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hey Mom,

sounds like you guys had a good week. lol, how did you get low 60's? yesterday we had the hottest day of the carlsbad year in the 90's all day. our weather is supposed to be better. glad that you get to enjoy some of that too.

yeah i met that guy the Riding's are related to but only for a couple minutes. still funny tho. we had another leadership conference that took me out of the area for 3 days. this time it was a bit easier because the Church was in walking distance instead of an hour drive away. it was kind of strange being there because lots of my mission friends have gone home so i only knew about half the people there. it was the exact same conference trainings that happened last time we had the conference. it gets hard for me to sit through things for more than a couple hours. i start to feel like i would rather be doing something else.

today we got to go to the temple in san diego. that was a good experience. on sunday i got to go teach at edson range. the recruits in boot camp get to come out for Church if they want and so many have been coming lately that they pulled a few missionaries in the area to teach the recruits. it was pretty cool. i taught four recruits, (you have to call them recruit because they arent marines yet.) taught them the Restoration. after sacrament you take them out on the grass and sit down and start teaching. they all had been influenced by some member in the camp to come out to the Church. it was interesting because they are as humble as can possibly be, they all recognized the Spirit. when i invited them to be baptized, i made the mistake of asking the wrong one first. i think the other three would have said yes, but the first one i asked said not yet so they all did. one recruit did get baptized while we were there and the recruits i taught came out to the baptism even though they didnt have to. so it was a fun experience. i might get to go again next week but ill miss sun morning general conference if i do. i really enjoyed myself so i would be willing to go.

Celina (Selena) is going to get baptized on the 5th for sure, she passed her baptism interview yesterday. i didnt get to teach her at all last week because i was at the conference. she is really solid, she and her husband already have a date to be sealed picked out. the ward is really excited to have thier family come back. Celina's husband traveled far off the beaten path for a long time before he has started coming back.

Ed is doing good. he gets really hung up on women and the Priesthood but still believes everything else. he is working on moving things around so that he can go to Church. Elder Hart and i had a cool experience doing our planning for him last friday. i had prayed the night before about what i could do for him and felt that i should give him dvd's to watch instead of reading one verse like we usually do since he cant really read much. when we were doing our weekly planning i asked Elder Hart what he felt we should do and Elder Hart thought for a second and said, "i dont think the reading we give him has helped much, are there like DVD's we could give him?" Elder Hart didnt even really know that we had them so that was kind of neat. we left him with one yesterday and Ed was pretty excited.

Sis Robinson we havent met this week either for a lesson. she is due to have her baby in 3 weeks and has been in nesting mode. she cant have us over unless everything is in order. but she came to Church and has been reading and praying. she says that she feels good about all of it. i can tell that she is really drawn to it. i think that she has just not made some important connections that we can talk about tonight when we go over to give her a blessing and lesson. she says that she really likes that what we have taught her has really strengthened her relationship to God but she isnt sure that she wants to join a Church. she just hasnt connected that our teaching does that because the Spirit is actively teaching her and we are teaching restored truth. i cant wait to see what happens in the next few lessons and at General Conference. that will be huge for her.

i have finally gotten the fourth ward somewhat figured out for my new missionaries that come in next week to take it. appointments have been set with everyone who is there to be taught. i am happy that it worked out that we had just enough time to set them up to hit the ground running. nothing is more exhausting than to come to a new area whitewashed in with no investigators and no appointments. i am excited to have more missionaries.

had a nightmare the other day about going home but next monday we start my last transfer (6 week period.) whenever people ask me how long i have been out i have to brace myself because they then ask me about all of my plans post mission and stuff. doesnt bother me too much tho because i have decided not to dramatize things and realize that it will be over when it will be over and there will be huge pro's and con's to it. until then ill just do my best. the only thing i really have anxiety over is that i really really want Sis Robinson baptized before i leave. she isnt easy to teach but it is going super well.



hope all things are good!

love,

Elder Barron