Weeks 47, 48, and 49 - December 18, 2023

Another three weeks down here in the Dominican Republic.  It's been good, we've been working really hard and making some progress. 

11/28-12/4- had my birthday on Tuesday, which was a good day.  We had a lot of good lessons and finished the day with a nice ice cream cake from Bon.  Other than that, it was a pretty normal week with lots of finding and teaching as usual.  It's crazy that it's already December.  I'm really really close to hitting a year, although it doesn't feel like that at all.  It feels more like it's only been 4-5 months or so.

12/5-12/11- this week was really interesting.  We spent a bit of time exploring a piece of the area we call "Popi Jungle", or rich jungle, because popi means rich here for some reason.  We didn't get a ton of success because the people in that area aren't extremely receptive.  On Wednesday, we were coming back from Popi Jungle when this random dude drove by and said, "Hey, Elders, need a ride?"  Super random but the guy looked and sounded really American and called us Elders, so I got in.  I found out that this guy had been living here for the past couple years because he works at the US embassy near our area.  He's, also, a member of the church and a Bishop of one of the wards here.  Super cool, but I didn't get to know him or his family too well because the drive was really short. Luckily, we ended up spending p-day later that week at his house, which was complete with a second floor, air conditioning, and hot water.  I was stoked to be in an American-like house again.  This week, we also had Zone Conference, and it was all Christmas themed, so we had a fun musical-chairs-like activity where everyone ended up with a random gift another missionary bought.  I got the best gift of all--an electric fly swatter.

12/12-12/18- this week was fun.  It was Elder Orellana's last week here, and Elder Oberg's first couple of days in the country.  That's right, I'm a father now.  Elder Oberg is from Utah, or as the Dominicans call it, "the factory of the missionaries."  He doesn't know any Spanish really at all yet and is still getting to know the lessons and missionary life in general, so I'm doing my best to keep the work progressing on my own while he catches up, like I did when I was trained.  This dude is freakishly tall, by the way, at 6'8.  We sure do get a lot of looks in the streets, and I feel super short for the first time in my life.  

I'm excited to get to know him more, and also to learn a lot as I continue with this position I'm in.  Training is exciting, stressful, and super tiring.  These last couple of days I've been thanking the heavens every time I make it through another day, then wonder how I'll ever make it through the next.  I'm sure I'll get used to it though, but some prayers to help us continue to progress the work here would be nice. 

That's about it for now.  Thank you all for your support and prayers, and I'll talk to you again soon!

I must go -Elder Barlow

Weeks 44, 45, and 46 - November 27, 2023

Hey, guys, been a bit since I wrote, so a bit to catch up on, which is good.  Join the Google photos album to see all the action!

https://photos.app.goo.gl/tihiSziTbydZFL4M6

These past couple weeks have been great and going by super super fast.  November is already almost over with my birthday right around the corner (tomorrow), and it's all just been going by so fast.  It's been raining a lot recently, which we'll get a bit more into later on, but the rain is super crazy here in the capital.  I love it. 

We've been progressing the work well here, constantly finding new people to teach and serve.   A couple service projects we've had were helping some guys move a bunch of cinder blocks and helping a member move to a new house.  The mission has helped me realize how much I love service projects like that, and I'm definitely eager to do more of that after the mission, too. 

We've also been doing a bit of exploring in parts of the area I've never been to, because usually we spend all of our time in certain specific parts of the area, but I've been wanting to branch a bit to get to know more of where I work.  Unfortunately, I quickly learned why we don't spend time in those areas.  It's because the houses there are super super popi (rich in Dominican Spanish) and they don't let us in to talk to them.  We're talking massive mansions with whole gardens and fountains and Fresh-Prince-of-Bel-Air type stuff, crazy. 

Anyway, a little over a week ago we got some insane rain, like Matthew 7:27 type rain, floods and all.  We had lunch at a member's house, then it starts raining like crazy, but we waited for it to end so we could work.  After staying in the house for like 2 hours after our lunch time had ended, we decided to book it to the house (like a 20-minute walk away) in the pouring rain, which was awesome.  We got home at around 4:30 and ended up staying in the house for the rest of the days because it didn't stop raining.  As you can imagine, this caused some damage to some neighborhoods, so the day after, Sunday, no one really showed up to church, which is understandable.  Then we spent the rest of the day going around the city looking for people in need of help.

 

Today we celebrated my birthday that's tomorrow by going to the "Jardin Botanico" that's in our area.  We got to see a bunch of other missionaries that happened to go that day as well, which was fun.  It was a good time. 

Lots of good stuff here in the DR, and there's still a lot left to go!  I'm really so happy to know I still have over a year left, because I feel I have still so much to learn!  I'm just so excited to see what God has in store for me, and I'm learning to put more and more of my trust in Him.  After all, when you put your life in God's hands, you start to see God's hands in your life. Thank you all for your support and talk to you again "soon"!

I must go -Elder Barlow

P.S.- We did celebrate Thanksgiving, a member here knew how to make American Thanksgiving food, so we had that, picture below. 

 

Week 43 - November 6, 2023

Hey, everyone, got a lot of good news to share with you all, let's get into it. 

So, there were transfers on Friday, and I finally made my way over to the capital, Santo Domingo.  The zone I'm in is called Duarte, and the ward I have the privilege to serve in is called La Esperanza, or Hope, which is fitting.  After three exhausting months of working in Azua, I've been delivered from my afflictions, and my hope has returned.  

My new comp's name is Elder Orellana, from El Salvador.  Absolute beast, I hope I get to learn a lot from this guy.  He's been showing me my new area these last couple days and I absolutely love it.  All the way since February I've been in "the south" of the country, in Barahona then Azua.  Now finally I'm here in the capital and I'm so glad La Esperanza got to be my first area here.

 

There were a couple baptisms right after I left.  We had the baptism of Lori, and of Yoderis and Yoelmis, and from what I hear they were all so happy to make that big step in the life, which is great. 

Other than that, not much is new.  My birthday is coming up, a couple weeks and I'm 21, which is crazy.  I know I'll be living it up here in La Esperanza, I'm super excited to learn more of the area and the people and everything.  Thanks, everyone, for your prayers and support.  They're being answered, I can tell you that.  Talk to you all soon, nos vemos!

I must go -Elder Barlow 

Week 42 - October 30, 2023

 Hey, everyone!  I'm doing pretty good here, I'll hit 10 months on Thursday, time is flying!  I'm about to finish up my three-month-stay here in Azua, or as I like to call it, "the land of fire."  I'm not sure where I'll go next, but I'm excited to move on.  This area was a hard time for me, honestly.  I'm really optimistic about the future, I'm excited to keep learning and growing.

 

I've been really getting into the book of Mormon a lot, really diving into and enjoying every chapter, trying to get as much as possible this read-through, and it's been super fruitful.  My testimony of this book, and thus the church in general, has been strengthened a lot.  I love the Book of Mormon, and I'm excited to dive into the New Testament as well, seeing as I haven't been able to read that all the way through yet. 

As for Brady, so glad to hear he's about to get into the field. The MTC for me was amazing, I'm not sure if he went to Mexico like I did, but I loved it there.  My district was amazing, a time I'll never forget.  That being said, I remember the last couple weeks I was just so ready to get into the field and start working.  The language will come, I'm going to sound super basic but it's just patience and time and it comes quick.  I myself am still learning, even after all this time, and that's what the mission's all about, learning something every day.  With constant prayer, you learn more, faster--that's something I noticed. 

Thank you so much!  Elder Barlow

Weeks 37, 38, 39, 40, and 41 - October 25, 2023

Hey, everyone, don't worry, I'm still in the Dominican working hard.  Not much has happened since the last time I wrote, but at the same time a good amount has happened, which makes no sense but yeah. 

About a couple weeks ago, as a district (5 areas, 10 missionaries) we set a "District baptism date" for November 4, and invited all the missionaries to set whatever baptism dates they achieve to that date, so we can all have a bunch of people baptized at the same time.  They accepted it, and we're nearing that date very quickly.  In our area, we have five people set to be baptized.  Let's go over them. 

Yoderis and Yoelmis- Two little girls that are the sisters of a family that has two members in it, they're pretty cool and super excited for the baptism.

Angel- cool kid that has an aunt that's super Catholic, but he's down to be baptized and we're working on getting his dad ready, too.

Abba- super chill old guy that is extremely interested in the church, and very faithful.  Ever since we visited him, he hasn't missed coming to church once. 

Lori- a nice Haitian lady that "we" have been teaching.  Mainly Elder Bringhurst has, because I don't know Creole yet.  She recently accepted the invitation extended to her by a member of the branch that accompanied us to a lesson, and we're helping her get ready.  Here's what she texted us yesterday after church:

"I have a remark to make.  It is true that we are not perfect, but the love of God is in each of his children.  I am really happy that I will be part of this family.  I feel good and I believe I will NOT regret if I am baptized and accept to follow Jesus definitively."

So yeah, super cool.

The work in Azua has not at all been easy.  It's been extremely hot, stressful, and there was a lot of times I got really discouraged.  As I have been pushing myself past my limits, I have seen changes in myself and have noticed my weaknesses, and with God I'm working to turn them into strengths.  My all time favorite scripture from the book of Mormon teaches:

"And if men come unto me I will show unto them their weakness.  I give unto men weakness that they may be humble; and my grace is sufficient for all men that humble themselves before me; for if they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make weak things become strong unto them."

I love the book of Mormon.  These past couple weeks I've been really diving into every chapter, making sure I get the most out of it, and I have been growing my testimony of the church and of Christ a ton.  He really is there for us.  He actually does love us.  He in reality wants us to be happy every day.  That's why he calls to us to come unto him. 

Thanks everyone for your prayers.  I'm praying for you, and I hope you all have a great week!

I must go -Elder Barlow

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