"If you want to see a pie REEEEEALLY messed up, turn me loose on it!" -Cathy

Hey, friends!

Sorry there wasn't a letter last week. I'll do better. 



Over the last couple weeks I have gotten to know some crazy-wonderful people. FIRST: Antwan and Watima (I know, those names rock). I wrote about Antwan last time, and since have been able to meet with him and his wife Watima! Watima is a very spiritual person, doesn't necessarily care about religion but will pray and discuss "the word" with anyone who wants to. And we always want to :) The first time we met her, she kind of prophesied to us! Pretty much, she thinks that Sister Maughan will teach large groups of women in conferences (future Relief Society Pres!) and she says I will be teaching children in Africa how to dance. She gave us lots of motivation, too. Direct Quote: "The things that you see as flaws, those are what will make the difference. God says: Be encouraged" So that was kind of cool! We've been over to see them twice now, I wish it could have been more, but there was a huge house fire two doors down from them. Which leads me to my next story!

So there's this area we have been focusing on that has had like four houses burn down in the last year. There's just abandoned foundations every six houses or so. Kinda terrifying. They're all abandoned except one, behind it there is a garage with a couple old cars and a tent. We asked a gentleman for a referral one time and he pointed to this shack.. Turns out a nice man named Joe lives in it! He has a tent with a recliner and TV inside his barn-like garage. Despite his situation, he knows God has blessed him tremendously with his health, daughter, and happiness. We talked for a while and I was so impressed by his level of humility. It's incredible to me how quickly and simply people like that make an impression on me and motivate me to better myself. I hope to make positive impressions on others every day, and I think we all can!

MIRACLE: Okay, remember Gayle? She has come up a few times now. She's the "DID YOU ASK IF I'M A MORMON?" lady who came back to church and brought her daughter. Hopefully that is enough of a refresher! Anyways, she has been telling us about her neighbor Betty who has shown a little interest in learning about the LDS Church. We've been waiting for the OK to go knock on her door and Gayle kept wanting us to wait. One evening we went to see Gayle, talked about missionary work, and left her with a little gift-bag that had a Book of Mormon, a Joseph Smith movie, our card, and a Gladys Knight CD to give to Betty. We kinda forgot about this, and on Friday afternoon BETTY CALLED US. This may not seem like a miracle to you, but no one calls us. I think in my 5 months out here I've given away our number like a thousand times and maybe one person has called and asked us to come over. But Betty did. So we came and taught the Restoration that night! She seemed very excited to read the Book of Mormon and feels comfortable asking questions and talking with us. We love her and are so excited to go back :) THANK YOU GAYLE!

Truly, the mission is far from all sunflowers and snowfalls for me. This transfer has been rough. Many of our long-time investigators are telling us they don't want us to come back. We have been trying so hard to fulfill our purpose and invite people to do things to bring themselves closer to Christ, but so many are not willing to make changes! One day after being dropped by our dear friend Joe, we called Ulysses to let him know. (They were going to be friends) And I love what Ulysses said to us : "Well, don't get down. It's too beautiful of a day for God to lose a soul. He will come back" I desperately need faith and optimism like Ulysses. And I am working on it every day. I love this place, I love these people, and I love being a missionary. Everyday people tell us the world is too scary for us young Sisters to be out sharing the Gospel, but I think that is exactly why we are needed. Matthew 5:16 "Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven."

Have a blessed week!
Sister Bartsch

I'm not sure why she send this picture.  Creative styling?  Or maybe because
we keep asking if she's seen any crocs.

Lots of Wisdom from Louisianna...

Beautiful sisters and great friends!

Sister Bartsch didn't send a newsletter this week - Sorry!  But I assume y'all miss her like I do and I would just feel bad letting y'all go a whole nother week without hearing from her!  So I think I can put together a pretty good newsletter from the bits and pieces I got today and the written letters we have received recently.   Everything following is from Sister Bartsch.  - Anika

" Well guess what. Our music rules changed and ANY gospel music you have lying around I desperately want to listen to. Can you send that, too? We can listen to reverant church music. So instrumentals, violin, piano, choirs, soloists, etc. I REALLY want a piano CD I can do ballet to.. if you want to wait until Christmas I understand :) But I am so excited. I love music. 

ALSO GUESS WHAT IS THE BEST THING EVER?! We have permission to use our resident gym. I am so excited for tomorrow morning I want to cry. 

I had a big zone meeting on Saturday :) It was pretty good. The General Authority is coming next month so this was just a mini zone development meeting. It was definitely what I needed! Got me all fired UP!

From a letter to Ian:
"Did you love conference?!  I know I'm a missionary, so I'm going to be much dorkier about it - BUT I LOVED CONFERENCE!  I got something out of every talk, but I wanted to share one of my biggest impressions with you.  It was in Elder Martino's talk.  He said something that really hit me - it was something like "don't doubt because something defies logic - that's what Laman and Lemuel did!"  I've always felt that my biggest gift and greatest flaw was my logical thinking.  I love when things add up and balance out.  I love puzzles that can be solved and hard questions that can be answered.  In math,science, business, and adult-life, that's great!  It has been such a blessing. I've tutored people that struggle with it and realized what a blessing it truly is.  When it comes to the Gospel, it's pretty good, too.  I like how simple it is, but how beautifully complex it is also.  (Jesus the Christ, dude.  Good book.  It brings some serious depth to the gospel.) I like finding connections and deeper meanings.  It's so exciting.  BUT - where my logical thinking is my downfall is in my Faith.  I struggle with faith sometimes.  I have questions that probably will never be answered in this life!  And when things don't add up perfectly, little doubts cross my mind.  I hate it, hate it, hate it.  But it happens.  Our Stake President (Pres. Platt) spoke to us about this by using Isaiah 55:8-9. 
 8 ¶For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord.

 9 For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.
Even when I feel so smart, he's smarter.  Even when I try to make sense of things, his sense makes more sense.  His thoughts are simply higher than mine!  And I need to trust the witnesses I've had from the past.  Dumb Laman and Lemuel kept forgetting their testimony-building experiences and their questions turned into doubts real fast. :) So, anyways, my faith has been much stronger since conference and realizing my mind's silly tendencies.  

She reminds him of his spiritual experiences he had, especially Youth Conference.  "It sounds like Y.C. was a powerful experience for you. And if you're ever struggling with your testimony you'll always have that to fall back on.  One of my favorite verses is Alma5:26 (Ponderized!) 
 26 And now behold, I say unto you, my brethren, if ye have experienced a change of heart, and if ye have felt to sing the song of redeeming love, I would ask, can ye feel so now?
because it reminds me to remember times when the spirit has spoken to me and that the spirit should be able to do that anytime!  The spirit was strong at Y.C, but "Can ye feel so now?"

Showing off her new haircut!

One last thing, in a letter to Rachel she recommends reading the talk titled "The Inconvenient Messiah". It was really good.  Here's a link:  https://speeches.byu.edu/talks/jeffrey-r-and-patricia-t-holland_inconvenient-messiah/

Have a blessed week, yall!
Love, Sister Bartsch

"God bless us all for green chili!" -Ulysses in Testimony Meeting

It's NOVEMBER already? Wow, yall. 

This week was super powerful lessons. Sunny is one of the boldest people I know and taking her out to teach with us is always incredible. Long story short, a sweet lady who hadn't been to church in over 6 years was back in church this week :) 

We met some really cool people, too! One morning, we were knocking doors in the rain.. rejection after rejection. And this guy across the street waved us over. We knew it was either really good or he was telling us to leave his neighborhood. But we hustled over there and introduced himself. Turns out he was really nice! And REALLY excited to see us. His name is Antwan, he had been meeting with the missionaries last year and was really liking it but lost contact with them. Since then he's gotten married and has a beautiful blended family. He feels much more ready to learn the Gospel and we have an appointment with him tomorrow! 

Charles came to church again this week :) We have found him a friend and I can feel his heart changing, it's so fun! He still won't accept baptism, but his excitement for the Gospel is growing. 

Also, our ward  had a trunk-or-treat and a few of the people we are teaching came! Someone had made green chili and the weekly quote is Ulysses bearing his testimony about how great the ward is. I wholeheartedly agree.  My district had a Halloween party on Saturday and that was fun, too. I guess the new thing is to take gross group selfies. I will forever wish that I got better pictures :) 

I'm pretty much constantly praying for our mission today and the rest of this month. Every companionship is going to help a person or family accept the Gospel and be baptized! I've got a whole lot of faith and I'm anticipating some wonderful miracles. Pray for us!

Romans 8:24-25 :)

Have a blessed week!

Sister Bartsch

PS. Brother Maxey (recent convert) was a close second place for the weekly quote. He bore his testimony and said "So many people have seen the dark in me, now they see the light, and they don't know WHAT got up on 'em!"

Sisters with a sense of humor.  Sister wives at the district Halloween party!

"Yall don't have a gun?! Look, I can loan you a pistol, just leave it under the mat when you're leaving." -Tim

This. Week. Was. Great. We had so much fun.

First, we made a Plan of Salvation pumpkin with Sunny! I will attach pictures, but that was fun. It made me realize just how long I have been here.. It's Halloween already? And this Tuesday is the ward Trunk-Or-Treat, lots of investigators are planning on coming!

Second, I taught a cool lesson to some kids. There was a little girl named Mikayla out raking leaves into garbage cans for her elderly neighbor. I guess it was because she was grounded. She had a crowd of friends standing around watching. Sister Maughan and I kinda walked by, but then turned right around to go help her. We just started helping and introduced ourselves, she seemed very grateful for some help. Over time I realized that it was really just a two person job, so I started talking to the little friends. Of course, one of the little girls told me she liked singing and dancing. Pretty much every little girl here likes to dance. Little Maria started showing me her moves, and so I had to show them mine and a ballet class broke out :) I taught two little girls and two little boys chene turns, pique turns, and a grande jette. Then we had to go, but as we left we watched all the little friends help Mikayla with her job. And now when we go back to that neighborhood to knock doors, the kids come running out to give us hugs and introduce us to their parents! 

Then it rained. And rained and rained. Friday afternoon through this morning was a huge rainstorm. The first day, we were so unprepared. We were teaching a single dad on his front porch when it started to POUR. We had brought one umbrella and worn our raincoats. Sister Maughan is like 3 feet taller than me, so standing under her umbrella did me no good. We had parked down around the corner, so we had to say a really loud prayer and walk back to save our scriptures. Luckily, our bags are waterproof! Except it turned out that Sister Maughan's wasn't. The phone was soaked. We went to a member's house and got it in rice, dried off and went back out to work, this time with MY bag and two umbrellas. Anyways, later on we learned that the phone wasn't fixable and we would have to wait several days for a replacement. But other than that first afternoon, we have loved the rain! Tracting in it is fun for me, I like puddle jumping. 

Yesterday a Sister in the ward brought me Blueberry, Peach, Jalepeno jam because she heard I like spicy things. Yall. It's SO GOOD. 

And those are the highlights from this week! My hair is getting fluffier every day from this weather and I am pretty much constantly shivering a little bit. Winters in the South freeze you to the bone. But I love it oh-so-much :) I'm trying to be better at noticing all the little things my Heavenly Father does for me so I have more to be grateful for, and wow. I am amazed every day. He truly does love us and He watches over us closely! 

Have a blessed week! I love every last one of you!

Sister Bartsch

Southernism: "A minute" OR "A good minute" pretty much any amount of time. Can only be determined in context. "I haven't been to church in a good minute" (since childhood) "Yall can come in and stay a minute" (two hours to life) "I thought about reading that Book of Norman for a good minute" (two weeks) "I was just fixin to leave, yall can stay for a minute" (Like, 30 seconds)

"Don't get married, don't have children, just live in a cocoon... oh, and read the Bible" -Ken

Sister Maughan and I are staying in Bossier! That means after this transfer I will have been here for SIX MONTHS. That seems like a pretty long time! But like I have said over and over, I love this place. 

This week was another full of disappointment and also shouts of joy! We had a couple painful rejections, but as usual, the good moments made up for them. 

Mostly, this week was a week of learning for me. My studies are becoming more meaningful, I'm learning and gaining understanding as I teach, and I am discovering more strengths and weaknesses in myself. I'm praying every day to become the missionary the people here need, just as I was in the beginning of my mission. A phrase keeps running through my head from Doctrine and Covenants 100:4 "Therefore, I, the Lord, have suffered you to come unto this place; for thus it was expedient in me for the salvation of souls." I could have easily been transferred, but I was asked to stay. I know there is a reason for me to be here and I am determined to find it! Sometimes it feels like any other Sister could do what I do all day, but there are people here for Sister Maughan and I specifically. SO, I have resolved to let my personality and personal testimony show! Somebody needs it, right? I've been dancing with little girls I find on the street, sharing my personal experiences, talking about the people that mean the most to me back home, loving and giving freely, and always striving to make people smile. It's been much more fun. Obviously, I should have been doing these things all along, but I fell into a routine and a missionary cookie-cutter. 

I hope ALL of us can look around and try to find reasons for why our Heavenly Father has placed us where we are. Don't get too distracted by things that don't really matter, share your strengths, self, and time with others! 

Yesterday our washing machine broke and flooded

our kitchen. We've broken that thing twice in 6 weeks :) On Sunday night we built a fort in the living room and watched movies until bed time (Mission approved, of course). Our friend Charles came to church to see the Primary Program and that was really cute. And on Wednesday we had a Pinata at our District Meeting!

Hello to Halyn from your little friend in LA, Anya!

Remember my email subjected: Me: "Do you know where Dorothy lives?" Stranger: "ARE YOU ASKING IF I'M A MORMON?" Well, this lady's name is Gayle, and it turns out she IS a Mormon. She had stopped coming to Church, but since we ran into her while looking for Dorothy, she has come back and brought her daughters. We didn't even mean to do that. She's pretty great and full of referrals. And that is why you talk to everyone :) 

Anyways, I should go. We are going to an art gallery today :)

Have a blessed week, yall! 

Sister Bartsch

"You gotta repent, get prayed up, and THEN deliver that word!" -Joe

Yall, I love the South. I love the people here. And I love being a missionary!

This week was another full of missed appointments and rejection - more than ever for me! I don't know what's going on. But it was one of my favourite weeks! sister Maughan and I had fun despite everything. The lessons that we DID teach were so powerful, the people we were able to see are beginning to progress, and the ONE new person we met this week was really searching for truth. So I call it a success!

The one person's name is Tina! We knocked on  her door and she said that for SOME reason she decided to open it to the Mormons. They knock on her door all the time, it seems like, and she always ignores them! But she actually spoke with us, asked all of her questions, and with more hesitation than I have ever seen, accepted a Book of Mormon! She was always told that Mormons were a radical cult that didn't watch TV and she had never really spoken with one because of that. We were able to share with her some of our basic beliefs, reassure her that we weren't dangerous, and invited her to read and pray about the Book of Mormon! I am so excited to see her again, she is very sensitive to the Spirit. One of the first things she said to us was "The Spirit guides me every day of my life!" And I love that. There are so many wonderful people like her out here. She was the only new person we found after 7 hours of knocking doors! I have some pretty high hopes!

Billy is another faithful man we are teaching. He loves when we come over, he sits outside reading and waiting for us to arrive. We asked him if he had been able to pray about the Book of Mormon, he said yes! He said he was asking to know the truth from God and that "God sure answers prayers! Just sometimes at 11:59 and 99 seconds!" so he hasn't gotten an answer yet, but knows God will answer right in time! (at least that's what I think that meant)

Sunny is wonderful. She started working at Dillards in the Men's cologne department! She loves it and of course she is good at it. Also, she's blonde now!

This week has been a serious test of my attitude. My optimism was very challenged. But I think with the help of prayer, a wonderful companion, great district, and support from all of YOU - I have come out okay! I'll be going into this last week of the transfer zealously! I hope and pray I don't leave this area or this companion yet, but I will go where I am called! I'll talk to you all next TUESDAY!

Have a blessed week!

Sister Bartsch

Me: "Do you know where Dorothy lives?" Stranger: "ARE YOU ASKING IF I'M A MORMON?"

FRIENDS! Wasn't conference wonderful? I sure loved it :) I hate to say it, but this has been the week of cancelled appointments and disappearing people. We are losing track of people left and right! Pray with us for miracles, please :) Losing contact with people is our biggest struggle. But, we have also seen some wonderful people come closer to accepting the gospel!
We taught Yolanda and her four kids. We planned to teach them a full lesson but Yolanda hadn't had time to read from the Book of Mormon. So we handed them out to the kids and read with her. We explained as we read and every time we wanted to insert a little "Alright, we can stop there" they just kept reading and asking questions and reading and reading. All of them were loving learning about Jesus Christ ministering in the Americas - they found it fascinating! Sister Maughan and I are thrilled to finally have her whole family involved in the learning. Next time we will teach that whole lesson and be sure to bring visual aids to keep the kids entertained :)
We found an angel named Joy! This woman's name suits her. She is 83 and goodness gracious can she TALK. We spent nearly two hours at her house. The last 40 minutes were spent repeating "Well, Joy! We really had better go! Thanks for letting us in!" over and over. She is the most lovely lady, though, with an incredible story and strong spirit. We are going to see her and her dog Dobie tonight. I hope we can get a word in and help strengthen her Faith!
One of the greatest things about being a missionary is all of the beautiful spirits we meet. I get my fair share of door-slams, angry dogs, and hurtful comments, but I'd take a billion of those to find people like Joy, Yolanda, Charles, Don, Sandra, Monique, LeStoria, the list goes on and on. I knock on people's doors hoping that I can brighten their day, help them feel the Spirit, increase their Faith, and tell them how loved they are by their Heavenly Father. I want them to know that He has a plan for them! And that there are answers to the questions they have. By then my companion and I have in their own personalized way borne our testimony of Heavenly Father, Jesus Christ, the Holy Ghost, and the Book of Mormon. The Spirit is strong and the puck is on their side of the ice (sorry, had to).
It makes us sad when they don't keep their appointments or commitments to read after that, but it helps us know who is really interested and ready for the Gospel! Unfortunately, my computer won't let me attach pictures this week. So you all don't get to see the dead frog in Joy's driveway. I know, I'm sorry.
Have a blessed week! I love you all so much!
-Sister Bartsch