seriously trying to respond and not throw this computer.

this computer is seriously being dumb. I probably won't get a newsletter out this week.

thissisw hath ppe eans if I just let the computer do what it does.

I JUST got an email that says I am enrolled in "My Plan". the 6-week online course for departing missionaries. Start next week! what the?!
 I watched Sister Kelly do it..... and Brayden already started. Everyone kind of dreads it. ahhhhhhhhh it has you make plans for your LIFE. week 5 is dating and eternal marriage. I remember that one!

Pictures for this week:

Plan of Salvation idea from Sister Makin's mom :)
alphabetizing the library at the Home Place on 'team colors' day
group tracting! we started tracting a mebers neighborhood and they wanted to join us. It actually helped a LOT.

have a blessed week!!! see you in seven!
Sister Bartsch

"Hello? Oh, yes, the Mormon missionaries are here right now....... no, they don't try to convert me" -Treva

Hello everyone! This email will be short. Skimmers, feel free to just look at the pictures. I have been working on time management for 16 months and I still can't seem to save enough time to write this email. I try not to be jealous of iPad missions, but.... 

We worked hard this week! We were able to do lots of tracting and lots of service. Yall, this retirement home is wonderful. This week we helped out with their Birthday Bash, delivered mail, and cut fabric for quilts. We have lots of new friends and great opportunities to live the Gospel we teach :) Because we were going out to see Gloria lots this week, we were able to go to the Mississippi Food Network twice! Yall know how much I love working with those convicts in dirty warehouses. So much fun! And the weather is cooling down so it's even better! One of them recently got released and is staying in a halfway house somewhere in our area. She asked us to find her and we plan on it! I love being busy doing so much good :) but we did a lot of driving this week. So we decided to be 'stop and smell the roses-y' and pull over or slow down for pictures. Examples attached below :) It's pretty fun! 

Paul is progressing well.  Keep those prayers going! 

I took Sister Makin out to Canton on Saturday :) It's a friendlier town and I wanted her to experience going door to door somewhere like that. And guess what? Not a single rejection. We were both very happy :) Hooray for humble, goodhearted people. I want to be like them. 

This morning I had an interview with President Olson and Sister Makin and I got to meet with Sister Olson, too! President and Sister Olson are seriously inspired, I love them both so much. Sister Olson had a cool challenge for us to apply to ourselves and our investigator's scripture study. She wants us all to receive more revelation from our Book or Mormon and Bible studies. She invited us to have a notebook ready and before we study say a special prayer. In the prayer, ask Heavenly Father to testify to you the truth of what you read by the Holy Ghost. AND THEN ask Him to tell you what you should do, change, or who you should help. As you read, pay attention to thoughts that enter your mind. They might not even be related to what you are reading! But because you have invited the Spirit, payed attention, and put forth the effort, you will receive the revelation you need :) As you act on what you receive, you will receive more!  Do this every day for 15 minutes and watch your life change. 
And then let me know :)

I love you all! Have a blessed week!

Sister Bartsch

Mississippi state Capitol!

It's really the south!  We found a cotton field!!!

Jackson, MS

Some of our friends at the Home Place having a jam session

"Now we're cookin' with grease, yall!"

Well I hope yall had a blessed week because mine sure was. 

Most importantly, Cole got baptized. What a special weekend! He stood and bore his testimony yesterday about the truth of this church. He had been searching for years! He had attended every denomination he could find, but found problems in each of them. After he had the first discussion with the Sister Missionaries he searched for flaws, but he couldn't find any! All of his questions were answered with scripture. The spirit he felt was unavoidable. He was converted! And his testimony is a powerful one. It was such a huge blessing to be a part of this :) lessons with Cole are my favourite because he is so SMART. His questions exercise my mind and I love it. Inquisitive people are the best to teach. 

Our Zone Focus for the last couple of months has been 'get out of the box." We have been trying to implement new finding ideas, teaching methods, and just mix things up a little bit! No one likes being in a rut. One of the things on the list of ideas was sidewalk chalk... haha, been doing that my whole mission! But we did some more and it was fun. And then we tried service tracting!!! I liked this one even though it really didn't work out. We went door to door on a Saturday morning asking people if there is anything we can help them out with. Unfortunately, people thought we wanted money or wanted to make them join our church or something. "No really, can we like mow your lawn or rake your leaves or something?" So we need to refine our approach and do it again. But we did accidentally tract into a less active family while their active mom was in town so that was good! This week we helped out at the Home Place assisted living place twice! The activities director (her name is Candy) gave us a tour and introduces us to the sweetest people. We met Miss Maudie, a 97 year old angel who sits at her sewing machine all day and sews clothes for herself and anyone. She gave us both skirts! and then said she would make more! Bless her sweet heart. 

Our good friend Gloria wants to get baptized! She said that the Spirit told her October 15th. We are just waiting on one thing before we can go through with it... and we are doing everything we can to make it happen for her! Prayers, please!

And then there is Paul. Just hours after the Member Missionary Work General Conference talk, a sweet couple in our ward called to tell us that the man they have been bringing to church has asked to be baptized. His name is Paul and he has been coming to church for a year and a half... I don't know why he wasn't baptized before, but we are sure happy to help him out now! We had a really nice first discussion and he willingly accepted a baptism date. How happy!! 

I'm just so grateful for my mission. I am grateful that I chose to come. I am grateful to know that God has a plan for me, and when I choose to follow I am blessed so incredibly. God has a plan for you, too! But it won't just happen the way He hopes, you have to choose it. And then stay true to your choice. It might be hard or scary or uncomfortable, but with Him all things are possible!

I love you ALL and hope you know it :)

Have a blessed week!

Sister Bartsch

"So can I get baptized today?!" -Cole

Watching General Conference!

Hey Yall!!
This week was awesome. My new companion is Sister Makin, she is from Goodyear, Arizona, and she needs like no training. 

Our District Leader committed us to do 10 hours of tracting this week. For me, that's a LOT. Especially in an area like Madison.. on bikes. But we did it! We reached that goal exactly! It was hard at times, people weren't always super nice, it got boring, BUT the weather was gorgeous, we had plenty to talk about, we found a couple people close by to teach, and God has seriously blessed us. 

Saturday afternoon we got approval for Cole to get baptized! He has been patiently waiting for months, and he is about to move to Arkansas! The timing is perfect, and we are planning his baptism for this Friday. Miracle!

Bye Sister Child!  Off to Shreveport

Also on Saturday we got a referral from a member to teach their friend! His name is Paul and he has been coming to church for a while. Recently he has asked what he needs to do to get baptized :) we are meeting with him this week! Miracle! 

On one of the days this week we decided to call an Assisted Living place we bike by all the time. We asked to speak with the activities director about service opportunities. Turns out this lady just started her job 4 days ago and had been feeling super overwhelmed. We signed up to help out a whole bunch. She was very grateful and we are very excited! I love service! And I hope to have some pictures next week :) 

Gloria and Linda are moving along, please keep them in your prayers!

And I loved General Conference, particularly Elder Nelson's talk about joy :) True joy comes from living the Gospel of Jesus Christ, it's true! As a missionary I am the happiest I have ever been. Why? Because I am immersed in the it. I spend 100% of my time studying, teaching, talking, and wanting to talk more about the Gospel. I know that this is a once in a lifetime opportunity, and I am so grateful for it. I know that when I go home things will be different, at times life will be hard again, and I will struggle as I come down from this spiritual high.. but I know exactly what to do to make myself happy. In any situation! I am so grateful to have learned this!

I love you all, and I hope you can find joy no matter where you are in life.

Have a blessed week!
Sister Bartsch

New Family Picture :)

First time biking in a skirt!

Pretty abandoned Home.