Peace n' blessins ya'll. Peace n' blessins.

Heeeeeeeeey!!! So Saturday was my month mark! It doesn't seem like I've been out a month at all. This is just flyin by! Things are going just great here. Sis Byu and I are getting along sooooo much better. We're actually pretty good friends now. We joke around alot and make each other food and cute crap like that.

 

Sisters BYU and Barlocker

 

Sis. Barlocker can COOK!...

Sister Barlocker can Cook?????

 Expect a butt-ugly Christmas card coming soon. Us and the elders (Brown and Every) are like family. Elder Brown and I are pretty much the same exact person and are best friends. He said I can be one of his groomsman at his wedding because I don't have the hair to be a bridesmaid. To which I said touche.

Sister Barlocker with Elders Every (left) and Brown (Right)

I gave one of the members a tube of mom's chapstick. They love it. And I am now out, so if you want to send me more, I'm cool with that. I'm pretty sure she looked you up and added you on facebook. She's kinda nuts. She likes to get really involved with our missionary work and tell us how to do our job which pisses Sista byu off like crazy but I think it's funny. So I just get a good laugh. And she also takes us to Godfathers Pizza every week so I like her. 

I got sick this week, I had crazy cramps and threw up a little bit. But I only stayed home on Tuesday. So we still got some work done. 

Thanksgiving was awesome. We went to a members home and the elders came with. They had 2 turkeys and a buttload of food. But, in efforts to not get fat, I only ate till I was full... Then had 4 pieces of pie. We played a bunch of card games and I taught them how to play "Scum" and they loved it and we probably played that for 3 hours. Elder Brown and I were helping each other cheat the whole time ahaha I adore that guy. Plus, he has an australian accent, who wouldn't love that? I wasn't homesick at all, I feel pretty much at home here. I'm pretty lucky with my companion and elders and area.

 

(But if Sister Barlocker WAS homesick, she told me that she'd look like this!)

Oh man, there is just too much to talk about. So I was reading my patriarchal blessing the other morning and something from it made me start thinking about my dear old parents. And I realized, that out of every single person who has ever been or ever will be alive on earth, I chose you two to raise me. I knew you guys and I chose you because out of everyone, I knew you two could raise me to who I wanted to be and help me the best. It kinda hit me. It's awesome to think that the me who I am trying to become again chose you two to help me become who I was before I came to Earth. It made me respect and love you in a totally different light. So thank you Mom and Dad for doing your job and raising me to become who I want to be. Sorry for all the crap I gave/give you.

 

 

Sis. Barlocker doing one of the things she was meant to do here on earth...

 

So we taught Alex this week. I wanted to do something different so when we went in, we got right to business and said a prayer and started instead of chatting for 30 minutes like we usually do. The spirit was already strong after the prayer. Then we did a Book of Mormon read. Which is just reading a select chapter (we did 2 Nephi 4:19-35) two verses at a time and stopping and letting the holy ghost talk in the silence, then if we feel prompted, we say something that stuck out to us in those 2 verses. Then we keep going. It's a completely personal experience that you have while other people are in the room. The spirit was overwhelming the longer we went. I can't even explain. That was the strongest I have ever felt the spirit. I was shaking it was so strong. The room seemed to be a little like heaven for the half hour we read and sat in silence and connected with God through the Holy Ghost. Alex was speechless the whole time. You could tell he was taken back and it definitely changed him a little bit. As for me, I got a new understanding of who I was before I came to Earth and who I want to become. I got a new sense of what it means to be a child of God and a new want to be the best that I can. It changed my life too.

 

 

Sister Barlocker, Alex, and Sister Byu

 

So Charlie, the deaf guy. He has a crush on me. Which is so awkward and uncomfortable I can't even explain. He gave me the creeps from the beginning because he looks like the oompa loompas on the new charlie and the chocolate factory and then he's getting all flirty and I hate it. We might have to give him to the Elders. 

Well. I best be gettin. As for the oils Mama, I'm not picky. I would prefer DoTerra just because I know they work really well but I'll be happy with whatever. I'm pretty sure DoTerra has a tiny little set with like 8 tiny viles in a little zip-up pouch thing (shanny had it) but I don't know. If they don't have that I'll just take some pine, peppermint, lavender, orange, lemon, clove... haha I don't know. All of it. Just get me whatever and I'll be happy.

I love you guys and I hope you're all doing well and havin a jolly ol' time. Hey, send me a picture of our house with the lights in the snow please. I want to make Elder Brown jealous. OHHHH. I also speak in sacrement this week... Hhaha so Mom, can you please mail me a copy of my farewell talk so that I can use the story please? Thanks. I love you all and will talk to you again next week. Peace n' blessins ya'll. Peace n' blessins.

 

I like Topeka. (ta-peak-a not toe-peak-a)

This week flew on by. I got over my home sickness on Tuesday. What did it actually is that my companion casually mentioned that she was training me to take over the area so she could leave and I would be in charge. I felt pretty good about that and it got me in a good motivated mood haha things changed after that.

Sister byu (sounds like the start of her name) and I are getting along toooons better now. We understand each other better and can make jokes and laugh and teach better now. It's nice. We're not as tight as me and Sister Herrin but I'll take it.

I've adapted really good. I'm working hard and am not homesick at all. I know why I'm here and it's super fun anyway. So Chris cancelled on us. We're going to try to reschedule but I don't know. He doesn't seem that into it. Which is fine. It's his choice. I'll do all I can but I can't force him. 

 

BUT! On the other hand, Alex, the other guy I talked about is awesome. We are teaching him 2 times a week and he reads everything we tell him to and answers all of our questions and he came to the elders in our wards baptism on Friday. Alex is golden. He's just an awesome guy. Super funny and relatable and he's not mentally insane like everyone else here in Topeka. I'll send home my SD card today and you can see him. We get along famously.

 

Matt is another guy we are teaching. He's about 36, just barely got out of jail, and is getting baptized on the 8th. He's pretty insane haha he likes to argue with us about every little thing and then at the end of the lesson when we ask if he will keep the commandment we just explained to him he says "oh yeah, that makes total sense. Of course I will." Hahaha Thanks Matt. We could have done without the hour and a half of debate. But whatevs. 

 

Everybody here has 2 things. 1: a nasty nasty house that should be on hoarders. And 2: an att. i. tude! People here are so blunt and straight forward. I love it. They could care less what anyone thinks about them at all.  Everyone loves me because I laugh when they swear and I'm real with them and tell them funny stories of when I was being stupid and stuff like that. I think it's super important that while you are trying so hard to get to know the people you are teaching, you let them get to know you too. It can't be a one way street. 

 

Sister byu and I have different teaching styles that we've noticed after a week and a half. She plans way to much and doesn't rely on the spirit enough, and I don't plan at all and I like to wing it and rely on the spirit too much. Haha it was a pain at first having to work together but we came up with a way of teaching that is middle ground for each of us. 

 

We teach a huuge black family with a ton of kids and the other day, the prayer was being said and I had my eyes open and the little daughter who is about six, pointed at me and said, right in the middle of the prayer, "Shut your eyes woman!!!" Hahahahahaha I freaking lost it right in the middle of the prayer. It was so funny. Everybody here is just so freaking sassy! It cracks me up.

 

 

The elders that are in the same ward with that we work with and see almost every day are Elder Brown and Elder Every. I adore them. We are all best friends. Elder Brown is from Las Vegas but he lived in Australia before that so he has the nice accent. And he is one of the funniest kids I have ever met. It's awesome because he knows he's funny but he's so real and doesn't over do it. I appreciate him. We get along really well. Elder Every is just as funny but in a different way. He's so sweet and quirky haha He's from Minnesota and he tries to be hard core and gangsta but he is chubby and wears a sweater vest. When he was baptizing someone on Friday, after he pulled him up out of the water, he punched his fist in the air and yelled "WOOO!!!" hahahaha spirit gone. But it was hillarious. I love them. We make them breakfast sometimes and they give us hot chocolate. We just take care of each other and it's nice. 

Hahahahhaha So yesterday at church, Elder Brown came up to me and said that he had a funny story for me and Elder Every came running up and said "If you tell her, I will kill you." But Elder Brown can totally take Elder Every so he told me anyway. So apparently, that morning, during companion study, Elder Every went into the bathroom and was in there for a while. Afterwards, instead of going straight back to study he went into their room and was in there for a while. So Elder Brown went in to see what was going on and Elder Every had his shirt off and Elder Brown asked why and Elder Every said "because I got poop on it."

 

 

 

hahhahahahahahaahahhahahahhahaha I freaking died. I was laughing so hard. Elder Every was soooo mad that he told me so I told him that I have some stories to make him feel better. I also drew a depiction of the story that is on my camera. Enjoy that.

 

 

 

 

 

ELDER MCARTHY!!!

 Mom, make sure you treat him good. He is a delight. I like him alot. Great kid. That's super cool that he came to our house haha kinda weird. Pump him full of food. Oh. By the way. My face looks fat in all of the pictures but I'm not fat. I promise. it's just the angle.
 

 

 

 

I'm freezing my butt off here. I'm gonna buy some Kansas sweats today so that'll be better. I lost my sweats. But if you want to send me some thermals, that'd be awesome. Or I can buy some. Just let me know. Also. Papa, I was wondering if I can buy some essential oils? I'm not sure how much they are but I'll find out and let you know. I love you guys and let me know what's going on! Love you