12-19-16

Hey everyone!
So I am in Juneau right now! We have Zone Conference tomorrow so all
day yesterday was spent traveling. We were able to stop off in Skagway
and attend church but then we took a 7 hour ferry ride to Juneau. It
was a super long ride but it was better this time because there wasn't
has many people so I didn't have to sit outside in the rain :) so I
got to sit in a big comfy chair! A miracle happened on the ferry!

So we met this guy 3 weeks ago when we took the ferry to go to

Whitehorse

Companion catching some ZZZ 

and guess what?!  He was on the ferry again! We gave him a Book of Mormon last time and he read a little but he went back to Anchorage but we got his contact info for a referral so that was awesome! Also on the ferry it got a little sketchy when we went through a storm. The boat was shaking and waves were crashing against the windows. There was 5ft waves! It was pretty cool and a little scary but we survived haha! The ferry is always a good time! Anyway the rest of the week went pretty good!

We went tracking last Monday and it was -32 Celsius. It was way to cold! I know there is someone that the Lord is preparing for us to teach! We have some pretty awesome investigators here already! We had a Christmas party that was sweet! I was absolutely stuffed after that party! It was crazy! All and all this week has been pretty cool! Well we are pretty busy here this pday! Love ya all see ya!

P.S. can't wait to see you next week mom and dad!

-Elder Barney

12-12-16

Hey guys!

So this week has been a very cold week! Although it has been cold we
still have been doing good up North.

This week I have met more and more amazing people. The members of this small branch are so nice and inviting. So with meeting more and more people we also had Zone
Meeting. Since our Zone is pretty spread out with everyone in my district on a different Island and us in a different country we had to do our meeting over video chat. It was really good! I am use to driving 2 hours to go to that meeting but now I'm either a plan ride away or a ferry so it was nice to just call in and listen. Our Zone Leaders gave some great trainings about being fearless when we OYM (street contacting) and it really hit my companion and I. So the next day we hit the streets of Whitehorse and tried to talk to as many people as possible. It was a lot of fun! Although there was a lot of rejection they all said no with a smile on their face, Canadians. We did see some miracles which was awesome but we could only do it for about 2 hours because it was -24 with windchill -30 Celsius which is like -22 Fahrenheit. My eyelashes started to freeze and it made it hard to see and Elder Parker's contact froze so we had to start heading back. All and all I think it went really good considering it felt like I was a human pop sickle the whole time.

Later in this week we had a missionary from the Whitehorse branch return home from the Detroit Michigan Mission. He is a great guy! I really admire him with what he has gone through. He was a foster child his whole life until his family adopted him. The whole family are members except his father. He came home to see they are all less active. He gave his home coming talk yesterday and his dad spoke with him. It was the first time I have seen a non member give a talk but wow oh wow you could just feel the love he had for his son as he spoke. It made me think just how lucky I am to have a amazing family loving and supporting me. I love my family!

Something that I have learned this week is that we have the power to choose. We choose if we are happy, we choose if you love someone, we choose to get up and move forward. It is all up to us to make that choice, God won't make it for you. I know that God we will help you once you choose! I have learned more this week then ever that we are not  alone. The Savior is there ever step of the way!





I love and miss you guys a ton! This Christmas season I really miss my
family and friends but I know I will see you all next Christmas! Love
you!

-Elder Barney

First McDonald's in 7 months

12-5-16

Hey there guys!
Well this was a very interesting week! It started off with lots of sad good byes. Oh man I really didn't think it would be this hard to say good bye but it felt like saying good bye to family! I just absolutely love the people of Delta Junction! I miss them all so much! It's pretty hard going from knowing EVERYONE to knowing no one. Although it was really really hard to say bye i was still excited for the new adventure. I first flew to Anchorage by myself which was really strange but once I got to Anchorage I flew to Juneau with some other elders. We landed around 9:30pm. It was a long day because I left delta at 2pm. Then the next day I was stuck in Juneau in a tri-companionship for the day because my companion got stuck in Skagway because the ferry broke down. He got in late that night. So I can only describe what Juneau was like with one word, RAIN! It didn't stop raining the whole time I was there! But I can't complain to much because it stayed at a nice 30 degrees which was great considering in Delta Junction it was -30 degrees when I left. So Juneau was actually pretty cool.
Then the next morning we went on the ferry back to Skagway. Now it was one crazy adventure on the ferry! First off I had all my luggage and went to put it on the luggage truck but they said they were all full so I would just have to take them with me. So me and my companion had to carry both of our stuff up this tiny little stair way barley big enough for a midget with over 150 pounds of luggage! So

once we found a place to put our luggage we went to find a seat but they were all taken so we had to go up on the deck where it was pouring rain! Luckily there was a little spot with some heat lamps so I just bundled up and layer there trying to get some sleep. It was a 7 hour ride with some of the most amazing views I have ever seen. Although it was freezing it was really awesome to see the islands and mountains there!Also we were able to talk to a guy about what we do and gave him a Book of Mormon. It was really great because it just goes to show that there is always ways to do missionary work. Being here in Alaska we travel a lot and I mean a lot and I have learned that we can do missionary work anywhere anytime.

 

So anyway once the ferry ported in Skagway we had a 3 hour long drive to Whitehorse. Before I talk about that Skagway was great! It is where all the cruise ships stops but with it being winter there was no ships. Skagway was still beautiful even with all the snow! The town is really awesome! It looks like you walking back in time because all the builds look like it was build in the 50's. The church there was really some and cool too. Anyway we went on our way to Whitehorse. That was such a beautiful drive! I have never seen anything as beautiful! I couldn't get good pictures because we were in a avalanche area pretty much the whole time and not allowed to stop. I will try next time.

So once we got to Whitehorse it had been a very long day.

                                                                                                                                                                           

  I am now in a new time zone so we are an hour ahead of the rest of the mission. Canada is similar but really different. For example you have to pay to use a grocery cart and pay for plastic bags! What the heck? The people are really cool. Everyone and I mean everyone says "eh" like all the time haha! Anyway so far that's the big news this week. Meeting lots of people and enjoying Canada. My new companion is pretty cool. His name is Elder Parker from Logan. He is a little older, like 25 years old so it is interesting. 

Well I love you guys a wish you all the best! Hope you all got to watch the Christmas Devotional. It was jam packed with the spirit. Remember to think of the savior for Christmas! Love ya!

11-28-16

Hello everybody!

Wow oh wow what a crazy week it has been! So much has happened! I guess I will start with transfers. So I am going to...... Whitehorse, Canada!!!!!! 

Yup I will be headed across the order to Canada in the Yukon Territory. How I am getting there is crazy! So first I fly n Wednesday to Anchorage then have a hour layover there then fly to Juneau and land there at 9:30pm. Then on Thursday I spend all day with the Juneau Elders in their area, then on Friday I take a 6 hour Ferry ride to Skagway then drive 3 hours to hitehorse! So i have some crazy days of traveling coming up! I am really excited since this is my first time out of country but I am also really sad leaving Delta Junction. This place feels like home! I absolutely love the people here!! These amazing saints in Delta and Tok have changed my life by their wonderful examples. A part of my heart will always be in Delta Junction. It's a weird rush of feeling be transferred. All at once I
feel excited for what the future holds and sad to leave the past behind. If you haven't experienced it it's hard to explain.  I am happy that I am leaving a good note after a great week! Thanksgiving was so great! Oh man did we stuff ourselves!!! We started  the day playing a turkey bowel in single digit weather! After that we went and had a feast with the Moss family and played a fun board game.        

After that we went to the Wrigley's and eat chips and dip. After that we went to the Sansoms for pie. After that we went to Bishops house and my companion and I each got a whole pie to ourselves!!! After that we finished the night with our last thanksgiving meal at Alexis's house. I was stuffed to say the least!!! Thanksgiving was a LOT of FUN! At the Moss's home they gave us Christmas presents because they knew I was most likely going to transferred . We got a foam football and each got a "fury stocking" with lots of candy and socks :) I loved thanksgiving because it felt like seeing family all day!

So to top this crazy week off their was two baptisms on Saturday! First one was Riders who is 8. It was so awesome to see his father baptize him! Their whole family has just fit right in with the rest of the Ward. I never ever would of guessed two transfers ago I would of been at that baptism. It's crazy how much God prepares people! Later that day Alexis got baptized. She is 9 years old and is just the nicest girl ever! Her baptism was one of the happiest moments of my mission.  

Seeing her mom and her aunt get up and talk about the Holy Ghost and Baptism just melted my heart! Seeing the change in their whole family is an absolute miracle! That whole family are living witnesses that the Atonement is real and that anyone can change. To think that we were just driving and felt prompted to knock on their door randomly one day just goes to show that God has a plan and he truly works through miracles. On Sunday I was able to confirm Alexis a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Later-Day Saints and what an amazing moment that was. She just seems like she glows even more then before. Those moments of seeing people change make up for any struggle, any door slammed in our face, any rejection, or any dog trying to bite us, it makes up for it all. Last transfer I didn't really know why I stayed another transfer but I know now. Seeing the miracles I have seen this past transfer has changed my life. I learned to trust in the Lord. We may not know all the reasons why things happen but I promise it's to help you to become who God needs you to become.

I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving. I love you all and wish you
the best. Off to the great land of maple syrup and gravy!

-Elder Barney

Nov 21, 2016

Hey there everyone!

So this week has been a real roller coaster. Have a lot of up and down days this week. Overall the miracles far out weighs the struggles! To start out the week we had exchanges in the North Pole! That was so much fun! I went with Elder Noack and he is just a stud! It was pretty sweet because for a service project we went to Santa's Reindeer Farm!

We scooped poop for the Reindeer! It was really awesome being that close to them. Got to pet them and feed them and it was awesome! It was a little scary just because they always try to fight with each other haha. All and all that was the coolest service! I love going to North Pole because they have fast food there and it feels like FOREVER since I had McDonalds. To say the least exchanges were awesome and memories were made! ;)



So before I get to the rest of the week I need to tell ya about my pday! Sooo last week we went to a members home who has a home mad ice rink in their backyard! Crazy I know! So I tried ice skating and that didn't work to well haha so I just went on the ice with my shoes and

played hockey "horse" with one of the priests. Now this pday we are all out in Salcha ice skating as a district. We don't usually see other missionaries so this is fun!
The rest of the week went pretty good. Alexis is getting baptized this coming Saturday so this week we have been working with her to finish the lessons. She is so awesome and excited to get baptized! They rest of the family is doing great too! They all been going to church each
week! Oh which reminds me of all the miracles on Sunday! We had two investigators totally surprise us by showing up. I was stunned and excited all at the same time! Also Alexis made it with her family which was a miracle because her mom said the alarm didn't go off and they woke up 15 minutes before church and rushed over. With her baptism this Saturday they really need to be there yesterday so that was a big miracle! So many great things at church! I just felt so happy and love the people there! This Ward is just so amazing and loving! It's like a big family and you feel like you are a part of it the minute you meet them! On Saturday there was a big party for a missionary who just returned from Ukraine. When we showed up it felt like a big family reunion! Oh, and the food there was the BEST!! Sister Lemons is the best cook ever! Anyway this week I have felt so grateful for such an amazing Ward! Also all the blessings with finding people to teach! We have had some great lessons with some amazing people! Their is this new investigator who we taught on Friday the Plan of Salvation and man oh man it got a little deep. The member that came with us brought up some deep stuff but luckily the investigator is super elect and went right along with it! It looked like things in that lesson were taking a wrong turn but it turn out to be a great lesson with the spirit! I learned that it's okay if we make mistakes, as long as the spirit is there then a good feeling is there. In the spirit of thanksgiving I want to thank all of you for your love and support. I also want to thank my WHOLE FAMILY for everything! I absolutely would not be out here without them! Also thank you amazing people of Alaska! I have come to love the people up here with all my heart! I am so thankful for my savior and his Atonement. I know with all my heart that God loves us and the Atonement is real! I have seen miracles with the Atonement in my own life and the lives of others. I just want to tell you all that there is nothing that can't be fixed with the Atonement. Use it everyday for everything! I love you all and wish you a safe and wonderful Thanksgiving!

-Elder Barney

Santa's Sleigh out of Ice

Nov 14, 2016

Hey there friends and family!

What a week up here in Alaska! Once again it has been a great week
with the Lord blessing the work! Oh before I get into that I have to
tell you guys a funny story that happened last pday! So we were about
to go do a family home evening with some members when on the drive
over Elder Semadeni's nose just start to bleed like crazy! So we
pulled up to the apartment building and he is just wiping his nose and
it was so nasty but the best part was that the family looks out the
window and sees us so I wave and run up and told them what was going
on hahaha. So then he just shoved some toilet paper up his nose and we
went inside and started the FHE hahahaha! He just looked so funny! We
went to the bathroom and finally got it to stop but it was just perfect timing hahaha!

Now let me tell ya what it is like to be a missionary in one of the most conservative states in the nation during the biggest and craziest election ever! There is no escaping it! I'm glad I don't watch tv or have Facebook or stuff like that but everywhere you go that's all people talk about. We were very informed on the election haha! On Tuesday no one let us in and if they did they only wanted to talk about the election! I'm so glad it's over but still big in conversation, hopefully it dies down a lot. 

Okay well that was it for the election.... on a more spiritual note, One of our investigators is getting baptized!!! She is 9 years old and super awesome! Her family is less active but returning! I can't even begin to tell you how seeing this family grow in the gospel has made my faith grow! As they have put forth the effort to change you can see the Atonement of Christ start to work with in them. They are happier, smile more, and you can fill the spirit in their home. Two sisters, who are single moms raising their kids together, are running the family and it is the change they are making that is making the difference. What a miracle they are!   Other great tender mercies have happened as well. We have eally been praying for new investigators who are ready and prepared.

Well this week that prayer was answered. We have been teaching this awesome young women who is pretty much a active member. She goes to church, mutual, even seminary every now and again. Her mom is in active but she still wants to come to church so she decided to take the lessons. We taught her the first lesson at one of her friends house and it went absolutely great! Now she wants to continue to learn more and more. God is good! I promise you he hears our prayers! The answer my not come right away but it will come his way and in his time but I promise you it will come! I have found on my mission it comes when you choose to act and when you choose to be obedient. That's when you see miracles!

I love you all and hope you all have a great week!


-Elder Barney

11-7-16

Hey everyone!

So this week has been great and cold all at the same time! First off
Halloween was pretty sweet! We had a cool dinner! It was "feetloaf"haha.

Then we were stuck In our apartment all night because we had to be in by 7pm but that's okay because it was our pday so we went for a little adventure around Delta Junction.

Now for the rest of the week on Thursday night we drove to Fairbanks again for Zone Meeting. It's about a 2 hour drive one way and it feels like we drive it a lot! We do soooo much driving here because everything is so spread out! Why does Alaska have to be so big!?
Anyway it's all good because the drive is beautiful and Fairbanks is always a blast. Zone Meeting was good and I learn a lot from the training's. So that was sweet but the highlight of the week was so many miracles! First off holly cow God is good! So we went to this less actives/part member family and had dinner. I love this family so much.
They really get attached to missionaries so we have to be careful we don't get to close but they are awesome! We asked the mom why she doesn't go and it's the same reason 90% don't go... they got offended.  She really has put her foot down on not going even way before I was here but for dinner this week she had a change of heart. First things she tells us is that she feels like she needs to come back to church and something is always pulling her back to the church. We asked where is this all coming from and she said she had a great conversation with a friend who is an active member who was bold with her and just told her it is your chose.I was so happy! She is still talking with her husband but it's miracle she even talked about the church in the first place! Now on to the 2nd miracle yesterday I was fasting for a new ELECT investigator and we had an appointment with a potential that we tracked it into. It was a great lesson and right from the get go it was so apparent how elect he was! He wants us to come back and he is excited to learn more!
Now moving to the next miracle, yesterday morning we went to wake up this less active family up for church and they actually came. We have been teaching their 9 year old daughter who is so fun to teach. Any way the mom got up yesterday and bore her testimony for the first time since she was 15! It was so great to see the change that is taking place in the family! The Atonement is real and I'm so blessed to see it work in people's lives first hand.
Then the best part came this morning. The mom called us and told us that Alexis (the 9 year old we are teaching) wanted to tell us she wants to get baptized! I am so excited for her and excited to continue to teach her.
Man oh man there was so many great miracles this week!

Well I hope you all have a great week and keep on keeping on.


-Elder Barney

10-31-*2016

HAPPY HALLOWEEN

So it's been another great awesome week up North! We had some awesome
things happen this week! First off we had some great lessons! One of
which was with one of our new investigators! He is awesome! We asked
him if he read in the Book of Mormon yet and he told us when he does
he feels like he is doing something wrong because his whole life he
has been taught there is only the Bible. He says he knows there's
nothing wrong with it because it talks about the same things but he
can't get over the feeling. So we decided to read with him. He told us
that is made such a difference reading with us and having us there to
answer questions and he said he felt the spirit. Something he told us
that I thought was pretty cool was that when we go over to his friends
house (less actives) and he's there he said he feels something
different when we are there. I know that is the spirit and it's a cool
feeling to know that the spirit is always with the Lords missionaries.
Later this week we had our Halloween party / Chili Cook-off which was
awesome! We were the judges for the chili and man they were all sooo
great! We dressed up for the party! We went as "fishers of men!" We
won the best couples costume reward hahah. The funniest part was that
the youth had a costume contest for anyone 12-18 and my companion is
18 so everyone made him join the youth and it was hilarious hahahaha!!
The party was a big hit! We had lots of less actives there and some
investigators as well. On Sunday it was the primary program and lots
of people came to see that! I love watching that, those little kids
are so darn cute! We got roped into teaching the youth Sunday school
which made me decide that I will NEVER become a Jr. High teacher! Lots
of people from Tok came up! I love seeing those Saints make the 2 hour
drive to church! What dedication and faith the have! Today for
Halloween we are not doing much. It's our Pday don we have to be in
our apartment by 7pm.
Oh so last night I found out something soooo exciting! A kid just a
year younger then me that was less active when I got here and we have
been working with forever has decided to serve a mission last night!!
He got his patriarchal blessing and decided he needs to go. I has
sooooo happy and could probably lift a truck over my head I was so
pumped for him! It brought me back so many great memories with the
missionaries I would spend time with, Elder Taylor and Elder B! I am
so happy I was able to do some of the same things those two great
missionaries did for me! It was the best feeling in the world to know
that John is making the best decision of his life!


Well I hope you all have a great week! Stay safe love you all!

October 24, 2016

Hey there everyone!
So this was another great week up here in Alaska! The snow as fallen
and so has the temperature! This morning as we jogged to the church
building it was a couple below zero! Usually in the mornings everyone
is saying it's about -12 to -15 here. When I go outside I feel my
noise hair freeze! Anyway ya that is what has been going on up here.
Not to much snow yet but enough I busted out the boots for tracking!
Other then the weather it's been a super nice week! We drove once
again to Fairbanks for interviews with President Robinson which was
sooo awesome! I really love my mission President! I took us awhile to
drive up because it was snowing like crazy and the roads were pretty
bad so everyone was taking it nice and slow. It's kinda crazy seeing
everything with snow on it here. I'm use to the long summer days but
know it's cold and the sun is going down around 5pm. So it's back to
adjusting to that again. I really like summers up here but sometimes
the winters are so looong! We have seen a lot of awesome miracles up
here in Delta Junction! We have a part member family here that is just
so awesome and progressing so much! They are 2 sisters trying to raise
their kids together. They both surprised me and my companion when they
told us earlier this week that they are quitting smoking and chewing!
We have been trying to get them to quite forever and. Now since they
have been doing the small and simple things like praying and reading
scriptures they are having a change of heart! It grew my testimony so
much knowing that change starts one step at a time it just takes an
act of faith.
I love and miss you guys a lot! Have a great week!

-Elder Barney

10-17-16

Hey there friends and family!
Well to just start off with my transfer call I am (drum roll please)......... Staying!

Yup I am staying with my greenie Elder Semadeni! That makes it a total of 7 1/2 months here.

I am actually happy with my call! I was very surprised and so was everyone else but I guess it just means I still have work here to do. I just need to roll up my sleeves and get to work and fulfill the purpose I am here for. Things are going good here! We had quite the busy week! Fist on Tuesday and Wednesday we had exchanges with Elder Davis and Elder Parks. They came down and we flooded the town of Delta with missionaries! I was able to go with my good friend Elder Davis. He is awesome and it was a fun exchange! We went way out in the boonies to see the people we haven't seen in awhile. Always meet some interesting people there!

Later in the week we went on down to Tok! We had planned to drive down late afternoon on Friday but we had a miracle Friday morning! We got a phone call from one of the less active members down there who asked if we could come down earlier to teach a lesson to one of his friends. Oh man was I pumped! We don't teach very much in Tok so that was a cool experience! It was a powerful lesson filled with the spirit. I hope we can meet with him again sometime soon. We spent the night there in Tok in the awesome Berg cabin! 

Nice digs for a Missionary

The next morning we had some bomb crapes for breakfast with the Bergs! Then we headed over to a service project for one of the members there. About 15 members of the Elder Quorum from the Delta Junction Ward made the 2 hour drive down early that morning to cut up some fire wood. That was one awesome project! I have never cut as much wood in my life as I have in the past 6 weeks! We cut, split, and stacked about 8 cords of wood in about 2 hours! Man that was some hard work! 

Splitting wood will ware you out fast! Anyway it was all worth it because after that we all went to an awesome small town diner called "Fast Eddies" and it was delicious! Nothing better then a butterfingers milk shake after a hard day of work. After devouring a pizza hoagie we went to visit some less actives with the Elders Quorum. One of which was the same less active who called us to teach his friend the day before. As we were meeting with him he told us that when we were teaching the lesson to his friend he felt the spirit tell him he needs to forgive the person we offended him and come back to church. He talked about the blessings he knows he is  missing when he doesn't go to church. He committed to come up on the 30th with the rest of the Tok members! I am so excited for him! It will be his first time back in years! Its crazy to me because we didn't even talk about going to church in that lesson but the spirit told him what he needed to hear! Well that's my crazy week this week!

I love and miss you guys! See ya!

-Elder Barney

Not sure if this the pizza hoagie, but it looks messy no less.

10-10-16

Hey there everyone! So this might be a little shorter. We are heading
out to go fish for some silver salmon!!! I am so pumped! I have been
waiting all summer for the silver to finally get up here to Delta! I
will let you know how that goes!

So the Fishing went well!!!!

So for a update. This week was great as usual! We traveled once again
to Fairbanks for a Zone Meeting which was pretty good! We had some
great lessons this week! We had a miracle happen on Sunday! The Bates
family from Idaho came to church! They just moved up here and we found
them a couple weeks ago. Turns out they are less active members but
they came this last Sunday. Man I was so happy to see them! They are
so awesome! We helped them move in this week. Speaking of which we had
lots of good service this week! We killed Turkeys this week instead of
chickens. So we help pluck the Turkeys and chop them up! There sure is
a lot of awesome service when you serve in a tiny farm town! Well this
next week we are headed down to Tok for a service project and meet some
more people. We get our transfer calls this week also. I have been
here in this area for 6 months and I love it! I would love to stay but
I would also would like a new challenge and meet new people so what ever
happens I am excited! Well I love you all and hope you all have a safe
week! 

Got to go fish are biting!

-Elder Barney

10-3-16

Hey everyone!

This week was awesome! We were so blessed to be able to listen to
General Conference this week! It was great to hear the direction from
our General Authorities! Also it was great to hear from President
Monson! When a Prophet only has energy to speak for 4 minutes we
better pay close attention to those 4 minutes! I thought it was
interesting that everything he could of talked about in Priesthood
session he chose the Word of Wisdom. I was so grateful he did! With
some of those we had listening that was the message they needed to
hear! Also I noticed a lot being said about the Plan of Salvation.
The Plan of Salvation has taken such a new meaning to me being on my
mission. I have come to truly love the plan our Father in Heaven has
given us! Helping those learn that they not only will see their loved
ones again but can be with them for eternity is one of the greatest
things I have ever experienced. I really loved President Nelsons talk
about joy. This gospel is all about TRUE joy. I can tell you that true
joy is only found in following Jesus Christ and keeping his
commandments. Like President Nelson said, "joy is a gift for the
faithful."
So this week we have been trying to help this less active come back to church. She really wants to be a good example to her kids and start having a better life. We read some scriptures with her one day and you could just feel the spirit hit her. That night she called us out of the blue and asked for a blessing. So we went over with our Ward Mission Leader and gave her a blessing of comfort. The spirit was so strong and the next day she told us how she was going to give up drinking. It was been so awesome to see the Atonement work in her life. Through Christ I know and have seen people change! 

Well on a less spiritual note, I had mutuk this week! I don't know if  I'm spelling tht right but Mutuk is Whale Blubbler!! So the story goes we were tracking and came across this lady

 we talked to the other day before she was super nice and let us in.

Her husband is Native Alaskan straight from the villages, we gave them a Book of Mormon with an invitation to read it. As we were about to leave I asked him in conversation if he eats mutuk. His wife jumped right up and said "we love mutuk!" She ran to the fridge and pulled some out and told us we needed to try it. I guess it was raw too haha. Oh man it was so chewy! It felt like a piece of gum. Flavor wasn't too bad, some were worse than others haha. Then after that she pulled out some smoked salmon and had us dip it in seal oil. That wasn't bad at all, it was a lot better than the whale blubber. They told us that the whale we eat was from a village up by Barrow. What happens is they kill the whale with a harpoon and the whole village comes out and chops it up! Crazy right!? Then after that she was so nice she gave us a jar of smoked salmon and told us to eat it with some crackers. And it was awesome!!! 

Anyway that was one of the coolest tracking experiences I have ever had.

So earlier this week we went out to the boonies to help one of our investigators to kill some chickens. I never knew how long it takes to pluck chickens! It was pretty crazy this guy we helped should be on one of those Alaskan shows. He goes out to his coop and started shooting the chickens in the head! He kept missing so it was hilarious watching this guy pumping out bullets trying to kill these chickens hahaha! Anyway that was a different experience this week!

-Elder Barney