The Final Chapter

 สวัสดี Hello!

Here we are. This is the final email of my mission. It's been a crazy ride. It was never easy and it wasn't always fun, but it was worth it. It's hard to measure growth in yourself, so I'm not going to talk about all of the improvements and changes that I've made. But I will talk about what I have now, and why I love being a missionary.

BUT FIRST A COOL STORY

I had the chance to go to the Seattle Temple this week! It was a great experience and I forgot how much I love being in the temple. The sense of peace and the feeling of God's love is so strong you can feel it. Anyone who is actually reading this, get to the temple! Anyways, on our way out, we were walking back to our car that we decided we would park a the neighboring stake center to walk to the temple from there. Two elders were assigned to ride with us on the way to the mission home, but on the way out, a lady in a trailer ran out and asked us if we could give her a blessing. We did and the spirit visibly hit her hard. Fortunately, one of the elders who was with us was currently serving in that very area, and was able to exchange information to help that lady later. Just a cool mini miracle from this week.

*STEPS ON SOAPBOX*

My mission didn't turn out how I expected it. If you told me 2 years ago when I was heading out for Thailand that I would finish my mission in a tiny town called Orting, Washington, I would've thought my plane was going to crash. But even though the results have been way outside my expectations, it never really felt like it was out of control. Serving in Thailand was an incredible and unforgettable experience. I got to meet the kindest and most sincere people, eat the most stupidly spicy food, and see the gospel touch the lives of people who had never even heard of Jesus Christ. Covid threw me through a loop and I wound up at home, followed by a reassignment to the Seattle Washington Mission. What I thought would be a temporary reassignment became my permanent assignment and I was able to meet people I would have never wanted to talk to before. I've learned that my entire life I've possessed something special and irreplaceable: a testimony of the gospel of Jesus Christ. I know that he is the Savior of the world and that through him, no one needs to go through this world and difficult circumstances alone. No one needs to be beaten down by adversity. We have a Redeemer and he is with us through our whole life. He has restored his church on the Earth through modern prophets and by reading the Book of Mormon, we can come to learn who he is, and what he has done and will do for all of those who put their faith in him. I know these things are true. In the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

LAST THING LAST

Thank you for all of the support and encouragement you have all given me. Even if you were just an audience for me to ramble to, you've helped me create a record of my missionary service that will hopefully one day be worth looking back on. I've come to learn that we can have an impact for good in the lives of those around us, even if we don't know it. I've heard a lot of people who I never baptized, never reactivated, or never even sat down and taught, tell me that I've made a difference and a lasting impact on them or one close to them by small and simple actions. So keep in mind that by being good, you influence others for good. I love you!

เอ็ลเดอร์ แบร์เร็ทท์

Elder Barrett

Blue Man Group Test Tube Baby

 สวัสดีครับ Hello!!

This was a full and chaotic week, but it was a good week! Met a lot of fun people and did a lot of fun things. Wanna hear about them? Great, because I'm telling you anyways.

ALIEN OVERLORDS

We talked to a man in a wheelchair on his porch this week. We talked to him about what we do as missionaries and then he started telling us about his ideas. This is all new information to me, but apparently we are all gorillas mixed with alien DNA. These aliens probably look like us, just with green or blue skin. And if next year, they land their UFO on the white house lawn and turn a gorilla into a human, they will be our gods. So just be on the lookout for our new alien overlords.

EXCHANGES

I had two exchanges this week. I stayed in Orting for the first one, and went to Victor Falls for the second one. We did some finding on the river, door knocking, grape picking, all of that good stuff. We had fun, found some people, can't complain!

EXCITING AND TERRIFYING

My companion has been less than obedient this transfer and got a call from the Zone Leader's this week about it. He was not exactly the happiest camper. He got super angry and was yelling and swearing and all of that good stuff, and then turned it on me when we were going home. Luckily, I had an English class start when he was yelling at me, so it gave him some time to cool down. After the class was over, I talked to him and we were able to talk it out and agreed we can do better. So the rest of the week was great! We worked hard and did what we could to try to find and teach as many people as we could out here. It all turned out great!

LASTING REPENTANCE

In Alma 24:18, it details the depth of the Anti-Nephi-Lehies' repentance. They promised to never use their weapons again to shed blood, or anything like it. They really wanted to change and not look back. But the change was deeper than just wanting to stop the bad things. It says,

And this they did, it being in their view a testimony to God, and also to men, that they never would use weapons again for the shedding of man’s blood; and this they did, vouching and covenanting with God, that rather than shed the blood of their brethren they would give up their own lives; and rather than take away from a brother they would give unto him; and rather than spend their days in idleness they would labor abundantly with their hands.

They wanted to change from bad to good! The change was greater than stopping the sin, but they replaced it with good! They would give their own lives for others. They would give rather than take. And they would work hard instead of sit around! That's how you make the repentance process long lasting and significant.

LAST THINGS LAST

- We taught an amazing Restoration lesson with out friend Russ. He said it changed his perspective on the church for sure.

- This upcoming week is the final week of my mission...

- I'll only say this once, so pay attention. I love you! You're the best.

เอ็ลเดอร์ สวนองุ่น (Elder, I'm so vineyard.)

Elder Barrett

Lights Out

 สวัสดีครับ Hello!

One more week in the life of Elder Barrett is in the books. It was a slow week in Orting, but I'll share some of the highlights!

HIGHLIGHT REEL

- We had the biggest rainstorm of the year the other night. It took our power out and turned it back on twice! The rain was pretty much going sideways. I decided to run out and dance in the rain a bit. 30 seconds was enough to get me drenched!

- While knocking doors, we ran into someone the missionaries used to talk to all the time but was lost when covid happened. We talked to him a lot and he was really quick to believe in the Book of Mormon for someone who has put a lot of study into the Bible.

- We helped a member move and assemble a recliner all of the sudden on Friday. And guess who ended up with his old recliner? It's the most comfortable chair I've sat in for a long time. 

- During a member meal, we had people upstairs watching football who would he'll down the scores of the games going on. BYU won and Utah lost! What more could you ask for, honestly?

SCRIPTURE TIME

I just wanted to share a little scripture that's been helping me recently. It's been a rough couple of weeks over here. For a lot of reasons I won't bore you with (my emails do a good enough job of that as it is), it's just been hard to keep it up. But in 2 Nephi 2:2, it says, "...thou knowest the greatness of God; and he shall consecrate thine afflictions for thy gain." Through all of the hard times I've faced in my mission, I've seen why I've had to work through them. I can tell the Lord is really trying to help make me what I need to be. There have been a lot of afflictions, but I'm starting to see how they've been consecrated for my gain. He can do the same for you! Say a prayer and thank God for the trials, and ask him to show you the reasons you had to endure them. You'll figure it out. That's a promise. 😉

Just a quick reminder, I love you! (How could you have possibly forgotten?)

เอ็ลเดอร์ ชื่อเสียง (Elder Reputation)

Elder Barrett

Rapping for the Redeemer

สวัสดีครับ Hello!

This was quite the week. Lots of adventures, lots of good times, and some guy dropping BARS in the back of his truck. More on that later...

BUSHMAN

We've been trying to find people in more creative ways than just knocking doors recently. One of those ways is river finding!! The Carbon River runs right along town, and it's fishing season! Lots of people catching king and pink salmon, but we went out there to fish for men. Not a ton of people showed much interest in the gospel, but there were a lot of friendly people out there just trying to hook a fish. I was just praying they wouldn't hook me when they cast. It was close. We found a cool spot under a bridge with clear water and a ton of fish. Elder Jones sharpened a branch into a spear and actually speared a fish. It was pretty impressive.

BOLDLY TESTIFYING

When we came back from the river one day, we ran into two people who wanted to talk a little bit, even though they were busy. The first one was someone I've knocked into before and he doesn't like the missionaries too much. Elder Jones started talking to him, unaware of any of this. I just kinda stood by and let them talk for a bit, figuring that he would tell Elder Jones he isn't interested and we'd get on with our day. That's when he said that Joseph Smith was a hypocrite and a liar. In the words of Michael Jordan, "I took that personally." I threw my hat in the ring. "Joseph Smith is a hypocrite and a liar? OK. Prove it. Why is he?" "....because!" "Y'know thats a good point, I hadn't considered that." "All of it is made up! Joseph Smith, golden plates, Moroni (pronounced Moranee)." "OK, can you prove that it didn't happen?" "..." Elder Jones and I went on and bore our testimony of the restoration and how by reading the Book of Mormon, he can know for himself. Of course, he was a grumpy old man who didn't want to read it, so we left him with our testimony. A few houses down, we started talking to another guy rolling tires out of a trailer. At first he didn't show much interest, but as we shared more with him, he got more engaged and involved. He started asking questions like why would a loving God not have us live with our families forever. And if we knew where we came from and where we're going. We left a Book of Mormon with him, even though he told us he wasn't wanting to learn more. But I can tell something clicked in his brain when we were talking to him. It was cool.

THE HAWAIIAN ISLANDS

As we were driving past the high school, we saw someone sitting in the back of his truck in the parking lot with a big speaker next to him. What was he doing? Rapping like a pro. Elder Jones flipped around and made a U-turn so we could talk to him. This guy has been writing rap songs for Jesus since 2000. Apparently he likes to come to Orting to rap because the police like him. He said he won one over by rapping once. Legend. We asked him to rap for us a bit and he was happy to. It was actually kinda awesome. He said he was working on rock songs, and he wanted us to help him with those one day. I hope we can get that going. 😂

สู้ๆ วิสุทธิชน

I found a really cool verse in my personal study this week. It's in Romans 8:24, "And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose." All things work for good if you love God. Talk is just talk. You have to show you love God through your actions and through the intentions of your heart. Just remember to love God. Rely on him and keep him in your hearts. You'll get through hard times. You'll overcome any obstacles that impede your progress. All will work for your good.

LAST THINGS LAST

- GO. COUGS.

- Balloon animal balloons are impossible to blow up. Even a hurricane couldn't fill those things with air.

- Take a look in the mirror. You are an incredible work of a divine creator. You are miraculous and I love you!

เอ็ลเดอร์ ชาวประมง (Elder Fisherman)

Elder Barrett

Oh H*ck

 สวัสดีครับ Hello!

This was a crazy week. Just insanity. My companion almost got sent home, fish were jumping everywhere, we waited over 5 hours for an oil change, and even more wonders! Yeah it was h*ctic, but I made it to the end of the week in once piece.

NATIVE EXCHANGE

We had a companion exchange this week. I got to stay in Orting with Elder Cheney, who is in his first transfer of his mission. That's crazy to think about. In the beginning of my mission I was in a totally different place, different people, mission president, language, all of that. A lot can happen in 2 years, let me tell you. We got to have a really good lesson with Norine, who really opened up to us. I can tell we're making a big impact on her. The ward mission leader payed for us to go get a fancy dinner, and we dined like kings. We did a little bit of finding with fishers on the river. Lots of people are fishing in the Carbon River this time of year. None of them seem to be too interested in the gospel, but I didn't see them catching any fish, either. That's what happens when you fish without the Savior's help. Have we learned nothing from the Bible? Maybe if I told them to cast their nets on the other side they would be more open to listening to us.

COMPANION CRAZINESS

So, let me tell you about my wonderful companion. He hates covid and is not afraid to tell you all about it. But, since the first presidency came out with a statement urging us to get the vaccine and wear a mask, we have to at least wear a mask as a missionary. He doesn't like that. He had an argument with the mission president in interviews on Tuesday and was on the edge of being sent home for the whole week, because he refused to wear a mask during meetings. So this week was very stressful. He called his family often and there was a lot of negativity and profanity being thrown around and it just wasn't a great environment to feel the spirit in. So for the week, I was unsure about how the rest of the transfer was going to look. Fortunately, sanity prevailed and he decided during a second interview on Sunday that letting a mask get in the way of serving a mission wasn't worth it. I could feel the spirit leave whenever he would start criticizing church and mission leaders. It was a testimony building lesson on following the prophet.

LAST THINGS LAST

- BYU apparantly picked up a W this weekend, so go cougs.

- We made a cool Facebook video this week, complete with jumping fish.

- Make no mistake. I love you!

เอ็ลเดอร์ เครียดนิหน่อย (Elder, a little nervous.)

Elder Barrett

Young Joseph Smith

สวัสดีครับ Hello!

How is everyone doing? I assume you're all doing great, because I don't hear anyone saying otherwise. This was a great week. Nothing super eventful really happened, but we just had a great time getting out there and met a lot of people who show some promise!

HOUSE OF HIGHLIGHTS

- While out in the boonies, looking for people, we were prompted to go up this long driveway and knock the door. Someone actually opened the door as we got to it and he told us he was looking for a change in his life and he took us showing up as a sign that he needs to start learning from us. His mom is interested too!!! 

- We invited our friend, Logan, to be baptized this week. He wasn't too enthusiastic about it, but his little brother off to the side said, "I want to!!" So I guess the baptismal invite ricocheted off of him and onto his brother haha.

- We found the "mystery shack" in real life. We snuck onto the property and took a few pictures before getting out of there.

- I had a few really fun english classes with my friend Pauline.

- An asian lady who was visiting the church told me that I "look like John Smith in the book!" My comp, Elder Jones, also tells me often that I look like a young Joseph Smith. Praise to the Man, right?

- In one night this week, after we ate dinner, we had two different members bring us dinner. Not great for my gut size, but definitely great for my stomach overall haha.

- President Kearon visited the mission this week. He's the one who did the conference talk about being stung by a scorpion a while ago. He is my favorite person, he's hilarious. He also gave really good advice on inviting others to read the Book of Mormon. It's a precious gift and it should be treated as such!!!

Jesus loves you, and so do I!

เอ็ลเดอร์ โจเซฟ สมิธ (Elde Joseph Smith)

Elder Barrett

 

Loyalty, Loyalty, Loyalty

 สวัสดีครับ Hello!

Final week of the transfer is in the books, and I'm staying one more in Orting! It's crazy to think I've already spent 4.5 months and gone through 3 companions in my time here so far, and now I'm entering into my last transfer as a missionary. All of that aside, I had an awesome week!

DON'T CALL ME HONEY

We tried to have a lesson with our friend Michael, who has been progressing ever so slowly. He was about to head out, but invited us to come in for a bit. He pointed to the field by the side of his house and he told us that he had a Russian friend who has been keeping bees over there. Once he said that, I noticed a million bees flying in every direction around a few white boxes in the field. It was insane. We talked for a bit inside and he gave us each a jar of fresh honey. It's the best honey ever.

REAL LESSONS IN ORTING

Immediately after Zone Council on Tuesday, we headed up Patterson Road for a lesson with Norine. We've finally started having consistent lessons with her and she really enjoyed getting back into talking about religious things. This week we shared the Plan of Salvation with her. It especially struck a chord with her when we told her about the spirit world. Her family has dealt with a lot of death recently, so being able to hear exactly where they are right at this moment was very impactful and I could see it and feel it. She had been on date for baptism a long time ago but said it wasn't the best time for them back when they were initially committed. We invited her to talk to her husband about baptism and to prayerfully decide if it's something they're ready for. Prayers for Norine!

A FEW BLESSINGS

We finally got in contact with a few people who have been really tough to get back in contact with since we've met them. We're really excited to get stuff going with these people again, because they have a lot of interest and it would be amazing to see them actually start to progress. Namely Josh and Renae, who have been some of our best finds over the last transfer. We also found someone else while we were tracting this week. His name is Russ and he showed a lot of interest in learning more. Very open minded and willing to listen. Elder Stucki said that he was "high as a kite" but that was probably just the spirit making his eyes all red and watery, right?

LAST THINGS LAST

- Today marks the beginning of my final transfer. T-minus 6 weeks remaining.

- We had a zone breakfast at the stake president's house on saturday. Best breakfast I've had in a long time haha.

- We're being bombarded with food and candy. All of a sudden, our fridge is stocked to the top.

เอ็ลเดอร์ จนถึงที่สุด (Elder, to the end)

Elder Barrett