4-25-2016

Hey everyone!
Wow this week went by soooo fast! It was such a great week! We were able to work hard and have a good time doing it! We had zone
conference this week which was great. It was super motivational to get all those training's on how to be a better missionary. I learned so much it would be to long to write. But one thing I learned that has been on my mind a lot is desire. How bad do we want things. As missionary your desire is what gets you up in the morning. I asked myself this week what is my desire? Is it to teach repentance and baptize converts or is it to have fun and hang out? I know what my desire truly is. Desire is connected with how hard your working. The training put it like how bad kids want candy after a pinata is busted open.  They will dog pile for candy.  That's a true desire right there! Also this week I had the privilege to give one of our new recent convert the priesthood. It was so awesome and the spirit was so strong!! It is so great to see the priesthood in that family now. Love this great work! Well it looks like I am out of time so I hope you all have a great week and stay safe! 

Love you guys!
-Elder Barney

4-18-16

Hey everyone!
Hope you all had a great week this week! It was a great one up here in
Alaska. The sun is shining and it feels great! We have been trying
to focus on talking to everyone, so we were able to bike one day. It
was awesome! We were able to talk to so many people! A lot of humble
people in this area. There are some funny things that happen when you
go biking as a missionary. We got yelled at because we didn't have any
sandwiches with us haha. Non the less it was still fun. Also this week
we were able to do a lot of service for people. It was great to get
out and do something nice for people. We racked a ton of leafs! So one
of the best experience we had this week came from walking around
talking to people. This one guy we were talking to about the plan of
salvation was telling us about how hard his life has been. He has been
beaten in his home country and homeless and has been driven out by wars.
He told us that God doesn't love him. At that moment all I felt was
nothing but love. Fighting back tears my companion and I testified to
him in the name of Christ that God does know and love him. I know that
he felt that love, it was undeniable. I know that God loves these
people and loves each and every person. I love this work and I love
God and I know he loves you! Remember that this week. He knows you and
I promise he cares for you. I love you all and hope you all have a
great week!

Elder Barney

4-11-16

Hey everyone!

This week has been a great week! We have seen the lords hand in our
work so much this past week! We tracted into 2 new investigators! That
never happens! The tender mercies for sure. Also yesterday Luctria was
confirmed and given the great gift of the Holy Ghost. The spirit was
surly strong at that moment! Her and her family have just made such a
change in their lives! It is so great seeing the Atonement work!
I have learned this week that we need to trust in the Lord and always
return thanks to him like it says in Alma 7:23. This past week as been
a faith building week and a testimony strengthening week also.

The weather here is getting super nice. We are starting to bust out the
bikes here pretty soon. We all have trucks but we want to hit the
streets and talk to as many people as we can. Plus it would be nice to
shed some weight! The Alaska 40 is for real! Well I love and miss all
of you and hope you all have a great week!




Alma 7:23 And now I would that ye should be humble, and besubmissive and gentle; easy to be entreated; full of patience and long-suffering; being  temperate in all things; being diligent in keeping the commandments of  God at all times; asking for whatsoever things ye stand in need, both spiritual  and temporal; always returning thanks unto God for whatsoever things ye do receive.

Elder Barney

4-4-2016

Hey everyone!
General conference was awesome! I noticed as a missionary general
conference is like Christmas! It was great! I can't wait until they
come out on gospel library so we can read and listen to them. It might
just because I am a missionary but I though they talked a lot about
families and how important they are. One of my favorite things I heard
was "I know it but do I believe it?" That is a powerful question. It
is something I think everyone should ask themselves time to time. I
know as I have I gained more of a prospective of things. If you
haven't heard Elder Hollands talk I strongly suggest everyone watches
it. It was fantastic! This week has been so great as we prepared for
conference. Also this week we have had a lot of fun teaching the
gospel! Last pday it was awesome because we had a going away party for
an Elder who went home. He is a great missionary.
So for a funny story this week. Yesterday we were going to wash 

something in our washing machine and I totally forgot 

I left a towel in there from last week that was soaked

with milk. So that towel sat in there for a week soak

with rotten milk! Oh my heck that was the worst smell ever! Can't believe how bad that was!

 Life lesson right there!

 Well I love and miss you guys so much! Have a great week and
remember to show what you believe!

- Elder Barney

3-28-2016

Happy Easter everyone!!!
Hope everyone had a great Sunday Easter! Easter was great up here. We
had dinner with one of my favorite families and ate a ton!!! They
cooked like it was thanksgiving! It was great. I got a new companion
this week. Elder Jensen is his name. He is super awesome and goofy! We
laugh a lot and work really hard. We will have a lot of good stories.
This area is so ghetto! So many funny things happen. We get yelled at
a lot from drunk natives. It will be an awesome transfer. He came in
at just the right time. He got here Wednesday and we had a baptism
Saturday.

Poole Family
 The Priest is in the middle holding the little girl.
Trace's new companion on the right (Elder Jensen)

 The Poole family was baptized on Saturday. 

Also one of the priest who have been coming to lessons with us was able to baptize the kids. So awesome to see him have the chance to use his priesthood. It was also so great to see the family make that amazing covenant! I can't even describe how great it was to see them change right before my eyes! Only through the savior and his great Atonement that is possible. You could feel the spirit super strong there. Love this
great work! I hope you all have a great week!

-Elder Barney

His Zone before his first companion left

3-21-16

Hey everyone!

So this last week had some exciting events, but before I get to that. We had transfer calls this week. I am staying in this area and getting a new Elder who is flying in from the North Pole.

 My companion is going to Soldotna as zone leader. I am excited for my new companion
and can't wait to get to work! I am thankful for my trainer. He taught me a lot. 

So for the exciting events, first I will start from last p-day. We went hiking flattop for a zone activity. It was a good exercise for out of shape missionaries! There were some serious
sketchy parts but we made it.  There was one part that was a skinny ledge
that was only big enough for half a foot covered in ice. It got my
heart pumping haha. Once we made it to the top it was sooo beautiful. I will have to send the pictures later because it's on my camera. It was Alaska at it finest. So the final summit to the top is straight up and rocky with snow. On the other side it's just snow straight down. Well because it was so steep to walk down we had the "bright" idea to slide down! I watched 3 missionaries go first. They tumbled down this mountain one after another. So of course I had to try it! So 4 of us linked arms and jumped!

This is the hill we went down.
 From the very top to the bottom where the people are standing.

 We instantly tumbled down the mountain side. All I could see is white! And all I could hear is screaming! I stopped by running into another missionary. We hit speeds up to 40 mph! It was
sooooo scary! It was for sure the most dangerous thing I have ever done but, what a better chance to do something dangerous when you have the Lord constantly on your side!?

 Let's just say we were all sore the next morning!

 So that was the funnest part of my week!

The other part of my week was we had a wedding reception for one of

our investigators who is getting baptized this Saturday. It started out not to good. We set up and no one was there. Ward members started
to show up about an hour late. Only about 3 friends of theirs came. We were expecting 40 to 60. The people who were suppose to bring food never showed up. So it started to turn out to be worst-case scenario.
It started to get better when more of the ward showed up. It started out bad but ended really fun. Even some of their friends came as you can see in the pictures. That was definitely one for the journal. Lots of those moments in this area.

 I am excited to see this family get baptized. They have all come so far! They are a great example on how the lord can change hearts! I love this family and I can't wait for Saturday when they are baptized! Well I hope you all had a great week and remember the lord on Easter!!!



-Elder Barney

3/14/2016
Hey everyone!
Hope you all had a great week! This week in Alaska was a little
slower. The best part was one of our investigators got married!! So
they should be baptized on the 26th. They are an awesome family who's ready for the gospel! Some other things that happened is that we took our recent convert Teresa, to the family history center. It was awkward! She liked that she was able to do stuff with getting her daughter ready to go to the temple but hated the people working in the family history center. She snapped at them and then it got super awkward! Hard to change the mood after that. Also this week we went tracking in a neighborhood and we saved it from falling into Apostasy.
There were some Jehovah witness palettes placed in the doors so we took them haha. Any way that was the highlights of our week. Another great week serving the Lord! Something I heard this week that I love is: "don't let the world define who you are." I love that! It's a great.. reminder that we should only care what God thinks of us. 

Group of Missionaries after Service Project Last Week

Moose crossing the highway 

Love you all!
Have a safe week!

-Elder Barney