Yo yo yo! How's it going, Todos. A very good and even longer week I have had this past week. I swear last Monday felt like it was at least 12 days ago. But we're here, back at it again with another p-day, and another weekly update. Good stuff. Let's jump right into it.
So first, had a baptism yesterday. My first baptism here in the mission, super stressful because we had to set everything up and it almost didn't go very well, but it happened and everyone's good, so I'm grateful. Another member of the greatest church in the world in the books, let's go!
Other than that, I've been learning a lot on how exactly faith works, and how sometimes, no matter how much faith you have in something, it just doesn't happen, and that's OK. We gotta move on sometimes, things don't go as planned. I'm still learning not to get frustrated from that. One of the greatest pieces of advice I've gotten this week and just ever is to CHOOSE to be happy. In middle school, our principle would say at the beginning of every day to "make it a great day, or not, the choice is yours!" and we always thought it was kinda dumb. But now, five or so years later, I'm seeing what he meant, and the importance of it. I learned if I let other people and circumstances affect my mood, my mission will be a miserable experience. So, from now on I will always remember to choose to be happy in the difficult times, which isn't easy.
So, I bet you're wondering what the title means--Coke and the eagle. Sit back and grab some popcorn, I got some stories for you. So, another missionary I live with had an uncle who, a while ago, worked on the temple we have in Haiti. He lived there for a month or two, and as you can guess, the food there isn't always prepared well. So, he got super sick for like a week. His assistant, who was also Haitian, told him he should drink some coke because it can really help that kind of sickness. He didn't believe it, but out of desperation he just chugged a coke, and the next day he was completely fine. I got the chance to try it after hearing that, and let me tell you, coke here really is the potion of healing, the flask of happiness down here in the Dominican. It changes you. And it's only 25 pesos (like half a dollar)!
Also, the eagle story. During a lesson we were having, a member of the church told us this story. There was once a naturist looking upon the land. He saw an eagle land on a farm and eat the corn that was being fed to the hens there. So, the naturist went to the farm and told the farmer that lived there that there was an eagle that was eating his corn. The farmer replied, "No, I only have hens here. So, the naturist said, "Tomorrow, I'll show you the eagle." Sure enough, the next day, the farmer opened the gate, and all the hens came out to eat the corn the farmer threw to them, and there was the eagle in the midst of them. The naturist said, "Look, there's the eagle with his great wings and potential. This eagle is better than the hens, it can do and be so much more." To prove to the farmer what he said was true, he picked up the eagle and told it to fly away, and it flew away. The moral, is that as disciples and followers of Christ, we can do and be so much more than the people that just spend every day eating corn or doing the same things. We can be an example to others and be a light to them.
Sorry this email was a long one. I am also not a fan of long emails, trust me. I learned a lot of really cool and interesting stuff though and wanted to share. Thanks for all your support, and again, don't be afraid to reach out and say hi, how you're doing, I love to hear it. Love you, talk to you next week!
I must go- Elder Barlow
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