Hello Family,

 

So it has been another crazy but great week in Devils Lake, but it has also been a great week! This week we have had plenty of lessons that we went over our goal! That is a big blessing from last weeks humbling numbers. We drove all the way to Grand Forks (like we do every week) for our district meeting. Grand Forks really is only a very short 90 miles away from Devils Lake. So it definitely stacks up our monthly miles getting there and back. And we figured out that we had gone over 85 miles in the car for the month on Sunday, but no worries the district leaders still had 185 miles left in their car so it wont hurt us. I love how driving 90 miles here is a short distance, the closest neighboring town is like 35 miles away. And it really isn't a big deal when someone says lets drive there 50 miles and back. So it will be crazy when I get back to Utah where all the towns are only a few miles apart and like five minutes away. Recently they just had Fort Totten days here, Fort Totten is an Indian Reservation town just about 15 miles away from our house. Indian tribes from around the world gathered there for this big event, they do a lot of pow-wows and rain dances, and people say it is really amazing to go watch them. But of course since we were so short on miles I missed this big yearly event.

We were walking home from a lesson that we had with an investigator Edith. The lesson didn't really go how we wanted it to go so we were just lost on a bunch of questions. But I looked up at this building here in Devils Lake they call it the "high rise" and at the top they have this penthouse apartment. And so I knew that one of our investigators named David was moving up there so it got me talking to my companion about David. My companion took the moment as a prompting so we went to visit David and we found him miraculously outside his apartment. We discovered that he needed help moving so me and Elder Garfield decided to help him and his son Patrick (age 17) move into the high rise. Their apartment is huge is has three big rooms and a penthouse and they have an abandoned floor to store all the stuff you could imagine. But we helped them move a little that night, and we then helped them move all the big stuff the next night. It was quite the adventure because we had to haul all the stuff up a ton of rickety old stairs where the wood was really warped. I didn't really feel safe moving anything on those unsecure boards. I think Dad would have gone crazy to see all the building flaws with these stairs. But the next day Brother Marshall from the Ward referred us to help these friends that work at his hospital who needed movers really bad. We got to move all of there stuff and they couldn't fit there nice Ashley furniture sofa in there house so we had a nice apartment donation this week.

 I hope the dog is doing okay as well, I had a nightmare the other day that he swallowed a razor blade so make sure you keep the bathroom floor clear of razor blades. I love you all and I think of you a lot! Tell Grandma and Grandpa that I would love to hear from them vie email or mail service.

. I love you all and talk to you next week.

Love, Elder Barber

Another great week

Dear Family,

 

It has been another great week on the mission! This week are teaching has been a little bit slow. It seemed as though every lesson just wouldn't work out, or we would notice a new challenge with an investigator. We walked over to this one inestigators house to check on her progress, and she wasn't home. So we had to walk all the way back to our apartment after a long and humbling day in the rain. And as we had just faced an extremely long day we opened the schedule to see a wide opened schedule for the next day with no appointments. So the next morning we came up with a game plan. We decided to trust God and go forth, and place all our faith in him for the day. So we wrote down every potential investigator that we had in our book! We then went at it for the day and we ended up teaching a lot of people, and gaining a new investigator. It was a great testimony builder to me that day, that if we put our trust in the Lord he will make us succesfull through him. I thought I would share that story with you.  But I noticed that in my last letter I didn't really give many details about this area or my companion due to the shortage of time I had. My companion is Elder Garfield, he is from Moscow, Idaho. He grew up in Kearns, Utah most of his life but just a few years ago hs family went up to Moscow. He has been out just a little over six months! He is a great Elder, and I definitely have much to learn from him in the twelve weeks I will be with him! We live in a house apartment just above a man and his wife, there names are Jeremy and Wendy! We live at 818 3rd Ave. NE in Devils Lake. But please send letters and packages to the mission home so they can ensure the letters get to where I am at safely. We live near this really cool park that has a swimming pool, and a really cool bike path that is about 1.8 miles long. We have an extre bike but it is a crappy Wal-Mart bike and the seat hurts when I ride on it. So I will be buying a new bike hopefully this Friday I think that is the 26th. I really love the great people here! We actually got a new investiagtor named Layel, he really wants to take us fishing with him on the shore of Devils Lake! And so we told him we can only go fishing frequently with him if were teaching lessons to him! So he accepted to become an investigator and take us fishing! I am really excited about that, because I wanted to come home from my mission at least a decent fisherman. It shows that Heavenly Father see's the desire in our hearts and makes a way for it to happen! We are in the Lake Region Branch, it is in a church building about the same size as your relief society room and all the doors to other rooms are in the chapel (in other words there is no such thing as a hall way in the building). We got to go have dinner with the Perisho's, they are a branch family. They live about thirty miles away in Oberon, North Dakota. We got to have dinner there and after we went over to this old barn where these amazing musicians have shows. They play what we call "gospel country", but they also payed some Johnny Cash. It was a really cool setup they were in a Garage with license plates lining te walls with all these cool restored 1950 cars. And it was just three of them one on acoustic a lady on the piano (who was also backup singer) and this amazing guitarist. They are all older people but they were really good, and one of them was a potential new investigator! So we stopped by for just a little mini concert!

It has been quite the week here! We have had an incredibly busy P-Day today! We just had a lunch appointment with this investigator Denada, and I am absolutely blown away by how prepared she is. Elder Garfield and the Elder before me gave her all the pamphlets to look over, and when they returned she had read all of them with just a few questions on each one. She reads all the Book of Mormon assignments we give her, she prays about the things she reads. So we are still working with her to work towards baptism. We have a lot of potential here in Devils Lake with a lot of great and prepared ivestigators. Please tell Uncle Mark that I love him, and am praying for him every night along with his great family. It can not be easy to watch your Father go through so much medical trials. I love Uncle Mark very much, and I look forward to when I can return and we can go fishing up on the Weber River again! I am also keeping Blake in my prayers as he requested, and I hope they are helping as much as they can! I miss all of you very much, there is not one night that goes by where I don't dream of home or the life I had before this one. And I definitely think of a lot of you every day. I wanted to answer moms question about the Morning Doves. There are more morning doves in Devils lake then I have ever seen anywhere else. I look out my big window every morning and I can see morning doves flying around outside. Then I go to my back kitchen window and theres a morning dove on the telephone wires. Everywhere I walk, bike, drive out here there is a morning dove. It is really a great place. It has been storming like crazy up here for the past few days! Me and Elder Garfield went out walking in the heavy rain yesterday. You could say that my pant legs were absolutely drenched after that one! The one great thing I love about North Dakota is the great BIG skies up here! When you are driving on the freeway the ky takes up most of your view here. And North Dakota has some of the greatest sunsets I have ever seen! Every night the sun goes super orange or red around sunset and they are beyond words sometimes! You can definitely tell when a storm is going to hit here because it gets super humid and muggy outside and you can look in the sky and see one coming for miles. The Utah mountains will sure look really big when I get home. Well I love you all! I am facing every challenge out here with a smile and optimism, I hope to become a better missionary that way! I love you all!

Love, Elder Corey Barber

First letter from the field

Hello!! I have officially made it to the mission! We got up at like 4:30 at the MTC and we got on the bus and drove to the Salt Lake airport! It was really weird to see that there is still people alive outside the MTC walls! We got to the airport, and I was really happy to talk to those I had the opportunity to talk to! We got on the plane and it seemed like forever until we took off, but it was really cool because we flew right over the top of Kaysville! I waved goodbye to everything and everyone there! It made me a little homesick but as we flew over the mountain I knew it would not be the last time I see Kaysville! We got to Rapid City and President and his wife were waiting for us outisde the doors! It was kind of awkward because president hugged me and stepped backwards to let some people pass so I accidentally tackle hugged him! I guess that showed that I was really enthusiastic to be here! We went to mission home and it was really pretty it overviewed a beautiful lake. To be really honest I would not mind to stay there longer! But that night the A.P's and president met in his office with the blinds closed and gathered us all in a room. We knew he was assigning our new areas! It was just like getting another mission call because nobody knew where they would end up! Finally they came out and sent all twenty two of us in a million different directions, but he said that I would be assigned to serve with Elder Garfield in Devils Lake, North Dakota! I was so excited to come up to a lake town in North Dakota! We got on the transfer train the next morning (the transfer train is really a big van like we rented in Nauvoo). We drove for fourteen hours before it was my stop to get off in Jamestown, North Dakota. Elder Garfield met me there and we drove up to Devils Lake after we navigated out of Jamestown. We got to Devils Lake at like midnight. So it was great to wake up at 6:30 the next morning! We walked all over town for the whole day in the warm sun! We got to talk to a lot of people along the way! I love this town so much! It is this small green town with really kind people. It seems like every other person we talk to is interested in hearing our message! We got to eat with this investigator named Mina. She is from the Philipines and cooked us some really good pork with white Spaghetti! Her house is across the street from a big Canola field and it is gorgeous! I have been working on talking to people on the streets all week, and I seem to be getting better. We had a really spiritual lesson with Mina and it really got me excited for the work for two years. We then went to this Motel where Jay lives! I love Jay, he is this really nice black guy in his fifties and he is beyond cool! We taught him the same night as Mina! It was really spiritual! I know this church is true and I am excited for the work that is going on here! I know that this gospel has the power to change thousands of lives and the Lord has hstened his work! I am really happy out here and pictutres should come soon! We have seen many miracles out here in the field and I know God hears us! I will pray for Uncle Mark and I hope God is watching over him!

Love Elder Barber

Tanner and I met up at the MTC.

Me and my companion, Elder Cook from SLC. This is how we celebrated the 4th of July.

School buddies at the MTC (and another guy that wanted to be in somebodies picture)

Me and Elder Davis at the Provo Temple (update to blog)

Only 3 days left

Dear Family,

 

It has been a great and crazy week here at the MTC! As the new zone leaders we got to welcome all the new Elders and Sisters on their first day. We also got to give them a tour of the campus and explain how everything works! It was kind of crazy to think that a week ago I was in their shoes wondering what was going on, and now I am the one showing them what to do! I love receiving your dear elder letters, you know its a good day at the MTC when you receive a letter! But at the bottom of every letter you send me it also sends a letter to an Elder Cole Barber who is here at the MTC, so you might want to email Dear Elder customer service and try to get that worked out. I absolutely loved Matt´s story about helping that old man! He may not know it now but a few months from now that story will bring tears to his eyes as he remembers that old man, and what a great blessing he was in his life. I love the story of Ruger pushing down the button to stick his head out the window! I want to advise you that you got to be careful with him and his own windows he´s tried to jump out a few times when I took him on drives. I hope the dog is doing okay, and I hope he is back to normal! I love hearing about Payton, Kael, Claire and Owen. Tell those children that I love them, and I hope they are all doing well and not getting hurt....or sick.

I heard that the mission president has sent you as the parents an email about the rules in the mission. I also heard they want you to write to them about me. I honestly am looking forward to monday I am the travel leader and it kind of sounds like a stressful job! I cant wait to talk to you on the 8th it will be around eight thirty in the morning when I call so mom please have your phone ready because I dont have anyone elses number memorized. Also mom I may have to use my debit card to pay for baggage I still have a lot of money here but who knows with todays luggage prices! Yesterday I had a class from eight in the morning all the way to five thirty at night with small breaks. Lets just say I had a small headache last night after that much class! Then we had a hymn devotional for thirty minutes, and afterwards we watched seventeen miracles. I can honestly say I had tears in my eyes and was near crying for a lot of that movie! And afterwards I physically was exhausted because the spirit was that strong. Around this time of year we need to be appreciative to those who sacrificed everything they owned to make it here to the great state of Utah that we live in. They gave up land, all their money, and most of them even had to watch their own children or spouse die on that trail. Let us rejoice around this time of year that we live in a great country that many payed a great price for. I would like you to start posting my mail address once I get to the mission on Facebook and the Blog because as of Monday I can only email Family. I am learning and growing much here at the MTC and I thank you for all the support and love from the family! I enjoyed hearing from every one of you! Please send me some pictures soon of the great time your all having around the fourth of July! I sent some pictures as well please write to me to confirm you got them! When you next hear from me I will be in the mission field! I love you!!   Elder Corey Barber

Off to South Dakota

Corey left for South Dakota on Monday. We spoke with him and he was very excited and ready to go.  We heard from his mission office and he arrived safe and well and ready to serve. We should have a picture of him with his mission president soon.