Feliz ano nuevo!!! 12.31.2018

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas holiday! And now a happy new year! 

I remember this time last year I was submitting my papers in to serve a mission, an experience that has and will continue to change my life forever. I look back to see my own personal progression and I know that I have done some exponential growth in many different forms. I know that Christ was right there with me the whole time and I am where I am today because of Him. 

I encourage each of you to look back, not to dwell on the past but to see how far you've come from this time last year. The beautiful part of life is that it is never too late to learn and grow because that's exactly what life is about, progression. Today is the first day of the rest of your life. What are you going to do with it? What would your Heavenly Father want you to do with this precious time he has given you to live and to breathe? 

I know that each day we are given is a gift from Heavenly Father and in return, we can give of ourselves to each of His children with whom we cross paths :)

I am so excited to hear about all the blessings in Nampa throughout the year of 2019! 

¡Les quiero y espero que ustedes pueden tener un prospero año de felicidad! 

-Hermana Barthlome 

¡La navidad con Hermana Calvac!

A picture for the books: my trainer, my trainers trainer and my trainee! 

Christmas dinner last week 

Love you all!

-Hna B

Feliz Navidad! 12.24.2018

So this week was transfers! And now I'm a trainer! My new Companion is hermana Calvac de Guatemala! She's learning English and she is such a sweetheart! It's definitely been an adventure to teach her English as she is teaching me Spanish but the gift of tongues is real and has helped a lot! I'm so glad that Heavenly Father gave me the chance to help her learn to be a missionary and to serve her brothers and sisters out in the field. Especially during this wonderful Christmas season. 

The mission had a Christmas devotional on Saturday morning and we had a ward Christmas party Saturday night so we have had a bit of Christmas fun this weekend. And lots of yummy food! 

This morning I was reading when Samuel the Lamanite stood on the wall to announce the signs of the coming of the Savior. 

The people who believed in Samuel's words, that Christ would come, were being threatened by those who did not believe he would come. They would face death if Jesus did not come into the world but that did not diminish their faith in him. Then, the little baby Jesus was born and the bright star shown brilliantly in the heavens. As promised, there was no darkness in the night sky and the believers were granted life. Even Christ's birth saved lives. I cannot imagine the immense relief that those people felt when they saw the new star shining with the good news that the savior of the world had finally come. They were faithful and would die valiantly if He hadn't come into the world. But the prophesy of hope that Samuel had so sincerely promised, the tidings of great joy that were proclaimed by the angel to the weary shepherds, and the reason we have an endless second chance to be better everyday all testify that He did come. 

I know that Jesus Christ lives. He is the light and life of the world, like a city set on a hill that cannot be hidden. He is our hope, our life and our joy. I know He came to this world because He loves us. That love is so powerful that He died for me and you. His love makes it possible for us to live and breathe again and overcome death. I know He will come again and He will reign with glory in His kingdom because nothing can defy His perfect love. 

I hope you all have a beautiful Christmas!

-Hermana Barthlome 

Fotos! 

1. ¡Mi nueva compañera hermana Calvac!

2. Christmas church service yesterday 

3. Found a giant Christmas tree at the train station! 

12.17.2018

¡Hola familia!

So this month has been absolutely crazy and that's why I went a bit MIA but the work is so good!

For the Christmas season we have been busy with trips to the visitors center, ambassadors night with Elder Holland, a big handful of conferences, a last minute trio, Elder Clay of the 70 came to visit, and Bismarck was baptized!  Life does not slow down and preperation days get shorter and shorter because of visits during the day but the work is progressing so well!

Even though the temple is closed for renovations, it still draws people in and the visitors center has been such a great resource to teach people about Christ and his plan for us. The Festival of Lights has been such a beautiful experience to share with all the people we are teaching and they keep wanting to go back! I'm not a visitors center sister but I might as well be one with how often we visit the visitors center! The temple is such a blessing!

There has been so much love and many many miracles during this Christmas season, I can't keep up! The greatest of those miracles is Jesus Christ. 

I know that Jesus the Christ is our Savior and redeemer. This is His church on the earth and he will rein on the earth again. I know that he came to this earth to do the will of the Father, to suffer and die for us because he LOVES us. His infinite love carries us through the brightest of days and darkest of nights. He is on our right hand and on our left and his angels round about to bear us up. I know that through Jesus christ, we will all live again and can return to live in the presence of our Heavenly Father. 

D&C 84:88

Merry Christmas! I love you all! 

-Hermana Barthlome 

Mas fotos!

1. Baby Jesus

2 & 3. Bismarck was baptized! 

Fotos! 

1. Us and the sisters at Maryluz's baptism!

2. Paul Cardall concert at the visitors center 

3 & 4 last night's Sunday night lights

-Hermana Barthlome

Aun mas fotos! 

3&4 Christmas time at the temple visitors center 

1&2 my new niece baby Eliza!

Thanksgiving

I'm sorry! This email was supposed to reach you last week. I'm having some problems with my email but everything is good on the east! 

 

I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Thank you to those who shared the beautiful things that they were grateful for! I love hearing from all of you!

We tracted all day Thursday but we were able to eat dinner with a wonderful family and feel the sweet spirit of Thanksgiving. It was a good day!

Its such a special time of year to remember the things we are grateful for and then to celebrate the birth of our savior and remember that all we have is because of Him. We can be filled with His love each and everyday of our lives. What a blessing!

I am so grateful for missionary work. It is compelling yet refining and the fruits are so incredibly sweet. This past Saturday we had the opportunity to watch another daughter of God promise to take upon her the name of our Savior and it was such a beautiful experience to see her countenance be filled with so much peace! I know there is peace in Christ and He is the center of all our joy.

I love you all and I hope you have a wonderful week! 

-Hermana Barthlome 

11.19.2018

So transfers happened and I am still in the good area of Montomery Village South! Guess Heavenly Father still has work for me to do here in Old town Gaithersburg :)

Also! It snowed this week! It was nice and cold but so beautiful! 

I know that this church is true and that Jesus Christ is the center of everything in this world. His hand touches everything that we do and I know that he with always guide us where he needs us to go. His gospel is perfect because He is perfect and we have the opportunity this time of year to stop and think of all the wonderful blessings he has given us. If you would like to share something you're grateful for I would love to hear about it! 

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving this week!  Love you all! 

Pictures:

Weekly finds in the apartment!

Why I Believe devotional Sunday night

-Hermana Barthlome

Hola familia! 11.12.2018

Its been a really good week in the mission field! 

Finding miracle! We taught a family of 6 this week! They are all so wonderful!! They're from Guatemala and they speak another dialect of spanish. Its a completely different language but we have been learning some new words during our visits! This family visited the visitors center and received copies of the Book of Mormon and started meeting with us because of the peace they felt near the temple. It's so powerful to teach all of them and feel the spirit in those lessons as they each learn the principles of the gospel together. I know this message will bring them closer together as a family as they grow closer to their Heavenly Father. 

We found many other people to teach this week and the work is really picking back up! We started new and now we are finding those elect to learn about the gospel of Jesus Christ. I know Heavenly Father is preparing the hearts of his children. One by one. We were able to find and teach 11 of his children this week which is amazing. I know that when we humbly come to Him, he will help us in our efforts to find and teach those who are ready for this message. 

Love you all so much! 

-Hermana Barthlome 

New Coat! 

Lessons and Laughts 10.22.2018

So this week was kind of crazy but I learned a thing or two that I will never forget. The first, my companion taught me that I can't be innocent forever and taught me what weed smelled like. Yep, I've definitely learned a lot of new things on the mission! Second, 4 year olds are way too blunt. We were talking with a family on the street late the other night and the daughter asked my companion how old she was. She then asked her "and your wife?" turning in my direction. Hermana Applonie replied "my FRIEND? she's 19!" Both she and the girl's dad about fell over laughing so that was definitely some memorable contacting this week. 

This week was kind of rough for our investigators but the next week will be better. Juan is not getting baptized this Saturday so we are going to keep trying help him make it to the waters of baptism when he is ready. Bismarck is progressing very well! We took him to the temple for an event called "Why I Believe" which is where 2 recent converts and another invited speaker bear their testimonies of why they believe. This specific event was about an African man who joined the church when there was much segregation and shortly after, African Americans were given the privelage to receive the priesthood. He served a mission after his conversion and dealt with much persecution as many people tore him down mentally and emotionally for his faith. He bore a powerful testimony of Why he Believes and Bismarck really enjoyed it. He said that when he gets a car, he is going to go to the temple everyday! He loved the visitors center and we can't wait to take him back to teach him more about the temple! 

We had zone conference this week as well which is always super spiritually uplifting. Our new scripture for this transfer is very powerful. 
1 Corinthians 2: 4-5 
4 And my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man’s wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power:
5 That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God

Well, I love you all and I hope you have a wonderful week! 

-Hermana Barthlome 

Happy November! 11.5.2018

I hope you all had a good Halloween! 

We were able to stay out until 9pm to street contact the parents of the trick or treaters all night. It was definitely an unforgettable year! The trees are showing with fall colors and we have had lots of pretty intense rainstorms this week too!

So a lot has happened with the people we are teaching the last couple of weeks. Maryluz is on date to be baptized at the end of this month and Leticia started meeting with us again and is on date to be baptized at the beginning of December. We had to stop teaching everyone else and are starting new with the work. We are going to build up our new areabook this week to help get ready for the new transfer which will be a good fresh start on the work.

I know this work is the work of the Lord, the gospel of Jesus Christ is our roadmap back to our Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ and his atonement is how we can return to him. Sometimes when it feels like we have gone 2 steps forward and 10 steps backward, our Savior knows how to help each one of us to keep moving forward in the spiral up towards progression. We just have to keep moving with faith and he will guide us in the right direction.

Love you all!

-Hermana Barthlome 

Pics! 

Food, birthday fun and exchanges!

More pics!