Week 78 - July 8, 2024

 What's up, everyone?!  Got some big news coming your way, so grab some popcorn and check this out.  Also, don't miss the Google photos album:

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

Last Thursday, the very 4th of July, I experienced a miracle.  A real-life miracle.  This miracle actually comes directly from the scriptures, so we're gonna start with a scripture.  In the Book of Mormon, there's a part where Alma, a disciple of Christ and a leader over a large group of people, was taken captive along with his people by another bad group of people, the Lamanites.  These people put tasks and really hard trials on Alma and his people, but they had faith, and got through their trials.  The scripture tells us: 

12 And Alma and his people did not raise their voices to the Lord their God, but did pour out their hearts to him (because they were beat when they were heard praying); and he did know the thoughts of their hearts. 

13 And it came to pass that the voice of the Lord came to them in their afflictions, saying: Lift up your heads and be of good comfort, for I know of the covenant which ye have made unto me; and I will covenant with my people and deliver them out of bondage. 

14 And I will also ease the burdens which are put upon your shoulders, that even you cannot feel them upon your backs, even while you are in bondage; and this will I do that ye may stand as witnesses for me hereafter, and that ye may know of a surety that I, the Lord God, do visit my people in their afflictions.

This was after their much praying and crying unto the Lord daily, both out loud and in their minds.  It also says they were not only visited but delivered from their trials. 

19 And in the morning the Lord caused a deep sleep to come upon the Lamanites, yea, and all their taskmasters were in a profound sleep. 

20 And Alma and his people departed into the wilderness; and when they had traveled all day, they pitched their tents in a valley, and they called the valley Alma, because he led their way in the wilderness. 

21 Yea, and in the valley of Alma they poured out their thanks to God because he had been merciful unto them, and eased their burdens, and had delivered them out of bondage; for they were in bondage, and none could deliver them except it were the Lord their God.

Brothers and sisters, I confirm the veracity of this scripture with my own experience.  My last area was really really tough for me.  I battled with a lot of self-doubt and even hatred, I didn't see any progress in the work, people hated us, didn't want anything to do with us, and much more.  I do, however, remember vividly multiple nights where God visited me with His spirit, and He did, in reality, help me through my afflictions. As for the miracle, well, it's exactly what happened to Alma here.  Last Thursday, on the 4th of July, on the very day we celebrate freedom, I was delivered to a valley.  A valley in the center of the island called Maimón.  This place is nothing if not absolutely beautiful.  It is the land of God.  Every day I have found myself looking at the great, green mountains that surround the area and thanking God for being so good and thanking Him "because he had been merciful unto [me], and eased [my] burdens, and had delivered [me] out of bondage." Maimón is my miracle and connecting it with the scriptures and Alma and his people's experience, this area is a testament to me that God truly knows me, and is truly watching me, that he appreciates me and my efforts, and most importantly, that he "remembers the covenant that I have made with Him."

I know now with a certainty that God really is with us IN our trials, and really does listen to our prayers.  I also know that blessings come in His time, not ours.  Although that sometimes is hard (it was for me), I know that God truly is ready and waiting to bless us greatly.  I am so ready to work even harder than I did before, and to push myself and devote myself even more to the work. That's about it, though for this week, and I'll keep you guys updated for baptisms and other miracles I'm sure I'll end up seeing. 

I must go (to bed it's really late) -Elder Barlow

Weeks 74, 75, 76, and 77 - July 1, 2024

 Hey, everyone, got some exciting stuff to talk about in this edition of the "weekly" DR update.  This is an exciting one, as I just said, so let's get right into it.

 

Let's start off with a funny story before getting to the exciting part.  Elder Funk tried chicken feet with yuca and we had to sprint home because he started not feeling too well.  He threw up on arrival at the house.  Pictures below. Of the food not the throw up.

And yeah, that's right, I'm one of the first in history to be a part of the new Santo Domingo North Mission here in the Dominican Republic.  The DR just got its 4th mission in the country last week officially, and the Lord has chosen me - along with many other amazing missionaries - through his living apostles today to open it up.  I am so honored and even more excited for this great opportunity. I'm super hyped to see new places and to meet people I've never seen or heard of before. 

Last Friday, we got to go meet the new mission president, and my 3rd president in the mission, Presidente Stroud, and his wife.  These are some amazing folks, and I'm really excited to get to know them more and to work with them in this gran obra.  Another funny story, me and my comp were the first missionaries in the West mission to meet the new president.  Last Friday, we all get to the big chapel in Los Alcarrizos (maybe the biggest chapel in the country) to have our meeting with the new presidente. There's like 50 missionaries there, and they're all from the West mission.  President hasn't showed up yet, so me and Elder Funk leave to go get some water.  We go out into the hall to drink some water, but there's no cups to drink from.  Elder Funk just says, "Screw it" and kneels down and puts his mouth under the water jug dispenser and proceeds to dispense the water into his mouth.  Not three seconds later and guess who comes around the corner.  That's right, Sister Stroud, the President's wife.  I was shocked, because I saw a Spanish lady with a tag on but couldn't tell if it was actually her.  When I realized it actually was, I didn't know what to say, and see Funk scrambling to his feet to say hi as well.  Right after that, Presidente Stroud himself comes around.  He says hi to us and tries to remember our names from our faces.  He said my name FIRST, ya boy Elder Barlow.  

Anyway, we proceed to have a mini-conference, and President and his wife introduce themselves as well as their family to all of us.  After that, he taught about our missionary purpose, and made us think about what kind of missionaries do we really want to be by the end of our mission.  He spoke powerfully and with a lot of excitement, I could feel it.  It's like he was George Washington leading us into battle.  I saw this because he literally looks like if George Washington were alive today, and I just think that's the coolest thing ever. 

I know I've said many times now, but I truly am so excited to see what the future holds. One missionary told me recently, "I learned from my dad that the most memorable part of your mission is the last 6 months."  I believe it, and here I am about to spend the last 6 months of my mission in a whole new place, with new people to meet and learn from.  I feel so blessed to be a part of this great opportunity. 

That's all for now, and the next email you get from me might be from a completely different part of the DR, so stay tuned. Thank you all for your prayers and support!

I must go -Elder Barlow

Letter from Elder Barlow's Mission President about new mission change - June 27, 2024

 Dear Family Barlow 

 We feel deeply grateful for the service of your son who has been serving with us in the mission. With the creation of the new Santo Domingo North Mission, we have made some adjustments with the assignments of some missionaries.

We would like to inform you that your son will be part of the new Dominican Republic Santo Domingo Norte Mission starting July 1st.  This decision was made after fasting and prayer and receiving approval from the missionary department and area presidency. We know for sure your son will be a blessing to the new mission leaders and will have the opportunity to serve in different places and with new missionaries that will allow him to continue growing and learning in this new mission.

We know that this change may be unexpected, but we trust that your son is ready to be part of this wonderful story. Your son's new mission leaders are President and Sister Stroud who will be leading the mission. The address of the North mission office is Calle Manganagua #15 Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. 

Missionaries are doing wonderful work, bringing the message of the restored gospel and making a difference in the lives of many people. Their dedicated sacrifice is a great blessing and we are sure that the Lord will reward them for their faithfulness and selfless service.

We will appreciate your support to continue strengthening him to continue serving with love in this wonderful work. Your prayers are always a source of strength.

Sister Hernandez and I feel so much love and gratitude for having served with Elder Barlow during this time. We will miss him, but we know that the Lord will bless him with opportunities for progress.

May the Lord bless you in your sacred efforts as you support your son through these changes.

With love,

President and Sister Hernandez

 

Weeks 70, 71, 72, and 73 - June 4, 2024

Another week or two down in the DR, and it's been going good.  I've really been starting to get a foothold in this area, and the weather's changing a bit, too.

First off, this past month has gone by real fast. The work has been a bit slow, but this past week we saw miracles and were able to find a lot.  I'm really happy to see the direction the work is starting to go in. 

As of June 1, we're now in "temporada ciclónica," so it's starting to rain a ton now.  I love the rain, not only is it a vibe but it also means no sun.   Aún así, it's still suffocatingly hot here, ya lo sabes. 

We're getting really close to the release date of the North Mission, and if you've been following along, I'm currently in an area that belongs to the new mission.  I still haven't got any confirmation if I'm going to the new mission, but I'm like 99% sure I will.  It'll be confirmed to me this Thursday, so I'm really excited to see where I'm going next.  Last Friday was transfers, and the whole mission was changed around a bunch to prepare for the new mission.  Elder areas became sister areas, and vice versa, some areas got split between two companionships, and a bunch of people moved.  Except us down in La Unión.  Me, Elder Funk, and the other companionship we live with, didn't change at all.  We felt as if we were in the eye of a huge storm that threw everyone around but didn't touch us.  Pretty crazy. 

The past couple weeks were a little rough, but I'm getting excited for the future, both for the progress of the area that I've been waiting for for months, as well as to see if I go north or stay west.  Lots of cool stuff is about to happen, I know it!  For now, that's all I got, should've sent this yesterday but it's OK. 

I must go -Elder Barlow

Weeks 66, 67, 68, and 69 - May 8, 2024

 "Not yet as Job...."

There's a song down here made by some missionary a while ago.  It goes along to the "Now you're in New Yoooork" song, but instead its "Los Alcarrizooooooos, no vaya pa ya porque roooban!"  (Don't go there, because they rob you).  Just a little foreshadowing. 

Wow, it's been a while since I've written, etc.  Lots has happened though, so let's wrap it all up- this time maybe I'll even include a spiritual thought at the end? 

Usually P-day is on Mondays, but this week it was changed because we had our temple trip today, which was really nice.  I love going to the temple, especially after a hard couple weeks. It's really nice to just feel peace, love, and mercy from my Heavenly Father.... as well as air conditioning. 

Like I said, these past 2 to 3 weeks haven't exactly been cake. I've been passing through a number of different difficulties- physical, mental, and spiritual.  It's all a long story and includes a lot of back and forth (having good days and thinking I got this, then having bad days and wanting to go home), but I basically got to the point where I felt completely worthless, in the mission and just in general.  I wasn't seeing the progress I wanted to see and the progress I knew other people were seeing.  It's been rough down here in Los Alcs, but I've been learning to 1: Put trust all in the Lord, and 2: To love the people I serve.  Working on those two things has been helping me tremendously. 

Otra cosa, we had transfers a couple weeks ago- Elder Burke se fue, and now I'm with Elder Funk.  We get along really well, I think.  He's a very confident dude and likes messing around and making the kids laugh in the streets.  He also has a lot of patience with all aspects of the work, which is great.  He's pretty new to the mission, I'm his 3rd comp, but I'm excited to get to know him more.  We've been making the most of Los Alcs, the good and the bad. 

The past couple days we've been going "Job mode."  Job is the prophet in the Bible that lost everything but still kept his faith.  Last Friday, we ran through all our running water, which happens sometimes, totally normal in Los Alcs to not have running water.  We were hoping to have water again Sunday, but, strangely enough there was still no water.  No showers, no washing dishes, which means no fancy meals, and the worst part--no flushing the toilet.  The bathroom has now turned into a porti-potty, and the smell is rancid.  Ya tu sabes. 

And to top it all off, just after hitting 16 months in the mission, ya boi Elder Barlow was robbed. That's right, I stared down the barrel of some dude's .45 as I fearlessly handed over my phone and the rest of my belongings.  Lol, mentira.  Not actually.  We were walking down this dark alley that I thought was short enough to not get robbed in, when this motorbike rolls up behind us and this one dude jumps off the back and says quietly, "lo' telefono' lo' do'!" (Gimme your phones both of you!" (Here they don't pronounce the s)).  I was so startled and baffooned that my brain jumped out of my head for like 10 seconds and I just handed the phone over and stood there.  He tries to take Funk's imaginary phone too, but he just says, "I don't got no telefono my boy!"  The guy, without demanding us or searching our pockets for more, got back on the bike and then rode off into the night.  My brain returned soon after, and I realized the dude was new to robbing and that he had no weapon on him at all.  His inventory was completely empty. This ticked me off a bit (an understatement) because we could've just turned around and ran and we would've been fine, but I was so dumb to give him the phone without thinking. Anyway, today in the temple I got a new phone and we're good now. 

We spent the rest of the day today after the temple at the Agora mall, which was fun.  We're currently on the bus going back to Los Alcs, hoping and praying that the water finally came back.  We'll see what happens. 

A scripture I really like, and one that my trainer always recited to me, was one in Doctrine and Covenants.  This scripture is God talking to Joseph Smith as he was in Liberty Jail.  He had been in this cold, wet prison for months, a prison underground that had a roof that wasn't even high enough to let Joseph stand up straight.  He prayed to ask God why he was having difficulties this hard for this long, and if God was even still with him, and this was God's answer:

7 My son, peace be unto thy soul; thine adversity and thine afflictions shall be but a small moment; 

8 And then, if thou endure it well, God shall exalt thee on high; thou shalt triumph over all thy foes. 

9 Thy friends do stand by thee, and they shall hail thee again with warm hearts and friendly hands. 

10 Thou art not yet as Job; thy friends do not contend against thee, neither charge thee with transgression, as they did Job.

Not yet as Job.  Meaning, he's passing through seriously hard stuff, but he still has things to be grateful for.  I related this to myself in these last couple days and have tried to focus my prayers more on gratitude and have been seeing the fruits of it very rapidly.  Being more grateful for what I have, as well as being more grateful for the good aspects and characteristics of Dominicans, instead of focusing on their faults or differences, has helped me be happier and more positive . I saw a quote on the bus today going to the temple as I was peeking over someone's shoulder that was scrolling Facebook.  It said, "El que pueda cambiar sus pensamientos puede cambiar su futuro."  He that can change his thoughts, can change his future.  Amen to that.  I testify that as we focus more on what God gives us- because he really does bless us every day- we'll start to see his hand more in our lives.  He lives and he loves all of us, truthfully, without a doubt.  "He that puts his life in God's hand will start to see God's hand in their life". 

Anyway, that's all, thanks for your thoughts and prayers.  Time to go see what another month in the mission brings me. 

I must go -Elder Barlow