Weeks 63, 64, and 65 -

Still super hot down here in the Dominican Republic, still working hard to spread the word, still learning and growing every day.  Now let's talk about what's new. 

This past week we'll have general conference, but we'll get to that later.  Spoiler alert, it was really good, I really enjoyed every talk. 

These past couple weeks really have been going by super super fast.  It's already April and I only have nine months left. I've gotten to the point now where every day kinda blends together.  These past couple weeks were kinda just that. We've been trying to find people to teach; I say trying because we haven't had a ton of success.  In my last area (La Esperanza ♥️) we found a ton, and it worked out well because people actually talked to us.  In this area the people mostly just don't like talking to us.  They all say they're "already Christian/Pentecostal/Catholic/Evangelical/Church of Christian-Evangelical-Catholic-Pentacostal of Juan the Pastor" and don't need more of God's word, which is bogus.  It's kinda frustrating, and sometimes super frustrating.  We've had days where we would put our heads down and just knock every door, but they just deny deny deny reject reject reject.  Slowly though, we're actually finding people that could progress. 

We did a fast during the conference in order to get a little more help progressing the area.  I actually didn't want to do the fast at first, it was President's idea, and we were planning to have a pizza during the night session.  We were actually looking forward to it all week.  In the end, I humbled myself, saying I would do the fast "hoping for some good blessings."  At the end of that day, a person we were teaching went to General Conference and I guess he really liked it because he told us, "I want to be with you guys.  I know that God sent you to teach me the truth."  So..... yeah fasts really do work. 

As for the conference itself, I really enjoyed it, as mentioned before.  If you happen to not be a member of the church reading this, or if you are a member that's living under like seven rocks, General Conference is a worldwide church meeting that happens two times every year, in April and October.  During the conference, members and everyone get to listen to talks given by leaders of the church, including the 12 apostles and the prophet himself.  We'll get to my thoughts on the prophet's talk in a bit.  This conference was my 3rd one in the mission (I only got one more left wow), and I feel like it's been the best one so far.  Every talk touched on a different topic, and I really enjoyed learning more about each.  Here's some cool quotes I liked:

- as the restoration started with a pillar of light, we receive our own revelation ray by ray

- Christian kindness is not a substitute for integrity

- as we make and keep covenants with God, we have access to special love and mercy

- there was never a better time to be a member of this church than today

- all things will work together for good for those who love God

- God seeks to reveal our foreordination to us, if we will but seek to learn and follow his will

- protect the private times of your life

- when we love the truth, we will seek it, and when we find it, we will defend it

- our spiritual momentum won't only transform us, but will motivate us to help others similarly

- the Savior's job is to heal, our job is to love

- we must learn to trust God in order to strengthen our relationship with him

As for the prophet's talk, he focused on temples, and the covenants we make inside them.  Really every speaker in the entire conference at least mentioned it, too.  I really found it interesting the heavy focus that the conference had on temples and reminded me to make sure to always keep my covenants.  Also, he spoke about the priesthood.  I've been wondering a lot about how we can teach people better about the importance of the Church of Jesus Christ, and the prophet's talk inspired me to talk more about the priesthood in our lessons.  So, I thought that was cool, too. 

"Rap it up, Barlow!"  Yeah yeah ok I'm sorry it was a little long this time.  But anyway, thanks everyone for the support and prayers, I'll be sure to keep praying for you all. 

I must go -Elder Barlow

Weeks 60, 61, and 62 - March 18, 2024

Very interesting update!  We have here, lots of NEW stuff to talk about, and I don't know about you, but I love NEW stuff.  Especially when the NEW is in all caps, it's very intriguing. 

So last Friday, on the 8th of March, I finished up my third and final transfer (four months) in La Esperanza, and I moved here to Los Alcarrizos, in the northern part of the capital.  I absolutely loved my time over in La Esperanza.  I wouldn't be surprised if by the end of my mission that area ends up being my favorite.  Lots of great stuff was learned and I grew a lot. The members were amazing, and it was just a beautiful area all around.  Now I'm here in Los Alcs, in an area called La Unión with a greenie who just got done with his training, Elder Burke.  I just got done training another guy, but it was fun to get put with another person with the same amount of time as him.  It helps me to know kinda where he's at knowledge-wise. Elder Burke is super cool.  I'm excited to get to know him and to work with him more. 

As for the area itself, it's very interesting.  It's ridiculously hot, which I know I've been saying my whole mission, but this time I mean it.  The house we live in doesn't help either because there's no air flow there.  So, we get hoke drenched--like almost being able to ring my clothes out with straight sweat drenched--and then entering the house where there's no escape from the heat.  I try to get in the shower quickly because it's a 4-man house with 1 bathroom, which is also an interesting predicament sometimes. 

Last Sunday I also got mad sick, like the most sick I've been in years.  The day before I tried eating rice mixed with a famous snack here called taqueritos, which are like spicy Doritos in the shape of Cheetos.  I knew going into this that it would kill me, but I did it anyway for some reason, and paid the price. Sunday I was in bed all day, and Monday I couldn't go out tampoco.  For me, this made me feel not too happy, but "my health matters first," so yeah. 

Another fun thing that happened was someone in our house decided to use all the water we had to wash their clothes, so we went a day without water.  We very quickly realized how necessary water is for human survival after that.  The dishes piled up, nobody could shower--which with the above-mentioned heat that was a big issue--and we couldn't flush either.  Glad I got to experience that because now I thank God every day for water. 

To end on a better note, although this area is a bit harder than the last, I'm of course super glad for the experience I'm gaining.  It's hard, but of course when it gets tough that's when you learn.  I'm excited to see the growth that happens in this area and to see what God has for me going forward.  That's all for now, thanks everyone once again for your prayers. 

I must go -Elder Barlow