2-20-17

Hey guys!

What a week it has been! So I guess I should start in the beginning.
So all roads so Alaska were closed earlier this week which made us nervous we would not be able to go to Zone Conference but luckily they opened Thursday so we were not going to risk them closing again Friday so we went to Skagway a day early. It was a ton of fun! Skagway is absolutely beautiful!! In the winter the town is dead so it made missionary work hard but it was still fun to be there. So we spent the night there then took a 7 hour ferry to Juneau the next day. The Ferry was sweet but long as always. We spent the whole time playing cards and trying to talk to people ( I got pretty good at speed). So then on Saturday we started the day great! We stayed in the basement of some members and they gave us breakfast! Then we went and did some tracting and OYMing for a little bit before Zone Conference. We had a member of the 70 Elder Ardern and his wife come talk to us which was super awesome! Since we have a small Zone of 16 we got a lot of one on one time with him. I learned so much but one thing really stuck out to me.
He asked us this question which I think we all need to ask ourselves, "What is the Adversary place of entrance in my life?" It really made me think on what I need to work at. Zone Conference was just really great! After we had some great dinner then back to work OYMing then we had a fireside with Elder Ardern where we learned even more with a Q & A with him. He is a super funny guy! Anyway that was Saturday now Sunday was a ton of fun! We had Church in a different ward and got to hear Elder Ardern speak once again, they kept him busy! Then I got to go to priest quorum because there was so many missionaries there. After church we had some really great Tongan food. Then we went out teaching and OYMing. It was a lot of fun to meet a lot of different people. Also it was a BLAST to see all the missionaries! I love these guys so much! We got to say bye to a couple of them because of transfers oh and by the way I am staying in my area with my companion for another 6 weeks. I am really happy about that because I love my companion and this area! So all and all Juneau was a blast! I love you all and hope you have a great week! Have a bush plane to catch so I will email more next week! Love ya!

-Elder Barney

2-13-17

Hey guys!

So we got some big news this week, so I will start with that. Our area got even bigger! So originally we cover the Yukon territory which is bigger than California and now we added two more areas, Skagway and Haines! Skagway is a super tiny town where all the cruise ships stop off. In the summer it is full of tourist which is in the tens of thousands but in the winter there's only about 700 people. Haines is a tiny town by Skagway but they only way to get to it is from Skagway it is a drive 5 to 6 hours or ferry or plane ride. So now we cover these tiny little places we will be going there once a transfer now. I am really happy about this because I love Skagway and I never have been to Haines but I'm excited to check it out! Man oh man I cover a huge area! So all of that should be exciting. I hope I don't get transferred this week so I can go to these places! This coming week is Zone Conference and we are having a member of the 70 come so it will be cool. We will take a 7 hour Ferry ride to Juneau on Friday and then a plane ride back on Monday. So 4 days in Juneau. This will be interesting because we will have 16 missionaries and only 3 cars in Juneau. I'm excited for this coming week. This past week has been pretty good. It's actually just been a pretty normal week. Nothing to crazy but we have just been working hard and having fun. I guess the coolest thing was a lesson we had with one of our new investigator. He is super cool. Ever time we meet with him we are at a members house and they all speak Spanish. It is still amazing how we feel the spirit even though we don't know exactly what is being said. Oh and this week we have been trying something new to meet people by ridding the bus. On the bus they can't say they are busy and need to get going they are stuck and have to listen to us, so that's been nice. Oh and we also had a valentines dinner for the
Branch which was a lot of fun. This branch is going to make me so fat with all the pot lucks they do! Well that's about it for this week! I love and miss you guys!

Bye!
Elder Barney

2-6-17

Hello there!

It has been a pretty great week this week! First of all super bowl
Sunday is not as big in Canada as it is in America. Usually everywhere
we go the game is on but not one family even mentioned it.....crazy!
On the bright side it was a great day for missionary work. The rest of
the week was pretty good too! We have just stayed super super busy! I
did have to go to the dentist this week which was a bummer but they
were nice enough not to charge me an arm and a leg to get looked at.
My jaw has been bothering me for awhile so I went to get it checked
out. I think it is hilarious every time me or my companion has to go
to a medical place. In Canada all Canadians get free medical so they
just assume we are Canadian until we tell them we are from the States.
The look on their face is always so priceless. They have no idea what
to do. It is usually very very expensive here but this dentist office
was a true blessing because they pulled some strings to get me looked
at that very day and gave me like a $40 discount. The Lord definitely
looks after his missionaries. Anyway the highlight of the week has to
be the Yukon Quest! It's a dog mushing race that is from Whitehorse to
Fairbanks. Last year I got to see the Iditarod which is the biggest
race in the world right next to the Yukon Quest. Not to many
missionaries can say they have seen both. I loved it! The best part is
seeing all the dogs just jumping up and down freaking out wanting to
just go. It was really something to see these dogs. They also had a
Native tribal drum song thing to kick it all off which was super neat
to see! Also it was great to see new faces in Whitehorse. I feel like
we have walked the streets so much that we know everyone so it was
great to have new people to talk too. I think the population just
about doubled in size that day because of all the visitors. So that
was a great day even though it was freezing cold! I don't think I have
ever wanted hot chocolate that bad before haha. Although the Yukon
Quest was the highlight of the week there was a lot of great miracles
this week. We have this new investigator from Peru who works with one
of the members in the branch. They had us over for dinner as well have
our new investigator. It went really great. He just moved here and met
with missionaries in the past so we just wanted to get a fill for what
he knew and talk about the Book of Mormon. After we retaught him about
the Book of Mormon we ask brother and sister Nunez to bare their
testimonies of the Book of Mormon. They did so in Spanish. Although I
didn't understand a single word of it I felt the spirit soooo strong!
Anyone could of felt that! It was such a powerful moment it was hard
not to cry and I didn't even understand anything but I knew exactly
what they were saying. It doesn't matter if it is in a different
language or if the person talking isn't good at speaking, if it's a
sincere testimony the spirit will always testify of truth! I was also
fortunate to hear a few other members bare their testimonies during a
couple lessons this week and wow it is simply powerful. I never really
realized how truly powerful just a sincere testimony can be. You don't
need a black name bag to be able to testify of what you know is true.
I love this work and I love the Lord! I even love all of these crazy
Canadians. I really love the people here in the Yukon!! I am happy I
get this time to serve them! I love you all so much and hope you have
a great week!

1-30-17

Hey there everybody!

So another busy week here in the Yukon! First off we had a big world
wide missionary broadcast that changed a lot of stuff. They changed
the morning schedule which already happened for this mission. I think
we were one of the trail missions. They changed even more stuff
though. So now we only have 4 things that we count. Baptism, on date
for baptism, new investigator, and sacrament attendance. So I thought
that was pretty crazy! It was kinda weird watching it because last
year I watched it in Anchorage with a bunch of missionaries but this
year me and my companion watched it on a tiny tv that kept cutting out

in a tiny chapel. It was kinda nice being just us two because we could
pop some popcorn and kick back and watch the broadcast. So that was
kinda the big announcement for the week. Later this week we were crazy busy! We have been working really hard. We have seen so many miracles! As we were doing service Thursday a random guy came up to me and asked if I was a Mormon missionary. I told him I was and he proceeded to tell him he has been wanting to come to our church. It was so awesome to talk with him. We set up a ride for him and he came yesterday! It was great! He likes the people and wants to learn more so I am pumped to teach him. Also we had a ton of people surprise up coming to church! It was great having so many non members there. The Lord has truly been blessing this work! Lots of great things happening! Oh and of course it has been a blessing having a lot of places to eat! On Saturday we had two dinners which was awesome! Of course I didn't plan a head and eat a ton at the first one then the second one they expected us to eat a lot as well so we were very full that night. Good stuff haha. Well I hope you all have a great week!

-Elder Barney

1-23-17

Hey guys!

Oh man it has been one cold week! The past few days it has been in the -30 degrees! It is super super cold! Although it is cold we have been working very hard. Even at -30 we hit the streets talking to people. For some odd reason even when it's that cold Canadians are still out walking around downtown! We have really been trying to talk to as many people we can. This week we have OYMed about 150 people. For it being as cold as it is I feel good about that! I know the Lord has seen our hard work and obedience because we have seen miracles happen! Last Monday as we were out talking to people we gave this lady a Book of Mormon and set a appointment to meet with her. That like never happens here so we were super excited. Unfortunately her kid got sick but next week we will meet with her. Then on Sunday a guy came to church who just moved here and use to go to church and talked with missionaries in the past. He looked up the address of the church and came! Now we are teaching him! Also we saw a miracle of a part member family come to church. When Todd walked in with his son I just about died! I was so happy to see them there!!! There were so many great miracles this week! The hand of God is truly in this work! I love seeing this miracles and loving seeing people progress. Neena is still excited for baptism and ready for March! Can't wait for that! All is well up here in the great white north! Hope you all have a great week!

-Elder Barney