11/1/21 On the Road Again

Happy November! Can you even believe it's November?! This time last year I was prepping for MTC and that is SO CRAZY to me. I love being a missionary. Time really flies but I wouldn't change the last year at all!

This was a crazy busy week. Tuesday was my last day in the Canyon Lake Ward :( I was only there a transfer and it was so sad saying goodbye. The CL ward has some of the most unique people i'v ever met and I love them so much!

Wednesday we had to wake up at 5am and get Sister Martin to the Stake Center so she could start her drive with all the other transferring missionaries. She had a 9 hour drive so bless her. I miss her already ;( But after she left I went with my new companion, Siser DuPaix from Wisconsin! We left the stake center to go get my luggage from my old apartment and we started the move. Sister DuPaix and I had to switch apartments with the elders so we could have room for another set of sisters. But let me tell ya. Elders and Sisters have very different cleaning standards. We spent the first 5 hours of the day just cleaning the elders old apartment so we could move in. Silly elders. But eventually we got it all clean and we started unpacking. (new address below) this was by far my shortest transfer. I moved 15 minutes down the street ahaha! But between taking multiple loads of elders stuff back and forth between apartments and cleaning their home for them. I sure felt like I had a 9 hour drive too ahah but all is well.

After we unpacked we had to pack up again because Sister DuPaix and I had to drive up to Bismarck for a leadership meeting. It's 5 hours one way. So we left our newly moved apartment and took the drive to Bismarck. Summer here is so pretty. But now everything is dying and its taking me back to my first few months of being a missionary where everything is dead and brown and empty. But either way I love the Dakotas and wouldn't change anything about it! Even its empty-ness We got to Bismarck, and let me tell ya. It was WEIRD being back in an area I spent 6 months in. Everything was deja vu. But I was SO HAPPY cuz i was able to see NIcole! I taught her when I was up there and was also the missionary that was able to see her through baptism! God is so good!

Sister DuPaix is originally called to Leon France and she was going to leave the next morning bright and early for her consulate appt. We set our alarms and went to bed and the next day the alarms went off but IN THE WRONG TIME ZONE! Her flight was leaving at 5:30 and we woke up at 4:30am instead of 3:30am! (Due to Rapid City being in Mountain Time and Bismarck in Central) So we zipped to the airport (tender mercy cuz i knew just how to get there cuz I have taken missionaries to the airport many times when I was in Bismarck) and we got her there with time to spare (and a few "check your speeds") and she left. She went through security and we left the airport thinking all was well. But it was not well. We got back to President Camp's home and went back to bed but then President Camp woke us back up and told us to go get her cuz her plane was overbooked and they wouldn't let her on. Super sad right?! So we drove back and picked up my sweet companion and we spent the rest of the day trying to figure out what to do now that she wasn't going to make it to her appt. She is amazing though. As soon as she sat in the car she told us "idk why this is but God's timing is better than mine". Isn't she so cool! I'm so proud of her. Please pray for a miracle for her to get a new appt!

The good news of that story is that she was able to attend the leadership meeting with me! We met with all the other Zone Leaders and Sister Training Leaders in the mission and I learned so much! I am so grateful to be in a mission with such inspired people! Mid-way through the meeting the fire alarms went off and we evacuated. It was freezing outside but we continued our discussions while we waited for the firemen. They eventually came so we of course while they were inside checking the church out, we took a Mission Leadership picture with the firetruck. Can you blame us? I hope those firemen felt the spirit in that building. There was no fire and there was no reason they went off. So maybe they had to come into the building and see what it was about. hmmm.

I was so blessed and was able to attend the Bismarck Temple with the rest of the Leadership. I love the temple. God is so good to us in letting us feel his power and love all in his home. I was sitting in the Celestial Room and I just kept having thoughts about Angels. I was listening to a talk earlier that day about angels and it really got me thinking. I sat in the Celestial room and for a moment felt I could see the presence of angels in that room. Each missionary was surrounded by many of them and it made each missionary glow brighter. What could we do if we all knew how many angels were surrounding us all throughout our lives? I feel we would stand a little taller and speak a little kinder knowing we are being surrounded by God's best.

Here is the talk: https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2008/10/the-ministry-of-angels?lang=eng

I hope you all had a special Halloween (Happy Birthday Momma!) We enjoyed having the presence of the Holy Ghost all day long

I love you all!

Sister Barlow

1823 Moon Meadows #723

Rapid City SD 57702

Pictures:

Rapid City Zone Sisters

My fav family from Canyon Lake (The Freidli's)

Hope being a Baddie

My District!

Sister Martin's and I for our last day :(