we were a little more bold and taught a little more with the Spirit - which made a big difference with all of them. Sister Hale said that it's the most progress she's ever had in a lesson with S.

Ok, I know i'm talking a lot today! There's just so much that has happened! Yesterday, B and N came to church! and so did J and G. J and G are way special people. I met them over a year ago on exchanges - G is a member from the Philippines, married to J who is not a member and from Denmark. I think I may have mentioned them last week? anyways, I've always remembered them and when I saw them my first Sunday here (J translates church for G) it was amazing! 

We made an appointment to come over, and last night when we came over they fed us a TON of food. SO MUCH FOOD. and we had a great talk about the gospel. Søster Hale and I both feel really strongly that this is the time for J to enter into the covenant of baptism - we hope that he feels that way too. We're going back again on Friday so we'll see what happens!

The most epic teeter totter ever.

It has just been such a great week. I always say this I think, but I Love being a missionary! And being here in Horsens is so great, especially because I'm with Sister Hale. she is such an amazing person. I am so grateful we're together because she helps me see myself as a good person, and she helps me to enjoy every minute instead of worrying. We have a good influence on each other, except for the fact that we forget everything. ;)

I love ya! Have a great week! See you next week!!!

Love,

Søster Barrett