Jan 26th

From the Cassvillains,

We may or may not have come up with that in our spare time. I think it has a nice ring to it! But what an amazing week it has been! The Lord has made more than miracles happen for us! Thanks for the email too! That is a miracle! It is a miracle to be above the ground, to walk, to speak, listen, hear, and love. Everything else is just icing on the cake!

Up: A member out here named J-hon, pointed us in the direction of one of his good friends this past week! Come to find out that it is a family, The Cutrie’s, of four, that have been to church out in Acworth! They have been struggling a little, and were in need of some faith building. I felt the Spirit quite strong as we visited with them. We labored to get them a ride to church and it came crumbling down as one of the kids got the flu. Typical Satan… I can see them in white though, as a family. It is hard to explain what it feels like, but what I do know is that we Represent Jesus Christ. It is something that I so earnestly desire to hold onto! There has been no greater happiness that I have experienced than to see people change, to see people desperate for help, and to feel as the Savior would in helping them. This is truly an experience that everyone should look into! As you help others, the immediate impact in your own life is incomprehensible!

Up: This week has been a total flop if you consider how many meetings we had set, that fell through. Every last one of them! To make things even more comical, we had members with us almost every night. The Lord so lovingly though, showed us who we really needed to see each and every night! We were out with a member, and we just kept swinging, trying to get in and teach someone. We went to an apartment complex where we had a few investigators. The one we wanted to see didn’t answer, but the neighbors had trash outside. We knocked on their door and offered to help them, and then try to create an opportunity to teach. The first lady, noped us, still took the trash. Then as we were about to leave, there was one other door that had trash. The Spirit prompted me to go back. We almost immediately found out why. It was a family of four that loved the Mormon Advertisements back in the day, and were super eager to have us come by. It was such a tender mercy to meet this family who had just moved from West Virginia.

Up: I was able to put my rain coat to the test this past week, and she is still sea worthy, or more precisely, Georgia Worthy! There were two nights that we were biking to our hearts content in the rain. We also happened to find some really awesome people too! The blessings of heaven were poured out for us! 

Up: The biggest miracle of the week would have to be the chance we had to follow up on our investigator Will just yesterday. We set a return appointment one week out and it totally held through. He was eager and anticipating our visit. We taught him the full Restoration with a Member with us. He explained that the things we shared were, “The missing chapter in his life.” And how all he wanted to do was please God and to help his family. He has been to prison a time and has wandered off the path, but it is amazing to see how prepared he is. He accepted to be baptized and asked if we had a calendar. I totally left my other Book of Mormon that had a Calendar in it. We improvised and he set everything up in his phone! We will be seeing him twice this week and at Church also! God definitely placed us in his path the cold wet night! Many are prepared!!  

That is an official wrap! Thanks for everything that y’all do! Have another blessed up week! Fight the good fight of faith! Love you all so very much! Let me know what I can do with my limited resources out here in Georgia!

Love,

Elder Dallan Barnes 

Practice makes Permanent

Jan 20^th

We had a dream,

Then we woke up. That’s the way that this story ends. It’s a real cliffhanger. But on a real note, it is amazing to be here in the South, to walk the land the Martin Luther King Jr led his charge at the civil rights realm. As you know, we got to labor yesterday, and our dreams came true! What about yours? It was a most excellent day, and week even! Maybe I am still in a dream. The new area is great, also seems like a dream! No nightmares here though! I am in the great land and great crossroad and highway of the nation, where all the cool kids come, and where the buffalo roam, otherwise known as Cassville, Georgia! This place is phenomenal! My companion is Elder Terhufen (it is German, butcher the names as you desire!). It sufficeth me to say that we have our work cut out for us! But there is no place that I would rather be than right here right now! 

Up: We were out an about, on the bikes, late at night, seeking out the prepared, when we saw these three brothers moving some things out of an apartment. We approached them, declaring that we represent the Savior, and if they needed help. They said no, one of them, TJ, got a little defensive. We did offer to leave them a prayer, of which they accepted, one of the brothers, Jeremy, was all for it. We prayed, failed to get Jeremy’s number, and feared we wouldn’t find him again. We went back to the same neighborhood, knocked a door, and out came Jeremy. He explained that he left Detroit a few months ago to make some changes and get a better bearing in his young life, and has been looking for a church home. He then expressed his desire to be baptized, and Elder Terhufen dropped the invitation! He is wanting to be baptized on the 21^st of February!

Up: My companion, Elder Terhufen, is the man! He is actually 21, did computer science in college! He is from Gilbert/Globe Arizona! He is so much further ahead of me than I was when I was at the beginning of my mission. He reminds me a lot of myself, it is amazing how every companion had been that way! My prayer is that I can be the kind of missionary that will help him soar! 

Down: No further downs, your honor! It’s been all up this week! 

Up: We had a miracle yesterday, as we were looking for that same TJ man. We were led to what we believed was the address that TJ sent us to, but we were yet lead another prepared twenty four year old young man named Javan. He has never been baptized, moved away from home just barely, is looking for a church home, and has been looking for more peace and direction in this life, in addition to building a foundation. He identified us as representatives of Christ, and knew we had something that was different. We have been sending up prayers of thanks often because the Lord is truly pointing us to where the people are!

Up: The Cassville Ward is primed and ready to go! We met the Bishop and Ward Mission Leader quickly and they are more than happy to connect and unite! We have a goal of twelve baptisms, and we will be making it happen with their help! We are in the sticks! So much southern, I love it! 

The Address is:

204 Governors Ct

Cartersville, GA 30121  

Thanks for all the support and love! Keep up the good work! Fight the good fight! I will look forward to hearing from y’all real soon! Love you all so much! Have a blessed up week!! 

Love,

Elder Dallan Barnes 

Through Faith, Worlds were framed!

Jan 12th

Dearest Family!

I love y’all so much! Thanks for the email! I am happy to hear that all is going well! It has been a chilly one this week! Thanks for sending the cold weather, but next time do y’all think we could send some snow with it? It has been an excellent week here on the battlefields of Kennesaw! 

Up: We had five investigators at Sacrament meeting! We had a Liberian Family of three, a part member family, a neighbor to one of our amazing members, then Tom our recovering alcoholic. It was so busy! But on the other hand, it was truly incredible to see the fruits of our efforts! This place is on fire! 

Down: I will be transferred from Kennesaw Mountain. Should make for a really good time though! The Lord needs me in another land with another companion. The intangibles haven’t changed, we still represent the Lord. Our area is on fire, seems like that has been the plan for me in all of my areas, get them going, and then bounce out like rabbit. God’s ways are not our ways! I will be training another missionary, hallelujah for posterity! 

Up: The miracle I have for you actually come as a referral we got from one of the most stalwart members here. His neighbor has lived next to him for eleven years, and has observed him, and the way he takes care of his wife who has Alzheimer’s. She was so impressed that she asked for a Book of Mormon and wanted to learn more. Come to find out as we sat down with her, that her past church hurt her severally. All she wants is to regain the Spirit and constant connection with her Heavenly Father. She wants guidance and to have spiritual healing for the things that she has gone through! She has a rough life to say the least. We had Diane offer the closing prayer for our lesson, during which she totally broke down. It was one of the most sincere and honest prayers I have ever heard. I felt like the Savior again, experiencing the agony she has. The Savior can and will heal her! She came to church yesterday and fell in love with is. We had our Relief Society President be her fellowshipper. The Lord has many prepared!

That is about all, and I am officially signing off our of the Kennesaw Mountain Ward! I have loved this place so much! Not a place I would rather have been! Great things await y’all! Thanks for everything that you do! Keep up the good work! Fight the good fight! Have another blessed up week! Love you all so much! 

Love,

Elder Dallan Barnes

 Elder Barnes has been a very good boy this year!

                                       
        Thank you to everyone who sent me presents and cards. It was a wonderful Christmas indeed!
                                                           Elder Dallan Barnes

Jan 5th

The question,

Let’s talk straight, how many of y’alls New Year’s resolutions are intact? Congratulations on what you have accomplished so far! Keep up the good work! It is also only the beginning of the year so get back on the train if you already fell off! 2015 is upon us! President Harding has decided that we as a mission are going to find 15 in 2015, one being ourselves, at least ten being converts, and four being less active families. He is truly inspired! What 15 things do y’all plan to do in 2015? I got to say, if one of the 15 isn’t email me every week… I’m just joking! Y’all do a most excellent job! I understand life is busy, so no biggie if things come up! I am so grateful for y’all! All is well out here! We are still working with Princess, she should be ready to roll real soon! But here’s the week in a nut shell:

Up: I think the miracle that I would like to share today is actually from the exchange we did with the Elders from Carrollton. We were out finding and I couldn’t help but think we were needed somewhere else. Elder Stewart said we should knock just a few more doors. The very next door we went and found a family, we met the father and daughter from Haiti, Jean and Keyoni. We quickly discovered that Jean has colon cancer and the doctors have indicated that there is nothing they can do. I felt like the Savior in Mark 9. Both of them were in tears speaking of the imminent fate the doctor’s were proposing. They need a miracle, they both recognized that we were sent there for a reason. The Spirit was so strong, nearly having myself in tears. I could feel their pain, the anguish that was there. They need the peace that the Plan of Happiness brings! We had the chance to pray with them, share a few scriptures, then followed up with them a few days later. Their spirits were so much higher when we came back. Things are looking up, miracles await! I am so very grateful to represent our Savior. It is a once in a lifetime opportunity!

Down: Our Saturday was stacked, nine back to back appointments. Then real life happened… We were so blessed to teach two of those lessons. What I do know is that the Lord knows all, and perhaps these people weren’t quite ready or we were protected from some form of danger. I still feel like we thrusted in our sickles! Maybe next week! 

Up: We were speaking with a lady at the mail box, Anita, and we somehow (what are the odds) got on to the topic of the Gospel. We set up an appointment with her for the weekend, got a member of the ward to come with us, and taught the Restoration. She has two boys, 8 and 3. She is super successful, will have her MBA in a few months, and all she wants is to be where the Lord needs her. She accepted to be baptized! She will be reading the Book of Mormon and she will be bringing her family to church. It was divinely appointed how everything came together. It was a miracle we even had the member with us. What I do know is that prayer works! God gave the increase! 

That is a wrap my fine family and friends! Hope this is a most excellent week ahead of y’all! Please let me know what I can do to help! Have a blessed up week! Fight the good fight of faith! Love you all so very much!

 Love,

Elder Dallan Barnes 

Every day we are forming the substance of Eternity.