"it's too much work to put that cottonpickin thing in the car!" -Katherine

Hey Yall!!!

I could email all day long. Yall are my favourite. Thanks for keeping up with me on my mission! Even after almost a year I feel so loved :) It's nice to take some time to remember all of you! 

This week was full of fun and hard work. It's great when we can work out a good balance! I need to keep laughing or being a missionary would probably crush me. So on Monday we had a paint fight! It was fun. And some of us get together to play tennis in the mornings, too. That's pretty funny :) I love this zone so much!

But don't worry, all the fun was on our time, and we worked really hard when it was the Lord's time :) Sister Nash and I finished our exchanges last week, so we didn't have any this week! It was nice to be able to finally focus on this poor, sometimes neglected area. After a couple weeks of very little contact we got in to see Britney! She's struggling because her boyfriend (who is a member of our church) has pulled back and doesn't put in very much effort to get the family in church. She is trying to talk to him about getting married but he doesn't want that yet either. It's sad because she wants to be baptized so badly!

We got to see Kaye a lot this week, too. Kaye REALLY wants to be baptized. She also struggles with some marriage problems. She's really scared to get married again. Sister Nash and I do our best, but we are not relationship counselors.. We follow the Spirit in lessons and that's all we can really do! 

The Most Awesome District:  Sister Nash, Elder Boehme, Elder Paxton, Elder Davis, Me, Sister Rose, Sister Barney, Elder Blair, Elder Eells, Elder Pierre-Louis! 

BUT THEN both of them came to church despite their significant others and we had a wonderfully inspired Sunday School lesson about returning to live with God again. Britney and Kaye both brought up their concerns and our wonderful teacher helped resolve them. He is much more qualified to give relationship advice. Sister Nash and I sat back and seriously enjoyed the help :) Kaye doesn't know I'm leaving yet, and she might try to handcuff me to her oven, she's threatened many times. Please pray for me. 

Sister Nash, Kaye, Myself and Dede.

Terrell and Branden weren't able to come to church this week, but they're moving forward as well!! There are some very sweet, promising people here :) I am excited to be invited to all of their baptisms!

I'm being transferred to Clinton, Mississippi! I'll be serving with a Sister who has just finished training and I'm super excited to meet her. Leaving this place is already hard. I love Hattiesburg so much! Bit I'm needed elsewhere so I will go :) I have heard great things about Clinton, it sounds a lot like Bossier. I think I'll like it! The transfer van will pick me up tomorrow morning.


I love you ALL! Have a blessed week. Send me some letters.

Sister Bartsch

100 Parker Drive A4
Clinton, MS 39056

I saw 2 snakes this week... including this Rattlesnake.

Most awesome Tree of Life Drawing you ever saw, all for Kaye.